Outrageous! Unbelievable! Preposterous! Did I really just hear that or are my ears playing tricks on me? "Mark Cuban is someone who makes even Jerry Jones look classy." Hearing that comment made me tightly hold the wheel with both hands in hopes of an accident. I was shocked and offended. What kind of idiots do we have on the radio in this town? How quickly we forget!
Am I the only one who remembers when the Mavericks sucked? Let's be honest people, it wasn't that long ago. I grew up watching bad basketball and baseball while the only saving grace was Jerry Jones and his World Champion Cowboys. And God help us without Jerry and his rebellious Pepsi and Nike contracts, Dallas may have floated off the map. I remember when the NFL was furious with Jones and he was called a rebel and a pirate for marketing the Cowboys like he did and making way more off his product and investment than other owners dreamed of. He was a very business savvy individual who knew what the hell he was doing and people hated him for that. But us in Dallas loved him, at least the true fans. To have an owner care that much and pour his heart and soul into a team, our team, was heart-warming. It was a team you could really get behind.
And now we have maybe an even greater pioneer in the game of basketball, Mark Cuban. An owner so dedicated to his team that he builds them a castle and only asks on the hunt for the top treasure in the NBA that they bring home the booty (not get theirs handed to them by Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, but that's for another day).
During and even after the NBA Finals it has seemed like the ripping of Mark Cuban has greatly increased (David Stern, tell your wiccan to back off). It's funny though, I didn't remember Cuban blowing a 13 point lead in the final minutes of game 3. I also didn't remember him missing huge free-throws (they call them that because they are FREE; Shaq, are you listening?), getting suspended, or not getting important stops on defense. Maybe I wasn't watching close enough but my guess is that is was the athletes on the court who blew the series (officiating also, well, I do think we share a jail cell with the Seahawks and a guy named Bubba but that's not the point here).
So why is an amazing owner like Cuban getting all the heat (no pun intended). Ask any pro athlete and they will tell you they would kill (take it easy, O.J.) for an owner like Mark. I believe he is the best thing to ever happen to this town and when all is said and done will have built a dynasty here in Dallas. Compare him with other owners in this town, or anywhere, and you will quickly see that while Dallas may have already been on the map (Thank You, Jerry), Cuban is putting it to all CAPS.
The best example is that dead-beat, Tom Hicks. He owns the Rangers and the Stars yet he pockets his profits and is content with them being mediocre. While Hicks did make two big moves in his tenure in Dallas (Brett Hull and A-ROD, the former of which did help the Stars win a Stanley Cup), his greed as of the past few years makes people dread going to the ballpark and the arena. The Rangers payroll is actually within a few million of the Twins and Nationals, both teams that were almost disposed of a few years ago because of financial implications. So Tom, if you are reading this for the love of God please put the Stars back on the market. And Mark, do the right thing and buy them. Think of this as monopoly and you have Boardwalk and you just need Park Place to put a strangle hold on you opponents. The Mav's already share the arena with the Stars, it makes perfect sense. And as for Hick's Rangers, Mark, do you like baseball?
At this point, with the World Cup in full swing (except for those dominant Americans), it would seem appropriate to mention FC Dallas and their owner in this article. So there, I just did. I realize that I didn't really say anything about them but this article is only comparing real sports (yes - nascar, golf, bowling, horse-racing, tennis, beer-pong, none of you qualify either; although beer-pong would be the closest).
So thank you Jerry for putting Dallas on the map and that you Mark for helping keep it there (or maybe JFK helped out a little; speaking of, are you guys swinging by Dallas to pick up a book anytime soon? When is the next Kennedy family ski-trip or vacation to Martha's Vineyard? Ted, you bring the booze, Robert, you the pain-killers, and I will supply the falsified police reports to cover you once again). And thank you Lion, Scarecrow and Tin-man. You helped me believe in myself enough to write this article. I couldn't have done it without you!
"We're off to see the Wizard,"
"The Bear"
Saturday
Thursday
Life Lessons from "Randy"
"The Bear,"
After reading some of your posts on the ridiculousness of some people, I wanted to share with you a story really close to my heart. It is a story that taught me a good lesson about others and life. I was in college and I decided to go on a road trip with my best friend and I to a weekend football game. When we left for the game that morning from Oklahoma to Illinois (it was a full days drive and yes we did skip class) we both were put in a little 2 door red car with a couple of girls and a guy who I will refer to simply as "Randy." While the seating arrangements were less than ideal, it was the rest of the trip which I will never forget.
It seemed like the whole way there "Randy" had Tim McGraw's "Something Like That" on repeat (he had just bought the cd) and we all knew better that to ask him to change it. You see, "Randy" was a special individual, one that (as we soon found out) if you rubbed the wrong way could melt down at a moment's notice.
After hours of loud country (still the same song) and no heat (Lord only knows it was late fall and freezing outside) we finally spoke up to "Randy" and asked him to turn on the heat. Maybe it was the fact that he ignored us and turned up the music, or just maybe it was because that same damn song kept ringing in our ears, but we figured we had been through enough. We once again, and again, asked him to please turn on the heat as we didn't want to violate our morals to keep warm.
It could have been that he had been driving all day. It could have been that he was annoyed that we sang along with the country song (albeit off-tune). It could have even been that he didn't like us telling him what to do in his car. Whatever the cause though, that was it. "Randy" lost it and started screaming some non-sense about leaving us on the side of the road. It truly was a frightening moment. At the next gas station the girls ran crying from the car and my friend and I sent out a search party for help (well, not really, but we were a bit scared). I don't think either of us had been that close to psychotic behavior, or even death. Either way when the group got to Chicago for the evening we had some friends "take care" of good old "Randy" and we drifted off to sleep (myself with one eye open).
