|
|
| |
|
 |
| |
Saturday, May 31, 2003
Rocks at the Gray Lady
Matt Welch has a great article about the sense of disappointment and anxiety that reporters and other newspapers have felt to the tarnishing of the New York Times. Welch sees the glass as half-full.
And it also has a strong upside, if journalists would just look at it from a different angle. Typically, when reporters see an imposing-looking glass house, they reach for the nearest rock. The idea, and it's a good one, is that excessive regard for any American institution can breed both corruption and servility, and will, in any case, obscure the truth.
Journalism organizations are forever agitating to strengthen various "sunshine laws," which already make most governing bodies more legally accountable in the United States than in any other country I'm aware of. This notion of transparency, too, is a welcome and democratic thing, and there's no reason to think it wouldn't improve the process of news gathering.
One of the first places they could start is by making the actual and full transcripts of their interviews available. It would prevent the mischaracterizations that happened in the latest Vanity Fair with Paul Wolfowitz and picked up in other papers. In the Vanity Fair-Paul Wolfowitz incident, the Defense Department had its own transcript of the interview which it posted when the article was published, allowing people to see how the quotes were mischaracterized and misused.
Friday, May 30, 2003
Sick Leave
Early in the week, the wife caught whatever bug was going around her office. By today, the baby and I had it. It seems to be one of those annoying spring/summer colds. Scratchy throat, runny nose, coughing, sinus pressure, and feeling crappy. Angie is handling it as well as can be expected for an 11-month old. She is taking some extra naps, wakes up very upset because of all the mucus and phelgm in the back of her throat, and gets annoyed when I try to clean up her nose.
I haven't had much of a chance to get to the computer, and less urge to put words together in a coherent manner for blogging.
Just generally sucks.
Streisand Sues For Her House Against Environmentalists
Babs is suing Kenneth Adelman for $10 million dollars. She claims that her right of privacy is being violated and is also suing under California's anti-paparazzi law. Adelman runs the California Coastal Records Project, which documents the erosion to the California coastline. It does this by taking high resolution pictures along the coastline, and intends to photograph them again over time, to show the changes.
Adelman posts the photographs on the site. He also identifies who owns the houses that are right along the coastline -- including Cher, David Geffen and Babs's houses. To help raise money, Adelman sells poster-sized copies of the prints with the identifying information on the print.
I'm a little rusty on right of privacy law (which is kind of embarrassing since that was the topic of my law school paper), but "right of privacy" is a statutory right that started as a concept of the right to be left alone. It has morphed, into more of a property right. Ownership of your person and image. It is primarily to protect and benefit "celebrities" from those who would profit off the celebrity's popularity by selling goods that use or can evoke the celebrity's image or persona.
In this case, Bab's is probably suing under right of privacy, because of the selling of photographs that specifically identify her house. Does the right of privacy extend to pictures of her house? I doubt it. It seems more akin to one of those maps of the stars that are sold in the Hollywood area. The fact that the photographs are very detailed and can show "the layout of Streisand's swimming pool, parasols and deck chairs, as well as the positions of the windows, doors and balconies of the main house and guest house," doesn't seem to be any violation of the right of privacy under a property rights construction. Whether it violates California's anti-paparazzi law, though, is something I can't answer.
It's of course fun to see Babs pissed about anything. It's even more fun when she -- an avowed "environmentalist" -- is suing an environmental group.
Thursday, May 29, 2003
Light Day
The mother-in-law just left, so a couple days of minimal parental duties have ended. Back to full-time child-rearing responsibilities. Well, I do get the evening off, to attend the AIP-SPJ panel discussion. Naturally, it will be a serious event, in a serious place.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Convention Centers, Conspiracies and Cover-Ups
Meanwhile, at the newly reconstituted Cleveland Free Times, they do some quickie columns on some of the players in the CVCB spending scandals. A particularly trashy piece hints darkly at how deep the CVCB Board of Trustees may be in the whole affair. I say trashy, because the entire piece is filled with allegations but they are all from unnamed but well placed sources
Sources with intimate, inside knowledge tell the Free Times that the board's "stonewalling and media ineptitude" turned this into a major Cleveland media scandal. As Fox8's Tom Merriman was investigating the story, members of the executive committee dodged, declined, and refused every requested interview, sending up huge red flags. The result was that the board set Nolan up to take all the heat, including answering questions about policy issues that were clearly the responsibility of the board.
