12/21/24
November 03, 2006
Stern Rebuke Puts Mark Cuban in His Place -- the Stands: Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban, banned from courtside huddles by a new rule pushed by NBA commissioner David Stern, has been re-educated. "Back when I was error-full in my ways, I thought it was necessary to get a feel for how the coach and the players interacted," he said. "I can't be thankful enough for how the league has helped me become a better manager and a better owner."
posted by rcade to basketball at 08:44 AM - 37 comments
Maybe now he'll sell the Mavs and invest in the Penguins. Stern just took some of the fun out of it for him.
posted by garfield at 09:24 AM on November 03, 2006
If Stern ever succeeded in driving Cuban out of the NBA, it would be remembered as the low moment in his tenure as commissioner. The Dallas Mavericks were the losingest franchise in U.S. pro sports when Cuban bought them in 2000. No one wanted to play there. They had been losing fans for a decade. As a Mavs fan who remembers the dreadful '90s, I didn't think it possible that someone could come in and turn them into one of the league's showpiece franchises. Cuban's a lot of things, but bad for the NBA isn't one of them.
posted by rcade at 09:32 AM on November 03, 2006
Stern is an iron-fisted ass. I don't understand what harm Cuban causes by being in the huddle. Is it an unfair advantage to have your team owner, who obviously cares about his team and people, in team huddles due to his business prowess? Or is he drawing up plays and defensive schemes. Or maybe Cuban is packing heat and this is how Stern penalizes him. Just leave it at home, Mark. Just leave it at home.
posted by willthrill72 at 09:44 AM on November 03, 2006
I don't know why Stern and the rest of the NBA care how Cuban runs his franchise. They should thank their lucky stars that he decided to be a part of the NBA. But, Cuban will come up with something. Maybe he should hire himself as an assistant coach.
posted by bperk at 09:52 AM on November 03, 2006
Cuban's a lot of things, but bad for the NBA isn't one of them. I agree whole-heartedly. However, I won't be sad to not see him being restrained from running on the court by players. I do like the tone of his remarks. 
posted by yerfatma at 10:00 AM on November 03, 2006
Why don't you pass the time with a game of solitaire, Mr. Cuban?
posted by Venicemenace at 11:03 AM on November 03, 2006
Maybe now he'll sell the Mavs and invest in the Penguins. Stern just took some of the fun out of it for him. Speaking of Cuban and the Penguins, he is a big Evgeni Malkin fan. I will also second (or third, as it is) the comments above that Cuban is good for the NBA (although the way it was phrased above allows for the fact that Cuban could be neutral for the NBA, I suppose).
posted by holden at 11:07 AM on November 03, 2006
The side line is only meant for players coaches and managers. I don't care how much money you have it is just how it is. Stern should have done this along time ago instead of all the fines over and over.
posted by SharpShooter at 11:09 AM on November 03, 2006
I love basketball, but I'm not a big fan of the National Basketball Association. The players' attitudes, the business practices, the ever-increasing focus on showboating and circus moves at the expense of fundamentals and team play, the sheer (worse than even the NFL or MLB) mercenary attitude of everyone involved from the Stern on down, all of it turns me off on a fundamental level. Mark Cuban is near the top of a very short list of things that make me want to follow the NBA. I would like to think that if I woke up one morning with an extra $5 billion in my pocket, I'd buy a team and run it exactly like he has. To that end, any attempt to muzzle him or put him in his place smacks of arbitrary authoritah. Sure, keep him off the court, but if the team doesn't mind him being in the huddle, and it's clear they're fine with it, then what's the problem? Spike Lee or Dyan Cannon or whoever is sitting 18 inches away, why can't the owner of a franchise? Too bad the Penguins just got sold. He could buy any team I follow, any time he likes. I'll help draw up the papers.
posted by chicobangs at 11:12 AM on November 03, 2006
You gotta love an owner who loves his team that much but he does go too far by the way I am not a mavs fan even tho I rooted for them in the playoffs last year I just love it when he bitches about the great refereeing in the nba he can sure pay the fine by the way if the cubs ever are for sale and he can buy them I SAY GO FOR IT
posted by luther70 at 11:21 AM on November 03, 2006
The side line is only meant for players coaches and managers. I don't know when the last time you went to a game or saw one on TV. The sidelines are meant for the highest paying fans (witness Jack at the Lakers games). Maybe the court should be meant only for players, coaches, etc., but the sidelines are for the high-rollers. Personally, I wish the NFL would institute the same policy to keep Jerry Jones off the Cowboy sideline when they are winning so he could stop scaring little children. (Interesting how Jones usually only makes it to the sidelines when his team is winning -- Cuban is with his team whether they are winning or losing). I don't know why Stern and the rest of the NBA care how Cuban runs his franchise. I think that Stern just wants to be the iron fist of the NBA as well as the only voice and face of the NBA beyond the players. Frankly, I get sick everytime I see Stern's smirky mug and hear his blathering about how great everything is. I can't watch the NBA draft anymore because of him. Maybe he should hire himself as an assistant coach. They got plenty of them already.
