I change my schedule so I can watch the USA play Argentina in a huge Olympics match-up. I sit down in front of myTV, and flip through the NBC Olympic Multiplex of channels. I’m excited about the game. With no Mavs playing, I can watch and not be worried about injuries, and I love the team basketball and how hard our guys play.
I flip, no game anywhere.
I go to the website. It’s the end of the first quarter already.
I’m sure it’s a rating decision for NBC, and they will show the game, and/or highlights later. I can understand what they are doing. They have many events, and they want to maximize their return on their investment. Smart business on their end.
I wish the NBA had the same sense. We are now at a point where we have more than 500mm dollars in NBA salaries tied up and at risk in this game, and we can’t even watch it live. In fact,we have no idea how much of the game we will be able to see.
So explain to me why we are putting at risk, more than half a billion dollars in salaries that we are obligated to pay and many of our most important NBA players. Why are we making money for the, “we will sue you if you have a ring or use the word Olympics in your business,” Olympics and their partners?
The visibility????
m
hmmmmmmm cool
Comment by Short Funny Jokes -
I agree with you Mr. Cool And Smart
Comment by Sodhi -
Its all about the money
Comment by Cool And Smart -
Its all about money
Comment by Cool And Smart -
The differences in the rules and the lack of commitment of “best players” in the States + the fact that the US team not playing long enough together probably contributed quite a bit to their loss. Let’s all hope that this serves a good cause and we see NBA players more willing to represent Team USA. (cut the dream team out, 1992 was the only Dream Team ever if you ask me :-P)
Comment by runescape money -
First off you have to hope that by exposing the rest of the world to NBA players, you would be able to spark interest and revenues from foriegn countries. I think David Stern has also a number of times voiced his interest in expanding the NBA into Europe. I think another reason would be the continued development of foriegn players.
Comment by wow powerleveling -
However, watch his expressions when he led China out in the opening ceremony (pride) and his head held low throughout the huge press conference when China lost their first game and the post game conference. (dejection) Add to that is his vow of not shaving if China doesn’t make it to the top 8 for 6 months and their miracle victory over Serbia and his sheer joy afterwards and you can clearly see a player who feels pride representing his country in a sport.
Comment by 货架 -
The game was shown live on the east coast.
I would have thought that someone with your money would have the NBC East channels on DirectTV and would have been able to watch the game live.
If you had waited a couple hours before posting, you would also have been able to see the entire game, albeit tape delayed a couple hours.
With regards to your question about why you should have to put these salaries at risk, I have a more general question.
Is there some rule that prevents you from putting language into players’ contracts preventing them from participating in international tournaments?
I know that the league has to approve the language of all contracts (which is why rumors that Kobe wanted language in his contract that would guarantee his salary even with a criminal conviction were laughable)
I would guess the probable answer is that the Players Union would throw a fit.
When Jeff Kent broke his wrist *cough* washing his truck *cough* (i.e. motorcycle jumping or something similarly asinine) there was language in his contract that would have allowed his team to void his contract. I don’t understand why NBA Owners don’t have that same kind of latitude. If a player gets hurt doing something dangerous, or playing for his international team (of his own volition, aka Dirk) and he gets hurt, it should be his problem. You should be able to void the contract immediately.
Maybe this is something you owners should have David Stern add to his list of things to address for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement
Comment by T.D. -
If I was an NBA owner, I’d make my top players agree to not play in tournaments/events outside of the NBA unless I gave them permission – written into the contract (when a new contract was being made)
Comment by Steve -
Mark, am I to understand that in these extraordinary contracts you NBA owners are giving out that there is no clause for non team-related injury. Say, Dirk gets hurt playing for Germany in the Olympics. Why should he be entitled to his full contract? If Stephon Marbury gets hurt when he plays at Rucker Park, he should not be entitled to his full contract. If an NBA guy is hurt away from his team functions and responsibilities, (practice court, bus, hotel, game, meeting, etc…), he should not be entitled to his full pay. Along with these big contracts and salaries should come big responsibility and liability. If I get hurt and miss work, I may get a couple sick days, but them I’m assed out. The same should apply to the NBA.
I know this would also open an honesty issue, but you can be sure that 99% you will know if someone’s injury originated on your dime or their’s.
So to answer your question, you, in theory, should not have to worry about them getting injured. But, you wrote the contract.
