Dallas Mavericks preseason sked features ... uhhh ... other teams

Preseason football got you down?  Don't worry, because here is some good news: The Dallas Mavericks professional basketball club has announced its own version of fake games - the 2012 preseason schedule is out.

As Mr. T said, "I pity the fool!"

The Mavs' eight-game preseason schedule opens with a pair of games overseas against international clubs; this should be a good place for Mark Cuban to spew his anti-Olympic rhetoric. Generally speaking, the foreign crowd really, really hates the Olympics.

The preseason schedule features only four games at the American Airlines Center, and really none of them are against competition you will be fighting to see. 

Only the possibility of Hornets rookie center Anthony Davis appearing against the Mavs generates any real appeal. The rest is rather blah ...

10/6 Mavs at Alba in Berlin, Germany
10/9 Mavs at FC Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain
10/15 Mavs v. Rockets in Dallas
10/17 Mavs v. Suns in Dallas
10/12 Mavs at Hawks in Atlanta
10/22 Mavs v. New Orleans in Dallas
10/24 Mavs v. Thunder in Wichita, Kansas
10/26 Mavs v. Hornets in Dallas

The Mavs begin their regular season on Oct. 30 against the L.A. Lakers in LA where Dwight Howard is expected to pledge to sign with the Mavericks* next summer. 

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* That may not actually happen.

This wonderful cartoon depicts Olympic preparation

My older brother Christopher is one of the more talented artists/cartoonists I have ever known yet he can a bit private about his work. In a stunning, shocking, incredible twist he has allowed me to post a few samples of his work for this blog.
He even drew a pair of originals for me to share, including this one:

I hope to be able to include more of these in the future.

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The Romanian gymnast who should be in a James Bond movie

Listening to NBC Summer Olympics gymnastics "play by play" man John Tesh tear up at the news that Jordyn Wieber of the U.S. missed out on qualifying for the women's all-around final on Sunday didn't exactly bring me great pain.

Or my pain quickly subsided when the NBC cameras zoomed past the empty seats in London to focus on Catalina Ponor of Romania.

Suddenly myself and millions of other viewers were very interested in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

The three-time gold medalist in the '04 Athens games will turn 25 next month, which in this sport means she is closer to 83. It's all good. She should win the Gold medal even if she falls, trips and spits on a judge.

When her career is over she should be able to land a gig as a femme fatale in a James Bond movie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This really is a children's book

The 2012 Summer Olympics begin on July 27 in London, and there may not be a better way to prepare your children for the games than this book: "The Olympics: Scandals".

Other titles in this children's book series include, "The Olympics: Events", "The Olympics: History", "The Olympics: Records" but the "scandals" is the best.

The book states: "The Olympics have produced some of the most amazing achievements in sports ever but they have also been connected with cheating scandals, politcal protests, and violence. This book is a record of the scandals and the cheating that has come to light in different Olympic Games alongside the many sports triumphs."

This 32-page book was published in 2012, so it includes all of the great scandals of the Games including bribery, the gray around "amateurism", the Nazis in 1936, the Cold War, Apartheid, the terror in Munich in 1972, poltical protests, match fixing, and our favorite - drug doping.

 

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The reason Deron Williams stayed with Brooklyn

Not that this will make any Dallas Mavericks fan feel better, but in an interview with Chris Berman of the New York Post, Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams said he was very close to signing with his hometown team.

Click here for the whole story in the NY Post.

Williams is currently training with the U.S. Olympic team in Las Vegas as they prepare for the London Summer games.

D-Will did say that had the Nets not traded for Joe Johnson of the Hawks that both he and Jason Kidd planned to sign with the Mavericks. 

In this interview, D-Will said the lure of going back to Texas to play was very strong. Strong enough to offset the $25 extra million the Nets could offer. Or at least that's what he said.

But it was Nets' GM Billy King dealing to add the All-Star Johnson that told him to stay in Brooklyn.

He said, "It came down to where I felt I had a better chance to win for a long period of time.

And this, "It was a hard decision. It was my hometown team I grew up watching that I would have loved to play for. My family would have loved for me to play. I kind of felt I let the city down because they wanted me there so bad."

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A U.S. rhythmic gymnast critiques Will Ferrell's performance in "Old School"

DALLAS - Picking just one scene from "Old School" is almost as tough as finding a wide-audience hook for rhythmic gymastics. Mathematical impossibility.

But Will Ferrell's performance as a rhythmic gymnast in Old School may be comic genius, it sadly won't win gold.

 

According to U.S. women's rhythmic gymnast Julie Zetlin, Ferrell bombed.

"People ask me about that all the time: 'Do you do what Will Ferrell did in 'Old School'?" she said. "He was very, very bad. Let's just put it this way - I don't run around swinging my ribbon all over the place and flailing my legs and arms everywhere. I'd love to have a conversation (with Ferrell) about that scene."

Doesn't matter. Ferrell needs a spot on the U.S. rhythmic gymnastics team. Ratings record.

 

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U.S. paralympic shooter is superior to Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs

DALLAS - In the movie "Lethal Weapon" Mel Gibson plays Martin Riggs, an LA cop and Vietnam Vet who says early in the film: "When I was 19, I did a guy in Laos from a thousand yards out. It was a rifle shot in high wind. Maybe eight or even ten guys in the world could have made that shot. It's the only thing I was ever good at."

