Let me preface my blog with this statement. I am a fan of the San Antonio Spurs. A big fan. I pay for NBA League Pass so that I can watch every game up in NY. When I'm out of town visiting the in-laws, I take the laptop so I can still watch the games over broadband. I know this team inside and out and am on the edge of my seat hanging on every shot, even during the regular season. But, I am secretly hoping that they do not win the title this year.

Why, you ask? Why would a hardcore fan wish for their favorite team to fail? I'll tell you.

The Spurs dominance over the past decade has been great. It really has. But as much as I love my team, we don't have a great future unless we have a great league. And we won't have a great league unless we share the wealth. And by that, I mean that other cities need to win the title in order to promote this game that I love. I'm not saying they should lose on purpose or anything. They are a great team, but they are certainly beatable this year.

Ratings have been on the decline. I don't blame the Spurs style of play, or fan disenchantment for the low Nielsens. Even when San Antonio doesn't make the Finals, the ratings have been poor. I blame the fact that there are a billion other channels to choose from nowadays, and way more things to spend your time on than TV. Back when we were watching Magic vs. Bird, many people still only had 4 channels. Ratings are never gonna go crazy again. Even the promise of LeBron "Witness" James couldn't bring in viewers last year. You may see a ratings spike here and there in the future, but they will never be where they once were ever again. David Stern has recognized this and is now marketing the game outside of the United States. It's a savvy business move.

But to keep the NBA popular here at home, the Spurs have to lose now and then. And they've done that with their "every other year" pattern. If they obtain the elusive back-to-back titles that they've been looking for, it will not be good for the league. Sure, it will certainly be good for me and my fellow Spurs fans. I'll be as happy as the next guy. But people are growing tired of seeing us win. The average NBA fan wants new blood. And NBA fans in cities across the country are crying out for a title for their particular team. No offense to fans of other teams out there, but some of you are total pricks. And I think that if your team had just one title, you could revert to being good, friendly people. That's my hope anyway. Would Utah fans throw things at the players on the court (like last year) if they had won a title with Stockton and Malone? Would Phoenix fans still cry about the refs after every single loss if Barkley had brought them a title years ago? Would Dallas fans still have a full head of hair if they had finished off that series with Miami?

The bottom line is that the NBA needs diverse success. People are tired of seeing the Spurs win, just like everyone that wasn't a Patriots fan was begging for a Giants victory in the Super Bowl. And we Spurs fans have experienced enough joy from the success that we've been fortunate enough to have. I'd love another title to cement this dynasty, but I would also love to see the joy in another fan's face when they experience their team's first NBA championship*. I love this team, but I love the game more.

It's time to spread the wealth.

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* Disclaimer: I will take no joy in a Suns championship. Fans of that team have squandered all of my good will with their pathetic behavior over the past few years. (Although it would be nice to see Steve Nash finally get over that hump)

The casting agency that was employed by "Dancing With the Stars" must not have done their research. If they had, this video would have disqualified Mark Cuban from casting (see below). Or maybe they saw the video after all, and thought they would cast him as a joke. Kinda like how "American Idol" gets such good ratings when they air the tryouts with the tone-deaf people.

Aside from the fact that his dancing ability is suspect (being kind), isn't there a better reason for him to not be on this show? This is a guy that loves camera time and loves to run his mouth. He seems to crave the spotlight that his players always have. This "stunt" may just alienate his players even more by taking the attention off of them and placing it squarely on his grizzly mug. If you don't recall, last year the Mavs players had to sit Cuban down and scold him like a 4 year-old for his court-side antics. His dancing gig will probably cause more cameras to be focused on him this season, and less cameras focused on Dirk's jump shots.

Of course, this stunt could be a source of some much needed levity in the locker room and let the team relax and play better this year. But the regular season isn't a problem for the Mavericks. Maybe Cuban should see if they can delay the show a few months until playoff time?

And my last comment...will Mark Cuban follow the pattern and lose in the first round? Someone let me know since I won't be watching.

Avery Johnson is worried. Boy is he worried.

Before the game, the coach of the Mavs said he planned to give no more than 26 minutes of playing time in order to keep his guys fresh and injury free for the playoffs. As the game went on, the stars stayed in the game...and stayed in the game...and stayed in the game. When all was said and done, 5 players played between 31 and 36 minutes...in a game that meant nothing. Nothing that is, unless you count the mental edge that Avery Johnson thinks his team needs. He didn't want to lose this game. And he nearly did, despite the fact that Tim Duncan did not play the entire fourth quarter.

