David's Blog

They made this video for round 3 of the playoffs last year. I saw it again last night at the Suns game. Dirk made the last shot of the game to win 101-99.

Posted on December 29, 2006 7:36 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I just got back from my favorite sports bar, Frankie's. The Mavs lost game 6 92-95 to end their run for a championship.

This series blew me away. I don't know how we could play so poorly after playing so well for the entire regular season and first 3 rounds of the playoffs.

I've gotten into a lot of arguments with Mavs fans here over the past few days about the refs. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE REFS. My view on the refs is this: if you are going to let a game come down to a single call by the refs, that is your fault. To win, you need to play better than that. We can't fix the ref'ing. We didn't lose because of the refs. We lost because we missed choice free throws. We lost because we missed open shots we normally make. We lost because we thought we won the championship when we beat the Suns.

I get *REALLY* pissed off when I hear people bitch about the refs. And guess what...every team that loses blames the refs. I know the Heat fans believe that the refs helped take Shaq out of game 1 & 2. So spare me...if we play an *average* game, we would have beat the Heat regardless of how the refs called the game.

We played sub-par the entire series. I believe Memphis could have beat us in the Finals playing the way we did. I believe that the Suns, Spurs, and Mavs are all better teams than the Heat. Unfortunately, we couldn't prove it in the Finals, when it counts the most.

Congratulations to the Heat. D. Wade was awesome. Shaq is a monster with a great attitude. It is hard not to like these guys.

Enough with my rant. I had a lot of fun following the Mavs this year. I really like our team. We have great players. We have a great owner. We have a great coach. We are young and were taught something in the Finals. Hopefully we are a better team for it.

Next season will be interesting. I hope we can keep our team together. I think time will improve our team. I expect the Suns will be stronger and the Spurs will be as tough as ever. I like our future.

GO MAVS!!!

Posted on June 21, 2006 12:19 AM | Permalink| Comments (3)

The Mavs won a decisive game 2, 99-85. I sat behind the Heat, about 20 rows up. Here are some pictures from the big show. I got a few pics of Dr Phil sitting in front of me in about the 2nd row. I also got some pics of Terrell Owens after the game wearing a Mavs Jersey with his name ("T.O.") and number ("81").

I got a few videos from the game:

• "Deep in the Heart of Mavs Fans"
• "We Love You!"
• "Evolution of Dance" - halftime show with Judson Laipply - watch this version, it is much better quality than mine
• Mysterious AAC Flash - Video proof it exists! I've seen this at several games...don't know what it is. It happens about once every couple of minutes. The entire arena lights up for a fraction of a second. If you aren't looking for it, you don't notice it.
• Dirk dancing as Napoleon Dynamite
• Mavs Win!!! End of the game

Posted on June 20, 2006 7:38 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Here is the Maverick team introductions from Game 1. The starting 5 lineup is the same introduction they use at a normal game. Here is the original, but much larger (64 MB+).

Posted on June 19, 2006 9:07 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I am off to game 2 of the NBA Finals! I'm sitting behind the Heat this time, about 20 rows up. I'll have a green Dirk jersey on with a green Mavs hat. I made a sign, too. It says, "Hey Shaq...Try Underhanded!!!".

GO MAVS!!!

Posted on June 11, 2006 5:55 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)

I mentioned in a previous post that one of the things I really liked about Coach Avery Johnson is that he has his staff all stand with their right hand over their hearts during the national anthem. I think the Mavs are the only team that does this in the NBA. I got a picture of the Mavs and the Heat during the presentation, but it didn't come out very good. ABC's video is much better. The only Heat player to put his right hand on his heart is former Maverick Antoine Waker. I wonder if he always does this, or didn't want to look unpatriotic compared to the Mavs. My guess is the later.

Posted on June 11, 2006 3:18 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

They played this on ABC's coverage of the Finals and in the arena. Very cool video that requires multiple viewings to see all the action. Here is a higher resolution version.

