DALLAS -- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined $250,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for his outbursts following Game 5 of the NBA finals.
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Mark Cuban fired back at The Miami Herald in his blog Tuesday after the paper printed this description of the post-Game 5 scene:
"Cuban then turned to Stern and other NBA officials who were seated at the scorer's table and was overheard to shout venomously in the jubilant din, '[Bleep] you! [Bleep] you! Your league is rigged!' "
The Mavericks owner denied saying games were rigged and said none of his ranting was directed at Stern.
"The games are not rigged," Cuban wrote. "That's a complete insult to the players on the court and the incredible amount of effort they put into preparing for and playing the games. All 82 regular-season and postseason games.
"The NBA couldn't rig the games if it wanted to. And it doesn't want to. It's that simple."
Cuban was irate over what he considered a series of officiating breakdowns at the end of Dallas' 101-100 overtime loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday night. The loss left the Mavericks trailing the series 3-2 and facing elimination going into Game 6 in Dallas on Tuesday night.
"Apparently The Miami Herald is reporting I screamed at the NBA commissioner after the game the other night," Cuban wrote Tuesday. "Didn't happen. Didn't say a word to the man. Not a single word. And that was absolutely by intention."
"Apparently this 'reporter' [writer Greg Cote] has written he has several 'sources.' Well they must be the same sources the tabloids use to find two-headed babys and aliens, because it didn't happen."
• Greg Cote on Mike & Mike
• Stern didn't hear Cuban
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Cuban was cited for "several acts of misconduct" he committed after Dallas lost 101-100 in overtime to the Heat in Miami on Sunday night.
Furious with several calls, Cuban went onto the floor to vent directly to official Joe DeRosa. He then stared down and screamed toward commissioner David Stern and a group of league officials, from the court, then the stands. He later used profanity during a postgame session with the media.
The fine was announced hours before the Mavericks played host to the Heat in Game 6 of the NBA finals. Miami led the series 3-2.
Cuban said Monday he was bracing for the fine, his second this postseason. It showed in his reaction to the penalty: "I'm fine with it," he wrote in an e-mail. "Get the humor there. Fine with it."
Cuban has been fined at least $1.65 million since buying the team in January 2000. The exact total of his punishment tab isn't known because the league doesn't always publicize action against team owners. Cuban says he matches every dollar with a charitable donation.
This also marks the 13th known time that Cuban has been penalized. The biggest fine was $500,000 in January 2002 for comments that included saying he wouldn't hire the league's head of officiating to manage a Dairy Queen.
Since then, the only other acknowledged fine came last month, when he was assessed $200,000 -- $100,000 each for going onto the court during a playoff game in San Antonio and for an entry on his blog criticizing the way the league selects officials for the playoffs.
Stern said Tuesday that he believes Cuban's more vitriolic outbursts are "not healthy for either him or the game."
"I don't think he is crazy. I think he is smart. I think his recent loss of self control is not planned and not calculated, and I think if he could, he would like to have some of it back," Stern said in an interview on San Francisco radio station KNBR. "Because at bottom, I really do believe it distracts the players and that can't be good. It sets a bad tone.
"He is very smart, he has to take credit and should be given credit for putting together a great team and giving his fans the entertainment experience in that building which is terrific. But at times I think he loses control and that is not healthy for either him or the game."
Cuban in his blog disputed that any of his postgame verbiage was directed at Stern.
Stern confirmed that account, telling Dan Patrick on ESPN Radio Tuesday that he didn't hear any comments, shouted or otherwise, directed at him by Cuban despite being close enough to hear the Mavs owner.
Cuban wore a Jerry Stackhouse jersey Sunday in Miami in support of the forward, suspended for a hard foul in Game 4.
A half-hour after Game 5, Cuban was still boiling during a testy interview with reporters.
He wrote a blog entry Monday explaining why he used profanity during a response to a question about whether this was the worst loss he'd endured.
"The reality is that it would be a waste of both of our time if I gave him the 'This was a tough one' answer, and a waste of my time to really think about it, particularly given there were 10 other reporters wanting to ask questions and we had a bus to catch," Cuban wrote. <!-- INLINE TABLE (BEGIN) --><TABLE id=inlinetable cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width=200 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TH style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000" colSpan=2><CENTER>Reported fines levied by NBA against Mark Cuban</CENTER></TH><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Total Fines </TD><TD>13 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Fines of $200,000+ </TD><TD>4 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Fines of $100,000+ </TD><TD>8 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Total fine amount </TD><TD>$1,665,000 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD colSpan=2>Source: ESPN Research</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- INLINE TABLE (END) -->
NBA executives often praise Cuban for his passion, work ethic and high standards, even toward officiating.
