More to come when this deal is confirmed.

The biggest pieces in the trade are Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood going from the Washington Wizards to the Dallas Mavericks, and Josh Howard and Drew Gooden moving from the Dallas Mavericks to the Washington Wizards.

Full description after the jump.

In the trade, the Dallas Mavericks will receive:

Caron Butler – Small Forward

Brendan Haywood – Center

DeShawn Stevenson – Shooting Guard

The Washington Wizards receive:

Josh Howard – Small Forward

Drew Gooden – Power Forward

Quentin Ross – Small Forward

James Singleton – Power Forward

The Washington Wizards were interested in this trade for one reason only: salary relief. All of these contracts expire after this season, giving Washington a significant amount of salary relief while allowing them to keep Antawn Jamison.

The Dallas Mavericks get Butler in return, one of the stalwarts of the Wizards’ rotation for the last few seasons, and a player who is averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds this year while making almost $10 million. Butler will turn 30 years old next month.

Haywood is averaging almost 10 points and 10 rebounds this season, and at 30 years old, gives the Dallas Mavericks a quality center they can rotate in with Erick Dampier. Haywood is also making only $6 million this season, an affordable price, especially considering Dampier will be a free agent after the season.

Quite simply, this trade is an outright steal for the Dallas Mavericks. Butler and Haywood are consistent, quality players that will easily fit into the team’s rotation. Butler is a definite upgrade over Howard, although it does sadden me as a fan to see Josh leave. It was time though, as he had fallen well out of favor.

Drew Gooden turned into the best possible signing for the Dallas Mavericks, as he showed enough after being signed to a one year deal to be traded for something better. Haywood and Dampier should be a nice center combination that will allow both players to remain fresh through the end of games.

My only concern is that Butler and Haywood have been on a losing team the past couple of seasons, and it is worrisome sometimes to acquire players that haven’t been winning recently. At this point, though, there is absolutely no reason for concern. This is a fine trade for the Dallas Mavericks, and a great reason to get even more excited about the second half of the season.

Butler pic: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/Yankees3Fan7/tag/NFL

Howard pic: http://www.xtec.cat/centres/a8061117/alumnes/wait/esports/nba/nba.html

Lets take a look at who is competing as well as what tv channel, time & date and other information you will need to know heading into Saturday’s slam dunk competition. Gordon and DeRozan will compete in a Dunk-in to see who will compete in the competition.

Nate Robinson
Gerald Wallace
Shannon Brown
Eric Gordon
or
DeMar DeRozan

2010 NBA Slam Dunk Competition TV Channel, Day / Date, Location
Slam Dunk Competition Day / Date: Saturday, Feb. 13, 8:30 p.m. ET
Slam Dunk Competition Location: American Airlines Center
Slam Dunk Competition TV Channel: TNT

Previous NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champions
Nate Robinson – 2009 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion
Dwight Howard – 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion
Gerald Green – 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion
Nate Robinson – 2006 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion
Josh Smith – 2005 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champoion

Right after learning that his suit with the SEC had been dropped, Mark Cuban has been sued by a company controlled by Ross Perot, Jr., claiming the Mavs owner wrongfully diverted millions of AAC-related profits to fund the Mavs.

To read the full story from The Dallas Morning News and get all the details, click here.

Lots of legal jargon and seemingly complex terms, so let’s sort it all out.

• Mark Cuban currently owns 76% of the Mavs, making him the majority owner. Perot, called a “very minority” owner by Cuban in an e-mail to The Dallas Morning News, does still own part of the team. Cuban said his biggest mistake was not completely buying out Perot’s interest of the team.
• The lawsuit: Perot’s company, Hillwood Center Partners, said Mark Cuban has used profits from a company he controls (Radical Arena, Ltd.) to help fund the Mavs.
• Perot’s company says the profits from that company should have been redistributed to the partners.
• Cuban owns 92.5% of Radical Arena while Hillwood owns the rest.
• Radical Arena owns around one-third of Center Operating Co., whose ownership is split evenly between Mark Cuban’s Mavs and Tom Hicks’ Stars.
• Hicks is not involved in any way.
• The complaint says Radical Arena’s loans to the Mavs total more than $29 million with an interest rate of 3.5% – a very low rate.
• Cuban guesses that the total amount of interest owed to Perot is somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million.

