That's why he's an MVP

- Bad offense. No go-to scorers. No interior defense. Just a pitiful game all around.

- I hope this helps quiet all those who love to bash Dirk. Last night gave you a glimpse of what this team is. It's a collection of average players, with a few who might be above average (JET and Josh Howard), and a superstar (Dirk).

- I'll say it again, every dominant team has 2 legit, no brainer all stars. Phoenix has Nash and Amare. San Antonio has Duncan, Ginobli, and Parker. LA has Gasol and Kobe. New Orleans has Paul and West. Utah has Boozer and Deron. Houston has McGrady and Yao. Boston has KG, Pierce, and Ray Allen. Denver has Iverson and Carmelo. Dallas has Dirk. That's it.

- And like I keep saying.....with how they're constructed, it's a wonder they've accomplished what they have in the past 7 years. For those who love to bash Dirk, they have no clue what this guy is. Take him away, and you scrape away the Platinum and reveal the aluminum crap that lies underneath.

- To the Dallas sports idiot, who generically says Dirk can't lead a team to a title, they need to be reminded, there's only 3 guys who have led their teams to titles in the past 10 years. Shaq, Duncan, and Wade. That's it. So they're not going out on a limb by saying this, it applies to more friggin people than Dirk. And all those guys had major help next to them. Give Dirk a Kobe. Give him a Shaq. Give him Parker or Ginobli. Hopefully this opened some eyes last night. Without him, they're a lottery team.

- Heck, what has McGrady ever done? And he's had a big man next to him. What's Carmelo and Iverson ever done? Jermaine O'neal? Nash and Amare? Garnett? Nothing. They've had more help than anyone to get things done, and Dirk's outdone them all. League MVP. NBA Finals appearance. All NBA 1st team. 60 wins 3 times, with a 67 win season in there. WITH NOTHING AROUND HIM.

- Just irritates me to no end the unappreciative nature of the KVIL Mavericks fan. They want flash, they want Nike commercials, they want dunk contests, they want tattoos. I want a friggin winner and hard worker who cares only about the bottom line, winning.

- I've been waiting around a long time for local sports star I can enjoy watching, feel good about, get behind, feel like he's dying to bring this city a championship, etc. And he's here. But yet, to most people around here, it's just not good enough. People who don't like Dirk just have an agenda and have set their mind to not like him no matter what, that's the only reason I can come up with.

- Stackhouse is done. Finished. He really has nothing left. He looked terrible last night, and has ever since he came back from injury.

- Howard is driving the basket more, but that jumper still sucks.

- JET looked good early on and kept them in it, but he's just not a #1 scoring kind of guy, and couldn't do it for 4 quarters.

- Mavs lose. Dirk back Saturday.

Rockets rout Dirk-less Dallas Mavericks

06:39 AM CST on Friday, March 7, 2008
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
dmoore@dallasnews.com

The stretch that could define the Mavericks season is underway.

It was an inauspicious start.

That’s a nice way of saying bad.

A one-game suspension prevented Dirk Nowitzki from entering American Airlines Center for Thursday’s game. His absence didn’t prevent the Mavericks from playing bad defense. It didn’t prevent the sellout crowd from booing their disapproval at several points along the rocky way.

The Mavericks became Houston’s latest victim, falling 113-98 on a cold, March night. It was the first loss of the year for the Mavericks at home. The last came on Dec. 27 against Cleveland.

“I thought this would be a great night for us to rally,” said Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, who was optimistic after Wednesday’s practice and Thursday’s shoot-around.

“And I thought we were going to carry over on the floor. But we just didn’t have that type of energy that we needed and especially in the third quarter. They had it, and we didn’t.”

Houston outscored the Mavericks 35-20 in the third quarter, turning a two-point halftime lead into a blowout.

“We didn’t control the paint on the defensive end,” Josh Howard said. “We let them walk in for easy baskets. And they hit some big 3s, shots that were contested.”

The Rockets, who shot 54.2 percent, have won 17 consecutive games. Take the Mavericks longest winning streak of the season, multiply by two and it still falls short of Houston’s run.

The Rockets haven’t lost since Jan. 25. The team has won more games since that evening than Miami, Minnesota or Memphis has won all season. The last five victories have come without injured center Yao Ming, who will miss the rest of the season.

This is no seat-of-their-pants streak. Only three games have been decided by four points or less. The average margin of victory was 12.5 points entering the night.

“I don’t think anybody in our room didn’t think we could beat Dallas,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said.

It’s the sort of dominance the Mavericks displayed throughout last season.

It’s the sort of momentum Johnson hoped his team could begin to build in a stretch that sees the Mavericks play nine of their next 10 games at home.

The Mavericks began this quest without their leading scorer.

Nowitzki has averaged 28.9 points since Jason Kidd became his running buddy. The Mavericks tried to cover the loss by committee.

They didn’t come close.

Brandon Bass started for Nowitzki and scored seven points in the game’s first 6:45. He didn’t score the remainder of the game.

Malik Allen, who came from New Jersey as a salary cap equalizer in the Kidd trade, chipped in with four points off the bench.

“It’s evident right now that we’ve got to have a big performance to snap out of this thing,” Jason Terry said. “Everybody has to look at themselves and see what each individual can do better in the team concept. We have to get rolling.

“We still have a good team. We do miss the MVP out there. But defensively, we didn’t play at all tonight.”

Any chance for a momentum-building win evaporated in the third quarter.

The Mavericks tied the score at 10:13 on a pull up jumper by Kidd. The Rockets responded with a 32-15 run to end the period and take control.

“They were the aggressors,” Johnson said. “They came out. They took the ball. They rammed it down our throats.”

Houston’s backcourt of Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston combined for 55 points. The Rockets went over the 100-point mark with 6:46 left in the game.

The Mavericks weren’t much warmer than the temperature outside on offense. Terry had 17 points for the Mavericks but all of them came in the first half.

