Nice thread.

I thought Lil Wayne was still in prison?

Any man who'd buy a professional basketball team for his wife is aight with me.

SCNDLS said:

DeShawn Stevenson discusses his recent arrest; gives back story on Abe Lincoln tattoo

DeShawn Stevenson recently joined 105.3 The Fan to discuss winning the championship, the best and worst parts about being DeShawn Stevenson, his arrest two nights after winning the championship and why he got a tattoo of Abraham Lincoln.

Here are the highlights, transcribed by SportsRadioInterviews.com.

When did you truly believe the Mavericks were going to win the championship?:

“I’d say when Jet got that tattoo. I didn’t believe it, but when Jet got the tattoo and we was on a role, we had a lot of starting people coming off the bench — Shawn Marion, he’s a starter; Jason Terry, he’s a starter; J.J. Barea, he’s a starter. We had a lot of people coming off the bench and I just felt we were a powerhouse team.”

What’s the best thing about being DeShawn Stevenson?:

“I’d say being in Dallas and being with a team that has great fans. Some teams don’t have fans like we have. They stuck with us and it’s a great thing going out there playing, knowing you’ve got 20,000 behind your back.”

What’s the worst part?:

“The toughest part is I get stereotyped by all my tattoos and things like that. If you know me, I’m a great guy.”

Do you want to clear up what happened with the quick arrest following winning the championship:

“People don’t understand. I was going to a party with all of my friends in an apartment. I left. I’m walking down the street … and I guess because I have tattoos a cop told me to come here, asked me what I was doing. I told him what I was doing and he told me to go by the cop car. I’m thinking that he’s going to ask me a couple questions and I’m going to go home. He comes, puts me in handcuffs and I go to jail for four hours. … I asked him what I was going to jail for and he said public intoxication.”

Did he give you a Breathalyzer or anything?:

“This is the thing, I asked for it. I asked for the Breathalyzer and he wouldn’t give it to me.”

What was he thinking as he’s sleeping on the floor in jail?:

“I really didn’t think about that because I knew I didn’t do anything wrong. Sometimes when you get put in bad situations, you think, ‘Why did I do that? Why was I driving drunk? Why did I have this? Why did I have that?’ This is like, I’m walking down the street. Sometimes people stereotype you. I’ve been like that all my life. I think it makes you stronger and understand where you came from.”

Where did the “How Does My Dirk Taste?” T-shirt come from?:

“After we won the championship, we was going to the locker room and I saw a guy with a shirt. We had the championship shirts and he wanted it. I said, ‘I’ll switch out if you give me that one.’ So we switched shirts. I didn’t tell nobody I had it. The next day we woke up and I wore it on the plane and to the parade.”

What’s up with the 5-dollar bill tattoo on his neck?:

“I was going to get Martin Luther King and I told Gilbert Arenas. You should never tell nobody your idea. That summer, he came back and got it. So I didn’t know who to get. I got Abraham Lincoln because he freed the slaves. I just had Abraham Lincoln and, from a distance, everybody kept saying, ‘Who is that?’ So I put the five-dollar bill so everybody would stop asking me.”

A few pints low.

Graycap23 said:

SCNDLS said:

DeShawn Stevenson discusses his recent arrest; gives back story on Abe Lincoln tattoo

DeShawn Stevenson recently joined 105.3 The Fan to discuss winning the championship, the best and worst parts about being DeShawn Stevenson, his arrest two nights after winning the championship and why he got a tattoo of Abraham Lincoln.

Here are the highlights, transcribed by SportsRadioInterviews.com.

When did you truly believe the Mavericks were going to win the championship?:

“I’d say when Jet got that tattoo. I didn’t believe it, but when Jet got the tattoo and we was on a role, we had a lot of starting people coming off the bench — Shawn Marion, he’s a starter; Jason Terry, he’s a starter; J.J. Barea, he’s a starter. We had a lot of people coming off the bench and I just felt we were a powerhouse team.”

What’s the best thing about being DeShawn Stevenson?:

“I’d say being in Dallas and being with a team that has great fans. Some teams don’t have fans like we have. They stuck with us and it’s a great thing going out there playing, knowing you’ve got 20,000 behind your back.”

What’s the worst part?:

“The toughest part is I get stereotyped by all my tattoos and things like that. If you know me, I’m a great guy.”