I also suspect a clause like this would show who actually wants to represent their country. Imagine who would actually say yes or no knowing that an injury could mess up their contract. I think the true patriot would shine thru. (Think Pat Tillman)
On a side note, the argument of TeamUSA not being able to adjust to international play is crap. Stop that argument now. These guys are PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS. There is absolutely no explanation why they can’t learn different aspects of the game. There is absolutely NO merit to this argument.
Good luck on your show Mark.
Comment by Mark -
I don’t know if I agree with the glib answers that people are giving about lack of team play and the internationjal style of play being superior. While I agree that basketball is a team sport, I am not sure the internationals play anything closer to team ball. The constant stop and pop at the three point line doesn’t get anyone else involved any more than the break away dunk.
And I wonder if the twelve “invdividual players” we brought to Athens had names like KG, Shaq, or even Jordan, if the international bandwagoners would have had something to say.
The bottom line is we did not bring the right talent, not that the NBA is less talented. In fact, any of the top teams, maybe most of the bottom teams, would beat any international team on any given night, regardless of style.
In closing, do you think Shaq plays team ball? Then why is he worth so much in the East now?
Comment by Joshua Page -
The NBA did not have a team to send in the first place. NBA sent individual players who do not have team skills. The embarrassment was written all over Larry Brown’s face.
A word to the wise to any NBA coach reading this. Get a European or Latin coach to teach your team that team play really works in a team sport.
Comment by matt kohn -
no in- depth analysis here no real point just wanted to say it sucked that the US team didn’t make it to the finals.
at least no one got hurt.
Comment by ya know what -
i really feel that larry brown was not playing the best players all of the time. and for emeka okafur to not get any playing time is flat out wrong. ok so lateiner didn’t get any in barcelona but look who was on his team. okafur would have been swatting away drives to the basket left and right. and don’t quote me on this but i believe he has had some int’l experience before these games when he was at UCONN.
Comment by B FAIS -
I think these games were fantastic for Allen Iverson – so good in fact, that if you were to pick him up Mark – I would become a Mavericks fan and buy his jersey…
Imagine how great it would be to watch Iverson play with some good players?
Comment by James -
“Come on, man… It was on NBC the whole time – all too live… If you made a simple mistake like mess up an Eastern/Central time zone scenario then come runnong on here to bash the Olympics,”
WRONG. The game was not live in the Central, Mountain or Pacific time zones. I wanted to take my lunch and watch the game at Noon. I couldn’t because the bozos at NBC tape-delayed it one hour so they could shove in more commercials.
Pathetic.
Generally, I don’t agree with Mark’s comments about the Olympics. This post was right on!
Comment by Scott Patterson -
I find it very amusing that there are actually people who will come onto this site and bash Mark Cuban.
I appreciate the fact that Mark types out his thoughts and allows us to comment on them. How many billionaires do you know of that would do this other than Mark?
Yeah, I couldn’t find a Donald Trump Blog when I searched http://www.icerocket.com either.
Keep up the good work Mark!
I hope Dampier works out!
Comment by Johnny C. -
Great game! I couldn’t believe wining to the dream team! And now we have the gold!
Go Argentina Go!
Comment by Eduardo -
Just a check on the Mark basher above, Matt. He says:
“Yet the more you talk, the more I dislike the person you appear to be. I understand the almighty dollar – I am an objectivist, capitalist and pragmatist.”
There’s no such thing as an Objectivist pragmatist (Ayn Rand’s ideas are strongly, and clearly against pragmatism). So you’re not what you claim to be. If you were abusing Rand’s Objectivism as a means to give credence to your argument philosophically, you failed miserably by displaying you don’t even know the philosophy you supposedly represent.
A capitalist doesn’t “understand” the almighty dollar in the sense that you mean it (it’s not almighty first of all; it’s a means to an end and a rational reward for productivity, it’s not a primary). A capitalist understands productivity, monitary value is a secondary consequence. Consider straightening out the contradictions in yourself, before you attempt to bash anyone else.
Comment by Jonathan -
if you comments were in reference to the basketball team..
Man the Olymics are messed up in that reguard. When I played Soccer and tried out and made the “jr olympic” team in soccer we had Trials to go through .. long long tryout.. with suporting games FOR YEARS.. the way they do it now is disgraceful.. and just stupid… and you get what you get.. a bunch of overpaid pros that dont even know WHAT THE ZONE IS !!!!!! and how to play it
Comment by Mike Verinder -
I was into that game until I happened to surf by the New York Times web site and saw the final score. Oh well, if it ain’t in HD, then it ain’t on.
