Tuesday Mavs Donuts: The Texas Two-Step And Would Mark Cuban Like To Buy The Dodgers?

The Rockets have injuries but are handling them well. The Spurs have issues and. ... well, the Mavs will see 'em both in the next two days. Plus how to handle Drew Gooden, why Germans like Dirk Nowitzki think "Wetten Dass'' is funny, and what's this about Mark Cuban wanting to buy the Dodgers? All that, plus my reflections on how we should react to Fort Hood. ... It's Tuesday's Mavs Morning Donuts ...

    DONUT 1: Before we get to basketball …He wanted the Pirates at one time. And he wanted the Cubs. He wanted no part of the Rangers. ... How about Mark Cuban wanting the LA Dodgers?

    Well, the story in the LA Times suggests he does. But Cuban's quotes deep in the story suggest that it's not possible.

    But heck, LA Times, why let the facts get in the way of a screaming headline?

     DONUT 2: The Mavs face an interesting challenge, I think, trying to work supposed center-starter Drew Gooden back into a meaningful role.

     Don’t get me wrong; they should do so, and I know that when that rib-muscle injury heals up (tonight?) they will try. He remains a valuable tool … though admittedly he hasn’t shown any justification for me believing that. But hey, back-to-backs with Houston and San Antonio and then another game Friday at Minny?

    Dallas could use all hands on deck here.

    But the issues, to me, are these:

     DONUT 3: First, suggesting that Erick Dampier go back to being Gooden’s caddie seems, at this moment, ridiculous. The Mavs have to ride Damp’s hot-and-muscular start to right before the point when it fades. (And it will fade, right?) It’s Gooden that must caddie for Damp, and not the other way around. And while there are teams against which Gooden’s roving style might be beneficial … well, we all thought Toronto would’ve been one of those teams but Damp did just fine, didn’t he?

     DONUT 4: Second – and I think this is the tougher one – Dallas cannot run the same style of offense/same plays when Gooden replaces Damp at center. Go back and watch how Gooden played when he was a very effective starting 4 in Cleveland; he didn’t play strictly down low, as Dampier does. He was a free-throw-line-extended offensive player who either drew his man outside or got kick-out passes from drive-and-dish teammates. In his time here, Gooden has been asked to “create’’ on offense (or better said, has taken it upon himself to create), and that’s not his thing. … or he’s been asked to plug in for Damp at center in Damp-style, and that’s not his thing, either.

    Gooden at the 5 in Dallas can work. … if he’s allowed to play it like he’s Gooden at the 4 in Cleveland.

     DONUT 5: 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 6: There is a very popular TV game show in Germany. It’s called “Wetten Dass….”, which means “which means, “I Bet That…”  It’s full of German and international celebrities who come on to promote their songs, movies, whatever.    

    I offer this today to the American Mavs Fan trying to understand the sense of humor of good people like Dirk Nowitzki. Watch the YouTube (start at the 2:00-minute mark) to see the man who can shoot baskets using an excavator.

   This, American Mavs Fan, is what Dirk Nowitzki’s people think is funny.

   Oh, and to be fair, German Mavs Fan, we Americans apparently think Jay Leno is funny.

    So we’re even.

     DONUT 7: Here come the Rockets in the first of an interesting back-to-back for the Mavs. Rockets at the AAC tonight, then Mavs hard by the Ugly-Ass River in San Antonio on Wednesday. While T-Mac is plotting a comeback for the Rox, that won’t be tonight, but instead on Nov. 18. Meanwhile, the Rockets – with T-Mac out, Yao out and Artest gone – are in the estimation of Mavs coach Rick Carlisle “the hardest-playing team in the league.''

    DONUT 8: And then we come to the Spurs. Tony Parker sprained an ankle on Friday vs. Portland. Timmy Duncan has a swollen left ankle and is listed as day-to-day. Neither played last night in a home win over Toronto. (What a silly-looking boxscore SA puts up without those two in it.)

   Will we see them Wednesday when the Mavs go to Ugly-Ass? I'll keep you posted.

    DONUT 9: The Fort Hood tragedy and the insta-overreaction to it?

    Been there. Not done that.

    It was ….years ago, and I was preparing to go on the air with my noon-to-3 “Fish For Lunch’’ show on 570 KLIF Radio. … and moments before I was to go on came news of the Oklahoma City bombing. I was in my first days of doing a full-time show on the station, and bosses Dan Bennett and John Shomby were understandably reluctant to let this rather raw “sports guy’’ grab a microphone and supervise discussion of the tragic event.

    But they did let me do it. And I am forever grateful, because one of the muscles I was able to exercise is my reluctance to insta-overreact to a story.

     We received hundreds of calls that day from listeners who wanted to pin the OKC bombing crime on somebody. In fact, some of my very respected colleagues at the station forcefully attempted to do the same thing. Many of us “knew’’ this was a “terrorist act’’ … and many of us connected to the perpetrator a certain skin color and/or a certain religious affiliation.

    In one of my proudest moments, I kept deflecting the accusations by revealing that “I don’t know.’’ It doesn’t happen very often in talk radio or sports commentary in general: “I don’t know.’’

    But I didn’t. None of us did. The facts were coming in slowly, but the accusation, the insta-reactions, and, frankly, the hate, rolled in like an angry and relentless storm. We just had to pin this on somebody … and that “somebody’’ was, in the opinion of most, quite obviously a person with a certain skin color and/or a certain religious affiliation.

    “I think,’’ I boldly said on-air to my friend David Gold, “that it borders on racism to pretend we know that because of the nature of the act, we know the racial and religious background of the perpetrator. What this person did was hateful. But assuming that we know his ethnic origin is hateful, too. Why can’t we wait until we know for sure? Why do we have to start marching in the streets in opposition of an enemy we are right now only imagining?’’

    Later, of course, we learned that the dangerous nut in OKC was Timothy McVeigh. He was not of that “certain skin color’’ and he was not of that “certain religious affiliation.’’ He was an American with a loose screw.

    I don’t know much more about these matters than I did …. Years ago, and I don’t pretend to know more about Fort Hood than you do. But I still believe what I said about the OKC bombing then applies today.

    This situation does not need your insta-overreaction or your biases or your hate. This situation needs further investigation.

    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:

   *A 10-percent discount with the purchase of any Mavs home game made two weeks prior to the game

   *Free shipping within those same guidelines

    *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: Kareem is being treated for a rare form of leukemia.

   DONUT 12: “FISH on FOOTBALL’’ is part of the coverage of the Cowboys at Blogging The Boys. My reflections on Dallas’ win at the Eagles and more are up and runnin’!