This blog is an archive of Gina Miller's original blog, That Sports Girl. It features sports-focused blog posts, candid DFW sports media insight and more.
Dirk Nowitzki will never be mistaken for that in-your-face, rally the troops guy. Yet, he has grown and embraced the role as the Dallas Mavericks leader this past season.
Case in point:
When the Mavericks took a 2-nothing lead over the Lakers, he warned his teammates not to get too excited.
"Dirk got on us when we won two games in LA," Deshawn Stevenson brought up after the Mavericks beat Oklahoma City to advance to the Finals. "We got our leader and franchise player saying that and he doesn't have a smile on his face; it just makes you sit back and realize there's more work to do."
JJ Barea added to the story during Monday's practice at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.
"He said, 'It's only 2-nothing we gotta go home and still take this' I never seen him talk like that. He didn't look right."
Barea added the last part jokingly but his point is well-taken. Nowitzi hasn't been a player who is a "win one for the Gipper" guy. But he has developed into a player who will speak to his teammates when he feels it is necessary
"He's been doing it this year a little bit more. He's even talking this year," Barea said. "His work ethic, the look in his eyes, his body language, everybody just wants to follow him."
I still think the Mavericks are still more of leader-by-committee team with Jason Kidd and even Tyson Chandler stepping up to the plate. But when your best player, in this case Dirk Nowitzki, is sending a message, it's important that his teammates listen. And in the Mavericks case, they are.
NBA players gotta eat, drink and get some t-p. I happen to run into a Mavs player or coach every now and then at a particular grocery store in my nabe. That's not necessarily blog-worthy but today's supermarket chat made me smile.
I hope you're having a great week. I have recovered from a decadently wonderful trip to Las Vegas. Here is all you need to keep up with the sports conversation at work, on a date or at the game.
Notice the Miami Herald's headline...we'll get to this.
The heart attack comeback kids did it again.
The Mavericks posted another double digit come-from-behind win this postseason. This time, Dallas overcame a 15-point deficit, closing the game on a 22-5 run to beat Miami 95-93 and tie the NBA Finals at 1-1.
From the Stat Geek department (actually Elias sports bureau): The last time a team overcame a 15+ point 4th-quarter deficit in the NBA Finals was June 14, 1992, when the Bulls came back to beat the Trail Blazers.
*Something I didn't hit in my late-night/early-morning ramble: On the Dirk Nowitzki go-ahead basket, he said he drove earlier than he would have. He was hoping to draw the foul, which of course didn't come.
*Btw, I ran into referee Joey Crawford at breakfast Friday morning. He couldn't have been lovelier.
Headline Fun
Did you see the headline on the front page of the Miami Herald Friday morning? The sports page also featured a headline that read "MELTDOWN" with a wonderful accompanying photo of Dirk Nowitzki hitting the go-ahead shot to put Dallas up 95-93.
My question to you is, couldn't the game be characterized as a great COMEBACK by Dallas? Every Mavericks fan will say yes. But remember when Dallas lost to Portland in Game 4 during the first round? Brandon Roy had a brilliant fourth quarter, scoring 18 points, and helping the Blazers overcome a 23 point deficit to beat Dallas 84-82. Was it a Blazers comeback? Or a Mavericks collapse? Mavs fans said collapse. Guess what Blazers fans said?
I think it's a matter of perspective depending on which team you root for but ultimately it's probably somewhere in between.
When former Sealy, SMU and LA Rams running back AND Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson agreed to join Jim Hill on CBS2's 5th Quarter Thursday night after the Patriots/Dolphins game, CBS2 sports director Jim Hill spent weeks tracking down this 1986 video the team produced. My stomach is sore today from laughing at all its 1980's music video glory.
Mitchell & Ness is a clothing company that specializes in throwback and retro gear. They also put together some fascinating research that piqued my interest. Using their 2014 sales data they determined which retro jerseys were most popular in each state.
First off, if you're a Sooners fan, don't hate. I know this matchup is called "OU/Texas" north of the Red River. I'm a Texan. From Dallas. Deal with it.