Seriously, if the U.S. wants to win the gold in 2008, then the U.S. needs to pick its team in 2006 for the world championships. See how we do there, trim players with bad attitudes, and then come back with mostly the same roster in 2007 and play a months worth of exhibition games in Europe. Save a couple of roster spots for a pair of stand out college players from the class of 2008.
In 2008, again trim a few more players with bad attitudes or pick up some players who meet our immediate needs, keeping the nucleus from 2006-2007, then get that team together the week after the NBA finals. Start playing exhibition games a month before the Olympics.
Alternatively, we could just send the winner of the NBA finals in 2008 to Bejing. 🙂
Dennis
Comment by Dennis Whiteman -
It’s almost surreal how a man who doesn’t hesitate to throw 70 mil at a 9/8 center who only tries in his contract years, suddenly becomes so money concious as to want to deny millions of people the pleasure of watching NBA stars battle the rest of the world because of the less than miniscule chance of one of his players getting injured.
Are you so egotistic that you’d rather send a bunch of college kids to be slaughtered by the likes of New Zealand and Angola simply because you and a couple of other suits can’t get your hands on a slice of the olympic pie?
How sad.
Comment by Kurtz -
Mark,
Acquiring Dampier was a master stroke. In a league with no centers, you found one. Again, once the critics have written off the Mavs, you make the move to make them relevant again. BTW, you can see the Maverick blueprint all over the Lithuanian team. The high pick and roll worked to perfection. The Mavs are legit contenders next year. Again, all praise to the savior of the franchise.
Comment by James -
M,
I agree with you on the Olympic coverage. I don’t think people in the US actually realize how bad our olympic coverage is.
On that note, we really are not a culture of international sport fans. We don’t really live and breath for international compettion like the rest of the world.
Many people think of soccer as the international game and although it is the biggest sport on the planet, played in every single country, there are also sports that go on year round (athletics, swimming, even basketball).
Everywhere else in the world, domestic competition is certainly of interest, but nothing to the level of a culture united for their country in international competition. The thing is, those players in those sports for those countries truly understand the value of playing for your country. It’s the highest level of achievement and respect in your sport.
So, just as we have 500M on the floor, other countries/clubs/sponsors have the similar investments (obviously relevent and comparitive to thier values) as well. In most cases, the national governing bodies have insurance plans for the players under contract at their clubs (like in soccer).
So, why should we put a 500M investment on the floor? Simple: To be the best! Although we are not an international sport culture, nothing will elevate us to that level like losing in basketball at that level.
Many people thought the US winning in soccer would change the international awareness, but I have always felt that us winnign in any sport would be part of the US psyche that eventually we will be good in anything we seek to do.
The thing that makes basketball interesting and valuable to that effect is that it IS an American sport! Thus, eventually, people (hopefully those running the game first) will notice Europe has better infrastrucutre in their system than the US (with a club model, cradel to the grave) that is starting to produce better players more regularly (just look at the draft) AND they value international competition at the club and national level.
Although it sucks we lost and there is perceived risk, it excites me at the opportunity for the US to take notice and make possibly make some structual changes in the game and that at some point we can have a true interest in the World Championships (as well as Olympics) but even more a TRUE world club championship (and some decent International sport coeverage too!).
M
Comment by localsports.com -
I wasn’t exactly harping over Yao Ming’s commitment. I was just using that as an example that there are players who are more than willing to represent their country. Think Iverson.
As for citizenship being a technicality, well that is a given. Most countries in Asia have “imported” players from China. Think badminton and ping pong whereby most of the players were “practice fodder” for the China team. Like the Hong Kong Men Doubles Ping Pong team which won silver. In an interview, it was revealed that they wanted out of China because all they were doing was just a live practice batter for the national team. They made it to the province (think state) team but was not deemed good enough. So a “mutually beneficial” arrangement whereby they “immigrated” to Hong Kong and represented their new country in the Olympics ultimately winning Hong Kong’s only olympic medal (silver) in Athens.
Another example would be how the Australian Diving team is becoming a force in the world. The “technology” transfer of hiring Chinese coaches has propelled their diving team into a force. They managed to win a gold medal in diving and a silver in the men’s 10m platform jump. The hiring of the coaches has only being a mere 2-3 years so I think such “transfers” will continue.
