Cursing

Posted on

When I was a kid, one of my favorite comedy routines was George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words.

Words, words, words. My friends and I couldnt get away with cursing so we made up our own language. From the basic, like, Sugar Honey Ice Tea. to, HE double hockey sticks (for those old enough to remember when using the word Hell was considered cursing) to more advanced words for more advanced cursing. This way we could curse in front of parents, teachers, whoever. The intent was the same, but no one knew we were cursing !

I remember thinking back then, that our culture was evolving quickly enough that some day we all would realize the ridiculousness of everyone deciding together to be offended by those seven words. Typical thinking for an 11 year old, right ?

The good news is we didnt.

Now anyone in America can get a rise out of people by using most of Carlin’s 7 Dirty Words. I know I get a rise out of my wife. I cant think of anything funnier than a 3 year old cursing. I mean come on, does it really matter if we say Poo Poo or shit ? Of course not. Unless of course your married and your wife tells you it matters. She doesnt want to be the one who gets phone calls from teachers and other parents getting blamed for all the 3 year olds in the little gym class screaming “Kiss My Ass you Mo Fo”… Me, i couldnt think of anything i would rather see and hear. but thats me.

Back to the point here. I like to curse. I like to curse because I enjoy how it gets everyone in an uproar. I wont curse in an environment where I have accepted an invitation or am a guest of someone else. I will play by their rules.

But if you come on my home turf and want something from me. Its my rules.

Last night in the locker room after we lost in overtime to the heat. I was asked by reporters to answer some questions. I told them i would if they asked good questions and didnt ask the same cliche’d questions they had asked after other games. It was interesting how quiet everyone got.

then someone asked “Is this your worst loss ever” . What the fuck kind of question is that ? Is this for a VH1 special ? “Worst Losses Ever ?” If it was, then maybe it was a decent question. Otherwise, how do you answer that question…

Let me think. Well we have never been to the finals before, and this is our most recent finals lost. The 3rd in a row. So that could make it the Mavs worst ever. There was a baseball game I played in where I hit the ball into the gap and some guy made a diving catch to end the game instead of me driving in the winning runs and winning the tournament. I cried in the dugout after that one. There have been some tough rugby losses. Am I supposed to get this reporter a thought out answer and catalog my past, or a catalog answer like “this was a tough one… yadda yadda, that sounds like every other answer ever given to this type of question after a lost game.

The reality is that it would be a waste of both of our time if i gave him the “this was a tough one” answer, and a waste of my time to really think about it. Particularly given there were 10 other reporters wanting to ask questions and we had a bus to catch

So I told the reporter to “Ask me a real fucking question”

Apparently some folks have taken exception to me cursing in my response. Well in this case, the reporter was using my time, we were in a locker room and I was trying to provide a response that had no value to me, but could only help him. If he doesnt think enough of either of our time to invest the brainpower and minutes it takes to come up with something different than has been asked a thousand times.

Fuck em.

32 thoughts on “Cursing”

  1. Never underestimate the power of biting sarcasm (see: Avery Johnson). The best way to answer that question w/out the backlash would be to stare blankly for 10 seconds, raise both eyebrows, and then say, “Um…really???” Eye roll optional. Next question, please. On the other hand, anyone taking issue w/ a harmless little F-bomb…get over it. Don’t use it and teach your kids not to use it, but the 1st Amendment? Yeah, that sucker says I can use it if I want.
    Stack’s suspension? Utter BS.
    A lot of the officiating last night (and throughout this post-season)? Atrocious.
    That being said, the Mavs can and will play better. I want to see a game 7, and I want to see the trophy reside in Dallas.

    Comment by Becky -

  2. http://www.zippyvideos.com/6005480305406336/violation/

    Comment by Magic Fan -

  3. As I said before, the NBA sucks.
    Superstars identified by the NBA are treated on court to a different set of rules.
    And listening to the NBA and news,Wade is in transition and the shack is handing him the baton. It will make a better story for Wade to get MVP, shack to get another ring and the heat to win. Think about it, if the Mavs win, then everybody is now going to say that Mark paid them off with all of his money.
    Get over it Mavs, the Heat are going to win becuase that is what the NBA office wants.

    Mark, good luck on changing the good old boy group that has been around for 40 years that I have been following the NBA.
    They let your team (Mavs) get to this series so they can put you in place.

    Comment by Jim -

  4. Hey Mark et al,

    Its a tough call on that one. I am on your side about 99% of the time and have been stewing in my Mavs fan juices since the end of overtime (still angry about that call on Dirk – you know when Wade created the contact on Devon and Dirks leg might have grazed Wade’s shorts).

