Beginnings

Today might be the start of something big. This morning, Tucker and I finally began work on our "final" draft of the Bumblebees are Impossible (working title) pilot script. For a project where my enthusiasm waned in the middle (writing nine episodes of the show was tiring from both a mental and a creative perspective), I'm finally back to a place where I feel really good about it all. I've told several people our general premise (without giving too much away, of course), and there seems to be a genuine interest in this type of show.

So I'm really looking forward to getting it done so we can start showing people all the work we've done. I'm hoping to be done sometime in July...and then we can get to the real work: selling this thing. And maybe even starting a new career. It should be very exciting, and I'm really optimistic that things can go well. It's a great idea, and I'm proud of it.

Secondly, Tucker and Ashley began working out with the "Insanity" program last week. It's part of the P90X program (which is a workout program on steroids, basically). Insanity is mostly cardio and "core" workouts, and it's supposed to be pretty brutal. It's also supposed to get results...quickly. So I watched part of one video last week (I couldn't participate due to family obligations), and I actually did the video today.

It's rough. And while I'm sore, it actually wasn't quite as bad as I was thinking it would be. It kicked my butt, for sure, but I don't feel like I'm in terribly good shape. I've swam/swum laps in our condo's pool on three occasions, and I've been keeping up with my own ab/core exercises...but I'm just not in shape. If we can do this on a consistent basis (and I hope we can), I think it will be great for a summer workout.

And while I'm sore, I can always take advantage of my membership with Massage Envy. I haven't been in a really long time...meaning I have about 40 free massages that I need to use at some point.

So hopefully these two things (starting the final work on the pilot and the workout) will be the start of something new and good for me. Wish me luck.

And, yes, if you're reading this...you're probably on the short list of people who will get to test out the pilot script. Unless you're from the Netherlands. In which case....probably not.

LeBron James : A-Hole

I hate LeBron James. As far as athletes go, I dislike him more than anyone else. More than A-Rod. More than DeSean Jackson. More than (insert player on the Red Wings or Sharks).

I didn't used to hate him, but I've never liked him. I thought it was ridiculous when I saw that a high school player's games were going to be broadcast on ESPN. There is something pure about high school sports to me...where the only footage of high schoolers is really amateur stuff for the school itself. That, to see a high school game, you have to go there in person.

And I didn't really appreciate the fact that this kid (he's a few months younger than me) was getting so much love and attention before he did anything. Because he hadn't. He had potential, but he was getting credit and praise based on potential. He was built up before he'd accomplished anything.

And that wasn't his fault. He was dubbed "King" James before he'd stepped onto an NBA court. There was months of buildup to Cleveland selecting him with the first pick. And then more buildup to his first game.

I'm not going to lie: I rooted against him. I hoped that he was going to be a massive failure, and that the hype would blow up in his face. That all the money he'd been given by sponsors would be a waste, and that LeBron would go down in history with Kwame Brown and Ryan Leaf.

Of course, I was wrong. LeBron instantly made Cleveland a contender, and he started playing like one of the best players in the league almost immediately. And he started appearing everywhere...from commercials to "Saturday Night Live."

And it almost started to seem like a good story. Hometown kid making his city proud. And over in the Eastern Conference, it was hard to really get mad at him. I went to the first game the LeBron played in Dallas, knowing that I'd missed every opportunity to see Michael Jordan play in Dallas. If he was going to be "the next one," I wanted to see him live.

There was also a time when I almost turned around on him. In the 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, I happened to turn on a game to see LeBron go off on a game against Detroit. It was fun to watch him take over a game and lead his team to victory. It made me think of something Jordan would do, and it was cool to see it happen in front of my eyes on live television.

But there were things that kept me from turning around. I didn't really like the way LeBron completely embraced the "king" nickname. I feel like nicknames should be used by fans and broadcasters, and that athletes should show some humility with them. It'd been a few years, and LeBron hadn't done anything. He'd still never won a championship, and he hadn't even been named MVP yet. And he was already declaring himself king, when players like Kobe and Duncan had more reason to be declared royalty (with MVPs *and* championships).

Then came 2010. LeBron was in the last playoffs with Cleveland, a team with the best record in the NBA. He had the strongest core of players around him, including Antawn Jamison, Shaquille O'Neal, and Mo Williams. His team won 61 games and was primed to go deep in the playoffs.

But then something happened. LeBron quit on his team. After knocking out the Bulls in five games, the Cavs played the Celtics. They took a 2-1 series lead and looked primed to head to the Eastern Conference finals. But after losing game four, the "King" of the NBA turned in one of his worst performances. I didn't watch this game, but all accounts of it said that LeBron looked disinterested. LeQuit became a new nickname, one that he was less inclined to embrace.

As he walked off the court in his final game with the Cavaliers, LeBron memorably took off his jersey...symbolizing the end of his career with Cleveland.

Then the sweepstakes begun. It seemed like LeBron wanted out in Cleveland, and people started to speculate where he'd end up. Some people thought he'd follow Jordan's footsteps and try to win in Chicago. Others thought that, if Wade went home to Chicago, LeBron could step in and play in Miami. Then there were the two New York teams, with many people wondering if LeBron needed to go to the number one media market to try and win.

There was even speculation that the Mavs, armed with Dampier's special contract and Mark Cuban's marketing genius, could be in on the LeBron sweepstakes. Ben and Skin even put together a really catchy song to try and lure James to Dallas.

And when I started hearing rumors that Miami was going to try and get LeBron James to come to Miami, I thought it sounded crazy. It'd never happened before, and I couldn't see the two of them getting along. John Hollinger wrote an article breaking down each of the possible destination for LeBron, and how he'd interact with those teams. Hollinger, someone I generally hate, said that LeBron would work the best with Dirk Nowitzki....who's game would compliment LeBron's (and vice versa). The worst combination, he said, was LeBron and Wade.

And the reason was simple. Their games don't compliment each other. Wade dominates games by slashing into the lane and getting to the basket (and/or the free throw line). LeBron does something very similar, but he's more inclined to pass the ball than shoot.

So LeBron could slash through the defense, get to the basket and kick it out to an open Wade....who would then do the exact same thing. Wade doesn't have much of an outside shot, and he wouldn't be able to take advantage of that situation. The same was true of the inverse...Wade could do the same thing and hit a wide-open LeBron...who would have to try driving the lane again himself.

It wasn't going to work. And when I heard that Chris Bosh was also possibly going to Miami, I knew it was crazy. Bosh had said all offseason that he didn't want to be someone else's Robin. In Miami, he was primed to be Batgirl.

But then it started coming together. And then LeBron announced "The Decision" on ESPN.

Now, I was on vacation in LA when this happened so I didn't see any of it. But I did read about the speculation that LeBron was going to go to Miami before the announcement was made. I hoped it wouldn't happen, but then it did.

