Larry Brown Sports

Jason Witten and Tony Romo are pretty tight, so we’ve heard. The two may have to welcome a third man into their circle after receiving unsolicited support earlier in the week.

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki tweeted some words of encouragement for Romo on Monday after the Cowboys quarterback blew a 24-point lead against the Lions. Romo hasn’t responded to it, but tight end Jason Witten spoke for him.

“What [Dirk] really said at the bottom of that tweet is what it’s all about,” Witten told reporters. “Keep your mind focused and keep working hard. I think that’s kind of the mindset, on the outside, looks like how he went about his game.

“I think Tony’s done the same thing and we’re trying to do the same thing. We got a long way to go until we’re playing in those types of (championship) games (like Nowitzki did). It’s good to think about it. It’s good to prepare in those situations and hope that you put yourself in position. But it was a class act for him to do that. I know Tony appreciated it.”

It was a nice gesture of Dirk to support Romo, but their situations are much different. Dirk’s teams didn’t perform well in the playoffs until last season (and arguably 2006). Individually, Dirk never was the reason the Mavs lost. On the other hand, Romo has had some pretty epic choke jobs, including the season-opener to the Jets, and last weekend against Detroit. The encouragement is extremely thoughtful, but the situations are much different. I can’t wait to hear what Drew Pearson will say in response.

Stand back, Cowboys fans.  Drew Pearson is on the war path.  No matter how long it takes or how many people he has to blast along the way, the former Dallas receiver is determined to get through to this underachieving collection of talent that could one day become a team.  Pearson will not stand for anyone getting in between him and ripping on the Cowboys.  That even goes for you, Dirk Nowitzki.

On Monday, the day after Tony Romo threw three second-half interceptions against the Lions, Nowitzki offered the Cowboys quarterback a few words of encouragement.  Pearson’s message for the NBA Finals MVP: Knock it off — this is a real game.

“Hey Dirk, this is football, this ain’t basketball,” Pearson told KESN-FM’s Ben and Skin Show via Game On!. “This is a real game where a lot of emotions play a lot more heavily into what you’re doing out there as a professional. I respect Dirk, there’s no question, and I know where he’s coming from because he has sustained the criticism and now the criticism has stopped because they won an NBA championship. So what he should be telling Tony is if you want to stop the criticism, quit making those kinds of mistakes and lead your team to a championship.”

While the “this is a real game” portion of Pearson’s comments was probably uncalled for, he has a point.  If Dirk still hadn’t won a championship I doubt he would be telling Tony, “I get crapped on all the time too but just keep doing what you’re doing.” Nowitzki hushed his doubters the only way you can — by winning.  Until Romo learns to protect the ball with the game on the line, he will not be able to do that.

Helmet smack to Sportress of Blogitude for the story.

As I sat and watched the Cowboys dismantle the Lions on Sunday, a few different thoughts ran through my head.  Among them were “last week’s win has given the Cowboys their swagger back,” and, “Detroit could be in the process of proving it is a pretender.”  By the time the clock ran down to 0:00 in the fourth quarter, order had been restored in the football world.

The Lions proved they are still a playoff contender; Calvin Johnson further solidifed his standing as the best wide receiver in the NFL; Matthew Stafford showed he can lead a team back from a huge deficit; the Lions defense proved it can get stops when needed; and Tony Romo reminded us that there is no quarterback in the NFL who is better at throwing away a game.

Romo may have thrown three interceptions and two pick-sixes in the second half to personally secure a Lions victory, but at least he has Dirk Nowitzki to pick him up if he’s feeling down. The reigning NBA Finals MVP sent this comforting message to Romo Monday:

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Many player ratings for the popular basketball video game NBA 2K12 were revealed Tuesday. We already knew that LeBron James was ranked higher than Kobe Bryant, but we didn’t know that reigning Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki got the shaft.

Pasta Padre posted the ratings for any player who got higher than an 80. It was disturbing how far down the list one had to go before finding Dirk.

Dirk Nowitzki was tied for 14th in the ratings. He received an 85, tying him with Blake Griffin, Andre Iguodala, Manu Ginobili, and Rajon Rondo. Rudy Gay and Pau Gasol were somehow rated higher than Dirk.

The reasoning for Dirk’s low score makes little sense.

“Our overall rating formulas are position specific, weighting attributes that are more relevant for that type of player. For example, passing and speed are weighted more for point guards, where rebounding and shot blocking are factored heavily for centers,” the game’s development team told Ball Don’t Lie.

Sounds like a pretty poor reason, right? All it would take is one look at the list to know there’s something wrong with the system. How can you possible have Rudy Gay rated higher than Dirk Nowitzki? I don’t care what adjustment they make, but some tweaking is needed for the ratings to reflect reality. Dirk Nowitzki is a top-five player in the NBA and should be rated that way based on any metric.

Like any team would do in their situation, the Dallas Mavericks enjoyed plenty of special moments after winning their first NBA title in franchise history last month. Dirk and the boys went on a drinking binge that was quite the opposite of the one they subjected themselves to five years ago.  Mark Cuban treated his players to a $100,000 celebration in South Beach and took the Larry O’Brien Trophy with him everywhere he went — no, really.

Amidst all the partying and sleepless nights, Dirk Nowitzki received probably the most humbling gift an athlete in any sport could ever receive.  According to I Am GM via Spiegel, Muhammad Ali sent Dirk a boxing glove with the inscription: “You are the greatest.”  Although Dirk asked that he not be pressured into explaining the political meaning of the gift, it is easy to understand why something like that would be so special.

From Larry Legend saying he was honored to be compared to Dirk to the most conceited athlete of all-time calling him the greatest, I think it’s safe to say the Hall of Famer has reached the highest point in his sensational career.  People can argue until their blue in the face about LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan, but as far as we’re concerned the debate has been put to rest by Cassius Clay.

The Dallas Mavericks partied hard after winning the NBA title this year, dropping over $100,000 at the club on drinks. Dirk Nowitzki seemed to enjoy himself based on the pictures, even posing for a shot with rapper Lil’ Wayne. Though he did get his drink on somewhat, Dirk seemed to be reserved. He says it’s because he’s changed as he’s gotten older. In an interview with KCTK, he said he went on a three-week drinking binge after losing in ’06.

Here’s a transcription from his interview thanks to The Dallas Morning News via IamaGM.com:

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Dirk Nowitzki threw out the first pitch of Friday’s Rangers-Mets game, and let’s just say he’s no Nolan Ryan …

At least he was better than John Wall. But hey, when someone’s tattooing your face on their butt because of your basketball prowess, how you throw a baseball hardly matters.