*deep breath*

Wow.

Lots of people suddenly full of literary bravado, and suddenly interested in the Jason Kidd trade. It was like a post-bad-chicken-in-the-burrito, just-got-done-cradling-the-porcelain, up-watching-the-3AM-SportsCenter-through-the-nauseous-haze re-run.

Either that or a lot of posters really, really, desperately wishing they could turn their comment in on nicely watermarked, off-white resume stock paper, and then sit back and watch the Cuban Express light up their cellphones with tracers of glory.

Sadly, this is not a job interview. Neither with ESPN.com, nor with ANY of Mr. Cuban\’s assorted business ventures. Sorry, folks.

Would I love to turn the gaze of a billionaire-NBA-owner my way? Of course. As a sports lover, one would have to be a fool not to. But, the numbers are stacked against me. Not quite PowerBall numbers, but, you get the point.

However, even if noticed from on high, and granted the Willy Wonka-esque Golden Ticket to the nether regions of AAA; I might have to think twice before accepting. The reason?

I\’m not sure if today\’s locker room would hold the same fascination as it did when I was seven years old, sitting at Rolando Blackman\’s feet at his summer basketball camp for Dallas kids. Seeing my favorite player (Sam Perkins) up close and personal, seeing my least favorite player (Mark Aguirre), and also the near-endless parade of stars: Dominique, Spud, MJ, Clyde, even Roy Tarpley; I\’m not sure how going forth with laptop in hand today would compare.

Mark, I always understand and applaud your common sense. That, more than any other stroke of genius or technological innovation, keeps me captivated to what you will do next. This blog-hunt is proving to be no exception. Thanks!

I am from Pennsylvania and have admired your ownership methods. I heard that you may be interested in buying a baseball team. If you are, PLEASE purchase the Philadelphia Phillies. It is a team for a sound core of players that are relatively young but they need piching to make them solid contenders for many years to come. You are the type of owner that would get what is needed and not penny pinch as the current owners. There are many frustrated fans in this city that would welcome you as the owner. I truly wish you would make an attempt to purchase this team. Thanks.

Box out Chandler. Sounds simple and someone like Diop or even Mbenga would work wonders but my suggestion is to put Malik Allen on him. Juwan Howard and Dampier are too slow. Brandon Bass doesn\’t have the size. Every time we\’ve actually done a good job containing CP3 and highly contest a Peja or West shot, Chandler rolls in and gets an offensive rebound and possibly flushes it home. It\’s extremely deflating and the Hornets know it.

Unlike everyone else, I don\’t think you should double or press CP3. He\’s going to beat anyone Dallas throws at him. The best thing Dallas can do is play him like opposing teams play Kidd. Play off him and dare him to make shots from outside. You can use the extra space to clog up Chandler or sag toward Peja. CP3 wants to pass the ball. He\’s more than capable of hitting the shot but eventually he\’ll press to get the ball to West, Peja or Chandler.

There you go, those are my adjustments for Game Two.

-These are comments before Tuesday\’s debacle.

Chris Paul looks like the MVP. Avery Johnson doesn\’t look like he can coach. Dirk and Bass seemed like the only two Mavericks who cared they were getting thumped. And the Mavs defense got worse from Nelly\’s run and gun team.

So, why did they get rid of Diop, Powell, Daniels, Mbenga and Harris? Take a long look at that list. What does every person on that list have in common. Each player brings quickness, speed and energy to their team. Now take a look at the current roster, Kidd, Terry, Stackhouse, Jo. Howard, Nowitzki, Dampier, Jones, Bass, George, Ju. Howard, Lue, Magloire, Wright & Barea. Besides, J Ho, Bass and Wright. This is what the team is missing, youth and energy.

Does everyone have to be old and slow in order to get on the floor Avery? I\’m guessing it was you who escorted Diop, Powell, Daniels, Mbenga and Harris to the door.

Regardless, going 2-10 in the last 12 playoff games is proof enough for me. Unless Avery learns how to coach, it\’s time to break this team apart and start over.

http://wideopendallas.blogspot.com/

An example (most recent daily wrap)…
Twas inevitable I guess… Manu won the 6th Man Award. This, despite the fact that he averaged 31.06 minutes a game (top 3 for San Antonio)… and scored 19.5 points per game (top on the Spurs). Id argue that either/both of these should make Ginobli ineligible as a 6th Man, despite him starting off the bench.
How can you average in the top few in your team in minutes played/points scored, and be thought of as the 6th man on your team?
Truth be told, after Tim Duncan, Manus name is the first one coach Popovich thinks of when working his roster.
Hell, post many games this season, Manu Ginobli might be at the forefront of Pops mind. Truth be told, Leandro Barbosa is far more deserving candidate than Ginobli.

It would come down to a coin-toss as to who is more deserving of San Antonios MVP Award this year: Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobli. How can you award a guy the 6th Man Award when he might just be the best player on the team? Hes obviously not the 6th man on their team… whether Pop does it for effect/strategy or whatever, it should have no impact over whether he gets an award for coming off the bench and playing starter minutes.

Anyway… other thoughts:

* Finally, bye-bye Isiah. As a sign I saw said: End of an error
* Could probably wave bye-bye to the Houston Rockets for this season too… as they lost today (at home) vs Utah, 91-84. Very unlikely they go into the house of the Jazz n beat em. Utah only lost 4 times at home this season, so a team that struggled to compete on their own court isnt going to do it to the Jazz in Salt Lake City. Get out your brooms.
* Scott Skiles signed a 4 year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. Its not going to take too much a stretch of the imagination for them to be a better team than the Chicago Bulls. Hell, wasnt much between the two this season.
* In an interview, Kobe Bryant says he wants to remain a Laker – perhaps for his entire career. Given the Lakers finished top in the West, and that was sans Bynum… any surprises here? Certainly going to be a strong roster next season… in the interview he sings the praises of Mitch Kupchak, the team, Pau Gasol… and the city of LA.
* So much for promises… or my tips! Washington failed to take one of the first two games in their series against Cleveland, getting absolutely WHOOPED today, 116-86. Going to have to do a lot more than that – even on their homecourt – to do anything in this series.

