232 replies to this topic

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://blog.mysanant...avs-wcf-triumph
Cuban couldn’t stick to silence after Mavs’ WCF triumph.
Posted by Tim Griffin.

"Dallas owner Mark Cuban exults in his team's Western Conference championship, pushing them to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2006.

Vociferous Dallas owner Mark Cuban understandably couldn’t resist exulting in his team’s Western Conference Finals series triumph over Oklahoma City Wednesday night.

Since the beginning of the playoffs, we’ve been treated to the silent Cuban, who has been seen or heard little during the Mavericks’ run to their first NBA Finals berth since 2006.

After Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki said he would prefer for his boss to take less of the spotlight before semifinals series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Cuban has kept his mouth shut.

That is, until Wednesday night.

He side-stepped the question of why he has been so quiet and then thanked the fans at the American Airlines Center for their support.

But then, we saw the old Cuban emerge — if only for a few seconds.

Cuban couldn’t resist punctuating his speech by screaming “We ain’t done yet!”

Dallas fans then responded with chants of “Beat the Heat.”

Cuban has been one of the biggest villains for Spurs Nation over the years with his comments about the city of San Antonio and disdain for the Spurs franchise.

Has there been enough of a change for Spurs fans to forgive his previous missteps as they revel in a championship run for another team from the state?

Or would they like to see the Mavericks lose in four games in the NBA Finals to whomever emerges from the Eastern Conference?"

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://blog.mysanant...he-quiet-cuban/
Nowitzki likes the quiet Cuban.
Posted by Tim Griffin.

"Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he prefers for his owner Mark Cuban to remain silent during the playoffs. (Photo courtesy of NBA Images)Bombastic Dallas owner Mark Cuban faded into the woodwork during the Mavericks’ playoff sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Mavericks leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki prefers for his owner to continue his silence.

The Express-News’ Mike Monroe touched on the reticent Cuban earlier this week. And the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Nowitzki was happy that a “silent and backed-off” Cuban didn’t upstage the action on the court during the recent Lakers’ series.

“Yeah, it should be about the players and not the owner,” Nowitzki said. “We played a great series. We fought hard and battled. That was fun. I haven’t seen Mark since then, and that’s probably a good thing.”

Cuban became a huge storyline during the Mavericks’ loss in the 2006 NBA Finals, bitterly complaining about officiating after his team squandered an early 2-0 lead by losing the final four games to the Miami Heat.

Since then, Nowitzki said that Cuban hasn’t been nearly as vocal.

“He is still fired up,” Nowitzki said. “He is still such a huge fan. He is still in it with his heart. He is positive. Sometimes he yells. He picks his spots better.

“He is not as hands-on as he once was. He is still hands-on for an owner but not as hands-on as he used to be.”

But what about it Spurs Nation?

Would you prefer for Cuban to be a major part of the playoffs, or merely a quiet afterthought?"

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://bleacherrepor...over-east-champ

NBA Playoffs 2011: 10 Reasons Dallas Mavericks Should Be Favored over East Champ.
By Jesse Dorsey(Featured Columnist).

10. Mark Cuban's Silence
"If there is one guy that has been a fixture in the news during Dallas' playoff runs it has been Mark Cuban.

He has always been there, every step of the way, criticizing officials, speaking his mind, racking up fines and just being in the public eye in general as much as possible.

As great as it is to have an owner who is so visible and genuinely effected by the outcome of each game, it tends to become a bit of a distraction with Cuban and the Mavericks when he does it as often as he has been known to in the past.

This year, Cuban has been the lite version of himself, still chiming in from time to time, but not nearly enough to become a distraction.

Sure, he still is one of the most insane people in the arena during the game, but afterward he is more reserved and quiet compared to 2006 Mark Cuban."



http://bleacherrepor...d-to-win-it-all
NBA Playoffs 2011: 8 Reasons the Dallas Mavericks Are Destined to Win It All.
By Ethan S(Featured Columnist).

