I have loved the Mavericks ever since I began watching basketball - since their first foray into play-offs against the Jazz. I have liked Mark Cuban regardless of other people’s perception of the guy. I still think Mavericks are a great team - they are doing awesome so far - 61 wins with 10 more games to go…Dirk reaching the milestone of 15,000 points - nothing to hate about these guys.
Mark Cuban OTOH, has turned out to be something else altogether…the moron seems to financing “Loose Change”, a conspiacy theory laden fakumentary that has nuggets of information only the blindest conspiracy theorist can follow or believe.
I could forgive Mark Cuban’s antics on the sidelines of the arena - I could forgive his overwhelming need to make the Mavericks all about him - I can even forgive him for “The Benefactor” (OK, I will still laugh at him for that) - I cannot forgive him this. I thought he was more intelligent than this…As far as I am concerned, he stepped way over the line and the franchise and Mark Cuban’s pockets will not be getting another dime from me.
Well, last night’s loss to the Suns still hurts so much I cannot talk about it…Also, exhausted tending to the little one who kept waking up every hour on the dot in the night. Thank Goodness, the weekend is close :)
Oh, here is a cool new tool or an incredible annoyance depending on the way you look at it - they give you a unified phone number that links to all your regular phones and makes all of them ring when someone calls this one number. Makes it even harder to make an excuse to not pick up an unwanted phone. Gotta keep it away from the husband ;)
I am watching Tim Legler, Greg Anthony and some chick debate between Dirk and Nash for MVP and I think I just lost a few brain cells. Tim Legler has got to be kidding me, when he says Dirk doesn’t deserve MVP since he didn’t win the Finals last season. That is crazy, especially since he picks Nash for losing the Western Conference Finals…that too, only by a freakishly lucky bracket that let the Phoenix Suns coast to the Conference Finals while the Mavs had to battle through Memphis and San Antonio.
The woman on the show made some great points - she asked Legler who would make a bigger impact if transplanted into, let’s say, a Sixers team - Nash or Dirk? I am glad at least that out of the four people on the show, three said they will vote for Dirk.
Ultimately, I couldn’t care less if Dirk wins the MVP or not…for the regular season. I am angling for MVP of the Finals ;)
What a sweet thing it is, to have the Mavs kick the crap out of San Antonio Spurs while playing like crap themselves…on the road…on the second night of a back-to-back! Phew! I am way too drunk and jazzed (“jazz”ed? Hmmm… - Ed) to post more, but I shore happies ;)
Oh, isn’t it crazy how incongruous the jock talk is against the pink template for this blog?
So, NBA establishment introduces a brand-new kind of ball into the game - the people who are going to use it the most, the players - hate it!
ESPN.com - NBA - Intel Report: New ball
Given the track record, what will NBA do? I know, they will simply dig in and say, “deal with it!”. I mean it isn’t like we pretend this is about the game anymore, do we? We might as well come out in the open with the business of it. Call it the NBBA - National Basketball Business Association and be done with it already. Like the WWF, alteast us viewers and the players might start enjoying this crap once we are rid of our pretensions about what this is all about anyways!
Wow! If someone had told you an year ago that Desagana Diop would be the final piece that would put Dallas over the hump in their quest for a championship…..would you believe that person?
Yes, he does - I mean, does he seriously believe that the entire NBA league is out to get his poor, poor Ming? Does he realize that Erick Dampier and Shawn Bradley got into as much foul trouble as Yao Ming in the play-offs? Yao has 3.3 PF/game average in the regular season vs. 4.8 in the play-offs. Damp has 3.1/gm in regular season vs. 4.2 in the play-offs. Another big stat? Yao Ming has been 30 mpg in the play-offs vs. Dampier playing 20.6 minutes. Do the math and you will see who is getting more fouls called on them per minute.
All stats aside, I think even ethically what Mark Cuban did was right (and I admit 90% of the time Cuban goes over the top on issues). Cuban had a problem with the way Yaoi was setting moving picks and he sent the league the tapes to review - if that results in the refs being more careful while calling fouls and more vigilant, I am all for it. If JVG thinks they are missing calls (I can think of the obviously missed call against Finley when he was out-of-bounds while stealing from Barry), he should do the same. Just like the non-called fouls on Yao that may have made a difference for the Mavs in the first two games but didn’t, these missed calls while reviewed, will not help anything but to prevent such mistakes in the future.
I don’t think NBA officiating is all that great - every single fan out there feels like the referees have it out for them. That doesn’t mean it gives the coaches free rein to talk conspiracy theories. Play ball and leave the “truth is out there” fantasies to the X-files crowds, JVG! I hated it when the Mavericks used to whine for calls last year (they are much better this year) and I feel JVG is as pathetic in not recognizing his team’s weaknesses that are killing them and trying to focus the issue on stupid things instead.
Whoa, what was Geoff Petrie on when he pulled the trigger on a deal as ridiculous as this?
ESPN.com - NBA - Kings ready to end Webber era with 76ers dealThe Sacramento Kings traded Chris Webber to the Philadelphia 76ers late Wednesday night, parting ways with the cornerstone of their renaissance in a six-player deal that dramatically reshaped both teams.