Posted on June 11, 2006 2:43 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I wrote a post about how Dirk says "obviously" in all of his interviews. He didn't say it in the interview after the Finals Game 1, but he *did* say it in the pregame. This clip also proves my old theory: Germans love David Hasselhoff.

Here it is...

Posted on June 11, 2006 12:52 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

This video was taken just as ABC coverage started.

This video was taken in the final seconds of the game.

Here are the pictures I took from Game 1.

Some of these pics need a bit more explanation.

This guy is interesting. If you've ever watched basketball on TV, you have seen him. I *thought* I knew him because I always see him sitting in the front row at Mavs games. He isn't a Mavs season ticket holder! He isn't even from Dallas! He is from Los Angeles! He has front row season tickets to the Lakers *AND* the Clippers! He goes to about 120 games a year across the entire NBA. He says he is a basketball fan and not tied to a particular team (I thought that is what we called "jumping on the bandwagon")

His name is James Goldstein. He *is* the NBA's superfan. Read more about him on his web site.

I looked to my left and saw a very large, muscular black man wearing a Heat jersey and a Mavs cap. He was walking down the stairs to his seats on the floor. It was Terrell Owens, Dallas newest train wreck wide receiver. He spent a good deal of time explaining to fans why he was wearing a Shaq jersey instead of supporting the Mavs. The arena was obviously not impressed. I already don't like the guy, and it is clear to me it is only going to get worse. At this point we can only hope he gets a career ending injury in a game...preferably by his fellow teammates in preseason.

On the way home from the game I noticed they had turned on green and blue lights at the top of the W hotel. That is a new one...I hadn't seen lights on the W before. My pictures of it sucked, but I found some good pictures of it online (green and blue).

Posted on June 11, 2006 11:04 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

It is 1:28 am, and I just got back from the Mavs game! What fun! We won 90-80...only 3 wins away from an NBA Championship! Even with Dirk having a terrible game, we were able to win by 10. If Dirk has a "normal" game 2, Miami will be in trouble!

I sat in the 2nd to last row facing the Heat on the lower level. A very obnoxious Heat fan from Miami was sitting in front of me. He let everybody know he *normally* sits in the front row at Heat games and he traveled to see all the Heat playoff games. Any time a Mavs fan stood up to cheer, he'd yell at them to sit down because they were blocking his view. I told him he was worse than Avery Johnson's wife. He was so annoying that I decided I had to retaliate. Every time the Heat did something stupid, I'd make a comment just to make him mad. Every ref call against the Mavs: "There it is again...the refs helping the Heat." Walker jacking up another brick: "I'm soooo glad we got rid of that guy...he sucks!" And it worked like a charm...I was really getting under his skin!. The best was Shaq shooting free throws! I'd laugh my *ss off (like De Niro in "Cape Fear") every time he missed a free throw...and he missed a lot, so I laughed a lot. "Oh good, Shaq got fouled! Let the comedy show begin!" Shaq ended shooting 1 of 9 at the line...11%! Unbelievable! 5 eleven year old boys sitting next to me were also annoyed by the loud Heat fan, so they all decided to joined in with a chorus of shrill laughter every time Shaq laid a brick. It must of worked...the guy stopped talking trash midway through the 3rd.

I took a bunch of pictures and have some video to upload, but I won't get to that until this weekend. More later...off to bed! GO MAVS!

Posted on June 9, 2006 1:39 AM | Permalink| Comments (1)

My prediction for the NBA Finals: Mavs in 5.

I don't see how Miami can keep up with the Mavs. Any close games will be won by the Mavs because of the better free throw shooting. I think the Mavs can run their fast paced offense (like the Suns) to make Shaq a non-issue on defense (we can score before he finishes running down the court). I'm giving the Heat one game because I expect we will have an off night one of the outings.

GO MAVS!!!

Posted on June 8, 2006 8:36 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I see Dirk interviewed all the time here in Dallas. I've just recently noticed he can't talk without saying the word "obviously." Watch for it, if they talk to him after the game, he will say it at least once, probably more, obviously.

