Mavs Dig Dirk & Want You To, Too!

By now you should know the story. 

At 11:01pm North Texas time, Dirk Nowitzki will become a free agent for the first time in his career.  He and his advisor, Holger Geschwindner, are coming to Dallas on Thursday to meet with Mavs GM Donnie Nelson.  Nelson found out that bit of information while he was at DFW airport trying to get a ticket to go to Germany to woo Dirk.  He was standing at the ticket counter when Holger called to deliver that news.

Kind of weird turn of events, dontcha think?  I feel Dirk will stay in Dallas but wouldn't be totally shocked if he left.  Would you?  Maybe he feels he's done all he can with the Mavericks and the best opportunity to win a title is with another team.  Just sayin....

On to the fun stuff.

The Mavericks are putting on a fullcourt press to get fans involved in the keep Dirk in Dallas campaign.  It's got a fun title: DFW Digs Dirk. 

There is a video message saying just that currently scrolling on Dallas' Hunt Building overlooking Woodall Rogers freeway.

Thursday, the team will start selling DFW Digs Dirk t-shirts on Mavgear.com and all team fan shops at the AAC, North Park Center and Willowbend Mall.  Plus, you amateur graffiti fans get to have fun, too!  With your purchase of a shirt, you get some shoe polish to decorate your car and show more support.  The best part is that all Dirk-related merchandise will be....wait for it......41% off. 

I can't believe the 2010 free agency summer is finally here.  We've talked about it for so long.  It's going to be a crazy few days.  At least the Mavericks want you to be involved and have a little fun trying to convince Dirk this is where he should keep playing.

Stay tuned!

Hooey Diet Alert: Hoodia Ice Cubes Help You Drop Pounds?

Please.  What's the saying?  If it sounds too good be true.....

It's called the Hoodia Ice Cube diet.   In theory, you either drop one hoodia-filled ice cube into some liquid or just pop the frozen cube straight every day.  The hoodia frozen in the ice cube is from a succulent plant native to the African desert.  Desert Labs, the company that manufactures the little green cubes, says they contain a molecule called P57 that is supposed to suppress your appetite.

Hoodia started getting a lot of press a few years ago as a supplement that tricks your brain into thinking you're full .  60 Minutes even profiled the plant in 2004.  It does have some scientific evidence to back up the appetite-suppressing claims but it's still pretty cloudy. 

Cowboys Offensive Lineman Alex Barron Likes His Gum

It’s not often we get to chat with offensive linemen. They are, generally speaking, the most reluctant group on a football team when it comes to talking to the media even going so far as to institute a fine system if one of them “breaks the code”. Leonard Davis and Adre Gurode aside, you don’t see a ton of interviews (tv in particular) with Cowboys linemen. So it was a rare treat on Tuesday when a few of us interviewed new Cowboys tackle Alex Barron who Dallas acquired in a trade with the Rams for Bobby Carpenter.

Before we go any further, Barron is a physical specimen! He stands a pretty accurate 6’7 and is listed at 302.  It's not a soft, have-another-a-pastrami-sandwich 302, either.  Even fully clothed this man looked solid.

He would be a great addition to the Mavericks frontcourt. I tried to butter him up, or beat him down depending on your perspective, by talking some basketball with him. I knew he was a double-double guy at Wilkinson High School in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He admitted a few small area universities and community colleges tried to recruit him but he played football at Florida State.

North Texas Summer Fun: For Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Think Ham's

May 15th doesn't just serve as a reminder for me that my taxes are one month late.  The date is much more important.  It means that Ham's Orchard in Terrell is finally open!  I discovered Ham'View Blogs when my parents bought some property in Mineola a few years ago and since then, every trip east involves a stop at Ham's.  Although, truth be told, it's not like I need an excuse to go, just a free hour.

Ham's is true orchard and roadside market about 35 miles east of Dallas on Highway 80.  It serves fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade ice cream, cobblers and all the stereotypical country kitchen stuff that everyone's Texas Grandma had in the pantry.