Do you want to clear up what happened with the quick arrest following winning the championship:

“People don’t understand. I was going to a party with all of my friends in an apartment. I left. I’m walking down the street … and I guess because I have tattoos a cop told me to come here, asked me what I was doing. I told him what I was doing and he told me to go by the cop car. I’m thinking that he’s going to ask me a couple questions and I’m going to go home. He comes, puts me in handcuffs and I go to jail for four hours. … I asked him what I was going to jail for and he said public intoxication.”

Did he give you a Breathalyzer or anything?:

“This is the thing, I asked for it. I asked for the Breathalyzer and he wouldn’t give it to me.”

What was he thinking as he’s sleeping on the floor in jail?:

“I really didn’t think about that because I knew I didn’t do anything wrong. Sometimes when you get put in bad situations, you think, ‘Why did I do that? Why was I driving drunk? Why did I have this? Why did I have that?’ This is like, I’m walking down the street. Sometimes people stereotype you. I’ve been like that all my life. I think it makes you stronger and understand where you came from.”

Where did the “How Does My Dirk Taste?” T-shirt come from?:

“After we won the championship, we was going to the locker room and I saw a guy with a shirt. We had the championship shirts and he wanted it. I said, ‘I’ll switch out if you give me that one.’ So we switched shirts. I didn’t tell nobody I had it. The next day we woke up and I wore it on the plane and to the parade.”

What’s up with the 5-dollar bill tattoo on his neck?:

“I was going to get Martin Luther King and I told Gilbert Arenas. You should never tell nobody your idea. That summer, he came back and got it. So I didn’t know who to get. I got Abraham Lincoln because he freed the slaves. I just had Abraham Lincoln and, from a distance, everybody kept saying, ‘Who is that?’ So I put the five-dollar bill so everybody would stop asking me.”

A few pints low.

His needle is definitely on FOOL

Lawd, if this ain't some black folks shit I don't know what is. I bet the bruhs keep the specially engraved velvet bag to hold knick-knacks

Jet Gifts Teammates Rare Whiskey

Jason "the Jet" Terry, who is not royalty and has never been so pretentious as to claim himself a King, has gifted to his teammates a fifth of rare whisky worthy of regal lips.

Well, or so Crown Royal would have you believe about their XR (extra rare) blend that is made from the last remaining batch of whisky distilled at the Waterloo distillery. (Forgive me, I'm not sure of the importance and am not looking it up.)

That fact may make this whiskey The Chosen One among Crown fans, but it also makes it expensive. Now, it's not $80,000 a bottle expensive, Mr. Cuban, but a fifth of the stuff will run about $100. Or, about $70 more than the average bottle of Crown.

The personalized monogrammed bags that Jet added for his teammates make the whisky, and the bag to keep it in, invaluable. The one to Dirk, pictured, says "Dirk, Here's to winning the Crown jewel! - The Jet #31." Underneath that it says "World Champions, June 12,2011" - it's worth noting the Mavs are NBA Champs, not World Champs. There is a World Basketball Championship, but I digress.

“I’ve had many significant moments worth celebrating throughout my career, but after 12 seasons of professional basketball, I know how truly special and rare winning a title is,” said Terry. “So, I thought giving all the guys a custom made bag for their Crown Royal XR would be a fun way to honor the moment and give them something smooth to sip on as they enjoy this amazing feeling.”

It's a great product pitch, but an even better gesture by a player who has continued to grow and excel at his game while further boosting his appeal on and the court.

Well done Jet, and congrats on the title of champion. It's one that is well earned and not self-aggrandizing.

Cheers to the real three kings: Dirk, Kidd and Jet.

Dirk considering playing for German national team

DALLAS (AP)—Dirk Nowitzki(notes) is considering joining the German national team this summer to help their chances of qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Nowitzki told ESPN 103.3 FM on Tuesday that he would decide within a few weeks.

Germany must finish among the top six of the 24 teams at the EuroBasket tournament to be eligible to qualify for the next Olympics.

Nowitzki hasn’t played for Germany since the 2008 Olympics, an experience he’s called among the highlights of his career.

He said he’s told German officials he’d help the next generation get to the Olympics. However, the Mavs’ extended run and ensuing celebrations have left the NBA finals MVP in need of some down time.

Mark Cuban: I'll Buy The L.A. Dodgers IF

Mark Cuban tells TMZ he's STILL interested in purchasing the L.A. Dodgers ... but he's afraid the team is "such a mess," it wouldn't be worth the investment. Cuban appeared on "TMZ Live" Tuesday ... claiming the Dodgers are still an enticing franchise ... but the organization appears to be so messed up financially, that it could be impossible to turn around. Cuban says he will take a closer look at the team -- and insists, "If they're fixable and the deal is right, then I'm very interested."

