Dallas opened April 5-0 - the first 5 game winning streak since 94-95 (where Dallas had a 6 game winning streak), only the 2nd 5 game winning streak since 89-90, and only the 2nd time in team history to start a month 5-0.  The Mavs are 27-20 in 2000 (even better if you take out the 2 losses that opened the year), 23-11 excluding the 4-9 with the mistake, and 12-5 since the released of the mistake. Cedric Ceballos has not been playing due to his broken left pinky finger. Dallas signed Rodrick Rhodes for the rest of the season and to a non-guaranteed contract for next season on Monday.  Rhodes is a 6-6, 225 swingman (shooting guard/small forward).  He probably won't see much time on the court and will have to show himself during practices.  His rep is a good defender who struggles shooting.  As Nelson said, just a free look at him.  To make room on the roster for Rhodes, the Mavs placed Bruno Sundov on IR.  The phantom injury given was a strained lower back.  Bruno has not played since March 16. Hot Rod Williams canceled his back surgery that was scheduled for Tuesday and has not rescheduled it.  Don't know why. Congrats to the Wheelchair Mavericks for their 4th consecutive national _title_!  They beat Illinois 69-51 to win the championship and Steve Welch was named MVP. The NBA Board of Governors formally approved the sale of the Mavericks from Ross Perot to Mark Cuban.  Cuban has been in charge and making changes since signing a letter of intent to purchase the team in January. Mark Cuban: Everyone shook my hand, so I take that as a good sign.  They had a [Board of Governors] dinner last night, and a big part of the discussion was digital media and Internet.  Everyone kept looking at me, so I kind of figured they were looking forward to getting me involved. Cuban: It's not like I'm looking for other franchises or trying to build a sports empire.  I love basketball, I love Dallas and I love the Mavericks.  It doesn't have to be anything beyond that.  It's a dream come true.  It always felt a little bit tempered [before getting the approval], so now that it's past me, it's time to have some fun.  Believe me, the fun has yet to begin. Cuban on the seal of approval: Now, the shackles have been removed. [Leaving everyone wondering what exactly he wanted/wants to do and felt that he shouldn't do it before the vote.] Cuban on future moves: Those [luxury taxes] will have an impact on p_layer_ decisions for some organizations.  So we'll try to take advantage of that. It's going to be really, really interesting to see how all of the dynamics play out with the salary cap.  We're going to be as opportunistic as we possibly can be. David Stern: We need to be proactive.  And I don't think I've met anyone who's more proactive than Mark, and that's very good.  And he's going to stub his toe.  But that's better than just sort of sitting back and sort of accepting status quo if you think you can make improvements.  I think that's what the fans want, and I think that's what we're looking for from Mark now. Stern: He's high maintenance but good, and I mean that sincerely.  He is in a class by himself, but that's good.  He's young and enthusiastic.  I think it's terrific.  I think the owners are looking forward to that kind of energy. Stern: We need to be proactive, and I don't think I know anyone who's more proactive than Mark.  On the subject [of referees], I think I've made that point to him, where it's appropriate to say things out loud or keep it in the family.  Other than that, we've encouraged Mark to be Mark and continue to generate the enthusiasm he seems to be generating in a city that's very anxious for a revived basketball team.  I would say he has raised eyebrows, but he hasn't ruffled feathers.  He's going to stub his toe, but that's better than sitting back and accepting the status quo. Dallas at Vancouver  (April 2) The game stayed close in the 1st quarter.  Dallas led 16-11 with 3:30 left and Vancouver scored the next 9 points to go up 22-16 with 38 seconds to go.  Vancouver led 22-18 after 1.  Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 11 points. Vancouver led 29-20 with 10:30 remaining and Dallas scored the next 11 points to go up 31-29 with 5:30 left.  Mike Bibby hit 2 free throws and Dallas continued their run by scoring the next 7 points to go up 38-31 with 1:30 remaining.  Dallas led 42-33 at the half.  Vancouver only shot 3-14 FG in the 2nd quarter (Dallas shot 10-20 FG).  Lionel Hollins picked up his 2nd technical foul after the 2nd quarter ended and was ejected. Dallas stayed in control in the 3rd quarter and slowly added to their lead.  Dallas led 74-58 after 3.  Dirk Nowitzki had 15 points including 3-4 3-pointers in the quarter.  Dallas scored the first 6 points of the 4th to take their largest lead at 80-58 with 10:30 left.  Vancouver could get no closer than the final score.  Dallas won 100-86. Hey, the Mavs actually did what they were supposed to do - blew out a struggling team.  Dirk Nowitzki (22 points, 8 rebounds) and Michael Finley (18 points) gave their usual strong performances.  Hubert Davis chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds and Steve Nash had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists.  Shareef Abdur-Rahim didn't get the ball enough considering his talent and teammates.  