Cuban's spirit is NOT broken by any means. Go Cuban. lmao.(Apologies if this was posted elsewhere).

"I have a new aspiration beyond winning a title in the NBA: That's to fit in and be like everybody else."

Marked Maverick - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

I just saw Buck Harvey's ExNews article, talking about Elson being a bigger Bruce. I thought that guy looked tall last night, standing with Bruce and Timmy. Anyway he said Elson got a technical for giving a primal scream when he made a dunk after pass from Ginobili. What??!

That wasnt against a ref, it was pure joy. New rules say you cant be happy? Looks like it's going to be the same old refs deciding who wins by ejecting players who are strong and going for it.

Hmmmm, sounds like game fixing to me. The refs should be scrutinized and not by foxes guarding the henhouse but by an independent fan based group. Fans come to see their team favorites win, not the refs.

Oh, and how about that new synthetic ball bouncing up and hitting ref, sending him out to get 5 stitches...wow

ELSON looked GOOD! Mobile big guy. Decent touch around the basket. Fits well with the Spurs. You can't taunt or hang on the rim. The hanging part can be contested but he ended up yelling into that guys face which is a judgement call there but if you consider the taunt rule...it could be justified as a T.

Taunting is good for the sport. I like it. It's entertaining. It creates rivalries. If the player wants to give the other team a reason to play harder by all means let them do it.

Can't see all of these rules changes helping the league. Too bad there isn't any real competition for the NBA. You'd have to think that if a proffesional league existed that could match the salaries of the NBA but give more power back to the player (old dress code, old defensive rules, old basketball, removal of ref no-tolerance rule ), they might be able to make a case for luring elite talent. Never understood why all of those retired millionaires have not got together and tried to battle the beast.

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"Great coach, this team wins the title. Average coach, they get to the ECF repeatedly and fail. Crap coach, this season happens" - The Low

Sorry big guy, but if I were a retired millionaire I'd think that beast battling would be fairly far down my list.

Collusion.

Well, I dunno DBA, if you're a retired millionaire maybe you are looking for new challenges or wanting to contribute to the game in a way outside of hitting jump shots. If you are a retired basketball player most likely you remain a basketball enthusiast. If you have money, most likely you are a business owner in this country. Sounds like a natural fit to me.

I can see where this can affect salaries, but in the end it would force the NBA to have a more player friendly environment. We'd have a WCW/WWF battle on our hands to get the best talent. Competition is good. Boosts quality!

Could well be. At the ends of weeks like this when I've already been on more flights than there were days, and still have more to go, it's hard to think about retiring and then looking for another career. Of course, I'm not 32 and rich either.

I followed Franciso last year and wasn't too impressed. Its amazing what a change of scenery can do for a player.