[Chiwas]

So in search of an argument, or better yet, nasty name-calling, I fired off this opinion Wednesday to the always volatile Mark Cuban:

"If only the NBA had a mulligan rule, and what was done could be undone, and the Mavs of last season were suddenly the Mavs of this season. Welcome back, Nicky, Raef, Raja, etc. And we would all still be gladly waiting on that one over-the-top trade for a frontline bouncer."

Cuban's e-mail response came quickly, but unfortunately, it read calmly, almost like a reassuring letter from Mom and the family back home.

I hate it when Mark is calm. It's more fun when Cuban overreacts to my overreactions.

"We are a much better team this year," Cuban said. "We rebound, shoot and defend better."

He also echoed the Mavs' main sermon. Give the new mix time to blend.

Cuban's bottom line: "We have better players, a better mix of skills."

I don't know about any of that "better" business.

Old-timers never die; only get stuck.