5. Mark Cuban Has Been on His Best Behavior
"Mark Cuban is one of the most brilliant entrepreneurial businessmen in the world. Unfortunately, he is also the most heavily fined NBA owner in league history.

In at least 13 incidents, Cuban has been fined over $1.6 million for criticizing the league and its officials. While he has obviously tried to support his team, such statements he made could have been used by opponents to motivate themselves.

Cuban has been noted by his players as being one of the best owners in professional sports, as he has provided state-of-the-art facilities and amenities for his athletes.

It appears that Cuban has also learned from his past mistakes in speaking his mind by refraining to mouth off after disappointing losses. While being on his best behavior, Cuban is less likely to further incentivize opponents or incur additional fines, hence being less of a distraction for his team.

Surely he is due for a nice reward for his behavior?"

[jcisco loboe'77]

MARK CUBAN

If U R "reading" this when R U gonna wear a suit 4 your 2011 Maverick's Championship games?? Remember your 'quote' from 5ive years ago? ?

[jcisco loboe'77]

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http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/31/mark-cuban-staying-silent

Mark Cuban, staying silent.
John Krolik.

"Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has never been shy about — well, anything, ever. He blogs, he tweets, he talks, he seemingly rarely has a private thought. And yet, a half-decade after the Mavericks lost to the Heat in the Finals and Cuban was at his most visible, vocal, and demonstrative, Cuban has gone into something of a radio silence. The New York Times’ Howard Beck has the details:

On the eve of the Mavericks’ finals rematch with the Miami Heat, Cuban had gone silent. No blog posts, no boastful messages on Twitter, no provocative sound bites. He has not spoken on the record since early May. Dallas reporters have been greeted by an empty StairMaster.

Late last week, Cuban declined a reporter’s request with a Twitter-length e-mail: “not doing any interviews.”

The 2006 Heat-Mavericks finals were dominated by Dwyane Wade, officiating controversy and Cuban. This series, it seems, will be different.

“I think this time around, it’s more about us,” said Mavericks guard Jason Terry, one of two holdovers from the 2006 team. “I think he’s tried to stay away from being a distraction, and it’s working out for us.”

This is, according to those who cover Cuban, the longest he has gone without speaking publicly since he took over the franchise in 2000.
Beck presents plenty of theories for Cuban’s silence, including superstition, not wanting to be a distraction to his team, or just not wanting to pay any more than the $1.8 million Cuban has already given the NBA in fine money.

However, everyone does seem to agree that Cuban’s silence will be short-lived if the Mavericks manage to win the title:

The players and coaches seem to genuinely appreciate Cuban’s willingness to fade into the background at this critical time. No one expects it to last, however.

“In the end, he’ll have his time to shine,” Terry said with a smile, foreshadowing a happy ending.

And if Cuban’s team does take the title?

“He won’t keep his mouth shut,” [The Dallas Morning News' Tim Cowlishaw] said."

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://www.nytimes.c...microphone.html
For Once, Letting His Team Do the Talking.
By HOWARD BECK.

MIAMI—"No owner in professional sports rejoices, pontificates, gloats, complains or lectures with the vocal verve of Mark Cuban. His enthusiasm for his Dallas Mavericks is exceeded only by his impulse to express every thought and emotion publicly.

Cuban answers nearly every e-mail, from fans and reporters alike.

His blog bursts with lively opinions on technology, finance and the news media.

His Twitter account has 460,000 followers.

He regularly conducts interviews from a StairMaster in the Mavericks’ locker room, dripping sweat on notepads as he breathily expounds on the issues of the day.

There might not be a more accessible, candid, extensively quoted owner anywhere.

Yet as the Mavericks opened their finals rematch with the Miami Heat, Cuban had gone silent. No blog posts, no boastful messages on Twitter, no provocative sound bites. He has not spoken on the record since early May. Dallas reporters have been greeted by an empty StairMaster.

Late last week, Cuban declined a reporter’s request with a Twitter-length e-mail: “not doing any interviews.”

