A River Runs Through It

Sure, it's great to remember the Alamo, but how 'bout them Spurs?

JUNE 9 (8 P.M. CST) AND JUNE 12 (8 P.M.) • PISTONS AT SPURS

[1] UNIV. OF TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO Spurs lockdown defender Bruce Bowen has been learning to enhance his image through public-relations courses here. [2] CANYON SPRINGS GOLF CLUB An 18-hole public course where Tony Parker holds his annual tournament and Devin Brown tees off with UTSA college buddies. [3] BISTRO VATEL Tony Parker, who grew up in France, is a regular. (The Escalope de Veau au Foie Gras is now Tony's Favorite Veal Scallopini.) The glamour-puss guard treated his Desperate Housewives girlfriend, Eva Longoria, to a discreet Valentine's Day dinner here. [4] SBC CENTER Home of the Spurs, the WNBA's Silver Stars and host of the And1 Mix Tape streetball tour (June 27), it's also the site, each February, of the year's honky-tonkyiest San Antonio event: The 17-day livestock show and rodeo brings in more than a million visitors and stars such as Alan Jackson. [5]CARVER ACADEMY Private prekindergarten through second-grade school founded by David Robinson in 2001. Upon the Admiral's 2003 retirement from the NBA--he's still the school's chairman--the Spurs donated $100,000. [6] RIVER WALK In 1999 and 2003 Spurs players boarded the open-air tourist barges that float down the three-mile strip during a buoyant championship parade along the city's food-and-drink mecca. [7] BIJOU THEATER Coach Gregg Popovich, who fancies himself an indy-film geek, favors this art house, where you can choose from a wide selection of wines to sip while you watch. Playing this week: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. [8] MALIBU CASTLE Amusement park where forward Tony Massenburg goes go-kart racing with his 13-year-old son, T.J. "Sometimes he'll win because I can only fit in a car made for two people," the 6'9", 250-pound Massenburg says.

Text by Adam Duerson

SIZIN' UP SAN ANTONE

POPULATION: 1,144,646, ninth-largest U.S. city

FEMALE TO MALE RATIO: 52% to 48%

AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE IN JUNE: 91°

HOMEGROWN SCREEN STARS: Carol Burnett, Joan Crawford

NBA SEATING CAPACITY AT THE SBC CENTER: 18,797 (12th smallest in league)

NUMBER OF SELLOUTS FOR THE SPURS THIS YEAR: 25

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MAP BY JASON LEE

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KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/AP (BOWEN)

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JENNIFER GRAYLOCK/AP (OSBOURNE)

THREE COLOR PHOTOS

GREG NELSON (CANYON SPRINGS, RIVER WALK, GO KART)

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DAVID E. KLUTHO (PARKER)

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ERIC GAY/AP (LONGORIA)

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RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES (SBC CENTER)

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JERRY LARA/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (ROBINSON)

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FOX SEARCHLIGHT/PHOTOFEST (SIDEWAYS)

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D. CLARKE EVANS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (MASSENBURG)

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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SI IMAGING (MALIBU CASTLE)