Hey NFL fans, Gossip Girl here, and I have the biggest news ever!  One of my many sources sends me this, Spotted in Mississippi, Brett F frantically texting his former BFF Ted that he wants back in the Pack! But Ted’s on vacation! Will he get Brett’s desperate message?  Or will he move on with Brett’s frenemy Aaron? 

****

Since Favre conveniently picked the deadest sports week of the calendar (coincidence?) to go public with his latest unretirement, the sports media universe has had the opportunity to cover the story ad nauseum.  All possible angles were covered and debated and rehashed, so I won’t waste too much of your time here.

I just have a few things I wanted to get off my chest:

• I’m sick of the passive-aggressive bullshit from Favre.  This is our All-American, Wrangler-wearing, tractor-driving, stubble-keeping tough guy? Waah Waah Waah, I’m Brett Favre I didn’t feel ‘welcomed back’ Waah Waah Wahh. What does that mean?  Did they not respond to your text messages quickly enough?  Did they forget to rub your feet and hail the all-mighty quarterback? His public bitch-fest to Greta Van Susteren is the kind of thing that gets players like TO and Ocho Cinco reamed in the media for being selfish.  Not to mention that he possibly pulled a Roger Clemens and sold his friend out to score PR points.  Can we put “biggest drama queen” on his Hall of Fame plaque?

• As far as front offices go, the NFL is a 12 month a year job.  There is no off-season.  It’s 2008, and draft/free agency prep begins the moment the whistle blows on the season’s final snap (or in this case when Mr. Gunslinger throws a season ending interception).  If the GM and head coach asks you to make a decision within a certain time-frame, it’s because that’s what they think is best for the future of the franchise.  It’s not because they want to force you out.  Favre has been around long enough to know this.  He’s a grown-ass man, and he should have more respect for the franchise that gave him a chance to start when no one else thought he was any good.  He should show some gratitude to the team (and fanbase) that paid him millions of dollars over the years, and deified him to the point where he could probably pull his pants down, take a huge poop on the state flag of Wisconsin, and people would still talk about what a gutsy play it was.

• He does NOT deserve the benefit of the doubt about this.  Sample quotes I’ve heard over the past week: “Yeah I know it sucks that he’s putting the Packers in this position, but…he’s Brett Favre! They have to let him play.”  and “He’s Brett Favre!  If he wants to play, let him play, he’s so much better than Rodgers anyway.” Basically, the argument boils down to the irrefutable logic of…”He’s Brett Favre! He should be able to do whatever he wants.”  To which I reply: So fucking what! Why are we treating him so differently from every other player?  He has as many rings as Trent Dilfer!  Okay, I understand that because of his career accomplishments and what he’s meant to Green Bay, he maybe gets some leeway when making his decision.  But he’s done this after EVERY SINGLE SEASON for the past three years.  He has already gone through whatever goodwill and credibility he had the first time around.  It’s not true that he “needs time to see if his body can hold up”.  The guy’s been playing for over 16 years, he should know by now what his body will feel like in July.

• I was ecstatic to see that most Packer fans, while clearly not sharing my level of irrational outrage, aren’t exactly rolling the red carpet out again for their hero.  In an unscientific phone poll, Packer fans said they want Favre to remain with the Packers, but they are split on whether he should start.  These are smart, involved fans and they know what is best for the long-term, continued success of their team.  Yes at first, it would really hurt them to see Favre in another uniform, but if there’s one thing even the most idealistic sports fans understand, it’s that the loyalty we feel for our favorite players exists in a vacuum.  I applaud and embrace giving out that loyalty, but the satisfaction I derive from it has to exist on it’s own terms.  The fans cheer, and the player plays hard and hopefully plays well.   There’s no question that Favre has always played hard, and most of the time he has played very well.  There’s also no question that the entire football watching world has adored him for almost two decades.  But that’s the end of the bargain. Be a grown-up and be a professional, Brett. Stop messing around with the Packers and their fans and make up your mind.  If you’re willing to play for another team, the fans will get over it eventually.  If you stay retired, they’ll get over that too. Chris Berman and John Madden will just have to find someone else to cream themselves over.

****

OMG! Was it only five months ago that our All American hero stepped down for the third consecutive year to make way for Aaron? Did Ted really push Brett out?  Or is Bretty just bored of the farm life and pouting his way back to the game?

I’ve got all the dirt.  And who am I?  That’s one secret I’ll never tell.  The only one.   

XOXO,

Gossip Girl

Here’s a quick recap of the top 10 picks from the 1998 NBA draft, as well as where each player has ended up after a decade in the League.

Team - Player, Current Team (Number of teams played for)

1. LA Clippers - Michael Olowokandi, Out of the league
2. Vancouver - Mike Bibby, Atlanta (3)
3. Denver - Raef LaFrentz, Portland (4)
5. Golden State - Antawn Jamison, Washington (3)
4. Toronto - Vince Carter, New Jersey (2)
9. Milwaukee - Robert Traylor, Out of the league
7. Sacramento - Jason Williams, Miami (3)
8. Philadelphia - Larry Hughes, Chicago (5)
6. Dallas - Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas (1)
10. Boston - Paul Pierce, Boston (1)

Here’s an excerpt from Bill Simmons’ column after the Celtics finished off the Lakers:

‘But Pierce …

I mean …

We watched that guy grow up. We watched him become a man. We believed in him, we gave up on him, and we believed in him again. I don’t mean to sound like the old man in “Pretty Woman,” but part of me wanted to walk onto the court Tuesday night and just tell Pierce, “It’s hard for me to say this without sounding condescending, but I’m proud of you.”…We spend so much time complaining about sports and being disappointed that our favorite players never end up being who we wanted them to be, but in Pierce’s case, he became everything we wanted him to be. When he held up the Finals MVP trophy after the game and screamed to the crowd in delight, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier for a Boston athlete. How many guys stick with a crummy franchise for 10 solid years, then get a chance to lead that same team to a championship? Does that EVER happen in sports anymore?’

There IS another guy who has been with the same franchise for 10 years, and had a chance to lead that team to a championship, and he was ironically picked right before Pierce (and immediately traded for Robert “Tractor” Traylor and his bag of Funyuns). Unfortunately, Dirk Nowitzki’s story hasn’t ended as happily…yet.  It’s still somewhat fun to imagine what it would be like if it did.

