Your Dallas Mavericks may employ the NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, the NBA Coach of the Year and the NBA Executive of the Year.

But before any of that is seriously considered, they must win The Game of the Year: Friday night, Mavs at San Antonio.

Dallas is now just two games back of the regal Spurs for the race for the No. 1 seeding in the playoffs. What if Dallas wins? The way we understand it, the Mavs will not only be just a game behind SA, they will also assume a potential tiebreaker edge. The correct second tiebreaker is division record. After head-to-head (a Dallas win would even the series at 2-2), the next tiebreaker is "division record.'' If the Mavs win Friday, they jump to 12-3 in the division, and SA drops to 11-3.

There will, after Friday, be room for a little more shuffling. The Spurs will play two more division games, Dallas one more. And there are a handful of games that Dallas could possibly lose, thus ending the season-ending drama.

Is there a trick to shutting down the Spurs? We offer three tricks:

TRICK No. 1: Their top star, Tim Duncan, has spent the season battling foot ailments and is therefore vulnerable. When the Spurs lose, it's because they are tired; of their 17 losses this year, 10 have come on the second night of back-to-back games. The back-to-back thing won't be an issue in Friday, and the playoff games are so spaced out that it won't be a carryover issue there, either. But that doesn't mean that Duncan can't be tested over the course of a single game. Make him work on the offensive end by hoping 7-footer DeSagana Diop can lean on him. Make him work on the defensive end by. ...

TRICK No. 2: Forcing him to guard Josh Howard. Oh, it'd be even better if Duncan was matched against Dirk Nowitzki, who could draw him outside and thus make Duncan a non-factor on the boards. But it's more likely that San Antonio will assign 6-6 Bruce Bowen to Dirk (the Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko optimistically offers a good note on Dirk's readiness). And with Dallas' starting lineup so loaded with weaponry, it figures that Duncan may end up covering Josh Howard.

Can Howard pull Duncan away from the basket? Can J-Ho drive by Duncan? Get him into foul trouble?

Josh Howard is the potential Player of the Game here.

TRICK No. 3: Keep it close. The Mavs have had some problems with late-game execution in recent weeks, and late-game execution happens to be a Spurs speciality -- except when it comes to executing at the free-throw line. Dallas is a 78-percent free-throw-shooting team. San Antonio shoots 70 percent from the line. Especially incompetent free-throwers include Duncan (63 percent), Bowen (60 percent), Robert Horry (65 percent) and Rasho Nesterovic (60 percent).

If the Mavs keep it close at game's end, the brick-laying Spurs can be counted on keep it closer.

Can Avery Johnson really win NBA Coach of the Year? Can Dirk really win the MVP? Can Jerry Stackhouse really win the Sixth Man of the Year? Can Donnie Nelson really win the Executive of the Year?

Well, I know the single best way to sway voters: Winning at San Antonio on Friday.

Alright, I’d like to welcome to town, all you cheating NASCAR people. NASCAR has an incredibly loyal following. It’s an incredibly popular sport. There are thousands upon thousands of people that take vacation surrounding NASCAR racing.

It is stunning to me how NASCAR handles cheaters. Apparently, cheating does not bother them. Look at what’s happened just this year. Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief tried to rig the Daytona 500 and got a slap on the wrist as far as I’m concerned. A relatively small fine and a suspension from raceday activities for the crew chief, Chad Knaus This was the 7^th time he’s been caught since 2001.

What happened to the driver? What happened to the team? Nothing.

Hey, we’re dealing with millions and millions of dollars and NASCAR doesn’t give a damn! They allow cheating every week. When they cheaters get caught they barely receive slaps on the wrist.

I thought baseball was weak on steroids. Baseball is a Godsend in the way they handle cheating compared to NASCAR.

In NASCAR cheaters prosper and the little guy suffers. The driver with the one car garage has very little chance to compete. Especially since NASCAR protects the big teams that have the ability to skirt the rules the best.

