Training camp has started, so it's time to get back to basketball! This Wednesday and Thursday evening training camp practices are open to the public. The doors Moody Coliseum (SMU) open at 7:00 and practice runs from 7:30-9:30. An open practice in conjunction with the KLIF/Dallas Mavericks Jam Session will be open to the public at Reunion Arena on October 21 (a Monday night) from 7:00-9:30. And the KLIF Open House practice at Reunion is October 28 (again a Monday night) from 7:30-9:30. The 1996-97 regular season starts November 1. On Friday, the Mavs signed Fred Roberts to an one year, league minimum contract. Much to my surprise, it is a guaranteed contract and talk is sounding like he will make the team. In that case, look for Terry Davis to start the season on IR and the team to play music IR during the season. Roberts is a 6-10 forward-center with 12 years of experience. He is 36. NBA rosters must be reduced to 12 active players by 5 pm on October 31 (you can stash up to 3 players on IR). In Thursday morning's practice, Tony Dumas suffered a minor sprain of his right ankle and will be out 7 to 10 days. During Media Day that evening, Dumas was walking around on crutches - he was using the crutches as support, not as a substitute for his right foot. The Mavs and Prime Sports (soon to be Fox Sports Southwest) named Chris Arnold as courtside reporter for the home games. Arnold, who also has two radio shows and is a sports reporter for channel 8, was the backup PA announcer last season. All games except for the March 9 home game vs Houston (which is a NBA alternate game) will be broadcast locally on either on Fox Sports or channel 39. As usual, all games, including the preseason games (which will not be televised), will be broadcast on KLIF 570 AM. Jamal Mashburn and Terry Davis have not been participating in practice due to still rehabilitating from their surgeries from last season. Mashburn is limited to straight line running but does practice a lot of shooting. He says that he feels fine, but they want to take it slow and not rush him back. He expects to be ready by the start of the season. Davis has not been medically cleared to practice - no other word on his status or schedule. Samaki Walker has seen limited time in practice due to a weak right knee. They are working on strengthening the knee. Walker put on a lot of additional muscle during the off-season. Jim Jackson also added muscle in the off-season - 10 pounds. Jackson: "I can't describe how hard I worked. I really didn't take a vacation because I didn't feel I deserved it. I'm a 100% now. I'm even better, physically and mentally, than I was two years ago." Word is that Coach Cleamons has been seriously focusing on defense. In an interview, Derek Harper said the word "defense" many times. Defense and working together as a team seem to be the emphasis of practices. Harper said that Cleamons feels that this team, as shown last season, has no problem scoring but needs work on defense. Radio play-by-play man Ted Davis said that last year's team was one of the worst defensive teams he has ever seen. When asked if the team could learn defense, Harper replied that defense was all about desire and effort. When asked about the Jackson-Kidd feud, Harper started his answer with "Overrated" and ended his answer with "Overrated". In the middle he said that he hasn't seen nothing between the two. He said that all teams have some problems, but the teams normally keeps it "under the rug" and that the Mavs did a lousy job of doing that last season. In the Jimmy King-Shawn Harvey last guard roster spot competition, I'd give King the strong edge right now - and not just because he has the guaranteed contract. I overheard Tony Dumas talk about how he was chasing King all over the court and that after practice King was the only player with any energy left. Add that to the fact that King is known as a defensive player and Cleamons is emphasizing defense and it looks promising for King. Dallas Mavericks Training Camp Roster No. Player Pos Ht Wt B-day College Exp 00 Eric Montross ......... C 7-0 270 9/23/71 North Carolina'94 2 3 Jimmy King ............ G 6-5 210 8/9/73 Michigan'95 1 5 Jason Kidd ............ G 6-4 212 3/23/73 California'96 2 7 Tony Dumas ............ G 6-6 190 8/25/72 Missouri-KC'94 2 12 Derek Harper .......... G 6-4 206 10/13/61 Illinois'84 13 13 Shawn Harvey .......... G 6-4 180 12/31/73 West Virgina State'96 R-2 20 Eric Strickland ....... G 6-3 210 11/25/73 Nebraska'96 R 21 George McCloud ........ F 6-8 225 5/27/67 Florida State'89 6 23 Herb Jones ............ F 6-5 211 1/24/70 Cincinnati'92 R 24 Jim Jackson ........... G 6-6 220 10/14/70 Ohio State'93 4 25 Chris Gatling ......... F 6-10 230 9/3/67 Old Dominion'91 5 31 Jeff Webster .......... F 6-8 232 2/19/71 Oklahoma'94 1 32 Jamal Mashburn ........ F 6-8 250 11/29/72 Kentucky'94 3 40 Loren Meyer ........... C 6-10 260 12/30/72 Iowa State'95 1 43 Terry Davis ........... F-C 6-10 250 6/17/67 Virginia Union'89 7 44 Fred Roberts .......... F 6-10 218 8/14/60 Brigham Young'82 12 45 Jamie Peterson ........ F 6-9 225 9/29/71 Pittsburgh'95 R 50 Greg Dreiling ......... C 7-1 265 11/7/63 Kansas'86 9 52 Samaki Walker ......... F 6-9 258 2/25/76 Louisville'98 R-1 Head Coach: Jim Cleamons (Ohio State'71) Assistants: Butch Beard (Louisville'69) Bob Salmi (Florida Southern'84) Jack Nolan (Buena Vista College'82) Charlie Parker (Findlay'72) Lanny Van Eman (Wichita State'62) Trainer: Roger Hinds (Brooklyn College'77) Promotional Schedule for 96-97 Mavs home games (other things will probably be added, these are just what is scheduled) 11/2 vs Sacramento Southwest Airlines Opening Night Rapper for first 10,000 Halftime: Jesse White Tumblers 11/9 vs Miami Dr Pepper Magnetic Game Schedule for all fans Southwest Airlines Caribbean Nigh/Discount coupons off full fare for first 5,000 18 and over 11/12 vs Indiana 1996-97 Baylor-Tom Landry Center/Mavericks Season Calendar for all fans (YES!) Dr Pepper/Dallas Morning News Family Night Halftime: Bud Lite Daredevils 11/16 vs Utah Bank One Bill Opener for first 4,000 16 or older 11/21 vs LA Clippers Half-Price Group Night Sprite Poster Series #1 for first 5,000 16 and under Fort Worth Star-Telegram Night 11/26 vs San Antonio ProPlayer T-Shirt for first 2,500 16 and under Dr Pepper/Dallas Morning News Family Night 11/29 vs Chicago Southwest Airlines Elvis Night/Discount Coupons Off Full Fare for first 5,000 18 and older Halftime: Dave Tapley 12/5 vs Philadelphia Sport Specialty Cap Night for first 2,500 Bank One Spirit of Christmas Toy Drive Fort Worth Star-Telegram Night 12/7 vs Vancouver Mavs Locker Room: Free cap with purchase of any Mavs jersey Bank One Spirit of Christmas Toy Drive 12/17 vs Atlanta Southwest Airlines Luggage Tag Night for first 12,000 12/26 vs Golden State Sprite Poster Series #2 for first 5,000 16 and under Southwest Airlines Disco Night/Discount Coupons off full fare for first 5,000 18 and over Halftime: Christopher (the puppet dancing guy) 12/28 vs Seattle 1/4 vs Portland Mavs Locker Room: Free basketball with purchase of Mavs jersey Halftime: Mavs/Nike Youth League Basketball 1/11 vs Denver Halftime: Mascot Game (groan) 1/13 vs Phoenix Decker Cap Night for first 4,000 Halftime: Minyard's Ladies' Hoop Shoot 1/15 vs Orlando Halftime: Dan Menedez 1/17 vs Houston Halftime: Bicycle Daredevils 1/25 vs New Jersey 1/28 vs LA Lakers Southwest Airlines Hollywood Nights/Discount coupons off full fare for first 5,000 18 and over BEAT LA! Flash Card Night 1/30 vs Minnesota Half-Price Group Night Sprite Poster Series #3 for first 5,000 16 and under Fort Worth Star-Telegram Night 2/1 vs Utah 2/4 vs Sacramento Youth Jersey Night for 14 and under Dr Pepper/Dallas Morning News Family Night 2/11 vs San Antonio Southwest Airlines Fiesta Night/Discount coupons off full fare for first 5,000 18 and over 2/13 vs Golden State Alliance Development Co. Growth Poster Giveaway for first 5,000 15 and under Valentine's Promotion Halftime: Minyard's Ladies' Hoop Shoot 2/20 vs Milwaukee Sprite Poster Series #4 for first 5,000 16 and under halftime: Kimberly-Clark Baby Crawl 2/22 vs Toronto 2/25 vs Charlotte Minyard's Basketball Night for first 3,000 14 and under Dr Pepper/Dallas Morning News Family Night 2/27 vs Minnesota KXAS-5, KXTX-39 Mini Basketball Night for first 2,500 14 and under (the kids get the best stuff) 3/2 vs Phoenix Wincraft/Mavericks Pennant Night for first 5,000 Halftime: Alexis Brothers (the guys that lift each other) 3/4 vs LA Lakers Halftime: The Great Pontiac Shootout 3/9 vs Houston Halftime: Minyard's Ladies' Hoop Shoot 3/11 vs New York Southwest Airlines Beatles Night/Discount coupons off full fare for first 5,000 18 and over Halftime: Gentlemen Jugglers 3/13 vs Boston Half-Price Group Night Sprite Poster Series #5 for first 5,000 16 and under Fort Worth Star-Telegram Night 3/18 vs Washington Memories Sports Photography/Mavs Dance Team Photo Dr Pepper/Dallas Morning News Family Night Halftime: Bank One Wheelchair Mavericks Game 3/22 vs Cleveland CompUSA Mouse Pad Night for first 7,000 (something for us geeks) 4/1 vs Detroit NBA Team Card Sheet for first 5,000 16 and under Southwest Airlines Motown Night/Discount coupons off full fare for first 5,000 18 and over Halftime: Southwest Airlines Motown Revue 4/8 vs Portland Wincraft/Mavericks Pennant Night for first 5,000 Dr Pepper/Dallas Morning News Family Night Halftime: Minyard's Ladies' Hoop Shoot 4/10 vs Seattle Sprite Poster Series #6 for first 5,000 16 and under Halftime: The Ashtons (the kid flipper) 4/12 vs Vancouver KXAS-5, KXTX-39 Mini Basketball Night for first 2,500 14 and under 4/14 vs LA Clippers Dr Pepper Team Poster Night for first 5,000 16 and under Halftime: Mavs/Nike Youth League Basketball 4/19 vs Denver Fan Appreciation Night Halftime: Fargo, North Dakota Acrobats patricia