11-19-2009, 07:37 PM
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#1
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Lazy Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Dirk Nowitzki Is Saving Dallas Basketball One Shot at a Time
Very long article by Zac Crain at D Magazine on Dirk and his career. He's doing micro-interviews with lots of different people about Dirk, with his comments mixed in. I've just started reading it, but I figure this will be a must read for everyone.
One excerpt:
Quote:
...That changed in 1997, when Charles Barkley, then finishing his career with the Houston Rockets, led a team of NBA players through Europe for a series of exhibition games as part of the Nike Hoop Heroes Tour. The team included Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen, a poster of whom hung on Nowitzki’s bedroom wall.
CHARLES BARKLEY, NBA Hall of Fame forward; NBA on TNT studio analyst: Dirk put up a smooth 50 points. He was too big for Scottie Pippen, and I forget, we had another really good defender—I can’t remember who it was at the time—and he just whooped their ass. I walked up to him after the game and I said, “My man, who are you?” And he was telling me he was like 18, 19 years old, and I said, “Well, whatever money it’ll cost you to go to Auburn, I’ll pay your way for you to go there.”
Auburn never followed up on Barkley’s offer. But Cal offered Dirk a scholarship, as did Kentucky. Any hope of him accepting one of those disappeared when Nowitzki was chosen to play with the world select team at the Nike Hoop Summit in San Antonio. Playing against future NBA starters Rashard Lewis and Al Harrington, he scored 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
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Last edited by jthig32; 11-19-2009 at 07:39 PM.
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11-19-2009, 08:07 PM
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#2
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Golden Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,445
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Thanks for the link. Haven't read it yet, but will probably soon.
That headline seems like one that would appear in a mag in about 2004-5. Hasnt he already saved dallas basketball?
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BEAT LA
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11-19-2009, 08:20 PM
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#3
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Banned
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 11,074
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Wow, great read. Thanks for sharing. The stuff with jet was kind of new to hear, and funny about his daughter.
Also the SA injury thing was quite telling, I had always wondered about that, because Dirk always plays hurt, it was so odd to see him not play.
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11-19-2009, 08:44 PM
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#4
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Golden Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: norcal
Posts: 1,490
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Great read, thanks for posting. A little disjointed, but lots of funny and interesting bits.
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11-19-2009, 09:35 PM
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#5
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Guru
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 40,410
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What a great line about the small difference between a good and a great point.
Quote:
NOWITZKI: We lost the Finals, and then a first-round exit the following year, and then that next year we were struggling into February. I kind of felt like, I think everybody felt like, we needed a change. When Kidd came, he just made the game a lot easier. I felt great with him. I had fun again. I was running. I got open looks again. What he’s so great at, he sees stuff developing. With other point guards, you’d get the ball once you were open, and once you get it, they’d already closed out. Well, he already sees that, hey, this guy might be open, so the pass is already on the way—when you might not be open yet. But it comes to you right when you’re open, and you’re open for that split second.
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"Yankees fans who say “flags fly forever’’ are right, you never lose that. It reinforces all the good things about being a fan. ... It’s black and white. You (the Mavs) won a title. That’s it and no one can say s--- about it.’’
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11-20-2009, 06:12 AM
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#6
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 5,586
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Yeah, Nash wouldn't have been able to feed his family with the salary Dallas offered him...
Nice read, nice summary of the interesting bits of Dirk's time in Dallas.
If he wins the Finals with Dallas, the city will surely erect a monument somewhere or name a street after him. Hollywood could make a film too...
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At the end of each practice, the Mavs conduct a competition and ring a bell whenever someone makes 20 of 25 3-point attempts.
“He’s always around 23 or 24,” West said. “The bell rings every day.”
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11-20-2009, 11:58 AM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Germany
Posts: 27
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thanks a lot for the link. very interesting read.
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11-20-2009, 12:31 PM
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#8
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Guru
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: uranus
Posts: 13,661
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The city should erect a monument even if he doesn't win a championship!