And by all accounts, "the Decision" was ridiculous. LeBron praising himself and trying to grab all the attention. A one hour special leading up to a one-sentence ending.

It was probably driven by ESPN, but LeBron didn't help himself with any of it. Fans in Cleveland had probably read the news, hinting that LeBron was going to leave them. And LeBron made it worse by dragging out the decision on national TV. They felt like he was rubbing it in their faces for everyone to see.

It was childish. It was selfish. It was immature.

And people hated it. They didn't necessarily hate the idea that LeBron wanted to try and go play with great players and try to win. No one said much when Gary Payton and Karl Malone tried to win with Kobe and Shaq. No one said much when Ray Bourque left his longtime home in Boston to try and win with Colorado.

The difference was that LeBron was in his prime. And instead of finding a Robin to help him win, he was agreeing to *be* Robin to Wade's Batman. Because, let's be honest...the Heat was Wade's team, and he had the ring. Whether or not LeBron was the better player, Wade was the one driving the bus, and LeBron was begging for a ride to the title.

The media interviewed Michael Jordan after "The Decision", and Jordan said that he would've never called up Bird and Magic to try and team up. And the reason was, simply, that he wanted to beat Bird and Magic. He wanted to beat Barkley. He wanted to beat Malone and Stockton. And that's why Jordan is known as the best player in the history of the game - because he played in an era where a lot of great players played...and he beat them all. He had Scottie Pippen to help, but Jordan got all the glory.

LeBron was acknowledging to the world that he couldn't beat Wade. And, if you can't beat him, join him.

From that point on, I declared that any comparisons to Jordan were null and void. If the guy couldn't even be the man on his own team, how could he be the best ever?

And like many people, LeBron became a villain. And it was a role he almost embraced. In his first post-decision ad for Nike, LeBron asked the world "what should I do?" and mentioned his role as a villain. But the fact was that LeBron didn't really care. He wanted to go to Miami so that he could be a champion, and he still wanted to be treated like the best player on his team. He wanted the glory Jordan got without having to work as hard for it.

In a sense, he quit again.

So the 2010-2011 season began, and ESPN latched on to the Heat like it was their lifeforce. Every game was covered heavily by the network, and there was an ongoing article called the "Heat Index" where the Big Three's performance was broken down for each game.

And, for the first few weeks, the Heat struggled. With no post presence at all and very few pieces around the Big Three, teams found a way to beat them. Teams usually win with a strong center and a strong point guard, and the Heat had neither.

Just like with his first game as a Cav in Dallas, I bought tickets to watch LeBron's first game for the Heat in Dallas. And I went, not as much to cheer the Mavs...but to boo the Heat. All LeBron's bandwagon fans showed up to the game, and one guy behind me symbolized exactly what I assumed LeBron fans cared about. Instead of cheering "Let's go Heat", he cheered "Let's go LeBron"

He didn't care about the team. He cared about LeBron. Just like...LeBron himself.

But after the early struggles, the Heat started to play well. Eventually, they rose up to a top four seed and seemed to be rolling into the playoffs. They brushed away Philadelphia, and they handled a weakened Boston team. After that series, LeBron admired himself as he claimed that he joined Wade to beat the Boston beast. That the Celtics' Big Three inspired Wade and LeBron to come up with their own Big Three. That Boston's gambit had started a chain reaction that proved that, to win, one superstar wasn't enough.

And that idea made me mad because I saw it as the end of basketball as I knew it. Forever, each team tried to get a superstar and build around him. The Lakers had Kobe. The Spurs had Duncan. The Heat had Wade. The Magic had Howard. The Mavs had Dirk. You get your guy, and you put role players around him.

Some role players (like Gasol in LA and Parker/Ginobili) were better than others. But there was, still, no denying who The Man was. In Boston and in Miami, there was a debate on who was the best of the Big Three. And all three were legit superstars.

And it didn't stop there. The Knicks were talking about trying to get Chris Paul to come to New York to join Amare and Carmelo Anthony. The Lakers were trying to add Dwight Howard to Kobe and Gasol. The Nets and Bulls were trying the same thing.

Meanwhile, the Suns and Nuggets and Magic and Hornets were getting picked clean. They were losing their superstars, and it started to look like smaller market teams in basketball were going to simply become training grounds for the bigger markets' future stars.

And I hate that. I actually love the idea of parity...and not as much in a "every team is equal" sense...but I love when different teams can win on any year. I love that, in the NFL, teams like the Ravens and Buccaneers and even the Giants have won in an era dominated by the Colts and Patriots. That, any given year, a different team could make a run. Teams that you expect to be good can stumble, and teams you'd never imagined could be good can make a run.

I love that. But in NBA, like Major League Baseball had become, was in danger of becoming a sport of 8-10 dominant teams and 10-15 doormats. I hate that.

So as the playoffs went on, it looked like Dallas and Miami were going to meet up. I feared the Heat, which were now firing on all cylinders. In addition to the Big Three, they'd added Mike Bibby and Mike Miller to the roster...two veteran guys who could definitely play. They even had scrappy players like Udonis Haslem and younger players like Joel Anthony and Mario Chalmers off the bench who had improved by playing with the Big Three.

But it wasn't just my team versus the team I hated the most. It wasn't just Dirk vs. LeBron. It was a team of three people versus a team of twelve. It was old school versus new school. A team built around three superstars versus a team built around one.

If the era of "multiple superstars" was going to be stopped, the Mavericks had to stop them. Dallas had to prove that it was still possible to win with one superstar and a bunch of other players to compliment him.

S0, yes, I was invested because it was my team. But I also was invested because it felt like the soul of the sport was on the line. And if it'd been any other team (yes, even the Spurs), I would've been cheering as loud as I could for whoever was left standing to battle the Heat.

But I knew it'd be rough. Not only were they playing Dwayne Wade...one of the greatest actors/floppers of our time...they were playing against a team that the NBA wanted to win. The network wanted them to win. The announcers even wanted them to win.

And the sad part was that no one seemed to be hiding it. The announcers on the ABC broadcast seemed to be opening cheering for Miami as if they were campaigning for jobs on the Miami broadcast team. Multiple ABC promos surrounded the Big Three, LeBron, and Wade...with almost nothing about Dirk or the Mavs.

It seemed like the world was getting ready for a LeBron championship, and no one seemed all that concerned about Dallas.

Then, the dancing in game two happened. Wade and LeBron mocked the Dallas bench as it looked like Miami was about to take a 2-0 lead. They acted like Durant in the Oklahoma City series...except that Durant had never been on that stage before. Wade and LeBron should've known better than to act that way, but they're both selfish guys who play to the cameras. They're about themselves, and they don't know how to play as a team.

After game one, the Heat players (meaning the Big Three) apparently joked about having two parades after their eventual title - one in Miami and one in Cleveland. I guess to rub it in Cleveland's face one last time.

