Mavs Monday Donuts: J-Ho, Nellie & 'Balls'

Josh Howard says a media member doesn't have "balls.'' A player's agent says Nellie doesn't have anybody's "trust.'' Allen Iverson doesn't have a clue, Mavs foe Houston doesn't have many problems, and what's this about Jimmy Johnson hving a desire to come back to the Cowboys? It's Monday Morning Mavs Donuts!

    DONUT 1: We’re not finished with The Josh Watch, you know.

     Dallas will have to monitor pain and swelling and the medical team will have to listen to J-Ho, who, remember, following his successful debut Saturday in the win over Toronto, said he still “isn’t 100 percent.’’

    And also remember, You Can’t Control What The Ankle Do. It’s Crazy, Man.

     DONUT 2: By the way, Josh Howard heard about a telecaster’s comment that seemed to suggest J-Ho had been “sandbagging it’’ with that ankle.’’  

    Josh says he “hopes Mark Jackson has the balls enough to apologize about it.’’

    Art Garcia doesn’t write “balls.’’ But I’m going with “balls.’’

     DONUT 3: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle introduces us to Tuesday’s foe, the Houston Rockets, who don’t have  their top three scorers from last season (Yao Ming, Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady) and yet remain competitive … and somehow deeper than they were last year.

     DONUT 4: “Jimmy Johnson Returning To Cowboys?’’ is how somebody at WFAA-TV interpreted a comment from Jimmy when asked about the possibility.

    “No comment!’’ is what Jimmy Jenius actually said.

   Channel 8’s analysis: Jimmy Johnson on Sunday's Fox NFL Pre-Game show didn't deny the possibility of returning to his old team, the Dallas Cowboys, for another tour of duty as head coach.

    I’m sure the boys at Channel 8 made this mistake honestly and not as an attention-grab.

   But make no mistake. This is a mistake.

     DONUT 5: Also What are Mavs draftees Ahmad Nivins and Nick Calathes up to overseas? Plenty!

     DONUT 6: And while we’re at it, whatever happened to Wally Zoolander? Why isn’t he in the NBA right now? 

     DONUT 7: Your DallasBasketball.com T-shirt is available! The “DallasBasketball.com classic’’ and “The UberMan’’ and the “Fish for Lunch’’ and “The DUST Chip’’ are yours for the taking! Please visit the DB.com Store today!

    P.S.: Some very fashionably astute Mavs fans who live in San Antonio have ordered up “the classic’’ DB.com shirt just in time for the Nov. 11 Mavs-at-Spurs meeting. Look for ‘em on the TV!

    DONUT 8: "I think at the end of the day,'' LeBron has announced, "a max deal or anything like that doesn't really matter to me at the end of the day. It's all about winning for me. So I've put myself in a position that when that day comes next summer, I want to win, and if I feel like the team is capable of winning, I'll make my decision like that."

    The money part of that quote is what caused a weekend earthquake of speculation on James’ future. But it’s another part of the quote that jumps out at me.

     I hear LeBron say that it’s “all about winning,’’ and that the team he goes to will have to be “capable of winning.’’ But here’s the thing: Virtually ANY team LeBron goes to WILL have a chance to win. Consider where Cleveland was before his arrival and what the Cavs have been every year since.

    LeBron’s next team WILL win. And, as long as that’s a guarantee, he might as well get his max money, too, right?

    DONUT 9: Thanks for all the positive feedback to our first edition on 103.3 ESPN Radio of “Mavs Magazine.’’ We’ll do it again next Saturday and every Saturday through the NBA season, from 10-to-11 a.m., on the Mavs flagship station,  103.3 ESPN Radio!

    DONUT 10: A smart way to get tickets to see your Mavs?

    We’ve got Mavs tickets, courtesy of MavCowTickets.com … a special that gives DallasBasketball.com readers:

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    *Oh yeah: A simple way to be given two FREE tickets to a Mavs game

     If you order any non-Mavs tickets, Ryan of MavCowTickets.com will give you two FREE Mavs tickets to a Mavs home game of Ryan’s choice.

    Also worth noting pertaining to Mavs home games, anything that says “emailable tickets’’ or “email tickets’’ will qualify for free shipping (it still makes you include the shipping charge when ordering, but Ryan will take it out) when ordering at least three days before a given Mavs home game. 

  I’ve received dozens of letters from readers who are so pleased with MavCowTickets, and with Ryan’s personal touch (order those tickets and you’ll experience it yourself!) … make sure you mention “dallasbasketball.com’’ in the order notes to qualify for all these great specials! Your satisfaction is absolutely guaranteed!

    DONUT 11: "Listen, enough is enough," Allen Iverson said when asked Friday night about being a benchwarmer for the Grizzlies. "There's got to be something else to talk about when it comes to the Memphis Grizzlies beside Allen Iverson.  … I'm tired of it, man. I'm done with it.’’

    Iverson’s inability to “get it’’ almost makes me feel sorry for him. Does he not realize that it is BECAUSE this is the Memphis Grizzlies that there is little else to talk about but his bizarre presence on that team? Does he not realize a major reason for his presence on that team is BECAUSE it will give potential ticket-buyers something to talk about?

    And now that he’s given himself a “leave of absence,’’ does he not realize that the reason it matters is BECAUSE he is a bizarre story?

   DONUT 12: “FISH on FOOTBALL’’ is part of the coverage of the Cowboys at Blogging The Boys. Stats, snark, insight, quote, news, more snark. ... please head on over to Mike Fisher’s new Cowboys home at BtB and enjoy! Show your support for all things FISH and check it out! Oh, and enjoy that 6-2, Cowboys fans!

   DONUT 13: An absolute roasting of my Uncle Nellie by the agent for Stephen Jackson, who is purposely trying to piss off the Warriors boss in order to force a trade of Capt. Jack:

    "No one trusts Don Nelson," agent Mark Stevens said. "When Nelson was in Milwaukee, Wayne Embry trusted him and brought him in, and he betrayed Embry. In Dallas, Mark Cuban took damn good care of him and his son, and he betrayed Cuban. In Golden State, Chris Mullin hired him and trusted him and Nelson backstabbed him by reaching out to president Robert Rowell and blaming Mullin for everything that was going wrong with the Warriors."

    Astute NBA fans (that’s you!) know this: Some of that stuff is undeniably true, and much of it is very sensitive, and most of it nobody ever really says out loud.

    But Stevens went there. And now that he has, it’s going to get really ugly.