Cuban: Hey, Perot, Sue This

Ross Perot Jr.’s lingering lawsuit against Mark Cuban and his Radical Mavericks Management LLC claimed the Dallas Mavericks’, sorry, World Champion Dallas Mavericks’ majority owner to be "reckless and careless."

In a move to dismiss the suit, Cuban’s attorney today filed a legal brief that read, paraphrasing, “Mr. Perot, meet the Larry O’Brien Trophy; trophy, Mr. Perot. Now, Ross, how about a nice warm cup of shut the hell up?”

Or words to that effect.

Unfair Park posted the full legal brief, which places into evidence on Cuban’s behalf a photo of the team with the championship trophy. Exhibit A.

"I just thought, you know, we ought to find a way to humorously, but in a serious way, to make the point that this lawsuit is ridiculous," said Thomas Melsheimer, Cuban's attorney. "And I thought that doing it this way was a pretty good way to do it."

The document also contains a “Really? Look who’s talking” paragraph when it states, “Under [Perot’s] Hillwood’s ownership, the team was deemed the ‘worst franchise’ in all of professional sports. Under Cuban’s stewardship the Mavericks have become … NBA champions.”

That, in basketball parlance, is a rejection. Hard.

Not only should Perot withdraw his suit against Cuban he also should thank The Mavs Man. That championship at likely tripled the financial worth of Perot’s remaining 5 percent stake in the team.

NBC DFW attempted to contact Perot's attorney, but as of this writing there has not been a response. The case is set to go to trial in October.

Mavs Parade Costs Cuban $341K

Dallas city officials who tallied up the cost for a parade celebrating the Mavericks' first NBA title last week say it came to $340,947.

City spokesman Frank Librio said Thursday the bill was sent straight to team owner Mark Cuban, who has agreed to pay promptly.

Cuban has said all along that he'd personally foot the bill for the parade celebrating the Mavs' NBA Finals victory over the Miami Heat.

According to the city's summary sheet, the largest expense, at $270,715, was for the 540-strong police presence. An additional 132 firefighters and paramedics on hand for emergencies cost $54,002. Clean-up was the smallest expense at $843.

The rest was spent on public works, Convention Center usage and various city services.

About 200,000 jubilant fans attended the downtown parade June 16th.

Homecoming 'overwhelms' NBA MVP Nowitzki

Dirk Nowitzki, the German playmaker who led the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA Finals victory, admitted he was "overwhelmed" by the response as he came back to his home city on Tuesday.

"This is the highlight of my career," he said during the celebrations in his home city of Wuerzburg.

The 33-year-old, voted the Most Valuable Player of the NBA championship series, made his first appearance in Germany 16 days after his team's triumph and was greeted by a crowd of 3,000 fans at the city's basketball stadium.

"It's absolutely overwhelming what's going on here," said the visibly moved Nowitzki upon returning to the Franconia city, 120km from Frankfurt am Main.

"I had not expected this and I won't forget this day for the rest of my life."

Nowitzki was greeted with chants of 'MVP' and was welcomed with a standing ovation when he entered the arena, in which he started his professional career by helping DJK Wuerzburg win promotion to the Bundesliga in 1997.

Despite a marathon two week-long party in America, Nowitzki says he is keeping his feet on the ground and patiently answered questions from fans and over 140 journalists for more than an hour.

With his left hand bandaged because of a torn tendon in the middle finger, Nowitzki says he does not know if he will play for the German national team at the European Championships in Lithuania this September.

"Now I'm taking a vacation first, then I'll make the decision," he said, having already won 127 caps for Germany.

He did, however, definitely rule out any talk of retirement despite fulfilling his lifetime dream of winning the NBA, and said his MVP trophy from the NBA finals has remained Stateside.

Following the press conference, the party for 'Dirkules', as he has been dubbed, was due to get into full swing.

After signing the city's official book, a reception was planned on the balcony of the city's impressive palace.

Normally, such an event is prohibited as the city has World Heritage Site status, but a special exception was made for the return of Nowitzki.

[Edited 6/28/11 14:54pm]

Muhammad Ali’s ‘greatest’ gift to Dirk Nowitzki

Former heavyweight champion and legendary sports icon Muhammad Ali didn't waste any time in letting the most recent NBA Finals MVP know exactly how he feels. According to Dirk Nowitzki(notes) -- last month's main man as the Dallas Mavericks won it all -- Ali sent him a glove after Dallas' Finals win with an inscription that read "You are the greatest."