(Which is funny because the Cleveland fans, summarized by the account CavsForMavs, had united with Dallas fans to try and "defeat pure evil" and eliminate Miami's title hopes).

Then came game four. With Miami trying to take a commanding 3-1 lead over Dallas, Dirk battled a sinus infection and a 102 fever. After Dallas won, the Miami players seemed insulted by the attention Dirk got. Because how dare ABC and ESPN, who were supposed to be the Big Three's private marketing groups, talk about anyone but LeBron and Wade?

And so the two immature guys did what immature guys do....they made fun of the other guy. Walking down the hallway before game 5, Wade and LeBron mocked Dirk's illness by fake coughing to the cameras. They both later claimed that they weren't making fun of Dirk, but they denied it like children deny things..."Nuh uh...I didn't do that! I promise!"

They lied, and they lied terribly.

And what made everything better was that Dallas won game five (in a game I attended), and LeBron kept coming up small. After only 8 points in game four, LeBron missed several shots in the fourth quarter of game five and had a crucial offensive foul that helped give Dallas the game.

And LeBron discovered that all the attention went both ways. Do good, and they're crown you prematurely. Do poorly, and they will rip you apart. And they did...for days and days, the commentators tried to figure out what was wrong with LeBron.

And it turned out the Hollinger was simply right: the two big superstars don't work well together. They don't compliment each other. And they can't win together. They'd won plenty of games against inferior opponents with skill alone...but against a team with one united goal, LeBron and Wade couldn't help each other.

And after another stinker from LeBron in game six, it was over. More criticism for LeBron, and at his press conference, he lashed out at his critics. He basically gave the same speech that Romo gave after getting dismantled by the Eagles to end his season.

At the end of the day, he was still a millionaire. He was still famous. He was still living a great life. And at the end of the day, LeBron's critics were still poor and unhappy. They still had bills they couldn't afford, and they still had to work 60-hour weeks just to get by.

The man is an immature brat, and he deserves nothing but criticism. He's been given ever opportunity to succeed, and he's failed each time. And not because he isn't the best player...because he doesn't have the drive. He doesn't have the work ethic. And he doesn't have the heart.

When the going gets tough, LeBron runs away. He did it against Boston in 2010, and he did it against Dallas in 2011. And he does it all, despite the fact the networks and league wants him to win. They give him all the calls, and they give him all the glory. They desperately want him to be Jordan if he'll just take the damn mantle.

But he won't. Because he can't. Or he doesn't know how.

LeBron has never worked a day in his life. He was born an exceptional athlete, and he's gotten by on pure athleticism his whole life. Meanwhile, players like Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki...also gifted atheletes...keep working day after day...game after game...season after season...to get better.

LeBron doesn't do that. He doesn't work. He doesn't adjust. He doesn't try and get better. He doesn't accept blame, and he doesn't try to help.

Like a kid, he makes fun. He lashes out. He denies and runs away and cries.

And that's why I hate LeBron. Why I've watched in joy all the videos making fun of LeBron and his failures. Why I've read every article that trashes LeBron's legacy, his personality, his manhood, and his work ethic. Why this title meant so much more than it would've against the Magic or the Bulls or the Celtics.

I hope LeBron never wins. I hope Wade's physical play forces him into an early retirement. I hope Bosh, tired of being ignored, tries to go elsewhere. And all the bad karma that LeBron built up keeps him from ever winning the final game of the season.

I hope that LeBron gets the destiny that Dirk almost got...being a great player that never truly wins. Where he's thrown in with Barkley and Malone...players that were great but never got it done. That never winning keeps him from being named among the game's best.

And I hope that, as he sits and watches basketball after he's retired...that LeBron realizes that he wasted all his talents. That he wasted all the God-given skill. That he could've been the best, but he lacked the heart to do it.

And that's when I hope LeBron feels his lowest. Because he could've been beloved. He could've been great. He could've been the best. But, at the end of the day, he's a kid in a man's body. And he's just too weak and too small and too scared to ever be what the rest of the world seems to want him to be.

Dirk Nowitzki

Yes, this championship is worthy of three really long blogs. It's worthy of a hundred of them, but I can't write that much. I can, however, try to write as much as I can about the Big German: Dirk Nowitzki.

First of all, let me summarize my Mavericks' fandom. I don't think I've ever claimed to be a so-called "MFFL." Because I'm going to be completely honest - I haven't been a Mavericks' fan my whole life. I haven't even been a Stars fan my whole life.

Because, growing up, I really only cheered for two teams: the Cowboys and Rangers. I cheered for the Cowboys because I grew up in Dallas in the early 1990s - all they did was win. And I cheered for the Rangers because I was a huge baseball fan, and they were my hometown team. The fact that they didn't win was irrelevant to me.

But basketball (and hockey) were irrelevant to me growing up. Hockey was irrelevant because I was living in a town without a team. Hockey was Canadian, and it seemed so foreign to me. I played some NHL '93 for Sega, but my goal was to take the puck and slam into the goalie as fast as possible so it wasn't really me loving the sport.

I watched some basketball in the 1990s, but it was mostly just trying to appreciate the greatness of Michael Jordan. So, basically, I watched games in the playoffs. I wouldn't say I was a Bulls fan because I definitely wasn't. But I didn't really watch the Mavs either. I can really only remember going to one game at Reunion Arena. It was against Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks, and I remember the Mavs beating them.

But it wasn't enough. So I have very few memories of the three Js. I have very few memories of much of anything.

Then Cuban bought the Mavs, and I remember him buying a network to show Mavs games (K-Star). I guess the games weren't really on TV before that? That's about how little I know about it.

Well, I kept hearing rumblings that we had this really big white guy from Germany on the team. And, so, almost out of pure curiosity, I tuned in to see him. And while I wasn't all-that impressed (keeping in mind that Jordan barely kept my attention), I started watching a bit more.

I remember watching the Mavs in the 2000-2001 NBA playoffs when they played the Utah Jazz, and I remember them getting the upset win over the Jazz. I remember it being a big deal, but I don't remember much else from that. I didn't really start being a major "fan" until I got to college in 2002-2003. I started to understand the rivalry with San Antonio (and Sacramento in those days).

I started loving "Filthy, Dirty, and Nasty" (Finley, Dirk, and Nash). I followed them more closely, and after the 2002 playoffs, I was hooked. By the Western Conference Finals in 2003, I was locked in.

Even back then, Dirk wasn't my favorite player. I loved Nash...particularly his big 3s and game-closing free throws. I was also a huge fan of Nick Van Exel in those playoff runs.

Dirk was good, but I've never really been a fan of the big guy on any of my teams. I liked Alvin Harper more than I liked Michael Irvin. I liked Michael Young more than A-Rod. And I liked other players along the way more than I liked Mike Modano.

