As the Off-season Continues...

As a fan, it is sometimes interesting to pour over a team's moves and non-moves when games are not being played; and when the team is sent on a longer-than-expected vacation, it provides more time for the, sometimes futile, exercise. This offseason seems like it will not end, especially when the only news being released now is when ticket plans go on sale, and how Brian Cardinal is going to impersonate Tim Thomas this year for the Mavericks. No offense to either of those guys, but I could care less who sits at the end of the bench in the fourth quarter while Carlisle horsewhips Dirk Nowitzki. It simply does not matter who keeps Dirk from playing a full 48 minutes. Watching the movement in a story like that is dull.

Inactivity, to fans, feels like torture, but at the same time, I have to wonder why individuals put themselves through such an ordeal every year when no one is forcing them into devotion. It could be that this team has left its fans wanting more because we see the passion and dedication in the owner, and its star player, but passion does not lead anywhere.

Coming back every year for something different is what every fan does, except for those who keep winning championships, and it makes me wonder why. This team doesn't owe me a championship just because they failed at their only chance in 2006. They do not even owe themselves a championship, but there is one thing they do owe themselves, and that is an honest outlook.

Mark Cuban has said that the Mavericks have enough depth on the bench and length to match up favorably with the Lakers. Great. Way to go out on a limb, Cuban. It seems like I have heard this in the past. I noticed that he did not mention how the Mavs compare to the Spurs, the team that knocked Dallas out of the playoffs this past season. Maybe he should look at that instead of looking ahead to a series that might never happen.

For once, I wish this team would be honest with itself and its fans, and admit that the dedication, and to a lesser extent faith, placed in them by us is not misguided. Surely, that is a reasonable request. Tell us how we compare to the teams that we will be facing in the playoffs, not the Lakers.

Give us a reason why this season will be any different from previous years because optimism without basis becomes redundant, and eventually it runs out.