Minutes before he strode onto a balcony to greet his fans and followers in his hometown of Wurzburg, Germany, Dirk took the time to answer several pointed...or Spiegel, Germany's most famous and prominent weekly magazine. And while we should probably be wary of the translation inherent in back and forth sessions like these (there are some questions and answers that scan a little dodgy once translated to English), the story behind the Ali sustains.

Here's the passage from Spiegel:

SPIEGEL: Did any German politicians call to congratulate you?

Nowitzki: I think that (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel called my adviser. I'm not totally sure. But do you know what made me the happiest?

SPIEGEL: What?

Nowitzki: Muhammad Ali sent me a package.

SPIEGEL: What was in it?

Nowitzki: A boxing glove with the inscription: "You are the greatest." Please don't ask me immediately about the political meaning of the gift. I was simply happy and sent Ali a golden basketball with a similar inscription.

Pretty sweet deal, Muhammad Ali. A boxing glove with a fawning note, traded for a basketball made of gold?

Racket jokes aside, you have to wonder if Ali and his family are in the habit of sending these sorts of gifts to either every NBA Finals MVP, every obvious franchise player behind the best teams of the NBA season, or even the top players on every championship team that rolls down the baseball/football/basketball pike a few times a year.

Even if he's sending these out four or five times in a calendar year, this is clearly a very cool move by Ali. How breathtaking -- literally breathtaking -- would that be to open up?

And if that gift was one of a kind, for at least the recent times? You're a lucky dude, Dirk Nowitzki.

You're also pretty well deserving. Just don't Wurzburg it up too much, strap on the gloves, and decide to take anyone on that dares make fun of Jose Juan Barea's height. We need those shooting wrists intact when the next NBA season starts, sometime in 2014.

Bazooka sends the Dallas Mavericks some championship Ring Pops

Somewhat famously last June, Mark Cuban jokingly dismissed the idea of giving his championship Dallas Mavericks their championship rings. Cuban called the idea behind handing out the traditional championship rings "old school," and mused aloud as to what sort of show-offy prize he would give his team.

Now, after the NBA owners locked out their players, Cuban can't even re-tweet a celebration photo from Dirk Nowitzki's(notes) Twitter account without facing a million-dollar fine, much less hand out some prized jewelry. That's where Bazooka steps in, sporting all sorts of sugar-laden bling.

Bazooka is sending the team a series of Maverick-blue candy rings. Via CBS Sports:

"Bazooka Candy Brands, the iconic confectionary company and manufacturer of Ring Pops, believes that the Dallas Mavericks should be rewarded for all their hard work and their NBA Finals win," the company said in a statement.

"That is why they will be stepping in and saving the day, creating Swarovski-encrusted Ring Pops in the team colors of Blue and White for the team to wear to celebrate their feat.

The Ring Pops will be shipped to the team shortly."

Your move, Mark.

Dirk Nowitzki wins best male athlete, Mavericks chosen as best team at ESPY Awards

It was definitely a fun night to be a member of the Dallas Mavericks.

Nowitzki picked up a pair of trophies, including male athlete of the year, and the Mavericks were chosen as the best team Wednesday night at the ESPY Awards.

Nowitzki also won best NBA player during ESPN's live telecast from the Nokia Theatre. Rick Carlisle was named best coach for leading the Mavericks to the NBA championship.

"I've got to tell you, any party where Dirk is singing 'We are the Champions' is just the best party ever," Dallas owner Mark Cuban told reporters of the Mavs' celebration in South Beach.

Nowitzki, who was the MVP of the NBA finals, is the first NBA player to be named top male athlete since Michael Jordan in 1993. Also nominated for the award were Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and tennis star Rafael Nadal, who each won awards in other categories.

[Edited 7/14/11 12:44pm]

Mark Cuban won’t get fined for hanging with Mavs at the ESPYs

On Wednesday night, the sports universe celebrated itself with the annual ESPYs, a barrel of awards and yucks presided over by Seth "Mr. Comedy" Meyers. There were NBA lockout zings and a good time was had by all.

However, the Dallas Mavericks' win in the Best Team (the biggest award of the night, I think, although who really knows) created a bit of controversy. When the team won, assorted players, including Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki(notes) and Finals participant Brian Cardinal(notes), went up on stage to give awkward speeches. But they were also joined by team owner Mark Cuban, which means everyone exchanged handshakes and some short congratulations.

