Mark Cuban

[LarryS]

Originally posted by crew
... many people think the nba officials are exactly what Cuban says they are. the nba may need to think of other ways to penalize cuban besides monetarily because taking away Cubans money does not seem like a deterrent from bad behavior.

Since I have started officiating I have discovered how good the NBA guys are. That said, I hope you are not saying that there is not a "Star System" in that league. Nobody is going to convince me that players like MJ, Shaq, Kobe, Robinson, etc. don't get away with a lot (just like the brass wants them too - not the officials fault). To a certain extent I think Star Ball should stay, but be controlled. Nobody wants to see the studs in the league fouling out, but let's be realistic. Being from the Dallas area, the Mavericks of last year are a good example. The beginning of the year they couldn't buy a call, as the year progressed and they "earned their keep" it appeared that more of the calls that could have gone either way went their way. It is tough for a fan to enjoy the games when they feel their team is "getting jobbed" (and the fan is VERY important in this equation). It may not be true in fact, but is just their perception. But guess what, perception is reality. I may get blasted for these comments, but I'm a big boy and promise not to take offense.

As for taking money from Cuban, this guy made more than $500,000 since the moment the fine was handed down. Besides, I think he came out with his statement that most of the fine is going to Cancer Research in the name of Mrs. Nelson (who is starting her own fight with cancer after Don's fight last year). That PR move alone was worth 500k in advertising.