Don Nelson (above) returns for tonight’s rematch with the Minnesota Timberwolves at the American Airlines Center. Back to back games are always a pleasure, especially when it pits the great KG versus the nearly as great Big Dirk. Now, can the Mavericks get some level of decent play at home going before the playoffs hit?
We shall see. Because for now, this team is incredibly ordinary at home. Home Losses to Golden State, Chicago, and Philadelphia (without Iverson) hardly scare off the league.
Why are they so ordinary in the friendly confines, after being nearly unbeatable at home last season with a far less cohesive team? Your theory is as good as any I may have.
Take a look at the numbers home versus away in the last several years.
Year / W-L / Home / Away
04-05 / 41-21 / 20-11 / 21-10
03-04 / 52-30 / 36-5 / 16-25
02-03 / 60-22 / 33-8 / 27-14
01-02 / 57-25 / 30-11 / 27-14 (first year at AAC)
00-01 / 53-29 / 28-13 / 25-16 (last year at Reunion)
99-00 / 40-42 / 22-19 / 18-23
As you can see, the opponents have had as easy a time winning in Dallas as they ever have at the new building. In fact, the Mavericks must win their final 10 to match the worst ever record in the 4 years at the AAC. That is hardly likely if you consider the first 31 games at home. They need to get it in gear quickly.
I watched a pretty solid documentary over the weekend, The Sportscentury of Richard Petty. It was filled with stuff I wasn’t familiar with. For instance:
Petty's bellwether year was 1967. Of the 48 races he started, he won 27, including 10 straight, and he finished in the top five in 11 others to gain his second Grand National championship.
27 wins in one year? How is that even possible? Was anyone else racing in 1967?
Check out Petty's numbers here …
Dale Earnhardt’s best year for wins was 11 in 1987. Darrell Waltrip won 12 races in 1981 and in 1982. Jeff Gordon won 13 in 1998. But 27 in one year?
Of course, now, they run 36 races in a race season. Back then, they would run as many as 62 in one season! Someone will have to explain the schedule from 1964 to me. They must have had many weeks where they would run 2 or 3 races in one week.
Kind of amusing that when it affects the record book, we are always quick to give the current athletes the business. For instance, O.J. Simpson’s 2000 yard season was in 14 games, not 16. Roger Maris used 8 more games than Babe Ruth to get his 60 HR’s. Why then, doesn’t anyone mention that Petty was running 60+ races in a season, when the current guys only get 36? Because he is a legend. No one questions a legend.
Maybe you shouldn’t measure total career victories because of this inconsistency. Maybe the measure of the greatest driver should be winning percentage. Petty is still amazing winning 16.9% of the races he entered. Earnhardt was 11.2%, Waltrip 10.4%, Gordon 17.4%, but the winner was the great David Pearson , who with 105 career wins, won 18.3% of the races he entered.
The other thing the Sportcentury reminded me was the death of Adam Petty . He was 19 years old when he died, and I was lucky enough to be at his only Winston Cup Race ever at Texas Motor Speedway in April of 2000. This race was significant for 2 reasons. The first (and only) start of Adam Petty, and the first career win for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. . That race turned out to be pretty memorable. Petty died a month later, and the Petty racing tradition died that day, too.
Links:
The Shield is back! Click Here to see the episode description from Episode 41 (last season’s finale)…Episode 42 debuts tonight, 9pm on FX…
Newberg on Chan Ho’s start yesterday …
When you see this sort of spring training pitching line, you're supposed to get excited: Four innings pitched, one hit (a bunt single that was promptly erased by a double play grounder), no walks, two strikeouts, a ground ball-fly ball ratio of 8-to-2. An efficient 37 pitches, and no three-ball counts. You see results like that and figure you've got at least one pitcher who's ready to go.
Then you calculate things and see that the effort reduced the pitcher's spring ERA to 6.00. Lowered his batting average allowed to .294. He wasn't exactly cruising before Monday.
You're probably in the minority if what Chan Ho Park did to the Angels yesterday afternoon has you etching his name into the Rangers' rotation, and yeah, he was facing something less than their starting lineup, but he did manage to face the minimum in his four frames, including Vladimir Guerrero twice, and had the two-seamer doing what he wanted it to do. We all know there have been rehab assignments for Park at the lowest level of the Texas farm system that didn't go that well.
So what does it mean? Basically that Park is not yet out of the mix, at least until the next time he takes the hill.
A site to help you fill out your brackets: Poologic.com …
Peter King’s MMQB …
Mavs Notes …
The Mavericks have committed 10 or fewer turnovers in five of the past seven games, averaging just 9.9.
They now rank third in the NBA in fewest turnovers (13.48 per game) and are .2 behind first-place Minnesota. The Mavericks have led the league in fewest turnovers each of the last three seasons.
Galloway on the Mavs …
The FA Cup Semifinal Draw …
To be played 4/16 and 4/17
Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers
Newcastle United v Manchester United
It appears that they are planning to mess with the Looney Tunes. Therefore, Save our Looney Tunes.com …
Back by popular demand, The Napoleon Dynamite Soundboard …
A promising new show from Spike TV …
Dancing White Boy …It is a big laugh…
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