I just want NASCAR to have the guts to say that, if you get caught pushing the rule, we will slap your hand. But, if you are caught intentionally attempting to rig a race, we will kick you in the butt.

I don’t mind pushing the envelope. What I mind is the blatant cheating that goes unpunished. NASCAR would not suffer any loss of popularity at all if they eliminated the cheating.

NASCAR is a great sport. I have become a major NASCAR viewer. I love watching it. I love watching the pit crew. I have great respect for the drivers and their ability to handle those machines. I just want them to clean it up.

Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic quarterback John Brantley gave his oral commitment to Texas on Wednesday afternoon. The 2005 national champion Longhorns now have 18 commitments for next February's signing date. The 6-3, 190-pound Brantley is a positive for the Horns, but likely means that Texarkana QB phenom Ryan Mallett will not play at Texas.

Texas coaches tried to get Mallett to join the tidal wave of early commitments last week, but Mallett has been favoring Michigan for the last year and still wants to look at other schools. The 6-7, 240-pound Mallett is considered one of the country's top two QB prospects along with Mike Paulus of Syracuse.  Brantley is considered a high caliber prospect as well and has been courted throughout the Southeast, primarily by Florida and South Carolina.

Texas currently has 18 scholarships available but attrition could open about 5 or 6 because of grades, injuries and transfers.

 Oral commitments are non-binding. The first day to sign a national letter-of-intent is Feb. 7. Texas coach Mack Brown has an outstanding track record in keeping oral commitments.

Texas has made scholarship offers to several other players and which ones commit first could determine whether other offers are retracted _ usually according to position. Also weighing offers from the Longhorns:

RB/WR Joseph Reese, Pflugerville Hendrickson

DE Brandon Joiner Killeen Shoemaker

RB Lennon Creer, Tatum (next expected UT commit)

DB Eric Cherry, Creekside (Ga.) (longshot to sign)

DB Dionte Allen, Orchard Lake St. Mary's (MI)

DB Antwoine Baker, LA (Calif.) Jordan

OL Tray Allen, SGP (wants to wait until US Army All-American game in Jan. to announce)

DE/LB Richetti Jones, Lincoln (likes UT but wants some visits)

WR Ahmad Paige Sterlington (La.) (longshot)

QB Ryan Mallett, Texarkana (leaning toward Michigan for last year. UT would take no matter how many QB commits)

ATH Ronald Johnson, Muskegon ( Mich.) (longshot)

QB G.J. Kinne Gilmer (no UT offer yet)

CB Phelon Jones McGill (Ala.)

TE Blaine Irby Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure (USC hot after him)

DE Joseph Barksdale Detroit (MI) Cass (longshot)

DE Marvin Austin Washington DC Coolidge (last UT D.C. guy of not was Lovell Pinkey. never mindl)

COMMITTED TO TEXAS

John Brantley Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic QB 6-3 190

Malcolm Williams Garland WR 6-3, 205
Cody Johnson  Waller FB 5-10, 225
John Chiles Mansfield Summit QB/DB/WR 6-1 195
Zack Pianalto, Springdale (Ark.) WR 6-4, 210

Ahmard Howard Brenham TE-DE 6-4, 240

Keenan Robinson Plano East LB 6-3, 215
Kyle Hix Aledo OL 6-7, 305

Matt Nader Austin Westlake OL 6-6, 295

Jerrod Gooch Vidor OL 6-5, 290

Aundre McGaskey LaMarque OL 6-4, 290

Michael Huey Kilgore OL 6-4, 290

Ben Wells Bmt. Ozen DB 6-1, 175

Earl Thomas WO Stark RB/DB 5-10, 180

Curtis Brown Gilmer DB 5-11, 180

Andre Jones EP Andress DT 6-4, 305

Foswhitt Whitaker Pearland RB 5-9,170

Russell Carter Westbury DE 6-3,230

Assorted barstool musings scribbled down Tuesday night while I scribble down my coverage of Ron Artest's Kings vs. Dirk Nowitzki's Mavs:

* You will be astounded to learn that I actually watched me some Rangers Opening Day baseball on Monday. Thought I'd catch 'em while they were still .500. ... a euphoric state that only lasted nine innings, of course.