But Nash left. Van Exel left. Finley left. And one day, I was simply left with Dirk as my favorite player. I remember actually being a little scared when Nash left because that meant that someone other than Nash would be taking end-of-game free throws (and Dirk missed every once in a while...Nash never seemed to).

And when all of Dirk's friends were gone, Dirk stepped up. He became the man in Dallas, and I really started to respect him. Even then, though, my loyalties in the mid-90s went to Josh Howard...who played a bit hard-nosed back then that Dirk (who was still flashy).

Time after time, someone else would show up and would become my favorite player. Even this year, I really was a big fan of Tyson Chandler. But, at the end of the day, I can definitively say something:

Dirk is my favorite Mav. And he should've been all along. Because he's not just the best player that the franchise has ever seen: he is the franchise.

Dirk showed up in town not really knowing what to expect. He was a 19-year-old kid who the Nelsons fell in love with . Don Nelson thought he could make a superstar out of this freakish 7-footer who didn't play like any other 7-footer in the world. It was Dirk who captured my attention. It was Dirk who got the Mavs onto the stage. And it was Dirk that kept the Mavericks relevant as all his friends came and went.

In the 2003 Western Conference Finals, the Mavs were heavy underdogs to the eventual-champion Spurs. Dirk went down in that series and never came back. Dirk said he wanted to play. Cuban wanted him to play. But Don Nelson wouldn't let him - he knew there would be later moments.

In the 2006 playoffs, Dirk led the way. His "and-one" against San Antonio in the second round was simply incredible. He took the team on his back and he refused to let them lose. 99.9% of basketball players would've failed in that scenario. Dirk didn't.

And, yes, Dirk was to blame for a lot of the Mavericks' failures. But that's because, his entire career, Dirk was a man on an island. He was an awkward German kid in a faraway land, and I think it took him a long time to really understand what it took to be a winner in the NBA.

Think about Dirk from 2001 and Dirk today. They're completely different players. Dirk, upon his arrival, was a spot-up three pointer with no ability to make his own shot. He wasn't a leader. He didn't know what it took to win. He didn't know how to carry the team on his back.

Dirk today is a warrior. A beast. And, honestly, you get a bit surprised when he takes a 3-pointer because he just doesn't do it that much anymore. He can still drill them as good as anyone in the NBA, but he realized that he can't do that and win.

And that's what I respect so much about Dirk. He puts in the effort, every day, to get better. He joked at today's championship parade that his mentor and coach, Holger, promised him a day off if he beat the Heat in game six. He said that provided all the motivation he needed.

But it's true. Dirk added a lot to his game. He became a phenomenal rebounder. He added a really solid post game. He got to the free throw line with regularity. He toughened up. And he became so very clutch.

All the criticism Dirk received is based on old information. People that say he's soft don't watch him with any regularity. And the reason why Dirk is suddenly getting so much attention and praise is that people are finally seeing him on a night-to-night basis. Because the guy has been this good for a long time.

And that's why I'm so happy for him. The guy, more than anyone in the Metroplex (and I mean that) deserves a championship. No one in this town has worked harder, and no one in this town has had as many hardships. Outside of Cowboys' quarterbacks, no one in this town has had as much criticism, and no one has done more work to limit his flaws and edit his mistakes.

This town loves a winner, but it really respects a hard-worker. Someone who isn't willing to make excuses for himself because he knows he can do better. Work harder. Succeed tomorrow with hard work today.

And that's Dirk. And he knows it too. He ran into the locker room after wins against Oklahoma City and Miami because the emotion of the moment overwhelmed him. Al the hours on the practice court. All the shots in big games that didn't go in. All the losses. All the heartbreak. It had all led to this moment where Dirk could finally stand above the rest. It meant so much to him (just getting there...and then, eventually, doing it).

Kidd needed the win to cement his legacy. Carlisle needed the win to legitimize the work he'd done. Terry needed the win to silence his critics.

But Dirk needed the win to feel good about himself and his career. You could tell that it simply killed Dirk that he couldn't play in the 2003 Western Conference Finals. That he couldn't get it done in 2006. That he had to accept his MVP trophy in 2007 after his team had already been eliminated. And that he never got close after that.

If Dirk had retired with all those things on his conscience, I think he would've had a hard time sleeping for the rest of his life.

But this win changed everything. All those ghosts went away. The nightmare was over. The clouds blew away. And Dirk was allowed to breathe for the first time in years.

Watch him celebrating. He's truly happy. Look at the reaction he has when people chant his name and "MVP." He's truly appreciative. When he says that he loves this town, this city, and these fans, he means it. I believe he really does. Because, at the end of the day, he knows that we were there with him. When we criticized him, he had the same criticisms. When we were mad, he was twice has mad.

And he knew, while he wanted to win more than anyone, we wanted it for him almost as much. We wanted to be champions. We wanted a freakin' championship parade. We wanted the drought to be over and the curse to be squashed.

But we wanted it for Dirk. Cuban wanted it for Dirk. More than himself, Kidd wanted it for Dirk. And, as it turned out, America wanted it for Dirk.

Dirk's going to go out there and be the hard worker he's always been. And he's going to do whatever it takes to get back to this moment. But, at the end of the day, I think Dirk can finally sleep easy. Because he's finally at a place where he's content with his career. He's a champion, and they can never take that away from him.

2010-2011 Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs 2011 NBA title is a big deal. I've already said why, and I've already described the season and the playoff run. Now, it's time to talk about the players.

As I said, the Mavs were a versitile group in 2010-2011. They had defense and scoring, size and speed. But what all the Mavericks had in common was one things: experience. And they all were in need of the same thing: their first title. So let's break down all the key members of this team and what they brought to the table.

PG Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd was drafted in 1994, second overall, to bring the Dallas Mavericks a championship. And 16 years later, he did. Sure, it took way longer than expected, and it required two decent detours to Phoenix and New Jersey...but it happened.

Now, I'll admit that I don't remember much about Jason Kidd's first tenure in Dallas. I know about the three Js, and I know about an old song from the Ticket called "The Finley Fascination" by the Fake Jason Kidd. But by the time I'd reached my own Mavericks' maturation, he was gone. And when he came back, it was a disaster. The Mavericks lost their young/promising point guard, and they lost two draft picks. In the first playoff series with Kidd, Chris Paul made him look a thousand years old. And later playoff trips weren't any better.

The Mavs had become an old team, and Kidd was the most aged. But, slowly and surely, Kidd started to adapt. He'd lost a step, but he was getting smarter. And what he'd lost in speed, he started making up in his shot. A guy whose nickname had been "ason Kidd" (because he had no "J") had become a three-point threat for the Mavericks when left open. And no matter how many 3s Kidd hit, he always seemed to be left wide open.

And Kidd stopped guarding fast point guards and started being a lockdown defender on shooting guards and small forwards. He'd found a way to turn weaknesses into strengths, and he started looking like a younger version of himself.

