Hmmmm.... interesting move by Cuban. I'm a little more than
suprised he's not raising the banner. Like he said though, winning
the conference isnt an ultimate goal of anybody... I never invest
much money in conference champions gear... I'll usually buy a shirt
and thats all. Why fork out all that cash when the Spurs will be
NBA Champions in a few weeks and then you can buy the cool stuff
that matters! :o) I'll admit, I'll be a little pissed if the
Spurs lose tonight, but whether they win or lose, it doesnt really
mean much... its just one of 82 games.

--- In saspursrock@yahoogroups.com, your_dallas_mavericks
<no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> Spurs-Mavs opener won't include rub-it-in reminder of playoffs
> By JAIME ARON, AP Sports Writer
> November 1, 2006
>
> DALLAS (AP) -- The Dallas Mavericks are letting the San Antonio
Spurs
> off easy in their season opener Thursday night.
>
> Rather than raising the banner proclaiming themselves "2006 Western
> Conference Champions" in front of the state rival they beat along
the
> way, the Mavs are saving the ceremony for their second home game.
>
> ADVERTISEMENT
> That's right, Mark Cuban is skipping a chance to rub it in.
>
> "Because opening night is its own celebration, we wanted to do the
> banner raising separately," Cuban wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. "In
> addition, winning a conference championship is not our ultimate
goal.
> So the banner raising was more as a thank you to the fans than
> anything else."
>
> Cuban might have done it -- if he thought it would bother the
Spurs.
>
> "I love to stir things up," he added. "But this is at our place,
not
> theirs. Raising the banner doesn't stir things up in front of our
fans."
>
> Artificial gestures aren't needed to stoke a matchup between the
teams
> that had the two best records in the West last season and are among
> the favorites to win it all this season.
>
> The Spurs and Mavs played one of the best playoff series in years,
and
> possibly the best ever in the second round, with Dallas pulling it
out
> in overtime of Game 7 in San Antonio. The Spurs seemed to have it
won
> until Manu Ginobili shocked everyone by fouling Dirk Nowitzki on a
> drive to the basket, letting the big German sink the tying free
throw
> at the end of the fourth quarter.
>
> The subplots were as terrific as the games. There were built-in
> storylines like Mavs coach Avery Johnson's close ties to the Spurs
and
> longtime Dallas star Michael Finley now playing for San Antonio.
> Others developed, from Mavericks guard Jason Terry getting
suspended
> one game for punching Finley to Cuban making fun of San Antonio's
> River Walk.
>
> Dallas went on to beat Phoenix to become Western Conference
champions
> for the first time. The Mavericks were halfway to winning it all,
then
> blew a big, late lead in Game 3 and wound up having to watch the
Miami
> Heat celebrate their title in Dallas.
>
> Between Dallas going into the season aiming for two more wins and
San
> Antonio trying to reclaim its spot atop the state, conference and
> league, it's obvious why this matchup was picked to highlight the
> third in the NBA's series of opening nights.
>
> "I think it's great," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "To
get
> out there right off the bat will wake us both up for the start of
the
> year."
>
> Terry was even more enthusiastic.
>
> "I love it, love it," he said, smiling wide. "Why wait? Let's get
it
> started. The team that wins this, obviously, is not going to
> (automatically) win the championship, but for us it does give us a
> little edge if we can come out on top. It's definitely what
everybody
> wants to see. It's a good test for us early."
>
> It may not be a full evaluation, though. Spurs point guard Tony
Parker
> is battling a sprained ankle and may be a game-time decision.
>
> "I have to convince Pop," Parker said Wednesday. "If I feel a
little
> bit of pain I'm not going to take any risks. ... Hopefully it will
be
> fine and I'll be ready to go."
>
> Both teams come into this season with new looks.
>
> Dallas has five new rotation players, leaving Johnson the
challenge of
> figuring out how to divvy up the playing time among Greg Buckner,
> Anthony Johnson, Devean George, Austin Croshere and rookie Maurice
Ager.
>
> San Antonio has two new centers after giving up on Rasho Nesterovic
> and Nazr Mohammed during the playoffs. Francisco Elson likely will
> join the starting lineup, with Fabricio Oberto getting more
minutes.
>
> AP writer Elizabeth White in San Antonio contributed to this
report.
>
> Updated on Wednesday, Nov 1, 2006 6:39 pm EST
>
> - See, Cuban shows some respect and doesn't rub it in. Maybe he
reads
> this group as well as mine LOL!
>
> --- In saspursrock@yahoogroups.com, "jdk2509" <jdk2509@> wrote:
> >
> > Well, it was only a preseason game, but after the starters of
both
> > teams went to the bench, you can tell the Spurs are better than
Dallas.
> > They may have been anxious to beat us as was said before the
game. Mark
> > Cuban may not show the flag just to try not to rile up the
Spurs. Spurs
> > will win !!!
> >
> > Question is - is Parker able to play in the game with his foot
in the
> > shape it is (fell on somebody in practice) ?
> >
> > Their first few games are hard anyway : Mavs, Cavs (b2b)
> > Raptors, Knicks (b2b)
> >
>