So why is Perot lodging this complaint against Cuban? His company can only gain the 7.5% of the $29 mil + interest. The other 92.5%? It goes back to Cuban.

Cuban, in the DMN article, compared this lawsuit to Perot “trying to find nickels in the sofa cushion.”

Take that for whatever it’s worth, but I’ve got a feeling this lawsuit is going to fade away just as quickly as the last one did.

Cuban pic: http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/watchdog/blog/2007/11/mark_cuban_dives_into_the_mixe.html

I have a bit of a mixed reaction to this story. First of all, I think that more coverage of Dallas sports teams is a good thing. There are a ton of voracious sports fans in this city, and I think that more coverage can be beneficial to fans who are looking for more coverage of our teams. ESPN Dallas is supposedly going to be launched sometime this fall, and I think that if it is similar to ESPN Chicago, it won’t fail miserably.

However, there are plenty of reservations I have when hearing about this move. One of the problems with ESPN Chicago is that, especially early in its lifespan, it didn’t seem like the reporters were actually doing any groundbreaking reporting; they were simply regurgitating what they found on other websites and putting all of that information in one place for Chicago sports fans. If that happens in ESPN Dallas, I think it will fail. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are big enough markets  to draw enough curious interest to sustain itself simply by regurgitation. If ESPN Dallas hopes to survive, I think that they must come up with original content people aren’t going to find in other places. Unfortunately for Dallas fans, that could mean more Ed Werder and Skip Bayless, since they have some experience in the area. Although it also could mean more Matt Mosley, which I would be all for.

And of course there’s the apocalyptic feelings of some blogs that ESPN is eventually going to have an outpost everywhere. I would be more concerned about this, but I kind of already figured it was going to happen anyway, so whatever. Besides, people get their sports news from ESPN most of the time anyway. If the coverage is better than what we have, I’m all for it. If the coverage of Dallas sports does not improve, I probably won’t acknowledge that ESPN Dallas exists.

No pressure, Worldwide Leader.

With the release of Madden ’10 looming on the horizon and NCAA Football ’10 still fresh on the shelves, it seemed like the perfect time to break out a list. What list? The ten best sports video games ever conceived by mankind.

There are no fancy ranking systems or formulas to determine which of these is the best sports video game; purely my own personal experience and bias. If you don’t like my choices, post your own in the comments. Before we get to the list, though, we’ve got a few games that didn’t quite make the cut for best sports video game. And just as a point: racing games were not included for consideration.

Best Sports Video Game – Honorable Mention:

Mario Tennis (N64) – A game so easy to pick up and play, it’s amazing it took so long to think of it. Mario and friends play tennis. What could be easier? Still fun no matter how much graphics change things. One of the best sports video games, but not quite reaching that upper echelon of “best sports video games” that the games on the list reached. Sometimes could play a little too slow.

Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf (NES) – An obscure game that consumed my youth on the NES. Was it the best sports video game ever? Far from it. Two courses and four characters? Not exactly a whole lot of depth to the game. But golf games have always been pretty simple and I enjoy them quite a bit. But since I played this game so much in my memory, it’s on the list. Barely.

Excitebike (NES) – Excitebike has gotten quite a bit more pub recently after being rereleased on the Game Boy Advance and spawning its own “Excite series.” I don’t have very many memories of this game, but if Matt Lawrence vouches for it, well then, by God, it’s good enough for me.

Best Sports Video Game – The List

10th Best Sports Video Game

Major League Baseball featuring Ken Griffey Jr. (N64) – The Nintendo 64, for my money, is the best video game system of all-time. I do have a bias, as that system is the one I grew up playing, but it was a system full of great games. One of which happens to be this title, released in 1998. This is not a straight baseball simulation, which does hurt its standing. But a simple hitting graphic (put the circle around the box) led to some fun play and the 10th best sports video game on this list. Graphics aren’t that great, but you can get through a whole season with stats (that was a big deal once) and all of the ballparks are included. And pitch speeds range from 47 mph to 106! What’s more fun than that?