"They didn't want to be in the spotlight, so they hung Dave Nolan out there," said a well-placed source. "And then they cut him loose. For them to claim that they didn't know what was going on, when they were the authorizers of it and beneficiaries of it, is ludicrous." The source added, "And for Mayor Jane, who's a former county commissioner, and a couple of the current commissioners who've been around a while to claim that all this was going on behind their backs and without their knowledge is a bit disingenuous, too. And now they want oversight? Where were they five years ago? Ten years ago? The bureau operates the way the bureau has operated for decades."
I don't doubt there is a lot of ass-covering going onby the CVCB Board, but this piece strikes me as a bit flimsy. More a chance to take pot shots and air the beliefs of the author than to actually have any supporting proof. Of course you can't say that, because that isn't reporting -- though I would hardly call this piece much in the way of reporting.
The other is more interesting and revails a possible fatal flaw for Mayor Jane Campbell -- her administrations continuing activities to control the release of all information and not release details they don't want out there. The piece is about the Free Times' attempts to learn the salary of the newly appointed acting director of parks and recreation, Natalie Ronayne -- who also happens to be the Mayor's former campaign finance director and the wife of City Planning Director Chris Ronayne.
I think the Mayor has been very smart, and while I will disagree with her when she actually comes out in favor of the new CCC, she hasn't been doing a bad job. This sort of attempt to control information, though, will blow up on her. The media here is rather mellow, but if you make their job difficult, they will return the favor.
Predicting the Outcome
In the ongoing "scandal" of how Dave Nolan used the budget of the Cleveland Visitors & Convention Bureau as a party fund, I have made this observation
They aren't calling for CVCB President Dave Nolan's head, yet. It would be that much harder to sell the new CCC if they fired him now. They will, though, at the first whisper of a chance that it would help sell the new CCC.
And this one.
A more cynical and distrustful person might instead think that the CVCB is going to be whitewashed and Nolan scapegoated...
I admit, it doesn't take a genius to figure this out, so I shouldn't be surprised that someone from Cleveland Scene holds the same opinion.
It's the tale of Dave Nolan, the city's Convention & Visitors Bureau chief. He has a good life, making $191,000 a year, plus a free country-club membership and a $595-a-month car allowance, so he can afford a Cadillac that isn't even stolen. Yet he also has the misfortune of trying to attract tourists to Cleveland. It's a thankless job. Unless you have oceans, mountains, or gambling, or build your town around a theme park and guys with mouse costumes, be assured you don't rank high on anyone's vacation plans.
So, like anyone faced with an impossible task, Dave decided to party instead. He took a $30,000 trip to France, where he bought foie gras, sauvignon blanc, and crème brûlée. (According to high-level sources, this is stuff you eat.) He also blew $20,000 on an Akron golf tourney and scorched another grand on a weekend of golf in Avon with the Little Missus.
But, alas, Dave forgot to reach for his own wallet. Instead, he put the tab on convention bureau plastic, which is funded by tax dollars.
...
Now everyone who's anyone is calling for Dave's head.
But don't expect [Cleveland City Councilman Mike] Polensek to audition for the role of Outraged Citizen. He's seen this play before.
It's not that he forgives Nolan's sins.
...
But Polensek refuses to blame Nolan. "All the sudden, people are calling for his head. Where were these people before? It's classic Cleveland. Let's look for the quick fix and hang him out to dry. Heaven forbid he should have any impact on our march to get a convention center."
Ah, yes, the plot twists.
...
But it also wants you, the viewing public, to approve a $700 million convention center on the November ballot. That might be hard to accomplish, seeing as how the board's now gained a reputation for spending like a drunk with a stolen batch of Social Security checks. Hence, the moment calls for deep cover.
So last week, the board suspended Dave. Then it took the bold step of hiring a lawyer and an accountant to see if -- gasp! -- anything is amiss.
...
Astute theater-goers know how this saga ends. The report comes back. Verdict: Dave very bad. Dave gets whacked. Board admits it should have had better oversight, but come to think of it, that's Dave's fault, too. "Foolproof accounting controls are now in place," Lehman announces in most serious and reassuring tones. Presto: Bureau good as new. Which means now is the perfect time to trust us with a $700 million convention center!
It's hard to build up good outrage, when you see the same outcome again and again. Instead a cynical, weariness takes its place as the whole thing works towards its slow inevitable outcome.
