Jet hosts Autobahn Celebrity Golf Classic

Just weeks before hitting the court for the Dallas Mavericks, Jason Terry will hit the links with other local celebrities as he hosts the 2008 Autobahn Celebrity Golf Classic. This is the first time Terry will host his Mavericks teammates and other professional athletes in this event benefiting children through Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Jason Terry Foundation. Sports celebrities and athletes will pair with participants for 18 holes of golf at the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas on September 15.

"I believe it's important to utilize our gifts as professional athletes, and all that goes along with that, to provide children opportunities they may not otherwise have," said Terry. "If hosting teammates and other athletes in the Dallas area for golf will help change the lives of children involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters and The Jason Terry Foundation, I say tee-it-up."

Celebrities already confirmed for the event include Terry, Jerry Stackhouse, Gary Payton, Kurt Thomas, Rocket Ismail, Corey Dillon, Desmond Howard, Nick Van Exel, Michael Irvin, DeSagana Diop, Fred Brown, Spud Webb, Kenyon Martin, Raja Bell, Rashard Lewis, Antoine Walker and many more.

The redesigned TPC Four Seasons course in Las Colinas will feature caddies and an exclusive tournament format limited to only 18 teams. Jason Terry's celebrity friends will be paired with each foursome participating. For more information about the 2008 Autobahn Celebrity Golf Tournament or the Cantina Laredo "Party Under the Stars" contact Skyler Harper at 817.905.GOLF.

Terry has established his own foundation, The Jason Terry Foundation, supporting both community athletic and academic programs in his hometown. He also supports cancer causes and regularly participates in the NBA Read To Achieve and NBA All Star Reading Teams.

Big Brothers Big Sisters places caring adults in the lives of children in one-to-one mentoring relationships. Through the positive impact of those friendships, children with a Big Brother or Big Sister are more likely to graduate from high school and less likely to begin using drugs, begin using alcohol or become teenage parents. Contact us at 888.887.BIGS or http://www.bbbstx.org/

Southwest Division: Outlooks

The Southwest Division is arguably the toughest in the NBA, but is it tough enough to wrestle the trophy away from Boston? I bet the folks in Big D, Big Easy, Bayou City and Alamo City seem to think so.

The last of a three-part series by site writers from the Southwest discusses each team’s outlook for the upcoming season. As for the rest of the series, Part I: Major Moves Part II: Summer League.

Hoop Troop Tryout

The Mavs Dr Pepper Hoop Troop and Best Western Party Patrol will be holding tryouts for its 2008-09 squads on Saturday, September 13th on the Mavs practice court at American Airlines Center. Registration begins at 10:00 AM, and tryouts will take place from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM.

The Dr Pepper Hoop Troop is looking for individuals with some type of cheerleading, tumbling, stunting, or other acrobatic experience, and the Best Western Party Patrol is in search of crazy Mavs fanatics to help keep the arena rowdy on game nights. Men and women who are enthusiastic, want to show their Mavs spirit, and are at least 18 years of age are encouraged to apply.

Interested individuals can visit mavs.com for an application, which should be submitted to Mavs Hoop Troop/Party Patrol Auditions, 2909 Taylor Street, Dallas, TX 75226. To be eligible, all applications must be received byWednesday, September 10th.

Southwest Division: Summer League

Gerald Green and O.J. Mayo were able to light up the guys in summer league, but are they ready for prime time in the rugged Southwest Division? What about the new faces in Houston, San Antone and the Big Easy?

The team writers from Southwest take you through all that happened this summer in the second of a three-part series titled Summer League Synopsis. The first installment was Major Moves and it'll finish with the Outlooks for the upcoming season.

Check out the second installment at mavs.com.

Casey's Journal: The End

(Mavs trainer Casey Smith also performed those duties for Team USA. He kept a journal on life at the Olympics in Beijing. This is the last entry.)

So I am on a plane from Minneapolis to Dallas. It has been 21 hours since we left the hotel in Beijing, and it will be another 2 or 3 before I get home. I’m tired, hung-over, happy, need a shower, and officially tired of hotel food, shampoo in tiny bottles and 2 inch bars of soap. I can’t remember what it is like to drive a car, use a real key, or use a remote that I don’t have to wonder which button controls what.