9th Best Sports Video Game

FIFA Soccer Series (XBOX 360, PS3) – I greatly enjoy soccer. I played it for most of my life, and I enjoy watching it. FIFA is a fantastic game, especially if played on a huge HD screen. This may seem a little low with all of that taken into account, but to me, it’s a game that I could always find a way to put down. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I’m not that good. One of the best sports games out there, but I suppose I prefer to just watch people who are better at it than me.

8th Best Sports Video Game

Tecmo Bowl (NES) – The sequel to this game, Tecmo Super Bowl, might actually be the game that’s played more today, I’m putting Tecmo Bowl on this list because it created the sequel. (After all, without Tecmo Bowl, there’s no Tecmo Super Bowl.) One of the best sports video games along with the oldest in our top ten, Tecmo Bowl had four plays per team. Bo Jackson had one. Talk about injustices.

7th Best Sports Video Game

NFL Blitz (PlayStation) – Check your expectations of a realistic game at the door. On this list, NFL Blitz stands up with the best of them for simple, pure fun among the best sports video games ever. Put in some cheat codes (or agree to not have any) and just go to town. Penalties? Pssh. We don’t need no stinkin’ penalties. An added bonus: A great announcer. IS THAT LEGAL???!!!

6th Best Sports Video Game

Madden NFL series (All systems) – The Madden games are great, but they’ve gone downhill over the last couple of years after EA Sports bought the exclusive license for the NFL and the NFLPA. (Related story – this is why The Show is the only baseball game worth getting) When EA had some competition, there wasn’t much argument over who had the best game. So why did they even have to buy the rights in the first place? Why am I asking questions of myself? Am I going crazy? Still excellent games, though, and worthy of this spot on the list of best sports video games.

5th Best Sports Video Game

Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey (N64) – There have been quite a few arcade-style games in this list of the best sports video games. Why is that? They’re fun. This one is another sports video game that is just fun. Get the game fired up, pick a team, pick a line of three players from that team, and you’re on your way. Power shots? Check. Power checks? Check. An overly excited announcer? Check. (See a pattern here? I’m a sucker for over-the-top announcers.) Put it all together and you have an awesome game. It’s so simple!

4th Best Sports Video Game

Tiger Woods PGA Tour Series (All systems) – As far as golf games go, you can’t get any better than these. This latest entry on to our list of best sports video games ever has such a multitude of features that “completing the game” is a task equal to that of most adventure games. Some of the best courses in the world are on these games, and if there’s a golfer you want to play as, just pick one, and he or she is probably in there. A series that continues to get better in every way.

3rd Best Sports Video Game

NBA Jam (SEGA Genesis) – The original arcade sports game. I don’t care what the facts say; this was it. 2-on-2 action complete with eight pointers, HE’S ON FIRE!!!!!, and even players who were left out (MJ). Arcade sports games dream of becoming NBA Jam. In fact, I’d argue that NBA Jam is still on top of the list of basketball video games, 15 years after its release. Boomshackalacka.

2nd Best Sports Video Game

MVP Baseball 2005 (XBOX, PS2, GameCube) – The last EA Sports baseball game, and quite possibly the deepest sports game ever created. I’m still trying to unlock all the created players and uniforms, four years after this game was released. Near the top of the best sports video game list because you could have a dynasty featuring a major-league team and its top three minor league affliates. Also – you could be an owner and build up your team from minor-league level to Yankees-level cash cow. Practice modes, plus tons of unlockable players, uniforms and stadiums.

Best Sports Video Game

NHL ’94 (Sega Genesis) – If you haven’t played this game, you’re missing out. The best sports video game ever, hands down. Realistic (and fun) gameplay, you could play through a whole season with stats, crash through the glass, and one-time a shot past the goalie. For those lucky enough to still have a Genesis, this game must be in your collection, no matter what.

So there you have it. There are still great sports games out there, but some of the better ones have been around quite awhile.