Timing Is Everything
Last year, the US formally refused to support the International Criminal Court, that President Clinton signed (but then said the US should not ratify). The US was roundly criticized in world press. The ICC went operational in March. This week, those who dismissed arguments that the ICC would become a playground for political ploys and would be along the lines of the UN Commission on Human Rights, rather than serious international body addressing serious wrongs are pretending this isn't happening.
Downing Street has dismissed as groundless lawyers' claims that Tony Blair and Jack Straw are guilty of war crimes because of their roles in the Iraqi war.
The allegations were contained in a complaint the Athens Bar Association plans to file with the International Criminal Court.
The group said it was considering similar action against Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who also backed the US-led campaign.
The bar association cited the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, and others for "crimes against humanity and war crimes", as well as violations of international law, human rights and a number of treaties.
In a statement, the group said it felt an ethical and juristic responsibility to seek action from the new International Criminal Court.
No complaint is going to be filed against the US, because they don't have any way of forcing the US to respond. Naturally, those of us who supported Bush's decision not to join the ICC wouldn't dream of being snarky about it (subs. req'd).
If any doubt remains that Mr. Bush did the right thing, the Athens Bar Association -- that's Greece, not Georgia -- should put it to rest. The association announced Monday that it plans to file a complaint for "crimes against humanity and war crimes" in connection with the Iraq conflict. The target of the complaint, naturally, is not Saddam Hussein but Tony Blair and other British officials. The Athenians say they may also seek charges against Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, even though Madrid sent no combat troops to Iraq.
Yet the Greek complaint excludes the U.S., probably because the lawyers anticipate that they would lose any direct confrontation with the Bush Administration. The ICC claims jurisdiction even over countries that aren't party to the treaty, but Mr. Bush has made clear that the Constitution authorizes him "to take actions" -- presumably including military action -- "to protect U.S. nationals from the purported jurisdiction of the treaty."
Questions of "international law" often turn on arcane procedural matters. Mr. Blair's Attorney General is reported to have advised the Prime Minister in March that while military action in Iraq was justified under the 17 existing U.N. resolutions, it would be illegal if the Security Council rejected an 18th. Under this theory, Jacques Chirac's decision to veto would have made a criminal out of Mr. Blair. The Greek lawyers, of course, think ending Saddam Hussein's oppression was a crime with or without France's veto.
In an amusing confluence, Amnesty International has released its 2003 annual report today. It singles out the creation of the ICC for praise and highlight for a positive thing.
Of course it also blames the US for making the world less safe, and that the war on terror and Iraq has been responsible because the "Bush Administration's war in Iraq has contributed to diminishing human rights for millions of others worldwide." How so? Simple, "dictators and rebels elsewhere wreaked havoc on millions of people across the globe with little attention and even less condemnation from the US government or the international community." Here is one of their examples:
The UN Human Rights Commission became ensnared in US-Iraq relations, failing to condemn Cuba's mass arrests of peaceful government critics who received patently unfair, rushed trials and harsh sentences; US military action in Iraq was used by several nations as an excuse for the commission's failure to take action.
See, it's all the US's fault for actually dealing with a particular dictator. If they had ignored Hussein, then the US and the international community would have been able to focus on all of the dictators and rebels. Presumably with letter writing campaigns and projecting peaceful thoughts to them. Obviously, Cuba would have been condemned by the UNCHR, because we know they would never have found another pretext to avoid condemning Cuba. Not with countries with close ties to Castro and Cuba, and stalwart beliefs in human rights -- Algeria, China, Congo, Libya, Pakistan,Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and of course Cuba -- serving this year. And, I'm sure that if the UNCHR had condemned Cuba, that would have changed everything.
Getting a Clearer Picture on the Taxes Planned for a New Convention Center
The plans for a new Cleveland Convention Center have remained shrouded in mystery -- the location, the actual cost, and how it will be paid for. All have been unclear. Now, however, the information is trickling out. The tax mechanisms to pay for the CCC needs to get approval from the Ohio legislature. Some or all of the options Cuyahoga seeks:
Here is the maximum package of tax options that would be available to commissioners:
Gaining authority to raise the current 3 percent bed tax to as high as 5 percent.
Redirecting a portion of the current bed tax paid to the convention and visitors bureau into the county general fund.
