By: Joe Strupp With his team down three games to two in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat, and facing elimination tonight, you'd expect Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to be focused on beating the South Florida rivals.
But Cuban's latest shots toward the Sunshine State are directed not at the Miami Heat, but at the Miami Herald.
In an entry on his
blog, the often outspoken Cuban has denied making controversial statements attributed to him today by Herald columnist Greg Cote. The writer reported that Cuban allegedly yelled profanity at NBA Commissioner David Stern following the Maverick's loss to the Heat on Sunday night, while accusing the basketball league of being rigged.
In the column titled, "Official Coverup? Conspiracy theories no excuse for Dallas," Cote wrote "there was Cuban, whose billions can buy just about anything but a mortal slump by D-Wade, careening onto the court in a blue Jerry Stackhouse jersey after the final buzzer, screaming profanity at referee Joe Derosa. Cuban then turned to Stern and other NBA officials who were seated at the scorer's table and was overheard to shout venomously in the jubilant din, '[bleep] you! [bleep] you. Your league is rigged.'"
Cote did not respond to phone or e-mail requests for comment, while Herald deputy assistant sports editor Bill Van Smith declined to comment on the column, noting only that no correction or other clarification had been planned.
Cuban, who also did not respond to an e-mail seeking his reaction, chose instead to respond on his personal blog. In an entry posted at 12:04 p.m. today, Cuban denied making the comments and blasted the Herald for its report.
"Apparently the Miami Herald is reporting I screamed at the NBA commissioner after the game the other night. Didn't happen. I didn't say a word to the man. Not a single word. And that was absolutely by intention," Cuban wrote. "Apparently the 'reporter' has written he has several 'sources.' Well they must be the same sources the tabloids use to find two-headed babies and aliens because it didn't happen."
Cuban later down in the blog recalled a previous Herald story published last week about celebrities who were in town for the NBA Finals, which reported he had arrived by boat and had docked his vessel near the Heat's arena. "Chalk up some more great reporting to the Miami Herald. The source of phantom comments. The source where I first learned that I owned a boat and had it docked in Miami," he wrote. "BTW, the story referenced above still isn't corrected. Way to stand for accuracy folks. "
Cuban then posted what appeared to be a mock letter to the Herald, which stated "I am the easiest person in the world to get a hold of. My e-mail is everywhere. If you want to know if I have a boat BEFORE you write that I do. Just ask. If you want to know if or what I said to someone. Just ask. Going to a source. Isn't that journalism 101?"
Herald editor Tom Fiedler could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
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