Lastly, for those who think the US is not guilty of such actions. There have been evidence that the US track & field team have been hoping to poach Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic. “It would be real easy to put USA on your chest” so says USA Track a& Field Executive officer Craig Masback at the US Trials (or at least as far as I recall reading in the newspaper. Felix Sanchez is the Olympic Champion(Athens) in the 400m hurdles and unbeaten for 3 years. Ironically, Pedro Sanchez is born in New York, raised in Cali but represents Dominican Republic because his parents were born there.
But back to Basketball, the differences in the rules and the lack of commitment of “best players” in the States + the fact that the US team not playing long enough together probably contributed quite a bit to their loss. Let’s all hope that this serves a good cause and we see NBA players more willing to represent Team USA. (cut the dream team out, 1992 was the only Dream Team ever if you ask me :-P)
Comment by Jacob Pang -
I am off-topic here– but I just had to know something.
Iverson was hopping mad in an interview today– and Stern had a comment in it as well.. he said that “any GM or Owner in the NBA would trade their entire roster for the team we sent to the Olympics.”
I’m thinking “NO”– I saw Melo and LeBron’s attitudes on the sidelines during the semi-final Argentina game– and it was EMBARRASSING! I was ashamed to watch them acting like five year olds.. mimicing that they would “go buck wild” on the Argentinians. That, and the fact that we weren’t a “TEAM”.. we looked like total and complete chumps and we DESERVED to lose the way we played. Those kids (and I say kids fairly– median age of the players was 23.6)walked into the Athens Arena.. expecting the games to just be handed to them– we looked like idiots. We send no three-point-shooters to the games– yeah– *that* was a wonderful idea!!
Hey– it ain’t THEIR (the other international teams) fault that WE sent a sub-standard team to the olympics. Yes– these players are stars in their own right– but they never even attempted to gel and get things right.
The US/Argentina semi-final game was gut-wrenching to watch (those refs have some SERIOUS probs with Duncan– his fouls were RIDICULOUS and should have not been called for 1/2 of them– I actually watched *all* the games in the olympics– well– at least what they showed me– i missed the first quarter of the semi-final game, as well).
But back to the original point– would you trade the entire roster of the Mavs for the team that won the bronze at the Olympics?
God, I hope not.
Comment by Rosanna -
…since not a lot of people are posting at the moment. why not…ask John Stockton, David Robinson, Michael Jordan, and other recently retired players, who can still play? those examples, and others, physically and mentally, would be great for international play. their skills, age, and leadership would be very valuable.
Comment by Brian -
…are pretty egotistical. our team won Bronze today. we all question the player’s heart and drive, we question the players who turned down the opportunity, we question larry brown….maybe the rest of the world is just that good and improved?! i must say that the selection of players was definately a huge part of why we’re not the gold medal winners. if we have the right combination of players, we’re still the absolute best in the world. but any team of ours would’ve had some trouble. there wouldn’t be any 30 or 20 point wins anymore for us. no matter what. but maybe we should be giving all the European teams a little more credit.
Comment by Brian -
Clarification: I’m not questioning Yao’s motive for playing, I’m questioning the rationale of the Olympic committee allowing athletes to represent countries in which they no longer reside. Citizenship has been reduced to a piece of paper, a ‘technicality’.
Comment by John -
I know it showed live in many parts of the country, but it wasn’t live here in San Francisco. The NBC broadcast was delayed 3 hours, just like the women’s gold medal soccer match.
Comment by Arthur Che -
It was not shown live here in Austin
Comment by greg -
I had not only the US game live but the Chinese game live as well. I’ve had so much Olympic coverage that I’m a bit dizzy. There are Olympics on at least one channel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. NBC, CNBC,MSNC,NBCHD, Bravo, USA, Telemundo. They even added a highlight channel on the Dish (#147).
Comment by Andrew Leyden -
Yao Ming is playing because he wants to represent the country. I do believe that there might be some clause in his contract that stipulates that he must play for China national team. And I bet the Rockets will be fuming mad if he gets injured in the Olympics.
However, watch his expressions when he led China out in the opening ceremony (pride) and his head held low throughout the huge press conference when China lost their first game and the post game conference. (dejection) Add to that is his vow of not shaving if China doesn’t make it to the top 8 for 6 months and their miracle victory over Serbia and his sheer joy afterwards and you can clearly see a player who feels pride representing his country in a sport.
Sure the olympics might be an overhyped huge marketed “patriotic” event. Well, in a way, it is the same for every other sport, the NBA is no different in that people who live in the home city is often rooting for their home team versus others. Nothing new in that.
As for the economic sense, I think there are way more qualified people on this blog who knows what they are talking about then me.