Extending collection of the current 1.5-percent bed tax imposed for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame beyond the expiration of the project's bonds, so it can be used as county general funds.
Imposing a 2 percent county tax on foods and beverages consumed on-premises.
Increasing from 30 cents to 60 cents per $100 the tax on real estate transfers.
I'd love to see them put the last two on a public referendum. It would guarantee non-passage. Adding a 2% food and beverage tax would be fought tooth and nail by every bar and restaurant in the county. Considering there is already a "sin-tax" in effect for another 20+ years to pay for the stadiums downtown, bar operators would be especially opposed to any additional taxes.
A 100% increase on the tax for real estate transfers? I thought the goal was to get people to want to move into the city and county?
Downtown Metered Parking
Last week I noted that Cleveland City Council was expanding the time for metered parking until 10 pm. I thought it to be a dumb, poorly conceived plan, that will not create the desired result -- more turnover of street parking.
I now am convinced, my view is correct. The Cleveland Plain Dealer Editorial Board supports the idea.
Now the neighborhood groups, supported by Councilman Joe Cimperman, are asking the city to extend meter enforcement until 10 p.m. on weeknights. This has outraged some observers. They raise arguments both populist (it will hurt those who work nights, often at low-paying jobs) and practical (it may discourage people from coming downtown). They rail that something "free" will now cost money.
Scare quotes around the word "free"? I guess for the PDEB, parking is a privilege, not a right. Why should anyone complain when something actually costs money when it did not before? The PDEB makes it seem like all the spots are being taken by people working downtown in the evening.
They raise some legitimate concerns, but most have already been addressed. The development corporations have arranged for downtown employees to get $2 parking at lots, some of which charge 10 times that when there's a game or a concert at Gateway.
Do all of them get the reduced parking, or is there just a set number of spaces? Who is making up for the difference to the lot owners? Surely, you don't expect us to believe the lot owners are doing this out of altruism? The meter regulations, if they actually worked as predicted by the proponents would hurt the parking lots. No one is answering that question.
In addition, Cimperman's legislation, as amended, requires a review of the new parking rules in six months. We suggest going further: Let the ordinance expire in six months unless council votes to extend it. Either way allows ample opportunity to assess how the new rules are working. Besides, if they are the disaster some predict, Warehouse and Gateway stakeholders will demand change even sooner.
A "review?" Pardon me, while I scoff. What does a "review" entail. The Cleveland Visitors & Convention Bureau was supposed to have its expenditures reviewed, but somehow things slipped. The expiration of the ordinance is a decent idea, but totally impracticable. How many times are you supposed to change the parking signs for hours of enforcement and the little notices of enforcement hours inside the meters? Who pays? The PDEB is making a seemingly reasonable compromise, knowing full well the logistics prevent it from working.
There is also no addressing my point that the Traffic Bureau, to enforce the statute, will have to either hire additional people or pay overtime to cover the additional 20 hours of man time each week. Will the addtional tickets be sufficient? Does this additional cost get figured into the "review?"
The editorial ends its blind support by speaking of the need to experiment with alternative ways of dealing with problems and experimentation. It's a cute way to try and get people to go along with the idea in the short term, and then hope they forget about it later. The problem is, this "alternative" plan isn't particularly well thought out or reasonable. Simply put, it won't accomplish what it wants to do. It goes against human nature with parking. Most people want to park on the street. It's cheaper, it is easier to access, and is generally more convenient. It's why people look for street parking first.
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Send the Corporate Expansion My Way
Nothing in Lake County or within an easy drive yet...
Nine more Ben & Jerry's ice cream stores are set to open in Northeast Ohio this year - and there could be more to come.
Jim & Nancy Kaufman, the husband-and-wife team that owns the Ben & Jerry's franchise rights to the northern half of Ohio, plan to open stores in Aurora, Avon, Beachwood, Brecksville, Chagrin Falls, Fairlawn, Lyndhurst and Hudson, Mr. Kaufman said.
The couple opened its first location in University Heights last September ...
MMMmmmm. Ice Cream.
Cleveland Visitor & Convention Bureau Problems Continue
Looks like the most apparent change coming to the CVCB will be the make up of its board of trustees. The logic of 63 members overseeing a bureau that employs 41 people escapes me. The CVCB budget received $7.1 million from Cuyahoga County, via its bed tax. The rest of the money, about $600,000, comes from the dues of its members. Since Cuyahoga County foots most of the bill, it has concluded that it should have more oversight.