Just a wee bit of hope-mongering on a lazy summer evening.

photographs by John Biever, David E. Klutho, Cnnsi.com

Duude!
Fresh off the plane, konichiwa bitches…

Three years ago, my friend and then roommate Steve was delighted to learn that I, like him, loved to engage in Fantasy Sports competition. Football was the topic of the day, but he soon asked me to join his nascent baseball league.

He might as well have asked me to bore my eyes out with a blunt instrument. For me football and basketball inspired passion and real emotional connection, but baseball was the exact opposite. I tried really hard to keep it out of my life. It was an active indifference. Back then, fantasy was still a supplement to the enjoyment of real sports. A fun past time for me and my stat geek friends. I considered it weird and unseemly to play the fantasy version of a sport I didn’t care about.

But then Steve made two good points. You like stats, and you can win money.

A dollar-sign shaped light bulb turned on over my head.

I’m all about my Franklin’s…
Lincoln’s and Regan’s
Whenever they make them…
I shall hate them,
oops I meant have them…

Sure, I knew that fantasy could be played for money. But I started playing fantasy in high school and college (on the old Sandbox site), when my friends and I were all broke. We played for bragging rights and the opportunity to ridicule each other. Even after college, when we were all gainfully employed, it hadn’t occurred to us to offer cash prizes. Again, I had looked at fantasy as an extension of the real world, a place where illogical hatred, hometown attachments and rivalries were welcome. I truly believe fantasy competition has increased interest in all sports, but there’s no denying it presents very real dilemmas for long time sports fans. It was difficult enough navigating the prospect of having a Redskin on my football team, or having to root against the Cowboy Defense for a week. Throwing money into the equation seemed like a recipe for disaster. Now there’s a chance I could be rooting against my team AND profit from it? That’s dirty money!

But not in baseball. It quickly dawned on me that I could win money through fantasy without any of the associated dilemmas or karmic repercussions. Wouldn’t you know it, that first year I somehow lucked into second place despite not knowing my Coco Crisp from my Bartolo Colon.

Fast forward three years, and Steve has created a real monster.

They say he goin’ crazy and we’ve seen this before,
but I’m doing pretty good as far as geniuses go…

I now play in two money baseball leagues and two money football leagues. I haven’t been able to replicate my initial success in baseball, but the money I’ve won from football has more than supported my habit so far. I got over the dirty money BS, and there’s a nice symmetry if you can get the right hometown players on your team. Last year, I rolled with Tony Romo on both of my football teams and it was quite the rollercoaster ride. On the other hand, it can be a handicap as well. My baseball league at work features a die-hard Yankees fan who refuses to have any Red Sox on his team, a die-hard Red Sox fan who refuses to have any Yankees and a whole bunch of Chicago fans who wildly overvalue every Cub or White Sox hot streak. Let’s just say I like my chances (although I admit to having multiple White Sox in my non-work league, AJ Perzionjbanldjzgndnki and Carlos Quentin are having career years in terms of OPS, and John Danks has a fantastic K:BB ratio, just don’t ask me what their W-L record is).

The best part my foray into Fantasy Baseball is how completely liberating and therapeutic the pursuit of a purely monetary goal can be. The emotional side of being a sports fan is fatiguing. Real baseball fans may moan and groan about “wins” and “rivalries” and “curses” (I know this, I live two blocks from Wrigley Field). But I straight up don’t give a shit. And it’s the best feeling in the world.

I’m insulted, you should go ‘head
and bow so hard till yo knees hit yo forehead…
I’m high up on the line you can get behind me,
but my head so big you can’t sit behind me

There’s no being torn when my running back goes for 200 yards against the Cowboys. No more depressing Mondays when Tony Romo stinks up the joint, the Cowboys lose to the Eagles, AND I lose one week into the fantasy playoffs. I’m in it for the green, purely mercenary. Sure I care about Pujols’ elbow, but not because I “care” about his elbow, or about the Cardinals. I care because now I have to redo my draft cheat sheet. If the Mets and Phillies are locked in a tight race for the division, it really couldn’t matter to me less. What matters is if Chase Utley can keep his average up or if Cole Hamels can strike out 11 again (sorry Hassan).

****

Although I’ve always loved hip-hop, Fantasy Baseball has helped me to understand those songs that are about nothing except swagger and showing off in a way I couldn’t before.

There’s something magnificent about the pursuit of the superfluous and the unnecessary.

Like Barry Bonds being the best hitter in the game, but still taking steroids because he wanted to dominate.

Like ‘Ye and Weezy on the best song from Graduation.

When it comes to America’s past time, I’m completely soulless.

And it’s fantastic.

Life of a don… lights keep glowin… ,
Comin in the club with that fresh shit on
with somethin crazy on my arm
Ah Hah hah
And here’s another hit… Barry Bonds

Before the Mavs current run of postseason appearances, I made it an annual tradition to pick a playoff team to support. I would shamelessly leap onto their bandwagon in April, and just as shamelessly jump off in June. Scoff if you will, but it served a dual purpose. 1) It kept me distracted from the Mavs suckitude, and 2) it gave me a personal (however temporary) stake in the playoffs, making the games infinitely more enjoyable to watch. Also, as a bandwagon jumper, I could avoid the inevitable let down when the team I chose lost (which happened very frequently. And by frequently I mean all the time).

Past bandwagon teams include the Payton/Kemp era Sonics and the AI Sixers. My criteria was simple. The team had to be some sort of underdog (I know the Sonics were not always the “underdog” in the West, but it was the ’90s, every team that didn’t have Michael Jordan was an underdog), and there had to be a slightly misunderstood, exciting, mold-breaking, other-wordly athletic player anchoring the squad. Hence Shawn Kemp and Allen Iverson.

This year, I’m reviving the tradition and my pick (drum roll please…) is Chris “The Real MVP” Paul and the 2008 New Orleans Hornets! (Can they switch names with the Jazz already?)

*Screeching sound as the Hornets bandwagon comes to a sudden halt*

I know you’re probably filled with questions, but just hear me out (and save your not-so-righteous indignation for later).  I’ll break my decision down with a quick True or False test.

True or False:  Chris Paul’s ridiculous performance is the main reason for your bandwagon leap.

TRUE: I tried to stagger you with his numbers for the regular season, but if that didn’t work, take a look at his numbers from the series-clinching fifth game against the Mavs.

44 minutes played, 10-19 from the field and 2-4 from the free throw line for 24 points, 11 rebounds (he’s barely six feet tall), 2 steals, 15 assists and zero turnovers.

REEEEEEWIND!

srevonrut orez dna stsissa 51, slaets 2…

…2 steals, 15 assists and ZERO TURNOVERS!