Still, Stern told ESPN Radio 760 in West Palm Beach, Fla., that he wouldn't have a problem handing the championship trophy to Cuban if the Mavericks win the title.
"I've been doing this for a long time and I have a very good relationship with the Dallas franchise," Stern said. "I was there when it was formed. I was just visiting with Donald Carter who is a shareholder and the initial owner and is still an owner. I visited with Ross Perot Jr. who is still an investor and sold the majority to Mark [Cuban] and I spend time with Mark as well. Franchises in their own way belong to cities, in any event, and I would be very happy to award a trophy to either the good city of Miami, or the good city of Dallas."
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Mark Cuban ranted in Miami on Sunday and in his blog the past two days.
Cuban practically turned getting fined into an art form after going from an owner of season tickets to owning the Mavericks.
The comment about him not hiring the league's head of officiating to manage a Dairy Queen landed Cuban as a manager for a day; he also donned pinstripes and officiated a Harlem Globetrotters game.
As his team improved, there were fewer stunts. He remained a visible, vocal critic, though, enough for some to suggest that his team ends up not getting the benefit of the doubt from officials.
Mavs supporters have brought that up again in the wake of three players getting suspended this postseason, with Stackhouse the most recent.
Dallas had a chance to win without its top reserve, leading by 11 points early and by four late in the fourth quarter. Miami ended up winning on a pair of free throws by Dwyane Wade with 1.9 seconds left in overtime.
Cuban had several gripes about the play that sent Wade to the line, starting with Wade not being whistled for a collision that left Dallas' Jason Terry on the floor.
"I guess that's not a call," Cuban said. "I guess that's not a foul."
An assistant coach later showed Cuban that Wade appeared to commit a backcourt violation before the contact with Terry. It's hard to tell on replays because of the giant championship trophy logo at midcourt.
"My understanding from the rule book is, if you are going to catch the ball in the backcourt, you have to be in the backcourt to catch it," Cuban said.
But the NBA pointed out Monday that there was no violation on the play, citing a rule that allows a player to go into the backcourt to receive an inbound pass during the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or any overtime period.
Between Wade's free throws, Dallas was charged its final timeout. The Mavs insist they were only talking about calling it after Wade's second foul shot so they could set up a final play and move the ball to the frontcourt.
"Josh Howard goes to Joe DeRosa and not only once, but twice asks for a timeout," crew chief Joey Crawford told a pool reporter. "Forced to call it, simple as that." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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<TABLE id=inlinetable cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width=200 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TH style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000"><CENTER>'Games are not rigged'</CENTER></TH><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD width=184>
"Cuban then turned to Stern and other NBA officials who were seated at the scorer's table and was overheard to shout venomously in the jubilant din, '[Bleep] you! [Bleep] you! Your league is rigged!' "
The Mavericks owner denied saying games were rigged and said none of his ranting was directed at Stern.
"The games are not rigged," Cuban wrote. "That's a complete insult to the players on the court and the incredible amount of effort they put into preparing for and playing the games. All 82 regular-season and postseason games.
"The NBA couldn't rig the games if it wanted to. And it doesn't want to. It's that simple."
Cuban was irate over what he considered a series of officiating breakdowns at the end of Dallas' 101-100 overtime loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday night. The loss left the Mavericks trailing the series 3-2 and facing elimination going into Game 6 in Dallas on Tuesday night.
"Apparently The Miami Herald is reporting I screamed at the NBA commissioner after the game the other night," Cuban wrote Tuesday. "Didn't happen. Didn't say a word to the man. Not a single word. And that was absolutely by intention."
"Apparently this 'reporter' [writer Greg Cote] has written he has several 'sources.' Well they must be the same sources the tabloids use to find two-headed babys and aliens, because it didn't happen."
• Greg Cote on Mike & Mike
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Cuban was cited for "several acts of misconduct" he committed after Dallas lost 101-100 in overtime to the Heat in Miami on Sunday night.
Furious with several calls, Cuban went onto the floor to vent directly to official Joe DeRosa. He then stared down and screamed toward commissioner David Stern and a group of league officials, from the court, then the stands. He later used profanity during a postgame session with the media.
The fine was announced hours before the Mavericks played host to the Heat in Game 6 of the NBA finals. Miami led the series 3-2.
Cuban said Monday he was bracing for the fine, his second this postseason. It showed in his reaction to the penalty: "I'm fine with it," he wrote in an e-mail. "Get the humor there. Fine with it."
Cuban has been fined at least $1.65 million since buying the team in January 2000. The exact total of his punishment tab isn't known because the league doesn't always publicize action against team owners. Cuban says he matches every dollar with a charitable donation.
