Mavs Parade/Celebration Is Still Going Strong

From ESPN:

DALLAS -- Standing on an arena balcony, Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks and thousands of fans in singing their new favorite song: "We Are The Champions."
Team owner Mark Cuban led fans in another round of the chorus, with Jason Kidd holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
The joyous scene came Thursday at the end of a parade honoring the NBA champs. An expected crowd of 250,000 -- although it may have been more -- endured temperatures approaching 90 degrees to enjoy a party 31 years in the making since this one is the first title in Mavericks history.
There was still one more layer to the party, a ceremony with 10,000 season-ticket holders inside American Airlines Arena. The plaza around the building was filled to its 3,000-person capacity about two hours before the parade even began.
Fans filled the streets and sidewalks all along the roughly mile-long route between the convention center and the arena. Franchise founder Donald Carter and his wife, Linda, for whom he started the club as gift, were in the lead vehicle, a white convertible.
"Fantastic," Carter said.
In a waiting area at the start of the parade, Cuban clutched the championship trophy as entertainer Jamie Foxx, who is from the Dallas area, joined the fun. Most wore T-shirts that read, "Raise the Banner," and other championship gear. Cuban tweeted several pictures from the holding area.
"It's unbelievable," Nowitzki said as he took a cigar from teammate Jason Terry before boarding his float. "If it hasn't sunk in yet, it will now. ... We're on the top of the world now so it feels amazing. For 13 years I've waited for this moment. It's amazing and we're all going to enjoy it."
At the end of the parade, those who rode along said they were overwhelmed by the turnout -- people as far as they could see.
"I'm numb," said Donnie Nelson, the team's president of basketball operations.
Temperatures were in the mid-80s at the start of the parade and a high of around 100 was in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service. There were several reports of fans overcome by heat before the parade even began.
Inside the arena, most people came wearing blue, as they did throughout the postseason. They watched the parade and outdoor scene on the video board, chanting "M-V-P!" along with the fans outside when Terry introduced Nowitzki and singing along when Nowitzki began crooning. They also were treated to video clips from the finals and some behind-the-scenes footage in the locker room, the bus ride from the arena and the next morning at the hotel.

Watching this on TV right now is pretty awesome, but I'm kind of pissed I couldn't find anyone willing to go with me to Dallas for the celebration. Shit excuses from everyone. Oh I can't I have a test for my summer class, no I can't I have work, sorry I have heart surgery. All shit excuses. Dirk played with a torn ligament in his finger and a 120 degree fever, so the least you could do is take a day off to get drunk and roam around Dallas in honor of a unbelievable 2011 championship. Stop being selfish.

Is This The Most Gracious Winning NBA Owner Of All Time?

From ESPN:

MIAMI -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said championship parades and title rings just aren't his style, but the 2010-11 NBA champions will be riding floats through the streets of Dallas very soon.
And Cuban said he's picking up the tab.
"We'll do it," Cuban said early Monday morning. "All I told them was -- Terdema Ussery, our president -- you plan the parade. I'll pay for it because I don't think it's right for the city to have to pay for it. And let's just have some fun."
Any talk of a parade prior to the Mavs' 105-95 Game 6 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday night was considered taboo.
Five years ago, after Dallas took a 2-0 lead in the Finals over the Heat and were bound for South Beach, parade plans were revealed and it became the first embarrassing mishap in an epic meltdown that has finally come to an end.
City officials still haven't set a date.
One area where Cuban hinted he might break with tradition is presenting championship rings to his players.
"I might not get rings," the Mavs' billionaire owner told NBATV. "Rings are old school. You've seen it before: There's guys who pick up the sweats and towels and they have these big, blingy rings. I'm like, 'Rings are done. It's time to take it to the next level.'"
What does he have up his sleeve? Cuban refused to reveal what he was thinking.

First he lets Don Carter accept the Larry then he takes the tab for the victory parade? Unreal. Don't know how I feel about him changing things up and possibly not getting his players, coaches, towel boys, etc. rings however. Imagine if you heard this shit after a whole year or possibly even years of being towel bitch. So I did all this shit and now that we finally are going to get a giant ass shiny ring, you're telling me "rings are done?" How's little towel boy going to get his dick wet now? Probably the same way he did before winning an NBA championship. Which coincidentally ends with a towel. On the other hand he's wanting to take it to the next level, so I will reserve my real judgment until he reveals what that is.