Having just returned from a three-week tour of Asia, one of the things I’m most excited about is having a chance to watch my hometown Dallas Mavericks take on the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.  Up 3-2 in the best of seven series, the Mavs are one game away from not only securing the first championship in team history but also from putting a finger in the eye of the Heat’s big three (Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James).  Anyone who isn’t a sociopath and doesn’t hail from Miami knows why Dallas should (in a normative sense) win this series.  But for those who are a bit slow on the uptake and still need help deciding, ESPN’s Rick Reilly has kindly listed 20 reasons why everyone beyond Miami’s city limits should be pulling for Dallas.  All good reasons, of course, though I quite enjoyed the retort of Miami-based humorist Dave Barry, whose reasons to cheer for the Heat (jokingly) included the “fact” that Dirk Nowitzki pronounces his name wrong.

At the end of the day, this Dallas team is largely comprised of good guys who are due for some love from the basketball gods.  The world would simply be a better place if the likes of Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, and Dirk Nowitzki won a ring.  Especially if that achievement came at the expense of a talented but narcissistic Miami Heat squad whose diving antics make me wonder if Cristiano Ronaldo has been hired to lend some of his expertise.  Like Kidd, I really hope the Mavs pull this one off for Nowitzki, who is nearing the end of his run as one of the most unguardable players in NBA history and who comes off as a decent human being.  Plus, if he gets his ring and the inevitable Finals MVP that would come with it, he would overtake Dirk Diggler (of Boogie Nights fame) as the first association with one of the cooler names around.

Naturally, this Mavs squad isn’t without its annoying and/or questionable characters.  For example, DeShawn Stevenson has a lame trademark move where mimics the “OK” sign over his eye each time he drains a three.  And he has over 100 tattoos, one of which is (strangely) a backward Pittsburgh Pirates logo on his right cheek.  (Now, the Yankees I could understand.  But the Pirates?!?).  Then there’s Juan Jose Barea, who is the type of player that annoys everyone who isn’t a member or fan of his team (something a quick call to Andrew Bynum would confirm).  Such enmity is exacerbated by the fact that the lucky bastard is dating Miss Universe 2006.  And who could forget the gargantuan ego that is Mark Cuban, who is to sports team owners what Donald Trump is to real estate developers (though his silence during this year’s playoffs has been a welcome break from his usual routine).  But the most unlikable character in my mind is Jason Terry.  Maybe it’s the headband or that stupid jet move he loves to do when he’s on a roll.  Or maybe it’s his over-the-top willingness to give credit to god during his postgame interviews…or that fact that he lists Martin Lawrence as his favorite actor.  Whatever it is, I’ve never really cared for the guy.  He’s a toned-down version of what Michael Irvin represented for me back in the heyday of the Cowboys:  I never liked the Cowboys wide receiver but that didn’t stop me rooting for him while he was helping my team win.  Hypocritical, perhaps.  But as long as these characters aren’t breaking the law, I’m comfortable with such moral ambiguity when it comes to supporting my teams.  So come 7 PM this evening, I will be found happily watching and hoping from the comfort of my couch, greeting each Terry three-pointer with the same cheer that accompanies one of Dirk’s patented fadeaways.  And though I promised myself that I would undergo a bit of a cleanse following two weeks of pure decadence, I’m pretty sure I’ll help myself to a Miller Lite or three.

A Mavericks victory tonight would be made sweeter by a good showing for the Book of Mormon at the Tony Awards, which airs at the same time as the game.  Such programming logistics may force me to do the unthinkable for any self-respecting sports fan, which is surf between one of his team’s biggest games ever and an awards show for Broadway musicals.  This may strike most as counterintuitive but anyone who has seen the show and knew that the supremely talented Andrew Rannells would be performing “I Believe” will understand my dilemma.  At the very least, I highly encourage those who like stuff to DVR the awards show during the game so you can go back and catch a rare glimpse of the best Broadway musical of all time.