Dallas Deconstructs: Cuban Disintegrates

Matt Drudge is based in Miami and has a very spirited defense of the Heat's Sunday victory on his site this morning.

Mark Cuban has proved to be an obnoxious idiot before the playoffs; now he has entered a mental zone where white coats and padded walls are appropriate. The Miami Herald sums up a lot of the Sturm und Drang in the article linked above.

Sunday night, responsibility for the loss was not accepted by the Mavericks. Class was not in session. So, in the wake of the 101-100 defeat, they blamed the refs.

Said that Wade, with the ball and 9.1 seconds left, committed a backcourt violation that was not called.

''That's a backcourt violation, at least to most high-schoolers,'' Cuban groused.

Then they said Wade committed a foul on Jason Terry en route to the basket that wasn't called.

''He pushed him. I guess that's not a foul,'' Cuban groused.

''Pushed off, like, three guys,'' Nowitzki claimed.

Then they said Wade was not fouled at all on the final drive that froze the clock at 1.9 and set up his winning free throws. Half right on that. Nowitzki was called but was not the fouler. However, replays clearly show Devin Harris grabbed Wade's inside right elbow, an obvious foul on anybody's court.

Finally, Dallas claimed it wanted to use its last timeout after Wade's second free throw but that the referee mistakenly awarded it after the first one -- even though the mistake clearly appeared to be on the part of timeout-signaler Josh Howard.

Speaking of whom, evidently Howard escapes blame for his two missed free throws with 54 seconds left. Evidently Nowitzki does, too, for another of his late missed foul shots. Maybe a ref hissed, ``Miss it!''

A LACK OF GRACE

Yes, let the Mavericks not accept blame for their third straight Finals loss or entertain the absurd idea Miami might be a worthy opponent.

No.

Let's instead put a telescope on the grassy knoll and imagine Stern there -- is he grinning? -- exacting some sort of vendetta against Cuban over the fact he is the most outspoken critic of NBA officiating. A conspiracy! Yes. That's it. Stern's Revenge!

''It's just ridiculous,'' Cuban summarized before climbing onto his team's bus.

He meant the officiating late in Sunday's game.

He might better have meant his team's response to the loss in the absence of any sort of grace.

Then again, Cuban might have meant his own obsession with being the center-stage prima donna in the Finals, because "ridiculous" defines Cuban better than it does the refs. I hope Stern & Co. fine this stooge big-time.