PICS:

Gretzky cover: http://www.gamespot.com/pages/image_viewer/boxshot.php?pid=199279

Blitz cover: http://www.vgmuseum.com/scans/psx.html

NHL ’94 shot: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=445412

Griffey cover: http://www.gamespot.com/pages/image_viewer/boxshot.php?pid=197847

Baseball Time in Arlington’s Top 25 Prospect Rankings – (Baseball Time in Arlington)

Mike Hindman’s prospect rankings (split into three parts) – (InsideCorner)

B.J. Ryan’s job interview – (Food Court Lunch)

The Showdown: Whitlock vs. Bennett – (Deadspin)

A defense of the Mavs front office – (dallasbasketball.com)

Why the 2009 Dallas Cowboys feel different – (Blogging the Boys)

Is he taking a poop?

***UPDATE*** According to the Orlando Sentinel’s Josh Robbins, the Magic will match the Mavericks‘ offer for Marcin Gortat. Great. Looks like we got Otis-ed, with the quite aptly named Magic GM Otis Smith making Brandon Bass AND Gortat disappear from beneath Mark Cuban’s nose like a puff of smoke. Ah well. At least we still have The List.

Brandon Bass was recently snatched up by the Orlando Magic by way of free-agency. So that sucks. There goes the only player on the team that played with any sort of intensity (read: cajones). The good news: looks as if that makes way for Marcin Gortat to be playing his home games at the AAC next season. Though Orlando still has until later this week to match the $5.854 million offer sheet that the Mavs have given to the Polish Hammer, it’s unlikely that will happen considering that the Magic are already over the league’s luxury tax. Any offer will likely cost them twice of what Dallas would end up paying.

But local fans are understandably apprehensive about accepting another big white stiff into our ranks, considering the long and painful road that class of NBA player has inflicted upon us. It’s going to take a lot of fantastic play to overcome what seems like centuries of piss-poor court time from legendary stinkers like Shawn Bradley. Remember when T-Mac rode ol’ Bradley like a horse? I was in attendance that night and I was sure that McGrady was going to get called out by the animal cruelty zealots. Will we ever be able to recover from a shock like that?

So Mr. Gortat, if you do end up coming to the Mavs this summer, take a reeeal good look at what we offer here. Following is a collection of some of the biggest stiffs who have paved the way for your perceived imminent suckitude in this city. This is going to hurt me a lot more that it’s going to hurt you. Good luck!

Top 15 17 Biggest White Stiffs in Dallas Mavericks History

15. Keith Van Horn  

Invisble in the clutch, Van Horn averaged a career 16 points per game. His only full season with the Mavs yielded a paltry 8.9 PPG and proved to be his swan song in the NBA. Stats.

14. Christian Laettner   

That shot at Duke was lucky. The fact that this guy was a member of the original Dream Team is a tragedy. It’s only fitting that this overrated stiff would end up in a Mavericks uniform. Stats.

13. Austin Croshere  

This guy had a career PER of 14.3, yet he could only muster 10.9 as a Mav. That was his poorest season of his illustrious career. Stats.

12. Raef LaFrentz  

Weak Sauce. This guy is a wimp. And he’s terrible. Mucho facepalm. Stats.

11. Nick Fazekas  

D-League Wonder. What a waste of a draft pick. I think this numberless press photo is a testament to how much the Mavs expected this guy to contribute. Stats.

10. Chris Anstey  

Are you kidding me? Another epic draft day fail. Why would you ever draft an Aussie who only started playing basketball at age 17? And ask the Milwaukee Bucks, you should never put any of your eggs in an Australian basket. It’s bound to have a hole in the bottom. Stats.

9. Cherokee Parks  

Sweet tat, boss. Stats.

8. Tom LaGarde  

He’s the goofy-looking dude on the left. This OG sucky stiff has the honor of being one of the first five Mavericks starters when the team began NBA play in 1980. Stats. Honorable mention to Ralph Drollinger, the dude with the ball. His NBA career consisted of six games for Dallas during that inaugural season. Wait — why did they let him hold the ball, again?

7. Evan Eschmeyer  

Hard to find pics on the Web of this guy on the court. I wonder why. Stats.

6. Eric Montross  

I’ve never seen a more appropriate jersey number in the wide world of sports. Stats.

5. Loren Meyer  

Look, he’s all aglow! I could only find pics of Loren Meyer from his old basketball cards. Judging by his career numbers, he probably coulda used that ladder on the court. Maybe he woulda got more run if he could have found a way to sneak that little prop past the scorer’s table. Brilliant first round draft pick, D-Mavs [golf clap]. Stats.