    However, while it was stupid for reporters to ask you to answer questions at a time you were clearly angry beyond words (and in the locker room)…once you agreed to answer questions you are somewhat responsible for your public utterances. If you believe saying the word “fuck” in a public forum should not be considered obscene ok but as an owner you probably know the vast majority of parents in this country disagree with you on that one.

    Not saying you should not be able to utter it I am saying you (maybe) should show restraint once you are “on the MIC.”

    Personally, I think every kid in the world knows every curseword in the world…but for some reason a million people lose their minds whenever anyone utters any dirty word…I think its about how we want ourselves to look in public and about trying to look and seem nobler than our basest language instincts.

    Anyway, hope we give em hell tomorrow night! Wish I could be there (transplanted Mavs fan in Michigan).

    Josh

    Comment by Joshua Hoe -

  5. Yeah, I almost get your twisted logic… It almost makes sense why you cursed at Bruce Bowen too. So what’s next, throwing a beer can or two at visiting players?

    Seriously, being an iconoclast is fine. But some things are just plain wrong, even if people have deemed them wrong for a long time. Like cursing at a player who is a guest at your court.

    Comment by hari -

  6. Devin should’ve done a Wade. Lay on the floor for a while, act like your dying, go out on a stretcher. Then mayhbe the league would see what could really happen if they let Shaq keep throwing elbows!

    Comment by Katie -

  7. Sh,Pi,Fu,Cu,CS,Mofo and Tits..
    And Tits shouldn’t even be on the list !!!
    It sounds like a snack….I know…it is…
    LOL…just quoting Carlin to lift your spirits.
    This war…tell your soldiers to hang in there.
    Real fans believe in them.

    Comment by Dean -

  8. CUBAN

    Yeah I think it is f—ed up, when the team that you’d paid for and own, gets taken advantage of,just because the NBA’s comissioner has animosity with you, now that is real F—ed up. No team should have to suffer from what the owner says,because the owner is not the one on the court; it is the players and these players are called a f—in TEAM. I take my hats off to you and Avery for finally saying enough is enough with this BS>

    Comment by Jennifer -

  9. Devin should’ve done a Wade. Lay on the floor for a while, act like your dying, go out on a stretcher. Then mayhbe the league would see what could really happen if they let Shaq keep throwing elbows!

    Comment by Katie -

  10. hell yes. i’m glad we’re getting angry. AAC needs to EXPLODE tomorrow.

    Comment by C-MAN -

  11. Is it true that Joe De Rosa is connected to the Heat’s front office???? Smell that?? Yup the fish in Miami stink and I am not talking about the Marlins!!!
    ***Joe’s nephew is married to Billy Kartkins daughter in the Heat front office…

    Fishy don’t you think???

    Comment by R J R -

  12. I appreciate all that you have dome for the Mavericks…but don’t give them what they are looking for.

    If YOUR kids talk like that it is funny and cute. If you weren’t a Billionaire and your kids talk like that – You are considered White Trash. Regardless of what you think is okay – you should respect what others think and believe. At some point, they are going to have to fit in with everyone else. You have the same veiws as an 18 year old father.

    Win with class…lose with class.

    Next time, just end the interveiw.

    Comment by Neil Payne -

  13. Right on!

    People get off too easy for sleep walking through their life. I personally would give my left nut(if I hadn’t already promised it to my wife) to be interviewing NBA personalities. Yet these “journalists” cement their enviable position by asking snoozer questions. The worst part is that they get rewarded for their laziness by their bosses who are also looking for a “quote in a box” for their daily shite.

    Fuck ’em.

    Comment by Coach M -

  14. You are right on. Cursing is hilarious when a three year old does it. It get the f’ing point across probably better than any other thing might, and it is a good way to say I AM DONE WITH YOU, so f-off a-whole. It has its place and time. I only avoid it here because i an afraid my kids will find it! I have a 5 and 12 year old. I only wish I could have been there to hear you tell the idiots to ask real f’ing questions. HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…………………… You go… And PS, RATHER?!? you fucking retard. Sorry i slipped.

    Comment by Rob Thrasher -

  15. You are right on. Cursing is hilarious when a three year old does it. It get the f’ing point across probably better than any other thing might, and it is a good way to say I AM DONE WITH YOU, so f-off a-whole. It has its place and time. I only avoid it here because i an afraid my kids will find it! I have a 5 and 12 year old. I only wish I could have been there to hear you tell the idiots to ask real f’ing questions. HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…………………… You go… And PS, RATHER?!? you fucking retard. Sorry i slipped.

    Comment by Rob Thrasher -

  16. this site should be called the cry baby site!! Thats all you do hear is cry.. Does anyone need some kleenex? Play basketball and quit your crying!!!!

