- The bigs dominate. Dampier (13 pts/7 rebounds), Bass (12 pts/11 rebounds), and Dirk (29 pts/8 rebounds/6 assists).
- I hope this shows Avery he CAN play Dampier against teams like Phoenix and Golden State. Irritates me to no end when he doesn't play his 5's and gets scared into uncomfortable lineups. You're better than those teams, act like it.
- Devin Harris continously takes it to the rack.
- Stephen Jackson is a non-factor on Dirk.
- Baron Davis looks like the punk he is.
- Mavs dominate and actually have won 2 in a row in the series.
- They continue to look good against everyone in the Western Conference.
Dallas Mavericks take out frustrations on Warriors
12:59 AM CST on Thursday, January 3, 2008
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com
The mean-and-nasty center of Golden State's universe was trying to get to the basket.
The last time Stephen Jackson was doing this, he humiliated Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks.
But with the stakes lowered and the Mavericks' backbone raised, Nowitzki finally got a smidge of payback Wednesday night.
Nowitzki threw two straight shots back into Jackson's face in the fourth quarter, then rebounded a third miss by Baron Davis. In one brief possession, Nowitzki sealed an emotionally charged 121-99 victory over the Warriors at American Airlines Center.
Jackson was suspended for the Mavericks' win at Golden State in early November. This time, the 6-8 forward who spent most of the playoff series last spring denying Dirk, was there again, trying to get in everybody's face the same way he did so successfully in the playoff upset of the Mavericks.
Not this time.
Nowitzki had 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks, igniting perhaps the Mavericks' best all-around performance of the season. They passed the ball exquisitely, their 28 assists missing the season best by one. Their ball movement was exceeded by their rebounding, which was overwhelming (50-35).
And both of those were eclipsed by what Avery Johnson called some of the best defense the team has shown this season.
"We haven't been getting after it like that defensively," he said. "This team scores 110 or 115 points a game (108.5, actually). To keep them under 100 and shoot 41 percent, we'll take that."
And, of course, Nowitzki was "a monster," Johnson said.
"He gave it to them every way – inside, in between, 3-point line, he defended and he had three blocks."
The Mavericks never trailed, led by double figures much of the way and when things got dicey late in the third quarter, with the Warriors drawing within three points on several occasions, the Mavericks responded.
They scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to go up, 100-85, and the Warriors never got closer than 12.
Davis was stuffed by the Mavericks, with Jerry Stackhouse doing much of the defensive work in the second half. The point guard came in averaging 22.3 points and 8.3 rebounds but left with just 10 and six, missing 12 of 14 shots.
Jackson got 25 points, but he needed 21 shots to get them.
And then there was Erick Dampier and Brandon Bass, who ran a tag-team at center and came away with a combined 25 points and 18 rebounds.
Johnson said this was another example of how Dampier's shoulder injury hurt the Mavericks in the playoff series.
And when Dampier came out, Bass played well, responding positively to Saturday's game, in which Johnson did not play him.
"Defense won the game for us," Nowitzki said. "We got some stops, tried to contest their shots and tried to scramble defensively and make them take tough shots."
In short, it worked wonderfully, unlike the results of the playoff series. Of course, all this win did was get the Mavericks to 21-11. The Warriors playoff win last year got them to the second round.
"We'll get back to practice [today]," Johnson said, "because I don't think they gave a trophy out tonight."
- Bob Stoops the most overrated big game coach in college? 4 losses in a row in BCS bowls......
West Virginia crashes Oklahoma's fiesta
01:57 AM CST on Thursday, January 3, 2008
By BRANDON GEORGE / The Dallas Morning News
bgeorge@dallasnews.com
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Oklahoma's Fiesta Bowl misery isn't dead yet.
And this time, the Sooners weren't outsmarted by trick plays. They were simply outplayed.
No. 11 West Virginia jumped out to a two-touchdown lead by halftime Wednesday and never looked back in a 48-28 victory over No. 3 OU before a capacity crowd of 70,016 at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Mountaineers (11-2) had no problem without coach Rich Rodriguez, their offensive play-caller, who bolted for Michigan last month. Interim coach Bill Stewart put the game in the hands of junior quarterback Pat White and freshman running back Noel Devine as WVU won its third consecutive bowl game.
"I speak for all the players," White said, "he [Stewart] needs to be our head coach. Oklahoma is a great team, but we were a little bit more hungry than they were."
Oklahoma (11-3) ended another season with a resounding thud. The Sooners lost a wild Fiesta Bowl a year ago to Boise State, 43-42, in overtime. OU lost its fourth consecutive BCS bowl game and dropped to 4-5 in bowls under coach Bob Stoops.
"They definitely outcoached us and outplayed us," Stoops said. "They were more physical and more disciplined. It's very disappointing to finish the season this way, after such a solid year, to come out and play like we did."
Stoops became the only coach to lose to an interim coach this bowl season. Before the Fiesta Bowl, teams with interim coaches were 0-5 and teams in the midst of a coaching change had been 1-7.
But switching leaders didn't seem to faze the Mountaineers.
WVU, the nation's fourth-leading rushing team at 293 yards per game, rolled up 525 yards of total offense and had 349 rushing yards against OU, which had the nation's seventh-ranked rushing defense.