And this season, he was phenomenal. There were times when he still looked all 38 years of his, but there were more times when I'd wished he was on the court than times I'd wished he was off. And he kept hitting shot after shot in the playoffs. He picked his spots and took advantage of most of them.

And I was really happy that he got his ring. The guy's one of the best point guards in the history of the NBA, and he needed a title to legitimize his career. As far as guys I was rooting for, Jason Kidd was number two. He finally got it done.

SG - Jason Terry

I've been really hard on Jason Terry. Really hard. I'd come to the conclusion that no team was ever going to win a championship with Jason Terry. He took too many shots and was way too hot/cold to ever help a team win.

But Terry was also an extremely likable guy. The guy was a crowdpleaser with his "JET" nickname and wings after hitting a big shot. When my Terry hatred would hits its peak, he'd do something great and win me back. And when I got a chance to meet JET, I took it. He was a great guy and really nice, and it was really cool to meet him. And when we were leaving, he told us to look out for the Mavs in the playoffs...they were going to make some noise.

And when the Mavs blew the 4th quarter lead in game four in Portland, I put a lot of blame on JET. His style of basketball is not what wins in the playoffs. When you're blowing a big lead in the playoffs, you need to get to the basket. And Terry's wings didn't bring him close to the basket very often.

And this playoffs, JET was a microcosm of himself. He was hot, and he was cold. He was great against the Lakers and just decent against Oklahoma City. And in the first three games against Miami, he was awful. I started to worry that JET had hit all his three-pointers in one game against the Lakers and had nothing left.

But while JET's shooting is up and down, his mouth is always running at full speed. After being shut down in the first three games, JET started to dare LeBron James and the Miami defense to shut him down. And when Dirk was sick in game four, Terry came to life. In game five, he put the game on ice. And in game six, he saved the day.

I still don't love the way JET plays basketball, but I like him as a person. I'm glad he's a champion, and I'm glad he won here. Like it or not, he's a Dallas Maverick, and he was a huge reason this team won.

SF - Shawn Marion

When Marion was added to this roster, I was excited. While many people saw an aging dinosaur, I remembered the way Marion played when he was on the Phoenix Suns. He was a clutch offensive player and a heck of a defensive presence. I knew that adding him to the Mavs was going to make a difference, and I ended up being right.

When the Mavs needed offense, Marion showed up. But if they didn't, he was more-than-happy to focus his attention on the defensive side of the court. And, boy, did he. Marion was always put on the other team's best player, and that meant stopping Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James. And, series after series, Marion impressed as those stars came up dimmer than ever before.

Marion has the ugliest shot in the world, but he's beautiful to watch on defense. The guy is long and athletic, and he can still move around a bit. And he's the type of defender that can cover anyone. One of the few people in the Finals to slow down Dwayne Wade was Marion, who's length and size gave the smaller guard issues.

Dirk was the obvious playoff MVP, but Marion should be in the running. He may not be the Matrix anymore, but he's still a heck of a basketball player.

C - Tyson Chandler

What else is there to say about Tyson Chandler? This guy is a beast, and I absolutely love him. In one season, he became one of my favorite Mavericks of all time, giving the team a swagger that it never had before.

He plays defense, he gets the team going, and he became the heart and soul of a team that has been lost dozens of times before. And, for the first time in my entire Mavs existence, he was a guy who could finish an ally-oop.

Need to know more? Watch this, and you'll understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwn8QeV3hcY

Mark Cuban, Chandler is a free agent. Give the man his money.

PG - JJ Barea

JJ Barea is listed at 6'0. That is a lie. The man is my size or smaller, and there are dozens of reports to back me up.

What isn't a lie is Barea's basketball ability. And the guy is fearless. A guy that small shouldn't be able to do what he does, but Barea does it anyway. During the Laker series, Barea was able to get to the lane at will. And, in doing so, he was the only guy on the Mavericks' roster that was capable of slashing. Barea's offense opened things up for Dirk, Terry, and Kidd.

There's still a part of me that doesn't believe that Barea will ever be anything more than just a role player on any team in the NBA. But Barea made a name for himself this year, and as a free agent, I'm sure some team will be calling him up.

But I hope Barea stays. I was impressed by the way he was bullied this playoffs (no time more than when Andrew Bynum hit him in the ribs with his elbow), and he ended up coming up huge in the Finals after struggling the first three games.

Plus, the dude is dating Miss Universe, a woman who is in a bikini in every picture on google images. How cool is that?

SG - DeShawn Stevenson

When Brendan Haywood was brought to the Mavericks, DeShawn Stevenson was thrown in as a salary dump. The Wizards didn't want to put up with him, and the Mavericks were willing to take him.

But Stevenson brought more to the Mavericks than a big contract. Like Chandler, Stevenson brought a toughness that the Mavericks needed. With a guy like Stevenson on your team, you're not going to be called soft. And you're not going to get picked on.

Stevenson also brought a defensive attitude that cannot be measured. When the Mavericks were trying to bring a defensive intensity to the team, they went to Rick Carlisle and insisted that Stevenson be in the starting lineup to set a defensive tone. And when he was in the starting lineup, the Mavericks won more times than not.

And what really helped was the fact that Stevenson was able to re-discover his offensive game. Like Kidd, teams would leave DeShawn open to help double Dirk Nowitzki. But when they did, Stevenson wasn't afraid to shoot. In fact, one of the fears about Stevenson was that, if he made a couple shots, the ball movement would die when the ball came to him.

But the guy was a key member of the team. When Marion was playing too many minutes, Stevenson came off the bench to fill in for him with very few complaints. The guy said he wanted to do what it took to win the championship, and it helped the team win its final four games.

Teams need a guy like DeShawn Stevenson. He'll never be a superstar, but the guy can fill a role.

C - Brendan Haywood

When the Mavericks traded for Haywood last year, he instantly became one of the best centers in Mavericks' history. That didn't say much, but it was certainly true. Haywood made Erick Dampier look slow and old, and it was refreshing to see someone like that in a Mavericks' uniform.

And when the season ended, one of the top priorities for the Mavs was resigning Haywood. They ended up giving him a monster contract, but it was all nullified when the Mavs ended up getting Tyson Chandler.

Now they had a problem - too many centers. And when Chandler started to play great, the Mavs' new max-contract man became a bench player. And, early in the season, Haywood complained. He said he wasn't used to coming off the bench, and that he didn't want to. But the Mavs couldn't bench Chandler, either.

But Haywood eventually came around. When Chandler missed some time with injury, Haywood played like the man the Mavs signed to a max contract. And, in the playoffs, Haywood was even better. When Chandler went out, Haywood filled in very well.

The Mavericks never really had a true center. And now they had two. And while Haywood missed the last three games of the Finals with an injury, he was still huge in the playoffs.

SF - Peja Stojakovic

I used to hate Peja. As a Maverick, I liked him. Instead of killing my team with dagger 3s, he was helping us. In the first few rounds of the playoffs, Peja was huge and hit a bunch of big shots.