Mayor Jane Campbell said yesterday that the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland should be folded into a new body whose members are picked by the county and city governments. Public officials now have little say in how the bureau spends money.
The bureau is run by a 63-member board - composed largely of business and tourism-industry executives - that itself appoints new members.
...
Of the 63 members of the bureau's board of directors, 14 serve on an executive committee and play the largest role in overseeing employees.
Only the bureau's dues-paying members can apply to serve a three-year term on the board. And the board has an internal search committee that picks who gets those spots.
The executive team is supposed to review expenses regularly. But the members don't receive line-item details from staffers. Nor do they appear to ask for much.
County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, who joined the executive team in the fall, said he was not shown details of travel and entertaining expenses when he attended monthly meetings.
Still, he said he felt "reasonably informed" by reading board meeting minutes. And he relied on updates from the bureau president, David Nolan, when they played basketball together.
I will never know why Peter Lawson Jones isn't given more ridicule in this town for his stupidity. The man admits to this stuff, and then blows through it like he has no responsibility, and people let him. He just moves from one blundering, shady experience to another.
So, how did this whole thing get so bad? Well, surprise, surprise. It turns out the CVCB is not too clear on the rules for spending or their enforcement.
But the nine pages of travel and entertainment rules for employees of the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland leave plenty of wiggle room. And consistent interpretation and rule enforcement also appear to be a problem.
One employee, for example, found a "Watch on tipping!" warning on her expense report last year after she tipped more than 15 percent for two lunches in Detroit. The meals cost the bureau $25. But another employee received no reprimand after ordering a $36 room service breakfast at a swanky New York hotel.
While the policies prohibit expensing alcohol tabs without a customer, three bureau employees submitted an $80 bar bill last year after entertaining a bureau board member and one customer at a Baltimore hotel.
Employees should pick "reasonably priced" restaurants, according to the rules. But a sales account executive expensed a $148 dinner last year for herself and a meeting planner at Washington, D.C.'s Butterfield 9, which Conde Nast Traveler magazine dubbed one of the "100 Hottest New Restaurants in the World." The bureau's policies - and their loopholes and spotty enforcement - help explain the controversy now swirling around the agency in charge of selling Greater Cleveland.
...
The bureau's rules state that employees should: "Spend CVB dollars as carefully and judiciously as they would their own, and use good judgment with respect to expenses."
...
Another bureau policy seems openly flouted at times. The bureau is not supposed to pay for staff members entertaining fellow staff members locally.
But receipts from last year show the bureau covering a $470 going-away party for an employee at Pickwick & Frolic in downtown Cleveland and a $164 going-away lunch for six employees at the Watermark Restaurant in the Flats.
Ever the front-runner, the PD Editorial Board supports the idea of changing the way the CVCB is run. Of course, they don't care how. They just want to make sure it happens quickly and makes the public happy so they can be stuck with the bill for the new Cleveland Convention Center
More needs to be done. It is time to change the way the bureau is governed. Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell suggests folding it into a public authority that would also be responsible for financing and managing a new convention center. It's an interesting idea, but unless the bureau gets a swift and obvious overhaul, the chances that voters will approve building a new hall for any convention authority to operate are virtually nil.
The days of a self-perpetuating board - right now, when one member leaves, the remaining directors elect a replacement - need to end. Since tax dollars currently cover about 90 percent of the bureau's budget, a majority of the board ought to be picked by elected officials: the mayor of Cleveland, the county commissioners, the suburban mayors and managers association. The current board should immediately begin planning such a transition.
Thousands of jobs in Greater Cleveland's hospitality, tourism, arts and entertainment industries are at stake. They need an effective advocate for the region, one whose marching orders, operations and outcomes are open to public scrutiny and inspire public confidence.
This isn't really about dealing with corruption, cronyism, proper accounting of public funds, and transparency of actions. It is about selling the public on the changes in time for the November vote to pay for a new CCC.
I'll give the Editorial Board credit for keeping their eyes on the real goal. This is all about making sure this scandal doesn't kill the new CCC.