Howard once again struggled from the field, going 8-of-19, but he did finish with 21 points, seven rebounds and was active defensively in the first half. He acknowledged the significance of this stretch before the game.

“We’re right at the point we need to be,’’ Howard said. “We’re just not getting over the hump.’’

The hump grew bigger Thursday.

“This is a big home stand for us,’’ Nowitzki said earlier in the day. “We’re almost tied for the eighth spot. We feel like at home, we need to gain some ground here.

“I think this is our time to put a little winning streak together with the new team.’’

They will have to wait for Saturday. That’s when the Mavericks face Kidd’s old team and Devin Harris’ new one.

If the Mavericks play the Nets like they did the Rockets, they will have to wait even longer for that elusive winning streak to begin.




- A great "Where are they now" column here. Chris Sanders of FM Marcus fame, has reappeared. Saw some good games of him slinging it around against The Colony.



Former Flower Mound Marcus QB happy to find a home with Dallas Desperados

10:09 PM CST on Thursday, March 6, 2008
By ALBERT BREER / The Dallas Morning News
abreer@dallasnews.com

IRVING – When the Orlando Predators came to visit the Dallas Desperados in 2005, the Sanders clan was perched in Ross Perot's suite, set by happenstance adjacent to Jerry Jones' box at American Airlines Center.

Debbie Sanders' eldest son, Chris, an Orlando backup quarterback and Flower Mound Marcus alum, played in a mop-up role. As the game was ending with a solid finish from Sanders, his mom turned into a salewoman and approached the Cowboys and Desperados owner.

"You should've signed him a long time ago," she told Jones.

Finally, in November, the Desperados did. And tonight, Sanders takes center stage when he starts in place of the injured Clint Dolezel as Dallas hosts Columbus.

"This is something I've wanted ever since Dallas has gotten a team, to be in Dallas and to play in Dallas and to play in American Airlines Center," Sanders, 30, said. "I just hope I can get enough tickets for this weekend."

On Tuesday, that number hovered around 50. By Thursday night, it had bulged to more than 300.

And his mom knows why. "People just gravitate to him." Talk to those around the kid, and there's no need for an explanation.

Start with the fans, who saw him break state passing records during a 15-1 senior year at Marcus, while defying those who looked at his stocky 5-11 frame and dismissed him as something other than a top-notch quarterback.

Then, go to the people who saw how much more Sanders was than just a football player.

He's the kid who considered giving up his senior year to take of his mother, who had Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He's the guy who has served in a brother/father role for his four younger siblings. He's an athlete determined enough to live an itinerant life to play the game he loves. And he's come home.

"What a big day for this kid, this is a dream come true," Debbie Sanders said. "To play in Dallas, and have all his friends coming, 300 or 400 people there, this is his dream."

It took a while for it to happen. After a record-breaking career at Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he transferred to after starting at SMU, Sanders had two shots at the NFL, actually playing in the 2001 preseason for the Tennessee Titans. He moved to the Arena League in 2003 with Buffalo. From there, he had stints with Orlando (2005), Kansas City ('06) and Arizona ('07)

All indications were Sanders would return to Arizona this fall. But a change in the coaching staff meant the 195-pound quarterback was on the move again. It also gave him the opening to come home.

The timing couldn't be better. His brother Chad, 25, just returned from Iraq. His 21-year-old brother Chase is home for a semester from Vanderbilt. They'll be at the game tonight. So will so many others.

Sanders will be the starter for the next four weeks as Dolezel recovers from a separated shoulder.

After that, there's uncertainty, which has been the case with much of his football life. So he's going to enjoy this one, and try to show the Joneses and his teammates, just what his mother was talking about.

"When you go from an All-Arena player to a guy who's never been a full-time starter, I'm sure they have a little bit of doubt," Sanders said. "Once they see how much I love the game and how hard I play, they'll rally around me. Definitely."

SANDERS' ROAD BACK TO DALLAS
Flower Mound's Chris Sanders has taken a long path home after transferring from SMU to Tennessee-Chattanooga in 1999. Some stops along the way:

Tennessee Titans (2001): Went to training camp as an undrafted free agent; was 11-of-21 passing for 141 yards in the preseason before being cut.

Atlanta Falcons (2002): Signed and allocated to NFL Europe, where he was cut by Frankfurt.

Roanoke Steam (2002): Won af2 Player of Week honors before leaving to rejoin the Titans.

Tennessee Titans (2002): Cut at Titans training camp.

Buffalo Destroyers (2003): In his first AFL season, threw for 529 yards and eight touchdowns.

Manchester Wolves (2004): Returned to af2 after being cut from Orlando, and threw for 4,184 yards and 66 touchdowns.

Orlando Predators (2005): Passed for 897 yards and 16 touchdowns in six appearances.

Kansas City Brigade (2006): Became the starter in Week 8, holding the job for seven weeks and throwing for 2,025 yards and 36 touchdowns.

Arizona Rattlers (2007): Played in seven games and started two, throwing for 634 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Dallas Desperados (2008): Signed on Nov. 2, 2007



- Jack Black

Flat

- The Stars come out flat and disinterested, and play the whole game that way. Hardly any even strength scoring chances and just all in all one of their worst offensive games of the year.

Energized Coyotes defeat Dallas Stars, 2-1

01:27 AM CST on Thursday, March 6, 2008
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com

The Phoenix Coyotes have a tangible desperation.

They're fighting for a playoff spot and are pretty much already in postseason mode.

The Dallas Stars have to find a way to manufacture that desperation artificially, or they could be facing more games like the one they lost, 2-1, Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.

The Stars did some good things, but they fell short of a Phoenix team that did a lot of hard things. The Coyotes had just 16 shots on goal, but they battled to get to the front of the net. The Coyotes had 16 blocked shots to nine for the Stars.

