Posted on 06/20/2006 11:37:54 AM PDT by sinkspur
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has been fined $250,000 for his actions after game 5 of the NBA Finals in Miami.
Among those acts was shouting "F** You" at David Stern, NBA Commissioner as he was leaving the arena, coming on the court after the game and getting in the face of Ben Salvatore, the referee who called a foul on Josh Howard in the final minute of the game as he attempted to block a shot by David Wade.
Cuban then held a news conference, mocking nearly every question asked by the media.
This is not the first time Cuban has been fined a quarter million. He's still upset at the suspension of Stackhouse for Game 5 for blocking Shaquille O'Neal on a shot.
Oh, I dunno, maybe for running out onto the court, comments all over the place questioning the integrity and favoritism of the league and its officials, whether directly or clearly implied.
Cuban all too often can be a jerk and a crybaby, which is why I don't mind a bit if Miami wins (even though I don't care for Shaq.) The refs didn't lose the games in Miami, the Mavs did. Much harder to lose if you make your shots.
I'm not a mavs fan, but the NBA would have been very happy if this had been a 4 game sweep by the heat.
It's a business after all.
David Stern has shown that sometimes his own ego gets in the way of business.
He really regrets letting Cuban buy the mavs and is not happy with the Mavs being in the playoffs.
Cuban could wind up (or would) wind up humiliating Stern and the league if he wins.
David Stern (a man with an agenda) and his word versus Mark Cuban (a man with an agenda) and his word.
I believe though that there were witnesses who confirmed that Cuban did curse at Stern.
I am no fan of Cuban, but the NBA is not players league. It is the commissioner's league, where the league tries to micromanage the officiating and the play and maximize it for ratings and public relations. Baseball on the other hand suffers from the other extreme where the commissioner like Rip Van Winkle evidently slept a few years and when he woke up skinny runts like Bonds and Giambi were walking around looking like the Incredible Hulk.
To some extent, agreed (though I do like shaq a little bit and physical play), but out of all 4 sports, NBA basketball has the worst refs, no other sport would ever have the same problems as NBA officiating.
Also, the refs in the NBA pretty much acknowledge special star treament and favorable home court officiating, not to mention holding grudges.
You may be on Bird Road, but you'll be alone. The rest of the pathetic few Heat fans will be home sulking about bad calls. (like Shaq sulked after Game 2)
Clearly a photoshopped pic!
(c8
Oh, THAT Cuban.
Nevermind.
if they started calling travelling and carrying the ball, half of the league would be looking for other work.
I TiVoed the foul call on Wade, and I couldn't find it. He may have been touched, but I didn't see Nowitzki lay a hand on him. The botched time out call is the Mavs' fault, both Howard's and Johnson's. Johnson should have been more clear in his gestures (although, to be fair, he may have been doing that all season with no problems), and Howard, as ESPN dug up within an hour afterward, had already once blown an ACC game by calling a T.O. when Wake Forest was out of them. Stackhouse? Yep, that was the right call. It seems to happen once every Finals now, and Stack's hack of Shaq wasn't different from the others.
I've been a fan of Avery Johnson since he was with the Warriors. He was a heckuva player on a team half loaded with stiffs and could talk the game like he was a coach already. I was hoping my Warriors would hire him after they dumped Eric Musselman, and I think now, they do too.
I'm of two minds on Cuban. On the one hand, he's a punk, but he knows he's going to pay for his freedom of speech, and he does it. He's one of the rare team owners who REALLY wants to win it all for the fans, and not just turn a profit every year (memo to Peter Magowan and Donald Fisher). He's a moonbat (he was one of the producers of Syriana and funds other change-your-mind film projects) but he also revived one of my favorite TV series, That's Life (about an Italian family from New Jersey that ISN'T in the mob), on his HDNet. Unfortunately, I have Comcast cable, and can't see it, but hopefully the exposure will lead to the release of the series on DVD.
same with the NFL
"NBA management wants the Finals to go to 7 games.
It's a business after all."
Before the playoffs this year, I would have said you were being too cynical, but I am coming around to your way of thinking. Everyone involved - the players, the referees, the owners, the advertisers, the networks, the arena employees, etc. all benefit to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars for extra games. There is a huge incentive, even if it's only subconscious, for going to seven games.
It's not "Dwayne." Sure, it's pronounced "Dwayne," but it's spelled "Dwyane." Just like it's not "Antwan" Jamison, it's "Antawn." It's not "Isaiah" Thomas, it's "Isiah." It's not "Michael" Ray Richardson, it's "Micheal."
so I missed the spelling but David was sure not closer
Of course, all thsoe who say the Mavs got robbed ignore the bad call on the out of bounds play, that clearly went off a Mavs player, yet they gacve the ball to the Mavs.
They ignore the bad call by Shaq on Josh Howard with under a minute to play.
Then they ignore Joah Howard CLEARLY calling for time-out to the ref...
Fact is, the Mavs choked in Game 5.
Wade was fouled twice on that play.
Great picture.
Actually, it's "Dwyane."
18 yrs, not 28.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.