The 2006 Heat-Mavericks finals were dominated by Dwyane Wade, officiating controversy and Cuban. This series, it seems, will be different.

“I think this time around, it’s more about us,” said Mavericks guard Jason Terry, one of two holdovers from the 2006 team. “I think he’s tried to stay away from being a distraction, and it’s working out for us.”

This is, according to those who cover Cuban, the longest he has gone without speaking publicly since he took over the franchise in 2000. He chatted with reporters before tip-off Tuesday night, but only off the record.

Theories on his silence abound.

It could be, as Terry said, that Cuban wants to avoid creating a stir with a championship in reach. The Mavericks’ window of opportunity may be slight, with Dirk Nowitzki turning 33 this month and 38-year-old Jason Kidd running the offense.

It may involve a bit of superstition. The Mavericks are 8-1 since Cuban stopped giving interviews, at the outset of the second round in Los Angeles. He may be reluctant to mess with a good thing.

Or perhaps Cuban just wants to avoid a thousand predictable, potentially explosive, questions about the 2006 finals, when the Mavericks blew a 2-0 lead and lost in six games amid a searing debate over the judgment of the game officials. Wade attempted a finals-record 97 free throws, including 25 in Game 5, which ended with Cuban angrily confronting the referee Joe DeRosa.

Cuban was fined $250,000 for “several acts of misconduct.” The series has been forever stained by the officiating controversy.

It was, in some sense, a personal nadir for Cuban, both competitively and for his image. Cuban had for years waged a passionate crusade for better, more accountable, officiating — a cause any fan would support. Yet he came unglued on the national stage in pursuit of that mission.

It was the third time in six years that Cuban had incurred a fine of at least $250,000 from N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern. All told, he has been fined about $1.8 million during his ownership tenure, nearly all of it related to officiating complaints.

Asked Tuesday about Cuban’s silence, Stern smiled broadly. “It’s too delicious,” he said, “but I’ll pass.”

Cuban remains as opinionated and as fiery as ever — cheering, screaming and scowling from somewhere near the Mavericks’ bench. But the Cuban of 2011 is not the Cuban of 2006.

After one game during the recent Western Conference finals, Cuban was overheard complaining to a league official about the referees. But he left it there, choosing not to make his grievance public.

In fact, Cuban has not been fined since May 2010, for improperly commenting on LeBron James’s pending free agency. Cuban’s revolution is undergoing a bit of evolution.

“I’m sure he would say no,” said Tim Cowlishaw, a longtime columnist for The Dallas Morning News. “But I think so.”

He added: “If they get down in this series, it won’t surprise me if he loses it. I guess it’s to his credit he hasn’t done it yet.”

With his brash rhetoric and showmanship, the 52-year-old Cuban sometimes seems plucked from the pro wrestling circuit, of which he is a pronounced fan. As competitive as he is, Cuban has long emphasized that the N.B.A. is as much about entertainment as it is basketball. His style makes that clear."

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://espn.go.com/b...alks-mark-cuban
David Stern mum on Mark Cuban's silence.
Comments By Jeff Caplan.

MIAMI--"Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's silence during this playoff run is so stunning that it even left NBA commissioner David Stern speechless during his NBA Finals press conference prior to Game 1.

Stern was asked for his reaction to Cuban's locked lips, the same ones that have been responsible for millions of dollars in fines, including $250,000 after Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals.

"It's too delicious, but I'll pass," Stern said. "I just think that he's trying to be as supportive as he can of his team, and he's doing a heck of a job in terms of the talent that they've gotten, the coach he's put there, and I think he's enjoying it and spending a lot of time supporting his team. And I think that's terrific."

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://aol.sportingn...-the-nba-finals
How long can Mark Cuban keep quiet during the NBA Finals?
By Greg Couch.


"The talk about Mark Cuban is that there is no talk about, or from, Mark Cuban. Even NBA Commissioner David Stern, so thrilled with the silence, doesn’t want to jinx anything by talking about it.

