More Miami Heat Championship gear out: Huh?

Heat Championship T-Shirts/Courtesy: Comicbookreview.com

((ht: dallasnews.com))

Were there really that many people who just assumed the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship...even though they didn't?

We, along with most of the free-civilized blogging world showed you the Miami Herald's presumptuous Macy's NBA Championship gear last week, the morning after the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Championship.

Now comes this, apparently Marvel comics put out a t-shirt at Miami area Wal-Marts with pictures of the Marvel comics superhero's congratulating the Miami Heat for winning the title. Ooops.

Read the story from the Dallas Morning News RIGHT HERE

Why is it that most of the commercialized world just assumed the Heat would win? And for that matter, why the heck is Marvel printing championship t-shirts--for sale at Wal-Mart? Though for t-shirt and memorabilia collectors like Brother Jon, shirts such as these are the "Holy-Grail", mostly because they shouldn't exist.

For those not aware, NBA Merchandising much like all pro-sports, is supposed to control things like this. Yeah, there were "Heat NBA Champions" t-shirts printed, they print shirts for both teams in the finals. That's how they have the shirts ready right after the game ends. But the loser shirts are burned or sent to a 3rd World Country because the league doesn't want them out. And yet these seem to exist?

Your Mavs Victory Parade Highlights

((HT: WFAA-TV Dallas))
The "Before" at the AAC is off to the left...

Here's your introductions...
We're quite fond of how Shawn Marion took to the platform...

An estimated 250,000 people or more attended Thursday morning's parade to celebrate the Mavs' NBA Championship.



And some of the pictures, thanks to Brother Marty...

Mark Cuban to pick up tab for Mavs championship parade

Mark Cuban

This is what a multi-billionaire pro sports team owner should do. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he will pay for the parade in the city of Dallas to honor his NBA Championship winning team.

Like most cities in America right now, Dallas is struggling with budgets and doesn't really have the money to put on such an event. Dallas city officials though do apparently have a detailed plan of how the parade would go, saying they've been planning on this for years.

With hundreds of thousands possibly attending, it would take thousands of police and hundreds more city workers all on overtime to pull off an event that would go from City Hall to the Mavericks home arena (we don't do sponsors--they got enough pub in the series)

Read more from the Dallas Morning News (non-subscriber story) RIGHT HERE

We say good for Cuban. Although he sometimes does some odd and says some weird things, he pretty much gets it. There should be a rule that pro sports team owners foot the bill for their parades. It's not like they can't afford it. Sure, it is great that fans get to show their civic pride with their team winning, but these days most cities would have a hard time footing a six or seven figure price tag on an event like this.

Here's a story from the folks at WFAA yesterday as the team returned home from Miami:

Big "D" Celebrates An NBA Title.

Some of the post game celebration of the Dallas Mavericks NBA championship. (Thanks WFAA-TV Dallas, TX)



Celebration inside the American Airlines Center. (Thanks WFAA-TV)



Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appears to have slept with the Larry O'Brien trophy. Cuban tweeted: "this will sound weird. Im laying in bed. with the trophy next me."

Dallas beats the Heat and wins title: Most of world rejoices

The only question ended up being: Are there that many Dallas fans or did everyone just want the Heat to lose after they anointed themselves the greatest team in history last summer?

Answer: It was probably a little of both.

The Dallas Mavericks used balance and team basketball to pull away and beat the Miami Heat Sunday night 105-95 on the Heat's home court in Miami.

The series had mostly been about Dirk Nowitzki vs. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. The last game ended up being Jason Terry, Dirk and the Dallas team versus a bunch of guys who kind of looked like they gave up.

LeBron had 21, Wade 17 and their under heralded teammates like Mario Chalmers made themselves a factor in the game for Miami, but in the 4th quarter it was all-Dallas. Terry put up a 27 point effort and Dirk finished with 21, despite shooting 9-27 in the game.

Unfortunately, this doesn't make Dallas a juggernaut-multiple title winning team. Quite honestly, winning the title this season was a surprise, even to them. Sadly, this is somewhat of an indictment of the Heat more than a crowning of the Mavericks dynasty.

LeBron James continues to be the greatest NBA player with no title. And there were a lot of people rooting against the Heat because of him. Clearly he and to a lesser extent the other members of the Heat franchise should have kept their mouths shut last summer a decision we hope they all regret now. Yeah, signing James was a coup for the Heat, but we say now what we said last summer. Hold a presser, announce the signing and then shut-up and play basketball.

While having three alleged all-stars on your team is great for box office and having ESPN follow you all season, telling you that you should win the title, you still have to win it on the court and clearly, the Heat as constituted, wasn't ready for that.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com



Your post from ESPNEWS and NBA Entertainment just goes even further to show just how much LeBron has gone completely out-of-touch with the rest of us...
Specifically, at the 2:53 mark...
((HT: ebonygentleman79))


Someone, and the HQ means quickly, needs to get in front of The Bron and make sure he knows the proper responses in a situation like that...