And the Coyotes were killed in the face-off circle (winning just 17-of-48 overall), but they won 12-of-16 in the third period when they were protecting a 2-1 lead.

"We just have to pay the price to win, and right now, we're not doing it," Stars coach Dave Tippett said of the team's back-to-back losses. "It's a desperation level, and we better recognize that."

The Stars continued their practice of allowing the first goal in a game. They have done it 37 times in 70 games, and gotten away with it a lot. Their 18-18-1 record when the opponent scores first is one of the best in the league.

But it's a dangerous game when you're playing against teams that want to get a lead and lock down their defense.

"We're finding goals this year," captain Brenden Morrow said of the ability to overcome early deficits. "But that's a tough way to play every night."

Especially when the Stars appear to have plenty of desperate teams awaiting.

Dallas has a home-and-home with seventh place Colorado over the weekend. The Stars follow that with games against Detroit, Vancouver and Anaheim.

"We're not matching their intensity to start the game, and it shouldn't be that way," said defenseman Mattias Norstrom. "It's do-or-die for them, and we need to recognize that right from the start. We need to match that desperation."

But how? The Stars went on a recent 13-2-0 run where they took over the second-best record in hockey (now 41-24-5). They've risen above the group battling to get into the playoffs.

Still, they'd like to win the Pacific Division. They'd like to secure home ice in the playoffs. They'd like to start playing like a playoff team.

"We have to find that working identity," Tippett said. "When you have your best players setting the example of working hard, that usually flows through your team."

Brad Winchester, who has been a frequent healthy scratch this season, and Toby Petersen, who was called up from the minors Tuesday, created the Stars' only goal on a hard-working rush to the net. Petersen took a shot and Winchester charged in to bat in the rebound.

For much of the rest of the game, the Stars were content to pound away from the perimeter. Yes, Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov came up with some big saves, but he also had plenty of help from teammates who sold out and made it very tough for the Stars to get in front of the goal.

"I think the energy and work are there, but we have to be better at recognizing what kind of game we're in," goalie Marty Turco said.

And that is a game of desperation.

"We didn't pay the price," Morrow said. "Every game is going to be hard, and we are going to see every team's top game, so we need to be ready."



- Dirk-less Mavs take on Houston, who has now won 16 games in a row. Even without Dirk, I expect a win. No excuses, just make it happen. And Josh Howard better get out of his funk.



Josh Howard's hurting, but Dallas Mavericks need him

Forward's taken some hits personally, but it's crucial that he mesh with Kidd

09:33 AM CST on Thursday, March 6, 2008

Cancer took one of the women who helped raise him.

He injured his back, lost his great grandmother and watched as his best friend on the team was traded in an emotional 10-day span last month.

And people wonder why Josh Howard doesn't seem like himself these days.

Howard isn't looking for sympathy. And this is no time for excuses, not with Dirk Nowitzki suspended and the Mavericks fighting to regain their equilibrium in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.

The Mavericks need a big game from Howard tonight against the Houston Rockets at the American Airlines Center. They need him to be the player he was to open the season. If he can't return to that level over the next few weeks, the trade for Jason Kidd may not pay the dividends the organization envisioned.

"This is the first time since I've been in the league where I've had a stretch like this," Howard said.

Kidd's impact these last two weeks has been obvious. Nowitzki is playing with a joy that had been absent, and Erick Dampier has flourished. Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse have had their moments.

The player who hasn't clicked with the point guard is Howard. It's puzzling since Howard is an athletic perimeter player who can benefit from Kidd's presence as much as anyone.

That should still happen. But there are several reasons why it hasn't.

The days leading up to the All-Star break are a good place to start.

Howard took a hard fall in the second half of the team's loss to Philadelphia on Feb. 11 and suffered a lower back contusion. The next day, his great grandmother on his father's side died.

This came slightly more than five weeks after Sadie Brown, the person Howard calls his God-grandmother, passed away. Brown watched Howard growing up when his mother couldn't.

Then Devin Harris was traded.

Then Howard's jump shot began to go awry.

And, oh yeah, his back hurts. Howard still feels a twinge from time to time and put his health at 85 percent.

"He was out for a while and when he came back, he was not really right," Mavericks assistant coach Paul Westphal said. "When that happens, it messes with your confidence and timing. You need both of those things."

You try attacking the basket with a bad back.

Howard began to settle for jump shots. Defenders began to sit on that shot knowing he was reluctant to take the ball to the basket. The forward averaged 15 points and shot 34.1 percent from the field in his first seven games with Kidd.

Mavericks coach Avery Johnson sat Howard down before Monday's game against Utah and showed where his game had slipped. Howard responded with 25 points and went 9-of-13 from the field, only the sixth time since early December that he has made more than half of his shots from the floor.

"I think it's over now." Johnson said. "He was in a bad stretch there. He snapped out of it against Utah. We asked him to do a few things offensively, and guess what, he did it. He was much more aggressive.

"If he stays aggressive like he was in that game, then we'll have that behind us."

Staying aggressive is only part of it.

Howard was at his best early in the season when the Mavericks isolated him, let him gather himself, then decide how to attack the defense.

That's not how Kidd and these Mavericks roll. There is more pick-and-roll, more fast-break opportunities. Howard must adjust and score on the run.

"It wasn't going to be like how it was in New Jersey," Howard said. "I'm not Vince Carter. I'm not Richard Jefferson. I've just got to get used to Kidd. Not just used to him but the whole team. We're still getting used to everybody.

"It's only a matter of time until I get used to it. It's not going to stop me. It's not going to hold me back."

It can't.

If it does, the Mavericks won't be the team they hoped to be with Kidd.




- The Star-Telegram analyzes the West.



Countdown in West: Where will Mavs fall?

