In case any of you don't keep up with NBA news, tonight the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Denver Nuggets, in Denver, advancing Denver to their first trip to the conference finals in 20 some odd years. Aside from always being happy when Dallas exits the playoffs, this year has a little more sugar on top.
Here's the story regarding the Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Keyon Martin's mother and the city of Dallas:
So Denver was the far superior team, talent wise. This was evident by the first few games not being close. In game 3, the Nuggets were down by 2 with 3 seconds left. The Mavs had a foul to give, which means they could foul someone without that person shooting free throws. The strategy here is to foul someone because it takes time off the clock and prevents a shot from the Nuggets. Without getting into the philosophy of whether or not this tactic is ethical or not, what happened was the Mavs player "tried" to foul Carmello Anthony (out of...championship winning Syracuse), but the foul wasn't called and Mello hit a 3, giving them the lead with about a second to go. This was cause for controversy because the Mavs player "tried" to foul him, but whether or not a foul is called is up to the refs, and they didn't call the foul.
After the game, Mark Cuban, the Mavs owner, was so irate that as he was leaving the stadium he walked past Kenyon Martin (big center for Denver)'s mother and to her face, called her son a reckless thug, and proceeded to heckle her further. A defenseless mother, sitting in the stands, just happy to see her son playing basketball, was yelled at because Mark Cuban has the temper of a 5 year old. The entire Denver team called out Dallas saying they needed an apology. They never received one.
Game 4 was played in Dallas, and Mark Cuban's actions riled up the fans to the point where they heckled Martin's mother and Carmello's fiance in the crowd. A lack of an apology or any real recognition of fault on the organization's part lead to even more unnecessary taunting. Dallas overcame a deficit in the game, and won.
It wasn't until yesterday that Mark Cuban apologized. Via his blog. Now, I'm all for blogging, and Cuban keeps up a decent blog, as idiotic and juvenile as it is. But that's how you apologize? On the blog, Cuban said, "I apologize for my actions and the next time Martin's family is in Dallas they can stay with me and my family in my suite."
Chauncey Billups, Denver point guard, said, "We still feel like Mark needs to apologize in person. And we don't plan on coming back to Dallas." Billups was implying that they wouldn't need to play a game 6, meaning they would take care of Dallas tonight in Denver. And they did, handily, thank God.
Mark Cuban is a pain in the side of the NBA, and sports in general. For a while I thought that his antics were fun and innocent, but after a point, you have to grow up. The entire organization is a joke, from the ground up. These are people that have an influence on the way people feel, and to ignore tact and respect is just absurd.
To emphasize my point, I want to point out this "situation" with Glen Davis and the little kid he shoved. Here's what happened there: Glen Davis hits a game winning jump shot with 2 seconds to go and in his moment of elation and celebration, he sprints down the court and inadvertently pushes a little kid who was standing court side. After the game, the kid's father called Davis, "a reckless animal." From watching it, it was obviously apparent Davis didn't see the kid, seeing as how Davis is plus 6 feet and 250 pounds, and the kid was about 3 feet tall. Davis, however, did publicly apologize saying, "I'm a big guy and sometimes I can't even feel when I sit on the remote. I didn't see the kid, I didn't mean to cause anyone harm and if I caused anyone pain I apologize."
How's that for the way to act? He didn't owe anyone an apology. But he comes out, makes sure everyone is ok, and handles himself with poise and humor. The father of the kid has even since come out and apologized for his harsh behavior. So everyone has apologized and everyone is happy.
This is just the difference between a caliber team like the Celtics versus the caliber of a team like the Mavericks. From the players to coaches to the owners, everyone makes a difference on a sports team and it's about time some people realized that.
There are sports figures who can be heroes. There are sports figures who can lift spirits and bring people together. There are sports figures who can make people feel elation and joy and pride. Then there are sports figures who curse out old ladies.
Thank God we don't have to put up with Mark Cuban anymore, at least until next basketball season.
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