He had 23 points including 9-15 FG and 10 rebounds.  Mike Bibby had a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists and had an impressive 7 steals, but also committed 6 turnovers.  Michael Dickerson was the only other Grizzly in double digits with 14 points (including 4-14 FG). Antoine Carr suffered a strained right calf muscle during the 1st quarter (only 5 minutes) and will likely miss the rest of the season. Quotes Don Nelson on how the team would respond to being eliminated from the playoffs: I wasn't sure about that.  I was a little worried about our energy level, but the lads gave me a great effort.  I had no reason to be worried. Nelson: I actually thought it would be a very hard game for us.  I'm a little surprised that we were able to gain such a big lead.  Our energy was good other than maybe the first part of the 1st quarter.  We found something that was working.  They couldn't stop it so we stayed with it and basically ran the same play for a quarter and a half. Nelson: Nash was the key.  He's a great defender and no one knows about it or talks about it. Nelson: But I think the job that Nash did defensively on Dickerson was a huge factor. Steve Nash on Dickerson: Coach said he was their hot guy and he was averaging 28 a game the last 5 or 6 games.  He said if you're not all over him, he'll kill you.  So it was my job to get all over him and luckily it worked. Nash on what the Mavs want to do in the last month: It's not like we didn't know [playoff elimination, which occurred Friday] was coming.  But we're trying to get as many wins as we possibly can.  People have been very negative around the Mavericks for a long time - not necessarily within the organization but around the organization.  We're trying to ignore all that and build on these wins so we can do well next year. Nash: There's been a lot of negativity surrounding the organization and we want to get wins to counteract some of that and for our pride.  Just build on things to put ourselves in a position to improve and do well next year. Hubert Davis: It was just a really good game for us.  I thought we worked hard defensively and played unselfishly on the offensive end.  We had a lot of guys trying to find the open man and when you do that, good things happen. Dirk Nowitzki: I struggled a little bit in the 1st half - a few missed shots and a lot of turnovers.  That's why you have to come out and play hard every night.  I had a lot of wide open looks in the 3rd quarter and I was able to hit them. Nowitzki on the playoff elimination: We lost this in November and December [where Dallas went 9-21], not now.  But we're getting there. Lionel Hollins on his ejection: They put me over the edge.  There was a series of calls.  They called calls that I haven't seen called all year long.  We got a 5-second call on a post-up and they could call that every night 2 or 3 times a game.  And it wasn't even the right call. [Actually, it was the right call - but I also didn't expect them to call it.  It was only the 2nd time all year I've seen it called.] Mike Bibby: I played all right.  My energy was kind of low in the 1st half and I tried to pick it up in the 2nd.  We were doing well on offense but we just couldn't stop anybody.  They were knocking 3s down left and right.  That hurt us. Shareef Abdur-Rahim: I think we tried to come out and stay focussed and let [Hollins' ejection] fire us up.  But it was a situation we had never really been in before, so I don't think as a team we knew how to respond to it. Abdur-Rahim: The easy thing to do now would be to just say, 'Our season is over - let's get these out of the way and go home for the summer.'  But our sense of urgency now is to stay focussed and keep our minds on playing games. Dennis Scott: What have we got, 10 [games left]?  Somehow each guy just has to say to themselves, 'this is our playoffs, this is who we are.' Somehow we have to muster up some type of chemistry to get over this hump, because it is ugly.  Now I see why this team is, what is it 5-45, 5-50 in March?  The mind set is not right.  [Vancouver is 6-73 all-time in March.] Scott: Right now, everybody is on egg shells because there is so much uncertainty about next year, with what the new owner is going to do.  But you still got to play.  People in the front office, they've still got to do their paperwork, typing.  Recruiters still got to recruit.  We've still got to perform like it's the first game of the season. Dallas Mavericks 100, Vancouver Grizzlies 86  at Vancouver  (April 2)           1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final   2FG   3FG   FG%  
... wi?cej »

The NBA Board of Governors formally approved the sale of the Mavericks from Ross Perot to Mark Cuban.  Cuban has been in charge and making changes since signing a letter of intent to purchase the team in January. Can you shed some light into something I read?  Apparently, Mark Cuban called Peter Vecsey an idiot, and Vecsey then challenged Cuban to a nationally televised debate of some sort, which Cuban declined.  Do you know anything about this?  I hear it happened recently.  I applaud Cuban for coming out and saying this, Vecsey is one of biggest idiots out there as far as media people are concerned.

