Second thoughts

Hey Joe, you can just wait for yard sale

Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner, turned a bidding war over a set of Air Jordan sneakers with rapper Fat Joe into his own round of smack talk.
Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner, turned a bidding war over a set of Air Jordan sneakers with rapper Fat Joe into his own round of smack talk.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban sure knows how to ruffle a few feathers.

Add Fat Joe to the list.

The rapper recently revealed on Complex Magazine's web series "Quickstrike" that the two were in a bidding war over some highly coveted Air Jordan sneakers.

According to Fat Joe, during an NBA All-Star weekend, Michael Jordan himself was hosting an auction for a collection of Air Jordans 1 to 23, displayed in a glass case. The auction got upwards of $500,000, and eventually the rapper had to drop out.

Turns out Cuban landed the winning bid.

Now, Fat Joe says, he wasn't as upset that Cuban won the auction as he was with what happened next.

"He goes up to me," the sneaker aficionado recalls. "And he tells me, 'Fat Joe, guess what?' I said, 'What?' He said, 'I'm gonna throw it in my closet with the rest of the stuff.'

"I wanted to punch Mark Cuban in the face."

Sign no more

If Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini had his way, national signing day would be a thing of the past and the result would be an improved recruiting process.

"You've made a commitment to a young man to come play in your program, why do we have to wait to any certain day?" Pelini said. "Why don't we just go ahead and let's sign on the dotted line. Let's get it over with and move forward."

That would be a big change from the system in place, where players have to wait until the signing period even if they have made an oral commitment. But what if they could sign as soon as they decide on a school?

"I think it would slow down some of the early offers," Pelini said. "I think it would slow down some of the ridiculous things that go on on both ends, on the institution's side of things and as far as the recruit's."

He used the word "integrity" and mentioned teaching athletes about honoring their commitment and "what it means to be a teammate."

"There's a bigger picture involved," Pelini said. "I think sometimes the way the recruiting process works is that contradictory to what we're trying to teach these kids and how we're trying to develop these kids in the long run to be successful, not only as football players and as athletes, but beyond, as husbands, as fathers, and their professions."

What a relief

Baltimore County authorities said they will charge a man with disorderly conduct in a cemetery for allegedly urinating on the grave site of former Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell.

The man, who so far has been identified only as a Cleveland Browns fan, could face up to two years in jail and a $500 fine. He posted a video of the incident to YouTube this month.

Sports quiz

Mark Cuban purchased the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 from this man.

Sports answer

H. Ross Perot Jr.

Sports on 07/30/2014

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