It doesn't seem like Cuban is going to keep his mouth shut until Stern does something about the officiating. Anybody for the first $1,000,000 fine for an individual in the NBA? Check out how Cuban kind of jumps David Stern towards the end of this article. Then check out the last paragraph that had me laughing... he called Stern during a game to let him know he was about to do something that would be fineable. LOL! From the Dallas Morning News and Jodie Valde : ------------------------ Cuban says he'll quiet down, but it will come at a price 01/06/2001 By Jodie Valade / The Dallas Morning News TORONTO – Mark Cuban is not making any promises to keep quiet about his displeasure with referees. But he is willing to make a deal. One day after the Mavericks' owner received a $250,000 fine from the NBA, he said it will take one simple gesture to keep him from outbursts like the one he had following the Mavericks-Pistons game Wednesday, after which he criticized the officiating, in particular, a missed goaltending call. His single request, he said, is for the NBA to hire two assistants for senior vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson, who oversees referees. One will compile data on referee tendencies. Another will look at the data and come up with ways to help improve the officiating. "It's not about making it [the data] public, it's not about chastising the referees," Cuban said. "It's about making them better. That is all I have ever, ever asked the league for. "I even told the NBA I'll pay for them. If they do that [hire help], I'll be as quiet as a mouse." Until then, until he sees some steps toward making improvements in officiating, he said, not even a fine as large as $250,000 – and whatever escalation might follow in the form of suspension or even possible removal of draft picks – will quiet him. He said his conversation with NBA commissioner David Stern just before he received his fine was the breaking point. "He gave me some 'Stern-ism,' " Cuban said. "He said, 'Well, Mark we're just not on Internet time. I know you don't think we do anything here.' "I just told him, 'David, why do we have to wait?' If I see something wrong, I fix it. That's the way I've always done things. That's the way I look at things, I'm sorry," Cuban said. For his part, Cuban said he called the NBA commissioner during the first quarter of the Mavericks-Pistons game Wednesday, just to warn Stern that he would probably commit a fineable offense before the night was through. ------------------ "Christ, it's not as if Steve pissed on a guy!!!!!" -- cson makes a return to my quotable sig as he comments on how Steve Francis should not be T'd up for slapping the backboard on a dunk...speak loudly cson, you rock!
Other than Stern's ego being bruised? hehe... ------------------ "Christ, it's not as if Steve pissed on a guy!!!!!" -- cson makes a return to my quotable sig as he comments on how Steve Francis should not be T'd up for slapping the backboard on a dunk...speak loudly cson, you rock!
I'm glad Cuban's taking it upon himself to fix the NBA.There's an old basketball axiom concerning bad calls and that is They will all even out in the end. ------------------ Now chew through my ball sack
LOL Man, Cuban has gotta be the awesomest owner ever! This guy cracks me up! He'll do anything just to get things working how fans like him would like to see the league! Coach Sampson needs to have a talk with this guy. ------------------ Francis out top, 9 seconds on the clock, he gives a no look pass to Cuttino Mobley, 4 seconds left, Mobley passes to an open Langhi in the corner with 1 second left! Langhi at the buzzer.......YES!!! How Sweet It Is!!
I definitely think he's good for the game because of the enthusiasm he brings. Before he arrived, the mavs were a consistently aweful team with no real shot at improving, but now they are a playoff contender. ------------------
I know he's doing alot of this for attention, but the dude must have some Spaldings. I like him as an owner, and I am a fan of the Mavs. ------------------ "We don't have any plans. We just plan to win." Mack Brown
A quarter of a million dollars is a lot of money to pay for the attention it brings. ------------------
Not to him it isn't. He thinks the attention brought to the Mavs boosts ticket and merchandise sales. ------------------ "We don't have any plans. We just plan to win." Mack Brown
His comments about the fine went something like the fine has gotten him more publicity and advertising than $250,000 spent on an ad campaign would have, so he doesn't mind. ------------------ "Christ, it's not as if Steve pissed on a guy!!!!!" -- cson makes a return to my quotable sig as he comments on how Steve Francis should not be T'd up for slapping the backboard on a dunk...speak loudly cson, you rock!