In the Finals, Peja was terrible. And I could say that I hate him now, but that wouldn't be true. I'm glad that Carlisle didn't stick with him, but Peja did help fill an offensive void when Caron Butler went down. So I do appreciate what he was able to do, whether it was big or not.

PF - Brian Cardinal

Mark Cuban calls Brian Cardinal "Dad." On the Ticket, one of the hosts said that Cardinal looks like a guy who stole a jersey and ran onto the court. Brian Cardinal is hilarious because he doesn't look like a basketball player. He looks like Ashley if Ashley was a foot taller.

But Cardinal's other nickname is "The Custodian." And while he had very few memorable moments in the regular season, he came up gigantic in the playoffs...doing the dirty work he's known for.

With Peja struggling, Cardinal took his place in the rotation. And Cardinal came in and "gooned it up" (as Ashley said). He took charges and played physical defense. In game five, he tried to take a charge that ended up sending Dwayne Wade to the locker room for a great deal of the game. In game six, he had two really hard fouls, and he filled minutes. He even made a couple of threes, providing offense the Mavs needed.

Cardinal for Peja was an underrated move, but it was still huge.

SG - Corey Brewer

I thought Corey Brewer was going to be big down the stretch, but Carlisle refused to play him. Brewer is known for his defensive play, and he was a huge spark for the team when they went down big in game one against LA. But despite that, he didn't get any real minutes after that game.

Brewer is signed for two more years, is a former first-round pick, and is one of the youngest players on the team. I'm hoping, with a full season as a Maverick, he can find more playing time because I really like the kid.

C - Ian Mahimni

Mahimni didn't play much, trapped behind both Chandler and Haywood. But when he did play, Mahimni showed a lot of skill. Like Brewer, he's young, but unlike Brewer, Mahimni found a way to play some critical minutes in the Finals. With Haywood's injury, Mahimni came in and played pretty well. He made some mistakes that young players will make, but I think he learned a lot in the time he played.

I hope Mahimni stays. I'm not sure what role he fills on this team behind Chandler and Haywood, but I like his intensity and skills.

PG Rodrigue Beaubois

Beaubois came back from an injury late in the season, but he never really regained the form that he'd found in his rookie year. In fact, Roddy was pretty terrible in the games he played, despite getting pretty decent minutes (and almost immediately being thrown into the starting lineup).

I'm not ready to give up on him yet, but he's going to have to show us something in his third year. Otherwise, I really don't think much will happen in his career.

SG Caron Butler

Butler was a beast in the first half of the season. As Dirk's first legitimate Robin, he was filling the basket and playing solid defense. But at the beginning of 2011, Butler went down.

And despite stories of miraculous healing and a hard work ethic, Butler never returned. And, amazingly, the Mavs found a way to win without him. And, maybe more surprisingly, the Mavs decided to hang on to Butler's contract at the trade deadline.

Butler is a free agent, and the Mavs have already proven they can win without him. But Butler's a hard worker, a solid player, and seemingly, a good teammate. I hope the Mavs can re-sign him and that they can make a solid run at defending their title with Butler on board. The guy deserves a chance to run with this team, and I'd like to see what happens if he gets that chance.

Head Coach Rick Carlisle

Lost in the shuffle of getting rings for Kidd and Marion and Terry and Peja...was the fact that Rick Carlisle was a great coach that had also never won a championship. There's nothing flashy about Carlisle because he has very little personality on the court or in the press room.

But Carlisle is a great coach...and like Kidd's ring legitimizes his Hall of Fame career, I think this championship legitimizes Rick Carlisle as a top coach in this league. I was really happy that all the work Rick did this season paid off, and I loved that he was able to outduel some of the top coaches in the league (and Erik Spoelstra, one of the top videographers in the league).

A lot of guys did it for Dirk. Or Kidd. But I'm guessing a lot of guys also tried to win it for Rick. He's a quiet guy and a heck of a ping pong player (I'm a witness to the latter). And now, he's a champion.

And that brings us to Dirk Nowitzki. But I can't just tack Dirk on to the end of a blog post. Dirk needs his own. So....

To Be Continued...

Dallas Mavericks - Road to a Title

*Note - This is, by far, my longest blog entry to date. Grab some coffee and a snack; this might take a while.

If you would've told me in April that the Dallas Mavericks were going to win the 2010-2011 championship, I would've been surprised. Not as surprised as most because I actually believed in this team more than most people. But I would've been surprised.

But I would've been excited. Because, while all the teams in the Metroplex had their chances to win a championship, none were as consistent or lovable as the Dallas Mavericks. I mean, think about all the players that have played for this franchise since the 1999 Stanley Cup. From Nash and Finley to Nick Van Exel to Jamison and Walker to Devin Harris to Jerry Stackhouse to Najera to Dampier to Jason Terry. And, of course, the consistent factor - Dirk Nowitzki.

The Cowboys have built their way up. 13-3 and a bye one year and a couple division titles. But, at the end of the day, they only have one playoff win.

The Stars were great at the beginning of the decade but struggled in the playoffs since. They had one magical run that ended against the hated Red Wings but little else.

The Rangers spent most of the decade in financial turmoil following the signing of Alex Rodriguez. They only had one playoff run, but it was also quite magical...ending in a World Series defeat by the San Francisco Giants.

But the Mavs were always there. 50-win season after 50-win season. Like clockwork, the Mavs were slashing through the regular season. But something always happened in the playoffs. They ran into the wrong team, the wrong player, or the wrong matchup. Along the way, something happened and they ended up losing four games in a series.

And after last season, it was hard to think of how the team would rebound. They lost a first-round series to a San Antonio team that was supposed to be passed its prime. But they had a big trade chip in Erick Dampier, and there was speculation that Dampier's contract, due to a special clause that allowed a team to cut Dampier with no salary cap ramifications, could be used to get a great player like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, or Chris Bosh.

Of course, all three of those guys signed in Miami, and Dampier's contract was traded for Tyson Chandler.

The rest of the Metroplex yawned. My friend Tim was mad. I was intrigued.

A few years ago, Tyson Chandler was on a New Orleans team that ripped through the Mavericks in the first round. It was the same series that exposed Jason Kidd's age and got Avery Johnson fired. He was strong, athletic, and defensively powerful. It was something the Mavericks of my lifetime had never had.

The knock on Chandler was never that he wasn't good. Or even potentially great. The knock on Chandler was that he was fragile. And so most Dallas basketball fans were thinking that Chandler, who had an expiring contract, might be more trade fodder. After all, the Mavs had just given a max contract to Brendan Haywood to be their starting center.

But, just in case, I monitored the US Basketball team at the World Championships. Word was that Tyson Chandler was healthy. And word was that Tyson Chandler was playing well.