By JOE GARZAStar-Telegram Staff Writer

Will the Mavs miss the playoffs? It's a possibility, but barring a major injury, it isn't very likely. Although the race to lock up one of the Western Conference's eight playoff seeds is ultra-competitive, with five games separating the first and last seeds, the West's nine contenders play a load of games against each other. So with everybody pretty much in the same boat, the final stretch of the season probably will be a rough ride. The Mavs are 4-4 since adding Jason Kidd -- 0-4 against teams with winning records -- and 5-12 this season on the road against winning teams. The Mavs' fortunes should pick up in the next two weeks, as they play nine of 10 games at home, with only four of those against winning teams. Will the rest of the West contenders keep pace? Our prediction on how the West race will shake out:

1. Lakers

(Pacific Division champs)

Current seed: 2

Predicted record: 60-22

Finishing kick: 17-4

Games remaining

vs. West contenders: 9

Even if Andrew Bynum doesn't return this season -- as rumors are suggesting -- LA has the talent and youth to keep pressing on.

2. Spurs

(Southwest Division champs)

Current seed: 1

Finishing kick: 17-6

Predicted record: 59-23

Games remaining

vs. West contenders: 10

San Antonio is the class of the West, and the champs would rather get some rest down the stretch than claim the top seed.

3. Hornets

Current seed: 3

Predicted record: 55-27

Finishing kick: 14-8

Games remaining

vs. West contenders: 8

The Hornets shouldn't falter because they have a great point guard in Chris Paul, a good post scorer in David West, and a lot of 3-point shooters.

4. Jazz

(Northwest Division champs)

Current seed: 4

Predicted record: 53-29

Finishing kick: 13-7

Games remaining

vs. West contenders: 10

Utah is a dangerous offensive team, but its defense is too questionable for it to move up any higher.

5. Mavericks

Current seed: 7

Predicted record: 53-29

Finishing kick: 14-7

Games remaining

vs. West contenders: 10

March 18 is the date to remember. That's when the Mavs begin a season-ending stretch in which they play 10 NBA playoff contenders in 15 games.

6. Suns

Current seed: 6

Predicted record: 52-30

Finishing kick: 11-10

Games remaining

vs. West contenders: 10

The trade for Shaquille O'Neal did little more than weaken one of the league's best offenses.

7. Rockets

Current seed: 5

Predicted record: 52-30

Finishing kick: 12-10

Games remaining

vs. West contenders: 10

Despite losing Yao Ming for the season, Houston is too solid a team to completely collapse.

8. Warriors

Current seed: 8

Predicted record: 51-31

Finishing kick: 13-9

Games remaining

vs. West contenders: 11

Forget the Don Nelson gimmicks: Golden State is a dangerously talented team that again will be a playoff threat.

Nuggets

Current seed: 9

Predicted record: 49-33

Finishing kick: 14-8

Games remaining

vs. West contenders: 10

Denver's wealth of individual talent simply isn't jelling and its perimeter defense is often dreadful.

Note: The top four seeds are seeded by record among the three division winners and the team with the conference's next-best record. The Suns are predicted to win the season series tiebreaker against the Rockets.

MAVS VS. ROCKETS, 8:30 TONIGHT, KTXA/CH. 21, TNT




- Spring Training report....



Texas Rangers' Millwood takes step forward

01:54 AM CST on Thursday, March 6, 2008
By RICHARD DURRETT / The Dallas Morning News
rdurrett@dallasnews.com

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Kevin Millwood walked the final batter he faced in a simulated game Wednesday and begged pitching coach Mark Connor to let him pitch to one more hitter.

"I didn't want to end like that, but that's all right," Millwood said. "I think I got more than six outs anyway."

Millwood tested his sore right hamstring pitching to live hitters for the first time this spring. He achieved his main goal: getting through the two-inning session without any pain. Millwood said he did that.

The Rangers' No. 1 starter threw 38 pitches (22 strikes) to Julio Borbon, Brandon Boggs, John Mayberry Jr. and German Duran. Max Ramirez was the catcher. Millwood had three strikeouts, two walks and gave up two hits.

He threw all his pitches, worked some from the stretch and spent most of his second inning working on his fastball at the behest of Connor. It was a controlled environment, so Millwood didn't have any fielders behind him and was given a five-minute break to simulate an inning change.

"It was big-time important, probably one of the most important days so far in spring," said manager Ron Washington, who watched Millwood carefully along with general manager Jon Daniels. "To go out there, work on his pitches and walk off that mound smiling and feeling good about himself was good."

Millwood didn't make any throws to first or run off the mound to get any choppers. He'll go through fielding drills Sunday, and if all goes well is scheduled to make his first start in a spring game Monday against the Padres at Peoria.

Francisco scare: RHP Frank Francisco stepped awkwardly on the mound as he pitched with two outs in the top of the eighth against the Brewers on Wednesday. Washington, Connor and trainer Jamie Reed rushed out to check on him. Francisco threw some warm-up pitches, still had good velocity and stayed in the game, getting his final batter to ground out. "I think it scared him more than anything, but he's fine," Washington said.

Catching rotation altered: For the first week of spring training games, Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia alternated days behind the plate. Starting today, Washington said he'll play both catchers in the same game for most of the remaining spring games. The two will alternate starts, with Laird getting the nod with Vicente Padilla on the hill today in Tucson. "This should give us a chance to get some rhythm at the plate," Saltalamacchia said.

Bradley's schedule: Washington said outfielder Milton Bradley will bat leadoff as a DH in several innings of minor league games to get some at-bats against live pitching. That could happen as soon as March 12 with the hope that Bradley would DH over the weekend (March 15-16) in a regular spring game. "There's nothing I want to rush with Milt," Washington said. "I want him to be right. If he's right, he'll be productive." Washington also thinks Bradley will play the outfield before the team leaves Surprise.