But I can say that this has honestly been the best professional and to some extent personal experience I have had. The World Championships in 2006 that entailed the trips to China, Korea, and Japan seem like a lifetime ago. I know more about the geography of Las Vegas (where we have had 3 years of training camps) than I do Dallas … almost.

In our sports world there truly are few comparisons to what the team has experienced. The pressure to win and the performance that was turned in by the players is unimaginable. In the regular NBA season, you can always qualify the wins/losses as good/bad, great season, we overachieved, etc. But in this situation, you simply could not lose 1 game. Think about that. Not a single game.

For example, think about the Lakers this season. They had a better season than almost everyone expected, Kobe won the MVP, they have high hopes for next season, but they lost 4 of their last 6 games. But everyone says “Yeah, but they had a great season.” There isn’t any such luxury for these guys.

We flew from Beijing to Anchorage this morning to clear customs and refuel. Then we flew to Minneapolis where we all caught flights to take us to our final destinations. So at the airport in Anchorage, I was reading some of the media coverage of the game yesterday, and I read the Associated Press article that ESPN had up first. It is probably the most widely read account of the game that will be printed in newspapers worldwide.

So it’s obvious how I feel about the team, and of course the guy from the AP simply qualified the victory as lucky. Luck? Are you kidding me? Luck like hitting 45% of our 3-point shots, luck like hitting almost all of our free throws in the second half, luck like not caving under extreme pressure, luck like weathering horrendous officiating, luck like taking the best game that Spain (who starts 5 players drafted by the NBA and one that will be when he is old enough) could hope to offer and still beating them by 11 points.

So 2 games played a combined 48 point differential and we are lucky. Anyway, the people that were there, the people that watched it know that it wasn’t luck, it was the exact position that these guys are faced with every time they take the floor against international competition. They have to play as well as they can or try every time. But it was just luck. Anyway, vent officially over.

Quite a few people have asked me what the locker room was like after the game, and the locker room was actually a little surreal and subdued. The on-court scene immediately after the final buzzer and the sensation with 25 seconds left was just an overwhelming sense of relief and pride. To see that these guys really had taken the task at hand seriously literally almost day-in and day-out was impressive. In the locker room, everyone was just a little dazed. Some of my favorite moments from the day were:

• The raising of the American Flag after the medal presentation. This really is an easy one, but it is more emotional than you think.
• The look on Coach K’s face with 25 seconds to go and he realizes that this is really happening.
• The look on the face of the people that work day-in and day-out for USA Basketball. They have lived this for 8 years since the last gold. For the rest of us it has been a summer job. For them it has been their lives.
• Watching Argentina and Spain, the other Medal winners, watching our guys celebrate in the hallway prior to walking out for the Medal Ceremony.
• The bus ride back to the hotel when the guys let loose the champagne sprays. We didn’t do it in the locker room at the USOC’s request, so to do that in such a small space was crazy.
• The way that all 12 of the players stepped up to the podium in unison.
• All 12 of the players going to the postgame press conference, instead of only a selected few.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough. I have attached 3 pics. The first is the guys at center court immediately after the final horn sounded, and the other 2 are self explanatory (first and second). I will see you all down the road.

All the best,
Casey

Gold medalist Kidd in select company

The following was released today by the NBA office:

The U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team defeated Spain in Sunday’s gold medal game in Beijing, bringing the total to 24 current or former NBA players who earned medals at the 2008 Olympic Games. Argentina defeated Lithuania for the bronze medal.

The NBA was well represented on the rosters for the men’s basketball competition at the 2008 Olympic Games. A total of 42 current and former NBA players were on the 12 Olympic rosters, the highest number since NBA players began participating in the Olympics in 1992. Ten Olympic teams had at least one current or former player on their roster.

The United States, dating back to the 1936 Olympic Games, has captured 13 of the 16 Olympic gold medals which it competed for. With the victory, Jason Kidd extended his international record to 56-0 in Olympics, Olympic qualifying and exhibition games. Kidd joins a distinguished list of NBA players, including Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan and David Robinson, among others, that have won multiple Olympic gold medals.

First-time Olympians and gold-medalists for the United States include Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors), Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz), Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers), Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets), Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons), Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks), Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz).