We're just going to go back to our lives, now...

And while the HQ thinks he was trying to embrace his inner heel, he needs to go about it this way if he's going to try and go all out...
((HT: NWA/WWE/youtube))

Mavs make merely mortal Heat melt

The writers have all but made this the series about LeBron James. It isn't. Is the underachievement of a so-called superstar and his superstar teammates a story? Yes.

But the better story is Dirk Nowitzki and his teammates.

The Dallas Mavericks have continued their playoff roll, beating James and the Miami Heat last night 112-103 to take a 3-2 lead in their best of 7 NBA Finals series.

It really bothers us that the story of the Mavericks is being almost ignored in the face of James and his cohorts. Nowitzki, in our minds has proven how elite and how good a player he is and then some in this series. Last night he again led his team with 29 points, including going 10-10 from the free throw line.

Dwayne Wade again led the Heat with 23 and James did chip in with a "Triple-double" and all of the copy space in almost every story.

We just want to know why? Why, national writers, do you ignore the team winning to talk about the failures of the team losing...over and over and over again? We know "Names" sell, but quite honestly, they aren't the story. The story is the better prepared and better playing team and that team is in Dallas.

Please stop selling the opponents of the Heat short. It isn't always about the Heat's "Superstars" falling short. Basketball, like most sports is a team game and many times the better "Team" will beat the "team" loaded with big stars and big egos.

Just my 2-cents.

Game 6 is Sunday night in Miami.

Here's your highlights. Thanks NBAHighlights/YouTube:



OSG fav Dale Hanson of WFAA-TV in Dallas and Bob Ortegel analyze game 5. (Thanks WFAA-TV)



Post game sound with Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler and Jason Terry on one win away from the title. (Thanks NBC Dallas.com)

View more videos at: http://www.nbcdfw.com.

Dirk sick, Mavs still beat the Heat

Maybe the one is better than the three. Dirk Nowitzki fought off a 101 degree fever and coughing fits to score 21 points and lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 86-83 win against the Miami Heat.

The win evened their best of 7 series at 2 games each.

Dirk wasn't great, but because of his sinus infection, he didn't have to be. His teammates picked him up. Jason Terry had 17 and Shawn Marion went all Matrix for 16 points. All told, 5 Mavs here in double figures.

Meanwhile the mystery that is LeBron James continues. For someone who calls himself "King", he was noticeably absent from this game with 8 points in 46 minutes. Again Dwayne Wade did his best to win the game for Miami, dropping 32 points, but made a couple of late mistakes due in part because Dallas smothered him knowing it would be up to Wade to win the game.

James, is being questioned by more than 1 writer/fan for what is going on with him. After calling himself the "Defensive Stopper", he was barely effective in this game and has taken on a smaller role each game. Granted NBA Basketball these days doesn't have enough room for more than 1 star at a time to take over, James has taken a decided back seat to Wade in this series. The question and possible concern is that he's going to respond to the criticism and try taking back the spotlight, if the Heat want to win, that would be a bad idea.

Game 5 is Thursday night in Dallas.

Your highlights from NBA.com/NBAHighlights:

Heat hold off Mavs: Do what's necessary

This is beginning to have the makings of a great series with dramatic finishes.

The Miami Heat were able to hold off the Dallas Mavericks, in Dallas, winning game 3 of their best of 7 series 88-86.

Again, Dwayne Wade was the catalyst for the Heat with 29 points, but it again was the 3rd Beatle, Chris Bosh who ended up with the game winner. Bosh had 18, but continues his struggles from the field, going 7 for 18.

Dirk Nowtizki again was the guy for Dallas with 34, but the vaunted Mavs bench has been less and less a factor as this series goes on. In fact, Dirk really isn't getting much help from anyone during this series. He's arguably kept them in it almost by himself. But Sunday night, he blinked, making a couple of bad decisions late in the game when his team had a chance to win.

Game 4 is Tuesday night in Dallas.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:

Mavs miracle: Miami melts, Dirk steals game 2

Well, who saw this coming? By this we mean the Dallas Mavericks literally stealing game 2 of the NBA Finals from the Miami Heat.

Dallas overcame a 15-point deficit in the 4th quarter and tied the best of 7 series at 1 game apiece. And to say the comeback was a "Stunner" would be understating the meaning of "Stunner". Dirk Nowitzki, bad left finger and all scored 22 of the last 27 points his team scored and reminded those casual observer that the Heat had a tendency all year long of fading down the stretch.

