Cuban is a Class Act

It's no secret I adore Mark Cuban. The man who brought basketball back to the Metroplex is near and dear to my heart. Not only is he the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, he is their biggest fan...except for yours truly, of course!

Last night, Cuban once again showed what a classy guy he can be. Rather than having NBA Commissioner David Stern present him with the Larry O'Brien trophy, a moment I'm sure he has dreamed about for at least a decade, he asked that the award be handed to Donald Carter, original owner of the Dallas Mavericks. As much as he must have wanted to lay hands on that gleaming golden statue, he deferred and allowed the original man behind the Mavericks to have his once in a lifetime moment instead.

Another thing I love about Cuban is that he genuinely cares about his team. Unlike many owners, he doesn't just see the players as an investment; he sees them as a sort of second family, people he cares for off the court as well as on it.

And as much as he loves his team, he loves his fans, too. Cuban has done a great many things to show his support and love of Mavericks' fandom over the years, from lowering ticket prices to thanking the fans for sticking by this team. And to top it off, Cuban said he didn't feel the citizens of Dallas should have to pay for the Mavericks' victory parade; instead, he offered to pay for the whole shebang out of his own pocket. All he cares about is sharing this special moment with us, the fans, both the new and the long-suffering loyal ones alike.

It's actions like that which make Mark Cuban the best owner in the sports kingdom, hands down. Jerry Jones could learn a thing or two from Mark Cuban. In some ways, maybe we all could.

WORLD CHAMPIONS, BABY!

Although I never really doubted my team, I still can't believe this is real.

But it is.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Dallas Mavericks are the 2010-2011 WORLD CHAMPIONS!

And their fans, both old and new, couldn't be happier. Hell, the folks in Cleveland (former home of LeBron James) are so happy they're even thinking about throwing the Mavs a parade too! Surely this is the first time in NBA history THAT has happened, right?

I'm still riding the emotional roller coaster that has been the 2011 playoffs. We're up, we're down, we're hot, we're cold. We got the lead. They made a run. But here we come, fighting our way back into it. Again and again and AGAIN. This postseason, for the Dallas Mavericks and their loyal fans, the NBA really is where amazing happens!

There are a million things running through my mind right now, so much I want to say. But right now, in this moment, words are eluding me. The sheer joy and excitement and pride I feel as a Mavs fan right now is so overwhelming I can't even begin to describe it. One minute I'm cheering and I can't seem to stop smiling. And the next, I'm tearing up and I can't seem to stop crying. This ride has been nothing short of amazing, and it's sweetened all the more by the fact that I've been behind my boys in blue for the long haul. Through the highs and lows, the personal achievements, the failures and now the ultimate success. And I want to say THANK YOU, Dallas Mavericks, for bringing me along for the ride!

While I haven't been here since the inception of this team back in 1980 (cut me a little slack, I was only four!), I have been a tried and true blue Mavs fan for a quarter of a century. I wore my team colors proud back in the day when Uwe Blab and Bill Wennington were a part of the team known as The Chairmen of the Boards, just as much as I did through the dark Dallas decade known as the 1990s, when the Mavericks were the worst team in all of professional sports. And on that infamous day in 2006, when Miami stole away the championship on our floor, crushing the dream for players and fans alike, I was crying right along with my team.

But that nightmare is a thing of the past, forever erased by the fact that, now, the rest of the world can see Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks organization the same way I have always seen them: as true champions.