Briefly: 3B Hank Blalock, still sore from a car accident Monday, sat out workouts and the game on Wednesday. He won't play until Friday at the earliest, when he could DH. ... Kazuo Fukumori said he didn't throw his curveball or four-seam fastball in his inning of work. He's easing in and may try to throw them Saturday. ... RHP Wes Littleton returned to camp after tending to an illness in his family. ... Scott Feldman is also expected to pitch in today's game.

It's go time

- Dallas has a very important stretch of games coming up. 9 of next 10 are at home. They get 5 semi-easy games at the beginning. And then tough, close losses on the road at the West's best can be made up for with a nice stretch of LA, Boston, and San Antonio starting in 2 weeks.

- There is no margin for error now. There are no more moral victories. This is the time you use to build momentum for the playoffs. You've proven you can hang with these teams on the road with a new point guard and lackluster play from Stackhouse and Howard. Now it's time to throw all excuses out the window. Kidd is integrated into the system now. It's put up or shut up time for Josh Howard. No more excuses from here on out.

Expect Dallas Mavericks to soon show value of Kidd deal

12:28 AM CST on Wednesday, March 5, 2008

I don't understand how anyone can watch the Dallas Mavericks play their last eight games and think the team was better off before the Jason Kidd trade.

But I know those people are out there. And the original critics of the deal surely feel that Dallas' 4-4 record since it made the move validates their argument.

And that is nonsense.

Take away the first road loss at New Orleans in which Kidd only knew five or six sets and had had only one practice with the team. In the team's other defeats – all on the road against Los Angeles, Utah and San Antonio – the Mavericks held fourth-quarter leads in each game.

I'll take my chances with a team that can play like that in the first few games following a roster-changing trade any time.

Here's the only way to fairly examine the results the trade has brought about.

The Mavericks have lost road games to the top four seeds in the West. Dallas plays eight such games all season, and they have played four of them in Kidd's first eight. That's just a brutal start for any team trying to find a new rhythm.

Dirk Nowitzki said after Monday's loss in Utah that the Mavericks always find ways to win those games at home. They are going to have to. The opportunity is coming.

The Mavericks play nine of their next 10 games at home with the only trip being to Miami, the team with the worst record in the NBA.

Some of those home games are layups – contests with three Eastern Conference teams currently not in the playoff picture plus one with New Jersey, which could be about to fade from it. But the Houston Rockets, who have achieved the last three wins of their 15-game hot streak without Yao Ming, are coming, and so are the Lakers, the Spurs and the Boston Celtics.

So, yes, the Mavericks have to finish those games, and we can only assume that coach Avery Johnson has learned his lesson after San Antonio and will give Kidd the opportunity to be the closer that Johnson claimed he was at the initial news conference.

The team's statistics are all over the board since the trade, but eight games aren't really enough to make a lot of authoritative statements about anything. But a couple of things do stand out in a positive manner.

Nowitzki's shooting percentage before the trade was .469. He was averaging 22.8 points per game, low for him.

Since the deal, Nowitzki is shooting 52 percent and averaging 28.9 points. I know you can point to some falling percentages for other players, but the first thing you want Kidd to do is get the ball into the hands of the team's best shooter where he needs it.

That is happening.

Also, the team has improved its 3-point shooting dramatically. Kidd's trademark is penetrating and dishing. That wasn't truly Devin Harris' game.

The Mavericks have gone from shooting just under 34 percent from 3-point range to just over 39 percent. That's a significant upgrade, and remember, it has come against some of the best teams in the Western Conference.

I don't think the team as previously constructed could have rallied from a 21-point deficit against Utah to grab the lead in the fourth quarter. Even if the Mavericks couldn't hold it, this team simply has a more competitive demeanor than what was here before.

The Mavericks have made slight improvements in assists and rebounding. In addition, Kidd's arrival was supposed to weaken the team defensively. We haven't seen much of that.

Opponents, who were shooting .445 before the deal, have shot .449 since Kidd got on the floor. Considering the quality of some of the opponents, I can't consider that any real change at all.

After just surviving this tough stretch, everything favors the Mavericks now. A team that hasn't been really good on the road has only eight games left away from American Airlines Center.

The Spurs, the Hornets, the Rockets and the Suns – teams the Mavericks are trying to catch to earn a top-four seed – all have 12. Golden State, the team the Mavericks are trying to hold off, has 14.

As the schedule evens out and Dallas doesn't find itself playing an elite team on the road every other game, the numbers will improve. So will the win total.

To justify making the deal, that's what has to happen. There's nothing that's shown up in the first eight games with Kidd on board to suggest it won't.




- Stars, as hot as they've been, have a ton of teams on their heels. The momentum must be kept.....



Dallas Stars have plenty of pursuers

Despite hot stretch, Dallas still has Ducks, Sharks nipping at heels

12:09 AM CST on Wednesday, March 5, 2008
By CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News
ccarlton@dallasnews.com

FRISCO – Nothing comes easy in the Pacific Division, as the Dallas Stars have discovered.

They put together a perfectly timed run, winning 13 of their last 16 games. And they still haven't been able to shake San Jose and defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim.

The Stars hold a four-point lead on the Ducks and a five-point lead on the Sharks. Because the teams have not played an equal amount of games, the teams are even tighter than the standings show. Based on their pace, the Stars will finish with 103 points, San Jose 102 and Anaheim 100.

So while the Stars don't have to worry about making the playoffs, they have to match the mindset of the teams in survival mode such as Phoenix, tonight's opponent.

"We'd like to raise our intensity and desperation level. Hopefully, that is a motivating factor for us," captain Brenden Morrow said. "They're fighting for a playoff spot, but we're fighting for home ice and winning the division. There are things we need to focus on."

Winning the Pacific may be more important than usual.

Based on the standings, the second- and third-place teams in the Pacific are likely to meet in a first-round steel-cage match of a playoff series.