Some Pro Basketball Thoughts -- Parallels, Conspiracies, Sales, Officiating, and the Game
In Cleveland, the talk is all about LeBron James becoming a Cavalier. The excitement about this is profound. James is literally saving pro basketball in Cleveland. This is a football town. First, foremost and for all time. That will never change, any more than it will in Pittsburgh. Basketball in Cleveland has been on life support ever since the lock-out in 1999. In the years just prior to that, the interest was not that strong.
The present Cavs, and the coming of LeBron seems very similar to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 80s. The Pens were a struggling team that seemed to be dying a slow death from lack of interest in a pathetic, bottom-feeder of a team. Then, the Pens got the number #1 pick, in a year where there was a dynamic young kid, that everyone believed could be one of the greatest players ever. Mario Lemieux. Mario saved hockey in Pittsburgh back then, as a player. As a centerpiece for marketing, as the dynamic force that could change the course of the Penguins. That is how LeBron James is being looked upon in Cleveland.
For those that believe the draft lottery is fixed, no doubt, they feel that this is just another example. Cleveland was in desperate straits to fill their arena. The whole town seemed to be LeBron or bust as far as interest in the team. The NBA had helped the Cavs and Gordon Gund (the team owner) back in 1986 with the draft, so there was no reason they wouldn't do it again.
Conspiracy theories, no matter how convoluted and ridiculous, never seem to die. Logically, a conspiracy, like the draft lottery would be next to impossible to keep a secret, since that means other teams get screwed, yet somehow they all keep their mouths shut. The NBA seems to encourage it though, by making the whole lottery process as transparent as China's reports on SARS. No matter what lottery eligible team had landed the 1st pick, the conspiracists would have made their case: Memphis -- new market; favoring GM Jerry West; Denver -- Growing city, franchise needed a big boost; Toronto -- the only Canadian team, league wants it to be successful; Miami, Chicago and LA Clippers -- major markets that need a boost; NY Knicks -- okay, I think I'd have been ready to believe if the Knicks had gotten #1; and so on.
My favorite thing about the NBA draft lottery announcement this past Thursday, came about 5 minutes after the announcement on the ABC affiliate. The Cavs aired a commercial for season ticket sales. There was no wasting time -- and it seems to be working.
I've been watching the Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks. I've been very torn about who to root for in the series --though with Nowitski (sp) out for Dallas, it looks like the Spurs will end it tonight. I like the fundamentals and solid play of the Spurs, especially Tim Duncan. Despite the Spurs penchant for continually letting teams back into the game near the end, they play a very good team game.
Dallas, though, is the team I should be rooting for, just for the future direction of the NBA. The NBA, like most other pro leagues, tends to copy whatever succeeded. When the "Bad Boy" Pistons and then the Knicks and Pat Riley won with a brutal, thuggish defense, the teams (especially in the East) copied this. The game became uglier and scoring went in the toilet.
Then along came the new Dallas Mavericks. Dallas got a new owner that spent lavishly, and hired a coach who still believed in the up-tempo, score first, defense optional game. (Just a side note on Coach Don Nelson -- I thought his hiring was dumb at the time. He was just another retread coach who failed miserably in his last couple jobs [NY and Golden State]; and he seemed more interested in securing a future job for his son, Donn Nelson).
Mark Cuban, has been every fan's dream owner. He has spent over and above the salary-cap to create a fun team that wins. He is clearly a fan, concerned about winning. He's proving you can make money when you spend money.
Mark Cuban has been great for the NBA, as he has pissed off all of the old guard owners. They don't want to spend money, he makes them look cheap and unconcerned about winning. Cuban has been harping on the state of the NBA officiating for a few years now. He has paid fines, but he keeps on yelling. The playoffs in the Western Conference, though, have only made him look right. Games are inconsistently called. Questionable calls followed by clear whiffs followed by quick-tempered technical fouls calls. This has become general sportstalk fodder on how bad the officiating is. Cuban has been vindicated -- again.
I'm sure plenty root against the Mavs, because of Cuban. See him as a slob, a loudmouth, a self-promoter, some internet millionaire who was lucky to jump when he did. It could all be true. But, it doesn't change the fact that he transformed one of the worst expansion b-ball teams to a big time, hot-ticket team. It doesn't change the fact, that the team is selling out at home, even during football season -- in Dallas?! It doesn't change the fact, that they play the most entertaining basketball in the NBA. And it doesn't change the fact, that Cuban has been proven dead on, with regards to the NBA officiating.
Still, I keep rooting for the Spurs.
|
|
 |
|
 | |