But the Sooners defense played short-handed. OU replaced three defensive starters, who were out for the game, with three players who made their first starts of the season. And the Sooners played most of the game without junior receiver Malcolm Kelly (leg injury). OU also finished with 13 penalties for 113 yards.
"Just embarrassing. Absolutely no discipline whatsoever," Stoops said. "That has to be a reflection on me. I'm obviously not doing a good enough job of getting players to play smart."
White, the game's offensive MVP, finished with a game-high 150 rushing yards on 20 carries and was 10-for-19 passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Devine, who received most of the playing time at running back after starter Steve Slaton went out with a right hamstring injury in the first quarter, had 108 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
"The guys counted on me," Devine said, "so I had to step up."
West Virginia's defense had OU freshman quarterback Sam Bradford on the run most of the night. WVU had three sacks and seven tackles for losses, and held OU to minus-1 yard in the first quarter
WVU scored two second-quarter touchdowns to lead, 20-6.
OU cut the Mountaineers' lead to 20-15 in the third quarter with the third field goal of the game for senior Garrett Hartley of Southlake Carroll, followed by Chris Brown's 1-yard touchdown run.
Back in the game, Stoops then gambled by calling for an onside kick. Hartley grazed the football and it trickled only 8 yards before West Virginia recovered at the OU 39-yard line.
"We obviously didn't kick it far enough," Stoops said. "We had the momentum and the opportunity was there. We just didn't execute."
Six plays later, Devine scored on a 17-yard run around left end to put WVU up, 27-15. Late in the third quarter, WVU receiver Darius Reynaud added another touchdown on a 30-yard reverse to the left to go ahead, 34-15.
The Mountaineers poured it on in the fourth quarter on two big plays. Tito Gonzales caught White's pass down the middle of the field and ran through the tackle attempt of OU cornerback Marcus Walker, who slipped off of Gonzales' back. Gonzales raced 79 yards for a touchdown.
On WVU's ensuing possession, Devine took a handoff and bolted to the left before cutting back to the middle of the field and racing 65 yards for a touchdown.
OU is P.U.
Oklahoma endured another disappointment on the same field where the Sooners lost a classic Fiesta Bowl to Boise State one year ago. The Sooners have dropped four straight BCS games.
BCS bowl Opp Result
'08 Fiesta WVU L, 48-28
'07 Fiesta Boise St. L, 43-42*
'05 Orange USC L, 55-19
'04 Sugar LSU L, 21-14
- The Big Magnificent Tuna continues his Scorched Earth March to being head coach......
Cameron's firing continues Miami's upheaval under Parcells
Associated Press
Updated: January 3, 2008, 10:59 AM ET
DAVIE, Fla. -- Cam Cameron was fired as the Miami Dolphins' coach Thursday by new boss Bill Parcells after plunging to an 0-13 start in his first year on the job and finishing with just one victory.
The dismissal comes three days after Parcells ousted general manager Randy Mueller and means the reeling franchise will have its fifth coach in five seasons.
Parcells began work Thursday as executive vice president of football operations and quickly concluded the Dolphins need another fresh start.
It has been 37 years since the Dolphins fired a coach. But they never finished 1-15 before.
Cameron was on the job 11 months before he earned his first victory as an NFL head coach. Until Miami beat Baltimore in overtime Dec. 16, he was in danger of becoming the first coach to go 0-16.
Miami has missed the playoffs six consecutive seasons, a franchise record.
Cameron signed a four-year contract in January. Owner Wayne Huizenga hired him over at least 12 other candidates after a two-week coaching search, the most extensive since the franchise's first season in 1966.
The early front-runner to replace Cameron is Cowboys assistant head coach Tony Sparano. He's scheduled to interview Friday for the head-coaching vacancy in Atlanta.
Other coaches -- including some good ones -- have been fired after only one season with a team. The list includes Cameron mentor Marty Schottenheimer (Washington in 2001), Art Shell (Oakland in 2006) and Pete Carroll (New York Jets in 1994).
Cameron maintained a consistently low-key demeanor with the media and his team. The even-keel approach won praise from the locker room during training camp, but as losses mounted, players became coy when asked if they believed in Cameron.
He was hired after five years as offensive coordinator for the high-scoring San Diego Chargers, and the Dolphins' offense showed improvement early in the season. But when John Beck became the third starter at quarterback this year, the unit failed to score a touchdown in three consecutive games, and the rookie returned to the bench.
Cameron took over a team that had gone 19-29 the previous three years and was in decline following a series of bad drafts. Poor depth made this year's wave of injuries catastrophic.
Running back Ronnie Brown led the league in yards from scrimmage when he was sidelined for the season by a knee injury, and Green and linebacker Zach Thomas also went on injured reserve. When 2002 NFL rushing champion Ricky Williams returned from a suspension, he lasted only six carries before a chest injury ended his season.
In addition, top receiver Chris Chambers was traded after six games.
The coach's office became a revolving door in 2004, when Dave Wannstedt quit after nine games and was replaced by Jim Bates. Nick Saban became the coach in 2005 but lasted only two years before leaving for Alabama, and he was succeeded by Cameron.
Seven coaches started a season with a team that went 1-15, and only two returned the following year. Jimmy Johnson went 1-15 his first season in Dallas in 1989 but soon was winning Super Bowls, and Mike Riley remained with San Diego despite winning only once in 2000.
Cameron's only other head coaching job was at Indiana, where he was fired after five seasons. His career record as a head coach is 19-52.
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