MARK CUBAN WATCH: Shanti defends him, and links to Adrian Wojnarowski's really great assault on smug, self-important sportswriters:

The reaction was so painfully predictable, these pompous and protective housemen for the NBA telling Mark Cuban to stand on the sidelines, shut his mouth and cling to the company line. Everyone probes and prays for that provocative line, an original thought and when it comes, it, what happens now?

They vanquish the voice.

The way the Thought Police jumped Cuban was a complete disgrace Tuesday, one more reason why the sporting culture is doomed to eternity with the mindless and milquetoast clichés of the morons and scared deer that inhabit it. Because the thoughtful figures, the ones with the courage of conviction, will soon be completely shouted into silence. Why open your mouth, say something completely plausible and not be told that someone disagrees with you, but you shouldn't say it at all?

Why bother anymore?

More:

Yes, Cuban loves the attention. He loves the limelight. So what? He's a great owner. He cares about winning. He cares about his fans and about the experiences they have buying tickets to his basketball games. Most of the owners in the NBA never interact with the paying public and are so determined to stay under the luxury tax threshold they won't spend to win.

Cuban is the best of sports ownership, understanding that it's about entertainment and winning. And he's right: Everyone will watch that Mavericks-Lakers game on opening night. Everyone. Still, this has nothing to do with the greater image of the game, the long-term pain promising to pound the NBA for the misdeeds of one of its greatest stars.

Cuban never said the sexual assault was great for the NBA. Never. He said it would make money in the short-term and he's absolutely right. If you studied the complete context of his words to Chris Sheridan of the Associated Press and Pat O'Brien on Access Hollywood, it would be clear that he separated the moral and practical differences on this issue.

We'll forgive Adrian his use of the worst sports columnists' cliche: the one-sentence paragraph.

Because the content of his article is spot-on.

Yes it is.

Oh yes.