Mia's Big Box Adventure

Mia does like to watch sports wit me, especially tennis and basketball, but somethimes she gets distracted by a little thing called a box. Starting in less than 48 hours, she's going to have to get used to a lot of baseball, too.

Baseball Is Just A Little More Than 48 Hours Away

• C.J. Wilson threw a bullpen session and said the tightness in his hamstring that limited his final spring start to two innings, is improving daily. He will start at 3:05 p.m. Friday against the Boston Red Sox as the defense of the American League Championship title begins.


• Alexi Ogando will serve as the fifth starter while Tommy Hunter recovers from a groin strain that could keep him off the mound for up to six week.


• The brand new 42 foot by 120 video board is officially installed and ready for all the game action and 2010 highlights that it will play regularly.

Mavs Finish T-Wolves. But It's Not Easy: Mavericks 104 Timberwolves 96

The Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves are at opposite ends of the spectrum record-wise. But for some reason, the Mavs have a history of struggling to put away the T-Wolves.

Two of three meetings between the squads this season were decided by single digits. And there was the mortifying loss last February. But with Kevin Love, the NBA’s leading rebounder out with a left groin strain, things should be a lot easier.

Wrong. This game between the now 50-win Mavs and the 55-loss Timberwolves saw nine lead changes and 10 ties, many of them due to the performance of Love’s stand in, Anthony Randolph, who had 11 rebounds and a career-high 31 points. He surpassed his old mark of 27 with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter and did not play much in the fourth. Maybe that’s why the Mavs were able to outscore the Timberwolves 28-24 to end it and walk away with a sigh of relief after a 104-96 victory. Jonny Flynn was the second leading scorer with 13.

A Jason Terry 3-point shot, assisted by Jason Kidd, served as the dagger though as it put the Mavs ahead by five with 55.9 seconds to go. Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with his own share of 30 points and 11 rebounds, put the rest of the points on the board from the line.

Notes

• While Kidd did not get to the hoop, he did contribute 13 assists one day after his 38th birthday.
• The Mavs now embark on a six-game West Coast road trip.

Mia & The Attack of the Ribbon

Stand up and bite it - that's how you do it!

A two-pawed grab is always better than one!

A more subtle attack, but don't think you can get away from me!

Showing off my teeth - don't mess with me!

After all my hard work!

Spurs Wrangle In Mavs: Spurs 97 Mavericks 91

Going into the fourth quarter, the Mavericks needed to make up seven points on the scoreboard against the Western Conference’s top squad and their chief adversary, the San Antonio Spurs.

While not an insurmountable number, especially for teams of the Mavs’ caliber, overcoming the deficit would require the Mavs to showcase their trademark chemistry and click on all cylinders. When two guys score all but two of your fourth quarter points, I’d say that didn’t happen. It also didn’t help that Tyson Chandler, the man known for the energy he brings, fouled out with 3:32 to go. The Mavs lost 97-91.


For the record, Jason Terry scored 14 of his 19 in the fourth quarter and Dirk Nowitzki connected for nine of his 23 during the final quarter. Neither team scored anything until the 8:31 mark when Terry netted a jumper. (That equates to this: Two of the league’s best teams both had prolonged dry spills of 3 ½ minutes at the same time.)

As would logically happen when Terry and Nowitzki are the team’s offense for the quarter, once The Jet reached fight, he scored seven in a row for the Mavs to put them within three at 78-75. Then, Nowitzki made three jump shots sandwiched between a pair of Terry free throws. Sounds OK, but Manu Ginobili (25 points), Tim Duncan (22 points) and Tony Parker were doing the same thing for the Spurs, and thus San Antonio’s lead expanded to double digits at 93-82 with 1:35 remaining in regulation. A Terry 3-pointer situated the Mavs to within four with 38.9 seconds left.

But Parker, who finished with 33 points, hit the free throws that iced the game. With the loss, the Mavs dropped to third in the Western Conference, half a game behind the Lakers.

Notes

• Shawn Marion left the game with an undisclosed wrist injury in the final minutes of the second quarter.
• The Mavs did recover from being down 18 points to tie the game at 60 in the third quarter, but promptly allowed San Antonio to score nine straight.

The Fourth Quarter Takeover: Mavericks 112 Warriors 106

With the Mavericks and the Warriors going into the fourth quarter knotted at 81, the Mavs could either way. That could mean the path the not-so-good path the Mavs have been taking the last couple of games or the road to winning the Mavs have followed for the majority of the season.

Fortunately, the Mavs took control of the Warriors, who fought hard until the final quarter. Spearheaded by a Dirk Nowitzki pullup jump shot with seven minutes remaining, a 15-0 run by Dallas transformed a seven-point deficit into an eight-point lead. That’s what championship teams do.

Nowitzki, who finished the game with his third consecutive double-double, had eight points during the pivotal 3:50 run. The point guard tandem of Rodrique Beaubois and Jason Kidd assisted. Kidd provided a 3-pointer to tie the game at 96, and Beaubois completed the layup to put the Mavs in front 98-96 before Nowitzki scored the next six points himself on free throws and another jumper. The Mavs outscored Golden State 31-25 in the fourth. Beaubois’s impact was definitely felt after a season-best 18 points in 37 minutes, 15 more than his previous high against Portland on Tuesday.

Nowitzki finished the game with a mammoth 34 points and 13 rebounds, including a season-high six offensive boards.