Posted on June 7, 2006 11:01 PM | Permalink| Comments (3)

Posted on June 7, 2006 10:58 PM | Permalink| Comments (4)

§171. Conduct during playing
During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and retain this position until the last note. When the flag is not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there.

Here's something you probably don't know about the Mavericks unless you go see them live. Ever since Coach Avery Johnson took over at the end of last season, the Mavericks all stand with their right hand over their heart during the performance of the "Star-Spangled Banner" before every game.

This is what you are *supposed* to do, but I've never seen NBA players (except former Navy guy David Robinson) ever do it. Normally, you see players standing with their hands behind their back as if it is beneath them to put their right hand on their heart the way we learned in kindergarten.

I'm going to the first two games of the Finals...I'll try to get a picture of the players during the "Star-Spangled Banner" (I'll use my free left hand to take the picture!). I bet you won't see the Miami Heat with their right hands across their hearts!

Posted on June 5, 2006 9:40 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I remember before the NBA season started, I kept hearing the Mavs will be the 3rd best team in Texas this year. I thought we would be a better team without Michael Finley and Sean Bradley. Here's what Sports Illustrated predicted would happen for this NBA season.

Posted on June 5, 2006 7:44 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

The Mavs beat the Suns last night 102-93 to advance to the NBA Finals! Tickets went on sale this morning at 10 am on ticketmaster.com. I tried for 40 minutes to get tickets without any luck...

Next I went to StubHub. My ticket strategy has been this: instead of buying season tickets and getting lousy seats to every game (including preseason, games I can't go to, and games I don't care about), I would spend more money and get good seats to the games I want to go to. It doesn't get much more desirable than this...the NBA Finals! So prepare to spend that money!

Now that I got my justification out of the way, here's what I got. For game 1 this Thursday, I got seats in section 105, row Y (lower level, facing the Miami Heat) for $575/ticket. For game 2 next Sunday, I got seats in section 120, row W (lower level, behind the Miami Heat) for $559/ticket. It is very likely I'll be on TV with the game 2 seats since the cameras are facing where the teams sit...I'll have my TiVo ready! Look for me on Sunday behind the Heat, I'll likely be wearing my authentic alternate (green) Dirk jersey. It seems like I would just blend in with all the other fans wearing jerseys...but that is not the case. I'm sitting in the rich people seats, and the rich people typically don't wear anything to support the team!

Posted on June 4, 2006 11:02 AM | Permalink| Comments (1)

Last night the Mavs beat the Suns 117-101 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference Finals. The picture is from my seats on the Platinum level (section 215, Row H, seat 11). The seats had a face value of $147. I was sitting in front of one of the red white and blue half circle decorations you can see encircling the arena (you may have to click on the picture above to see them).

Dirk hit a career playoff high 50 points. The only other person to score 50 in the playoffs this year is Kobe Bryant. I'm glad the rest of the country is finally getting to see what Dallas has seen for the last 8 years...Dirk is a bad *ss mother f*ck*r!

When I walked into the arena, I saw Boogey Bob explaining to some lady how famous he is (I've tried that too with limited success). I noticed Boogey Bob has added a photo he took of us together at the Spurs playoff game a couple of weeks ago to his web site. I don't know what the crap is that Boogey Bob stuck on his face...he's Boogey Bob, let's just leave it at that. Now I don't know how you measure fame, but being on Boogey Bob's web site has to be some kind of indicator in that general direction. The two of us are very different people, brought together by our tenacious desire to dance.

They had a few new videos at the arena. The best was "Court Wars: Round III - Revenge of the Dirk" which was a spoof of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." The video had the look of "Raiders of the Lost Trophy" with just the faces being replaced. The scene was the final battle between Obi-Wan (played by Dirk Nowitzki) and Anakin (played by former Mav and best friend Steve Nash). "You were the chosen one!" "We were going to rule the NBA together!" Dirk made several comments about Steve's bad hair. Very funny!

They had some updates to videos from round 2. The "Manu Flop" was changed into the "Raja Flop." The "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Spurs Fans" is now, wait for it, "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Suns Fans."