Comment by Jacob Pang -
why the owner of HDNET is complaining about another network’s coverage of, or the lack thereof, a sporting event.
I want to know why Yao Ming is playing for the Chinese national team. The guy owns a 3500 sqft home in Houston and (probably) lives in the states more than half the year. He’s more American than the millions of Mexicans living and working in this country. The Olympics and many many Olympians are corrupt hypocrites and I couldn’t care less.
Comment by John -
Another guy who plays for the Virgin Islands team is our formerly very own Raja Bell. Repsect.
Comment by Tim -
Dear Mark,
I came to your blog as one of the largest “Mark Cuban” fans on the planet. You aligned the stars – make the company, make the deal, get big $ and buy an NBA team BECAUSE YOU CAN. Your turnaround of the Mav’s is spectacular. Your business sense seems to be pretty on the nose.
Yet the more you talk, the more I dislike the person you appear to be. I understand the almighty dollar – I am an objectivist, capitalist and pragmatist. And yet movies can move me. Dreams and emotions can add to life and complicate things. You do not seem to leave room for anything BUT the dollar. Why buy the team? There are many better investments.
I was disappointed when the Mav’s were eliminated last year, but it was foreseeable. I was more crushed when Phelps lost to Thorpe. I wanted the American sweep. I wanted history. I wanted 8 gold medals on one worthy young man. One who won’t make Dampier’s salary in his entire life.
The NBA won’t be making money for the Olympics during the gold medal game and as patriotic as I feel towards Gatlin and Crawford, I can’t help but laugh at our hoops failure. Was it must-see tv, Mark? Were you that interested in our ultimate demise?
Dreams, Mark…how many teams won championships during Jordan’s heyday? How many NBA players suffered by losing the last game of their season during that run? Sometimes, just SOMETIMES, Mark, the NBA isn’t the ONLY thing in the entire basketball universe.
Disgustedly yours,
Matt
Comment by Matt -
Mark, I really don’t see your point about injuries at all. I’m absolutely positive every single player you have under contract plays in pick-up games during the summer, totally unregulated, on sometimes dusty or slippery courts…do you suppose the NBA cryogenically freezes players during the off-season, thawing them only a few days before training camp so they can say hello to their families?
Comment by Gary -
If you play in the NBA, then you should not be allowed to play on a foreign team. They’ll take our money, but go and act like they are represtning their 3rd wolrd country. What a joke.
U.S. should be embarrassed. Their a disgrace. Typical street ballin thug gangsters. All can penetrate, jump, and dribble the same they could when they were 7 playing in “da hood”, but never have any actual playing ability except for Duncan.
Comment by J.R. Ewing -
From what I remember, Duncan is playing for the USA because he played for the USA a few years ago, before the Virgin Islands had a team. Once he played for the US, he could not play for the Virgin Islands, so that is why he is still on Team USA — it was either Team USA or don’t play. ESPN.com had an article about it a long time ago, and how it was weird for Duncan to play on Team USA against the Virgin Islands.
Comment by Eric -
Regarding the comment by Brad and if Duncan was “American” or not. Check out this web page:
http://www.livingroom.org.au/olympics/countries/Virgin_Islands_Olympic_Team.php
Currently they have no medals.
Also, the NBA lists Duncan as an “International Player” here:
http://www.nba.com/players/international_player_directory.html
Tim Duncan should be playing for the Virgin Islands just like Carlos Arroyo plays for Puerto Rico (even though the FBI has juristiction).
Comment by greg -
I live in West Texas and caught the game on USA network at about 6:45 a.m.
Comment by Ally -
Come on now, the players didn’t force you guys to pay them millions of dollars to play a game for a living. NBA players, like any other athlete participating in the Olympics, should have the right to decide if they play or not. It’s the fault of the owners who have decided to invest that much money in their players.
As far as NBC goes, makes no sense not to show that game live in the DFW area. That I cannot explain. Makes absolutely no sense. Hey, I’ve got it! Buy the local channel 5 and you can do what you want. Make it into a 24 hour Mavericks channel. I’d rather watch that than the Cowboy channel.
Comment by John -
the game was delayed by about a hour to parts of the country including dallas, apparently some of the country did get to see it live, doesnt sound like we missed much………
Comment by monal -
How about some information about Dampier. ESPN reports his contract is for seven years yet you refused to give Steve Nash a seven year contract. Please explain your turnaround.
Comment by Joe -
“anyone who doesn’t think our guys are trying and care about it is a moron”, close enough quote.