I cover sports for a multi purpose blog called Big Diction based in Austin. Staying true to my roots, here\’s an article I wrote after my Horns were bounced out of the NCAA Tournament. If you like, check out the site to see some of my NBA content. Thanks.

\”For any casual UT fan, watching Texas get thoroughly beat down Sunday by Memphis would have been understandably frustrating. As a matter of pride, no one likes seeing their team get blown out. For a general college basketball fan with no real rooting interest, the game would have been understandably frustrating to watch because no one wanted to see another blowout this late in March. But for those of us who have followed the 2007-08 Longhorn basketball team closely all season, the game was frustrating because it was clear for most of the second half that this was the last time we would get to see this team play together.

Not since the 2002-03 Dallas Mavericks have I been so invested in a team. That was the first year my dad and I had season tickets and were at probably 35 of 41 home games. For those who have never experienced it, its hard to explain how attached you can get to a team watching them every night over the course of a season. Despite never getting within a hundred feet of any of the players, you start to feel like you know the team, which makes it personal when things go badly. And as time was running out on the Horns Sunday in Houston, it felt strangely similar to the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the 2003 Western Conference Finals.

That year the Mavs road through the playoffs had been a roller coaster. A Game 7 against Portland in which Dirk hit that clutch 3 over Rasheed Wallace that will be on every starting lineup highlight reel for the rest of his career. A Game 2 against Sacramento in which the Mavs went off for 84 point IN THE FIRST HALF. And after losing Dirk to injury in Game 4 against the Spurs, Nick Van Exel had led to team to a win in Game 5 and a 12 point lead through three quarters in Game 6. The Spurs went on to own the fourth quarter though, and won going away, much like Memphis did Sunday. During the run the Mavs seemed helpless, much like Abrams did trying to guard Chris Douglas Roberts, or Augustin trying to break down the Tiger defense.

All losses suck, but sometimes the loss carries with it some extra significance. In 2003, you knew Mark Cuban was going to trade away some key players and fan favorites. Next season it will be strange to see the Horns take the floor sans Augustin and Abrams.

Not every team has the ability to win over fans like these two teams have me. Lots of teams lose in the NCAA Tournament. 64 in fact. But I daresay not all fans of those teams hate to see their teams lose as much as those of a select few. What was special to me about these two teams is how hard they played, both for themselves and for the fans. When Steve Nash was leaving the court after that game in 2003, he made his best effort to acknowledge and thank the fans. You knew that as much as he was upset about his own shortcomings on the floor, he didnt want to let us down. And fans appreciate that effort.

That was how it was watching the Longhorns play this year. They played hard and, man, they hated to lose. In the effort category, Justin Mason was the Horns unequivocal leader all season. I wasnt sold on him early in the season, specifically I thought he was a shaky secondary ball handler to Augustin. As it turned out, I was entirely off base on that, but it was his tough play that made him one of my favorite players to watch. Examples like this abound on the team, which is why even though a lot of people will be frustrated by the way this season ended, eventually this team should be remembered fondly for its tough play and competitiveness.

Fortunately, I have no reason to believe that next seasons squad wont have the same characteristics that made this team so much fun to watch. I wrote a few days ago that Rick Barnes ability to draw that sort of effort from his players is what made him one of the top coaches in college basketball. And one neednt look far into the books to see how Barnes has fared after losing top talent to the NBA.

The future appears bright for UT Basketball with Atchley, James, Mason and lots of young talent returning. But in the meantime, the 2008 team deserves a lot of credit for the way it represented Texas on the national stage all season.\”

i really admire the new frontiers that you travel into year after year. from the beginning, you have sought new ways for the \”average joe\” to feel like a part of their favorite franchise.

here\’s one of the blogs i\’ve posted recently on the injury to Dirk Nowitzki. i hope it\’s too your liking. keep up the great work. we are proud to have you as the owner of our mavericks.

Http://cintatips.blogspot.com
Thanks
Christian

Next up is the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks clinched a playoff spot with their win yesterday.They did it in most dramatic fashion, lead by none other than big German. The Mavs as usual jumped out to an early lead 42-30, before letting the Jazz creep back in it, before eventually taking the lead at 60-59. However, the Mavs never let the lead get past one possesion. The game was up and down in helter skelter fashion until the final minutes. Which concluded as follows: 9 seconds left, Jason Terry makes 2/2 free throw, Mavs up 94-91. Deron Williams banks in a three from way downtown to tie it up at 94 all. Kidd quickly inbounds to Eddie Jones who dribbles up the court and finds a wide open Dirk for a three… Nothing but the bottom of the net with .09 seconds remaining. Deron Williams had a shot to tie it but promptly shot an air ball with Dirk running at his face. That was fun to watch. Dirk has ice in his veins. He is as clutch a player as you can come by nowadays. He has single handedly put this team on his back and carried them into the post season. In true MVP form, not to get carried away but if Dirk hadn\’t won the MVP last year, shouldn\’t he be right up there in the discussion this year? One thing that shouldn\’t be overlooked is the prescence of mind for Eddie Jones to find the best player in the game and just get him the ball. I have no doubts that if Howard or Stackhouse had they would\’ve forced an awkward jumper. Go Mavs!