This thing is very much alive.

  Not everyone is buying into the veracity of our story; outside of David Moore, the Dallas Morning News is having a difficult time coughing up even a mention of it as a remote possibility. And not everyone even understands the story; a website called "Mavelous'' spent a great deal of time pondering my "credibility'' on our story. (Look at my mugshot. Do I not look credible?) "Mavelous,'' someday I'd love to buy you a beer and explain the whole thing to you. And I might need to invite a Star-Telegram columnist, too, since he somehow thinks a KG deal means "the salary-cap tradeoff would empty the locker room'' and "the Mavs' hands are tied'' -- the sort of misinformed gibberish that gives newspaper writers a bad name.

     But the Mavs have been serious players in this thing -- in their own minds, at least -- for over a week. And they told us so. We get indications that exactly seven other teams made what could be termed "serious'' inquiries into acquiring Garnett; we take that to mean a total of eight teams put offers on the table. Stein has the field narrowed to six teams, including of course the Mavs.

   As time goes by, and Garnett's unhappy marriage with Minnesota trudges on, the T'wolves might find themselves accepting in trade less talent. ... while the Mavs find themselves the most willing to accept the financial burden -- and The Big Ticket.

   ITEM: People keep writing that Leonard "Bigg'' Davis is already an overpriced Cowboys mistake. Overpriced? Always. Most 50-million-dollar offensive linemen are. A mistake? Explain to me who else was going to be added to fortify this O-line?

   ITEM: Speaking of the Cowboys: Yes, DallasBlog will be at training camp in San Antonio. Margaritas for everybody!

   ITEM: Admit it: You're glad the Mavs swapped a Serbian for a North Carolinian.

   ITEM: Michael Irvin's remarks (made to Babe Laufenberg on CBS11) regarding Bill Parcells' mishandling of Terrell Owens are nothing new to readers of this space. T.O. bucks authority. So how do you handle him? I know this seems outrageous but. ... you put him in charge. Or at least let him think he is. Name Terrell Owens a team captain. Yes, I'm serious.

   ITEM: To the list of Dubious Celebrity Parents, tell David Hasselhoff, Alec Baldwin and Britney Spears to slide over to make room for Michelle Wie's ma and pa. Mr. and Mrs. Wie, shouldn't your little girl be at a prom or something?

   ITEM: I admit I don't know much about The Dallas Press Club. But I do question the point of its existence. Isn't it the media version of a mirror, mirror on the wall that tells us we're the fairest of them all?

   ITEM: Nick Fazekas is "only another KVH/Cro/Raef''? He was the 34th pick. How is that a bad thing? Stephen A. Smith says "at the end of the day'' in every other sentence. Listening to his draft coverage, at the end of the day I kept wishing it was the end of the day.

   ITEM: Mark Cuban just had hip-replacement surgery, just countersued Don Nelson and just agreed to the idea of paying Kevin Garnett 29 million bucks. Just another day in the life of a billionaire, eh?

   ITEM: One part of professional wrestling that isn't fake? The dying part.

   ITEM: Woody Paige and Jay Crawford of ESPN's "Cold Pizza'' are being sued for sexual harrassment. Sexual moves made toward a woman? I wonder why Skip Bayless wasn't included in the suit? ;)

   ITEM: Final word on Garnett-to-the-Mavs: to continue to deny/ignore the veracity of this story borders on the journalistically irresponsible. And I should know something about journalistic irresponsibility, having just fibbed to you about the coffee-and-cantaloupe thing.