posted by graymatters at 11:42 AM on November 03, 2006
I don't see how preventing Cuban from joining the huddle really handicapps him in any large way. He can still sit were he sits, yell what he yells and gets fined what he gets fined. I think Stern is being consistent with what he's been doing over the past couple of years in bringing a host of professionally-motivated regulations to a league that basically had none. Cuban will still be an important league fixture - and I don't see how this move suggests that the NBA is telling him how to run a franchise, and I certainly don't think it will drive him away from the NBA. I think it's pretty clear that Cuban does what he wants to do and that he's obviously a basketball fan.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:18 PM on November 03, 2006
Next thing you know Stern will want the owners to leave their Glocks at home too for the next owners meeting. And another thing- does anyone ever see Stern and Satan in the same room at the same time? No. I'm not a conspiracy monger, but that really makes you wonder.
posted by irunfromclones at 12:23 PM on November 03, 2006
Has Cuban ever responded to disciplinary actions in this manner before? I don't follow the NBA enough, if at all, to know. But my impression is that he usually pays the fine and then continues complaining, albeit very intelligently. His thinly veiled sarcasm seems like a departure from the norm of my limited knowledge base, and sparked the thought that he'd had enough of being made an example of. Cuban expressed interest in purchasing the Penguins. He already thinks it is a mistake to not buy the team. Maybe Mr.Blackberry would like a partner. He already is a Pens season ticket holder.
posted by garfield at 01:01 PM on November 03, 2006
Cuban's sarcasm came through loud and clear. There are enough morons, though, who will think, "Oh wow! He's really changed!"
posted by igottheblues at 01:04 PM on November 03, 2006
I suppose "thinly veiled sarcasm" is somewhat redundant. my bad.
posted by garfield at 01:19 PM on November 03, 2006
From a recent Cuban blog on other NBA issues: Will I still be cheering on the Mavs. Absolutely. Will I be in the same seats, cheering the same way. Absolutely.
posted by graymatters at 01:37 PM on November 03, 2006
What's next from stern, a dress code for the owners? It's down right ridiculous to see the players in dress cloths, then look over and see their manager/team owner with a backwards cap and a Dallas jersey on. I say let them dress how they want to dress, just like the owners do. I like Cuban. Maybe he'll lobby to be stern's replacement. It is a little odd to hear the anti-Stern talk when it comes to dealing with owners, and then we tend to get all the pro-Stern talk when it comes to dealing with the players. Someone may say, the players are the face of the organization, and that's why the dress code is in place. Well Cuban is very well known and to see him fumbling around the sidelines looking like 1 of the waterboy's might be a problem for Stern. Maybe Cuban should ask if it's Ok for him to stay on the sidelines as long as he follows the dress code.
posted by Bishop at 02:37 PM on November 03, 2006
What is there to stop him from hiring himself as an assistant coach?
posted by chmurray at 03:31 PM on November 03, 2006
Nothing, I would guess, though I can't see him being that ... openly fuck-you about subverting Stern's ... sternnesses. As much as he puts the welfare of his team and the league ahead of anything else, he's also been very vocal about his desire to find some kind of common ground with the rest of the league, where everyone can do their thing without open warfare between the different factions of the ownership. To that end, hiring himself as an Assistant Coach would be a huge middle finger to David Stern (and to whoever else was behind the rule in the first place), and so kind of defeats that purpose. Open fighting among the ownership is a waste of time. It doesn't strengthen the product, and it only serves to make everyone involved bitter and unable to work together, especially since in most cases, none of the people concerned are going anywhere for decades (see Davis, Al).
posted by chicobangs at 04:03 PM on November 03, 2006
You know, Cuban matches every dollar he gets fined with a donation to charity. If Stern is wishing to quell Cuban's behavior, presumably he'll get fined less, leading to just one possible conclusion: David Stern hates children.
posted by Ufez Jones at 04:04 PM on November 03, 2006
David Stern. Dick.
posted by wingnut4life at 06:25 PM on November 03, 2006
David Stern hates children. I'd buy that shirt.
posted by igottheblues at 08:49 PM on November 03, 2006
I think The Oakland Raiders will need a replacement for "BIG AL" before too long!