After averaging about 22 points per game in the last three games as a starter, Shawn Marion returned to the bench, once again adding to the reserve depth that has scored as many as 72 points this season. Off the bench, Marion tallied 14 while his partner in crime, Jason Terry complied 19 points on seven of 12 shooting and a team-high 38:27 minutes. A third cohort J.J. Barea bucketed 10.

Notes

• Brendan Haywood missed his second game with lower back stiffness and is questionable for Friday against the Spurs.
• Dorell Wright hit four 3’s for Golden State
• The 26 points for Monta Ellis was a reasonable number, considering he scored 46 in a game against the Mavs last season.

The Queen of the House

Per request, here is an updated photo of Mia. She has grown so much, but stills enjoys meowing and sitting in our laps. She loves to play with tennis balls, ribbons, rubber bands and obviously, strings.

After Chuck Greenberg...

It really was a true shock when I realized Friday morning that the messages I received about Chuck Greenberg resignation were valid. Talk about coming out of left field, I would be devastated if Michael Young was no longer a Ranger (I hope he plays the rest of his career in Texas and eventually retires as a lifetime Ranger.), but I would have expected that bad news well before the Greenberg announcement.

I met Greenberg at Fan Fest in January. Like many others there, I thought he was approachable and personable and that I was sharing words with the man who symbolized a new era in Rangers history and would for years to come. But less than two months later, he was removed from the ownership group, Rangers Baseball Express, which owns the reigning American League Champion franchise. This definitely has been a bit more of a dramatic offseason than I expected, especially given that it followed the most successful on-field campaign in club history.

I wish I knew what could cause such a deep rift in such a short time – one day short of seven months. There seems to be minimal insight around Greenberg’s final days in Rangers management. That is perhaps a testament to just how well the Rangers kept the growing situation hidden for the protection of all the big name parties involved – mainly Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. More details on the real issues involved on the split will emerge over time.

It’s amazing that everyone can’t get along and work together. One great guy is gone as a result.

Three Shots, It’s Over: Hornets 93 Mavericks 92

I don’t know quite what to say. I wanted to write about how Tyson Chandler’s return to the lineup and his energy spearheaded a Mavericks victory and finally ended a losing streak dating back to 2007 at New Orleans Arena.

But this isn’t about the former Hornet Chandler’s double-double performance of 16 points and 13 rebounds. I thought that when the game was tied at 52, and Chandler scored nine of 11 points during a 2:14 stretch in the third quarter to create a nine-point lead at 62-53, the takeover would commence. The Mavs still maintained a 10-point advantage at the end of the quarter and rarely blow leads in the final 12 minutes.

But it has happened twice in the last three games. And today’s method to the madness may have been worse than Sunday’s. (see previous blog entry) The Hornets precisely executed a 20-10 run, mainly on the shots of Jarrett Jack and David West, in the last 4:24 to upset the Mavs. For the contest, Jack and West finished with 21 and 16 points respectively.

Although Jack was a leading scorer for the Hornets, it was his final three points that really broke the Mavs’ hearts. Out of a New Orleans timeout, Jason Kidd was called for a foul on Jack in the act of shooting with 8.4 seconds to go. After a review, Jack made all three foul shots. Dirk Nowitzki’s last shot bounced off the rim.

Rick Carlisle says free throws can win a game. But this one was really difficult to digest. At least the Knicks will be in town in less than 24 hours.

Notes

• Shawn Marion sat out the fourth quarter with sore ribs after a flagrant hit.

A Reality Check: Grizzlies 104 Mavericks 103

Forty-one is a special number in Dallas. It’s the number on our superstar’s back.

So it’s kind of ironic that another number 41 helped the Memphis Grizzlies overcome the Dallas Mavericks and a 17-point halftime deficit at American Airlines Center on Sunday night in route to handing the Mavs a shocking 104-103 defeat. Dirk Nowitzki tried to save the Mavs, but his jump shot with 3.1 seconds to go, was sandwiched between a Shane Battier reverse layup and the winning jump shot angled just right by Zach Randolph, who finished with 27 points.

That 41 represents the number of points Memphis scored in the third quarter. The total was more than the Mavs allowed in the entire first half. It turned a 55-38 lead on its head and left the Mavs staring unbelievably at the wrong end of a 79-78 score. It still looks deceivably close, but the team with the eight-game winning streak was outscored by 17. The quarter necessitated a precipitous drop in the field goal defense and opponent points per game categories. Randolph, who averages a double-double per game, led the charge with 12 points in the third after scoring a pedestrian six in the first two quarters. Mike Conley also banked a dozen.

Head coach Rick Carlisle balks at allowing a 30-point quarter. In a postgame press conference on FS Southwest, a stoic but agitated Carlisle had this to say regarding the crooked number:

"The whole game was the third quarter. You give up 41 points and turn it over six times and basically don’t take the challenge, I mean, you get what you deserve.”

-Rick Carlisle

Chandler Out At Least 2 Games

Center Tyson Chandler is expected to miss a minimum of two games after spraining his ankle at the end of the first quarter in Tuesday’s 101-93 win in Philadelphia.

Chandler has averaged 10.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in 57 games this season, all starts. But he’s taken his production up a notch with six double-doubles during the month of February and All-Star consideration.

With the 7-1 Chandler sidelined, the Mavs depth will be a huge asset. This is Brendan Haywood’s chance to prove his value. For the season, he has averaged 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, but like Chandler, his numbers were up in February. Last month, Haywood got 5.9 points and 5 boards per game. Ian Mahimni can provide the toughness needed by some game situations.