It’s not Ballack versus Klinsmann, but I’ll take what I can get. Dirk Nowitzki on the subject of Mark Cuban, from the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Jim Reeves :
“He’s got to learn to control himself as well as the players do,” Nowitzki told reporters Friday. “We can’t lose our temper all the time, on the court or off the court, and I think he’s got to learn that, too.
“He’s got to improve in that area and not yell at the officials the whole game.”
Dirk was doing his best to answer reporters’ questions candidly and honestly without totally ripping Cuban to pieces for his disruptive antics during the Mavs’ Finals loss to Miami. Nowitzki sandwiched lavish praise on Cuban around his remarks about the owner’s boorish behavior toward the officials. But he was also intent on making his point.
Cuban, for all his passion for the Mavericks, isn’t helping them when he antagonizes the entire league. He isn’t helping them when he risks uniting the officials against his team.
Can’t happen? Hey, the officials are only human, something Dirk at least seems to understand.
“[Cuban] sits right there over by our bench, too. Sometimes I think that’s a bit much,” Dirk said. “But we all told him this before, it’s not rocket science.
“The game starts, and he’s already yelling at them. He needs to learn how to control himself a little better. If somebody’s in your ear constantly…I’d be [ticked] off if I were an official. I think he needs to calm down a little bit.”
The Raptors have sent Charlie Villanueva to Milwaukee in exchange for T.J. Ford and “an undisclosed amount of cash.” Until I learn the exact Canadian dollar amount, I might not be able to do anything else today.