In other words, aside from the 9 missed shots and two missed free throws, in 44 minutes HE DIDN’T MAKE A MISTAKE.  Not once.  His passes never missed the mark, he never lost his dribble, he never traveled…nothing. You mean to tell me you don’t want to see this guy play for as long as possible?

True or False: Everyone should root for New Orleans.

TRUE: This is a city that, three years after Hurricane Katrina, is still taking baby steps towards recovery.  If the Saints run two years ago galvanized the nation behind the Big Easy, then Paul and the Hornets are making sure you don’t forget how much work still needs to be done.  CP3, through his basketball brilliance and sheer force of will, isn’t just pulling the Hornets from the lottery to the top of the conference, he’s pulling an entire city up with him.  The Hornets continued success means that New Orleans stays in the spotlight, and I’m all for that.

Side note: There’s all this talk about how Kevin Garnett rejuvenated the Celtic basketball tradition; how he changed the attitudes of everyone in the organization. But what’s harder, rekindling a fire that’s been there for 40 years, or creating a brand new movement basically from scratch? Celtics fans may bemoan the last few years, but they have the strongest winning tradition in the NBA (the same can be said for Kobe and the Lakers).  The people of New Orleans had nothing (literally) and now they have a team that, after running over the 2006 Western Conference champs, is on it’s way to completely dismantling the four-time NBA champion Spurs.  KG may have helped Rajon Rondo believe in himself, but CP3 has helped give hope and excitement to a team and to a community that had very little of it. That’s why he should’ve won the MVP.

True or False: Aren’t you a little late to the party?  Isn’t the Hornets bandwagon already pretty full?

FALSE: And this is the worst part of the confession.  When Dirk went down late in the season, and it looked like the Mavs might miss the playoffs, I had already started the process of picking my bandwagon team.  The choice was pretty clear as I had been following Paul’s historic season since the All-Star break.  I just never thought that the Mavs would ultimately be matched up against the Hornets.  I know what you’re thinking, “You call yourself a fan?!? Did you pull a hamstring jumping on and off so many bandwagons? What’s next, a post about how you were secretly in love with Eli Manning?” I probably deserve some ridicule, but in my defense, the Mavs looked pretty cooked and I needed something to be excited about.  Plus, if you couldn’t tell, I was pretty jacked when the Mavs started playing well, and pretty upset when they forgot to show up.  Did my flirtation with New Orleans anger the basketball gods and cause them to put some sort of complicated Voodoo Hex on the Sad-vericks?  Possibly.  Or more possibly, the Mavs played like poo and deserved to lose.  I vote for the latter.

So yes Mavs fans, I’m throwing my lot in with the team that just vanquished us, but look at it this way. If my previous playoff bandwagon teams are any indication, my support virtually guarantees the Hornets won’t go all the way.

I am the Voodoo Hex.

Photo credit: Victor Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

I’m dangerously close to that place when it comes to the Mavs.

For two years, I’ve watched my favorite team in my favorite sport fall from the cusp of greatness into the abyss of mediocrity.

Two years ago, I grieved. Woe is me, I thought, the refs and D-Wade stole our championship.

Last year, I stewed in frustration. Why the fuck did we have to draw the one team we couldn’t beat in the first round? And how the fuck did Avery get completely outcoached?

This year, I’m pissed.

We didn’t just lose to the Hornets, we let them walk all over us (I don’t want to take anything away from the Hornets, they are a seriously talented team, but if you’re going to go down, for God’s sake go down swinging). I was so sure the post-Kidd-trade Mavs had turned the corner at the end of the regular season. But after Games 1 and 2, it was like nothing had changed. As soon as something happens (in this case, Chris Paul’s brilliance) that the Mavs can’t handle immediately, they just slink away, content to get blown out. Game 3 was a glimpse into what could’ve happened for the Mavs if everything came together. My favorite play was Dampier’s flagrant foul on a driving Chris Paul with just seconds left in the game. The Mavs had the win well in hand, but Damp was still defending the paint like the Spartans at Thermopylae. Why can’t Damp play like that all the time? Why don’t ALL the Mavs play with that attitude all the time!!??! As far as I’m concerned, the almost-comeback in the fourth quarter of Game 5 was merely desperation and false hope. It’s the goddamn playoffs, we should have played with that much intensity for the entire series.

*****

It’s one thing to root for a bad team with no talent. It’s another thing to root for a team with no heart. A team that tantalizes you with its potential, and just when your hopes are at their highest, they devastate you with a wimpy, unfocused, joyless series. The friggin’ sub .500 Hawks stood up to the mighty Celtics and managed to win two games, yet given the chance to tie the series at home in Game 4, the Mavs meekly lay down.

The second half of Game 4 was one of the only times in my life that I felt ashamed to be rooting for the Mavs. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I felt humiliated. To make matters worse, I can’t really pinpoint the source of the problem. It’s not as if the individual players aren’t tough: Stackhouse, despite his dreadful shooting slump, was his usual take-no-shit, in your face self; before the aforementioned fourth quarter almost-comeback, Jason Terry invaded the New Orleans huddle and declared that the Mavs were not going to go quietly (a nice sentiment JET but you’re a day late and a dollar short); even the recently canned (I actually like that Mark Cuban and Co. didn’t waste any time) Avery Johnson had plenty of heart both as a player, and in taking the Mavs to the Finals in his first full year as a head coach.

And then of course there’s Dirk. He’s one of the toughest, most clutch players in the league (yes, that includes his vastly underrated defense). But for all his greatness, he’s missing that one special quality that inspires the rest of the team. That, I think, has been the ultimate undoing of the Dirk era. Tim Duncan uses respect and mutual admiration to get the Spurs to consistently win the big games. Michael Jordan used fear to get his team to excel. But they were both able to transfer their refusal to lose to their teammates. It’s that quality that allowed the other Bulls, and the other Spurs, to feed off their star players’ confidence and believe that losing just isn’t happening tonight. Unfortunately, Dirk doesn’t have it in him. By all accounts, Dirk’s a great guy to hang with, he gets fired up during games, and genuinely cheers for his teammates. But he’s never been able to consistently transfer his fire to the team when they needed it most.

(One very old, very expensive point guard has been absent from both the toughness and belief conversations. There’s a reason for this. But I will defer to his career accomplishments and give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Also curiously missing, Josh Howard, the team’s “second best” player, who managed to have a horrendous series on the court while at the same time causing massive distractions off of it. I do respect his honesty, but the timing of his reefer confessions couldn’t have been worse. And going ahead with a late night birthday party after the Game 4 debacle sends one message and one message only, “Losing doesn’t matter to me”. It’s probably not true, but that’s the message it sends, and it’s just as damaging. Way to go Jo-Ho, way to go.)