They had a Simpson's intro using Mavericks personalities. They also had a song parody based on the Beatles "Here Comes the Sun."

I saw this Mav's Southpark intro in Round 2. Props to my brother for finding it online.

Posted on June 2, 2006 11:09 AM | Permalink| Comments (2)

How does a diminutive coach like Avery Johnson demand respect from his players? He punches them in the balls if they aren't paying attention! Josh Howard will learn one of these days! This is from the end of the game 7 vs. the San Antonio Spurs.

Posted on May 25, 2006 9:19 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

What a game last night! Mavs beat the Spurs in 7 games...probably one of the best 7 game series of all time!

This is a video that they play in the AAC. It is a tribute to DeSagana Diop, the Mavericks starting center. He is a crowd favorite that won the starting center job midway through the season because of his hustle and ability to block shots. With Diop as the starting center, the Mavericks began playing at another level and have not let up. Check his stats here.

The song is based off of Kris Kross's Jump. Diop! Diop!

Posted on May 23, 2006 1:07 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)

I saw this for the first time on the big screens at the American Airlines Center for Round 2, Game 3. Glad it is online so everybody can see it. It is a spoof of Raiders of the Lost Ark with Mav's coach Avery Johnson and perennial Maverick-hater Charles Barkley.

Posted on May 16, 2006 7:27 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I just got home from the game tonight! What a fun game. The Mavs started strong, but San Antonio slowly crept back into the game and took the lead in the 4th. It was back and forth for the last 8 minutes. With 6 minutes to go, everybody was standing and never sat down again...I've never seen that happen before at a Mavs game. It was an electric evening! We ended up winning by a single point. That puts the Mavs up 2-1 in this round 2 series.

I had *great* seats! I was sitting in Section 104, G 5, about 10 rows away from the action. These tickets cost $126. Sitting just in front of me were NFL quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning. I got a better shot of Troy when he took a break at half time.

The Mavs had several new videos that were pretty good. One was a music video called "He Did The Flop" to the tune of the Monster Mash. It was about Manu Ginobili always pretending to get knocked down.

Another one had the scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indy tries to get the gold idol...only they replaced some of the important parts of the scene with Maverick related content. Coach Avery Johnson was Indiana Jones. The idol was an NBA Championship Trophy. And the guy that asked Indy to throw him the idol in exchange for the whip was played by Charles Barkley. The big boulder that chases Indiana out of the cave was replaced by a large basketball. Well done! UPDATE! Found it here.

The also did a South Park intro spoof featuring characters from the Mavericks.

The last memorable video was a computer generated animation. It featured Dirk as a singing cowboy. The song: "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Spurs Fans", to the tune of Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.

After the game, I went down to the Old #7 Club to celebrate. And guess who I ran into? Boogey Bob. He was nice enough to take a photo with me. If you have never heard of Boogey Bob or just want to see Boogey Bob do his thing, check out this interview.

Fun night! This is the best Maverick team we have ever had...we are going all the way this year!

Posted on May 14, 2006 12:47 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

This past Thursday, my buddy Jason and I went to the Mavericks vs. Golden State Warrior game. Golden State is one of the worst teams in the league, yet they found a way to win at the buzzer overcoming a 6 point deficit in the final 30 seconds. OUCH! That hurt! But at least we got on TV! We had great seats near the floor, about 10 rows up, and we showed up in the shot of Dirk celebrating after he hits his 50th point in the game. Dirk went on to score 51 in regulation...the highest number of points scored in regulation by a Maverick in the history of the organization. See the video clip here.

Posted on March 26, 2006 7:40 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)| TrackBacks (1)

You are right

If I was there, he would have had to take it off

Thx for the headsup

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 9:02 am, David Lenihan wrote:
> Hey Mark.
>
> I was at the Cleveland Cavs game this past Tuesday.

UPDATE: I fixed the mispelling of Cleveland (was Cleavland)...it was driving me crazy and everybody kept pointing it out...for some reason my spell checker didn't have a problem with it. Now I REALLY know how to spell Cleveland!

Posted on March 17, 2006 1:14 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)