"The competitiveness of this Pacific Division has been strong as any," said goaltender Marty Turco, who has won 10 of his last 13 division games. "It makes us better in the long run, the competitiveness which we do enjoy. We would like a little bit of a cushion, but we can't think about it, and we don't have time to."

The NHL's brave new salary cap world was supposed to bring a level playing field.

So far, parity hasn't made its way to the Pacific.

If anything, the teams have gotten stronger.

Since veteran winger Teemu Selanne ended his short-lived "retirement," Anaheim is 11-1.

San Jose has won six straight and addressed its depth problem at the blue line by acquiring defenseman Brian Campbell at the trade deadline.

"You look at both those teams and they look like they're building right now," coach Dave Tippett said. "We have to continue to build our group."

The Stars haven't been standing still, not with the acquisition of former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards from Tampa Bay.

Tippett has made certain his team is focused on the task at hand, posting the daily standings in the dining area of the Stars training facility. Defenseman Stephane Robidas said the additional emphasis now will help later.

"You have to be ready for the playoffs," Robidas said. "It's not a switch on and off where you get in the playoffs and start playing."



- Warren Sapp retires. Good player, very dominant in his early years in the league. Always a good quote machine.

- But I will never forget him in the 1995 Orange Bowl. Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp, James Burgess, Carlos Jones and the whole crew were yapping right from the get go, like most Miami or Dennis Erickson teams will do. Jumping up and down after big plays, running towards the sideline after a 3rd down stop. No doubt yelling at Nebraska players/coaches to stop trying to run the option, that they had too much speed.

- And then, slowly but surely, the sweat and grass stains built up on their jerseys. Their shoulders began moving more noticeably as they struggled to catch their breath. And before you knew it, they were on their backs watching Nebraska bulldoze right past them. It was a beautiful thing to watch, true vindication for 20+ years of Orange Bowl heartache.



Sapp files paperwork, officially puts end to 13-year career

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Warren Sapp's 13-year NFL career officially ended when his retirement was posted on the Oakland Raiders' Web site.

Sapp said immediately after last season that he was through playing, but did not file the paperwork. The posting on the team's site was the first official word that the star defensive tackle was done.

In January, the 35-year-old Sapp posted a two-word message on his Web site: "I'M DONE!" He had told teammates and coaches his plans after the season finale against San Diego.

Considered the quintessential "three technique" defensive tackle -- lining up between the offensive guard and tackle -- Sapp made seven Pro Bowls, won the 1999 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award, and led Tampa Bay's dominant defense that won the Super Bowl after the 2002 season.

Sapp spent nine seasons in Tampa before joining the Raiders in 2004 as a free agent. He mostly struggled with the Raiders, except for a strong 2006 in which he had 10 sacks, and had become more of a situational player in his final season.

In 2007, he had only two sacks and the Raiders' defense struggled against the run, allowing a league-worst 4.8 yards per carry.

Sapp finished his career with 96½ sacks, 28th overall since the NFL began keeping track of the statistic in 1982, but extra impressive because he played tackle.

His running "feud" with Packers quarterback Brett Favre -- who coincidentally announced his retirement Tuesday as well -- brought some levity to a sometimes brutal game. Sapp was known as a trash talker, and Favre often went directly back at him with a smile when both the Bucs and Packers were in the same division and played twice a season.

Sapp starred in college at Miami, where he arrived as a tight end and left as the best defensive player in the country. He slipped to No. 12 in the 1995 draft after testing positive for marijuana at the scouting combine.

That was just one controversy in Sapp's career. In 2002, he nearly ended the career of Packers offensive tackle Chad Clifton with a vicious hit while trying to throw a block after an interception. Then-Packers coach Mike Sherman confronted Sapp on the field after the game, calling it a dirty play.

Sapp was fined $50,000 for bumping an official in 2003 and was fined $75,000 after being ejected following three personal fouls in the next-to-last game of his career against Jacksonville.


- What a night. Sapp's face, sweatiness, dirty jersey, and body language as he's walking off of the field in Clip #3 is just priceless and remains my favorite Warren Sapp image.

Going back home

- After a brutal 4 game stretch that included road games against the top 2 teams in the West (San Antonio and LA) and another personal house of horrors for the Mavs (Utah), they're coming home with a much easier schedule.

- All in all, victories would have been nice, but performances in these games had me encouraged for the playoffs. All on the road, all against top 4-5 teams. And every game was winnable. And with Howard and Stackhouse giving them absolutely nothing, too.

1) In it until the end at San Antonio, losing by 3. Played great defense throughout, mainly on Ginobli, and had Bowen and Finley get hot offensively on them.
2) Another game that was either tied or within a few possessions the entire game. Monster game from the emerging Dampier, great passion and stepping up of Dirk in the 4th, and another close loss in a hostile environment. LA needed Kobe being Superman just to get this win.
3) Got down early, got more passion, intensity, and big shots from Dirk (an ongoing theme since the Kidd trade), showed me a lot by coming back from a 21 point deficit and taking a 3 point lead midway through the 4th. But in the end, they had no energy and no extra gear. Just worn out.

- Now get home, take care of these lightweights and get yourself back in the Southwest Division race.

Dallas Mavericks rally, then fade in loss to Jazz

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

SALT LAKE CITY – The Dallas Mavericks finished their run of road games against the Western Conference divisional leaders Monday night.

They led in the fourth quarter against all three championship level opponents.

They lost all three games.

That's the bottom line for a team that could, and probably should, be emotionally gutted after Monday night's 116-110 defeat to the Utah Jazz.

But they are adamant that that's not the case.

"It's obviously a little frustrating losing all these games," said Dirk Nowitzki, who had 23 points and a flagrant foul that sent Utah's Andrei Kirilenko to the hospital.