By the NBA's lockout rules, Cuban should be fined for these interactions. However, SB Nation's Tom Ziller got word from an NBA spokesman that Cuban got clearance to fr... the enemy beforehand.

As in the case of Heat brass attending Chri...'s wedding, it seems as if the NBA is willing to make exceptions for important personal events or unavoidable public interactions, especially if those events involve corporate partners that pay the league billions of dollars for television rights. Still, it's a little unclear to me why certain interactions are allowed and others are not. For instance, a wedding is certainly a major event in a person's life, and his friends should be around to celebrate. But shouldn't those same friends be allowed to send each other messages ... birthdays?

It's nice that the NBA allows some interaction, but they are still creating arbitrary distinctions between what kinds of relationships are important and which aren't. It's one thing to be in a protracted labor dispute. Acting as if those same people should stop treating each other like human beings goes too far.

Whatever the case, I'm glad the Mavs got to hang out with Jason Bateman. I hear Cubes is a big fan of "Valerie's Family."

The key to Dallas’ championship run? Cold, cold air

The Dallas Mavericks are a strange case. Nobody had them pegged as championship shoo-ins entering 2010-11, but several NBA observers understood that if everything aligned itself properly, the Mavs would have enough to make it all the way to the franchise's first title. As it turned out, everything came up Mavericks. The team wasn't lucky, nor did it receive any big breaks along the way, but the squad remains an unlikely champion. A veteran outfit that made its own fortune.

And, as ESPN's Ric Bucher poin... this week, a group that took expert care of its respective bodies along the way. To a chilling degree, literally.

Dirk Nowitzki(notes), Tyson Chandler(notes), Jason Kidd(notes), Jason Terry(notes), Shawn Marion(notes) and Brian Cardinal(notes) (who drove the group there, I suspect) all repeatedly schlepped to Plano, Texas, during the team's two-month postseason run to take part in cryogenic therapy. The Mavericks stripped to their skivvies at this facility and stepped inside a 6-foot-tall silo of sorts that would whir around and possibly remind each of these guys of an episode of "Lost in Space" -- if any of these Mavericks (all in their 30s, Bucher points out, save for Chandler) were old enough to remember that show.

From the column:

For 2 1/2 minutes -- at a cost of $75 per person, billed to Mavs owner Mark Cuban -- blasts of nitrogen-chilled air emanated from the walls, quickly dropping the air temperature to as low as -320 degrees Fahrenheit. By the last 30 to 45 seconds, their bodies would be shaking uncontrollably.

"The first time Shawn did it, I thought he was going to jump out after 30 seconds," Terry says. "He was yelling, 'My nipples are about to fall off!'"

Marion's always been the excitable sort, but can you blame the guy for thinking that things might go awry at that temperature? Hell, given 2 1/2 minutes at that temperature, my nipples would be the last appendages I'd be worried about.

The Mavericks certainly don't credit this sort of treatment for their championship run, but given the way the players mentioned above looked and played deep into June, who wouldn't want to try this? Dirk Nowitzki was missing jumpers in the first round last year that he was swishing with regularity in the fourth round last month. Terry was actually picking up opposing point guards with full-court defense, Marion had to guard LeBron James(notes) and score on his own, Kidd clearly has turned back the hands of time, and Chandler was everywhere in the Dallas defense.

Whatever the reason, even if it was a placebo of sorts, these guys looked entirely better this year than they have in past postseasons, with the possible exception of Nowitzki (who is routinely brilliant). These particular Mavs, at the very least, defied expectation considering their respective ages. Cryogenics or not, something was up. And that's coming from the most dismissive and cynical mug you've ever met.

"Crynosaunas," kids. It's the cold wave of the future.

DIRK NOWITZKI MAKES IT OFFICIAL . . . POPS THE QUESTION TO HIS GIRLFRIEND!!

July 18, 2011. MediaTakeOut.com told you that RIGHT BEFORE the NBA finals began, NBA superstar Dirk Nowitsh PROMISED his girlfriend, Jessica Olssen, that he wold marry her.

Well now he's FORMALIZED that promise. According to one of Jessica's CLOSEST FRIENDS Dirk got one ONE KNEE and proposed to Jesica this weekend

And that's not it. Dirk gave Jess a 10 KARAT diamond ring - with an estimated value of $2 MILLION. You can see the ring in this photo, which was taken this weekend.

Congratulations to both Dirk and Jessica (who, BTW are both dedicated MTO readers - hey y'all). Now can we get an INVITE to the wedding!!!