On twitter I was giddy for the Spanish encounter between Pau Gasol and Ricky Rubio. Their fortunes seemed to be going in opposite directions going into the game, Pau in constant trade rumours whilst Rubio's upstart Wolves were surprisingly above .500, managing a playoff spot at 8.
Sports as in life is fickle. The Wolves played the game without Kevin Love who was out with back spasms. The Wolves were competitive up until the closing seconds when disaster struck:
Ricky Rubio has torn ACLI personally believe Rubio's role in the Spanish Olympic bid is overrated considering the National team would still favor Calderon and Llull over the youngster. That said I expect hoopheads, Fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Spain, League pass owners, NBA and Olympic TV execs are going to have a hole in their heart for the rest of the season.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Ricky Rubio's sensational rookie season has come to a devastatingly abrupt end. The Minnesota Timberwolves point guard will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, the team announced on Saturday. "Thank you everybody for ur support.I promise I will be back soon and stronger. There is only one way to take: move forward and stay positive," Rubio tweeted Saturday. Now the upstart Wolves will have to keep chasing a playoff berth without one of the players who was most responsible for the franchise's resurgence.
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The news also means that Rubio will miss the upcoming Olympics, where he was expected to be a vital part of Spain's bid for the gold medal.
Pau was philosophical in his sentiment towards his Spanish teammate
"Anything he needs, I'm there for him. I was truly sorry. It's a tough one to swallow and it makes me laugh about my situation. You know? About my trade and no trade and how that makes me feel. When you (tear) an ACL, that's when you really feel bad and that's a lot worse than being mentioned in trades and potentially play somewhere else. No. Health is always the main thing and that's why everything is so relative in life."Get well and Godspeed Ricky.
For a rookie that has given back life to a struggling franchise to experience such injury is just devastating. The way the Timberwolves play with and without is vastly different, which shows how Ricky Rubio has been a leader and a closer for the team. It's good that his Spanish teammates are with him with this, and it’s too bad that he will miss the Olympics. Let's hope for his quick and effective recovery so he can throw those lobs again.
ReplyDelete[Sienna Christie]
Here's a to a long and fruitful career Rubio.
Delete:)