3 Cheers - Game 6, NBA Finals

The following is a copy of the original 3 Cheers email, sent out after the twenty-third and final Mavs playoff game of the '05-'06 season.

I wanted to come in here and spit venom.  I wanted to write about all the things I hated about last night's game.  I also wanted to be able to write two more emails to you guys.  That's when it hit me that this is the last one, and I didn't want to end this story on a bad note.  The truth is that what happened last night was an ugly end to a beautiful season.  The season as a whole was Shakespearean.  The underdog that slowly becomes a winner.  Then the winner gets prideful, boastful and vain, and the inevitable fall from grace occurs.  In the end, the underdog has to remind himself what got him to that peak and build himself back up again.  It's also a lot like the storyline from Boogie Nights.  In other words, what we saw was a disappointing end to a tremendous season, so let's end this email series on a good note.  Call it closure.

3 Cheers:

1. Dwyane Wade - You're good.  What else can I say?  You took this series over.  You single handedly beat our team.  You managed to get the benefit of the doubt from the whistle blowers, and you worked it to your advantage.  And I hate you now.  You are no longer my 16th favorite player.

2. Dirk Nowitzki - You didn't play your best in this series, but some of that was due to the Heat defense.  You did come to play last night with the season on the line, but it just wasn't enough.  Either way, I think it's unfortunate that this is the last impression of your season and your team's season because the way you developed this year was incredible.  Get back to work this off season, and return with a few more weapons and a renewed fire.

3. Marquis Daniels - For someone that was reportedly in Avery's doghouse, you made the most of your time on the court last night, and you were the only one that seemed to be relentlessly attacking the rim and defending Wade like we needed.  I would also like to congratulate you.  I understand that during the game, your fiancée went into labor, and you had to leave immediately from this loss to see your new baby.  I only hope its eyes open wider than yours, and you don't give it a neck tattoo until it's 13.

(Bonus Cheer: The Future - I guess it's officially time to look ahead, and regardless of the way this all ended, the future is bright.  This team will most likely remain intact.  Unless someone offers Jason Terry an unreasonable amount of money, I don't see why the prospect of returning to a winning team and a familiar team wouldn't be enough to keep him.  Howard will get his extension, and probably soon.  Van Horn is probably gone, unless nobody wants him and he's willing to settle for slightly over the minimum.  Mbenga will most definitely be gone because nobody in this league can stop themselves from dropping $10 million dollars for unproven 7 footers.  But the team will largely stay the same.  This is a good team, a young team, a hungry team, an angry team, a slighted team.  I don't see this carrying over into a downward spiral the way this franchise did after losing in the Western Conference Finals back in '88.  And here's one more little nugget to keep in mind.  Ben Wallace, the Piston's center, is a free agent.  He has said that he isn't happy in Detroit anymore because they aren't as defensive minded.  If the Mavs can work a sign and trade, maybe Dampier and Van Horn (or Mbenga), don't you think Big Ben would look good playing for a defensive minded Avery Johnson in a Mavs uniform?

3 Jeers:

1. Dwyane Wade - I've already discussed this with my buddy, Ricky, this morning.  Here's the thing.  You go into press conferences limping around like you just stepped on a mortar shell, but you come out and play like a spring chicken without an ailment in the world.  You go into press conferences and complain about having the flu, but you "miraculously" are able to play and look like an MVP on the floor.  You go into press conferences and tell the world that you are motivated because the world keeps doubting you.  You must not live in this world, because I've seen your mug in sneaker commercials, Gatorade commercials, People magazine, GQ magazine, all over the sports magazine front covers, and the constant talk lately about you being the next Jordan.  The ABC broadcast even did a montage of your shots and Jordan's like a passing of the torch type thing.  You aren't being doubted.  You said that you were motivated by hearing the city of Dallas had planned a parade route.  Guess what?  So did your city, even when you were down 2 games.  How about you just stop playing the drama queen underdog role and realize that the you are the league's next darling.  Or in the words of your Gatorade commercial, "Shut your big head up."

2. Josh Howard - I know that the Heat exposed you in this series, but you didn't have to expose yourself.  It was funny in one of those I-can't-believe-that-just-happened kind of ways, but why did you flat out drop your pants at the free throw line like you were in your closet getting ready for bed?  You weren't just around 20,000 people, you were on television.  National television.

3. David Stern - I have a severe love/hate relationship with you.  I love the fact that you took over the league of the sport that I feel is the greatest in the world, and you saved it from it's decline in the late 70's.  You promoted the hell out of it to the pinnacle of it's popularity in the late 80's and 90's.  My problem is the way you promoted it.  You chose to focus on individual players rather than teams.  It was never Lakers vs. Celtics, it was Magic vs. Bird.  It was Jordan vs. Malone.  I think that is what has started to make fans feel like certain players (i.e. Shaq and Wade) might get preferential treatment during games because if the hot players that you advertise aren't playing anymore, what do you have left?  That's what leads to the conspiracy theories.  I also would like to know where the $1.69 million dollars that you have fined Mark Cuban over the years has gone.  Do you donate it to charity?  Do you build basketball courts in the inner cities?  Do you film more commercials showing players reading to kids (that are probably only 5 years younger than them)?  Or do you just build your very own Starbucks in the league office?

(Bonus Jeer: Off Season - I hate this time of year.  I guess it was worse when the Mavs season ended in mid-April, but that wait until October is rough.  The draft comes up soon, but pretty much this is the time of year that I have to watch the Rangers collapse and listen to everyone talk about how the Cowboys are looking like Super Bowl champs (even during seasons that they wind up going 4-12).  This is the time of year that I have no more Mavs to watch, all the good shows are in reruns, and all the crappy reality shows come on.  On top of that, it's 100 degrees outside, and my city has just told me that I can only flush my toilet between the hours of 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.  I hate this time of year.)

I want to thank all of you for reading this assortment of musings for the last 2 months.  I'm just glad that it lasted this long.  Some people have mentioned how much they enjoyed them, and I can't tell you how much that means to me.  Some people have mentioned that I should send them off to Mark Cuban or the Dallas Morning News or something of that nature.  While I appreciate the compliment, let me explain a few things about The Dude.  I started this email for friends and family, not to get noticed.  If one of you feels strongly enough about it to send it on to a higher power, feel free.  But The Dude doesn't toot his own horn on this sort of thing.  I do toot my own horn, but not on this sort of thing.  I did this email for you guys.  I did this email to get people excited, get people involved, and maybe create a few new Mavs fans.  I hope I was successful.  Some of you are people that I have never met or I barely know, but for some reason you listened to what I have to say.  Thank you.  The Dallas Mavericks are the Western Conference Champions and won 2 games in the NBA Finals.  Ten years ago, I didn't think I would ever be able to say that.  It was a great run, and all I did was document the ride.  Thank you all for hopping on the train with me.  Be good, take care, and GO MAVS!!!!