Perhaps the defining moment in this game wasn't even a Mavericks play. It was after Miami's Dwayne Wade had just dropped a 3-pointer from the corner. Wade stood and held the follow through for a long time, as the shot had put the Heat up 88-73.

Dallas wasn't fond of the gesture.

Wade did score 36 for Miami, but none after the 3-pointer. LeBron wasn't a factor despite 28 points, neither was the 3rd Beatle, Chris Bosh. No, this one was the Nowitzki show. Dirk with the fade-away, Dirk passes to an open Jason Kidd, Dirk with the left hand (bad one) finish, Dirk with the driving layup with 3.6 seconds left and all of a sudden...it was over. Advantage Mavs.

Game 3 is Sunday night in Dallas.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:

Mavs can't take the Heat in Game 1

Having a couple of days off wasn't necessarily a good thing for the Dallas Mavericks. But it sure didn't slow down the Miami Heat.

The Heat slugged out a somewhat ugly 92-84 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Lebron James had 24 points, Dwayne Wade 22 and Chris Bosh 19 to lead the Heat, who seem like a different team since the return of utility man Udonis Haslem.

It was a tough night for Dallas as star Dirk Nowitzki, despite scoring 27 points going only 7 for 18 from the field. He didn't get much help. Nowitzki also apparently tore a tendon in his left middle finger during the game going for a steal. The injury while annoying, is not expected to keep Dirk from paying in the rest of the series.

Game 2 is Thursday night in Miami.

Your highlights from SI.com:



Dewayne Wade and Lebron James speak. (Thanks CBS Sports.com)

Heat handle Bulls head to Finals

It was over in a "Flash". Okay, not really, but the Miami Heat used a furious late 4th quarter rally to come back and beat the Chicago Bulls 83-80 last night and win their best of 7, Eastern Conference finals series 4 games to 1.

It was LeBron James closing the deal, with help from the other two Beatles, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. James nailed three long jump shots in the last 2 minutes, Wade had 10 4th quarter points and Bosh blocked 4 shots along with scoring 20 points to lead the Heat to the win.

The win sets up a repeat of sorts of the 2006 NBA Finals when the Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks. The same two teams square off again, with the only holdovers being Dirk Nowitzki for Dallas and Wade for Miami.

Game 1 kicks off Tuesday night in Miami.

Here's last nights highlights, courtesy: NBAHiilights:

Mavs close out Thunder head to NBA Finals

The somewhat surprising Dallas Mavericks are heading back to the NBA Finals for the 1st time since 2006.

The Mavs took care of business last night, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-96, winning their best of 7, Western Conference finals series 4-1.

Again, the Thunder couldn't close the deal, they were leading by 6, with just over 4 and a half minutes to go in the game. But a 14-4 run by Dallas, closed the deal. Dirk Nowitzki continued his playoff run, nailing a 3-pointer with just over a minute left to give Dallas a lead they wouldn't give back.

Dirk had 26 points as did Shawn Marion, it was more than enough to do the trick.

Dallas will face the winner of the Miami/Chicago series that could potentially end Thursday night.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:

Dirk and Mavs shock the Thunder

There are comebacks...and then there are "COMEBACKS". Last night, what Dallas did in the 4th quarter against Oklahoma City would qualify as the "All-Caps" version.

Down 15 points in the 4th quarter, the Mavericks staged a furious comeback led by Dirk Nowitzki, who tied the game with a pair of free throws with just over 6 seconds left in the 4th quarter.

The Mavs dominated the extra period, pulling away for a 112-105 win and taking a 3-1 lead in the best of 7, Western Confernce finals series.

Kevin Durant had 29 points, Russell Westbrook 19 and 8 assists, but when it counted, nobody could stop Dirk.

Dallas has a chance to close out the series tomorrow (Wed.) night in Dallas and quite honestly, it will take a monumental effort from the young...and apparently still learning Thunder, to do anything about it.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:

Doris Burke's Bad Take Rolled Anyway

((HT: ESPN/NBA/nbavideosnow))

The HQ will readily admit that we've all flubbed our lines every now and again before we got our stand-up right. Most of the time we're editing our own material so it would have been our fault if something aired wrong...

Last night, during the end of our "night out on the town," TBH was witness to an abnormality on network television- the tape cued to the wrong portion of the Doris Burke stand-up describing what she wanted to describe in the Dallas-Oklahoma City series.

Here's how it ran on the four-letter... no edits...


Someone ((or someones)) in the TV truck were, probably, in serious trouble last night in the post meeting... and we can guarantee that folks in Bristol weren't happy about the on-air technical gaffe, either...

It wasn't pretty, but Mavs stop the Thunder

It certainly wasn't as fun to watch as games 1 and 2. There were a lot of missed shots, a lot of "No-calls" and just general clunkiness.