posted by bo_fan at 11:50 PM on November 03, 2006
I personally met Mark Cuban cool guy- highly intelligent and emotional.(We had a lot in common-being Bipolar!) He sometimes pisses me off though-sometimes he needs to be humbled and have some self-control PLease!However I like his drama and seeing him be put in his place,(it makes for good entertainment)-He doesn't have to have hysterics to be kind and donate to children's charity; he's so filthy rich-he should be doing even more if possible (which it is by the way).His charity is obsessive only with Dallas, Dallas, and did I mention DAllas Mavericks? LOL (He should do what I do when overly anxious-drink a brew, take a chill pill and just have fun with it and CHILLAX (chill & RELAX!)LMAO;-) By the way I LOVED the way Spurs beat the the Mavs the other night-good game.Anyway, Stern does suck-by the way-(laughing)Bye 4 now, Sweeties!
posted by SpursGirl32 at 06:43 AM on November 04, 2006
My favorite Mark Cuban story is how a woman watching a Mavs game got the idea to tell him about her friend, a lifelong fan who's battling a serious illness and could use a spirit lift. She sent Cuban an e-mail after the game ended. When she woke up the next morning, he had replied that tickets were waiting for her friend at will call. SpursGirl: If you don't mind a grammar nitpick, please put a space after each punctuation. Your comment's hard to read because everything runs together.
posted by rcade at 08:30 AM on November 04, 2006
Mark Cuban has donated plenty of money to charities of his choice. But how many owners answer e- mails? Not only did he answer the e-mail, he left 2 tickets for the woman and her friend! Stern is just an asshole. Period. Cuban tends to go overboard alot, and he has paid for his antics. But the fines he has paid is just pocket change to him. Stern should leave Cuban alone. As long as Cuban doesn't go totally ballistic. Stern should worry more about the some of the players in the league and the stunts they pull on the court,and off sometimes, than worry about an owner who brought a team from pond scum to one of the best franchises in the league
posted by Ghastly1 at 11:24 AM on November 04, 2006
David Stern has that " Little Man " syndrome. He seems to push his weight around on people that are more liked, more popular, and taller than he is, just because he can.
posted by NInobrown1876 at 07:34 PM on November 04, 2006
All true. Hey rcade, thanks for the advice; it's not grammar nit-picking. You're right. ( However, I have to point out: I was totally manic & typing really fast!) Excuses, excuses .... lol Anyway, I like Mark Cuban and if we would have spent that night together- ( we would have had hyper-sex) and I would be a little wealthier! LMAO ;-)
posted by SpursGirl32 at 09:10 PM on November 04, 2006
I think The Oakland Raiders will need a replacement for "BIG AL" before too long! You know, just like Fidel Castro, Big Al is just going to hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on, and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on, pissing people off for decades after he no longer has the bite to back up his bark. Yeah, Mark Cuban has clearly learned a lot from Al Davis' ultimately bitter example. There's no way he wants that future. He's said as much, many times.
posted by chicobangs at 12:51 PM on November 05, 2006
SportsFilter: we would have had hyper-sex LMAO ;-)
posted by Ufez Jones at 01:41 PM on November 05, 2006
Sportsfilter: we're going to hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on, and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on, pissing people off for decades
posted by tieguy at 02:28 PM on November 05, 2006
Mark Cuban is a punk, let him sit in the stands with all the other rich jerks, i.e. the only ones who can afford NBA tix. Did he buy the team so he could be a big boy and hang with the Felons of the NBA? He's a joke and bad for the league.
posted by jettblack at 04:23 PM on November 06, 2006
You know, just like Fidel Castro... is just going to hang on and hang on and hang on and hang on I'm sure owlhouse is happy about that.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:57 PM on November 06, 2006
This is great about Cuban in the Hernia's preview: Dallas Mavericks The defending Western Conference champs return with a questionably re-tooled bench highlighted by former Net and Beetlejuice look-a-like, Anthony Johnson and notorious Providence tough guy Austin Croshere. Expect the starters legs to fall off by Thanksgiving. Good news: Mark Cuban continues to make an ass of himself with his never-before-seen-outside-of-a-movie-screen Frankenstein look. Even better, Jerry Stackhouse is still willing to literally fight anyone in his near vicinity for PT. Bad news: Dallas paparazzi recently spotted Dirk Nowitzki happily picking up his home and away ‘4th Quarter Disappearing Cloaks’ from the dry cleaners. Not good. Even worse, instead of sitting right behind the team and screaming at referees, Mark Cuban will now be sitting on Erick Dampier’s lap during games. http://www.thesportshernia.com/basketball/previewwest.html
posted by Tbonez at 08:38 PM on November 09, 2006
Cuban is the best owner in all professional sports. He does so much for the fans, the team, and all of the NBA More owners need to be like Mark Cuban
posted by msusportsguy at 08:01 PM on November 11, 2006
Bah. Stern would probably have tried to make Red put out his cigars, too.