There is discussion that maybe this is a newfound, much-needed maturity in Cuban. Uh, forget that. He wasn’t overly mature at the start of the year when he was gloating about the early failures of LeBron James and The Decision. You don’t just discover maturity in a snap, especially at 52.

Players, analysts, officials keep saying that Cuban might be trying to keep the focus on his team, the Dallas Mavericks, and not on himself. But they don’t really know. They are saying it in the same way you say something hopefully about a bratty kid sitting in earshot, quietly in the corner. “He sure is doing the right ting now, isn’t he?”

Yes, Cuban gets it. People think he’s being a good boy. Since when has he cared about that? The truth is, he thinks this is the best way to help the Mavericks to beat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. He can’t help them any other way.

That’s why he does everything he does.

I’m uncomfortable with it, honestly. And that’s not because I want his good quotes. It’s not just that Cuban is fun to watch, it’s that the noise is part of the equation that makes him a dream owner for fans and the smartest guy in the room:

He has a massive ego, a ton of money and a burning desire to be seen in public. Think about that. That combination demands that the Mavericks to be good. And since he took over a losing and disastrous franchise, it has won 50 games or more every year.

You can’t have a big ego and sit out in public while your team stinks. But when I say he’s a dream for fans, he’s also a nightmare for other owners and league CEOs. I consider that a plus. The league has fined him nearly $2 million over the years for his behavior. I consider that a plus, too.

I’m not sure what could be better than seeing the look on Stern’s face, with a painted-on grin, if he has to hand over the big championship trophy to Cuban.

There are too many stuffy owners in sports. They are at cross-purposes with fans, in it for different reasons. In sports, your heart is in the hands of other people’s business.

Other team owners worry about making sure there will be a hard salary cap, fair and balanced revenue sharing, things like that. Cuban is interested in those things, too, but moreso he’s into telling Kenyon Martin’s mom that her son is a dirty player, yelling at his own players in huddles, screaming at officials. It’s all unsightly but it has value because it’s focused on one thing:

Winning.

Think about your favorite teams. Are you sure that winning is priority No. 1?

We’ll see what happens to Cuban’s maturity when the NBA Finals are over, and focus turns to labor issues. Which owner do you think would have the fans’ best interest in heart there?

Maybe my willingness to look past bad behavior comes from the fact I grew up in Chicago, watching the Cubs. They went from an owner (Wrigley) who cared only about his gum company, to one (Tribune Co.), that was operated by a boardroom. You need your team owner to have that ego, something that measures success in the public way, by winning. Cuban wanted to buy the Cubs. He was all-but blackballed by other owners. Baseball doesn’t want a rebel owner running around, thinking like a fan. Look at what he has done in the NBA:

Winning while, gulp, spending.

I’m not saying he’s perfect. Who knows how he would have modernized Wrigley Field, possibly losing the ambience. But when you lose for more than 100 years in a row, maybe it’s OK to change the furniture around a little.

I have been looking up some of Cuban’s past to see if maybe he has been getting a raw deal, bad press and unfair treatment from the NBA simply because he doesn’t conform. No, forget that. He has deserved all the criticism.

Dallas led Miami, 2-0, in the NBA Finals in 2006, and then lost it. Cuban’s ranting and raving about the officials, sounding an awful lot like the old theme of the NBA being fixed, were beyond childish. The league fined him $250,000 for “acts of misconduct.”

I know I’ve been praising Cuban for thinking like a fan, and that’s how fans think. You do have to have some control, but I’d rather see him go overboard the wrong way than with stuffiness.

First time I spoke with Cuban was by e-mail. As a writer in Chicago, I’d spent weeks trying to get White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to say something, anything, on the record. He agreed to meet with me on the field to discuss whether he was willing to talk. When I sent an e-mail to Cuban to ask why he talks publicly, he wrote me back in a few hours, saying it builds a connection with fans.