*****

It’s funny how much can change in two seasons. In 2006, the Mavs were the electric, young, cocky dark horse contender. A team that needed a break from no-D Nellie ball, and got it in Avery Johnson. A team that could slow down the Suns, out run the Spurs, and execute like a well-oiled machine. Two years later, the Mavs are old, discombobulated and they tuned out their coach to the point that it got him fired.

I usually spend my summers finding reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming basketball season. No matter how painful the ending of one season, there’s always next year. I’ll probably get over it in a few weeks, but right now, for the first time that I can remember, I’m not looking ahead. It’s like the Mavs took away even the hope that things will get better.

And that’s what really makes me angry.

Photo credit: AP/Donna McWilliam

In the sports dead zone between the Super Bowl and March Madness, the most exciting presidential race in recent memory took center stage. Barack Obama shocked the world with his success on Super Tuesday and kept rolling throughout the month of February. As Obama-mania swept the country, I couldn’t help but notice the silence of another prominent biracial American. When the subject of race finally reared it’s ugly head (beginning with Hillary Clinton, who like Jake LaMotta refuses to go down, and her not-so-subtly racist ‘3 am’ ad, and culminating with the inflammatory comments of Obama’s pastor Reverend Wright) the recent history of Tiger and Barack became too closely tied to ignore.

On March 18, Obama responded to the Reverend Wright controversy by giving what most observers, including some conservatives, called the most important speech in modern political history. He didn’t try to pander or politic his way around the issue. He confronted it head-on with an honest, intelligent and realistic assessment of what race means in America and why it’s continually such a difficult problem to resolve. Obama didn’t offer any quick fixes, but he managed to leave us with the message that we can and must break from the patterns of the past while moving forward towards a future of working together.

In January, Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel used the word “lynch” to describe how the other golfers on the tour should deal with Tiger’s dominance. Tiger called the incident a non-issue and it was seemingly resolved amicably between himself and Tilghman. Ten days later the editor of Golfweek magazine, David Seanor, was fired for using a picture of a noose to illustrate the controversy.

Again, Tiger responded with basically silence. He just kept swinging his clubs and winning. Should he have taken this opportunity to reinforce to America that it’s not okay to say words like “lynch” and print pictures of nooses, regardless of the intent or context? Should he have used his considerable platform to educate Americans of all races about the power of words and symbols? For someone who once described to Charles Barkley that on his first day of kindergarten, he was tied to tree and had nigger spray painted on him, shouldn’t Tiger have insights about race in America to share with us? Does dismissing the lynch/noose controversy as a “media-driven” matter help America move past our ugly racial history?

Well, you might say, Tiger’s not a politician, he’s a golfer. Barack Obama wants to lead the entire free world, of course he has to respond publicly and forcefully. Tiger just has to play golf.

But Tiger isn’t just a golfer. His role as a corporate endorser means he can wield considerable influence. But is that influence enough to affect what we say and think about minorities? Can Tiger’s ability to sell Buicks and Nike gear and Gatorade affect as much change in how we live our lives as Obama’s work as a political leader?

Even if Obama wins in November, I don’t think the answer is as obvious as it seems.

Let me illustrate with a short anecdote: My buddy at work, Mike, has a 10 year old little brother at home. When Gatorade’s new off-field hydrator G2 (full disclosure: I work for Gatorade) first hit the shelves a few weeks before the Super Bowl, he took a couple of bottles home for his family. The little brother immediately declared G2 to be disgusting and unworthy of his pallet. During the Super Bowl, Gatorade capped off a huge promotional push with a couple of spots starring Derek Jeter (coincidentally also biracial) with cameos by Peyton Manning and Bill Parcells. The following Monday, Mike reported back that the same little brother had now requested more G2.

Can famous athletes, the vast majority of whom are black, turn that kind of influence into real political change? Should they? Or should they stick to MJ’s “Republicans buy sneakers too” mantra? (In fairness to his Airness, that comment was made in response to whether he would support Harvey Gantt, the Democrat running for Congress against North Carolina Senator and noted bigot Jesse Helms. Jordan later did contribute to Gantt’s campaign and has publicly endorsed Obama in this election). Is it our place to tell athletes what they should care and speak out about? Isn’t it their prerogative to keep their politics to themselves?

You won’t find a more forceful call for Tiger to become something more than a corporate pitchman than Alvin Lau’s poem on Def Poetry. (Goosebump warning…about 1:18 in…”Until the bruises on my back spelled college bound!”)

I first saw that performance over a year ago, and I can honestly say I still don’t know where I stand. Part of me thinks it’s a shame that most people want sports to be their distraction and nothing else. It’s slightly hypocritical that fans expect athletes to be role models and to be model citizens, but they would rather not have their heroes stand up for what they believe in.

Part of me wishes we had a Muhammad Ali or a John Carlos and Tommie Harris for our time. But another part of me sees it as pretty unfair to expect Tiger to use golf to change the world. Besides, just by being as successful as he is, hasn’t he already changed at least some perceptions?

There’s a lot of questions in this post, but unfortunately not a lot of answers. For now, maybe it’s enough to get the conversation started. Maybe.

Photo credit: ibenimages.com, Stopmikelupica.com

I’m admittedly biased against Favre. As a Cowboy fan in the 90’s, the media’s fawning over Favre coincided with the demise of my beloved dynasty. To me, his durability was all luck, and praise for his “gunslinging” ways was just code for throwing interceptions. I didn’t understand why a guy who went to rehab for poppin pills, held an entire franchise hostage with his annual retirement saga, and once took a dive for Michael Strahan’s sack record, was considered such an All American hero. I’ll probably never get it. But I don’t want to get into a long diatribe about Favre, I want to pay tribute to Steve McNair.

****

If you clicked on ESPN.com, SI.com, or any other mainstream sports site during the last couple of days, you probably missed the announcement that Steve McNair is retiring. By now, it’s been buried under bullshit filler headlines about the upcoming draft, Eli Manning’s wedding and Ocho Cinco’s latest shenanigans. On top of that, his Hall of Fame candidacy is being considered “borderline”.

What a shame.