AS IF the words TRY and CARE are black and white. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say they try at about a 6 and care at about a 4, and if someone can’t see that, then we know who the moron is.
Comment by Ralph Cox -
“anyone who doesn’t think our guys are trying and care about it is a moron”, close enough quote.
AS IF the words TRY and CARE are black and white. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say they try at about a 6 and care at about a 4, and if someone can’t see that, then we know who the moron is.
Comment by Ralph Cox -
Come on, man… It was on NBC the whole time – all too live… If you made a simple mistake like mess up an Eastern/Central time zone scenario then come runnong on here to bash the Olympics, well, that goes down in the books as one of the all-time “egg-on-the-face” moves ever!
Comment by cory -
Now that IS funny. Same as the team.
Comment by Ralph Cox -
hay mark. im from plano and the game is supposedly live (thats what it keeps on saying on the top left hand corner once in a while). anyways i dont think the game started till 1:00 central time. well in any case, this game has been so crazy. i cant help but sit here and laugh at the officiating. its a mad house out there…
Comment by cali -
The USA players have chosen to participate in Olympics and were not required to play. So why does it matter what their salaries are, or that they might be injured, or that they aren’t on live television. The Olympics is about the spirit of international competition; not branding rights.
Comment by scott -
Mark,
I’ll be the first to say that NBC has taken the Olympics into being a business and money maximizing event. They have done it to the point where I haven’t watched more than an hour or two this year. I’ll try to answer your question with my own opinion why it would be good for you to have NBA players in “the games.” First off you have to hope that by exposing the rest of the world to NBA players, you would be able to spark interest and revenues from foriegn countries. I think David Stern has also a number of times voiced his interest in expanding the NBA into Europe. I think another reason would be the continued development of foriegn players. We didn’t see a lot of players coming out of Spain, Germany, etc. before ’92. Now it seems fairly common that a few Europeans go in the first round of the draft.
I do see your point about if a player were to be injured playing and you being stuck with his contract. Maybe that is something to deal with when negotiating the next CBA.
Thanks..
MattyB
Comment by MattyB from Riverdale -
Not sure if you realize that… Unless you think the Virgin Islands are a country…
Comment by Brad -
You ask:
“So explain to me why we are putting at risk, more than half a billion dollars in salaries that we are obligated to pay and many of our most important NBA players”
No one will come up with an answer that will satisfy me, you, or anyone else you views the NBA as a business. This has become a battle of “pull”. The networks lobby the masses to treat this as a patriotic event, calling to the public to pull for “a person” who happens to be the same nationality (or was obtained the same nationality, like Hakeem or Duncan…what a joke). And these games are supposed to “unite the world”? Eh? This creates division in the world! Somewhere, Gene Roddenberry is rolling in his grave as his vision of a World Federation is being sliced away by NBC’s ‘us verses them’ mentality.
Mark, the BEST example of a world-unifiying sports event I see is the NBA season. Call me biased….or call me visionary. Nothing is better than seeing an Argentinian passing to a Virgin Islander in the paint, only to be swatted away by a German and Mexican (adios Eddie, we loved ya!) trapping D. That is world unifying….Not Ginobili vs. Duncan ….rather Ginobili “to” Duncan. Wordly, unifying, and pretty damn exciting (especially when Dampier stuffs Duncan’s baseline shot).
I personally do not waste my time on the Olympics. I spend my “sports minutes” reading about the upcomming NBA season, and playing a PS2 game or two with Dampier now at center (he’s nasty).
Ready for ’04-’05. Me and other Mav fans are eager to see your comments on pulling off this great Dampier deal!
Comment by greg -
The USA players have chosen to participate in Olympics and were not required to play. So why does it matter what their salaries are, or that they might be injured, or that they aren’t on live television. The Olympics is about the spirit of international competition; not branding rights.
Comment by scott -
were watching the game live in Canada. This came should be on every were in the states.
Comment by deanna -
I have it live on NBC in Cleveland
Comment by Bill K -
Heard on the Ticket you were p’ed off, so I thought you might post. I’m at work so no big deal to me if they delay it an hour, but if they’re not going to run it live why don’t they wait until prime time tonight so I can watch it then? (OK, I tivo’d it so I’m still going to watch it tonight, but you get the point)
Comment by jeff -
Appears to be a local decision by nbc-5….arrggghhhh!
Comment by Eric -
I’m in NYC and the game is on live on our local NBC station.
Comment by Keith -