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As Eric has taken pains to point out, I’m not a sports fan. But you know what? I know sports fans. In fact, I know sports fans who work on television and are hot. I speak, of course, of the greatness of Gina Miller. I asked Gina what she thought of last night’s Mavs pre-season game. I think we can all agree that her analysis — especially of Josh Howard’s sidelines getup — is far more trenchant than Eric’s. Jump for what she told me.

Nowitkzi is Back (in More Ways Than One)

Dirk Nowitzki finished with 23 points, thank to hitting 17 out of 19 free throws.  He made just three of 12 shots from the field.  “I took a first-class flight back (from Germany) but my jumper took a boat.”  Hah!  Kudos to the Big German!  I am loving that he is sharing his wonderful sense of humor.

He told me on media day that the one thing people would be surprised to learn about him is that he is funny and fun-loving and that his on-court persona leads many to believe he’s the uber-man with no soul.  I know it’s early in the season and we really haven’t had much of a chance to beat him down but I like everything I’ve seen from him: he’s joking with people, smiling, and genuinely seeming to enjoy himself, something we didn’t see a ton of late last season.

I’m not worried about the jumper, btw.  Everyone after the game admitted things were a little scrambled on offense.

JJ “Don’t Ask Me About the Paint” Barea

Backup guard JJ Barea did it again.  He came off the bench, played almost 26 minutes and scored 17 points, 13 in the second quarter in which Dallas outscored Orlando 27-20 en route to a 47-45 half-time lead.  Many of them were on those drives in traffic that have almost become his signature.

He’s told me that he’s sick of people asking him about his size and what it’s like to go into the lane with all these big guys looking to kill him.  “It’s just a part of the game and what I do,” he said last week.  So, of course I asked him about the success he had against the Magic.  He laughed and had a hint of an eye-roll but did admit that Orlando was one of the tougher teams to try and penetrate.  “They like to block shots and are very aggressive,” he admitted.  “My job is to get them to collapse on me to create shots for my teammates.”

It worked, at least when he was in the game last night.

Fouls Fouls and More Fouls

Usually during the course of a game, I look at the box score and bug Derek Harper and producer Cody to no end.   During the third and fourth quarter of the Mavs/Magic game, I looked at my watch time and time and time again.  This seemed like the longest NBA regulation game ever!  The replacement refs called 64 freaking fouls.  Both teams shot a combined 92 free throws!  It was a beating – for everyone involved.  One player told me he was surprised they didn’t call a foul on the fans.

The players understand there will be a feeling out process with these replacement refs but as hungry as some are for NBA basketball, no one wants a three-hour game.  New forward Kris Humphries put it best saying that his “butt was sore from sitting so long.”

And Speaking of Humphries

He’s a hit.  No doubt, he’s impressed his teammates and coaches with his play.  Humphries finished with 10 points and three rebounds against the Magic.

Humphries is an even bigger hit with the female MFFL’s.  I happened to be sitting two rows from the court in front of four of them and they couldn’t get enough of the 24-year old Minneapolis native.  They cheered at an ear-drum blasting level every time he touched the ball.  Seriously, my ears are still ringing.

“We like him,” said the oldest wannabe cougar of the bunch who projected such a throaty passion, I was almost uncomfortable in the workplace.  Sorry ladies, he’s got a girlfriend.

Fashion Faux Pas or Fab?

Josh Howard won’t see much time in the preseason as the team is bringing him along slowly after he had offseason wrist and ankle surgery.  Head Coach Rick Carlisle hopes to have him play in the latter part of the exhibition season.

Monday night he made news for what he wore.  It was a unique dark wool jacket (more on that later) that had light purple, quarter-inch piping around the lapel.  The pocket featured a custom-made 28 design.  Very cute, I thought.  Very preppy-chic and Rugby by Ralph Lauren-esque.  I told him how much I liked the look and he said he had it custom-made for his birthday (yes, THAT birthday which he celebrated with that ill-timed party).  He also said Shawn Marion (who was sitting out with a sore calf) was giving him crap about it and to tell Marion that I thought it was cool.

So, with nothing else better to do after the game, I did.   Marion, who apparently also had nothing else better to do, was stunned.  He couldn’t believe I liked it and told me it was wrong on many levels: color, design and material.  I told him the design was fresh and fun but he interrupted and said “It’s WOOL!”  I was even more stunned he knew that.  I’m with him that it might be too warm to wear the wool jacket but I was just curious how he knew: did he touch the wool jacket? Did look at the label to find out?  I couldn’t get that answer out of him but I did determine he knows a few things about clothes.

Regardless, budding fashionista (and fan of the Rugby line) that he is we went back and forth on the fabulousness of Howard’s jacket.  What was even more entertaining was the response of the all-male media throng who couldn’t believe such a passionate debate was going on in the Mavericks locker room.  Marion is many things but boring he is not.  Marion’s fashion commentary might show up on a Mavericks Game Night production on TXA21 sometime soon.  Just sayin’.