I really don’t see how any Kings benefit from this deal except for Peja who wants to be the man (we will find out soon if he has what it takes) and Billy King, President of the 76ers etam. AI must have peed in his pants when he learned that Webber and a talented role player like Matt Barnes are going to back him up now.
What on earth does Petrie think he can achieve with undersized scrubs like Corliss Williamson, Kenny Thomas and Brian Skinner? It isn’t like he got any expiring contracts either. Oh, did I mention Peja is still a free agent next season and might not even stay with the Franchise anymore?
OT, good job Mavs, for taking care of business and putting the Jazz away last night. I hope the Queens have become a little easier to beat tonight.
Did you guys realize ESPN has trackback? The link I posted above has a trackback ID that my post will be pinging now. I think it is cool as long as they are not using it to shutdown people linking back to them.
update: Has there been a busier trade deadline in the recent years? Najera traded to Nuggets, Antoine Walker back in Boston (I wonder what Danny Ainge had to do for that!), Malik Rose to Knicks and Nazr Mohammad to Spurs, K-fricking-VH to Mavs and Booth and Alan Henderson to Bucks, Jiri Welsch to Cavs, Baron Davis to Golden State, Jamaal Mashburn to 76ers, Glenn Robinson to New Orleans, Vin Baker to Houston - Phew, what a day!
One more update: Poor Alan Henderson - to be traded right after he got married - he tied the knot on Saturday during the All-Star Game weekend :(
I mean seriously, you have all probably heard Kobe hinting all over town that Karl Malone tried to hit on his wife. Quoted below is the entire text of that so-called hitting-on session.
FOXSports.com - NBA - Deion rips Kobe for taking Malone feud publicThe recent Malone-Bryant feud boiled over when Vanessa Bryant told her husband on Nov. 23 that Malone had made inappropriate comments to her that night at the game at Staples Center.At worst, I think this is harmless flirting - at best, a frigging joke. Kobe must have been out of his mind trying to make a mountain of this molehill. At best, he is trying to make his wife feel desirable again by implying other men are hitting on her - her desirability must have taken quite a hit after revelations of his numerous infidelities, y’know! I think the dud just needs to shut up and grow up. He has made more enemies int he league since his rape allegations than anyone else…that too, people who atleast publicly stood by him and had his back. Not cool in the least.The comments in question reportedly happened after Vanessa invited Malone to sit with her in the second half of that game. Malone, decked out in a cowboy hat and boots, went over and gave Vanessa Bryant a hug.
“Who are you hunting?” Vanessa reportedly asked when she saw Malone’s outfit.
“Little Mexican girls,” Malone responded.
And when that comment was relayed to Kobe, he called Malone and reportedly vowed to “(mess) him up” if he ever went near his wife again.
“Karl and his son were at the game sitting in the front row,” Pelinka said. “Vanessa was on the cell phone talking to Karl’s wife, Kay, and Vanessa said that her son looked bored. Kay told her to call Karl to have her son join her in her seats. Kay gave Vanessa Karl’s cell number and she called him. When she called, Karl’s response was, ‘Why don’t you come over here and sit next to me and give me a big hug?’ Vanessa said, ‘Why? For what?’ And Karl replied, ‘If you do that it will be on the cover of every magazine in the country.’If the new version is true, then Karl Malone is a true lech and is a horrible human being to hit on a woman who is already going through a tough time.“Vanessa didn’t know what to say because this was the first time she had ever spoken to Malone without Kobe or Kay being around. Karl continued. ‘Do you like me?’ Malone asked her, to which Vanessa said, ‘As my friend, Kay’s husband,’ ” Pelinka said.
“From there Malone asked Vanessa if she could keep a secret, and that he would like to tell her something. At which point Vanessa told him she was a married woman and he was a married man who was old enough to be her father. To which Malone replied, ‘Oh, like your daddy?’ At that point she told me she ended the conversation,” Pelinka said.
Boy, was that a good game by the Mavs last night or what! I am loving the new look Mavs. Dirk looked like a monster and really aggressive last night. Dampier looked like a real center and will do great if he can not attract so many fouls. Josh howard and Marquis Daniels rocked as usual. Devon Harris was so good I was thinking “Steve Who?”. The kid can pass - it will be nice once he learns how to score consistently. It was just amazing to see him matched up with Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson and see him rip them to shreds.
Go Mavs!
Yeah, I know it will only be the pre-season. So what? It is better than nothing and I way too excited about “The Mavericks, Reloaded” that I cannot wait!
I am not kidding when I say I will go to war with Nowitzki, Dampier, Jason Terry, Devon Harris, Finley, Marquis, Josh Howard and Bradley - ESPN.com - NBA - Sources: Warriors to send Dampier to Dallas.
I cannot stop grinning and cannot wait for the season to start. We are going to kick some serious butt this season, dudes! There is not absolutely no reason for failure. Oh, and Steve Nash? Eat your freaking heart out when we make it farther into the playoffs than your new team!