I tell you this story because I saw "Randy" a few years later at my friend's campus and he wasn't really such a terrible guy. I think the prozac had done wonders because he was actually quite friendly. We were in the computer lab (other around us were doing homework and he was like "HEY GUYS, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?" It was quite embarrassing because we were like "Randy, shhhhh.. people are studying." "YEAH GUYS, ME TOO... I JUST LOVE THE COMPUTER LAB. IT'S SO NICE AND QUIET HERE." And with that we left with a smile (we may have ducked out the door, actually).
We often reminisce about "Randy." A guy just like you and me, although, none of us are probably locked up at this point. But I learned a few good lessons from this experience. "Randy" was a good guy, a bit misunderstood, and we misjudged him simply because he almost killed us or left us stranded like on an episode of LOST. I learned if you are going to judge someone, get to know them first, or simply just stay the hell away from their car if you value you life (others may not end up as lucky)!
Please make sure and pass this on to your readers as it could save them some heartache.
Paul in Tulsa
Paul,
I appreciate your letter of concern and I will pass it along to my readers. I am glad you made it out alive and it is a good lesson about not getting in the car with strangers, especially ones under a psychologists care. As for your friend "Randy," I could swear I know him. And I know I know people like him. And as for the song, that's tough man, real tough. Hang in there and tell "Randy" to keep it quiet in the computer lab, some of us are trying read ESPN's updates (studying? me? you have got to be kidding!). I appreciate it Paul.
"I had a barbecue stain on my white t-shirt,"
"The Bear"
After reading some of your posts on the ridiculousness of some people, I wanted to share with you a story really close to my heart. It is a story that taught me a good lesson about others and life. I was in college and I decided to go on a road trip with my best friend and I to a weekend football game. When we left for the game that morning from Oklahoma to Illinois (it was a full days drive and yes we did skip class) we both were put in a little 2 door red car with a couple of girls and a guy who I will refer to simply as "Randy." While the seating arrangements were less than ideal, it was the rest of the trip which I will never forget.
It seemed like the whole way there "Randy" had Tim McGraw's "Something Like That" on repeat (he had just bought the cd) and we all knew better that to ask him to change it. You see, "Randy" was a special individual, one that (as we soon found out) if you rubbed the wrong way could melt down at a moment's notice.
After hours of loud country (still the same song) and no heat (Lord only knows it was late fall and freezing outside) we finally spoke up to "Randy" and asked him to turn on the heat. Maybe it was the fact that he ignored us and turned up the music, or just maybe it was because that same damn song kept ringing in our ears, but we figured we had been through enough. We once again, and again, asked him to please turn on the heat as we didn't want to violate our morals to keep warm.
It could have been that he had been driving all day. It could have been that he was annoyed that we sang along with the country song (albeit off-tune). It could have even been that he didn't like us telling him what to do in his car. Whatever the cause though, that was it. "Randy" lost it and started screaming some non-sense about leaving us on the side of the road. It truly was a frightening moment. At the next gas station the girls ran crying from the car and my friend and I sent out a search party for help (well, not really, but we were a bit scared). I don't think either of us had been that close to psychotic behavior, or even death. Either way when the group got to Chicago for the evening we had some friends "take care" of good old "Randy" and we drifted off to sleep (myself with one eye open).
I tell you this story because I saw "Randy" a few years later at my friend's campus and he wasn't really such a terrible guy. I think the prozac had done wonders because he was actually quite friendly. We were in the computer lab (other around us were doing homework and he was like "HEY GUYS, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?" It was quite embarrassing because we were like "Randy, shhhhh.. people are studying." "YEAH GUYS, ME TOO... I JUST LOVE THE COMPUTER LAB. IT'S SO NICE AND QUIET HERE." And with that we left with a smile (we may have ducked out the door, actually).
We often reminisce about "Randy." A guy just like you and me, although, none of us are probably locked up at this point. But I learned a few good lessons from this experience. "Randy" was a good guy, a bit misunderstood, and we misjudged him simply because he almost killed us or left us stranded like on an episode of LOST. I learned if you are going to judge someone, get to know them first, or simply just stay the hell away from their car if you value you life (others may not end up as lucky)!
Please make sure and pass this on to your readers as it could save them some heartache.
Paul in Tulsa
Paul,
I appreciate your letter of concern and I will pass it along to my readers. I am glad you made it out alive and it is a good lesson about not getting in the car with strangers, especially ones under a psychologists care. As for your friend "Randy," I could swear I know him. And I know I know people like him. And as for the song, that's tough man, real tough. Hang in there and tell "Randy" to keep it quiet in the computer lab, some of us are trying read ESPN's updates (studying? me? you have got to be kidding!). I appreciate it Paul.
"I had a barbecue stain on my white t-shirt,"
"The Bear"
Tuesday
Repeat after me...
So I read where this 14-year-old girl and her mom are suing MySpace.com because she claims she was assaulted by a 19-year-old and that MySpace.com does not adequately protect their users. Here is the kicker: She willingly gave the guy her number and knew he was at least 18 because he claimed to be a senior on the football team. While it is unfortunate what happened to her, at some point kids (and their parents) have to get smarter and not put themselves in compromising situations. Maybe her teacher should have her stay after school and write on the blackboard, "I will not meet people off the internet." I'll bet after writing that 1000 times or so she will realize the most important part of the sentence, the word "I," and retract her frivolous lawsuit. And here is the best part: They are suing for 30 million dollars. Holy Freakin Cow! Are you kidding me? As my boy Steve says, "Wuh Happen?" I remember back when I was still a minor, a man in a convenience store sold me alcohol and now I am devestated. I figure the convenience store should have taken greater measures to protect me and my innocence. I am going to sue! Where's a lawyer when I need one?
Rolling my eyes,
"The Bear"
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