McNair gets knocked for not putting up superlative numbers, but he was the toughest quarterback I’ve ever seen. In 2002, he was so banged up he physically couldn’t practice, yet he still started the last five games of the season and led the Titans to the AFC championship game (teammate Eddie George, “In his MVP year he played most of the year hurt. It is a testament to his willingness to win and how he sacrificed his body for the team”…willingness to win, sacrificing for the team…sounds like a Hall of Famer to me). He gets knocked for never winning a Super Bowl, but he came within a Kevin Dyson stretch from getting that ring. He’s one of three quarterbacks in history to pass for over 30,000 yards (which is more than Joe Namath and Terry Bradshaw) and run for over 3,000.

Off the field, McNair’s story was much more All-American than Brett Favre’s. He and his four brothers were raised by a single mother in rural Mississippi (being black and poor in Mississippi isn’t exactly the ticket to success that being white with a football coach for a father is). When the news cameras were all over Peyton and Eli Manning loading trucks bound for Hurricane Katrina evacuees, McNair had already sent the first of over 20 trucks full of food and supplies to Southern Mississippi. In 12 hours, he had collected over $50,000 for Katrina victims, and to date his foundation has raised over $250,000.

Hopefully over time, Hall of Fame voters, and football fans in general, will come around to giving McNair his due. It would truly be a shame if someone who consistently played hard on the field, and was a true role model off of it, doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.

Dueling columnists and bloggers make their cases for the supremacy of either college basketball or the NBA. Look how exciting March Madness is, the NCAA-ers say. Look how freely and purely college athletes play the game, they screech.

Blah, blah, blah.

This year, NBA apologists (like me, if you couldn’t already tell) have a real case . ESPN, Yahoo and other sites were alive with ‘enjoy the Tourney, but don’t forget about the best basketball being played!’ columns. In the past, college ball types had one crutch to lean on. Yes, they granted, the actual level of basketball being played in the NBA is better and more sophisticated. But the players don’t care, the refs suck, there are too many boring games even in the playoffs, and teams that are out of it openly tank (okay so that’s quite a few crutches). You can’t expect the fans to really care or be invested in that. And you know what, they were probably right. The late 90’s and early 00’s featured quite a few NBA seasons where the product was atrocious.

(Never mind that during the college basketball regular season, and even the early rounds of the tourney, there are always big name universities blowing out obscure small schools, and every other game features teenagers sprinting around turning the ball over and bricking three after three to fight to an “exciting” 63-58 finish. Apparently just a few good games in March completely absolves any other suckitude in the college game, but a few fantastic NBA games doesn’t do anything to absolve the crapfests that inevitably occur in an eight month long regular season and playoff. Damn, I told myself this post WASN’T going to rehash the same arguments, back on track Little SK, back on track).

Over the past few years, though, the NBA has worked itself back. The rookie salary cap, new offense-friendly rules, and an amazing influx of talent have made the pros infinitely more exciting to watch than the amateurs. Last year, it looked like the league took a giant step back when a crappy season was capped off by the Spurs sweeping the Cavs in the Finals, but this year proved it was just an aberration. Around the time that UCLA was squeaking by Texas A&M in the tourney by a score of 51-49 (51-49!?! Are you kidding me? In 40 minutes of basketball? The Suns and Warriors could do that in less than a quarter. The fact that UCLA made the Final Four tells you all you need to know about the inferiority of college ball. Damn, I did it again, sorry) the Western Conference began the most competitive playoff push ever. The stakes have been higher and the teams have been playing with more urgency than I’ve ever seen before in any sport. Every game is like a game 7 and we’re about to wrap it up by throwing the best eight teams into the Octagon to see who comes out with least amount of blood on them. Let the games begin.

*****

It happens every year.

My relationship with the NBA, and with the Mavericks in particular, could generously be described as “unhealthy” (it could also be less generously described as “schizophrenic”). Despite my passion for the league, I routinely sour on the NBA for some reason or another. An ugly Detroit-San Antonio slugfest, an historic Mav collapse, and a referee scandal are a few of the most recent bumps in the road. But just like Mikey Corleone in his old age, I always get pulled back in. Whether it’s a Mavs-Suns double OT roller-coaster, or an AI 50 point explosion, something always reels me in, rekindling my passion. This year, the Mavs’ looked cooked. We were mediocre at best with Jason Kidd and couldn’t seem to break through in this year’s hyper competitive West. I, like many others, had written them off, especially when Dirk went down with a high ankle sprain AND a knee sprain.

But, in a goofy German imitation of Willis Reed, Dirk made a triumphant and unexpected return against the hated Warriors (led by Dirk’s Obi-Wan, Don Nelson) after missing just four games. Operating at 75%, Dirk scored 18 points and inspired the rest of the team to one of their most complete victories of the season. After losing another close one to the Lakers, Dirk dropped 32 and 12 in a vintage clutch performance on the road against the Suns. All of this reached its zenith Thursday night against the Jazz, when the Diggler put the finishing touches on the most exciting win of the season (see below, it’s too bad TNT elected to broadcast the Lakers-Clippers game instead of this one, what the hell?!).

And just like that, I’m back on the wagon. Dirk’s Wolverine-like healing power has taken us fans to a higher place. He’s back with a sneering, tongue-baring, jersey-untucking attitude, and is playing with the same refuse-to-lose fire in his eyes he played with two years ago. My Mavs are clicking on all cylinders and maybe, just maybe, we’ll be the giant killers this year.

*****

It’s happening this year.

So you’re not a Mavs fan. Why should you watch the NBA over the next few weeks? How about the ageless Allen Iverson, (my all time favorite non-Mav player) who at 32 years old still plays with the same reckless abandon he played with at 22, saving the Nuggets’ season by playing all 48 minutes Thursday against the Warriors? You want players who care? How about Kevin Garnett, the $120 million superstar who damn near kills himself on every single possession of every single game, leading an historic turnaround for the Celtics? You want unselfish basketball played the “right” way? How about Chris Paul in New Orleans who is putting together the best season ever by a point guard? That’s right, EVER. He’s putting up some staggering numbers: 21.1 points per game while shooting 49% from the field. He leads the league with 11.6 assists per game to only 2.5 turnovers while playing 37 minutes. Think about that for a second, he has the ball in his hands for the majority of every single offensive possession for 37 minutes a game, and in those 37 minutes, turns it over ONLY 2.5 TIMES. The rest of the time he’s passing to a teammate for an easy score, or shooting himself (which he makes half the time). Oh, by the way, he also leads the league in steals with 2.7 per game. That’s staggering, are you staggered yet? You should be.
You should also want to see what kind of damage CP3 can do in the playoffs.

