Joe Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 "They're not letting me". The man who told that lie today has a ring, the man who let that man stab the man who told the truth in the back gloats with his trophy, and the round-headed man with the goofy headbands and silly socks still jets when he succeeds, still "don't worry"-ies when he doesn't. Right now, that team and this franchise...I still can't separate them. I'm not sure what this is in reference to. '06 vs. Miami? '07 vs. Golden State? Avery's ouster? Not questioning why you feel the way you do, of course. Just trying to understand the specific context. Just the way the whole 06-07 team/program unravelled. Avery had that team playing GREAT, but they didn't like being pushed like he pushed them, Dirk in particular. They wanted to play their "sexy" basketball, not dirve the lane and play hard defense the way Avery was preaching, in spite of the overwhelming and unquestionable success they had when they did. They flat out quit, rather openly, on Avery in 07, and then Dirk goes to Cuban and says whatever he says, mostly, as I understand it, "I can't play for this guy". At which point Cuban, instead of saying, "you'll learn to play for him, he's got a winning plan", goes all Dirkophile and fires Avery rather unceremoniously. And then began the stretch of "fixing" what was never really broke in the first place, other than players' lousy attitudes & unearned sense of entitlement. A player who backstabs a successful coach is bad enough. A team who quits on a coach with a winning formula is bad enough. An owner who coddles players in the face of failure is bad enough. But to have the whole package was just...more than I could stomach at the time, and I guess I've not yet made my peace with it. They finally got it "fixed" this year, but how much time was wasted? And for how long will it remain fixed? All I hear from the organization is how "painful" 06 was. Nothing about 07. And all I hear Dirk ever talk about is how he keeps working to improve his game (and all 'I hear Jason Terry talk about is bubblehead blahblahblahYEAH!!!). Implicit in that is that if he can't play the game the way he wants to, he ain't gonna give it his all. His actions have proven this. Obviously a sore point with me, but the whole thing still reeks to me of betrayal, of sacrificing the gritty truth for comfort, convenience, and ego. Excuse-making at its most odious never being copped to, no forgiveness asked, expected, or really even desired. And now, hey - it's ok. A ring has been gotten, righteousness of cause therefore proven. Show bizness at its best, sports at its worse. Just not something I can feel good about. My issues and my problem, though. Yea, it was ugly, and Avery deserved better. But he did not help his cause with the panic moves he pulled in Miami in '06. I was much less close to / informed by it all, though; I wasn't living in Dallas at the time, and was following the Mavs from not just an emotional but a geographical distance as well. If sports were rational, they'd be far less enjoyable (and much less a form of delicious torture.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 the Mavericks are the team of my childhood, and you know how it goes when you've been rooting for a team from back when you still possessed a certain amount of innocence. Ultimately, this goes back for me to the days of Aguirre, Blackman, Harper, the Reunion Rowdies, all that... Oh man, I remember those days - Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman. Adrian Dantley. Some good ball back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 In retrospect, the "panic moves" were an attempt to get something/anything stirring in "hearts" that proved to not be there, "there" having several meanings. I'm sure he felt that if he did something to wake his guys up they'd respond. He was wrong. Randy Galloway's ongoing labeling of that team as "the most gutless" in the history of professional sports, may or may not be hyperbolic, but it still rings true to me. The older I get, the more I feel that volunteering for torture, delicious or otherwise, is a sucker's game. People either get right or they don't, and hoping for it to be otherwise is folly. Dallas Cowboys? Done with 'em. They ain't gettin' right as long as Jerry Jones is there. Dallas Mavericks? Maintain interest, but the love is gone. Call it an intense but ultimately civil divorce. Texas Rangers? Invested for now, now that the organization seems to be right, will tolerate honest failure as long as it is honest. But the Tom Hicks years gave me the strength to walk away from baseball, so I'll not put up with a bunch of hopeless chicanery in the name of "love". Life is too short, at least what's left of mine is. Dallas Stars? Hey, it's hockey. Who cares? FCD? That's my son's game, so I observe his pleasure with that off my own. Where do you go for a love that is true? Into your own heart, I suppose. But be prepared to defend what's left of it after the "business people" (which includes all professionals and too damn many civilians) get done with it once you find it. "They won't let me..." Words of the devil! the Mavericks are the team of my childhood, and you know how it goes when you've been rooting for a team from back when you still possessed a certain amount of innocence. Ultimately, this goes back for me to the days of Aguirre, Blackman, Harper, the Reunion Rowdies, all that... Oh man, I remember those days - Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman. Adrian Dantley. Some good ball back then. Remember when we though <Mark aguirre was a "troubled soul"? Then we met Roy Tarpley! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 The older I get, the more I feel that volunteering for torture, delicious or otherwise, is a sucker's game. People either get right or they don't, and hoping for it to be otherwise is folly. Dallas Cowboys? Done with 'em. They ain't gettin' right as long as Jerry Jones is there. the Mavericks are the team of my childhood, and you know how it goes when you've been rooting for a team from back when you still possessed a certain amount of innocence. Ultimately, this goes back for me to the days of Aguirre, Blackman, Harper, the Reunion Rowdies, all that... Oh man, I remember those days - Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman. Adrian Dantley. Some good ball back then. Remember when we though <Mark aguirre was a "troubled soul"? Then we met Roy Tarpley! No argument from me re: the Team With The Stars On Their Helmets. To borrow a designation from Dr. Thompson, Jerry Jones is the ultimate "greedhead." Great a scorer as he could be, every time I think of Aguirre, I can't help but recall that Randy Galloway's nickname for him was "Alpo." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Goren. Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Today, June 19 is Dirk Nowitzki's birthday (1978). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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