4. Uwe Blab  

Next pick in the 1985 NBA Draft: Hall of Famer Joe Dumars. Here’s Blab’s stats.

3. Greg Dreiling 

This guy sucked for us in 1993-94. So he went to Cleveland the next season. Then he was out of basketball in 1995-96. So guess who the Mavericks decided to sign for the 1996-97 season? You guessed it. Stats.

2. Pavel Podkolzin  

He’s 7’5″. But it’s not like he’s a Michaelangelo-esque physical specimen. He’s sick. Literally. After withdrawing from the 2003 NBA Draft due to a pituitary disorder, the Mavericks made the woeful decision of picking up Pavel Podkolzin in the following year’s first round. What. The. Fuck. This is also the guy who informed me that it was possible to have a career player efficiency rating less than zero with -2.8. Thank you PP! Stats.

1. Shawn Bradley  

This guy is legendary for his ineptitude. And we gave him an obscene amount of money well north of $50 million. Ouch. Check out this compilation of the Top 10 Dunks on Shawn Bradley. Stats.

What’s with the 17 you ask?

In a move that inspired by the Dave Chappelle Show’s Racial Draft, I’ve decided to add a couple honorary members to the list. I know they aren’t white, but who’s going to claim these guys?

*Wang Zhizhi  

This anomaly was the first Chinese-born NBA player. And he’s seven feet tall. And he’s scared to get anywhere near the basket. I could understand hiring this guy if the Mavericks were a traveling carnival. But, after researching for this article I’m beginning to realize that we kind of are. Stats.

*Erick Dampier  

I don’t think that any Mavericks starter has been the target of more scorn than this man. It’s a wonder that he even made it to the league considering that he is handicapped. Playing a professional sport with no balls, no heart and no hands is actually kind of impressive. Stats.

But Gortat may still have hope.

Check out this gnarly Air Jordan tattoo that he sports on his calf.

So he’s still big, but does this take away any of his white-ness or stiff-ness? I mean Jordan was pretty much the opposite of the type of player that we’ve lambasted today, so I’m gonna say that Jortat might just get a pass on this one. Only time will tell.

As UFC 100 betting grabs most of the sports headlines entering the weekend, Dallas’ top sports teams continue to retool and prepare for their upcoming season. Let’s check in with the Mavericks, Cowboys and Stars to see what’s new.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs are easily the busiest of all Dallas teams in the front office of late. First, they retained point guard Jason Kidd by signing him to a new three-year contract worth over $25 million. The deal pays Kidd through his 39th birthday. While Kidd’s 9.0 points per game was the lowest average of his career, his 40.6 three-point percentage was his second best single-season mark and his 8.7 assists fit his normal lofty standards.

The Mavs also just completed a multi-team trade that could significantly change the hoops betting landscape next season. While the biggest name moving in the deal may be Hedo Turkolgu going to Toronto, the Mavs make the biggest roster shakeup of any team involved. Dallas says goodbye to Jerry Stackhouse (going to Memphis), Devean George (Toronto) and Antoine Wright (Toronto). On the way to Dallas are Shawn Marion, the centerpiece of the deal, Kris Humphries, Nathan Jawai and Greg Buckner. It’s safe to say the Mavs will look very different on opening night of the 2009-10 season, and offshore sportsbook odds makers have taken notice.

Dallas Cowboys

Nothing major to report for the ’Boys, though their summer of offense experimentation continues. The latest idea: using Marion Barber and Felix Jones in the same backfield. The plan would extend beyond two-back sets, possibly spreading Jones wide, though his pass-catching ability wasn’t tested last season. The plan sounds reminiscent of New Orleans’ use of Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush a couple of seasons ago.

Dallas Stars

For the most part, the Stars have sat idle as other teams spend like crazy this NHL offseason. The Stars lost the Jonas Gustavsson sweepstakes to the Toronto Maple Leafs, meaning Marty Turco looks safe to retain the No. 1 goaltending job next season. Jere Lehtinen will be a Dallas Star for at least one more season; he signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal just before unrestricted free agency began on July 1. One of my main sports predictions for the season: If the Stars fall out of the playoff race come winter, I’m betting management trades Lehtinen to a contender.