I have no horses in this race and have actually been manhandled and accosted more times by the University of Texas PR staff more than any other individuals in my life while in the pursuit of an interview. So despite the fact my husband went to Texas and is brainwashing my daughter to head that way, I generally give the Sooners an edge.
I respect the crap out of Bob Stoops. He has always been super-nice to me after I did a story on his wife becoming a Mary Kay top producer in the early 2000's. True story: he told me he's driven her pink Cadillac to practice.
Moving on. Here's your Texas/OU gameday survival guide.
Wear sunscreen
You'll be in the sun all day. Protect yourself.Elta MD's UV Tinted Daily with SPF 40is a phenomenal tinted sunscreen that doesn't clog your pores. If you're going to wear a full face of makeup, I like Skin Authority's sunscreenunder my foundation because it's not too heavy.
Caffeinate and pace yourself
Drink coffee in the morning to wake up and get going but don't eat much for breakfast, if anything at all. It will be a long day. You'll be eating Fletcher's Corny Dogs at 10am and who knows what other fried fat bombs. Pace yourself on the food front. Enjoy anything you want but don't do it all in one sitting (or standing). The result is never pretty.
Hydrate
Drink plenty of water so you're not wasted by 6pm. Half the fun of TX/OU weekend is the action all over Uptown on Saturday night. Don't get too tipsy. Use a cab or Uber if you fear DART after dark.
Most importantly, have fun.
Enjoy every minute of it if you're going to game. It's one of the best experiences in college football. Click here for information on more TX/OU revelry throughout the weekend.One of my favorite traditions is a TX/OU party at Fair park at 8am on Saturday followed by my once-yearly date with Snuffer's cheese fries on Sunday afternoon. It might my secret hangover cure. Might.....
Are you going to the game or to the fair on Saturday? Prediction? Are you more focused on another game? (Baylor/TCU, anyone?)
I've always postured that sports is woven into the fabric of our community in Dallas/Fort Worth. Now the Mavericks are truly reflecting that. The team unveiled its 2015-2016 jersey on Tuesday which reps the Dallas skyline well.
It was a crowdsourced project designed by Dallas native Geoff Case. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban chose Case's skyline-themed look out of 1,000 entries. For his efforts, Case received $1,000 and season tickets for the 2015-2016 season.
Jocksniffer - /JOCK-sniff-er/ - noun
An individual or person who enjoys being around athletes (professional or collegiate) for the sake of simply beingaround athletes. This person will seek out opportunities to be in close proximity of said athletes and then proceed to brag to his or her friends that he/she was "hangin' with Dez (Bryant) this weekend".
The Cheat Sheet - all the sports news you need to win your day.
He said what?!?
"If Carmelo would really love to come here, we'd love to have him"
--Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki in an interview with 105.3 The Fan. Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony can opt out of his contract this summer. Dallas has a some cap space, Carmelo could be a fit. It's going to be a fun NBA summer.
These truly speak for themselves. Some brilliant sports marketing mind got on the fashion faux pas bandwagon this holiday season and produced ugly sports sweaters.
Mondays are so rushed. It's hard to skim the paper web to catch up on things you missed over the weekend and get ready for what's happening in the coming week. I lucked out and had this Monday free. So consider this the Monday Memo or better yet what you need to know to win your week.
You wouldn't believe the efforts I've seen from women looking to score a professional athlete while they're actually playing a game. It's kind of sad when you think about it because if these ladies applied a similar effort to their work, they'd be wildly successful.
Pitcher Colby Lewis (12-13, 3.71 ERA) has the chance to help the Rangers get another huge monkey off their collective backs. He will make his first career postseason for Texas in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Rays on Saturday. The Rangers are looking for their first ever win in a postseason series but Lewis claims he's not phased.
Mavs forward Shawn Marion was so gracious and opened his beautiful Preston Hollow home to our cameras to
broadcast our Fan Sports Show live Monday night. This meant a live
truck, two photographers and a slew of lighting equipment and cables in
his foyer to transmit our show from his home.
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