Monday Practice Report

[MavsFanFinley]

Come On Inside Mavs' Monday Practice

By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com
Why didn’t Nash practice? Does Dirk hate baseball? What’s with Bradley’s hair? Has Nellie sipped from the Stanley Cup? For the answers, here’s your All-Access Pass to Monday’s Mavs practice:

Steve Nash rests, watching practice while balancing mindlessly atop a medicine ball. Is it the calf? The heel? The back?
“He’s got a hangover! He was at the celebration with the Canadian hockey players,’’ Nellie explains. “You know what that means? You ever party with a hockey team? Hoo, boy!’’
Nellie goes on to explain that back in the day, the Celtics and the Bruins won titles in the same year.
“I knew Bobby Orr and all those guys,’’ Nellie recalls. “They could drink 1,000 beers! … Nash will be OK (for Tuesday against Memphis), as long as his headache goes away.’’

Dirk Nowitzki is shooting free throws with Evan Eschmeyer. (They are becoming pals.) Esch is leading the conversation, and when Dirk slaps the ball his way using a two-handed (tennis?) swing, and Esch says, “Do you like baseball?’’
Dirk looks around, almost as if he is checking to see if any Americans can hear his response.
“No,’’ he mumbles.
“Ah,’’ Esch barks, a proud and Ugly American, “too boring for ya, huh?’’

Nellie says, “Abdul Wahad could be the key to this whole thing. He’s been injured some, and he’s really only had one good year. But he can play defense, he can run the floor and he can do the dirty work.’’
Nellie’s got a pretty good handle on Tariq Abdul-Wahad – except that, like the rest of the basketball world, he can’t pronounce his name.
I ask Tariq if it’s “Wa-HEAD’’ and I think I’m going to earn some brownie points here.
“Yes,’’ Abdul-Wahad says, “but you never just say ‘Wahad.’ IT’s Abdul-Wahad. My name is Abdul-Wahad.’’
I know, Tariq! Hell, Matt Pinto, Bob Ortegel, Mark Followill and me are the only guys in the world who do know!

Nellie says the weirdest thing about Johnny Newman, who he says is now Dallas’ “defensive stopper,’’ and who is the recipient of “two-weeks’ worth of game balls,’’ according to the coach.
“Johnny has a bright future,’’ Nellie says.
Nellie is apparently unaware that Newman just celebrated a birthday. Like, his 50th, or something.
Newman laughs when I tell him about the comment, and then I ask him about receiving all the game balls.
“I don’t think he actually gives me a ball,’’ Newman says. “He just calls it that.’’

Esch and Dirk at the free-throw line again.
“Whatda think about the microphones they’re putting on the basket now?’’ Esch asks Dirk. “You know. … ‘swiiiiiiish!’’’
“Or,’’ Dirk says, sharpening the needle, “when some guys shoot, ‘Boooooooiiiiiiiinnngg.’’

Shawn Bradley is shooting jumpers with the rest of the fellas (“50 shots in two minutes,’’ Nellie barks, and the white jerseys at their end race the blue jerseys at their end to see who can make the most), so despite this stint on the I-list, he’s healthy enough.
“Yes, we do still see him being a contributor,’’ Nellie says. “His contributions will be minor – but they were already minor, right?’’
But something is different.
It’s the hair!
I asked Shawn if he was trying to “pull a Nash.’’
“I respect what Steve’s done with his hair,’’ says Bradley, whose reddish hair is starting to mop-top. “What are you saying? That I need a haircut?’’
Yeah, I tell him – and for that matter, you also need to explain why you wore a three-piece suit to Saturday’s game.
“What, I can’t look good? I used to wear suits all the time. … I needed a break from it, though. … I wore a suit every day for two years when I was a missionary.’’

Nellie slaps me on the arm, and says loudly, “Hey, I tried to call you the other day.’’
Heads spin. Feelings are hurt. Morning News beat writer Jodie Valade actually says, in a pouty voice, “You never call me.’’
Responds Nellie: “You never call me.’’
I stifle a chuckle. Surely Nellie doesn’t mean to say that the beat writer has never called him at home? Nah.

Nellie keeps talking about “comfort zones,’’ but it’s clear Raef LaFrentz has already found his. The former University of Kansas star’s free-throw partner is Danny Manning, a Jayhawks star from another era. The supervising coach is Ro Blackman, a Kansas State product. Adrian Griffin, a native of Wichita, is hanging around somewhere.
Maybe down the hall is Dorothy. I’m too busy to check.

Avery Johnson is a prince of a fellow.
He’s working on free throws with Abdul-Wahad when I tentatively approach him. And before I can decide whether it’s OK to introduce myself during what is essentially still practice time, AJ reaches over to shake my hand.
AJ has taken over as the team spokesman already – which I’m sure is fine with the other guys, who would just as soon not be bothered by the throng.
He’s living in a hotel here – but he has a 3:30 p.m. appointment with a realtor to help him find a downtown condo.
I say, “You’re going to pick a place a live without the help of your wife, who is back in Denver?’’
“We’ve been married 11 years,’’ AJ tells me. “I’m not saying I make all the decisions, but after 11 years, I should be able to figure out what we need, right?’’
Good luck, AJ.

Nellie on the difference between Nash and Van Exel: “Steve, when he drives, sometimes gets lost in the trees. Nick always seems to get a good shot off. … He’s a special player, really one of the best talents in the league.’’
Nellie is laughing about that Saturday play against Sacto when Van Exel drove for a layup but kicked out to Michael Finley for a 3.
“As soon as the fans and the media learn to understand him,’’ says Nellie, acknowledging Van Exel’s rep as a selfish player, “he won’t feel the need to do that anymore.’’

Nellie is asked about having uttered a few words about the departed Tim Hardaway and Juwan Howard, and he interrupts the questioner to say, “I’m not talking negative anymore. I got burned. I say something, then a reporter chases down Timmy as says (high voice) ‘Did you hear what Nellie said about you?’ So, no more.’’
It so happens that the Morning News’ Jodie Valade – the perpetrator in this crime – is standing nearby. Nellie later comforts here, letting her know he was just kidding.
They probably could have phoned each other to settle this, but newspaper beat writers nowadays apparently don’t do that.

Esch and Dirk at the free-throw line again. This time, they turn their towel-snapping wrath on AJ.
“Hey Gary (Boren, the free-throw coach who is videotaping the new guys’ work at the line), do some work on Avery,’’ Dirk yells. “Forget us. The Shot Doctor needs to work with Avery.’’
Responds Johnson, kiddingly noting how many times his free throws helped the Spurs beat Dallas over the years, “You should know my shot by now. … Oh, I forgot. We’re teammates now.’’

[Murphy3]

let me clear something up for nellie..
the real difference between nash and van exel

nearly 50% to nearly 40%
what's that, you may ask...
their shooting percentages

[Bayliss]

LOL Murph....

I wish Fish would do more of the practice reports. Gives me more insight on who practices with each other, hangs out etc.

[MavKikiNYC]

Nellie slaps me on the arm, and says loudly, “Hey, I tried to call you the other day.’’
Heads spin. Feelings are hurt.
Morning News beat writer Jodie Valade actually says, in a pouty voice, “You never call me.’’
Responds Nellie: “You never call me.’’
I stifle a chuckle. Surely Nellie doesn’t mean to say that the beat writer has never called him at home? Nah.

Nellie is asked about having uttered a few words about the departed Tim Hardaway and Juwan Howard, and he interrupts the questioner to say, “I’m not talking negative anymore. I got burned. I say something, then a reporter chases down Timmy as says (high voice) ‘Did you hear what Nellie said about you?’ So, no more.’’
It so happens that the Morning News’ Jodie Valade – the perpetrator in this crime – is standing nearby. Nellie later comforts here, letting her know he was just kidding.

Interesting perspective. Okay, you have to wonder to what extent Fish spins this account to make himself look like more of an insider than he really is, but it's an interesting account about the give-and-take between sportswriters and athletes/coaches and how things get reported.

The most telling detail: Valade's pouty-girl posture vis-a-vis Nellie. Must be a tough job to be a female sportswriter in an all-male or predominantly-male environment, but ín reading her stuff, Í've often wished she'd take a harder angle--analyze more, criticize when necessary. Her reporting always comes off so soft and fluffy. The worst drivel is that Above The Rim feature she does--I swear to God sometimes I think she's going to ask one of these guys what kind of tree they'd be.

Jodie, put some edge on your reporting, girl....!

[TwoDeep3]

I would suggest there is absolutely no spin to this. Since Mark Cuban was e-mailing Fisher from his plane with the trade outline as he was headed to Denver to pick up his newest toys, it would appear Mr. Fisher is in the loop.

Further, how many shows does Cuban call in when a subject is being discussed to put make his point of view known? Or e-mail?

I'm sure he talks to other stations, but his involvement with Fisher and his radio show indicates that this is more than a passing bit of favoritism.

But beyond that, since Cuban owns dallas basketball. com via another company he owns, and Ortegal and Pinto both have articles there, it stands to reason Fish is in the know.

The real question is this. Is the posture taken by Belo and there hardball tactics that so irritated Cuban when he first purchased the Mavs over stock Belo owned the real reason behind Velade's being out of the loop.

I know Cuban was annoyed that the DMN wasn't doing much to promote the Mavs at first blush when he bought the team. Then their demand that he honor his commitment and purchase their stock, a passing comment he apparently made, further got under his skin.

He stated on KLIF radio on the Kevin McCarthey show in Dallas last year that he would just let them stew over it, which further strained the reporting on the team in the paper. I believe the direct quote would be, "They have nothing on paper. They can just sue me."

On another note one has to wonder if Jodie Velade is the best choice for baskeball news in this city. Why would they offer one of the less seasoned reporters carte blanche to be the only voice for the paper concerning the Mavericks?

And a little bird told me her journalistic style is to follow other reporters around the lockerroom and eaves-drop on the questions asked to get her information. And that is almost a verbatim quote from someone that does gain interviews with players and coaches on a daily basis.

So when you suggest she should get a little edgier with her reporting, this may be the cause. She just isn't one of the boys and it is reflected in her articles.

Not her sex but her style that keeps her at arms length. And the fact that Belo is such an anal retentive company with an attitude toward Cuban. Even though the stock was purchased recently.

If the team were to win the Championship, I wonder what their position would be? If they would spend more resources to cover the Finals or would Velade be the one conduit for the fan in Dallas.

Like Fish or not, he does scoop the hell out of the Dallas Morning news on a weekly if not daily basis in this area.

[MavKikiNYC]

Interesting take, TwoDeep. Thanks.

BTW, wasn't an intense Fish-slam I was offering, just a casual observation that his reporting tends to be a little Fish-centric. I prefer that to Valade's cotton candy any day.

Incidentally, Cuban has responded to a couple of my e-mails--I feel so in the loop.

Don't be a stranger on the boards.

[TwoDeep3]

Didn't mean to come on so strong. Sorry.

[Murphy3]

quite honestly, the fish is a horrible writer.
maybe he does have insight, but when he comes up with ideas on his own.. they are often ludicrous and/or very poorly written.
there is no person in the metroplex that is more annoying to listen to or read than fish.
maybe he is in the loop..but very few people care because he is simply not a talented journalist or a talented talk show host.

If i want annoying, i'll read some of RCF-JoeJoe's writing...no reason to go to a different mavs board to read more annoying crap

truth be said..there's not enough coverage in the metroplex for what the mavs are doing. Valade sucks almost equally to the fish. So, our choices are limited.

For intelligent Dallas-Mavs thoughts and writing..I either read something by Tom House, listen to Norm Hitzges (sometimes), or I read Dallsas-Mavs.com

[Dooby]

Fish's problem is still the same. He allows gaps in his logic and makes assumptions or draws conclusions that should not be made.

Generally, it is called "cocktail party logic". Often reserved only for religious or political discussions. Fish seems to use it on a daily basis. It is a symptom of conversing only with people who tend to agree with one's self. A person loses the ability to evaluate the opposing view to opinions. I'll make a broad generalization here: people such as this think they are far more clever than they actually are.

[Murphy3]

i don't know..he's hard to get
one second..he's talking about how the mavs should make the trade that was to occur later in the day...after the trade was made, he went on a tirade talking about how poor of a decision it was to make the trade.. then the next day, he writes an article about it being a good trade.

he doesn't know what to think...hell, i don't know if he actually does think 90% of the time.

that's my problem with fish..he makes all these claims about being a sports guy..and always talking about sports..
yet, all he does is rehash the same stories..it's guaranteed that he'll talk about jerry jones and how he is a football guy at least 2-3 times a week...(which, from what i can tell..he has never been successful at picking player personnel by any stretch of the imagination)...

yes, sometimes he's tolerable..but most of the time, he talks about the same thing he always talks about..or he talks about other people not talking sports...

there's simply no substance to the fish..even if he is "in the loop".
I put more stock in certain people that post here than i would in a fish opinion.

[Epitome22]

I like Fish

I like Fish's show

His website is very informative

My favorite segment is "Race Talk" "This is Race Talk"--(Announcer guy)

[TwoDeep3]

Murphy

Well, Fish certainly isn't Shakespeare. But then neither is Blackie Sherrod or Galloway, or Cowlishaw or any of the other bozos that man a keyboard about the perspiring arts anywhere in the country.

So if that is the criteria then you must be hard pressed to find someone that suits your palate.

This is so subjective and what you value in a sports journalist and what I value can be two vastly different issues.

I prefer to hear something from a talk show or read something in an article that has a basis in fact. Not the knee jerk horse manure that Galloway spews. Or the fart jokes of the Hardline. Or the high school humor of the Musers.

Bad radio would be great if they could just shoot Dan.

Norm has his moments but he is such an egotist its unbelievable. Point in case the second time the Rockets won the Championship Norm had a morning show. He led off with the story that there was trouble in the NBA. That by next November the league could be on strike.

He did not mention the Finals that ended the night before until callers started in on him. His rebuttal was this issue is clearly more important. His evidence was the DMN put it on the back page of the sports section.

After quite a while of having to defend this position he had the sports editor on the air. He lead off with the question about how important it was. The editor (I forget his name) was shocked that this was an issue. Norm finally got the guy to agree that the back page is seen as the second front page of the sports section.

More closing ranks than fact I think.

Needless to say callers skewered him at length until he told a caller it was his show and he would lead with whatever he felt like.

I'll take Fish thanks.

I don't want someone's desire to increase their listening audience by rabble rousing and assuming a posture of being correct to override facts.

Galloway stated unabashedly that Jimmy Johnson would not make it in the NFL.

He now has his lips sewn to Jimmy ass.

Nor do I want someone to show me during every callers comment just how smart they are.

I want to know the inside scoop. If I have to filter through some of Fish's illogical moments, I am still getting whats really happening and not some smucks unvarnished opinion.

Again this is subjective. But they all have warts and its which wart doesn't make you gag as much perhaps is the real test of a sports journalist.

[MavKikiNYC]

Sure, it's a question of style and subjective preference.

What I've read of Fish reads like a gossip column. I can almost visualize all this stuff going on from an inside-his-head perspective.

Galloway's genre is more 'curmudgeon' or 'crank' than 'gossip'.

While I'm obviously not above gossip (especially if it's scoop), I usually relate better to curmudgeons than gossips.

[Dooby]

TwoDeep, Dan is greatness. BaD Radio is greatness. You need to see that Dan only plays dumb(most of the time). He actually can talk sports almost to the equal of Bob; he just tones it down for the show.

There is only one man for whom I yearn He works from noon to three with Robert Sturm.

I'm in love with Dan McDowell. Yeah, I'm in love with Dan McDowell.

[Bayliss]

Well, how many websites are devoted to the Dallas Mavericks? How many websites give you columns based on what is going on with the Mavs?

There are **only** a few.

And Murph, what happens when you live outside the DFW area? I can't pick up ESPN, etc etc... so I will give Fish credit for this: he puts out a product that very few offer. Whether you like the product or not is irrelevant. (I personally do but you don't have to.)

[mick]

Two Deep,

Well said. Couldn't agree more with your accessment on most of the talk shows and writers. I would also add that Dale Hansen is basically clueless and only knows what somebody hands him to read. He knows nothing about baseball, basketball, and very little about football, except for what Troy tells him.

Coop and Newey on espn radio 103.3 FM are interesting, although I disagree with Coop mostly about his Mavs conclusions. Especially about this trade. More inside news about Mavs come from Fish and his dallasbasketball.com than anywhere else. Just like more Ranger insider news comes from Jamey Newberg's site. Fish is often quoted on other sites such as Real GM, bskball.com, etc. Even DMN quotes him, they just don't give him credit for the quotes. (Kind of like when people cut and paste info from other sites but leave the source out).

I am not saying Fish doesn't have his faults, I tend to lose interest when he gets into his social relevancy issues, but he is the best on the Mavs news in the metroplex.

[mick]

MavKiki,

It's all a matter of taste I guess. I can't take Galloway's foggy (from a drunken mist one suspects) analysis. And I am in the same age bracket as he is. Same with Dale. I guess I don't find people of my age group who are incompetent 'curmudgeon'ly.

But I do appreciate opposing points of view, so keep it up.

[Hoopsmeister]

I wonder if we don't need a 'Media' forum to hold these unending arguments about Fish vs. the Ticket vs. DMN vs. etc, etc.

[grbh]

We all know Fish and the hardline have a long standing feud, but what instigated this. Does it go back as far as Fish's KILF days? What happenned?

[mick]

Hardline guys and others on 1310 used to ridicule everyone at 570 and other stations until all the format changes, remember what they used to say about Norm before he was moved over to 1310?

[David]

Personally, when I get in my car about 3:30 in the afternoon and I want to hear some talk about the Mavs I tune in to Fish's show.
.
The Hardline is talking about any and everything and only touch superficially on the Mavs. They irritated me, Mavs-wise early in the Nellie era by criticizing any and everything Mav related because it was the popular thing to do. They piled it on even though they didn't know a damn thing about basketball. They carped about the early trades, they carped about Dirk, they carped about trading for Nash and signing him to the big contract. Ha, ha, ha. Nelson drafted a Chinese guy. Nelson doesn't know how to run a basketball team. They've changed their tune now, but it's too late. They've already pissed me off. I still listen to them but I don't forget the dogpile they did to my favorite team. I could tell they didn't know what they were talking about but they never let that stop them.

[MFFL]

I expect major changes at the Ticket. Ratings are down across the board - except Norm.

[Murphy3]

fish will be fired before there are major changes at the ticket.
fish has no ratings in comparison to the ticket...

yes, fish throws out mavs information...and he throws out his opinions..that's where he gets into trouble. If i want to hear mavs talk, i'll check out the ticket and then if they are talking something else, i'll flip to the fish (which i can only stomach for a couple of minutes at a time)..

and you comments about what the ticket said about norm..well, to be honest, norm said as much about the ticket as anyone said about him before he made the move to the ticket.

no, the ticket isn't a station filled with class guys or anything..but class is the very last thing that fish has

[mick]

Murph.
Let's face it, most of the ticket guys gear their act towards 12-14 year old non-athlete boys and who know very little about sports, or those alleged adult males who just never grew up.

Morning guys are a non-factor anymore when it comes to sports talk.

Bob does know his hockey but Dan ruins the show. Neither of them know anything about football, baseball, or basketball.

Hardline used to be OK about Ranger talk, but their show got hijacked by some kid who isn't funny.


Ticket used to have decent host who knew their sports talk, Chris Arnold, Coop. Add those 2 to Norm, and you have a powerhouse sports-talk radio station.

I think the Mavs pre and post game shows on espn 103.3 are well done for the most part. And there is as much local metro sports info on the station during the national shows as there is on ticket all day long. You may want to check it out when you are in the mood for sports talk.

[Murphy3]

I'm sorry if you don't like their humor. I also admit that the ticket goes too far sometimes.
However, there isn't a station in this area that has better sports knowledge. Yes, the fish may know basketball better..yet, listening to him is unbearable (i.e., the horrible ratings and always losing job after job)

sometimes the truth hurts..fish sucks..and i'm sure the truth hurts him

[TwoDeep3]

I fail to see how you can say the Ticket has more sports knowledge.

If they do they are hiding their light under a bushel basket.

Norm, perhaps.

The rest of the day is devoted to fraternity humor.

"Let me see them cans, Darlin'."

What really gets me is the way the Hardline uses shock value to get the audience going.

Well, that may be OK if you live in a double-wide and your wife's names is Raelene. You put a little pinch betwen your cheeks and gums. And Saturday night is devoted to WWF and Old Milwalkee.

But if you want serious sports talk that isn't stuffed between Entertainment News and some goofy sh*t Corby's doing, then you have to go elsewhere.

The real kicker to this is, everyone that comes to the Dallas area expresses how wonderful the talk radio on sports is.

Maybe we are all just jaded.

[grbh]

We all complain but we are very lucky. I had a job for a while in which I did a lot of traveling. While driving around in various cities I was amazed at how poor the sports talk was. Imagine the hey,hey,hey of a game show host combined with poor sports knowledge and bad puns.

[BiteMeVescey]

The Ticket's ratings aren't being hurt by Fish, or Coop and Newy. They are being hurt by Russ Martin on 105.3, now there is some extremely juvenile humor. By the way if a local station tried to go hardcore sports all the time they'd be dead in the water. The guy humor was the best way to get the ratings going then, they'll just have to do some reworking.

[MFFL]

There's a lot of sports stations in other markets than have good ratings that are hard-core sports. Norm & Galloway have consistently high ratings and they both are sports-first shows. If the Ticket was a "true" sports station then ESPN and FOX would not have both started up in this market because there wouldn't have been a spot.

[Murphy3]

the only reason galloway gets good ratings is because everyone is sitting around..listening..waiting to hear the next train wreck

[BiteMeVescey]

Galloway has 2 hours a night to fill. It is very difficult to pull it off 24/7. And I think those stations that are all hardcore sports that pull good ratings, are the exceptions rather than the rule, thought I'd need to see the ratings to confirm.