The NBA Board of Governors formally approved the sale of the Mavericks from Ross Perot to Mark Cuban.  Cuban has been in charge and making changes since signing a letter of intent to purchase the team in January. Can you shed some light into something I read?  Apparently, Mark Cuban called Peter Vecsey an idiot, and Vecsey then challenged Cuban to a nationally televised debate of some sort, which Cuban declined.  Do you know anything about this?  I hear it happened recently.  I applaud Cuban for coming out and saying this, Vecsey is one of biggest idiots out there as far as media people are concerned. Actually Vecsey started the whole thing by ridiculing Cuban in his column and on NBC. No surprise there as Vecsey is a jerk. Cuban eventually started questioning Vecsey's credibility. I remember hearing him on the Jim Rome show calling Vecsey an idiot because of the stuff he had written about him despite never talking to him. I don't have all the details but if Vecsey thinks he's going to come off looking better the Cuban in this, he's dead wrong. Nobody has respect for Vecsey.

The NBA Board of Governors formally approved the sale of the Mavericks from Ross Perot to Mark Cuban.  Cuban has been in charge and making changes since signing a letter of intent to purchase the team in January. Can you shed some light into something I read?  Apparently, Mark Cuban called Peter Vecsey an idiot, and Vecsey then challenged Cuban to a nationally televised debate of some sort, which Cuban declined.  Do you know anything about this?  I hear it happened recently.  I applaud Cuban for coming out and saying this, Vecsey is one of biggest idiots out there as far as media people are concerned. Yeah, that gained me some instant respect for him, although I wish he would have debated Vescey and killed him further on tv. There are 3 ways to do things.  The right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way. Isn't that the wrong way? Yes, but faster!

Can you shed some light into something I read?  Apparently, Mark Cuban called Peter Vecsey an idiot, and Vecsey then challenged Cuban to a nationally televised debate of some sort, which Cuban declined.  Do you know anything about this?  I hear it happened recently.  I applaud Cuban for coming out and saying this, Vecsey is one of biggest idiots out there as far as media people are concerned. Yup, it really started when Vescey was on TNT or TBS and saw the Mavs reaction to the win over San Antonio where Erick Strickland caught Dirk Nowitzki's airball and got the layup at the buzzer to win the game. Vescey said [from memory], Come on, Dallas, act like you've won a game before.  [Name one team that doesn't celebrate like that on a game winner at the buzzer - especially when you're the underdog.]  Vescey also made some snide comment in a column about the Mavs having 10 coaches.  Cuban answered with comments how not once had Vescey contacted him to ask him anything or talk about anything - and Cuban is _extremely_ accessable (want to e-mail - do so at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it - he's responded to a number of my e-mails, is on my Mavs mailing list, and reads the Lone Mavs Forum board).  Cuban ended his comment with the Vescey is an idiot. Quote me on that. quote.  I think Vescey is the one who earlier said that Cuban was renting a Ferrari to Greg Buckner, where it was really a 1992 Lexus (no longer renting it to him as the league said stop it).  After Vescey is an idiot comment, Vescey challenged Cuban to come on TV and debate with him.  Cuban responded with I'm not stupid.  Vescey will go off for 5 minutes and I'll get 30 seconds to respond.  Cuban did send a letter to the editor in the New York Post about Vescey that was published, but I haven't seen it so I don't know what it said.  Vescey has since reported that Cuban gave the p_layer_s $20,000 worth of luggage to which Cuban responded, Where does he get this [bleep]?  Cuban did give the p_layer_s new luggage, but didn't spend that much.  In a recent column, Vescey gave numbers on how Michael Jordan's money would increase if part owner Ted [something - owner of AOL] bought out Abe Pollin's interest in the team.  Cuban took great glee in pointing out all the errors in Vescey's numbers (including I could hire a freshman in Accounting to do the numbers for you ) and sent the note to Vescey, the NY Post, and posted it to the Lone Mavs Forum.  This is a war that doesn't look the end soon and it's quite entertaining. patricia BTW, the Lone Mavs Forum is at http://www.sportsonly.com/boards/mavs/

