AP CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) -- The charter plane carrying the defending NBA champions was inches away from landing on the island of St. Thomas when the razzing of Tim Duncan began. Somebody had to take the blame for the rain-soaked sights the San Antonio Spurs were seeing from their windows, and a fuselage full of fingers began pointing toward the three-time finals MVP as the grief came raining down, too. ``I've already gotten a bunch, so I'm hoping it will clear up a bit,'' Duncan said Tuesday after the Spurs went through their first practice of training camp and began incorporating three key new pieces while beginning their quest to become repeat champions. On Sunday alone, as much as 5 inches of rain fell on Duncan's nearby home island of St. Croix. Monday brought more of the same, and the total on St. Thomas was 3 inches and counting by the time the Spurs filed off their bus Tuesday at the University of the Virgin Islands. The sun briefly peaked through the clouds by the time coach Gregg Popovich called it an afternoon, giving a boost to the players' spirits as they looked ahead to getting a closer view at the place Duncan called home until Hurricane Hugo ravaged the islands in 1989. This is Duncan's first trip back in more than two years, and islanders on St. Thomas and St. Croix are ecstatic to be graced by the presence of the islands' biggest celebrity. ``Spurs On The Rock'' screamed the headline in one local tabloid, and a sign outside the university welcomed ``Tim and the Spurs'' -- one more piece of ammo to fuel the mock hostility directed at Duncan. ``I got a lot of (grief) for that, too,'' Duncan said. ``Trust me, I'm getting my share.'' Source
