2nd Round- September 19 @ 1215AM and 3AM
Semifinals- September 20 @ 1230AM and 3AM3rd Place- September 21 @ 1230AM

Finals- September 21 @ 315AM

BTV

2nd Round- September 19 @ 1215AM and 3AM
Semifinals- September 20 @ 1230AM and 3AM
3rd Place- September 21 @ 1230AM
Finals- September 21 @ 315AM

BTV

2nd Round- September 19 @ 1215AM and 3AM
Semifinals- September 20 @ 1230AM and 3AM
3rd Place- September 21 @ 1230AM
Finals- September 21 @ 315AM

BTV

ESPN
Sky Cable 31
Destiny 82

The problem with watching the Spurs - Mavs game this morning was that it was on at the same time as Jamie Oliver's reality show Jamie's Kitchen, which after seeing a two episodes of, and not even complete ones at that, has become to me the best reality show there is even if it was done almost 5 years ago.

At any rate, shuffling between Basketball TV and the Lifestyle Channel I got the most part of the game which I was determined to watch as part of my own personal 'DirkWatch', which I have even created a category of on this blog. Yes denizens and kabillions of fans of Ballex, I am now going to try and watch the travails of my favorite - to - do - something - special - player - this - year, 2006-2007 NBA MVP (with a virtual asterisk) Dirk Nowitzki. Note however, emphasis on 'try', as just like anything I have to find time for it, and when I say 'find time for it' I mean when I turn on the TV and it's there, plus if I don't have anything more pressing to do and my nieces and nephews aren't trying to grab the remote from me, I will watch the game. That's professional NBA coverage right there!

So anyway, on to the game:

The Mavs started out on a house on fire and it showed everywhere. In their body language, in the crowd (they were at home), in their uptempo playoffs level style of play and finally, in the score, scoring 33 points against the Spurs measly 19 in the 1st quarter alone.
From that point onwards it was downhill for the Spurs. Other than Manu Ginobili's usual spectacular heroics (he's doing very well this year at 19.9 pts a game starting off the bench), I can't really remember anything special to say about the Spur's 1st half and early parts of the 2nd (after which I took a break to answer some emails and make phone calls).

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If in case you haven't noticed (I know I didn't), the NBA is underway. I suppose the reason why I didn't realize it was on, even if I managed to catch the very first (Spurs* vs. Blazers) and some parts of the second (Rockets* vs. Lakers), was because of all of the pre-season games shown over and over Basketball TV, so much so that you tended not to pay too close attention anymore.

Then when I realized the crowd was pretty big, plus the fact that the games were actually non - yawners, did I finally realize - hey, I think the season has actually started.

At any rate enough with the long introduction - here again are a few things that got into my head as I watched the first few games, and even now with game going on as I write this (Dallas vs. Cleveland).

• The guy that I most want to do well - has got to be Dirk Nowitzki. Even as I watch him now - (he's brilliant btw, and looks like he's off to his old self with those brilliant jumpshots of his) - I have to wonder what in the hell went through his mind when he choked last year. And make no mistake about it, that was a choke. A very bad one, in front of the whole world to see, and when it counted the most. It is easy, I realize now, to just get angry at him and mouth what his coach said, which is that 'I never lost faith in myself', but can we really begin to comprehend the pressures that a person goes through when competing at the very highest level of their discipline? I left it at that for most of the year, but when I read this article, where it says not a single NBA GM has voted him to repeat as MVP this year, then that has got to sting more than anything. As such, Dirk has got my vote. By virtue of the GM's lack of confidence in him, making him an underdog (and of course since I'm Pinoy I always prefer the underdog), I want Dirk to succeed. So please Dirk. Go back to Germany and find whatever it is that had made you so good to begin with. Take as many Australian tours as you need. Do everything you gotta do. Just win MVP one more time and make everyone believe in you again, ok?

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