In a recent column, Vescey gave numbers on how Michael Jordan's money would increase if part owner Ted [something - owner of AOL] bought out Abe Pollin's interest in the team.  Cuban took great glee in pointing out all the errors in Vescey's numbers (including I could hire a freshman in Accounting to do the numbers for you ) and sent the note to Vescey, the NY Post, and posted it to the Lone Mavs Forum.   To follow up my own post, Mark Cuban's post to the Lone Mavs Forum (http://www.sportsonly.com/boards/mavs/) is still there so here's what Cuban had to say about Vescey's numbers:    He screwed up badin his last thur or frid column,and I nailed him. I    love this little war. No downside to me. I dont care what he has to    say about me, good or bad. He makes most of the stuff up. The good    side is, regardless of the perspective, it keeps people in NY    thinking about hte Mavs, which is always good.    from a fan perspective, I have gotten hundreds of email about vescey,    not a single one has supported him. Pretty suprising.    Here are both the col and my response    myresponse to vesceys last column    Sent: Friday, April 07, 2000 1:16 PM    Subject: I hope you dont manage your own money    Regardless of my financial state, its obvious yours wont be    improving anytime soon.  I know you are already technically    impaired, but now you are showing your lack of any business smarts    at all. My sources tell me , that if you own 20% of an entity that    owns 40% of another entity, that you get 8% of that company. Not 6%.    Let me also give you some free financial advice to correct another    problem in your usual spewing of inaccuracies. If Ted puts up the    money to buy the rest of the Wizards, you can bet they are going to    take additional equity in the holding company to cover their    additional investment. That would dilute michaels interest, unless    michael put up cash himself to maintain his ownership percentage.    If the money is already in the holding company to buy the remaining    equity of the wizards, then michaels equity will remain the same,    but the asset valuation of the company , and therefore, the value    of michael's interest will remain the same. Im happy to hire a    freshman accounting major for you to assist in your financial    efforts to go along with the 10 year old to assist in your email    efforts. And one last piece of advice. Hand over the checkbook to    the wife.    m    What we know for sure is Jordan is earning a petty $1M per year    as team president.  He also boasts a 20 percent stake in Ted    Leonsis' holding company (Wizards, Capitols and MCI Center), which    translates into a six percent piece of the NBA franchise.    Leonsis, who owns a shade over 40 percent of the Wizards and MCI,    as well as 100 percent of the Capitals, at some point, has the    right to buy out Abe Pollin. At that time, Jordan's percentage    would grow proportionately without putting up any money.    At next Tuesday's Board of Governors meeting in New York, Easy    Mark Cuban of the Mavericks and Michael Heisley of the Grizzlies    will be sworn as owners. It has taken Cuban this long to get    approved because his new partners insist on grilling him en masse,    in person, concerning some of the more bizarre things he has said    and done regarding the Mavs; and the fact he has said and done them    despite not being officially in charge.    It occurs to me, there's nothing more dangerous than a billionaire    with nothing to do every day but run a team and e-mail his life    away.