I could go on and on, but if you like basketball, or even if you have just a passing interest, take some time to catch the playoffs this year. You won’t regret it.

Cuban is still sort of sticking to his guns, though.  He has said he will credential any blogger that applies, from “…someone on blogspot who has been posting for a couple weeks,” to “kids blogging for their middle school Web site…”.

 Cuban’s original point was that all bloggers should be treated equally, regardless of any journalistic training or affiliation (he’s made numerous very valid points about how newspapers shouldn’t use the term ‘blog’ because it dilutes and distorts the fact that they can provide much higher quality content, but if he’s trying to affect change in how newspapers do their business online, he picked a weird way to do it). 

From his point of view, if the league is mandating access for Tim MacMahon of the Dallas Morning News, then we should all get access.

So start looking for those tickets to DFW.  We’re going to the Mavs locker room baby! (Of course the Mavs season is pretty much in the toilet and will be over way sooner than I’d like, sooo ummm….hey how about them Cowboys! Only four more weeks until the NFL draft!)

Could this be personal against MacMahon? I read his posts on the Mavs and Cowboy blogs regularly, and he’s a legit reporter who doesn’t pull punches despite whatever access he may have. He’s fair, thoughtful and entertaining which is exactly what a sportswriter should be. Some conspiracy theorists contend a critical post he wrote after Jason Kidd was held out of the last play against San Antonio led to this ban, but I’m skeptical. Criticism of that move gives MacMahon something in common with just about everyone in the basketball watching universe. Plus, by all accounts, he will retain the other privileges that a normal credentialed newspaper writer gets, which makes this decision all the more curious.

There’s substantial gray area about the role of blogs when it comes to covering sports, or even news in general. What makes a blogger a blogger? MacMahon is a “real” journalist who happens to write on a blog that is run by the newspaper he works for. He’s clearly not a blogger in the same vein as your humble commentators here at DeepSlant or the super-fans at MavsMoneyball. What is the definition of a blog anyway? If MacMahon posted daily Mavs news and other insider info on a DMN site called, “Daily Mavs News” would he still be a blogger? Does the fact that he includes the occasional opinion disqualify him from going into the locker room? Should all regular columnists be banned then too? Should MacMahon be faulted for the DMN and other traditional newspapers trying to adjust to the digital world?

Cuban’s ban reeks of an old school Al Davis-controlling-owner type move, and it is very out of character for a guy who made his name by ruffling feathers, challenging authority, spearheading change and promoting access for all fans. After all, he represents every die hard fans’ dream of one day striking it rich and buying their favorite team. And even though Cuban makes some fair points on his site about the decision, he ultimately comes off as bitter at the Morning News for having something called a “blog” on its site. I consider TrueHoop to be the gold standard for basketball blogging, and Henry Abbott (dubbed the “Blog Father” by one of my other favorites, JE Skeets) took serious umbrage with Cuban’s decision. I’m inclined to agree with the Blog Father.

I love Mark Cuban, I’m one of his biggest fans and most ardent defenders. He’s not afraid to do whatever it takes to be successful, and under his leadership the Mavs became, and remain, relevant (not an easy thing to do in Cowboy country). He’s got an impressive resume as a movie producer, and his own blog is always full of interesting and thought provoking posts about any and all topics under the sun. His latest decision, however, is misguided. Cuban claims to be acting in the interest of fairness, but in fairness to all us fans, we need a guy like MacMahon in the locker room.

Update: The Society of Professional Journalists has filed a protest with the Commish, David Stern. This story may just be getting started.

Photo credit: Kat Wade/The Chronicle

It may be kind of pathetic, but the dunk contest was one of the ways I marked the passage of time during my childhood. I’ve also found that it’s one of a few topics that can really set off a round of “Remember THAT guy” conversations. Remember Dee Brown and Kenny “Sky” Walker? What about Cedric Ceballos and Isaiah Rider? Harold Miner won it twice. HAROLD MINER?!?! Yup, “Baby Jordan” himself….and remember when Brent Barry became the first and only white guy to win? Okay, I didn’t remember that either, I had to look it up.

Needless to say there have been a few uninspiring contests in the recent past, but the buzz was back about the dunk contest this year, and in that spirit, I’ll be bringing you my thoughts on All Star Saturday (the dunk contest comes after the Three Point shootout, the Skills Challenge, and something called the Shooting Stars competition) in a pseudo live blog. Why pseudo? Because I’m way too insecure to post something without revising it 993 times first. I’m armed and ready to go with my DVR remote, a couple of cold ones, and some pizza rolls (I’m also making a burrito pie later. I bet you didn’t know burritos could be made into pies. Well now you know. Here at DeepSlant, we’re nothing if not full of useless information.)

I was all set to jump this post off with some well crafted research and poetic nostalgia about dunk contests past, but then I found out TNT was doing an hour special about the greatest contests since 1984! Complete with commentary and eyewitness accounts from reporters, players, participants, and, representing young whippersnappers who watched from home like me, Lebron! (I love TNT. Shouldn’t they be doing everything NBA related? No offense to ABC and ESPN, but TNT needs to be doing games four times a week, plus all playoff games.)

Some of the contests that the TNT special focused on:

• 1984, an aging Dr J, who created the dunk contest while in the ABA, comes back for one last hurrah.

• 1986, Five foot seven Spud Webb upsets defending champion and teammate Dominique Wilkins, and in the process proves short dudes who can dunk are more than just a novelty (20 years later, Nate Robinson unfortunately drags them back into novelty territory).

• 1988: It’s round two of the Ali-Frazier-esque battle between ‘Nique and Michael Jordan. Dunk for dunk, one of the greatest displays ever, plus the Chicago crowd’s energy was off the charts.

• We skip through the Brown-Miner years to 2000 when Vince Carter (before he became a giant vagina) put on a show for the ages. The contest had been dormant for two years, but VC really took everyone to a higher place. His ferocity literally hushed the crowd at times. The 360 reverse windmill, taking the bounce pass and going between his legs, and the infamous “Elbow” dunk, all brought the crowd to its feet (and some judges to their knees). Besides the dunks, the player reactions on the sidelines are the best thing about the contest. Vince made AI get up and run down the tunnel, made Shaq’s eyes nearly come out of his head, and made Dikembe…well he didn’t elicit anything special from Mutombo, it’s just funny watching him react to anything.