Then the season started. And, for the most part, the team that had lost to San Antonio was back. There was Dirk, as consistent as ever. And Jason Terry. And Jason Kidd. And Shawn Marion. All a year older and moving in the wrong direction.

But we had a full training camp with Caron Butler. And DeShawn Stevenson. And Haywood. And there was the Chandler piece that everyone was so unimpressed with.

And, out of the gate, the Mavs got some wins. In fact, out of the gate, the Mavs were one of the best teams in the league. They were ripping through teams, and they were beating up really solid teams. By January, there was talk that the Mavs were one of the best teams in the entire NBA.

Then, while I was in LA celebrating TCU's Rose Bowl victory, I heard the bad news. Butler was hurt, and he was going to have season-ending knee surgery.

Oh well, I thought. So much for that. I thought there was a chance that the Mavs could trade Butler's contract and get something. But as the trade deadline approached, there wasn't much talk about trading him.

What Donnie Nelson did, instead, was piece together more role players. He got Peja Stojakovic, a player I hated from his days in Sacramento, as a sharpshooter off the bench. And after the deadline, he got Corey Brewer...a young defensive-minded player who was released by New York.

And I started thinking that this team had something. By this point, we knew that Tyson Chandler was a beast that had completely focused the Mavericks usually-weak psyche. As if he'd lifted the team on his shoulders, Tyson was the new heart and soul of the Dallas Mavericks team that now preached defense as much as anything else.

What impressed me (and ESPN's Marc Stein) was the team's versatility. If they wanted scorers, they had plenty (Terry, Peja, JJ Barea). If they wanted defensive players, they had plenty (Marion, Stevenson, Brewer). They could play big and they could play small. And they still had a centerpiece in Dirk Nowitzki that was capable of changing the game.

But as the season came to an end, it started to wane. Brewer wasn't getting on the court, despite being added late. Rodrigue Beaubois was back from injury, but he was playing terrible. The team was slaughtered by the Lakers, and interest in the Mavs was waning.

Ashley walked in one night during one of the season's final games and asked why he should care about the Mavericks' playoff run. I didn't answer him, but I was still hoping that I was right about the team. They had all the pieces they needed to win...they just needed to form correctly.

The playoffs started, and there wasn't much excitement. We'd been here before, and the team needed to impress us. The fact that they were in a bit of a nightmare matchup against a hungry Portland team didn't help. Most people across the country were picking Portland in the "upset that's so popular, it shouldn't be an upset" pick.

But when I got tickets to go watch game one, I went. Because I desperately wanted to believe. And in the first game, they impressed me. I remember getting home from the game and telling Ashley and Tucker that the team looked good. That, if they can play like that, they can do some damage.

Then the Mavs won game two. And even though they lost game three, I still felt good.

Then game four happened. The blown lead. The collapse. The end.

It hurt. It stung. It killed. I wanted to permanently turn in my fan card. I actually started looking for new teams. I didn't think I could watch another game.

My only positive thought was that Tyson Chandler's mental toughness would lift the team that would've folded any other year. I watched game five with a sense of dread, but the Mavs went out and won. Then they won a tough road game in Portland, ending a terrible streak of road playoff losses.

But then they had to play the Lakers. Again, no one picked the Mavs. I went in with weak optimism because the Lakers were struggling coming into the playoffs and had some trouble with the Hornets.

The Lakers jumped out to a huge lead in game one. At halftime, Ashley and I watched Conan get his beard shaved off...hoping to laugh a bit before going to bed. But when that was over, we turned the game back on. Corey Brewer had come in, and the game was close. Ashley went to bed, and I stayed up and watched. And the Mavs somehow won game one. I was ecstatic, not knowing that it was going to be a regular thing in these playoffs.

Then the Mavs won game two. And game three. And blew the Lakers out of the water to win game four. A sweep of the mighty Lakers.

No one gave them credit, but it didn't matter. They were four wins away from the NBA Finals. The game four loss to Portland hadn't killed the Mavericks - it strengthened them. It taught them that no lead was safe - for either team - and that no game was won until the clock read all zeroes.

Then I went to game one against Oklahoma City. I didn't necessarily fear the Thunder, but I feared Kevin Durant taking a huge step in his career and doing something magical. But Dirk scored 48 that night, proving that he wasn't going to have any of that. OKC won game two, though, and the Mavericks had to win game three in Oklahoma to regain home court advantage.

Game four. Oklahoma City. I watched the game at the condo with Annie while Ashley went to the Rangers game. The three of us had watched many of the games together, and this was the first time that Ashley hadn't been there to watch with us. When the Thunder put together a huge lead, we started attacking Ashley on Twitter. We needed to take these games seriously. We were only six wins away from the championship, and we couldn't afford to lose to the stinkin' Thunder.

But then it happened. Just like with game four in the first round, one team refused to lose because they knew they still had a shot. Dirk went into Beast Mode, and the Mavericks attacked. They took it to overtime. They won.

Dallas leads 3-1. One win away from the NBA Finals.

And, like they'd done before...they smelled blood and took care of business, improving to 3-0 in killshot games. But then we looked over to the right and saw our future opponent. The damn Heat.

I already explained a lot about the Heat series (and this is already really long) so we'll cut to the chase. The Mavs lost game one...should've lost game two...and lost game three. It didn't look good. But then Dirk decided that, no matter what, he wasn't going to lose. He saw Caron Butler, still in street clothes. He saw Brendan Haywood go down with a hip injury. And he saw his own reflection in the mirror, suffering from a sinus infection and a 102 degree fever.

Terry was playing awful. Peja was non-existant. Barea was giving him nothing.

But he went into Beast Mode again and found a way to win game four. Then, in game five...the biggest game of all their careers, Dirk's friends finally showed up. And in game six, they carried Dirk to his first championship.

And what's funny is that, even though this team drove me crazy with their (sometimes way too) exciting play, I had a supernatural calm during game six. I thought they could win, but I'd been anxious all day that LeBron and Wade were going to do something extraordinary.

But from the tipoff to the end of the game, I wasn't worried. I wasn't anxious. I felt confident and happy and proud. This was destiny, and nothing was going to stop it.

And I'll be honest, I still don't think it's hit me. After weeks of watching Mavericks games on most days, it's strange to think that there's not another one around the corner. And it's been so long since this city has had a professional championship that I'm not really sure if I can comprehend it anymore.

Part of me was let down by the experience. It didn't rock my world in the way that I'd remembered the Stanley Cup or the Super Bowls. But, at the same time, it did feel like a weight had been lifted from me. My team had finally won something, and it was just a very cathartic feeling.

And maybe it was because I knew they had it in them. That I believed, even when many people did. My faith had been shaken, several times, over the season, but I stayed with them. I came back. I kept watching. And while it had been shaken, my faith was eventually rewarded.

I'm not the biggest basketball fan, but I love this city. I love it's teams. And I respect the Hell out of the Dallas Mavericks' organization. And I'm so proud that they're the 2010-2011 NBA Champions.

