"Power to the People."

[JBMetzEA@aol.com]

Mark Cuban is keeping tabs on referees 
DALLAS - Before he accrued all those Internet dollars, long before he became 
a billionaire basketball owner, Mark Cuban had a baseball-like thirst for 
statistical data. And he still does, which is why Cuban's Mavericks are now 
keeping in-house statistics on referees' whistles - keeping track of how many 
fouls and violations are called each night and specifically by whom.
The first game the Mavericks charted was last Thursday's exhibition finale 
against Utah, a 104-87 defeat. Cuban didn't reveal exact numbers, but said 
that referees Jim Clark and Jim Kinsey ``basically called the game evenly.'' 
Veteran Dick Bavetta, meanwhile, made calls 2-to-1 against the Mavericks, 
according to Cuban.
``We're going to do it for every game,'' Cuban said. ``If you think about it, 
refs are just like players - every one is different. I'm also going to pass 
on the findings to the league. It will be interesting to hear their 
response.''
The data derived from the research will not be shared with Mavericks players, 
Cuban added. But he wants the coaching staff to have it, in case there's a 
play-calling advantage to be gleaned by knowing a referee's tendencies on 
3-second violations, illegal-defense calls, etc.
At Cuban's behest, the Mavericks have also relied heavily on plus-minus 
ratings dating to the final two months of last season. It's officially a 
hockey statistic, but it apparently does have some NBA merit.
After naming rookie Eduardo Najera his starting small forward for Tuesday 
night's season opener against Milwaukee, coach/general manager Don Nelson was 
pleased to learn that Najera had the best plus-minus rating of any Maverick 
during the eight-game preseason: +57. That means the Mavericks outscored the 
opposition by 57 points during the 148 minutes Najera logged in exhibition 
play.
Fegan to Dallas
Dan Fegan, the agent for Howard Eisley and Donnell Harvey - and free-agent 
forward Joe Smith - will be in Dallas on Tuesday night for the Mavericks' 
season opener.
Fegan re-iterated Sunday that Smith hopes to re-sign with Minnesota and win a 
court appeal to regain his Larry Bird rights, which were stripped last week 
by NBA commissioner David Stern. The Mavericks remain a strong contender to 
sign Smith if he doesn't return to Minnesota, along with Miami, New York, 
Phoenix and Chicago.
``Dallas is a team Joe would have to consider if (leaving Minnesota is) the 
direction he moves,'' Fegan said. ``I'm confident we'd win (the appeal) 
eventually, it's just a matter of time. It's unclear how long he would wait'' 
before ruling out Minnesota.''
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