For a long time, I've characterized the aura surrounding this horrid, horrid franchise thusly: "The sky is blue, the grass is green, the sun is yellow, the halter tops are white. ...'' because out there, nothing else really matters. I'm called the stadium "The Picnic Grounds In Arlington,'' because short of a red-checkered blanket and some ants, that, too, captures the aura.
It's 2006. Time to properly frame an updated version of my views on your Rangers. At some point in the telecast, our man Josh Lewin reported that the score was indeed Boston 7, Texas 2 (or whatever). And then (and I'm paraphrasing wildly here, having nodded off somewhere in the middle of all the excitement), Josh added, "But whether it's Boston 7, Texas 2, or Texas 7, Boston 2, boy is it a great day at the Ballpark!''

Honest to God, it's like this team is engineered to aim for third place.

* Our chums over at the Observer like to dabble in sports. They recorded a .500 record themselves over the weekend.

The written part of the Dallas Observer's Dirk-related April Fool's joke is, frankly, a bit ham-fisted.

The musical portion of the prank, however, more than makes up for it.

* Coming up Thursday night from 8-10 on Texas Progressive Radio (910AM in Dallas, 1600AM in Austin and 103.1FM in San Antonio) is our "School of Fish'' radio show. Listen online at Texas Progressive Radio. The guests include Cindy Sheehan (with her liberal leanings) and Kevin McCarthy (with his not-so-liberal leanings!

* I've re-examined the Don Nelson Controversy.

I guess I should take a sliver of the blame for him falling short, because I barely bothered making a case for Don Nelson for the Basketball Hall of Fame. In fact, I think I made fun of a process that actually took the trouble to weigh the accomplishments of a Nellie with the accomplishments of someone named Sandro Gamba.

Well, I've given this a great deal of thought, and I've changed my mind. I mean, did Nellie ever coach the Italian National Team? Nope. Did Nellie ever play for the Milano club team? Nope. Did Nellie ever win even one Champion's Cups, let alone two? Nope.

All Hail Sandro Gamba!

* Experts say the ban on 'greenies' will slow baseball. Baseball can get slower? Who knew?

* Two predictable Cowboys news items:

ITEM 1: Parcells is too talking about T.O. -- but does it not in a press conference with the DFW media, but instead with his Sports Illustrated buddy Peter King, who provides a great big, fluffy, safe pillow to fall into. Peter gets the scoop, Bill gets his message sent his way. Peter benefits. Bill benefits.

ITEM 2: Quincy Carter is too a pro football QB -- but he'll be proving that fact not in camp with an NFL team, but instead in the Canadian Football League. Here's hoping Quincy gets high on life in the Great White North.

* "Mav of God'' Avery Johnson reportedly engages in a "profane tirade'' after a loss. Coming up next on the Mavs' schedule: Heck freezes over.

* And one more Rangers ponderment:

Nice to see Tom Hicks pull out all the stops for legendary pitcher Roger Clemens' recruiting visit on Monday. The balloons, the band, the national-championship football coaches from his alma mater, Owen Wilson, those nuns. Nice of Hicks to make all the arrangements so after Clemens was finished shaking Rangers hands and kissing Rangers babies, he could escape to a suite to spend 45 minutes being recruited by Boston GM Theo Epstein.

How embarrassing is that? I rent a tux, get us a limo, pay for your corsage and work overtime to get my acne cleared up for the high-school prom, and as soon as I walk you proudly into the gymnasium-turned-dancehall, you unhook our arms and commence to makin' out with the Homecoming King?