Wednesday Donuts: A Day Without The Mavs Is Like ...

Mike Fisher -- DB.com

    DONUT 1: If Kenyon Martin's feud with Mark Cuban is over, why does K-Mart keep bringing it up every day?

   DONUT 2: It’s a DB.com Boards tradition … and it’s a survey: Which Mavs player will end up being the fans’ whipping post? 

   DONUT 3: I don’t do many not-safe-for-work links, so be careful here. But the idea of a Cowboys fan and his sweetheart finding their way into an oversized bathroom at oversized Cowboys Stadium and … well, the whole thing on tape … complete with the dude wearing his IRVIN jersey … well, it’s just so fitting, somehow.

   DONUT 4: Don’t forget, for the best in hard-core Cowboys coverage, your place – and my place – is Blogging The Boys. My mid-week FISH on FOOTBALL stuff will be up later today … Take a visit …

   DONUT 5: This is the las day of Misty Mav’s Dirk Nowitzki September Special … place an order for one of our four original designs now in the DB.com Store and be eligible to win a Dirk Nowitzki jersey from the NBA Store! Order now! 

   DONUT 6: Delonte West has serious issues. He's AWOL from Cavs camp. And while last week the story of West and his arsenal of weapons while motorcycling riding was an easy punchline, I have a feeling this is beyond funny now. This happens all too frequently, really: A person is on medication (for a mood or mental disorder of some sort) ... starts to feel better ... and then quits taking the meds that helped him feel better ... and then spins out of control. 

   DONUT 7: I asked Nathan Jawai about his conditioning. Jawai says, “I need to gain some weight.’’

   And I started to scribble down his answer before I realized … no, that cannot be right.’’

   “I’m sorry,’’ Jawai corrected himself. “I need to LOSE some weight. Not much. Just a conditioning thing. I’m ready to play. I apologize for my accent.’’

    Apology accepted, except …

    How does HIS accent confuse HIM into saying “gain weight’’ when he means “lose weight’’? In fact, how does HIS accent confuse HIM at all?

    Seems like a nice kid, though.

   DONUT 8: I continue to marvel at how people marvel at the news that somebody like Joe Johnson won't sign an extension with Atlanta and will therefore explore free agency in the summer of 2010. Next summer, a Sign-and-Trade can get him to a real contender with max dollars and a six-year deal. What other logical position is there but to wait?

   DONUT 9: Abbott with a good find: Credit to Tracy McGrady for coining the phrase, "All hell fell loose."

    Hey, maybe that can be the Houston Rockets’ team motto this season?

    DONUT 10: The hope for Shawn Marion, of course, is that he is The Matrix from his years in Phoenix, especially when he was Nash’s sidekick. (Which, on paper, could be like being Kidd’s sidekick.)

    The concern, of course, is that’s he’s slipped a bit … and the less-than-All-Star-caliber performer that he was in Miami and Toronto is now where he’s at.

    Rick Carlisle does not share that concern.

     "I think you have to throw out the last year and a half in some ways," said Carlisle. "It was two major trades in really a year's time and he didn't have the opportunity to settle in with Miami or Toronto. I thought one of the real positive signs was the last 20-22 games in Toronto last year he played extremely well and their team played at a higher level than they had throughout the course of the year. Look, he's here. We've signed him to a deal and he's going to be a Maverick for a long time. That's one of the things that's going to help his psyche. He knows what we're going to expect from him."

    DONUT 11: Betting against the Odom-Kardashian marriage.

    DONUT 12: I’m going to remind you how challenging it is to get to the level of “contender’’ and stay there (as you-know-which team has done as well as anybody). I’m going to do so by letting you study the one-and-done Golden State Warriors.

    DONUT 13: Jerry Sloan urges us to cut the replacement referees some slack. Good luck with that.