Great read.
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you just proofed how stupid you are - CRAZYBOY
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11-20-2009, 02:04 PM
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#9
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Thanks for the link. Very good read!
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"Vaikeneminen on kultaa puhuminen hopeaa, hiljaisuutta tahdon julistaa."
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the former." (Albert Einstein)
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11-20-2009, 02:05 PM
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#10
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 5,048
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I agree a Dirk statue will be a must once he retires.
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''Nowitzki'' is a German word that, translated, means, ''Good Lord, doesn't this guy ever miss?''
-Miami paper on Dirk Nowitzki
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11-20-2009, 03:13 PM
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#11
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The Preacha
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: The Rock
Posts: 36,066
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great article. great stuff from Nash and JT.
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ok, we've talked about the problem of evil, and the extent of the atonement's application, but my real question to you is, "Could Jesus dunk?"
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11-20-2009, 03:47 PM
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#12
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 5,249
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LOL
Quote:
NOWITZKI: ... And one day—in January, I remember the day—like CNN or whatever said, “Season saved.” And I was like, “S*&$. It’s actually going to happen.” I was a little scared, because it was a big step.
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Is this ghost ball??
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11-20-2009, 04:22 PM
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#13
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Platinum Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 2,293
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^ haha yea, i loled when i saw that part. Great article.
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11-20-2009, 05:04 PM
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#14
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Golden Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,445
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Best part of the article
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BEAT LA
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11-20-2009, 06:16 PM
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#15
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Deutschland
Posts: 7,885
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I read it yesterday. The article is great and any passage is worth a quote.
Thanks jthig !
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11-20-2009, 06:46 PM
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#16
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 5,249
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Avalon
^ haha yea, i loled when i saw that part. Great article.
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If we had a time machine, we'd be like "young Dirk, you have no idea how big your balls will get!"
Maybe it's best that we don't.
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Is this ghost ball??
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11-20-2009, 07:18 PM
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#17
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Moderator
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 19,413
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amazing article
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11-21-2009, 11:07 AM
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#18
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Berlin / Germany
Posts: 765
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Wow - awesome read! Worth hanging out on the McDonalds parking lot - free Wifi - for 30 more minutes, even with a car full of people saying: "Lets go man!". Thanks!
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True basketball fans -> Tube
Dallas Mavs Supporter, Berlin/Germany
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11-21-2009, 11:55 AM
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#19
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Guru
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 40,410
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I wonder if Coop knew this article was coming out and sort of pre-empted it with his dirkster comment. It's very nice to see the dirkster getting well-deserved credit in this town. It has been quite frustrating to see some of his worse detractors being local people...appalling really as they have no excuse to not see how much he's given to the team and the area.
__________________
"Yankees fans who say “flags fly forever’’ are right, you never lose that. It reinforces all the good things about being a fan. ... It’s black and white. You (the Mavs) won a title. That’s it and no one can say s--- about it.’’
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12-26-2010, 10:48 PM
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#21
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Berlin / Germany
Posts: 765
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Judged by the number of replies, the greatness of this article goes much underappreciated.
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True basketball fans -> Tube
Dallas Mavs Supporter, Berlin/Germany
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12-27-2010, 06:23 AM
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#22
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Diamond Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: now, here
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Dirk forever!
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watch your thoughts, they become your words
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12-27-2010, 08:51 AM
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#23
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Platinum Member
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Oberfranken
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Nice bump.
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12-27-2010, 06:00 PM
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#24
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 203
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This sort of reminds me of the interview I recently watched with a very young Dirk (19 or 20) and Shaq, in front of a huge outdoor crowd in a plaza in Germany. Dirk was really shy yet composed and Shaq seemed admiring and appreciative of the very different vibe of such a grande venue. Dirk was quite highly thought of by most of the 90's NBA elite, after several spectacular showings against top level talent. I even remember the greatest of them all commenting rather positively after a young Dirk (rook or 2nd year) dropped 40-something on MJ's wizards.
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