"At home, we find ways to pull these games out. We get a big basket or a big stop. In the tight West, you hate losing these games. But maybe down the road it will help us learn to close out games. Maybe it's not all bad to go through this, but when you're losing these games, it's no fun."

The gut-wrenching losses have left the Mavericks in seventh place in the West but tied in the loss column with eighth-place Golden State. They are just three games up on Denver, which is out of the playoffs at the moment.

Yet their resolve remains steely, coach Avery Johnson said. The Mavericks are not getting beaten down psychologically by their heartbreak.

"Our team has a lot of intestinal fortitude," Johnson said. "They are not quitters. They could have packed it in early. But we found a way to get back in the game and take the lead.

"But we're not able to close out games, and historically we've been able to do that. We're just not there yet. But when we get there, the sky's the limit for this team.

"There's no 'beat you down' here. We're a positive team."

That vibe is being tested. This one may have hurt even more than the losses at San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavericks erased a 21-point first-half deficit behind big nights from Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry but fell to pieces against a stiff Utah defense in the final minutes as the Jazz pulled away.

The Mavericks were up 92-89 with just over six minutes left, then gave up 16 points in a row to the Jazz, ending their chances. The Jazz, 26-3 at home, hasn't lost on its floor since Dec. 29.

The Mavericks fell to 4-4 since the trade for Jason Kidd. Utah got 20 assists and 17 points from The Colony product Deron Williams and 28 points from Carlos Boozer, who was big down the stretch as the Jazz buried the Mavericks.

At the end, the Mavericks took their first lead of the game at 90-89. A Kidd 20-footer made it a 3-point edge for the Mavericks, but Boozer scored four points, the beginning of a 16-0 Jazz run that closed things out.

"We're playing hard, but the other team's playing hard, too," Jerry Stackhouse said. "There's no secret to success. You just have to keep working and stay positive."

The last time the Mavericks were at EnergySolutions Arena, they were behind 16-0 before the first quarter was half done.

At least it was 2-2 for a brief spell Monday. But that didn't last long.

Utah went up 25-6 midway through the opening period and was up 52-34 before the Mavericks got their first two points in the paint on a Devean George hook shot. Utah had 22 points in the paint at that point.

The momentum swayed just minutes into the game when Nowitzki did his best Roy Williams imitation by putting a horse-collar on Kirilenko.

Nowitzki's takedown lit a fire under the Jazz and the fans, who unloaded their wrath on Nowitzki every time he touched the ball thereafter, booing him loudly.

Kirilenko went to the hospital after X-rays on his right hip at the arena were inconclusive. Kirilenko returned to the arena in the fourth quarter after further tests showed only a sprain.



- One of the many likeable guys on this team. They may not win, but there's a wonderful lack of prima donna's on this team. Here's one of them. Went to college with his brother at Tarleton.



Texas Rangers' Broussard won't get left out against lefties

08:40 PM CST on Monday, March 3, 2008
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
egrant@dallasnews.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Texas Rangers faced a left-handed starter for the second time this spring. Ben Broussard, the newly acquired left-handed hitting first baseman, was in the starting lineup for both games.

Or, put another way: He's been in the starting lineup more times this spring against lefties than he had been all of last season.

Against strike-challenged Noah Lowry, Broussard, hitting in the sixth spot, became the first Ranger to make an out in Monday's 8-6, 10-inning win over San Francisco.

After Lowry walked the first five hitters on the way to nine walks overall, Broussard lined a ball to left field for a run-scoring sacrifice fly. Two at-bats later, against right-hander Kevin Correia, Broussard poked his first hit of the spring through the right side.

This is no spring fancy. Manager Ron Washington has been adamant Broussard will open the season playing regularly against lefties. The Rangers are expected to face Seattle lefty Erik Bedard on opening day.

"I don't want him coming to the park every day wondering if he's going to play against a left-hander," Washington said. "He's going to play against them until he proves he can't."

For most of his career, Broussard has known he wouldn't play against lefties. Pressed into full-time duty for Cleveland in 2004, he batted .362 against lefties with a 1.081 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. The next year, he went right back to being a platoon guy. It's been that way ever since.

Last year, he started just one game vs. a left-hander. In 2006, he got just four starts: Three were against Barry Zito, Johan Santana and Randy Johnson.

"I feel like I'm in a movie scene where I've gained freedom," Broussard said. "It's like 'Wow, somebody believes in me.' I've been waiting for this my whole career. You ask any left-handed hitter and they will tell you that facing lefties is going to make them better against all pitching."

Broussard's point: A number of lefties don't worry as much about which side of the rubber the pitcher is coming from so long as they get consistent at-bats. That has been Broussard's issue the last three years. He said it's been hard for him to maintain consistent hot streaks when he sat down roughly once a series.

Broussard has been caught in the cycle in which left-handed hitters often get trapped. After the big 2004 season, he hit .225 against lefties in 2005. He got fewer at-bats and they often came against the toughest lefties, but he didn't do much against them so he couldn't justify getting more at-bats.

"It's been frustrating," said Broussard, who ranks 79th of 93 left-handed hitters with at least 250 plate appearances against lefties in batting average (.230) and on-base percentage (.296). "It's like I was always working against myself. I've just been in a very tough role the last couple of years. I kept thinking that one day, maybe I'd get that chance to play every day."

The Rangers are trying hard to keep Broussard from thinking he's a platoon player. Hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo has not even approached him about problems against lefties yet. Instead, the pair have been working on changing the way Broussard pivots when he swings. Jaramillo said Broussard's back foot had been sliding more than it had been turning and that tends to make a hitter pull off the ball.

And they've been working on making sure he knows he's going to be in the lineup.

"I hadn't had a hit this spring," Broussard said after coming out of the lineup. "But I faced the lefty in the first and squared the ball up pretty good. In the second at-bat [a double-play grounder], I hit the ball hard. Then in the third, I got a hit. That's how it works. You get a couple of at-bats under your belt, and you make progress."