Why This Championship Matters

Game two. Dwayne Wade hits a 3-pointer to put Miami up 15 points, putting them within inches of a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. And sitting at Trinity Hall in Mockingbird Station, I grabbed my wallet and tried to come up with how much money my tab was. I didn't want to wait for the check. I wanted to leave.

Ashley, someone who regularly calls me out on my over-reacting, asked me if I'd put an entire paycheck on the series. Otherwise, why was I so upset?

I'm passionate about sports. I grew up loving pro sports, and I grew up spoiled.

1993 - Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl

1994 - Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl

1996 - Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl

1999 - Dallas Stars win the Stanley Cup

Four championships before I turned 14. It was almost easy.

Twelve years passed. Eddie Belfour gave up seven goals in game one of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. J.S. Giguere stood on his head. Tony Romo dropped the snap. Patrick Crayton dropped that pass. The Stars ran out of mojo against Detroit. Every Minnesota Viking sacked Romo. Tim Lincecum was too much.

And then there was 2006. The Dallas Mavericks slayed San Antonio and got to the NBA Finals. All that stood in front of them was the champion from the Eastern Conference. Two games into the series...it didn't even look close. Then, we all know what happened.

It hurt. Really bad. For years. I told people at work (in complete truth) that the last time I called in sick to work was after game 5 of the NBA Finals in 2006. I couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything but think about how the Mavericks were about to blow their chance at an NBA title.

And, for years, it stuck with me. Just hearing the words "Miami Heat" bothered me. And with every playoff failure that followed, the pain grew. 2007's 1st round collapse killed me. Then we traded youth for age and were killed by New Orleans. We got crushed by Denver and brushed aside by the Spurs.

I was told the window was closed every year. And every year, the Mavs won 50 games and found a way to lose in the playoffs. Cheering for the Mavericks became a cruel joke.

But that was the norm. Cheering for the Cowboys had become a cruel joke with their own playoff failures. The Stars were moving in the wrong direction. And the 2010 World Series, despite my positive feelings about that season, felt like a missed opportunity. Dallas was snakebit, and I didn't know how they were going to come out of it. Every year, my friends and I would think about what team was going to win the next championship, and there never seemed to be an answer I was comfortable with.

Then LeBron James signed with the Heat. I've always hated LeBron because I really hate when people are handed credit before they've done anything. And for seven years, LeBron seemed like he was working hard to win a championship for his home team. I watched LeBron dominate a game in 2007, and he almost won me over.

But going to the Heat was the last straw for me. Here's a guy who lied about doing whatever it takes to win a championship. Then he dragged the city through the mud, and he did everything he could to glorify himself. And ESPN ate it up. LeBron was everywhere.

Flash forward to game two. Here are the Mavs, fighting their way to the championship series again, and there are the Heat again. There was LeBron.

And that's why this series was so important. My chips were pushed all in to the center of the table. My Mavericks had the opportunity to either crush LeBron James and slay the demons from 2006....or it would get even worse.

And down 15, staring a 2-0 deficit in the face, I felt all the pain come back up. And I did my best to swallow the anger and the sadness, but it was too much. I had to get out of there.

And while they came back and won game two, I didn't feel any better after watching the team lose game three. The Heat had, for the most part, dominated the first three games. How on Earth were they going to win?

But, tonight, the Dallas Mavericks are the 2010-2011 NBA champions. They found a way to win, and they found a way to win convincingly.

And for the first time in a long time, I can think about 2006 and it doesn't hurt. Because I would trade a thousand 2006s for one 2011 championship. To beat that team with those players on that court means everything to me.

Is it too much? Maybe. But I've lived vicariously through athletes my entire life. When they win, I feel like I win. And for twelve years and 48 seasons, I lived and died with my teams. And for twelve years and 48 seasons, it ended in heartbreak. Some got close. A lot didn't. But there was never any gold at the end of the rainbow.

Tonight, there's gold. Tonight, there's a championship. Tonight, there's hope. Tonight, we got a win. I got a win.

And while I didn't win or lose any money, this series meant more than money to me. It's why I spent a bunch of my money to go see game five. Because I needed this. Maybe not as much as Dirk, Kidd, and Carlisle. But I needed it nonetheless.

Tomorrow, the sun will shine a little brighter, and my smile will come out. The curse is over. And maybe more good things can happen in the future.

So proud of this team. So happy to be a citizen of this city. And I'm looking forward to bright days ahead.

Ultimate Opportunity

The Dallas Mavericks put together the below video, and it gives me chills. It's basically Dallas' greatest champions (mostly Cowboys but also Mike Modano, Nolan Ryan, and TCU's Gary Patterson, among others) telling the Mavericks' players and fans that they're at a moment of "ultimate opportunity." That, if they can win this series, they will be immortalized forever as champions. And that it's the responsibility of the players (and fans) to make sure that everyone does their part in order to succeed.

It's cheesy. But I think it's awesome. This town has thirsted for a championship since the Stars skated the Cup in 1999 (and for most fans, all the way back to the Cowboys' last title in 1996). We have passionate sports fans that have been denied year in and year out for twelve years. We lived through sick Eddie Belfour, selfish A-Rod, J.S. Giguere, Duncan and the Spurs, 13-3 and out in the first game, and years of Maverick collapses.

But if the Mavericks can win Sunday or Tuesday, we can finally breathe again. The monkey's been knocked off our bats. Now it just needs to be finished off or it will jump right back on.

We're here. The moment of ultimate opportunity. This is the Finals. And this is Dallas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKfFfmTLW7Q

Odds And Ends 6/1

1. I can't believe it's already June. This year is flying by.

2. I went and saw My Chemical Romance at House of Blues a couple weekends ago. I haven't mentioned it, but it was a great show. They get a bad reputation for being an emo band (one they hate, by the way), but I think they have a lot of great music. They put on a heck of a live show, and their most recent album is really great in my opinion.

3. I started doing a workout, and I'm keeping tabs of my progress to try and keep myself honest. I'm trying to do a lot of simple exercises that I found on the Internet, hitting as many areas as I can. This includes doing squats and lunges, which might be the first time that I've ever done either of those exercises.

4. I'm swimming as part of cardio requirement. I've only been a couple times, but I figure it will be good for my endurance and my tan. So far, it's kicking my butt in both areas (i.e. I'm burning too).

5. I haven't mentioned the Mavericks since their last big loss. I'm really proud of this team, and I really hope they can find a way to win a championship. Dirk and Kidd deserve a championship more than Bosh and LeBron. The latter will eventually get several. The former deserves to get one.

6. I respect the Hell out of Dirk Nowitzki.

7. Tucker and I are getting ready to get serious about editing and finishing our Pilot script. This is about to get really cool, and in a month or so, we can start work on getting it made. I'm really, really excited about it.