I'm sorry, so sorry

Avery Johnson: Anger leads to hate

Man, the Dallas sports world is on the cusp of being an extremely busy scene. The Cowboys are in full swing. The Stars are playing pre-season games. And Maverick Josh Howard is apologizing.

The Mavs are in camp now, practicing, doing lay-up drills, shooting free throws, doing toe touches and pivot exercises. It's exciting and good.

And there's tons of updates from around the Mavericks camp. Let's refresh.

Dirk vs. Avery
Forward Dirk Nowitzki went on the record again basically stating that he and former coach Avery Johnson did not get along and as much as Nowitzki put himself out there, Avery never embraced him. Furthermore, he was quick to call Avery a "dictator." Coming from a German, that really means something.

I don't consider Dirk petty or a liar so I tend to believe that he and Avery didn't get along and probably a lot of blame stacks up at Avery's feet. Nonetheless, if your star and the coach aren't getting along, something has to give.

Seven vs. Avery
Owner Mark Cuban went on the record stating that seven Mavs said they would demand a trade if Avery wasn't fired. I do not know whether this includes pre-Kidd trade roster or not. For all intents and purposes, we now know that Avery -- at some point, on some level -- had some point of contention with Jason Kidd, Dirk, Erick Dampier, DeSagana Diop, Devin Harris and Josh Howard. Brandon Bass is a maybe. Jerry Stackhouse is doubtful because he was so close to Avery, but I wouldn't count him out.

Again, you can't fire the team no matter how good or bad they are. If there was that much bad blood in the room (even if Cuban is exaggerating ... which he probably is), something had to give. Even if three guys (more believable ... what does Eddie Jones need to complain for?) would rather play in Milwaukee or Utah rather than in Dallas with Avery, then there's a major issue.

Josh Howard vs. Himself
The much-maligned, much-troubled forward Josh Howard apologized yesterday. As forced apologies go, it was pretty good. He didn't qualify anything. He made no excuses outside of his own idiocy and he took ownership of his actions

But in his heart of hearts, he probably doesn't feel that bad. Other than the drag racing charge, he's probably got a decent point.

Howard, however, needs to learn a lesson. No matter how much something is the truth, no matter how you feel about it, your better off just shutting your mouth and playing ball.

Let's face it: Howard shuts his mouth like every other NBA player or professional athlete and the public and media is no worse for the wear. I mean, we could only assume he smoked weed. We could only speculate he felt a certain way about the national anthem.

Out of sight, out of mind. That's what pisses me off about these "Mavs fans" getting all petty and juvenile regarding Howard and the Mavs. If you're really worried about a unpatriotic player on your fav sports team, then you might want to take up another hobby or interest. Chances are, there are a lot that are pretty negative and downright hateful of the government and country.

If you're worried about your fav athlete doing illegal substances ('roids, pot, angel dust, huffing), again, you might check out puzzles, cross stitch and basket weaving BECAUSE A LOT OF THEM DO ILLEGAL THINGS. They smoke weed. They probably drink a little too much and drive. Some of them may pop a pill to get up for the game. Or inject chemicals to make them faster, stronger or heal faster.

So get over yourselves because if Howard comes out and averages 24 and 8 for the season, I do not want to see people cheering for the guy who once villified him for being a dumbass.