Exactly. Well, players have to win a championship to have their legacy validated. That might be happening with James right now. Maybe owners need it, too. This could change Cuban from a quirky guy to a champion.

Nothing he has tried has gotten him there yet. So maybe that’s what his silence is about now. The top post on his blog now has a headline “How Netflix is Hurting Youtube.” His first words on Twitter after the Mavs lost in Game 1 Tuesday night? Still waiting.

How much longer will he be able to sit quietly in the corner? A guess: As soon as he thinks it isn’t working."

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://sports.espn.g...nsilence-110606

Cuban stifles self to great effect.
Comments By Marc Stein.
ESPN.com.

DALLAS--"It's pretty much the only thing Dirk Nowitzki has been unable to produce in the 2011 playoffs.



Not even Nowitzki can muster a working hypothesis that purports to explain Mark Cuban's increasingly muted public persona.



Surely you've got a theory, Dirk. Right?



"That," Nowitzki replied, "is a good question.



"He never told me that he was gonna do it, but I kinda like it."



Nowitzki has been the standout face of this franchise since the free-agent departure of Steve Nash in the summer 2004, but Cuban has been the undisputed voice of the Mavs -- for richer and poorer -- from the moment he burst into the NBA's consciousness as Dallas' boisterous new owner in January 2000.



This postseason, though, Cuban has been as surprising as the Mavs themselves, muzzling himself to the point that another valid question is in circulation.



Namely: Is it time to consider the possibility that there really is a new Mark Cuban?


Mark Cuban may not be the voluble sideline presence of yore, but he has the consolation of winning big.

Two games into the NBA Finals, after Cuban's monthlong insistence on silence survived two more tests, it's getting harder to argue. The 52-year-old billionaire formerly known as the most flammable of NBA owners didn't erupt as some expected after the Mavericks fell behind in a series for the first time in these playoffs with a Game 1 defeat in Miami. Cuban then sat stone-faced as Dwyane Wade hovered triumphantly over the Mavericks' bench for a few extra seconds after draining a 3-pointer that staked the Miami Heat to a seemingly impenetrable 15-point lead in Game 2.



In the same building where "several acts of misconduct" infamously cost him a $250,000 fine during the 2006 NBA Finals, Cuban was clearly trying harder than ever to exude some sideline calm, unaware that Wade's combustible 3 was about to unleash an epic Mavs comeback.



It's been well-documented that Cuban hasn't said much of anything to reporters for public consumption lately, but this was a different sort of restraint. It's an effort that his players and coaches clearly appreciate, too, since he's delivering something Nowitzki has been seeking since the aftermath of Dallas' 2006 Finals collapse, when Dirk responded to four straight losses to Miami on the game's biggest stage by announcing that his boss needs "to learn how to control himself" as much as that poise-shy edition of the Mavs needed to.



"I think the way Mark has handled things this season and this postseason has been phenomenal," said Mavericks guard Jason Terry, one of two holdovers from the '06 team along with Nowitzki. "He's learned. All of us have. We've grown mentally tougher together. That's what losing does to you."



Asked if he thinks Cuban's determination to stonewall the media and rein himself during games was actually helping what threatens to trump 2006 as the Mavs' best-ever playoff run, Nowitzki added: "It hasn't hurt. Let me put it like that."



It all started in the Mavericks' second-round series with the Los Angeles Lakers as silence born mostly out of superstition. Before the first two games of that series in L.A., Cuban made himself available to the media on the floor about an hour before tipoff as he usually does on the road, only to be surrounded by local reporters hounding him about possibly buying the Los Angeles Dodgers and past quote feuds with Phil Jackson and Ron Artest. Quickly tiring of that line of questioning -- and obviously thrilled to be leaving Hollywood with two wholly unexpected victories -- Cuban had all the incentive he needed to start avoiding the press pack.



