2011 NBA FINALS GAME 2 — Mavericks Adjustments

I know he and the Mavericks and even LeBron James are downplaying it, but I’m worried about Dirk Nowitzki’s finger entering tonight’s Game 2 of the NBA Finals here in Miami. Just because it’ll be different. “I’ll be fine,” Dirk says. “It’ll be okay.” But he loves to dribble left…

2011 NBA FINALS — South Beach: My Top 10 Observations

10. Ate dinner last night at Prime Italian on South Beach. In the midst of ridiculous opulence in the form of $20 valet parking and $100,000 cars, it was relatively affordable. $125 for a steak and a couple drinks. Thumbs up. 9. They also offered prime Kobe steak for $30 an…

Final Destinations: 2

MIAMI—The Dallas Mavericks, America’s Team. Get used to it, because the Mavs are going to win their first-ever NBA championship this summer. And they’re going to do it as a beloved underdog, resolute in revenge and cheered by a country during their redemption. As much as Americans love sequels and…

2006: Broken Heart. 2011: Torn Tendon. Ugh.

The frustrating thing about Dirk Nowitzki’s injured finger? It happened on a play that wasn’t a foul. “I thought I stripped him clean,” Dirk said after last night’s 92-84 Game 1 loss to the Heat in the NBA Finals. “Then I kind of looked down and I couldn’t straighten my…

2011 NBA FINALS — Mavericks vs. Heat: The Preview

Charles Barkley is 3-0 picking the Mavericks in playoff series this spring. ESPN’s Bruce Bowen is 0-3 picking against them. Me? 2-1. I picked Mavs over Blazers and Thunder but had them losing to the Lakers. In Miami for tonight’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals, I’m having difficulty viewing this series…

Dear Miami, We Hate You. And Your Sports. Love, Dallas

Recently our brotherly blog down here in Miami concocted a list of reasons why Miami is a better city than Dallas. Same ol’, lame-o stuff. Calling us fat and redneck and boasting that “nobody’s ever killed a sitting president in Miami.” Yawn. Wait, it also says we’re adjacent to a…

Key to the NBA Finals: Dallas’ Own Chris Boshketball

Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James are the two best active NBA players without a ring. Jason Terry has a tattoo of the Larry O’Brien trophy on his right arm. Dwyane Wade is trying to depress Dallas. Again. Jason Kidd is the oldest point guard (38) in NBA Finals history. It’s revenge,…

Happy Memorial Day — 2011

Osama Bin Laden is dead. But the fight — and the hefty price — to fend off terrorists around the globe lives on. Just yesterday, for example, eight more American soldiers were confirmed dead in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Sad, but let’s face it, we’ve become numb to the numbers…

Whitt’s End: 5.27.11

Whether you’ve reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt’s End:   *Hey, remember the shooting incident involving former Richardson Berkner High School football star Aqib Talib that I told you about in March? So does a Dallas County grand jury, which…

Mavericks 4, Thunder 1: A Review of My Preview

After last night’s Game 5 door slammer against the OKC Thunder, your Mavericks are now 12-3 in the playoffs and awaiting an opponent in the NBA Finals. Not bad for a team that about 50 percent of prognosticators picked would lose to the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. I…

Let’s Go Bulls! But Let’s Never Forget the Heat!!

We’re rooting for the Chicago Bulls in tonight’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Right? I know, in the regular season the Mavs were 2-0 against the Miami Heat and 0-2 against the Bulls. But the longer the series goes — it’s currently 3-1 Miami — the more rest the…

Chokelahoma!

OKLAHOMA CITY—Kevin Durant, meet Harold Camping. And Dallas Mavericks, reintroduce yourselves to the NBA Finals. Camping is an 89-year-old scam artist, a religious zealot with a troubling propensity for predicting the end of the world and then living to tell about it. Durant is a 22-year-old NBA superstar, the league’s…

Mavs Miracle: Red River Rally vs. Moody Madness

As the Mavs prepare for tonight’s Game 5 clincher at American Airlines Center, a cardiac comparison: Down 15 with 5:06 to play. On the road. Game 4 of the 2011 Western Conference Finals. Or down 6, 1:47 to play. At home (sorta). Game 5 in the first round of the…

Josh Hamilton and His Head-First Sliding: Super or Stupid?

Didn’t see this with my own eyes, but apparently around 1 a.m. this morning the Ranger who just spent six weeks on the disabled list with a broken arm suffered in a head-first slide … slid three times head-first in one memorable, moronic trip around the bases in Texas’ weather-ravaged 8-6 loss…

The Greatest Comeback in Dallas Mavericks’ Playoff History

Tied in the final minute of overtime after erasing a 15-point deficit in the final 5 minutes of regulation. Jason Kidd’s defense on Kevin Durant, leading to a Shawn Marion steal. The Mavericks’ veteran patience, systematically setting up of a Dirk Nowitzki elbow isolation they’ve run a zillion times. Dirk’s aggressiveness…

Well, That Didn’t Take Long: Welcome Back, Josh and Nelson

Yesterday I surmised that the Rangers’ offense would suddenly improve with the returns of sluggers Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz. But not me — nor even Texas — thought it would happen that fast. Or that far. Fresh off the disabled list, Hamilton homered in his first at-bat and Cruz added…