The Usually Passive Dirk Talks a Little Trash

If you watch professional basketball on television, especially during the playoffs, you can’t go 12 seconds without some windbag encouraging a defender to bust up that guy who keeps getting to the rim. But then Dallas center Erick Dampier went and said it, the league got anxious like he’d laid the groundwork for a brawl, and it took them a minute to clear him of all possible non-charges.↵
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↵But wait, the story doesn’t end there. Dirk Nowitzki, not exactly know for talking trash in the media, has some pointed words for league officials who made such a big deal over Dampier’s casual -- and totally manly -- utterance. From the San Antonio Express-News:↵↵⇥Nowitzki believes at least one Spur merits watching more closely than Dampier. “Nobody’s trying to hurt anybody,” Nowitzki said, “and Damp certainly doesn’t have the reputation of being a dirty player.↵⇥
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↵⇥“They’ve got one. We don’t.”↵↵Like the change of seasons, it’s now time for that annual debate over whether Bruce Bowen is dirty, a defensive genius, or both. I happen to believe that as he’s aged, Bowen’s been forced to resort more and more frequently to the funny stuff. But what’s so hilarious here is that we have our first official war of words this postseason, and it’s between two of the least loud-mouthed, attention-mongering teams in the entire field. Dirk has an entirely fair point, and I don’t expect much of a response. Let’s hope, though, it inspires some more colorful teams to pick up the slack left by Washington’s absence.↵