TNT included one segment of lowlights including bad ideas like the “Wheel” (players had to spin a wheel instructing them which dunk to try next, resulting in a lot of missed dunks and other such pratfalls), Chris “Birdman” Anderson and his bag of drugs missing 15 times in a row (sadly, Nate Robinson’s string of misses from 2006 wasn’t included, maybe because he bizarrely ended up winning that year over a clearly superior Andre Iguodala), and one I had forgotten about, Michael Finley’s cartwheel dunk, which featured a super ugly cartwheel followed by a missed dunk. This led to a line o’ the night from Shaq: “That wasn’t a real cartwheel, so Imma take the ‘c’ off, it was just a ‘artwheel…cuz my biological didn’t bother”.

****

We’re on to the live coverage of tonight’s contests (kind of live for me, I’m about 45 minutes behind on my DVR). Everyone competing in the different competitions is introduced, and we’re hit with this doozy, “From the NEW JERSEY NETS, JASOOON KIDD!”. Ouch. (By the way, props to my brother for deftly rehashing all the nut kicking that’s happened in Dallas sports recently…really, thanks for that…now where is that Rose Bowl DVD again? Another “by the way”, during the two-hour Inside the NBA pregame show, David Aldridge drops the “insider info” that Vernon Maxwell could be signed and traded from Dallas to New Jersey as they try to salvage the Kidd deal. Mad Max last played for the Mavs in 2001 and they never renounced his rights. That’s awesome, and no, it doesn’t sound like we’re desperate at all. I’m out of control now with a third “by the way”. During All Star game practices, Jason Kidd wins a Guinness World Record for most underhanded half court shots made in one minute. I have no idea what this means). Also, Jason Kapono looks excruciatingly awkward as he waves to the crowd.

We are now forced to sit through the Canadian national anthem. Look, I like Canadians, and I know that their dollar is even with ours now, and that they have health care for everyone, but that anthem is mad boring. Fortunately, we’re also treated to a fantastic jazz trumpet version of the Star Spangled Banner. You know, hearing all this music and seeing shots of Bourbon street and people eating crawfish and beignets, really makes me want to go back to New Orleans. Let’s get on that DeepSlant team.

Apparently, the Shooting Stars Competition is where teams of three, a current star, a legend (old timer), and a WNBA star, compete in some sort of shooting game. This could be worse than the Canadian anthem. I think this is a good time to let the DVR run and go make my burrito pie.

****

The pie is in the oven and we’re about to start the Skills Challenge. This is also kind of boring, but since I started out with the NBA as a Magic Johnson devotee, I’m partial to point guards. Some quick thoughts:

• Jason Kidd, who won the first Skills Challenge 2003, predictably nails all the passes, but misses all the jumps shots. To his credit, he actually rebounded one of the misses.

• Two time defending champ Dwyane Wade looks like poo. He stops trying midway through and hears the boos from the crowd. I second that motion.

• Deron Williams from The Colony (greater DFW area represent!) edges Chris Paul for the win and a new record.

*****

Three Point time! This competition features: my man “The Diggler” Dirk Nowitzki, every Mavs fan’s favorite mistake Steve “Nasty” Nash, former Longhorn Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, Richard “Rip” Hamilton and defending champ Jason “No Nickname” Kapono. Cheryl Miller interviews Kapono and he’s even more awkward when he tries to talk. He must be some sort of shooting savant. I saw this video of Kapono practicing last week, and he missed ONCE out of all five racks, and that was also the only time he even hit the rim. He’s definitely the favorite.

• Kenny and Charles have joined Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan in the booth! I predict a whole lot of lines o’ the night now.

• Rip has a cool flame running down his arm sleeve. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help his shot, plus he stepped on the line for a few of his makes. He’s done. Reggie makes a good point, Rip should’ve been replaced by Ray Allen. Can’t go wrong with Jesus.

• Harlan asks Reggie what the strategy is. Reggie responds, “Make shots”, prompting the Chuckster, in his best incredulous voice, “What the hell you think the strategy is Kevin?” Line o’ the night.

• Kenny on Boobie’s slow start, “Lebron James should step out onto the court, then Gibson’ll be alot more open.” Line o’ the night. Gibson hit 11 threes during the rookie-sophomore game on Friday night and takes the early lead here.

• Nasty is bricking hard core, he looks pissed after it’s over. Don’t worry Steve, all of Canada still hearts you.

• The Diggler starts slow, including an airball that prompted a few Bourbon street partying jokes, but manages to tie Boobie. They show Cuban cheering wildly for Dirk, Kenny: “He did that for Kidd during the Skills Challenge.” Line o’ the night.

• Kapono, however, destroys everyone.

• At one point during the second round, Reggie keeps saying titty. On live TV. I couldn’t believe it either, even Barkley was aghast. Apparently, three-point shooters call the curve of the line, the titty. So you go from the corner, around the titty and then to the top. This is truly awesome. The NBA, where titty happens. ‘Titty’ is now the Ultimate Line o’ the night

• The Diggler chokes it in the second round and Kapono destroys again, nailing the entire last rack. Ice water in the veins my friends, Ice water.

*****

Finally, it’s time for the Dunk Contest! We’ll see if Dwight Howard (my favorite to win it) can avenge last year’s narrow loss to Gerald Green. (Howard had a ridiculous move where he dunked, then slapped a sticker TWELVE feet high with his other hand. He’s also 7 feet tall and 270 lbs.) The InterWeb was abuzz leading up to this weekend about Jamario Moon. A 27 year old rookie from Toronto who spent the last seven years on 16 different teams, slowly working his way to the league. Rudy Gay of the Grizzlies did something new, and I think brilliant, he went on YouTube and solicited anyone in the world to submit their own dunk videos and he would choose the best one to do during the contest. It’s a brave new world, ladies and gentlemen. The winner this year will also be partially chosen by fans via text message.

• The judges this year: Magic, Dr. J, Daryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins, the Mailman, and Nique “The Human Highlight film”. Everyone had cool nicknames back in the day.

• Moon gets it started with a sweet one handed 360 off a bounce pass. I love this shit, son!

• There’s really nothing more anticlimactic than a missed dunk, all that waiting, holding your breath, then CLANG…unless of course you’re Dwight Howard, who managed to build even more excitement for his bounce-off-the-back-of-the-backboard gem by missing the first time. This guy is incredible. He brought the house down, perfect 50 from the judges.

• Green takes forever to setup with a ladder and birthday cupcake. That’s right, he set a cupcake with a lit candle on the little shelf connecting the rim to the backboard, and blew it out as the dunked. Mad creativity points, plus he’s up wicked high to even be able to get to that candle. Only a 46 though.

• My burrito pie gets an 8 out of 10 from the judges (me).