I posed such a scenario today to U.S. military squad leader, expert marksmen, and paralympic shooter, Josh Olson. Is what Martin Riggs' claimed to have done actually possible?

"Oh yeah. I've done that," Olson said. "With technology now, we have seven different shooting teams in the Army and one of them, that's what they do - they shoot at great distances. Those guys do it with iron sights all day long. They are hitting that target (he makes a very small box with his hands) at 1,000 yards."

ME: So you could do it?

Josh Olson: Yeah.

ME: You could be Mel Gibson?

Josh Olson: I'm better than that.

In fairness to Martin Riggs, the movie was released in 1987 and he was a Vietnam Vet. Totally different equipment.

Olson enlisted in the military in 1997, and was a squad commander in 2003 in Iraq. In October of that year, Olson's squad was hit by an RPG attack.

"I remember a white flash out of the corner of my eye. It felt like I had the wind knocked out of me," he said.

He was put in a medically induced coma, and transported to Walter Reed Hospital in D.C. He woke up eight days after the attack, and his lower right leg had been removed.

"When I woke up there was my family, and I said, 'What are you doing here? It's not safe,'" Olson said. "I didn't even know I was in the hospital. I thought I was still back in Iraq."

During his 18-month stay in the hospital, Olson was awarded his Purple Heart by President George W. Bush. Olson was already a good shot, and eventually found his way to the U.S. Paralympic team.

He still has his spot in the military as an active member.

"It just got passed that we now have 24 new spots for wounded veterans to stay on active duty and become comptetive marksmen and marksmen instructors," Olson said. "Through my injury and hard work of myself and my teammates we just created 24 new jobs that were never there before."

 

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You can't spell new Olympic wear without g-o-u-g-e

DALLAS - The Olympics is not only a showcase for athletes we otherwise would never hear about or watch, but the perfect time for manufacturers to release new gadgets, toys and clothes we can all own in our feeble attempt to at least dress like an Olympian.

Here at the USOC Olympic summit both Nike and Ralph Lauren are displaying some of their respective new releases for the 2012 Games in London.

Ralph Lauren is the official something or other of the U.S. Olympic team, and provides roughly 1,000 outfits for the athletes and coaches for the Opening and Closing ceremonies. These outfits pictured are for the closing ceremonies.

Ralph Lauren is not exactly your average Wal Mart line, so dressing like an Olympic athlete isn't cheap.

A bucket hat runs $55.
A pair of shorts is $110.
A fleece is $165.

It appears as if the cheapest thing is a pin for $10.

All of these threads are high end and stylish.

But ... I want to meet the guy who wears a sport coat with a pair of shorts. With a V-neck sweater. And a tie.

If you are itching to start shopping for Father's Day, click here.

My suggestion? Look for the knock offs.

 

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Poof! And she's done: Michelle Obama's brief appearance at the USOC Summit

DALLAS - About 15 minutes after eating a plate full of deep fried calamri, and washing it down with a (Diet) Coke, it was very nice to hear from First Lady Michelle Obama on the importance of being active and eating healthy.

Mrs. Obama is here in at the Anatole & and the USOC media summit as a representative for the entire U.S. Olympic team, and for the Let's Move! program that confronts the issue of childhood obesity.

"I've never been introduced as an athlete. That's pretty cool," Mrs. Obama said after U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin introduced her.

This woman can really capture a room. In front of a full ballroom of reporters, and at least 30 news cameras and countless still photographers, Obama briefly spoke glowingly about Olympians as role models and the importance of being active.

"It's up to us (parents) to make sure they grow up healthy," she said. "All of (the Olympic athletes) will inspire a generation to get active and pursue whatever dreams they hold in their hearts."

She spoke for about five to seven minutes, did not take questions, and was gone. All of that security detail, the trained dogs, etc. and it was for about 10 minutes. She walked out of this room about five minutes ago, and is very likely halfway to D.C. by now.

Regardless ... Be in the same room with the First Lady? Check.

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USA basketball chair Jerry Colangelo politely counters Mark Cuban's anti-NBA Olympic stance

DALLAS - Don't think Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is going to show up at the U.S. Olympic Summit here at the Anatole Hotel. Maybe he will start the "Occupy Olympics" movement.

There is no bigger detractor of the NBA's involvement in the Olympics than Dallas Mavericks Prime Minister Mark Cuban, who thinks the Olympics are a for-profit business that exploits free labor.

Team USA basketball chairmen Jerry Colangelo responded to Cuban's feelings this morning.

"The ownership has the right and the platform to express opinions. I would say that there is another side to the story," Colangelo said. "What we have done with our program has brought great value to the NBA as a whole. As a good partner in the NBA every owner should recognize that that added value has added something to their franchise. So there is always two sides to every story.

"I think the best story the NBA had when we marched to the gold medal in Beijing (in 2008) was us. And that's worth a lot."

Colangelo is right. Unlike 2004 in Athens when that team won bronze, and was universally despised both at home and abroad, the '08 team generated nothing but positive vibes. That was an easy team to cheer for.

Colangelo later added: "In the sense the players are very valuable assets, there is no question about that. And the NBA gains by the success these players have on the international stage. We are in a global economy. The NBA has been at the forefront of dealing with the global market place. The participation and sucess of the players has brought great opportunities for the players and the NBA in its marketing efforts around the globe."

Translation: Mark, your pocket his heavier because of the Olympics. Deal with it.

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