This also marks the 13th known time that Cuban has been penalized. The biggest fine was $500,000 in January 2002 for comments that included saying he wouldn't hire the league's head of officiating to manage a Dairy Queen.
Since then, the only other acknowledged fine came last month, when he was assessed $200,000 -- $100,000 each for going onto the court during a playoff game in San Antonio and for an entry on his blog criticizing the way the league selects officials for the playoffs.
Stern said Tuesday that he believes Cuban's more vitriolic outbursts are "not healthy for either him or the game."
"I don't think he is crazy. I think he is smart. I think his recent loss of self control is not planned and not calculated, and I think if he could, he would like to have some of it back," Stern said in an interview on San Francisco radio station KNBR. "Because at bottom, I really do believe it distracts the players and that can't be good. It sets a bad tone.
"He is very smart, he has to take credit and should be given credit for putting together a great team and giving his fans the entertainment experience in that building which is terrific. But at times I think he loses control and that is not healthy for either him or the game."
Cuban in his blog disputed that any of his postgame verbiage was directed at Stern.
Stern confirmed that account, telling Dan Patrick on ESPN Radio Tuesday that he didn't hear any comments, shouted or otherwise, directed at him by Cuban despite being close enough to hear the Mavs owner.
Cuban wore a Jerry Stackhouse jersey Sunday in Miami in support of the forward, suspended for a hard foul in Game 4.
A half-hour after Game 5, Cuban was still boiling during a testy interview with reporters.
He wrote a blog entry Monday explaining why he used profanity during a response to a question about whether this was the worst loss he'd endured.
"The reality is that it would be a waste of both of our time if I gave him the 'This was a tough one' answer, and a waste of my time to really think about it, particularly given there were 10 other reporters wanting to ask questions and we had a bus to catch," Cuban wrote. <!-- INLINE TABLE (BEGIN) --><TABLE id=inlinetable cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width=200 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TH style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000" colSpan=2><CENTER>Reported fines levied by NBA against Mark Cuban</CENTER></TH><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Total Fines </TD><TD>13 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Fines of $200,000+ </TD><TD>4 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Fines of $100,000+ </TD><TD>8 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Total fine amount </TD><TD>$1,665,000 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD colSpan=2>Source: ESPN Research</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- INLINE TABLE (END) -->
NBA executives often praise Cuban for his passion, work ethic and high standards, even toward officiating.
Still, Stern told ESPN Radio 760 in West Palm Beach, Fla., that he wouldn't have a problem handing the championship trophy to Cuban if the Mavericks win the title.
"I've been doing this for a long time and I have a very good relationship with the Dallas franchise," Stern said. "I was there when it was formed. I was just visiting with Donald Carter who is a shareholder and the initial owner and is still an owner. I visited with Ross Perot Jr. who is still an investor and sold the majority to Mark [Cuban] and I spend time with Mark as well. Franchises in their own way belong to cities, in any event, and I would be very happy to award a trophy to either the good city of Miami, or the good city of Dallas."
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Mark Cuban ranted in Miami on Sunday and in his blog the past two days.
Cuban practically turned getting fined into an art form after going from an owner of season tickets to owning the Mavericks.
The comment about him not hiring the league's head of officiating to manage a Dairy Queen landed Cuban as a manager for a day; he also donned pinstripes and officiated a Harlem Globetrotters game.
As his team improved, there were fewer stunts. He remained a visible, vocal critic, though, enough for some to suggest that his team ends up not getting the benefit of the doubt from officials.
Mavs supporters have brought that up again in the wake of three players getting suspended this postseason, with Stackhouse the most recent.
Dallas had a chance to win without its top reserve, leading by 11 points early and by four late in the fourth quarter. Miami ended up winning on a pair of free throws by Dwyane Wade with 1.9 seconds left in overtime.
Cuban had several gripes about the play that sent Wade to the line, starting with Wade not being whistled for a collision that left Dallas' Jason Terry on the floor.
"I guess that's not a call," Cuban said. "I guess that's not a foul."
An assistant coach later showed Cuban that Wade appeared to commit a backcourt violation before the contact with Terry. It's hard to tell on replays because of the giant championship trophy logo at midcourt.
"My understanding from the rule book is, if you are going to catch the ball in the backcourt, you have to be in the backcourt to catch it," Cuban said.
But the NBA pointed out Monday that there was no violation on the play, citing a rule that allows a player to go into the backcourt to receive an inbound pass during the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or any overtime period.
Between Wade's free throws, Dallas was charged its final timeout. The Mavs insist they were only talking about calling it after Wade's second foul shot so they could set up a final play and move the ball to the frontcourt.
"Josh Howard goes to Joe DeRosa and not only once, but twice asks for a timeout," crew chief Joey Crawford told a pool reporter. "Forced to call it, simple as that." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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