I can't wait to see these teams meet inthe Western Conference Finals. It will be a gritty, hard-fought series every step of the way. And can you imagine the intensity of each game after seeing today's "unmeaningful" match-up? It's gonna be crazy. 

For the Spurs, Denver and Phoenix don't pose too many problems. But it will be a battle when they play Dallas. And if Dallas is lucky enough to get past LA/Golden State and Houston/Utah, we are in for a treat. Let's just hope that Duncan doesn't get kicked out o####ame for laughing again so we can see a true outcome. And let's also hope that Avery Johnson doesn't keep overplaying his guys so that they don't go down with injuries before the games start counting again.

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On a side-note. Referee Joey Crawford needs to be reprimanded. Kicking a guy out o####ame for laughing, without knowing for any certainty what he was laughing about, is absurd. And when that guy is one of the classiest, most professional men in all of professional sports, you definitely have to think twice before acting irrationally, as Crawford did.

Mark, I used to like you. I loved your enthusiasm, your will to win, and the support you gave your players. You were my favorite NBA owner, despite the fact that I'm a Spurs fan. And then you had to go and insult the city of San Antonio personally. You also disputed Jet's suspension when he obviously punched Finley in the jewels. If the roles were reversed you would have been screaming for a suspension, don't deny it. I think alot of people are in the same boat that I am, being former Cuban fans that turned when they saw your theatrics in this playoff season. What went wrong? What changed you? Why are you the person that you've become? I think you need to take a time-out and reflect on who you are and who you want to be. And you may want to think twice as to WHEN you call that time-out...

How low is the basketball IQ of Dallas Mavericks fans? They mercilessly boo Michael Finley. A guy their management tossed aside because they couldn't afford his contract. Finley played his butt off for the Mavs for many many years, was a 2 time all-star, and did much for the Dallas community. Then he gets put on waivers by his team because they no longer want him and/or don't want to pay his salary. He signed a free-agent contract with the Spurs in an attempt to win an NBA championship. A championship that had eluded him in the Dallas organization. It was not his choice to leave. Most Dallas fans must not be privy to this information or they would think twice before booing a guy that didn't want to leave his team. He claimed, after game 6 of the Spurs/Mavs series, that people have been yelling "traitor" and "whiner" at him. How is he a traitor when he was the one let go by his team? And how was he a whiner when he's the one that got punched in the groin by Jason Terry? Any man alive would be upset if that should happen to them. And the most disappointing thing of all is that Finley's family can't even attend his games in Dallas because of the things that are said to them. That's just disgusting.

I guess all I'd like to see is an initial round of applause for Finley when he plays a game in Dallas. That's the least he deserves for all the years he gave them. Boo him like you would any opponent after that, but don't treat him like a traitor when your organization was the one to discard him.

Have you ever seen a more poorly officiated NBA game?

Thank you Nick Van Exel for standing up and saying enough is enough and getting tossed out of the game. Greg Popovich couldn't take a 2nd technical foul and get tossed, but the team could afford to lose Van Exel.

Dirk Nowitzki picked up his first foul early and the game and it seemed that the officials were determined to not let him get into foul trouble. He committed obvious fouls throughout the first quarter that went uncalled. I counted 4 or 5 that were no-brainers by halftime.

It's the playoffs, and I understand that. But the game needs to be called consistently. The first few minutes, refs blew the whistle when they saw fouls. The next dozen minutes they let them play. The last 6 minutes of the first half,  pretty much every call went the Mav's way.

I've seen Ginobli foul a guy by hitting him on the elbow with his chin. I've seen Brent Barry take a blocking foul when he had been set in position long before a driver jumped into him. I've seen an "inadvertant whistle" that led to a jump ball.  I've seen Tim Duncan get called for a blocking foul when it was Eric Dampier that got run over by his own teammate. I've seen some crazy things in this game.

All I want is to see a game called fairly. I don't care who wins and loses as long as it's called with integrity. The San Antonio fans are classy as hell and this game had them standing up and chanting "ref you suck" on several occassions. That says a lot, because you expect that in many cites, but not San Antonio. The fans there will not call BS unless there is, without question, BS.