And once the wins kept stacking up, there was no going back. Cuban still engages in pregame small talk with media types, even now before games in the Finals, but he's made it clear that he will reject any reporter's attempt to conduct an on-the-record conversation for the foreseeable future. Cuban's only printable comments for the past month have been restricted to a couple of stock phrases or tweets -- such as "We believe" and "Go Mavs" -- and his "We ain't done yet" vow to Mavs fans during the Western Conference trophy presentation.



Yet it's the in-game determination to avoid the spotlight, even more than the media boycott, that has won Cuban admiration in the locker room, after years of whispers and suggestions that Cuban's crusade to improve NBA refereeing created a corresponding blame-the-refs culture that has stunted Dallas' growth.



The truth is that there's always been some upside for the Mavs' two biggest stars to Cuban doing the bulk of the interviews, since that lessens the media load on Nowitzki and Jason Kidd, neither of whom thirsts to do a lot of talking. But Cuban's apparent determination to challenge referees less and avoid a repeat of '06 -- when he and the officiating shared all the bold headlines with Wade and Pat Riley -- has been received by his players and coaches as a contribution from the boss to rival his $90 million payroll.


"He's been very disciplined," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said before the Finals began. "I will use that word in a very complimentary way, because I really feel like what he's doing is important."



Said Nowitzki: "This league is about the players. It's about Miami against Dallas now. It's not the owners.



"I love what he's doing."



Even without a full explanation.



Maybe that will finally come when the Mavs' playoff ride is over, but the closest thing to an admission from Cuban that anything has changed occurred shortly after the closest thing to a slip-up.



At halftime of the Mavericks' Game 2 loss to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, Cuban started complaining to the officiating supervisor in attendance -- longtime NBA referee Bernie Fryer -- about the three-man crew working that night: Greg Willard, Bill Spooner and Tom Washington. And with Fryer seated just behind a press table, several reporters heard the exchange, during which Fryer defended his refs and Cuban responded by saying: "You're not watching the same game I am."



But by the end of the intermission, when he had to pass Fryer and the assembled press again to make it back to his regular spot on the baseline for Mavs home games, Cuban had calmed considerably.



"The old Mark," Cuban joked as he walked by, "would have been fined already."



He avoided a fine in that instance and otherwise has scarcely flirted with the prospect of writing yet another check to a league office that has docked him nearly $1.8 million over the years.



Which must be why NBA commissioner David Stern, in his annual Finals news conference earlier this week, didn't even want to risk trigging a relapse by speculating about Cuban's motivations.



"It's too delicious," Stern said, "but I'll pass."



Said Mavericks center Tyson Chandler: "He hasn't talked thus far and we made it this far. So I don't want him to start talking now."

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://www.wfaa.com/...-123789049.html
Dallas, Mavs poised to announce Thursday parade.
by JASON WHITELY.



http://www.myfoxdfw....avericks-Parade
Mavericks Parade Planned.
Team Confirms Event Will Happen on Thursday.
By Kevin Boie | MYFOXDFW.COM.

Edited by jcisco loboe'77, 14 June 2011 - 03:00 PM.

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://www.slamonlin...vs-title-parade
Mark Cuban Will Pay for the Mavs’ Title Parade.






http://www.statesman...ng-1537685.html
Newsmakers Sports: Mavericks plan parade for Thursday morning.
Ron T. Ennis/FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM.

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=6656641
Champion Mavs return to Dallas.
Comments ESPNDallas.com
DALLAS--"The NBA champion Dallas Mavericks are back in Texas.
Mayor Dwaine Caraway said the city is in a budget crunch but still plans a parade, though Cuban repeated Monday that he will personally pay for the celebration."We'll do it," Cuban said early Monday morning. "All I told them was -- Terdema Ussery, our president -- you plan the parade. I'll pay for it because I don't think it's right for the city to have to pay for it. And let's just have some fun."










http://www.slamonlin...gs-for-the-mavs
Mark Cuban: No Championship Rings for the Mavs.

[jcisco loboe'77]

http://www.kegl.com/...article=8748640

kegl.com.
Mark Cuban's response to 'Bad Management' Suit.




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