The silver medal-winning Spanish Olympic Team featured seven current or former NBA players, led by Pau Gasol (L.A. Lakers), Jose-Manuel Calderon (Toronto Raptors), Rudy Fernandez (Portland Trail Blazers), Jorge Garbajosa (Toronto Raptors, 2007-08), Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies), Raul Lopez (Utah Jazz, 2002-05) and Juan Carlos Navarro (Memphis Grizzlies, 2007-08)

Argentina received the Bronze and was led by Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs), Carlos Delfino (Toronto Raptors, 2007-08, Detroit Pistons 2004-07), Andres Nocioni (Chicago Bulls), Fabricio Oberto (San Antonio Spurs), and Luis Scola (Houston Rockets).

NBA 101: Basketball for Women

Attention all ladies! Here's your chance to go behind the scenes and learn basic basketball fundamentals from Mavs players, coaches, and staff. Get all the inside scoop on the Mavs at NBA 101! Click here for the application.

WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 17th, 6-10PM
WHERE: American Airlines Center
• Park in Lot F (north side on All-Star Way)
• Enter American Airlines Center through the north entrance
COST: $65 per attendee
• Enrollment is limited to the first 200 applicants

WHAT IS INCLUDED:
• Dinner and refreshments provided (Cash bar)
• Voucher for two tickets to a preseason game
• NBA 101 T-Shirt
• NBA 101 Workbook

CONTENT/FORMAT (subject to change):
• Groups of 20-25 rotate among various stations
• Raffle tickets sold for various prizes
• Dinner and Drinks in the Old #7
• Mavs ManiAACs Performance
• Group photos taken and available for order

ROTATIONS (subject to change):
• Rotations 1, 2, 3 on practice court:
• 1-Offense
• 2-Officiating/Rules
• 3-Defense
• 4-therapy room: injuries/rehab
• 5-weight room: strength and conditioning regimen
• 6-locker room: Q&A with select players and group photo
• 7-Old #7 Club: Broadcasters

Devean George re-signed

DALLAS— The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have re-signed forward Devean George. Per team policy, terms of the deal were undisclosed.

George, a nine-year veteran, played his first seven seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers before the Mavericks originally signed him on August 2, 2006. In 53 games last season with four starts, George averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game. Over his NBA career, he holds averages of 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 542 games.

The Minneapolis native attended Augsburg College before being drafted by the Lakers with the 23rd pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. He is the seventh player in NBA history to win an NBA championship in each of his first three seasons and also is the first player from a Division III university to appear in the NBA Finals.

“Getting Devean back in a Mavs uniform has been a goal of ours all summer,” said Head Coach Rick Carlisle. “His experience and ability to run the floor and play and defend multiple positions will be a great asset for us this season.”

Casey's Journal: Wow

(Mavs trainer Casey Smith also performed those duties for Team USA. He kept a journal on life at the Olympics in Beijing. This one sums it all up.)

It is 5:15 am and I am getting ready to check out of the hotel and head to the airport. What a game. It is hard to describe the sense of accomplishment and genuine joy that the guys seem to display by this.

I crawled into bed about an hour ago, but I have plenty of time to sleep on the plane. I got some great pictures tonight, but I think this one sums it up the best.

Wow.

Thanks for all of the emails and good wishes. I look to catching up with each of you in time and sharing more of what a great, but exhausting experience this has been.

Casey

Beach volleyball: Brandon and Pacman

Brandon Bass and Adam "Pacman" Jones are teaming up to host the First Annual Celebrity Volleyball Beach Battle on Sept. 13 at the Yucatan Beach Club in Coppell.

Josh Howard, Jason Terry, J.J. Barea and several Dallas Cowboys will also participate in the charity tournament.

Each celebrity will play on a team with four fans. The cost is $2,500 per team, with proceeds going to the Brandon Bass Reach Back Foundation.

Tickets will be sold for $10 (adults) and $5 (children).

For more info: (310) 774-1999 or email linda@lunachicpr.com. Also click on the flyer image (left) for an expanded view with plenty of details.

Win an autographed Dirk shirt

The good folks over at 41-world.com, Dirk's official site, have devised a 41-question quiz. There's still time to enter and the winner gets Dirk's autographed t-shirt from the Nike Human Race that he'll run in Munich on August 31st.

The questions run the gamut from layups to half-court heaves, but those serious Dirk fans (with the help of Google and Wiki) should be able to figure it out. So head on over to 41-world.com and start the quiz here under the blog section.

It's truly ri-Dirk-culous.