The Rangers are going to give him that chance.




- A good look at how a trade affects everyone involved.



Hearing you've been traded is tough; making the move is tougher

By Scott Burnside
ESPN.com

DALLAS -- The trade deadline.

Players, picks and prospects flit from team to team like chips across the felt; give you this for that and then move on; build, rebuild; pieces on an icy chess board.

And then, there's what happened to Jay Feaster.

The Tampa Bay general manager called Brad Richards on Tuesday morning to tell the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner he had been traded to Dallas. Feaster, Richards and Richards' agent, Pat Morris, had been talking about the potential move for days, so the news was hardly surprising. Still, Feaster had to hang up the phone.

"I phoned Brad and I couldn't finish the conversation. I broke down and I couldn't finish talking to him," Feaster told ESPN.com a day after he sent Richards to Dallas along with backup netminder Johan Holmqvist for goalie Mike Smith, forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern and a 2009 fourth-round pick.

"It was the weirdest day of my life," Richards told ESPN.com shortly after his first practice with the Stars.

On Monday, Richards was taking part in the Lightning's short skate and team golf outing. The next morning, Feaster told Richards to stay home from practice. What had been a theoretical discussion a couple of weeks ago -- would Richards consider waiving his no-trade clause if the right deal came along -- had become inevitable.

Richards' parents, who were supposed to spend three months in Tampa this winter to escape the Maritime winter in Eastern Canada, came to Richards' home from the house he rented for them on a local golf course.

The family bided their time until the trade was final. Then, after the Lightning players had skated and left the St. Pete Times Forum early Tuesday afternoon, Richards stopped by to pick up his personal possessions and take one last stroll through the only NHL dressing room, the only NHL rink, he has ever called home.

He sat for a while with the trainers, joking a bit, and sent a text message to Feaster, who came down to the locker room to say goodbye. Richards reminded Feaster that he crafted Richards' first pro contract after the Lightning selected him with the 64th pick in the 1998 draft. Feaster was then an assistant GM; Richards was a raw kid out of Prince Edward Island.

"As Brad pointed out to me, he said, 'You and I have been together 10 years," Feaster said.

Ten years with one NHL club is a lifetime, especially if you've accomplished what Richards and the Lightning have, turning a league laughingstock into a Stanley Cup winner.

Remember Richards' three-point performance in Game 6 of the 2004 Stanley Cup finals, which helped force a seventh and deciding game vs. Calgary back in Tampa Bay? Or his NHL-record seven game-winning goals during that championship run?

The names of Richards and his teammates are engraved forever on the Stanley Cup, but in some ways, the team's imprint will always be on the community in Tampa. Richards, like many of his teammates and friends, embraced the city. Richards has a charitable foundation and a suite for children with cancer. After every game, Richards made a point of stopping up to visit.

Feaster said Richards is not a player who just gives money, he gives his time.

"He's an even better person than he is a hockey player and he's a great hockey player," Feaster said. "He's a special young man."

Richards also met with coach John Tortorella before he left. That, too, was a difficult parting.

"There was a lot of emotion there, too. We grew up together, too," Richards said. "He turned us into champions. There will always be that bond."

He was, not surprisingly, in close touch with teammates Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier throughout the talks. "We've been through a lot together," Richards said.

Richards and St. Louis arrived in Tampa at exactly the same time. Lecavalier? He and Richards have been teammates since they were 14 years old, from prep school through junior, international tournaments and playing in Russia during the lockout.

When the Lightning finished their practice on Tuesday, Lecavalier and St. Louis came by and the three went out to lunch.

"That was when it really kind of hit me," Richards said. "That's when it got kind of tough."

This emotion doesn't just run one way.

The Dallas media arrived at the team's practice facility Wednesday to chronicle a team's excitement at having added a former playoff MVP, an Olympian, a winner. But juxtaposed against the optimism that they may be a big step closer to a championship is the recognition that Richards comes at a price.

On a franchise level, that price is measured in futures and what might have been given up in unrealized potential and assets. In the Stars' dressing room, that price is measured in friends and teammates who are now gone.

Stars goalie Marty Turco recalled his last conversation with Smith, his self-described "little brother, " as being "very sad."

Coach Dave Tippett likes to talk about team-building in a wheel metaphor -- the players are spokes in the wheel. You need all of your spokes to move forward. Now, three are gone.

Co-interim GM Les Jackson acknowledges the human toll of trades. He and the rest of the Stars organization drafted Jokinen and Smith, they sold them on the team and there was an element of trust in that relationship.

Then, in a moment, the relationship changes.

By the time Richards got to the Dr. Pepper Star Center in Frisco on Wednesday, there was already a Stars jersey with his new No. 91 (he always wore No. 19 in Tampa Bay) in a display case near a replica Stanley Cup (which retails for $199.99) and a fairly creepy looking large Turco figurine.

Richards was, of course, in a different situation than many NHL players in that he had a no-trade clause. He could have, a la Mats Sundin, said, "No thanks, I'm staying put." But he said he didn't want to hold a gun to management's head.

He understood the economics of the situation, but it still didn't make it any easier to walk away. He isn't married and doesn't have any pets to worry about. He is unencumbered, but that doesn't make the move any easier. He admitted that it has been difficult to reconcile the sadness with the excitement at this new opportunity.

When Richards stepped off the ice after his first practice with the Stars on Wednesday, the team's training staff dropped by to see what he needed before he was whisked away for interviews and photo ops. On a shelf in Richards' dressing room stall were a couple of shaving kits bearing the logo of the Tampa Bay Lightning. A moment later, the logos were turned to the back of the locker.

"It's been a weird two days," Richards said. "I think it's hit me that I've left Tampa, but it hasn't hit me yet that I'm playing for a new franchise."



- Good gosh.


- Some more Dumb and Dumber gems.