I think this conclusively answers the subject of this thread. Mark is good for basketball. MiamiHerald.com | 01/22/2007 | Wade could sit tonight
Pretty good. But, it may also answer the sub-question - is Cuban good for the Mavs? Shaq is old, fat, and slow, but I'm not sure what good making him mad will do the Mavs if they were to meet the Heat again down the road.
Last night on on NBA Coast to Coast (ESPN2) they aired a interview conducted by Rachel (red hair) Nichols where she asked Cuban about some comments made by Pistons owner Bill Davidson, that Cuban antics/tactics were bad for the league. I guess that Davisdon had been interviewed previously about Cuban and they wanted his reaction to Mr D's comments. Does anyone have those commments from Davidson handy? Cuban went on to say that Davison "has No Clue what he talking about as it relates to what Cuban does for the league" One of the cnomment Cuban said last night is that NBA should concentrate on marketing the league to the USA instead of foreign countries. The income is not coming from third world countries in his opinion. The ESPN crew loved the way Cuban conducts business as it relates to interacting with the fans, signing autographs, marketing his team and says that he is in tune whit what society is doing now, and has deep pockets when he wants his team to win. On the other hand Davison is an old school blue collar guy with shallow pockets. Swin Cash, who by the way held her own on the panel with Legler, Anthony and John Saunders, tried to defend Mr D, but in the end you knew that Cuban is the the type of owner that players love to play for. As Saunders said in the end Mr. D has rings in three different leagues and Cuban is still searchin for his first!
Mr. D and the Pistons org. have been taking pot shots at Cuban for over a year. It's classless, but in Michigan, Bill D gets away with a lot because he is revered as this genius businessman and sports team owner. I like the Pistons, but I could care less who owns them, and in my inexpert opinion, Mark Cuban is a fantastic sports team owner.
Cuban is not a fan of Mr. D. and vise versa. Cuban claims that Mr. D. was "front and center" to make changes to league rules for the owners as well as the players. Cuban said that he isn't allowed to speak out and have the same fun he used to. I don't blame him for being mad and wanting out. I'm glad he didn't though, because like him or hate him, I think he is GREAT for basketball.
Well, that settles it right there. Pistons/Mavs final...bad blood between the owners will make for a great underlying story.
I vote that he is bad for the NBA. Why? Very simply, he has proven that you can be a total jerk and be a winner. I think he has the ability to not be a jerk and still prove he is a winner. I know if I was an owner, I would love to run this guy out. I find it extremely hard to respect him inspite of his winning methods. I think he can shoot much higher. I believe he can win and show class and respectibility too. I don't think it has to be one or the other. To me it shows you the corrupting power of money and leadership. We see it not only in our politicians, we see it now with one of our owners. I think he is an extremely poor role model for all of these kids. To me its the wrong lesson to teach the next generation that if you have enough money, that gives you the right to treat anybody the way you want to, and still be respected. Just my opinion.
Considering that Cuban was one of the main backers of the perimeter defense rules changes after the 2004 season (along with Jerry "the most overrated hack in professional sport" Colangelo), it's understandable that the Pistons organization has no particular love for him. It may be hypocritical, but Cuban's nothing if he's not a hypocrite. I appreciate his singlemindedness, though.
I totally disagree. Kobe is not a role model for young people. Latrell Sprewell is not a role model for young people. Mark Cuban put himself through university and with luck, intelligence and savvy positioned himself as the 113th richest man in America, all in less than 30 years. Cuban has matched all of his NBA fines, by donating the equivalent amount to charity. ESPN.com: NBA - Dairy Queen to Cuban: Try managing our stores He's smart, confident and funny. He says what is on his mind, not what is safe. He's self-made, and he's responded to my emails when I've had something worth saying. He recently turned down an opportunity to have his own satellite radio show to spend more time with his daughter. What better role model could you ask for?
Re: Cuban On Thomas Just in case you needed another reason to like Cuban, it appears that he's a Zeke fan. Cuban on Zeke, Marbury and $15 basketball shoes, from today's NY Post: CUBAN: ZEKE PACT MERITED By MARC BERMAN - Knicks - New York Post Online Edition
According to Webster, a role model is a person who serves as a model in a particular behavior or social role for another person to emulate. The reason why Kobe gets paid multimillions for endorsements is because he is a role model. Those companies aren't stupid. They know Kobe is going to sell their product because millions of people are going to try to emulate him by buying his jersey, etc. Kobe is a role model by definition.
Need4Sheed.com: Mark Cuban Reads Need4Sheed.com Mark Cuban commented on Natalie's blog. This doesn't surprise me, because he has exchanged emails with jammertime and myself in the past. Super fan, super owner. Executive Sheed Extreme.
It all depends what you value I guess. What he values and what I value are two different things. He gets my vote as worst owner of all sports franchises. I've never witnessed an owner that was as big of a jerk as Cuban. I guess Al Davis comes to mind. I think I would vote Cuban last and Al Davis second to last.
buckeyes#1 Fallen Patriot Fund About Now please, give it up. The man is a decent human being who doesn't hurt anyone.