• Gay loses some creativity points for doing Howard’s behind the backboard thing, except with a teammate passing to him. Biter.

• Moon and teammate Kapono just put a piece of tape PAST the free throw line. Oh man, is he really gonna do it? AW, he missed his first try, and he missed the marker. Now he makes it, but he took off from just inside the free throw line, I’m confused, apparently that tape was just for his back foot, what a tease!

• Moon and Gay are done. Too bad, we didn’t get to see the winning YouTube dunk.

*****

• Another long setup from Green and his teammate Rashard McCants. Holy crap! That was a nice windmill off a pass from McCants who was sitting on top of the ladder. The replay shows that Green’s entire head is above the rim at one point. Geez

• Uh oh, Howard’s teammate Jameer Nelson is waving a Superman cape around. Dwight’s totally got the crowd going now…Yes! Howard loses his Orlando jersey to reveal an ‘S’ shirt underneath. He dons the cape, ohhhhhh man…WOW! He takes off from just inside the free throw line, goes completely horizontal and literally throws the ball in!!! The Chuckster can’t believe it, “The NBA, where, are you kidding me happens!” Kenny immediately puts it in his top 3 dunks of all time. This is the first time I scream out loud, and I’m pretty sure I have to go change my shorts. Un-fucking-believable. You really have to see it, words won’t do it justice. SUPERMAN YOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

  

• Green has to follow this, and does a nice between the legs dunk, but he doesn’t stand a chance now.

• AGAIN!!! Howard, the evolutionary Shawn Kemp, brings the house down! Kenny: “It’s not humanly possible, he’s like a video game!” Incredible. He lobbed a bounce pass to himself, but he’s up so high and for so long, decides to tap the ball against the backboard before slamming it home. My jaw has officially dropped, I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

• Green just dunked without his shoes, pretty boring, poor guy.

• Howard is setting up for his final jam. Nelson has a mini nerf hoop with him (shout out to all of us who grew up conducting our own mini dunk contests! I love it). Initially, everyone thinks he’s gonna put it up twelve feet high on the backboard (Howard repeatedly asked the league to raise the rim, but they refused for some reason) and dunk the small ball first, then the regular one. That would’ve been sick. Instead, he places the mini hoop at the bottom corner of the backboard and places the regular ball on top of it. The entire arena is on its feet. He jumps, grabs the ball from the mini hoop and slams it. Good night everyone, it’s over, perfect 50’s all around, and we just saw one of best performances ever. The Dunk Contest is back baby. I’m so charged up right now. I need more burrito pie! YOOOOOUUUUU!

*****

What a night, Green gave it a good go (it didn’t come across visually, but dunking barefoot is pretty impressive), but in the end, Howard was just too creative. His dunks, especially at his size, were way too powerful. Take a look for yourself at the ESPN highlights, I’m sure Youtube will have versions of the whole contest up soon. What an electric performance. We actually saw stuff we hadn’t seen before, which after 24 years of dunk contests is pretty hard. Hopefully, Howard will be back next year.

I’ll be ready with my burrito pie.

Photo credit: Memoram.com, blackmarks.net, NBA.com

2003: San Antonio Spurs
2004: Detroit Pistons
2005: San Antonio Spurs
2006: Miami Heat
2007: San Antonio Spurs

There’s a common theme obviously, but we’ll get back to that. Let’s talk about the Heat. People scoffed at Pat Riley when he brought in Shaq and surrounded him and DWade with a motley crew of late 90’s stars. Riley and Shaq got the last laugh, but in the process they wrought something much more sinister, and it’s why I’m not as jacked about the Jason Kidd trade as my DeepSlant (and real life) brother.

Statgeeks have had a field day with this trade. Even before Wednesday’s big news, Henry Abbott of Truehoop put together a quick and dirty comparison of Devin Harris and Jason Kidd. John Hollinger at ESPN.com didn’t waste any time (Insider required, although it may be a free preview!) making his case for the risks outweighing the reward for the Mavs. I won’t rehash all the numbers here, but almost every measure of individual and team effectiveness shows that the Mavs are better off with Harris. Even assuming Kidd’s pluses outweigh what Harris brought to the table, what about the frontcourt depth they are losing in Diop? The Mavs may be able to compete better with the Nashes, Pauls, and Williamseseses (not to mention the Iversons and King Leonidas) but what about Duncan, Gasol, Boozer and a possibly rejuvenated Diesel? And TWO first rounders? They might be late first rounders, but let’s not forget that Josh Howard was a late first rounder himself. Seems like a steep price. It’s one thing to trade youth for toughness and experience, it’s another to potentially mortgage the next five years for a marginally greater chance at a championship.

Looking beyond the numbers, though, (and I’ll be the first to concede that basketball defies statistics more than any other sport) it’s really a matter of philosophy. Riley won himself a championship, but less than two years later, he’s scraping the bottom of the barrel. You could even argue that the ‘06 run was more a function of DWade becoming completely unguardable (with a little help from the refs) than it was the play of Shaq and his geriatric buddies. Meanwhile, San Antonio has won three times in the last five years on a model on consistency and continuity. They believe in their system and they are always in the hunt. Since the arrival of Avery Johnson two and a half years ago, Mark Cuban stopped tinkering with the roster, went the Spurs’ route and came about as close as you can come to winning it all. Find a core, build chemistry and work your system. The Spurs have stuck with their method for years, aren’t the Mavs giving up too early?

There’s a very basic dilemma for fans at the heart blockbuster trades like this. Do you want a competitive team year after year, or do you want to go all in for one championship with an uncertain future after that? Yes, the Heat were able to rent enough veteran talent to win it all, but look where they are now. On the other hand, YOU GET TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP! You are forever in the history books as one of the best, and you can bask in that glow for however long you want (take it from the guy who pops in his 2006 Rose Bowl DVD every now and then to reaffirm his fan-ness). I don’t think there’s a right answer, and for better or for worse, Cuban and Donnie Nelson (and Steve Kerr) have decided that since they can’t beat San Antonio at their own game, they are going to copy the Riley model and roll the dice.

As a giant Mavs homer, of course I’m hoping for the best.

I’m just a little afraid we may end up with more guts than glory.

Note: (As of this posting the trade has not yet been finalized, but seriously, could Devean George come back to the Mavs now? How awkward would that be? “Hey Dev, thanks for submarining this huge, franchise altering trade…what’s that? Why does your locker nameplate say Jason? I don’t know…”)

Photo credit: Brad Loper/DMN