    Comment by mason mishcon -

  17. Lovely post, Mark. I have to agree with you about cussing getting a response out of people. And (sorry folks) hearing a little kid cuss is actually quite amusing but then again, I find comedy in everything. If I had a dollar for everytime I collapsed into giggles after I heard a kid cuss then I’d be rich.

    I can also feel for you about the idiotic questions the reporters ask. Where do they pull some of these questions from anyway? When the foreign reporters are asking more meaningful and deserving questions than the American reporters there’s a bit of a problem. Really. How many times can these reporters re-word (if they’re smart enough) the same questions over and over? And if they aren’t the cliche’d over asked questions then it’s the completely stupid ones like the ESPN guy asking Dirk about the Basketball gods. WTF? I fell in the floor and laughed my ass off at that one.

    Anyway, I’m glad you’re able to blog again. I was missing my Cuban fix. Good Luck on Tuesday and wish Dirk a happy birthday from a girl blogging the Finals.

    Comment by Rebeccalee Coventry -

  18. I LOVE YOU MARK CUBAN!!!!

    Comment by Zehra -

  19. oh, and i think it’s hilarious that whenever wade scores they always zoom into you and you can always lip read something like “BULLSHIT” or “FUCK”..i find it entertaining. screw the reporters and what they think.

    Comment by jia -

  20. Hey Cuban, Sent an email, but Shaq threw a blantant elbow / forearm into Devin’s head sometime in the 4th when we went to Hack a Shaq and it showed it on ABC for a second, I don’t recall if it actually connected or not but the rule states that if it’s thrown connect or not, it warrants suspension, take a look at it and go to town with it, I want Shaq’s bullying gone in game 6.

    Comment by Chris -

  21. Mark, I completely agree with your comment on how you handled the interviewer, I was thoroughly disappointed by the loss and could imagine the owner of the Mavs being much more disappointed, especially when you told them they could ask questions only if they were good questions, and they ask that. Almost as funny as when Avery flipped it on the reports in post game and started asking them questions.

    Comment by Mavs Fan -

  22. Mike B: What the hell are you talking about… when teams are so pissed over a game like that, how can you NOT expect emotions to be vocalized? Check out the media availability clips, I don’t think there was a single player or coach who wasn’t furious.

    Comment by Michael -

  23. Thats REAL classy. You just mad cuz you know your season is about to be over, idiot. And im sure your battery died, you could have easily bought another one even if it did. W/e GO HEAT!! ONE MORE WIN!!

    Comment by GO HEAT -

  24. we’ll win. for sure. no matter what. we better. or else.

    Comment by jia -

  25. You guys need to harness this anger into two of the most dominating performances in NBA history Tuesday and Thursday. Let the other anger be displayed by the pissed off fans. Nothing more beautiful in my mind than to see Herr Stern get lustily booed as he brings in the title hardware to hand it to you guys.

    Comment by Mike -

  26. Yeah, sometimes the shit they ask is just ridiculous… very similar to the calls at the end of the game. Let’s give them hell games 6 and 7.

    Comment by Michael -

  27. You have zero decency, and you have zero regard for other people. All the money in the world cannot buy that. I suppose it has made you successful at what you do, but you are no gentleman. All that matters to you is money and winning. That is no example to set for the children of America.

    Comment by Mike Beyer -

  28. holy @#it dude. didnt see that one coming.

    Comment by J in Dallas -

  29. Mark,
    I completely agree with you abt the cursing rules in public. In fact, I listed my views abt ‘placebo curses’ in one of my blogs recently.

    http://sandeepmsn.blogspot.com/2006/02/hundred-thousand-curses.html

    Hope the Mavs come back strong at home and win it all!
    Go mavs,
    Sandeep

    Comment by Sandeep -

  30. I say who cares what other people think. Cursing is not as bad as everyone says it is. Curse words are just words.

    Also:

    Mr. Cuban –
    Why aren’t you taking major action about the Stackhouse suspension. It was unneeded and wrong. He pushed Shaq down, and that deserved a flagrant, but surely not a suspension. The Mavs only lost their last game by a few points. They probably would’ve won with Stackhouse.

    GO MAVERICKS!!!

    Comment by Boris -

  31. Just remember to have class, Mark.

    Comment by Ernie Garrett -

  32. You should have said that the ’92 NLCS was the worst loss you have (or will ever) experienced. Anybody that has ever been a fan of the Bucs cried all night on that one as Barry Bonds wouldn’t listen to Andy Van Slyke and play up on Francisco Cabrera. That being said, Go Heat!!

    Comment by aaron klueber -

Comments are closed.