But, the Dallas Mavericks, despite almost choking away a lead that at one point was 23, managed to hold off the Oklahoma City Thunder 93-87 and take a 2-1 lead in their best of 7, NBA Western Conference Finals series.

Dirk Nowitzki could only manage 18 points on 7-21 shooting, but Tyson Chandler grabbed 15 rebounds and Shawn Marion also scored 18 to lead the Mavericks. Russell Westbrook found his floundering game...a little and led the 36.5 % shooting Thunder with 30 points.

Game 4 is Monday night in Oklahoma City.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:

Thunder rolls, Mavs lose at home

It was a close game and in keeping with game 1, very exciting to watch. The Oklahoma City Thunder took game 2 of the NBA Western Conference finals Thursday night with a 106-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks, in Dallas.

As usual, Kevin Durant led the way with 24 points, but it was the Thunder's bench that truly won the game. Backup guard James Harden had 23 and the other backup guard, Eric Maynor chipped in 13, as the bench guys did the dirty work, hounding Mavs snipers Jason Terry and J.J Barea.

The series, which we fully expect to go seven games, moves up the highway 3-hours or so to Oklahoma City on Saturday night (hmmm...wonder why they don't get 5-days off like the Bulls and Heat).

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:



Here's a full report from Damon Fontenot of newsok.com.

Dirk goes crazy, Mavs run away from Thunder

This was old-school hoops. The Dallas Mavericks used a 48 point performance from their star, Dirk Nowitzki to run away from the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-112 Tuesday night.

Nowitzki put on quite the show, going 12 for 15 from the field and hitting 24 straight free throws beating an NBA record.

Kevin Durant wasn't bad for OKC, dropping 40 himself, but he didn't get much help.

The game was a run-and-gun back and forth game, much different from the typical slow-paced, slog it out pace most NBA playoff games take. Already, experts are saying "The Mavs are too much for the Thunder" and "This series may be over".

Hardly.

All that happened was the home team held serve. They won where they were supposed to. It wasn't a blowout, they just took care of business.

Game 2 in the series is Thursday night at 9 p.m Eastern.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:

Mavs Blow Up Lake Show, 4-0 Sweep...

((HT: NBA.com/ESPN on ABC/youtube))

Simply put, it was just one of those days where everything the Mavericks did worked, and everything the Lakers did did NOT work...

If you look at it strictly from a numbers standpoint, the Mavs hit almost 61-percent from the floor. The Lakers hit almost 38-percent.

They were 20-for-32 from 3-point range while the Lakers were 5-for-24...
And things got bad...

Lamar Odom set an illegal screen on Dirk Nowitzki with 9:06 left and plowed him... He was tossed...

The Mavs lead grew to 32 and Andrew Bynum got tossed for spearing and/or cross-checking J.J. Barea in the ribs about 45 seconds later.

Bynum took his jersey off, in a classless move, as he walked off the floor...

Here's Mike Tirico and Hubie Brown calling the Bynum play...
((HT: ESPN on ABC/dolobeats.com))


Here's your highlights... if you're a Mavs fan, anyway...


Next up: The retirement of Phil Jackson...
Maybe...
((HT: NBA/SI))

Lakers magic missing, Mavs win 2 in L.A

And....it may be over. The L.A Lakers may not be defending their 2 NBA Championships. Heck, they may be going back to square one soon.

The Dallas Mavericks opened a commanding 2-0 lead in their best of 7 series by beating the Lake-show at home...for the second straight time, 93-81. A game that apparently featured Laker forward Ron Artest auditioning for a role in the WWE, when he clotheslined Maverick guard J.J. Barea late in the game.

The next two games of this series are in Dallas. The only question is will the Lakers put up a fight...or are they just plain done.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:

Monday NBA Playoffs: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

How many people had Dallas beating L.A and Atlanta beating Chicago in the first game of their respective series...as the visitors?

Yeah, thought so.

Well, they did. The Hawks got 34 points from Joe Johnson and some solid defense from forgotten backup point guard Jeff Teague and took care of the heavily favored Chicago Bulls 103-95.

The schizophrenic Hawks took control early and never really relinquished the lead. Most so-called "Experts" had them getting swept and beaten in 5 games. And while the 5-game part is still an outside possibility, the Hawks seem to have stood up and said "We ain't going down without a fight".

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA TV:



As for Dallas, the Mavs woke up the Lakers too. Dirk Nowitzki dropped 28 on the Lakers in L.A. with some good defense and making Kobe Bryant try and be the man by himself. Which is probably the only way you have a chance against the Champs.

While the win doesn't forebode a Mavericks trip to the finals, it at least, much like the Hawks-Bulls series says "Ok, we're here to play, you better be ready".

Your highlights again from SI.com/NBA TV: