#Van hire Denver

[limorideusa]

Executive Sprinter Van Service – Travel in Style Across Denver & Beyond

For those who demand luxury, comfort, and reliability, our Executive Sprinter Van Service is the ultimate transportation solution in Denver and beyond. Whether you need corporate travel, airport transfers, or event transportation, our Sprinter van rental Denver provides a seamless experience with premium amenities and professional chauffeurs.

Why Choose Our Executive Sprinter Van Service?

1. Unmatched Comfort & Elegance

Our van rental in Denver is designed for business professionals, executives, and VIP clients, offering: ✔ Plush leather seating for up to 14 passengers ✔ Spacious interiors with ample legroom ✔ High-end sound systems and LED lighting ✔ Climate control for year-round comfort

2. Reliable Corporate & Business Travel

Need to make a lasting impression? Our van hire in Denver is perfect for: ✔ Executive meetings and business trips ✔ VIP transportation for clients and partners ✔ Group travel for corporate events and conferences

With our Sprinter van transportation, you can work, relax, or hold discussions while enjoying a smooth, stress-free ride.

3. Luxury Airport Transfers

Avoid the hassle of rideshares and unreliable taxis. Our Sprinter van rental in Denver provides on-time pickups and drop-offs at: ✔ Denver International Airport (DIA) ✔ Private airports and FBOs ✔ All major hotels and business centers

With plenty of luggage space, we ensure a comfortable and efficient airport transfer experience.

4. Stylish Event Transportation

Make a grand entrance at your next event! Our executive Sprinter van service is ideal for: ✔ Weddings & Private Celebrations ✔ Corporate Galas & Business Dinners ✔ Concerts, Sporting Events & VIP Gatherings

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Book Your Executive Sprinter Van Rental in Denver Today!

For a luxurious, reliable, and professional travel experience, trust our Sprinter van rental in Denver to provide the highest level of service. Whether you're headed to a business meeting, the airport, or a VIP event, our van rental in Denver guarantees a first-class ride.

Contact us today to reserve your Van hire Denver and travel in ultimate style!

[singeratlarge]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Casey Affleck, swamp pop singer Rod Bernard, Sid Bernstein, Joe Besser, Cantinflas, John Cazale, Kid Creole, Del The Funky Homosapien,  Cecil B. DeMille, Leslie Duncan, George Hamilton, Roy Hay, Heintje, Mark Knopfler, Greg Langston (The Next, No Alternative), Ron Mael, Tiny McCloud, Pat Metheny, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Alexei Nikolaevich, Peter Ostroushko, Buck Owens, Marjorie Reynolds, Theodore Scaife, Erwin Alexander Schrödinger, Lakeith Stanfield, Matt Thiessen (Reliant K), Stefanos Tsitsipas, Mladen Vukic, Porter Wagoner, Deborah Walley, Wednesday 13, Jane Wyatt, and recording artist, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Derrek Van Eaton. 

Classic rock-philes and deep Beatles fans will recognize him from the brother band Lon & Derrek Van Eaton. Prior to their association with Apple Records (the record label created by The Beatles), they were part of the eccentric New York-based folk rock band Jacob’s Creek. They shared a studio with Simon & Garfunkel and released one album on Columbia in 1969. Two years later, John Lennon and George Harrison “discovered” them as a brother-act duo and signed them to Apple. The Van Eaton’s music blended urban folk and dreamy rock with a blues-gospel undercurrent, which perfectly coincided with the sounds of Badfinger and latter-day Beatles. The Van Eaton’s excellent BROTHER album was co-produced by George with Klaus Voorman. The Van Eatons toured the USA to promote BROTHER. Their 1972 tour brought them to where I was living in Huntingdon PA, where they played Ellis Hall at Juniata College (I stood listening from outside, a lad with no ticket money).  

The BROTHER album launched a long association with George, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, and other travelers in the Apple/Beatle legacy that unfolded in the 1970s. Then the Van Eatons became studio session players favored by producer Richard Perry, who hired them for recordings with Art Garfunkel, Martha Reeves, and Carly Simon. Perry also produced the Van Eaton’s 1975 WHO DO YOU OUT DO album. Following that era, the brothers created a non-profit film and music company called Imagine a Better World. 

The Van Eaton brothers since have released sporadic works (duo and solo), notably their acclaimed 1996 cover of “Apple of my Eye” on the COME & GET IT Badfinger tribute album. In 2013 they issued a career-spanning anthology with new recordings with contributions from Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voormann, and Gary Wright, and the Van Eatons are still active in musical and spiritual pursuits. 

Some years ago I met Derrek some years ago at church we were both attending in Pennsylvania (where I picked his brains about that 1972 concert I heard but couldn’t see), and the last time we crossed paths was at a Monkees concert in Denver in 2011. Even in passive meet-ups I can see the creative spark in Derrek’s eyes. Here’s one of my favorite Van Eaton cuts “Sun Song” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5VSJmb2VI0...Meanwhile, HB DVE and thank you for your years of remarkable creativity and soul.

#derrekvaneaton #lonanderrekvaneaton #brother #applerecords #birthday #georgeharrison #ringostarr #klausvoorman #richardperry #peteham #badfinger

[nbatrades]

Detroit Pistons Trade for Point Guard Derek Harper

On September 21st, 1999, the Detroit Pistons traded the draft rights of Melvin Levett to the Los Angeles Lakers for guard Derek Harper.

Heading into the 1999 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons did not own any of their original picks. However, they did have a second round pick in the 54th spot of the draft thanks to a transaction that took some time to play out.

In 1988, the Indiana Pacers fired head coach Jack Ramsey after an 0-7 start. Assistant coach Mel Daniels was interim coach for two games before vice president of basketball operations George Irvine took over on an interim basis for 20 games.

The Pacers found a fourth and final coach for the 1988-89 season in Dick Versace. A Detroit Pistons assistant coach at the time, Versace joined the Pacers on a permanent basis. To hire Versace, Indiana sent compensation to the Pistons which turned out to be a second round pick 10 years later.

There was a very simple reason according to Pacers general manager Donnie Walsh (via Indy Star):

“When I did it, I didn’t think there would be a second round in 1999.”

The Pistons ended up using the selection in 1999 on Melvin Levett. A 6-foot-3 high-flying guard from the University of Cincinnati, Levett evolved from an afterthought with the Bearcats to a two-time All-Conference USA second team member in his junior and senior years.

After the Los Angeles Lakers traded All-Star point guard Nick Van Exel to the Denver Nuggets, the team was thin at point guard. With just third year guard Derek Fisher and rookie Tyronn Lue at the position, the team looked for a veteran after the 1998 NBA lockout that bled into 1999.

With a truncated season, the team had to act fast and signed veteran point guard Derek Harper to a two-year deal for $2.1 million. 

The 1998-99 Los Angeles Lakers were good but had a shaky year. The franchise began the year 6-6 when head coach Del Harris was fired. Assistant coach Bill Bertka coached one game before assistant Kurt Rambis took over for the rest of the season.

Around this time, the team also signed former All-Star and five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman. Rodman was a colorful character and he lasted only 23 games and seven weeks before he was waived due to various infractions such as showing up late and asking for time off.

The Lakers also shook up their roster after 20 games, dealing starters Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell to the Charlotte Hornets for sharp shooter Glen Rice and forward J.R. Reid.

After the 6-6 start, the Lakers ran off 10 consecutive wins. Though the streak helped, the Lakers had an inconsistent year. With the team at 27-19 after 46 games, it won its final four contests to finish 31-19. 

The record tied the Lakers for the fourth best record with the Houston Rockets. The Lakers had a 2-1 head-to-head tiebreaker during the regular season, allowing them to take the fourth seed and homecourt advantage in the first round.

A 15-year veteran, Harper initially came off the bench during the 1998-99 season but ended up starting 29 of 30 games. The younger Fisher was moved ahead of Harper late in the year as coach Rambis tried to give the veteran guard rest ahead of the playoffs.

Harper was a steady veteran presence, appearing in 45 games and amassing 6.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 4.2 APG and 1.0 SPG in 24.9 MPG.

In the postseason, the Lakers faced the Rockets in the opening round. The series opener was close as both teams traded leads. The game was tied at 92 with 3:48 after a Charles Barkley and-1 score.

Houston took a 97-94 lead with 1:40 left after three free-throws from Sam Mack and Barkley. Lakers guards Fisher and Kobe Bryant converted on four consecutive free-throws as the Lakers took a 98-97 lead with 1:17 left. Hakeem Olajuwon scored on a layup and made a free-throw to give the Rockets a 100-98 edge.

After Shaquille O’Neal split two free-throws with 28 seconds left, the Rockets had the ball with a 100-99 advantage. Houston had the ball but Rockets forward Scottie Pippen had the ball stolen by Fisher. After the Lakers called timeout, Bryant was fouled with five seconds left by a stumbling Mack. He nailed both foul shots, giving the Lakers a 101-100 lead.

On the final possession, Rockets rookie Cuttino Mobley was blocked on a layup as time expired and Los Angeles took the first game.

Los Angeles jumped out to a 31-12 lead after the first quarter in Game Two. The Rockets would never get closer than nine points in a 110-98 Lakers victory. Facing a sweep at home, Houston’s stars Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley teamed up for 67 points, 36 rebounds and nine assists to help Houston win 102-88 in Game Three. 

The Lakers took a 17-point lead in the second quarter of Game Four. Houston closed the gap, but Los Angeles took a double digit lead early in the fourth quarter and held on for a 98-88 victory and a 3-1 series win. O’Neal led the way with 37 points and 11 rebounds.

During the first round, Harper averaged 7.0 PPG on 48% shooting, 1.8 RPG and 3.3 APG in 18.0 MPG.

Los Angeles advanced to a second round matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. In the first game, Tim Duncan had 25 points and six blocks, and San Antonio used a 34-17 first half run to take control in an 87-81 win.

San Antonio built a 14-point lead early in Game Two, but the Lakers managed to make a comeback. Bryant nailed a three-pointer with 36 seconds left in Game Two to give the Lakers a 76-75 advantage. Spurs forward Sean Elliott air-balled a three and Bryant was intentionally fouled with 18 seconds remaining.

Bryant missed both foul shots. Duncan hit a turnaround hook with eight seconds left to give the Spurs a one-point lead. Spurs guard Avery Johnson deflected a pass from Bryant to Derek Fisher and Mario Elie stole the ball. 

Elliott made two free-throws giving the Spurs a three-point edge. The Lakers had a chance to tie at the buzzer but Bryant missed a desperation three. 

The third game in Los Angeles was close throughout. The Lakers held a 91-90 advantage with 1:50 remaining, but the Spurs scored 13 unanswered to win 103-91 and take a 3-0 series lead.

In the fourth game, Duncan had 33 points and 14 rebounds. San Antonio never trailed and led by double figures for most of the game and held on for a 118-107 win and a 4-0 series win.

Harper had a rough second round performance. He appeared in three games and averaged 0.7 PPG on 1-for-6 shooting and 1.0 RPG in 13.4 MPG. Harper was benched in Game Four in favor of rookie point guard Tyronn Lue.

After another playoff setback, the Lakers made the decision to hire championship head coach Phil Jackson.

Jackson had always liked having tall guards in his rotation. The team was interested in signing 6-foot-6 guard Ron Harper who flourished with Jackson as part of the three-peat champion Bulls from 1996-1998 and was more familiar with Jackson’s triangle offense.

That left Derek Harper as the odd man out. With one year left on his contract, the Lakers traded Harper to the Detroit Pistons to free up a roster spot.

Levett requested his release from the Lakers during training camp and it was granted by the club. After not receiving any offers to join an NBA team, Levett joined the Cincinnati Stuff of the International Basketball Association.

The Pistons brought in Harper with the hope that the 37-year old would be a backup to starter Lindsey Hunter.

Harper was dismayed with the surprise of being traded from a contender in the Lakers to a middle of the pack team in Detroit.

He did not want to play with the Pistons and never joined the team for training camp. A few months after the trade, Harper decided to retire and take on a vice president of business relations role with the team that drafted him, the Dallas Mavericks.

Detroit Pistons general manager Rick Sund on his previous relationship with Derek Harper and wanting Harper to play for the Pistons (via Detroit Free Press):

“We had a very good relationship in Dallas. I asked him not to make a decision until he comes here and meets the players and coaches, and then decide. If he makes the decision after that to retire, then I can respect that.”

On what Harper brings:

“He has been in the league for 16 seasons and has played at a high level his entire career. He was brought to LA last season primarily as a backup, and he ended up starting more than half their games. Derek has been honored several times in his career for his defense and can contribute to this team.”

How the Harper trade was not risky (via LA Times):

“Derek said he had mixed emotions about the trade. But he never said he was going to retire. There are no guarantees, but the thing is, we’ve got a no-lose situation, anyway. If he comes, great, we’ve got the player we wanted. If he doesn’t come, all we gave up is a player who probably would not have made our team.”

Pistons head coach Alvin Gentry on adding Harper (via Detroit Free Press):

“Obviously after losing Joe (Dumars), he’s irreplaceable, but to have Derek come aboard will help us. He’s a winner and he has won in a lot of different places. He’s a great three-point shooter, he can defend and he gives us additional leadership in the locker room. 

“Now when Lindsey (Hunter) is out of the game we have someone else other than Grant (Hill) to handle the ball. I think he’ll also be a big help to Jerry (Stackhouse) because he can run the team. He might have preferred to stay with the Lakers because they’re close to winning a championship, but he sees us as an up-and-coming team and he understands we can use his leadership.”

Thoughts about Harper showing up to Pistons training camp instead of retiring (via Detroit Free Press):

“I think he’ll end up coming in, I really do. I think (it was) the initial shock of getting traded from a team that you thought definitely had a chance of winning the NBA championship, and I’m sure he’s a little bitter, about getting traded. 

“I think once he gets here and looks at our team and looks at the situation and sees that we can be very successful then I think he’ll be here. I’ll sit down with Derek and explain to him where I see him fitting in with our team, and I’m sure Grant [Hill] and those guys would like to sit down and talk to him.”

Image via Vincent Laforet/Allsport/Getty Images

[locksmithserviceslongmont]

Car Door Opening in Loveland Colorado

Locked out of your car in Loveland, Colorado? We can help!

(303) 900-0549

Open 24/7!

Locksmith Services Longmont provides quick and affordable car door opening services in Loveland, Colorado that is fast, affordable, and professionally handled. Our technicians are fully mobile and standing by, ready to assist. When it comes to unlocking car doors in Loveland, Colorado, our mobile locksmiths can open the vehicle in question without causing any damage whatsoever. All of our mobile locksmiths who help with car door opening services in Loveland are fully background checked, drug tested, and have years of experience opening vehicles with keys locked inside. All of our technicians are fully mobile and can arrive quickly, usually within 30 minutes or less, and they have all the necessary tools for the job at hand. Locksmith Services Longmont has been helping residents of Loveland, Colorado open their locked car doors for years, and we are always available, even on holidays and weekends at no additional cost.

Our mobile Loveland locksmiths are highly skilled at opening locked vehicles when keys are locked inside and they can do so without causing any damage such as scratches, dings, dents, and other types of unwanted issues. All of our mobile car door-opening locksmiths in Loveland carry with them the proper industry-standard tools to open locked car doors quickly and professionally. Our technicians can help open locked car doors such as trucks, SUVs, vans, coupes, luxury vehicles, pickups, sports vehicles, and more. We never recommend breaking a vehicle window when keys are locked inside as it can lead to a lengthy and costly repair bill, which is usually more expensive than just hiring a mobile locksmith in the first place.

Besides being able to assist with car door opening in Loveland, Colorado, we also service a wide range of surrounding communities such as Longmont, Boulder, Lyons, Berthoud, Fort Collins, Denver, Greeley, Platteville, Johnstown, Niwot, Mead, Erie, Firestone, Frederick, Estes Park, Brighton, Fort Lupton, and more. We service a 45-mile radius around Longmont, and our technicians are fully mobile and always ready to help. We can quickly arrive on-site to open locked vehicles when keys are locked inside and our technicians can do so without causing any damage whatsoever. All of our pricing is straightforward and upfront so there are never any surprises.

In addition to opening locked vehicles when keys are locked inside, our mobile locksmiths in Loveland can also help with normal locksmith services such as lock replacements, lock rekeying, lock installations, lock repair, lock removal, fresh lock installations, lock changes, and much more. All of our technicians are fully mobile, meaning they can arrive at your location quickly with all the tools and skills necessary to fulfill the job at hand. Locksmith Services Longmont only employs highly skilled locksmiths with years of experience and the correct tools to facilitate professional lock work.

We understand how frustrating it can be to become locked out of your vehicle with the keys inside, and that’s why we make it our priority to quickly arrive onsite to unlock the vehicle in question. Unlike some other companies, all of our locksmiths know the importance of arriving quickly and doing the job correctly and expertly. All of our pricing is upfront and honest, so our customers know they’re getting a good deal. Our technicians are local to the Loveland area, meaning they can arrive fast with the tools necessary to perform car door opening in Loveland, Colorado. Because our technicians are highly skilled and have the proper tools and training, customers can relax knowing that a professional locksmith is on the job and won’t cause any damage while opening the locked vehicle.

When it comes to opening locked vehicle doors in Loveland, Colorado, we hope you will consider calling us here at Locksmith Services Longmont. All of our technicians are available 24/7 to open locked car doors with keys locked inside, and we never charge extra for weekends, holidays, or overnight unlocking services in Loveland and the surrounding areas. All of our locksmiths utilize industry-standard tools to open vehicles after keys have become locked inside and need to be retrieved without causing damage, and at an affordable cost. We can help with immediate lockout services, emergency lockout services, and future scheduling if lockout services aren’t required yet at the time we receive your call.

When it comes to generic locksmith services, our locksmiths can assist with lock rekeying, also sometimes referred to as key changing, when keys are lost or after an event such as moving into a new home, a breakup, or for security reasons. A lock rekeying will ensure the old key no longer works with the locks and a new one will be provided. For lock changing services, our technicians can replace the old lock hardware with new locks when they are malfunctioning beyond the scope of a repair. When it comes to lock repair services, our Loveland locksmiths can diagnose the issue and fix or replace the broken part to ensure proper lock functionality. We can also assist with other lockout services in Loveland, Colorado besides just car door opening services. This means we can also help with home door lockout services, padlock removal, bike lock removal, safe lockout services, business door lockout services, and many more. We can also help with desk lock opening, filing cabinet unlocking, money box opening, roof topper opening, pickup truck cover opening, and many more types of lockout services that may be required.

Call us anytime, day or night, for fast, affordable, and professional lockout services in Loveland, Colorado. Our technicians are standing by and ready to assist.

[onecornerface]

The FBI Paid a Violent Felon to Infiltrate Denver’s Racial Justice Movement

"What’s been publicly known about the federal government’s activity during the summer of 2020 is astonishing: The Justice Department charged hundreds of people for their roles in First Amendment-protected demonstrations; the Department of Homeland Security deployed more than 750 agents, dressed in military-style uniforms, to Portland and abducted demonstrators in unmarked vans; and the Drug Enforcement Administration, using surveillance powers intended to stop drug runners, spied on more than 50 racial justice groups nationwide, among them a peaceful group that held a vigil on a public university campus in Florida." "As Windecker [the FBI informant] gained prominence among the protesters, eventually rising to a leadership role, he was accusing real activists of being FBI informants. These baseless accusations sowed mistrust and undermined some of the most effective organizers in the community." "One rainy summer afternoon after becoming a paid informant, Windecker met with his FBI handler, Special Agent Scott Dahlstrom. The federal agent clicked on a hidden camera device. [...] Dahlstrom asked Windecker if he remembered his tasking orders — which involved enticing a Black racial justice activist into committing a felony." "Windecker introduced Shelby to his supposed outlaw biker buddy — an FBI undercover agent who went by the nickname “Red” — and together they drove to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s home. As a hidden camera recorded them, the undercover agent encouraged Shelby to commit to a plot to assassinate Weiser, and even suggested they could hire a hitman for as little as $500. Still, Shelby refused to move forward with any plans and immediately cut off contact with Windecker and the undercover agent. Although Shelby was not charged with a crime, local prosecutors used the FBI’s undercover recordings to convince a judge to seize Shelby’s guns under Colorado’s red flag law." "Windecker had given Hall money days earlier and asked him to buy a gun. Hall had agreed and bought a Smith & Wesson handgun for Windecker, despite knowing that Windecker was a convicted felon. Hall didn’t think he had a choice in the transaction. He believed that Windecker, who made the looming prospect of violence part of his identity, would come after him if he refused. [...] federal agents arrested Hall. He pleaded guilty to a felony firearms violation — for buying a gun, with the government’s money, for the government’s informant — and received three years of probation." https://theintercept.com/2023/02/07/fbi-denver-racial-justice-protests-informant/

[kuramirocket]

Sonia Gutierrez dreamed of returning to her hometown of Denver as a television reporter for the city's defining news station: KUSA 9News. When she finally achieved it, however, it came at too steep a cost, she says.

Gutierrez says she was told that she could report on immigration, an issue about which she cares deeply, but only if she were to state her own immigration status on air in every story on the subject.

"I was put in a box simply for who I am," Gutierrez says.

She had never tried to hide that her parents had brought her as a baby from Mexico without documentation. But Gutierrez, 30, says she balked at the station's directive. She was told she could continue pitching stories about immigration, but, she says, she was asked to pass off her ideas and sources to other reporters.

Gutierrez is no longer with KUSA. Nor are two other Latina reporters. One had pushed editors to involve Black and Latino colleagues in more decisions about news coverage. The other's contract was not renewed five months after she had returned after having a stroke. She, too, had challenged station leaders on how they cover issues affecting Latinos in Colorado.

Over the course of a year, from March 2020 to March 2021, KUSA allowed each of the women's contracts to lapse without renewal, the way television stations typically part with their journalists.

"It is racist to require a Latino reporter, a Hispanic reporter, to disclose their own immigration status [to viewers] before reporting on immigration," says Julio-César Chávez, the vice president of National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

The outcry has focused an unwanted glare on Tegna, one of the nation's largest and most prominent owners of local television stations, just as the company faces claims of racial bias from a dissident investor.

"9News is the market leader in Denver and has been for decades," KUSA news director Megan Jurgemeyer says, "Having worked at another station in town, it was always viewed as the top competition and who we wanted to beat."

9News is unusually woven into the fabric of its parent company. Tegna's CEO Dave Lougee used to be the station's news director. KUSA's general manager, Mark Cornetta, is also the executive vice president of Tegna Media, the company's local television division. And Patti Dennis, a Tegna vice president and director of recruitment, is herself a former KUSA news director who still works out of the station's main building in Denver. All three are white, as are Jurgemeyer and Ryan.

Parent company faces its own issues with race

Tegna faces its own allegations of racial bias. An activist hedge fund, Standard General LP, recently nominated rival directors, saying it wanted to diversify the company's largely white board. 

In an April federal securities filing, Standard General accused Tegna of racist practices stretching back years.

In 2019, a sports anchor at the company's Phoenix station accused its general manager — recently promoted from a job as KUSA's sales manager — of making "loud and unwelcome racist and sexist comments about coworkers" at a baseball game, in a civil complaint reviewed by NPR

Jamie Torres, a Denver city council member, was among the Latina state and local public officials who met twice with KUSA executives following the dismissal of the three journalists. She says the meetings left her unconvinced that there would be real progress beyond some changes in language and style.

"The conversation felt just incredibly transactional," Torres says.

And it renewed long-held frustrations: Torres says the three Latina journalists had been hired after an earlier round of discussions between the station and Denver-area Latino officials about representation at KUSA.

"Why Don't You Pitch It To Telemundo?"

While in college, Gutierrez interned at the local affiliate of the Spanish-language network Telemundo. Back then, it was housed inside KUSA's headquarters. Though owned by Tegna, KUSA is an affiliate of NBC, and Telemundo is part of NBC's parent company, Comcast.

As Gutierrez rose at Telemundo Denver, she also pitched stories to KUSA.

She says she often heard back: "That's a great story idea, why don't you pitch it to Telemundo?" Her response: KUSA also needed to serve Latino families — the ones who speak English.

"After a while, when stories wouldn't get picked up, I would just take it upon myself to do the interviews, write up a little [script] and give it to the anchors and say, 'It's done.' To the producers, 'It's done. You want it or not?' " Gutierrez says it was easier to hand off the idea fully baked.

After a stint at a station in Columbia, S.C., Gutierrez returned to KUSA as a reporter. She says KUSA leaders told her that she could be a defining person for the station, someone who would thrive there. By her telling, Gutierrez ignored the little slights that accreted.

Then, Gutierrez says, she was told she had to disclose that she had been a DREAMer, protected from deportation through the Obama-era policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, before she became a legal permanent resident through marriage. She didn't see why viewers needed to be told that in each of her immigration reports.

Gutierrez says she received no response when she asked for concrete examples of how her status had compromised her reporting. And when she refused to go along, Gutierrez says, she was told she would have to pass her story ideas and sources on immigration to other reporters.

"It's not like there was something wrong with me or my reporting," says Gutierrez, who left last year. "There was just something wrong with who I was — a liability to them."

Allegations of unfulfilled promises

Aguirre, 34, a Mexican-American who grew up near Midway Airport on the South Side of Chicago, says she had been inspired to become a journalist to tell stories about Latinos that were not simply about crime and immigration.

She came to Denver after being an anchor at a smaller station in Flint, Mich. 

Aguirre says she believed her pursuit of community-driven news brought value.

"I can tell a story in a much different way than a female white reporter can because I lived it. I know the questions to ask," Aguirre says.

In April 2019, Aguirre suffered a stroke that resulted in a traumatic brain injury and paralyzed her on her left side; as she built back strength and returned in the fall.

After roughly six months, as new newsroom leaders rotated in she did not return to the anchor's chair. Aguirre alleges in a formal amended complaint she filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this year.

Aguirre left the station in March 2020. Her attorney, Iris Halpern, says the complaint is currently in mediation.

"Because they're KUSA, they can just get somebody else," Aguirre says. "They can get another Latino who fills that Brown category, who's cheaper, younger, greener and more afraid to ask any questions. Although I was recovering [from the stroke], I was still that woman who would push back. So I'd be in those meetings and I would ask 'Why?' "

"I was instructed not to wear my hair in a bun"

After two years as a reporter in Bakersfield, Calif., Lori Lizarraga says, she was told by 9News that she would be an asset and she joined the station. 

Lizarraga, whose mother was born in Ecuador and whose father is first generation Mexican-American, remembers saying, "'My voice will never track this [the word illegal] slew of words." She says she ended up shying away from stories involving immigration.

Lizarraga recalls even having her hairstyles vetoed. She wrote in Westword, "After six months, I was instructed not to wear my hair in a bun with a middle part anymore — a style I have seen and worn as a Mexican and Ecuadorian woman all my life. Not a good look, I was told."

"We Would Have Had Reporters On Every Corner"

Lizarraga, who left in March, says she hit an inflection point early last year. Colorado state regulators had just announced a record fine against a Canadian energy giant whose plant had been polluting nearby neighborhoods for years. She read up on it as she raced with a colleague in the official KUSA 9News van to the press conference.

"Ash was falling from the sky onto people's cars and yards and playgrounds," Lizarraga recalls. "Water was impacted."

She was struck by something else: The communities affected were heavily Latino. Yet, she says, state regulators had not consulted with those communities or even put out information in Spanish. And back in the newsroom, she says, producers focused solely on the size of the fine — potentially up to $9 million.

"I was very upset and I said, 'You know, if this were a community in a ZIP code just up the street with a different demographic, we would have had reporters on every corner ' " to interview residents, Lizarraga says. "And because this is a Spanish-speaking, low-income, largely immigrant community, we don't have an interest. We are choosing what is newsworthy based on what you care to talk about, not what is actually newsworthy."

"We have to confront management"

At KUSA, Lizarraga says supervisors resented her for demanding that African American colleagues be consulted on coverage about Floyd's murder and the protests. She thought they had a right to weigh in on questions such as: How much of the video of Floyd's death should be shown? When and if the word "riot" was appropriate? How much coverage should there be of police tactics?

Lizarraga says she rallied colleagues of color to object when the station decided to stage a town hall meeting on race and equity hosted solely by a white anchor. Instead of channeling that fervor, Lizarraga says, it was largely deflected.

"We can't be exhausted, we can't be scared," Lizarraga recalled telling colleagues. "We have to confront management and tell them that we have ideas and that we deserve a spotlight right now."

Meanwhile, she says, she was not recognized for the initiative she showed, such as the data-driven pieces that officials and advocates said (in text messages reviewed by NPR) served as a road map for government agencies seeking to arrange COVID-19 testing in heavily affected Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Life after KUSA 9News

Gutierrez now works across town at Rocky Mountain PBS. Aguirre is a local news anchor and reporter in Asheville, N.C., part of a television market that is about half the size of that of Denver.

Lizarraga returned to her family home in Dallas. In late March, she published her allegations against KUSA in Westword. "What Lori Lizarraga did took a lot of courage and bravery," the NAHJ's Chávez says, singling out Gutierrez and Aguirre for praise as well. "Journalism is an industry where a lot of people are mistreated, a lot of employees are mistreated, and discriminated against, and then people simply go quiet.

"For Lori to actually tell the world how bad the situation was, how bad she was being treated and how racist some of the management policies were, that takes real courage. She put her entire career in jeopardy."

In October, the Colorado ACLU will honor the three women for "fighting discrimination in the newsroom."

[guigz1-coldwar]

'A little too closer' : New chapter for "Always for the greater cause..." is out !

Chapter Summary: Bell & the team arrived in Colorado for their next mission, not before two days, and for the time being, it will all be resting & preparing the plans for the future...while news fall...and things are done...

To read it on AO3, click here!

Taglist: @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

25th February 1981, 01H00

Owethu "Jackal" Mabuza, Mercenary hired by Perseus

Perseus safehouse 'Wolf's Den' in Colorado Springs, United States

The United States wasn't the country that I would have wanted to go in my life but since we were asked by Stitch himself, along with Naga to join the Perseus safehouse in Colorado Springs, we were obliged to comply, knowing that there was money in play for us and to say, we weren't going to refuse that at all, even Naga didn't flinch and was the first one to prepare his things when Stitch make us learn the news a day earlier.

To say, the place we were was...basic at my thoughts and very typical from the Perseus safehouse that I could have traveled to: always inside an abandoned warehouse and in the surroundings in the city but there was a little detail that I didn't take in account. Robert Aldrich himself was the one supervising the place for the moment, awaiting with us Stitch's arrival with his team as for me & Naga, we were making some distractions for ourselves...

"Come on, I'm going to do it," Naga said in a serious & struggling voice as we decided to make a little friendly competition of arm wrestling at one of the empty desks of the warehouse, and to be honest, it was the first time I was facing some difficulties to beat someone in arm wrestling. "Give up, I'm winning," He demanded in a funny voice as my arm was ready to touch the desk, my right arm trying to do its best.

"Don't speak up too quick, friend," I taunted him behind my red mask, seeing the veins of my right arm showing up for good, the strength I was putting in it was massive.

"That's what you think but..." Naga tried to scoff until his eyes behind his sunglasses that I was able to see went wide at seeing his arms, slowly going up and away from the desk. "Hey...how...dammit,' He started to panic as our both arms were getting back at their former positions. "Nope, ain't going to win, Jackal," He persisted as his arm was sliding slightly on his side.

"Not by looking between us," I stated, my right hand clenching at its best as Naga's arm was going to touch the desk, and then, in a fast move, I managed to slam his arm hard against the desk.

"Ouch, fuck!" He shouted, his voice echoing inside the main room and holding his right wrist with his left hand.

"Too easy," I commented, crossing my arms as I leaned myself comfy inside the chair I was, looking at Naga who was blowing air at his poor hand. "Told you that you would lose, Naga, you didn't listen," I told him, breaking a muffled laugh through my mask.

"You know, I wasn't going to back down to a challenge like that," He breathed, putting his left hand below his right one as he posed them on the desk, his eyes not removing themselves from his hands. "Another one?" He proposed.

"You want me to break your arm completely?" I raised an eyebrow behind my mask, sounding joking but not him. "Naga, a bit of advice, don't," I advised him, even using a serious voice to that.

"Are you backing down for a challenge?" He sounded surprised by that, raising his eyebrow to me.

"No, no one wants to have you with a broken arm...not even yourself," I reminded him well, knowing that we were the men for the dangerous jobs, and having a broken arm isn't really helping us. "You know well that Stitch is surely going to send you with that Bell on the mission in two days, remember?" I insisted on it, just as a friend.

"Yeah, he wants me to...control the asset a bit closer," He sniffed, getting his both hands away, palms of them against the desk. "And you know well that I volunteered for that, it's thanks to my drugs & Wraith's stolen file that I'm the third one to know how to deal with her," He affirmed before he decides to get up from his chair, walking towards the black coffee machine.

"Isn't a bit dangerous to...well, doing that to someone?" I asked him about the whole situation surrounding this Bell, having briefly heard of it.

"Is that the same Jackal that could strangle a man and getting him up, that could slaughter a whole army with just a machete that is asking me that?" He turned his head around to look at me, astonished.

'Fucking with other's mind isn't my part of the work, so excuse me if I'm curious," I pardoned him in a fake way, even putting my hand above my heart to express that fully.

"As long that we're getting paid, I'm okay with this...and to say, it's fun," He exclaimed before turning back to the coffee machine...and hit it with the back of his left fist in a wave of surprising anger. "You're going to work, you fucking stupid machine?" He was sounding a bit angry at this, seeing in his moves that he could take the machine and throw it away even if the guy was hurt, he would do it.

"Don't break it down, people are going to need it, Naga," A voice spoke up, entering the room and revealing none other than Aldrich himself, having spent the majority of his night in another room than us, to make calls and doing his preferred things: fuck up his own agency. "Seems that you two are getting along well here," He added.

"Didn't know that it was a bit hotter than Laos," Naga said, his hands on the collar of his jacket to slightly readjust it, meaning that he was hot and that feeling was shared by me even if my clothes are better for that climate...hopefully.

"Of course, it's hotter...if you two continue to persist to keep those masks on your face," Alrich scoffed, looking at me particularly.

"As I said, no one is seeing my face," I mumbled, predicting in Aldrich an urge to remove my mask. "You want to know what happened to those who saw it?" I demanded at him but also Naga who turned around to look at me in curiosity. "That's the last thing that they saw before I put my hands around their necks to shut their mouths, you don't want to be the one in my hands, do you?" I warned the two, using a rather threatening voice that instantly cooled down the ambiance of the room.

"Not at all, Owethu," Aldrich sighed.

"It's Jackal for you, Aldrich," I pointed him with my finger, him looking mostly unimpressed as he was moving towards the filled-up desk that he was owning, going to lean on it. "To change, any news from the others?"

"Stitch's team are going to be soon, he called me a few minutes from the airport at Denver," He replied, putting his hands on his lap in front of him. "You two should get either ready to greet them or going into another recon mission at Cheyenne Mountain," He suggested to us.

"We're going to go soon but...aren't you the one who has to give us everything about it?" Naga questioned him, staying near the coffee machine as he was struggling to make it work. "Like, you're CIA why we would beat our ass around if we're going to infiltrate one of the biggest bases in the whole US soil?" He continued, his voice getting a bit louder, his hands trying to find out what was wrong with that machine.

"Because the CIA is having suspicions on me and that's why I can't directly go inside Cheyenne Mountain to grab what we need," Aldrich responded, rolling his eyes around and sounding annoyed...typical. "So, be on the move, make your time here useful instead of doing arm wrestling or poker or....anything that isn't about work," He ordered to us in a clear voice as I & Naga were exchanging glares.

"At 1 AM?" Naga mumbled before he yawned, putting his hand in front of his mask...he did it...even with his mask on.

"At least, we're getting paid, right?" I hissed, going up from my seat and feeling obliged to leave the safehouse by Aldrich. "You heard the boss, Naga, let's move," I sighed, starting to walk back to the workplace I was temporarily using for me, gathering around what I needed to make that recon mission with Naga to the Cheyenne Mountain that was at the other side of the city...

"Fuck, I always hated the Americans...but I'm paid,"

---------------------------

25th February 1981, 02H32

Yirina 'Bell' Grigoriev, Ex-KGB, Perseus

Arriving at the Perseus safehouse 'Wolf's Den' in Colorado Springs

The driving to reach the safe house in Colorado Springs was a bit long & boring to attend as the transport we were using was a white van where our seats were not very comfortable while Stitch & Bellamy were the ones having the perfect seats, me, Wraith & Knight having to use the wooden bench of the van behind along with Smirnov that was still with us, knocked out & drugged for the flight and...it was already exhausting me to be in that van as if my rest in the plane wasn't so useful after all.

And to add to that, Bellamy almost started to sing in the van to destress everyone...but he was only met in the few seconds by Stitch 'to shut up or his head was going to hit the steering wheel first' as he quoted and that was amusing me & the others, allowing the rest of the travel to be fine...except those damn uncomfortable seats and the fact that Bellamy was the one to drive, I didn't know if it could have been taken in account...

After finally 1 hour and a half of driving, we finally reached our destination that was an old warehouse similar to the one we were using in East-Berlin and when I stepped out of the van, after grabbing my bag, it was like the best feeling I lived today, having the impression to have been locked down in that small van.

"Bell, I think that we should be better inside," Wraith told me as she put her left hand on my shoulder while I was stretching my arms & legs a few meters from the van.

"Yeah, I was just getting myself better," I said and I took a quick breath before putting my hands on my bag on the ground, grabbing it to walk to the entrance with the others, seeing Knight holding the unconscious Zasha Smirnov in his shoulder. "They're still sleeping?" I asked him.

"With the dose that Stitch gave them, guess that we could call them soon the 'Sleeping Beauty," He laughed, keeping his head in front of him, his voice sounding amused.

"No one wanted to have a flight & drive where we could only hear them screaming, crying and cursing," Bellamy stated, near Knight and for a first, the two weren't launching things that could irritate the other...hopefully.

"You will be the one to have this job of keeping them...in shape to interrogation," Stitch told him, pointing his hand at Bellamy before the whole group arrived near the big garage door where Stitch knocked at it three times, and a few seconds later, the door was getting opened. "Everyone, welcome to the US of A," Stitch half-joked about it as he got his head to look inside, a man with a grey sweater arriving near us.

"Stitch, hope you did a good travel," The man started, gesturing at Stitch with his head who nodded before letting us enter inside.

"Of course, Aldrich...if we don't mention some details," Stitch exclaimed, exchanging a gaze with Bellamy himself, stepping inside the building with the others. "You remember everyone, do you?" He asked Aldrich who was going to a control panel, supposedly for the garage door.

"Yes, Bellamy Petrov, Freya Helvig, Roman Gary...and Yirina Grigoriev..." Aldrich divulged, his finger pressing on a button that was getting the garage door shut down behind me and I was a bit uncomfortable in me...the first time someone addressed me by my name and not by Bell. "But as you prefer for some, Wraith, Knight & Bell,"

"Don't forget Azrael for me...or Cerberus...or Oni..." Bellamy raised his voice, looking that he wanted the attention on him as everyone looked at him a bit confused. "Or...Uhm...for the moment, it ain't official but... never mind," He stopped himself, pulling himself back as he put his own bag on an empty desk as I was keeping mine in my hands, along with Wraith and also Knight who was still having Smirnov on his shoulder.

"Knight, Bellamy, get Krypto in the designated room, better for you," Stitch suggested and Knight nodded before he starts to walk in a direction, opening a door and disappearing from our sight after he closed the door behind him. "So, Aldrich, you said that you have news," Stitch moved near a desk that was filled up with a lot of things.

"Yes, first: I send back Naga & Jackal for another recon at Cheyenne Mountain, they should be back in the morning," Aldrich started, crossing his arms as he was walking near a little dashboard near the desk Stitch was. "And the major...& bad news, Volkov was captured hours ago in East-Berlin,"

"Shit, what happened?" Wraith asked, getting her bag next to Bellamy's one.

"It said that the CIA, the BND & the MI6 did an operation to get Volkov at one of his warehouses and they succeeded: Ritcher managed to escape but not Krauz," He replied, not looking at her and more at the ground before he switched his eyes on Stitch. "The Greenlight documents fell back into the CIA's hands, Stitch,"

"No think to worry about that, we got what we needed," Stitch reassured him in a good voice despite that the situation in the East wasn't looking good to hear about.

"There's nothing else?" I spoke up and by the look on Aldrich, my voice kinda surprised him and the others as if they were hearing my voice for the first time.

"Well, now, Volkov is said to be in the MI6's hands and as we're fearing, he might be going to speak," Alrich responded to me, his face looking a bit unsure to speak to me and that was getting me a bit confused & questioning about why he was like that, maybe that he wasn't a trustful person...maybe..."I guess that we can't start until Naga & Jackal are back from their mission,"

"You're right and as I thought, everyone will need some rest, the flight wasn't so easy to live with all the turbulence," Stitch exclaimed, his hands against the desk behind him as his eyes were drifting around the warehouse to look at it before they went on me. "You should get some rest, Bell, you're looking tired,"

"I...yeah...I think so," I admitted, adding seconds later a silent yawn coming out of my mouth.

"Wraith, you know the place, take the lead for Bell to her room," He ordered, making a sign with his head to Wraith who nodded.

"Understood," She smiled at him before she moved to grab her bag back on the desk. "You're coming?" She demanded at me and I quickly nodded at her before she starts to move away, following her closely.

It was true that the sleep I did on the plane didn't help me at all as I was looking more tired than when I closed my eyes inside the plane and thankfully, I could finally go to sleep on a real bed and not a wooden bench. Wraith was leading the way inside a little hallway where some doors were present, observing her moving like...to say, she was looking very beautiful on all sides and that was quite astonishing for me to think about it now, my thoughts trying to get away as we reached a door which Freya stopped in front of it.

"Here we are," She exclaimed, getting her hands on the door handle before she opens the door, revealing the bedroom...

"Wow, that's looking more...changing from the look of the warehouse," I said, amazed by seeing how much the room was more looking great than the warehouse itself the bed was a king-sized, enough for two. "Is it like the same thing for the other room?" I demanded.

"You know, people need comfort and it's not because that place is an old warehouse that it has to be old inside," Wraith replied, moving to reach the empty table that was near a door, leading to a little private bathroom as she opened it along the way. "I hope that you don't snore too much," She said in an amused voice.

"Uhm...why are you asking that?" I questioned her, narrowing my eyes at her as she was unzipping her bag on the table

"They didn't tell you, of course," She told me, slowly turning around to look at me. "Aldrich took one of the bedrooms as he wasn't supposed to be here and since, I volunteered to let him take the room I was going to take," She revealed to me, full of curiosity on the inside. "What? Do you want me to sleep outside? In a motel or in the van?" She raised an eyebrow when she saw me and my confused face.

"No, no, no, that's...well, it's better that you stay here..." I responded in full honesty to her, not wanting to be a dork to her like that. "Of course that you can sleep in this room...with me...uhm..." I scratched the back of my head as she was turning around...starting to remove her top without any shame, causing me to look around, my eyes tempting to look at her.

"You know, you can look," She spoke up, his voice sounding good & reassuring to me.

"It's just that..."

"Come on, it's not because we're soldiers that we can't know each other, and to say, we're the only girls around, what can be better than this?" She proclaimed after cutting me gently in my words and...I couldn't resist anymore, turning to see her with only a black bra covering her top as she was getting her hands on her jeans. "You should get to sleep quick, Bell, for your own good," She advised me/

"Uhm, yeah, of course," I complied, starting to get my hands around my waist.

To say, I was a bit distraught to undress with someone else in the room but Wraith was like...putting some confidence inside of me with her words that caused me to do what she said and I was slowly removing my clothes, keeping only my shirt and removing my pants, shoes but still, I was afraid, each time, to turn around and meet Wraith's eyes, not actually wanting her to look at me in shame and I did...she was already in bed, her eyes on me.

"Please, don't look," I demanded at her as I was gathering the clothes I took off me on a chair nearby.

"Bell, it's okay, you don't need to be afraid," She said in a calm voice, already under the blanket.

"Hey, I'm going to sleep with someone else like that, don't know if I need to be afraid," I exclaimed at her, tapping on my now pile of clothes before I turned my back to get next to my side of the bed. "It's not something that happens to me a lot...or...I don't know, it's just weird for me,"

"Don't worry, you will be used to that," She told me as I was getting myself on the bed, raising up with my hand my part of the blanket to get under it.

"Yeah, we'll see about it," I mumbled, laid down on the bed before I shut down the light of my nightstand and stay to look away from Wraith "Good night, Wraith," I whispered in a low voice as her light was staying on before I closed my eyes.

She then closed her light, plunging the room in the dark, only enlightened by the outside, the window at Wraith's side of the bed and I was trying my best to get to sleep without thinking of having a colleague of work in the same bed as me, knowing her for only 4 days and that was so strange but only 5 minutes after she closed the light that I started to feel something wrapping around my waist...her hands...

"Wraith...Wraith, your hands," I muttered, feeling the cold palms of her hands touching softly my skin and that was frightened me, her hands slowly making circles on my chest. "Wraith...Wraith!" I spoke up, trying to wake her up from her sleep but she wasn't waking up. "Shit, Wraith!" I raised my voice again a bit scared but again, nothing was said or done to stop that to happen...

I tried to move her hands away from me but each time, her hands were coming back around me, residing myself to give up...and to let her hands around me, finding it so strange & weird...as if she wanted to keep me with her, why was she doing this? That was at first scaring me & sending me chills in my arms but then, I started to stop thinking about that part, feeling suddenly secured until I put my both hands on her...

I didn't know but it was making me secure...and somehow, happy...

[tubadlisowarasiikwar]

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[singeratlarge]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Casey Affleck, swamp pop singer Rod Bernard, Sid Bernstein, Joe Besser, Cantinflas, John Cazale, Kid Creole, Del The Funky Homosapien,  Cecil B. DeMille, Leslie Duncan, George Hamilton, Roy Hay, Heintje, Mark Knopfler, Greg Langston (The Next, No Alternative), Ron Mael, Tiny McCloud, Pat Metheny, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Alexei Nikolaevich, Peter Ostroushko, Buck Owens, Marjorie Reynolds, Erwin Alexander Schrödinger, Lakeith Stanfield, Matt Thiessen (Reliant K), Stefanos Tsitsipas, Mladen Vukic, Porter Wagoner, Deborah Walley, Wednesday 13, Jane Wyatt, and recording artist, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Derrek Van Eaton. Classic rock-philes and deep Beatles fans will recognize him from the brother band Lon & Derrek Van Eaton. John Lennon and George Harrison “discovered” them and signed them to Apple Records. Their excellent BROTHER album was co-produced by George with Klaus Voorman and launched a long association with George, Ringo Starr, Nilsson, and other legends in the Apple story. The brothers went on to become studio session favorites under producer Richard Perry, who hired them for recordings with Art Garfunkel, Martha Reeves, and Carly Simon. As a duo, the Van Eaton brothers have released sporadic works (notably their acclaimed 1996 cover of “Apple of my Eye” on the COME & GET IT Badfinger tribute album), and they’re still active in musical and spiritual pursuits. I met Derrek some years ago in church and picked his brains about a 1972 L&DVE concert Huntingdon PA that I stood outside at (I was but a lad with no ticket money). The last time Derrek and I crossed paths was at a Monkees concert in Denver. Even in passing conversation I can see the creative spark in Derrek’s eyes. Here’s one of my favorite Van Eaton cuts “Sun Song” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5VSJmb2VI0 ...Meanwhile, HB DVE and thank you for your years of remarkable creativity and soul.

#derrekvaneaton #lonanderrekvaneaton #brother #applerecords #birthday #georgeharrison #ringostarr #klausvoorman #richardperry #peteham #badfinger

[nbatrades]

Dallas Mavericks Acquire Nick Van Exel in Seven-Player 2002 Trade Deadline Deal

On February 21st, 2002, the Dallas Mavericks traded forwards Juwan Howard and Donnell Harvey, guard Tim Hardaway, $1 million in cash considerations and a 2002 first round draft pick (Frank Williams) to the Denver Nuggets for guards Nick Van Exel and Avery Johnson, center Raef LaFrentz and guard-forward Tariq Abdul-Wahad.

After a 1997-98 campaign that saw the Denver Nuggets finish with a franchise-worst 11-71 record, the team was in desperate need of a makeover. The first piece to a fresh start was its lottery draft pick.

Despite having the best chance of securing the first overall pick, the Nuggets ran into a bit of misfortune as the 17-65 Los Angeles Clippers won the draft lottery and ended up with the top pick. Next was the 19-63 Vancouver Grizzlies.

Unfortunately for the Nuggets, they would finish with the third pick. In the draft, Denver settled on Kansas big man Raef LaFrentz. A successful piece of the Jayhawks program, LaFrentz was a unique player. 

An All-American in his Junior and Senior seasons, LaFrentz became the first Jayhawk in 27 years to average a double-double (19.8 PPG and 11.4 RPG) over a full college season.

As an NBA prospect, LaFrentz was intriguing. At 6-foot-11, he could protect the rim on defense while being able to knock down shots from the perimeter and post up in the paint.

The next order of business on draft night was the decision to add an elite point guard. The Nuggets looked to the Los Angeles Lakers and unhappy All-Star guard Nick Van Exel. Denver acquired the slick shooting and passing guard in a deal with the Lakers for Tony Battie and the draft rights of guard Tyronn Lue.

Soon after, the NBA lockout happened which postponed the NBA season for nearly three months. During the lockout, the Nuggets hired Mike D’Antoni as head coach. 

When NBA owners and players agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement, business resumed. The Nuggets made a slew of deals acquiring guard Chauncey Billups and rookie Keon Clark in two separate deals. 

The headliner of all deals was Denver’s re-acquisition of its former player Antonio McDyess in free agency. McDyess was a rising star and the grouping together of him with Van Exel and LaFrentz created a nice young core for Denver to build around.

The 1998-99 season was rough from the start. Denver lost its first four games and began the year just 1-8. The Nuggets would win some games but losses continued to mount. Denver went 14-36 in the lockout shortened season.

After playing in 12 games in his rookie season, LaFrentz tore the ACL and the lateral meniscus in his left knee. He missed the rest of the year, finishing with 13.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.8 SPG and 1.4 BPG in 32.3 MPG.

Van Exel started in all 50 games. He led the club in assists (7.4), was second in scoring (16.5 PPG). The 6-foot-1 guard also posted 2.3 RPG and 0.8 SPG in 36.0 MPG.

In the summer of 1999, Van Exel signed a deal worth a guaranteed $50.5 million over five years. The contract contained incentives that could add two more years and make the total value of the agreement worth a total of $77 million. One incentive included winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award.

Denver continued to add young talent to its roster, acquiring Ron Mercer in a six-player deal with the Boston Celtics and bringing in forward James Posey through the draft.

Nuggets general manager Dan Issel fired D’Antoni and took over as head coach on a three-year deal.

With a solid starting lineup, Denver had hopes to compete in the West. Early returns were positive as the Nuggets began the year 15-12 in their first 27 games. The record was good enough for eighth in the conference.

The season would quickly turn as Denver lost nine of its next 11 games to fall to 17-21. Denver would soon make changes to its roster. With the club unable to come to terms on an extension with Mercer and his looming free agency hanging over the team, Issel moved Mercer, forward Johnny Taylor and guard Chauncey Billups to the Orlando Magic for veteran Chris Gatling, wing Tariq Abdul-Wahad and a future first round pick.

The Nuggets were 20-22 at the time of the trade and continued to fall down the West standings. Denver went 15-25 in its final 40 games to finish the year 35-47 and out of the postseason for fifth consecutive year.

Van Exel played in 79 games (all starts) and was second in the NBA with 9.0 APG. He also amassed 16.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG 0.9 SPG in 37.3 MPG. After missing most of his rookie campaign, LaFrentz was healthy and rebounded to have a solid sophomore season. The big man managed 12.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.5 SPG and a team-high 2.2 BPG in 81 appearances and 30.1 MPG.

Abdul-Wahad joined the Nuggets and played in 15 games (10 starts) after the trade from Orlando, recording 8.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.7 APG and 0.8 BPG in 24.9 MPG. He missed 22 of Denver’s final 23 games after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist.

In the 2000 offseason, the Nuggets kept their core intact but saw a significant organizational change after Stan Kroenke bought the team as well as the Pepsi Center.

Abdul-Wahad became a free agent and had several suitors including the Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors. 

A double sign-and-trade deal involving Denver, the Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers nearly happened. In the potential deal, Abdul-Wahad would’ve headed to the Celtics with the Nuggets receiving free agent Derek Anderson from Los Angeles. Denver would’ve also sent backups Keon Clark and Chris Herren to the Clippers and Celtics respectively while acquiring a future first round pick. There were also proposals involving Nuggets backup guard Bryant Stith. 

Giving up three players to acquire Anderson was a concern for Dan Issel and Denver pulled back on the rumored deal.

As free agency continued, both sides had little other options and came to an agreement. In a surprise, Denver signed Abdul-Wahad to a seven-year, $43.3 million contract. 

The 2000-01 season was a year of hope for the Nuggets but there were some rocky moments ahead. The team was 10-12 after its first 22 games. But that 22nd game would be the start of turmoil.

On that night, the Nuggets dropped a road game to the Boston Celtics 104-102 in overtime. In the game, LaFrentz was awful, going scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in 27 minutes. The big man also was a -20 plus-minus.

Soon after, coach Issel let loose on LaFrentz for the performance, reaming the center out for his poor game. The moment drew the ire of the locker room. In protest to Issel’s dress down of the center on Sunday, most of the team chose not to attend Monday practice back home in Denver.

Tri-captains Van Exel, Antonio McDyess and George McCloud made the choice. Though some players with less job security still showed up to the locker room for the morning workout, the boycott still went through.

Publicly, the players tried to play off the ordeal, claiming that they missed the practice due to a need for rest from a long road trip. There were rumors of the Nuggets sustaining the boycott into a Tuesday game at home against the Miami Heat.

A recorded quote from sophomore player James Posey made to the Denver Post was the smoking gun.

“We don’t know if we are going to play or not (in Tuesday's game against the Miami Heat). We’ll be there for shootaround and we'll see what goes on.”

The situation brought national attention to a Nuggets franchise that saw very little attention due to its poor performance over the past several years. With a new owner and a mutiny, the move led to questions about coach Issel’s job security.

Denver found a way to bounce back after the ordeal. The team won 14 of its next 18 games to rise to 24-16. The West was super competitive as that record was good for eighth in the West. If Denver was in the East, it would’ve been in fourth place.

The Nuggets quickly fell after the surprise run, dropping 12 of the next 16 games. The Nuggets fell under .500 and never recovered, finishing 40-42, 11th in the conference.

Van Exel was suspended for one game late in the season for failing to show up to a practice and a shootaround in a span of two days.

Van Exel played one more game before sitting the rest of the season due to a foot issue. He played in 71 games (70 starts) and compiled 17.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 8.5 APG (third in the NBA) and 0.9 SPG in 37.9 MPG. 

A highlight for Van Exel was a 41-point explosion against the Charlotte Hornets.

LaFrentz continued to be solid in his third season. The big man was seventh in the league with 2.6 BPG and also contributed 12.9 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.4 APG and 0.5 SPG in 31.5 MPG and 78 appearances.

Abdul-Wahad was limited for much of the year. He began the year as a starter, but lost his spot by late November to Voshon Lenard. His six-year contract became burdensome immediately as he clashed with teammates on and off the court, and coach Issel.

Limited for much of the season due to tonsillitis and eventual tonsil surgery, Abdul-Wahad played in 29 contests (12 starts), recording 3.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.8 APG and 0.5 SPG in 14.5 MPG.

In the 2001 offseason, the Nuggets were relatively quiet but did sign veteran point guard Avery Johnson to a three-year, $14 million deal.

After Denver’s best regular season record in some time, there was hope for a possible playoff finish during the 2001-02 season, but those dreams quickly turned to nightmares.

After partially dislocating his left kneecap late in the 2000-01 season, McDyess rehabbed the injury in the offseason. However, the All-Star forward was still suffering from tendinitis in his knee. McDyess ended up having surgery to repair a partially torn patella tendon in his left knee during training camp.

The injury ruled McDyess out until February, leaving Van Exel and LaFrentz to shoulder the scoring load. The Nuggets had a rocky start without McDyess, dropping four of their first five games. Denver looked like it was headed to another losing season.

Van Exel’s frustration in Denver bubbled up in December after a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers when he expressed his willingness for a change of scenery. The Nuggets had just lost eight of nine games. (via The Denver Post):

“I’m tired of this. Tired of losing. Tired of all these trades we've made in four years. I’m just tired of everything right now. I think it is time for me to move on somewhere else. I’m sick of it.”

In the team’s next game (a loss to the Charlotte Hornets), coach Issel was caught on camera shouting an anti-Mexican slur at a fan. The Nuggets suspended Issel for four games before he resigned from his head coach and team president posts. 

Assistant coach Mike Evans took over on an interim basis while general manager Kiki Vandeweghe absorbed more power in the team’s front office.

The losses continued to pile up for the Nuggets as the team fell to 11-26 after 37 games. With the team at 16-35, Denver decided to make a significant midseason deal and blow up its roster by dealing two of its three best players in Van Exel, LaFrentz along with backups Abdul-Wahad and Johnson to the Dallas Mavericks.

Before the trade, Van Exel had appeared in 45 contests (44 starts) during the 2001-02 season and compiled 21.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 8.1 APG and 0.7 SPG in 38.6 MPG. LaFrentz started all 51 games he played in, contributing 14.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.6 SPG and 3.0 BPG in 32.7 MPG.

Abdul-Wahad opened the ‘01-‘02 season as a starter at the two-guard. After 12 games, Abdul-Wahad went down due to chondromalacia in his left knee, a roughening of the articular cartilage. The injury led to arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Abdul-Wahad missed about two months, returning for eight games before the trade. The wing saw action in 20 games (12 starts) and produced 6.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.5 BPG in 20.9 MPG.

Johnson backed up Van Exel at the point guard spot. The veteran guard appeared in 51 games (13 starts) and registered 9.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 5.1 APG and 0.7 SPG in 23.5 MPG.

Van Exel was good for 17.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 8.4 APG and 0.8 SPG with Denver. He shot 40% from the field, 34% on 1,245 three-point attempts and 81% from the free-throw line.

LaFrentz was solid but never became the star Denver hoped for after taking the center third overall in the 1998 draft. In 222 games, the 6-foot-11 player contributed 13.2 PPG, 7.7 RPG. 1.2 APG, 0.5 SPG and 2.5 BPG. The big man shot 46% from the field, 38% from beyond the arc and 69% from the charity stripe.

In nearly two seasons with the Nuggets, Abdul-Wahad only played in 64 games, producing 5.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.6 SPG and 0.5 BPG. The wing shot 39% from the field and 69% from the free-throw line.

As part of the trade, Van Exel agreed to make his $12.8 million salary for the final year of his deal (2005-06) a team option.

Donnell Harvey became a member of the Dallas Mavericks after his draft rights were acquired in a draft night deal with the New York Knicks involving guard Erick Strickland. He later signed a three-year deal with Dallas worth around $2.3 million with a team option for a fourth year.

Harvey joined the Mavericks for Summer League and contributed 7.8 PPG and 6.9 RPG in eight games despite a nagging groin strain.

Dallas was a surprise team during the 2000-01 season. Thanks to the growth and development of the nucleus of Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash, the Mavericks began the year 18-10. As Dallas looked to make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, the team was aggressive at the trade deadline.

In sixth place with a 33-21 record, the Mavericks made a splash, acquiring former All-Star Juwan Howard from the Washington Wizards in an eight-player deal that saw Dallas deal Christian Laettner, Hubert Davis and Courtney Alexander.

After Howard entered the lineup, Dallas went 19-8, finishing with a 53-29 record, tied for fourth-best in the conference.

Howard played in 27 games with Dallas after the trade, compiling 17.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 36.8 MPG. Harvey had a limited role in his rookie season, seeing action in 18 games and posting 1.2 PPG and 1.1 RPG in 3.6 MPG. 

In the first round of the 2001 postseason, Dallas faced the Utah Jazz. Both teams had the same record, but Utah held a conference record tiebreaker to gain homecourt advantage.

The series opener was close in the first half. In the third quarter, Utah built a 13-point advantage midway, but Dallas came back and managed to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.

With 1:12 left in the game, Steve Nash made two free-throws to give Dallas an 86-82 edge. Jazz reserve Danny Manning made a three, and starters John Stockton and Donyell Marshall combined on three freebies to give Utah an 88-86 win. Michael Finley missed a three at the buzzer that would’ve won it.

In the second game, Utah took a 20-point lead in the third quarter. Dallas pulled within three points after going on a 24-7 run in just under seven minutes. However, Karl Malone (34 points) scored eight points down the stretch as Utah held on for a 109-98 advantage and a 2-0 series lead.

Facing a potential sweep, Dallas returned home for Game Three. The Mavericks led for much of the game, and had a 13-point edge at one point. However, the Jazz kept fighting back. Utah took a 91-90 lead on a layup from Stockton with 34 seconds remaining. 

Nash answered, making a short jumper on the ensuing possession. Utah’s Marshall was unable to handle a pass from Stockton and Finley stole the ball. He was subsequently fouled and made both free-throws to give Dallas a 94-91 lead.

Stockton missed a three as Dallas won its first playoff game in 13 years. Utah took an early 10-point lead in Game Four, but Dallas took over from there. The Mavericks outscored he Jazz by 37 points in the final three quarters to win comfortably 107-77 and send the series to a fifth and final game.

Utah was in control during Game Five, building a 75-61 lead with 10:50 left in the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks were not done. They went on a 23-8 run the rest of the way to win 84-83. Mavericks center Calvin Booth made a layup with 9.6 seconds left to give Dallas the lead for good.

The series win was Howard’s first as a pro. In five games, the forward compiled 14.8 PPG on 40% shooting, 8.0 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.6 SPG in 44.5 MPG. 

The Mavericks went on to the second round where they faced the 58-24 San Antonio Spurs. In the opener, Tim Duncan had 31 points and 13 rebounds and the Spurs never trailed in the second half of a 94-78 win. 

In the game, Howard was ejected after he committed a flagrant foul penalty 2 on Spurs guard Derek Anderson towards the end of the first half. The foul saw Howard knock Anderson out of mid-air. Anderson separated his right shoulder and was out for the rest of the series.

The second game saw Duncan (25 points, 22 rebounds and six assists) dominate again as the Spurs held Dallas to 34.2% from the field in a 100-86 Spurs victory. In Dallas, the Spurs continued to dominate. Duncan and David Robinson both had double-doubles and the Spurs held Dallas to 34.7% shooting in a 104-90 win.

Facing a potential sweep, Dallas put together its best game of the series. The Mavericks took a 17-point lead in the second quarter of Game Four, but the Spurs got back into the game, cutting the deficit to 105-103 with 1:42 to go in the game. Michael Finley (25 points) knocked down a jumper with 20.5 seconds left and Dallas held on for a 112-108 victory.

The fifth game saw San Antonio build a quick double digit lead within eight minutes. The Spurs led by as much as 22 points and held on for an easy 105-87 win. 

Howard struggled mightily in the series. In five games, he averaged 12.0 PPG on just 31.8% from the field, 8.6 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.6 SPG and 0.8 BPG in 33.4 MPG. Harvey did not play in any of Dallas’ playoff games in 2001.

The Mavericks traded backup guard Howard Eisley to the New York Knicks and acquired former All-Star Tim Hardaway in a sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat during the 2001 offseason. The contract the  12-year veteran signed was three years and $10 million with the last year non-guaranteed. Outside of that move, Dallas kept much of its roster intact.

During the 2001-02 season, Dallas had a slow 6-5 start. Stuck at 12-9 after 21 games, the Mavericks won 20 of their next 23 games to reach 32-12. In that time, the team rose from sixth to second in the conference.

Howard started the first 13 games before being benched for an eight-game period to open up more time for Dirk Nowitzki to play at the power forward. Howard was soon after re-inserted into the starting lineup but he always remained an awkward fit with Nowitzki positionally. Howard was averaging a career-low in scoring.

With the team at 37-17, Dallas decided to swing a deal for the unhappy Van Exel. The key to the deal though was LaFrentz who provided shot-blocking and three-point shooting from the center position. 

The deal meant Howard was being shipped for the second time within a year. He played in 53 games (44 starts) and tallied 12.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.5 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 31.3 MPG. Dallas also sent Denver their 2002 first round pick and $1 million in the deal.

Hardaway played in 54 games with Dallas mainly as a backup to Steve Nash. He produced 9.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 3.7 APG and 0.7 SPG in 23.6 MPG while shooting 36% from the field, 34% from the arc, and 83% from the free-throw line.

Harvey appeared in 18 games, managing 2.1 PPG and 2.6 RPG. He ended his Mavericks tenure with averages of 1.7 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 36 contests. He shot 55% on FGs and 42% on FTs.

Howard ended his run in Dallas with a stat line of 14.6 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.7 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 33.1 MPG. The former Michigan Wolverine shot 47% from the field and 76% from the charity stripe in 80 games.

With the Mavericks at 38-17 after winning on the day of the trade, the team went 19-8 in the final 27 games to finish the season 57-25. The mark was fourth-best in the West, just one game behind the second- and third-place teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.

Van Exel and LaFrentz made Dallas’ offense even more unstoppable. The team recorded an NBA-high offensive rating of 111.6 points per 100 possessions with both players in the lineup. The figure was nearly three points per 100 possessions better than the second-ranked Sacramento Kings.

In 27 games with the Mavericks, Van Exel posted 13.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.2 APG and 0.5 SPG in 28.0 MPG. LaFrentz started 25 of 27 games with Dallas and managed 10.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.9 SPG and 2.2 BPG in 29.1 MPG.

Avery Johnson played in 17 of the final 27 contests, recording 3.2 PPG and 1.6 APG in 8.9 MPG. Tariq Abdul-Wahad only saw action in four contests where he was scoreless and collected 1.5 RPG.

Dallas advanced to the postseason for the second consecutive year and was placed in a matchup with Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points and 15 rebounds and Dallas used a 12-0 run at the end of the third and into the fourth quarter to gain control and win 101-94.

The second game saw the trio of Nowitzki, Nash and Finley combine for 76 points. Van Exel (17 points) and LaFrentz (14 points) were also in double figures as Dallas comfortably won 122-110.

The Mavericks looked to put Minnesota away on the road, quickly building a 14-point edge in the first quarter of Game Three. Dallas led by as much as 20 points in the game. The Wolves managed to pull within three points with just over four minutes left. Dallas closed the game with an 11-1 run to win the series in a 3-0 sweep.

Starting at center, LaFrentz posted 10.0 PPG on 54.2% from the field and 37.5% from the three-point line, 5.3 RPG and 2.3 BPG in 28.8 MPG. Van Exel struggled for much of the series, shooting just 36.8% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc. In 30.9 MPG, the guard averaged 12.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 4.3 APG and 0.7 SPG.

In a competition of two high octane offenses, the Mavericks and Sacramento Kings had an intriguing second round series. Sacramento went to the low post in Game One as Chris Webber (20 points and 10 rebounds) and Vlade Divac (18 points and 16 rebounds) dominated in a 108-91 Kings win.

Nash had 30 points and eight assists including several clutch plays as Dallas broke a 93-all tie with eight consecutive points in Game Two. The Mavericks won the game 110-102 and stole homecourt advantage.

The third game was in Dallas, and the Kings jumped out to an early 38-25 lead after the first quarter. The Mavericks came back with their own run, tying the game at halftime 66-66.

Both teams traded the lead in the second half, but the Kings managed to create some distance in the fourth quarter and held on for a 125-119 win. In the loss, LaFrentz had 24 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. The Kings lost forward Peja Stojakovic to a sprained ankle for the rest of the series.

In Game Four, Dallas had an early 12-1 lead. The Mavericks led by as much as 14 points before the Kings stormed back. Mike Bibby made a layup with 31 seconds to tie the game in regulation. Finley and Bibby both missed shots as the game went to overtime.

Even with Webber fouling out in the extra frame, Bibby was clutch again, nailing a baseline jumper with 12.4 seconds left. Nowitzki missed a layup on the final play and Dallas lost another contest at home.

Facing a 3-1 series deficit, Dallas stayed in Game Five at Arco Arena, but a 16-4 Kings run towards the end of the third quarter led by Hedo Turkoglu helped the Kings take full control. Sacramento led by a peak of 17 points to put the Mavericks away for good in a 114-101 victory.

In the 4-1 series loss, LaFrentz posted 12.0 PPG on 48.1% from the field and 30% on threes, 8.8 RPG and 3.0 BPG in 31.9 MPG. Van Exel was a liability in the series, shooting a ghastly 1-for-17 (9.5%) from the three-point line. The former All-Star mustered 10.2 PPG on 36.5% from the field, 3.4 RPG, 3.4 APG and 1.2 SPG in 33.9 MPG.

After the season, the Mavericks and LaFrentz agreed on a contract of seven years and $70 million. Other than that, the Mavericks made minor moves, adding free agents such as Raja Bell, Popeye Jones and Walt Williams to the roster.

Dallas believed it had a true title contender, and the early part of the 2002-03 season proved it. The Mavericks won their first 14 games of the year and began the season a sparkling 31-5. Behind an electric offense that had four players in Nowitzki, Nash, Finley and Van Exel capable of heating up, Dallas had the top-rated offense in the league. 

Defensively, the team was in the top-ten in efficiency with solid perimeter defenders like Bell and Adrian Griffin as well as elite rim protectors such as Shawn Bradley and LaFrentz.

Though Dallas slowed down later on, the team managed to be tied for the best record in the NBA (60-22) with the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs took the first seed in the West because they had a better in-conference record than the Mavericks.

Van Exel finished fourth in voting for the 2002-03 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. He appeared in 73 games with Dallas, recording 12.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 4.3 APG and 0.6 SPG in 27.8 MPG.

LaFrentz’ role was inconsistent at times as he only started 43 of the 69 games he appeared in. The big man produced 9.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.5 SPG and 1.3 BPG in 23.3 MPG.

Abdul-Wahad was out of the rotation for much of the season, The wing played just 14 games all season, amassing 4.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 1.5 APG in 14.6 MPG. Johnson saw limited action for Dallas, making 48 appearances and averaging 3.3 PPG, 0.6 RPG and 1.3 APG in 9.0 MPG.

The Mavericks faced the 50-32 Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round. Nowitzki went off for a franchise-record 46 points in a 96-86 Mavericks  Game One win.

Nowitzki and Nash had 53 points combined as Dallas held off a 45-point night from Portland guard Bonzi Wells in Game Two. Late in the game, Nash broke a tie with a three-pointer with just 29.7 seconds left. The guard also made two free-throws near the end of the game to give Dallas the game 103-99. 

In Portland, Nowitzki was once again unstoppable with 42 points (16 coming in the fourth quarter) and 10 rebounds. The Mavericks controlled most of Game Three and won 115-103. Dallas had a chance to sweep the first round for the second consecutive year, but Portland had other plans.

The Blazers broke free in the third quarter, outscoring the Mavericks 33-10. That decisive run contributed to a 98-79 rout in the fourth game. Game Five was back in Dallas and the Mavericks led for the first 46 minutes and 55 seconds. But Portland went on a 12-3 run in the final three minutes and 46 seconds to win 103-99 and make the series 3-2. 

Portland continued its winning ways in Game Six, leading by as much as 32 points in an easy 125-103 win. The rout made the series 3-3 and gave the Blazers an opportunity to become the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

Game Seven was tight but Dallas took control late, outscoring Portland 36-22 in the final frame. The Mavericks won 107-95 with Nowitzki (31 points and 11 boards) and Van Exel (26 points) excelling in the contest.

During the seven-game series, Van Exel was second on the team in scoring with 15.3 PPG on 47.2% from the field. The 6-foot-1 guard also managed 2.1 RPG, 5.0 APG and 0.7 SPG in 27.8 MPG. LaFrentz started all seven games, posting 6.9 PPG on 41.9% from the field, 4.0 RPG and 1.3 BPG in 27.7 MPG.

Dallas played the Sacramento Kings in the second round for the second consecutive year. This time, Dallas had homecourt advantage. In the series opener, Sacramento built an early lead and controlled the entire game. The Kings led by a peak of 28 points and assisted on 31 of 44 field goals in an easy 124-113 win.

Dallas responded well in the next game as it scored 83 points in the first half and led by 21 points at halftime. In the rout, the Kings suffered a devastating blow when star Chris Webber tore the ACL in his left knee late in the third quarter and was out for the rest of the postseason. Dallas went on to win 132-110 and gained a major advantage with Sacramento’s misfortune.

The third game was a classic. Without Webber, Sacramento held a 36-23 lead after one quarter. Dallas recovered, tying the game late in the second quarter 62-all. Both teams would trade the lead before Sacramento took a double figure lead. 

The Kings were up 101-89 with 8:11 left in the first quarter but the two-headed point guard monster of Nash and Van Exel got to work. As Dallas went on a 24-12 run to close out the fourth quarter and send the game to overtime, the twosome scored 22 of the team’s final 24 points in regulation. Van Exel hit a seven-footer with 3.8 seconds left to tie the game.

In the extra frame, both teams traded the lead with Kings guard Doug Christie knocking down two treys. A Walt Williams dunk with 16.3 seconds tied the game 125-all and Stojaković missed a shot at the end, taking the game to a second overtime.

The second overtime saw Van Exel score eight points and Kings guard Bobby Jackson missed a three with 3.3 seconds left that would’ve tied the game. Dallas held on for a thrilling 141-137 win. Van Exel was the hero of the game, racking up a game-high 40 points as well as seven rebounds and seven assists.

In Game Four, the Mavericks’ three-point shooting (3-for-20) took a nosedive after making 19-of-42 the previous game. Sacramento (3-for-21) wasn’t much better from the perimeter but the Kings still led by as much as 22 points in a rare back-to-back playoff game. All five of the Kings’ starters scored in double figures as they evened the series 2-2 with a 99-83 victory.

The Game Five scene shifted back to Dallas. Sacramento got out to a good start, building a 46-31 lead early in the second quarter. Dallas got back into the game and thanks to a strong performance from role player Raja Bell outscored the Kings 81-47 the rest of the way (32 minutes and four seconds) to win 112-93.

The Mavericks had a chance to end the series in Game Six and looked to accomplish the goal early on. Dallas built a 13-4 lead early on. The Kings recovered later. By the fourth quarter, the game was close. Dallas took a 95-94 lead with 8:15 in the fourth quarter, but failed to score for over five minutes.

In that stretch, the Kings scored nine points unanswered. The run was pivotal as Sacramento held on for a 115-109 win that sent the series to a seventh and final contest. Van Exel had 37 points in the loss.

In the seventh game, the Kings shot just 42% and only led on two different occasions. The Mavericks pulled away in the fourth quarter, leading by as much as 20 points in a 112-99 Game Seven win. Nowitzki led with 30 points and Van Exel added 23 points off the bench.

Van Exel proved to be the right acquisition for Dallas and arguably experienced the best moments of his career in the 2003 Semifinals. He scored in double figures in six of the seven games and scored at least 20 points in five. Van Exel’s top scoring games were 40, 36 and 35 points.

Overall, the 6-foot-1 guard managed 25.3 PPG on 51.9% from the field and 45.3% from the three-point line. He also posted 3.9 RPG and 4.4 APG in 35.3 MPG.

LaFrentz on the other hand struggled to be a consistent presence at the center position. He produced 8.1 PPG on 46.4% FGs, 4.7 RPG and 2.6 BPG in 20.8 MPG. The center shot just 1-for-11 from the three-point line. LaFrentz started the first game and was benched for the next three games before starting the final three contests. 

The Mavericks advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time in nearly two decades and took on the San Antonio Spurs. The series opener was a battle of the big men as San Antonio’s reigning two-time MVP Tim Duncan dropped 40 points. Nowitzki had 38 points for Dallas.

The Spurs led by 18 points in the second quarter and by 14 with 8:05 in the final frame. Thanks to a perfect 20-for-20 showing at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, Dallas went on a 26-9 to close the game and escape with a 113-110 win.

In Game Two, the Spurs dominated early, building a 69-44 lead at halftime. Dallas managed to cut the deficit to nine points midway through the fourth quarter, but Duncan (32 points and 15 rebounds) stopped a comeback as San Antonio won 119-106. 

The third game saw San Antonio dominate the glass 59-36 and outscore Dallas 58-37 in the second half to win 96-83. In the later stages of the game, Nowitzki suffered a sprained left knee keeping him out for the rest of the series.

Without its star, Dallas tried to play at an uptempo pace, inserting Van Exel into the starting lineup. The team was up 52-47 at halftime. Spurs guard Tony Parker had 11 of his 25 points in a key third quarter that helped the Spurs wrestle control and win 102-95.

Facing elimination, Dallas trailed by double digits in the first half of Game Five. Michael Finley had 31 points and Dallas made a massive run, outscoring San Antonio 29-10 in the final frame to win 103-91 and keep hope alive.

Game Six saw Dallas continue its run. The Mavericks led for much of the first half and took a 63-48 lead with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter. San Antonio answered back with a 42-15 run the rest of the way to win 90-78 and eliminate Dallas. In the run, the Spurs found the outside shot off of Dallas’ double-teaming strategy against Duncan in the post. A combination of Stephen Jackson, Steve Kerr and Manu Ginobili nailed eight three-pointers in that span.

Van Exel was not as efficient in the Conference Finals, averaging 17.5 PPG on 37.5% from the field and 34.5% from three. He also posted 4.3 RPG and 2.7 APG in 38.5 MPG.

LaFrentz continued his disappointing playoff run, managing 9.2 PPG on 41.4% from the field, 4.5 RPG and 2.7 BPG in 25.4 MPG. Abdul-Wahad scored two points in three games and 16 minutes. Avery Johnson was left off the playoff roster.

After Dallas’ playoff run, the organization went back to the drawing board. Looking to get bigger across its roster, the Mavericks dealt Van Exel, Johnson, Evan Eschmeyer, Popeye Jones and Antoine Rigaudeau to the Golden State Warriors for Antawn Jamison, Danny Fortson, Chris Mills and Jiří Welsch.

The deal to add Jamison brought back a 6-foot-9 scoring forward which Dallas coveted. Though the Mavericks pursued other options such as adding center Alonzo Mourning in free agency, the team realized it would be hard to continue to play Nash and Van Exel together and have a credible perimeter defense.

After Van Exel, LaFrentz was next to go. The center was dealt along with Chris Mills, Jiří Welsch and a first round pick to the Boston Celtics for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk.

Walker was the point forward that coach Don Nelson had yearned for. He thrived in his previous coaching stops with big forwards capable of handling the ball, passing and scoring such as Paul Pressey in Milwaukee and Billy Owens in Golden State.

To get the forward, Dallas dealt LaFrentz who initially was the centerpiece of the Denver-Dallas trade but disappointed. Largely a finesse center, LaFrentz was never able to excel on offense as a fifth option. Though he was a top notch rim protector, LaFrentz’ salary never fit what ended up being his role.

Van Exel ended his season and a half in Dallas with a stat line of 12.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 4.3 APG and 0.6 SPG in 100 games. He shot 41% from the field, 37% from the three-point line and 79% from the free-throw line.

Avery Johnson appeared in 65 games with Dallas and posted 3.2 PPG, 0.6 RPG and 1.4 APG. The diminutive guard also shot 42% on FGs and 75% on FTs. LaFrentz played in 96 career games with Dallas and contributed 9.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.6 SPG and 1.6 BPG. The big man shot 49% from the field, 36% from the three-point line and 71% from the charity stripe.

Abdul-Wahad remained on the Mavericks roster going into the 2003-04 season but was placed on the injured list with left knee tendinitis and remained there for the entire year. Dallas was 52-30 that season and lost to the Sacramento Kings in a five-game first-round series.

For the 2004-05 season, Abdul-Wahad found himself inactive again due to the same injury. The Mavericks finished the year 58-24 with Avery Johnson—yes, that Avery Johnson from the Nuggets-Mavericks trade—replacing Nelson as head coach for the final 18 games.

Dallas defeated the Houston Rockets 4-3 in the first round before losing to the Phoenix Suns in a six-game second round matchup.

By the start of the 2005-06 season, Dallas had moved on from Abdul-Wahad. The team waived the wing with two years left on his contract. Dallas had tried to workout a buyout with Abdul-Wahad, but he refused. There seemed to be growing tension between the club and player. Abdul-Wahad felt he was ready to play, but Dallas didn’t feel he was capable with his history of left knee issues.

Half of Abdul-Wahad’s salary ($3.656 million) was guaranteed for the ‘05-‘06 season and a quarter ($1.968 million) for 2006-07.

Abdul-Wahad played just 18 games over four seasons with Dallas, averaging 3.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 1.3 APG and shooting 45% from the field and 43% from the free-throw line.

From Denver’s perspective, the trade put a full-scale rebuild in motion. Howard and Harvey’s contracts expired after the 2002-03 season and Hardaway’s contract was only guaranteed through 2003.

The losing would commence soon after. Denver went 11-20 after the trade, finishing the year with a 27-55 record. 

Hardaway played 14 games (9.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 5.5 APG and 1.2 SPG in 23.2 MPG) with the Nuggets after the trade before he broke his left foot, ending his season.

The Nuggets agreed to a buyout of $1 million with Hardaway and subsequently waived the former All-Star. Hardaway’s biggest highlight—or lowlight—as a Nugget was when he threw a television monitor onto the court in frustration after an altercation with a referee.The incident cost Hardaway $10,000 and he was also suspended for two games. 

Hardaway returned to the NBA late in the 2002-03 season for a short stint with the Indiana Pacers.

Howard was disappointed in going from one of the best teams in the NBA in Dallas to one of the worst in Denver. He became Denver’s primary scoring option averaging 17.9 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.6 SPG and 0.6 BPG in 28 appearances and 34.9 MPG.

Harvey saw a significant bump in minutes after being traded. He appeared in 29 games (four starts) with Denver and amassed 8.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.6 SPG and 0.7 BPG in 23.4 MPG.

After the 2001-02 season, Denver continued its full-scale rebuild, focusing its energy towards acquiring young players and creating cap space for the summer of 2003. Denver dealt the oft-injured Antonio McDyess along with the first round pick (25th overall) it acquired in the Dallas trade and a second rounder to the New York Knicks for center Marcus Camby, guard Mark Jackson and the seventh pick in the 2002 draft.

New York selected Brazilian forward Nene Hilario for Denver. The Nuggets selected Illinois guard Frank Williams with the 25th pick for New York. The Nuggets also had the fifth pick in the draft and selected Georgian seven-footer Nikoloz Tskitishvili.

Denver declined to exercise the $1.6 million team option of Harvey, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2003.

On the coaching front, the Nuggets named longtime assistant coach and defensive ace Jeff Bzdelik as new head coach. At 29, Howard became the elder statesman or only veteran playing significant minutes all year for the 2002-03 Nuggets. Camby was limited to 29 games that year due to injury.

The team began the year 6-24 and it became clear they were not going to win many games. The Nuggets finished the year tied for the worst record in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers as both teams battled for the number one overall pick and the chance to draft high school phenom LeBron James. 

The 2002-03 Denver Nuggets were historic for the wrong reasons. Bzdelik had made Denver’s defense much better (sixth in the NBA), but the team finished with the lowest offensive rating (92.2 points per 100 possessions) of any team in a season in NBA history. 

Behind the struggles was inept shooting percentages. Denver pulled off the rare hat trick of finishing last in three-point percentage (27.8%), last in two-point percentage (43.0%) and last in free-throw percentage (69.9%).

Howard led the Nuggets in scoring (18.4 PPG), rebounding (7.6 RPG) and minutes (35.5 MPG). The forward also put up 3.0 APG and 1.0 SPG in 77 games. Harvey had his largest role in Denver. In his third season, Harvey recorded 7.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.3 APG and 0.6 SPG in 77 games and 20.9 MPG.

Howard became a free agent. Denver expressed mild interest in retaining the veteran but with a deep frontcourt that featured Camby, Hilario and prized number three overall pick Carmelo Anthony, there was little room to go after Howard. The Nuggets instead looked to fill an empty backcourt in need of shooting and playmaking.

Howard prioritized finding a team that gave him the best chance of making the playoffs. He saw Tracy McGrady and the Orlando Magic as a viable fit and signed a six-year deal worth an estimated $38 million.

Howard ended his brief stay in Denver with 18.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.9 APG and 0.9 SPG in 105 games. He shot 45% on FGs and 79% on FTs.

Harvey became a free agent and also signed with Orlando on a one-year contract. Harvey finished his time in Denver with a stat line of 8.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.2 APG and 0.6 SPG. The forward shot 46% from the field and 66% from the free-throw line in 106 career games.

Nick Van Exel on joining the Mavericks (via Mavericks.com):

“I am real excited to be here. What a game tonight, I don’t know what to say other than I am excited to be here. What these guys have right now is a championship caliber team. Hopefully with these 3 new additions, we can help.”

On his role:

“It doesn’t matter as long as we win. This team here, these guys just play basketball and I just want to play basketball.”

On his relationship with Del Harris: 

“We really haven’t had one since we left the Lakers. We are definitely going to sit down and talk. I was real surprised that Del stood up for me.”

On if he cares about minutes or starting (via The Dallas Morning News):

It doesn’t matter if I play two minutes one game and 40 minutes the next game... It’s definitely a blessing to be on a championship caliber team.”

His nervous feelings for a deal to happen at the deadline (via Fort Worth Star-Telegram):

“The last three hours before the trading deadline was terrible. The last three hours I felt like I was about to throw up and I was getting real weak I was pacing the floor. I have never been that nervous in my life.”

Raef LaFrentz on joining the Mavericks (via Mavericks.com):

“To be quite honest, my head is still spinning. I am very excited to be here and like Nick said, this is a great opportunity for the 3 of us to come into a championship caliber team.”

How the deal was a surprise to him (via Rocky Mountain News):

“This trade hit me in the head about 1 o'clock (p.m.). I just said, ‘Oh, wow.’ I guess Mark Cuban had asked about it earlier and Kiki had turned him down several times, but he kept coming and kept coming, and Kiki finally gave in.”

Avery Johnson on returning to the state of Texas after stints with the San Antonio Spurs in his past (via The Dallas Morning News):

“I’m just glad to be back in Texas and glad to be back in the playoff hunt. To win a championship you have to have two MVP-caliber players. We have three or four.”

On the team’s case to make some noise in the playoffs (via Mavericks.com):

“We definitely have the make-up for it. I just have a sense that chemistry is here. To win a championship, you must have two MVP caliber players. We probably have three or four in that category and we have some serious coaching. 

“Don Nelson is one of the best coaches in the league right now. We have a lot of characteristics that it will take to win a championship. I think Mark [Cuban] and his staff have given the Mavericks a [better] chance to win a championship.”

His excitement with being back in Texas:

“I am glad to be back in Texas. This is very exciting. Even though I am excited for myself, I am really excited for Nick and Raef. Nick, some time ago with the Lakers, had a chance to be in the playoffs and he was kind of successful against my team, the Spurs. This is new ground for him and I am really excited for both of them. 

“I really think we are going to be some key additions for this team. Naturally, we are overloaded now at the point guard position. I‘ve worked with Coach Nelson four years ago in Golden State, so I know his system. I am just glad to be back in Texas, glad to be in Dallas and glad to be in the playoff hunt. I am so glad I can watch the satellite now, hoping for some teams to win and some to lose.”

If he has any tips on beating the Spurs from his time with the club:

“A few that I don’t want to give away now. There are a few tweaks that we can use in a playoff situation. I know pretty much the strategy that we used against the Mavericks. It is not just the Spurs, there are a lot of teams out there that are top in the West. I just think this team needs to improve defensively. We have a great offense here and try to stay away from those 30 point quarters.”

Tariq Abdul-Wahad on joining the Mavericks (via Mavericks.com):

“Some pretty good news, wasn’t offended and I took it very seriously. They know a lot about basketball, .have a dedication to teaching to players like me, It is really an honor and a great opportunity to get better.”

How arriving with three other players in a trade might make the transition easier:

"It makes it better, easier you know them and you get to hang out with them, but I am going to meet the other guys as well. It’s a team sport and we are going to create a plan.”

What his role in Dallas will be:

“My role is the same on every team strong defense, run the floor, make it easier for the guys. Work as hard as I can and get better.”

What it feels like going from one of the worst teams to one of the best teams in the NBA:

“The penthouse is whatever you want it to be. In the NBA whether you play for the best team or the worst team in the league, you don’t have to look at it that way... I think the Mavericks have really turned it around in the past three years. It is a great staff, players and fans... I am going to join and be a part of it and enjoy.”

If he noticed a difference in the mood around Denver when the team started struggling:

“Most definitely, I’ve been on winning teams and losing teams... It is always the same when you lose, you have an extremely heavy weight on your shoulders and when you don’t, everything seems to be smooth and happiness is around the corner. We are a team of shooters and whenever you can make three’s you can always stay in the game. Guys like Steve, Dirk and Finley will always keep you in the game, which is a beautiful thing.”

Tim Hardaway on the trade a month after it happened (via Chicago Tribune):

“After it sunk in, I was mad. I was upset. I talked to my agent, he settled me down. I talked to my wife, she settled me down. I just watched those [new Mavericks] guys fit into our shoes. We could have done the same thing. 

“But stuff happens for a reason. Juwan Howard, myself... We’re good guys, hard workers. It’s kind of hard being on the other side of the fence. But you just have to deal with it.”

Dallas Mavericks general manager and head coach and Don Nelson on the trade (via Mavericks.com):

“It’s been quite a day, a busy day. It’s unfortunate that it had to happen on the day of a game. It puts us a bit behind the eight-ball for this particular game, but we feel it’s well worth it in the long run, the remaining part of the season and also for the playoff picture. It’s also important for the future of our franchise. We thought it was an opportunity that doesn’t come a long very often and something we needed to do. 

“It was available because we have an owner, Mark Cuban, who will spend the money to get the players. I’ve made a lot of trades in my 25 years and I feel really good about this one. It gives the players the opportunity to prosper in a bit of a different style. We’re looking to get our team stronger for a better playoff position and I think we’ve done that. We’ve accomplished quite a lot with the move that we made today. 

“It’s unfortunate that we lost some outstanding players who have really helped us all in their own way. They won games for us, they’ve made our team better and it’s hard to say goodbye to those players. It’s not an easy thing; I don’t take trades lightly because you are affecting people’s lives. 

“It’s movement of families and friends, but again that’s the nature of the business and part of the business is that you do what you need to do to get your team better and I feel that we’ve done that today.”

On specifically acquiring Raef LaFrentz:

“One of the problems that we had with Juwan [Howard] was that he was a power-forward and with the lineup that I put out there most of the time centers guarded him. It was unfair to him because he was always going against a stronger, tougher, more physical guy on a normal night and it affected his performance some. When he was able to match up with power-forwards he did a much better job. 

“They weren’t going to put their center on [Dirk] Nowitzki and that caused some problems. We’re getting more of a legitimate center, not that he [LaFrentz] is a center, but he plays there quite a lot. He also can play power-forward. He’s more of a shot blocker and you’ve seen the amount of layups that we give up on a consistent basis. It’s quite a concern and Bradley hasn’t been as big of a factor this year in that department. We needed to address that and we have. It makes my team more consistent.”

On concerns that assistant coach Del Harris had a rocky relationship with acquisition Nick Van Exel when he was head coach of the Lakers:

“He was the biggest fan to do this deal. They had some problems when Nick played for him in Los Angeles, but the respect that Del has for his ability is second to none. He [Del] thought it was a move that would help us. We relied heavily on Del’s opinion. We know who Nick Van Exel is and I hope he gets along with me and I’m going to work hard to try to accomplish that.”

On trading Tim Hardaway who he has coached in Dallas and Golden State:

“Well he’s a close friend. We’ve been friends for a long, long time and he knows the nature of the business. I simply called him and told him that I made a deal and he said ‘where am I going and who am I going with’. He treated it very professionally. I told him that there might be some interest by teams in the east. It’s hard because you become attached to your players and it’s not a pleasant day when they have to move on.”

How he feels the trade elevated the Mavericks in the Western Conference hierarchy (via The Dallas Morning News):

“We had elevated ourselves to a position where we actually had a better record than our team. I really didn’t think our team is better than the other seven schmoes that we’re battling against for playoff positioning. We were just another schmoe out there. Now, I think this may elevate us to the point where it will give us a real chance to win our division.”

On adding another perimeter shooting big man in LaFrentz as a complementary piece to Dirk Nowitzki:

“It just makes my team more consistent, where I have some players who are alike in the things we like to run.”

On finding minutes for both Steve Nash and Van Exel (via ESPN):

“I think both he and Steve will play together down the stretch. Nick is a big-shot maker and a big-game player. He always plays his best against the best teams. That was a factor in our thinking for the playoff situation. He has the capability of doing that.”

On finding chemistry with so many talented players:

“Everything is going to work out. This is a very fine group of men, the ones that left and the ones that remained. We’re adding winners to the locker room. We’ll see how things go, but I’m not going to be concerned about that.”

Denver Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe on the trade (via ESPN):

“We needed a bold stroke and something that would change the chemistry and the condition of the team, in both players and the salary cap situation and our future salary cap situation.

“It was extremely hard (to deal LaFrentz). It was very, very hard... I think he has a tremendous upside. He will be a great asset to the Mavericks and he will be able to play off great players like Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley.”

On the need to get out of the middle (via ESPN):

“The toughest situation for a team to be is in the middle of the road without a good draft pick and strapped financially. You're in a box and there is no way to improve under the rules of the (collective bargaining agreement). 

“You have to create something. You have to make a bold move. Obviously, you want to make a positive move. The inherent risk was not doing anything.”

 How the team’s cap sheet was a mess before the deal (via Rocky Mountain News):

“We were in a financial box. We didn’t have much flexibility at all in how we could improve this team.”

How Nuggets star Antonio McDyess was consulted on the deal:

“I told him, ‘Antonio, being the franchise player doesn’t mean just winning games. You’re now our partner in this. You’re involved in everything that we do. It gives us the flexibility to keep Antonio McDyess, and that’s what we're going to need if we really want to keep him.”

How the team accumulating draft picks adds flexibility for Denver:

“Draft picks are assets. You either use them in the draft or you can use them in trades. We’ll have the flexibility this summer to go out into the free-agent market without risking the luxury tax, whereas before we were already at the luxury tax and couldn't have done anything.”

How people in Sacramento and Los Angeles will be mad at his trade helping a West rival in Dallas (via Chicago Tribune):

“I’m probably being cursed in Sacramento and Los Angeles. No question, Dallas just got a lot better. The Mavericks now have a team that can make a championship run.”

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on taking on $84 million in salary commitments through the deal (via The Dallas Morning News):

“I’m more than happy to pay for it if it gets me jewelry.”

If the trade was worth sacrificing cap space in the summer for a potential run at Tim Duncan in 2003:

“You have the risk factor vs. the here-and-now, in-your-lap factor. As much as we’d like to have Tim Duncan or somebody of that caliber, more importantly, this puts us in a great position to compete right now.”

On concerns about the previous relationship issues between assistant coach Del Harris and Van Exel when they were together with the Los Angeles Lakers (via Mavericks.com): 

“Del was the first one to stand up and say you are crazy if you don’t do this. It was X number of years ago and we are two different people now and this guy can help this team a lot.”

Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris on the player he coached in Los Angeles Van Exel (via Fort Worth Star-Telegram):

“I’m glad to see him. He can make and take the big shots but his value is way beyond that in that he’s such a great penetrator and can dish the ball. He makes the little short four-foot pass probably better than anybody else in the league right now and that’s a difficult pass to make. He’s just a very, very good basketball player.”

Mavericks guard Steve Nash on the trade (via ESPN):

“I’m glad to have some help now.”

Van Exel’s agent Tony Dutt on his client’s elation with the trade to Dallas (via ESPN):

“He’s ecstatic. I think it couldn’t have worked out any better.”

Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale on how many teams wouldn’t be able to compete with Dallas’ spending in trades (via Chicago Tribune):

“Move to move, we wouldn’t beat [Dallas in trades]. They made an unbelievable move. We just didn’t have the resources available to do that kind of deal. The good news for the rest of us is that they can still only play with one ball. If they could play with two balls, we would really be in trouble.”

Image Credit: 

Nick Van Exel: Getty Images/G Fiume

Raef LaFrentz: Getty Images/Ronald Martinez

Tariq Abdul-Wahad: Getty Images/Glenn James

Juwan Howard: Getty Images/Sam Forencich

Tim Hardaway: Getty Images/Rocky Widner

Avery Johnson: Getty Images/Glenn James

Donnell Harvey: Getty Images/Sam Forencich

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[hedwigstalons]

The Tracy Prize - part 12

A slightly longer section this time.  Big thanks to @willow-salix for helping with the ideas of how to fix things between Claire and our favourite spaceman.

Here are the earlier parts for those that want to go back to the beginning: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11

xoxoxox

It was decided that Virgil would accompany Claire for her trip back to Denver.  He had local knowledge of both the city and university campus.  He was also a one-man removal team and when it came to brute strength for moving boxes Virgil was was your man.  He was the obvious choice.  Not that she had too much to move, her apartment was rented furnished so there was nothing bulky deal with.

It was with some trepidation that she unlocked her apartment and led Virgil inside.

The wages of a university lecturer were modest and her apartment was small.  It was a far cry from the luxury of Tracy Island.  Part of her worried that Virgil would look down on her for her humble living arrangements.  It just showed how much she still had to learn about the Tracy brothers.  They might live on a tropical island now but life hadn’t always been that way.  Jeff Tracy had made sure that his sons never forgot their roots.  They had been taught never to take their fortune for granted and never to look down on those who had less than they did.  

Her original departure to the island had happened in such a hurry that she couldn’t remember what state she had left her apartment in.  A quick scan of the living area revealed she hadn’t left anything embarrassing lying around.  Any mess was behind closed doors.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

The air inside was thick and heavy, warmed by the Colorado summer.  She left Virgil perched on a compact sofa while she went around opening all the windows.  Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and the tiny work space that the agent had optimistically billed as a second bedroom but was really no more than a cupboard.

A quick scan of the kitchen revealed that anything fresh had long since gone off.  She might not have been gone for long but the summer heat had had an effect.  She grabbed a bin bag and started throwing out spoiled food.  The remaining dried goods did not make an appealing prospect for dinner.  

A shadow in the doorway showed that Virgil had already got bored of sitting down.  He took an appraising look around the tiny kitchen and offered to head out for supplies.  Claire gratefully accepted.  

She used the time he was gone to hurry around, throwing items into bags and boxes.  Scott wanted Virgil back and on duty as soon as possible so they planned to spend barely 24 hours in the city.  One evening and morning to pack down the apartment then a quick visit to campus tomorrow afternoon to empty her office before flying home again.

The remaining foodstuff in her kitchen were checked and anything still sealed was packed up for donation to a food bank.  She made sure to keep hold of the coffee.  She had lived with the Tracys long enough to know that Virgil needed coffee to survive almost as much as he needed oxygen.

The living room, bathroom and bedroom were also simple to pack up.

The cupboard work space was not so easy.  She had always kept the small desk that had housed her computer tidy and uncluttered.  The rest of the room was crammed with anything that didn’t have a proper home in the rest of the apartment.

When Virgil returned he found her sat on the floor trying to organise the accumulated mountains of life detritus.  Old text books were stacked precariously.  Boxes of childhood memories, carted from house to house but never unpacked, had been opened as though she needed to reassure herself that the contents were still safe.  The task of sorting piles for keeping, throwing and donating had ground to a halt.  

“Come on, time for a break.  I got pizza” he grinned at her while holding aloft a couple of pizza boxes.

Claire gratefully got to her feet, dusted herself down and shut the door on the mess.

One thing she had quickly come the learn about life on the island was that food was unpredictable.  Each member of the family had different levels of culinary skill and preferences.  Each took a turn at cooking depending on who was available.  The only thing you could be certain of was that if Grandma Tracy was responsible the food would be virtually inedible.  Claire had come to the conclusion that the boys’ stomachs must be as strong as the rest of their muscles.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be so hard” she sighed between mouthfuls of pizza.

Virgil just looked at her, puzzled.

“All of that”.  She gestured vaguely in the direction of the cupboard where he had found her.  “Trying to sort out what I need to bring. It feels stupid not being able to let go of things.”

“So don’t”.  He said it as though it was the simplest thing in the world.  “You’re moving to the island.  We aren’t asking you to completely give up your past.”

“But there is so much of it.”

“It’s not like we are pushed for space.  Everything here will fit in Tracy Two and we can always make some space available in the store rooms.”

“It just seems stupid to cart it all around.  There are things in there I haven’t used for years.”

“Any yet still you keep them.  Memories are important, they make us who we are.  Sometimes we need to keep a physical reminder of our past.”

“Virgil Tracy, I didn’t have you down as the sentimental sort.”

He grinned.  “Hidden talents, me.  If it makes you feel any better you won’t be the only one on the island with a teddy bear.  Just ask Gordon to introduce you to Fishy some time.”

They finished off the pizzas, disposed of the boxes and carried on with the task in hand.

Virgil gave her the space she needed to pack, limiting his main contributions to stacking up the finished boxes ready for loading up in the morning and carting out the inevitable bags of rubbish.

The apartment soon resembled a cross between a warehouse and an airport departure lounge.  A motley assortment of boxes, bags and cases were arranged around the walls.

“Time to call it a night I think” said Claire.  “The rest of this can be dealt with in the morning.”

“Suits me fine” said Virgil, stretching out his back muscles after all the repeated bending and lifting.  

“Um”, she shifted about with embarrassment.  “As you can see I’m not really set up for visitors.”

“It’s fine.  I’ll take the couch.”

The absurdity of this struck Claire.  The couch was small.  Even sat on it Virgil had looked out of scale.  The idea of his attempting to sleep on it was ridiculous.

“Stop being such a gentleman.  Unless you are going to attempt some sort of human origami you’ll never fit.  You’ll be much more comfortable in my bed.”

As soon as the words left her mouth she realised how bad that sounded. She flushed scarlet.

“Um, I mean, I’ll take the couch.  I’m shorter than you.  And you need to be fit to fly tomorrow.”  Talk about state the obvious.  She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

“Thanks. Offer accepted.”  He flashed a trademark smile over his shoulder at her as he disappeared into the bedroom.

Claire flopped heavily down on the sofa and put her head in her hands.  How could she have said that?  The embarrassment burned into her soul. If Gordon or Alan ever got to hear that she had invited Virgil into her bed, even by accident, she would never hear the end of it.

xoxoxox

The morning bought a fresh flurry of packing fuelled by copious amounts of coffee.  

The had hired a van to transport Claire’s belongings to the airfield and this was nearly loaded and ready to go.  As Virgil carried the last box down the stairs Claire looked around the small space that she had called home.  It looked empty and forlorn, stripped of all her personal possessions.  

Claire breathed a silent goodbye and shut the door on one chapter of her life.

The other tie that needed severing was her association with the university.

Claire didn’t keep many possessions on campus so their visit should just be a brief one on their way to the airfield.  All she needed to do was empty a few drawers, check she hadn’t left anything on her work PC and hand back her security pass.  

She left Virgil enjoying the sunshine in the quad outside so she could say goodbye to her colleagues without having to make awkward introductions.  Not that there were many people around over the summer.  She hoped she would be in and out within half an hour.

As she headed down the corridor to her office her Head of Department appeared, almost as though he had been looking out for her.

“Hi Claire.  I was beginning to worry I’d missed you.”

“Oh, hey Mitch.  No, I’ve only just got here.  Are there many in today?”

“Only me and Clive and he is locked away in one of the haz-mat labs.”

“Ah well.  It would have been nice to say goodbye to the team but I know what it’s like.  As soon as classes finish everyone takes the chance to grab a vacation.”

“Hopefully the rest of them will come back though.  You know, I was surprised when you said you were leaving.  One minute you are booking up every lab slot available, the next you’re sending an email to say you’re off.”

“I was pretty surprised myself.  You just never can tell where life will take you.”

“So where are you off to?”

Claire avoided the question by rummaging through her bag for the key to her office.  She unlocked the door and Mitch followed her inside.  He leant against her desk, watching her while she opened and closed drawers, retrieving forgotten belongings.  

She booted up her work computer.  She had been pretty disciplined about keeping her research on her own computer but she wanted to make sure there was nothing sensitive left behind on the university network. She systematically deleted files and transferred a few interesting articles onto her tablet.

The book shelf was next on the list.  She packed the weighty tomes into the holdall she had kept spare for the purpose.

Mitch never left the office.  It felt a little unnerving to have him watching her all the time.

Feeling the effects of all the coffee from the morning she made her excuses and headed down the corridor to the bathrooms.

When she returned Mitch was still perched on the edge of her desk.  She had always got on well with him but she was starting to find his presence annoying.  As she went to gather up the last of her belongings she realised something was wrong.  Her tablet, which she had left on the far side of the desk, was now on the side closest to Mitch.  Her suspicions were roused.

Making up a spurious excuse about checking whether she had left her lab coat in one of the supply cupboards she swiftly exited the office again.

Once she was a safe distance away she activated her wrist comm.  Much as it pained her she knew she needed the help of one particular Tracy brother.

She opened a link to Thunderbird Five.

“John, I…I need your help.”

“Go ahead, Claire.”  John managed to keep the puzzlement out of his voice, Claire still tended to shy away from contact with him.  He could tell she was worried about something though.

“I’m on campus and something doesn’t feel right.  My Head of Department won’t leave me alone and  I think he might be after my work.  Can you check if any access attempts have been made on my tablet in the last ten minutes.”

“Sure.” Claire’s tablet had been connected to the International Rescue secure networks and it only took him a moment to call up the information he needed.  “I can see four failed log in attempts.  He didn’t get anywhere though, our systems are not easily breached.”

“Not this time but what if he has in the past.  I always thought he was just being friendly before but now he just seems, well…creepy. I’ve always been so careful but what if he already has some of my research.  I never kept a digital copy at work but what if he took photos of my notebooks.  We were often in the labs together.  If I wanted to work late he would usually volunteer stay on with me so that campus security wouldn’t chuck me out.”

The worry in her voice was now plain to hear.  John did what he did best – calming people down.

“It’s ok.  I can run a check of his university network files.  If I find anything I’ll wipe them.  I guess his network username follows the same convention yours did?”

“Yeah. It’s all standardised.  His would be Mhayworthy.”

“Give me a minute and I’ll see what I can find.”

John quickly accessed Mitch’s university profile.  He rolled his eyes slightly at the simplicity of the university’s security systems. Breaking through the defences wasn’t even a challenge.

Going off Claire’s suggestion that Mitch could have taken photos of her notebooks he started his search in the image files.

What he saw made his blood run cold.

There were hundreds of photos.  The notebooks appeared in some of them but only incidental to the main subject of the images.  Claire.

Claire at work.

Claire having lunch.

Claire walking through a park.

Claire leaving her apartment.

John didn’t want to alarm her but the man evidently had a full blown obsession.  The date stamps on the images showed he had been stalking her for some time.  

“Claire, where is he at the moment?”

“In my office.  Did you find anything.”

“You were right, he had some photos.”  He decided not to enlighten her on the exact nature of the pictures.  He didn’t want the truth to send her into a panic.  “I’ve sent a virus that will target all the image files on his computer.  It will also access his other devices via his cloud account so anything he has at home or on his phone will be wiped too.”

“Thanks John” and she genuinely meant it.  She made herself a promise to make it up to the spaceman for all the ill thoughts she had harboured against him.

For good measure John tasked Eos with monitoring the man, an easy task for her that would barely trouble her processing power and not impact on her other duties.  Life for International Rescue could get complicated this was reported to the police and Claire got caught up in a court case but he also wasn’t prepared to let the man off scot free.  It Mitch tried anything even remotely illicit in future Eos would alert the police through an anonymous tip-off and ensure that the full force of the law came down on him.

“Now Claire, I don’t want you to go back in there with him alone.  Give me your location and I’ll send Virgil up to you.”

Once he was assured that Claire was safe John got in contact with Virgil. His older brother was surprised to receive a call from his space bound sibling.

John quickly appraised Virgil of the situation, giving his brother rather more information that he had given Claire.  His intrusion into Mitch’s files had unearthed more than just the photos.  After Claire had informed the man of her impending departure his chemical research had extended beyond his academic interests and into the world of illicit sedatives.  Evidently the impending departure of the object of his obsessions had led him to darker thoughts than just watching her.

Less than three minutes later Virgil came pounding along the corridor and was by Claire’s side.  

Mitch looked up when he heard the door open.  The smile he greeted Claire’s return with soon vanished when Virgil entered the room.  

Virgil was making full use of his height and weight advantage and positively loomed over the other man.  He stayed polite for Claire’s sake but his attitude screamed alpha-male.

“Unauthorised personnel aren’t permitted in this corridor.”  Mitch was not pleased about the unexpected intrusion.

“It’s ok Mitch.  He’s with me.  He’s a…a friend come to help me move my stuff.”  The Tracy name was well known on campus, especially so soon after Denver hosting the latest round of the Tracy Prize. Claire felt it better to keep things vague, especially since Mitch seemed unaware of the identity of her companion.

Virgil flashed his visitor pass to show he was there legitimately.

Mitch instantly dismissed Virgil as a being of no consequence.  Someone picked for their brawn rather than their brain.  

“So Claire, I was hoping I could take you for a farewell drink.  It’s a shame the department couldn’t give you a proper send off but there is no reason why we can’t mark the occasion.”

“Sorry Mitch but I’m on a tight schedule.”

“Maybe this weekend then?”  He came across as hopeful, verging on desperate.

Virgil decided it was time to shut him down.

“Claire, we really need to get going.  Have you packed everything you need? We can’t risk losing our runway slot.”

This was a lie.  Tracy Two was currently in a hanger on the closest GDF base in case Virgil was urgently needed at a rescue zone.  They couldn’t risk being stuck for want of a take-off slot at a congested commercial airfield.  Virgil wanted to impress upon Claire that it was better they left quickly, thankfully she got the hint.

“Runway slot?”  Mitch asked.

“Um, yeah, this new job isn’t local.  I’m leaving town completely” Claire explained sheepishly.  She made an obvious show of checking her watch then turned to Virgil.  “You’re right, we really need to be getting out of here.”

Claire swept the last few items into her bag while Virgil claimed the holdall of books.

They left the building and made their way to the waiting van unaware that Mitch was watching their every step.  Unaware as he raised his phone to take some final pictures for his collection. Unaware of the curses that followed when the Head of Department found not only all the photos on his camera reel gone but the camera itself fully disabled.

John had done his job well.

[sophiexrph]

sophie’s guide to writing overnight camp staff

what am i doing writing this in the middle of fall/winter, you ask? good question. i was being nostalgic today and thought that this might help some of you out ! if you want to write a character who worked at an overnight camp at any point in their lives, here’s a little guide :)

disclaimer ! i went to a jewish overnight camp in the midwest ! many experiences may differ from mine, but i’m just gonna write out my own experience, and people who went to other kinds of overnight camps can feel free to add to this if they’d like ! this is going to get long, so i’m going to put it under a cut :) here we go ! please feel free to message me if you have any questions too !

staff at my camp were allowed to start working at the camp at age seventeen or so - when you’re going into your senior year of high school. 

staff come from all over ! i want to say that a majority at my camp were campers when they were younger, but there’s also international staff ! there’s this thing called camp convention (or something like that idk i never actually went) where a bunch of camps travel abroad to hire staff ! our international staff mainly came from israel, the uk, and australia :) 

staff usually get one full day off a week (evening->evening; i.e. monday evening->tuesday evening)

staff at a jewish camp do not have to be jewish ! most of our international staff were not jewish, and they typically got shabbat (friday evening->saturday evening) off work

with that being said, at my jewish camp, we did celebrate shabbat every week ! that means sundresses and khakis my dudes

staff do not make a lot of money; it’s like a running joke how little money is made. i can’t remember exact figures but it’s something ridiculous like $3000 for the whole summer (we had 7 weeks of camp+1 staff week before camp started). that’s only $3000 for 8 weeks of 24/7 work. people come back year after year bc they love camp, it’s definitely not the pay lmao

camps have traditions ! we had a bunch, but to list a few; color wars towards the end of camp, where the camp’s split up into 5 teams to fight for victory - it’s is very divisive, people love it or hate it, and the people who love it go all in -- there are a few years that i lost my voice bc of it. staff auction at the end of the summer, where staff make things that are centered around camp and sell them to other staff members. staff scholarship where hardworking staff are awarded money to use towards school. cw night was the last night of camp where the whole camp gathers in the dining hall and sings songs and watches the videos that the video activities made during session and cries.

speaking of traditions - songs ! lots of camps have songs that they sing all summer, every summer. our camp’s songs included brown eyed girl by van morrison, circle game by joni mitchell, closer to fine by the indigo girls, have you ever seen the rain by creedence clearwater revival, lean on me by bill withers, and sweet home alabama by lynyrd skynyrd (for some reason). there are also songs exclusive to the last night of camp that are designed to make people cry about leaving camp. these included leaving on a jet plane by john denver, save tonight by eagle-eye cherry, good riddance by green day, cat’s in the cradle by harry chapin, and, at the very end of the night, all the lights come up and everyone stands in a circle with their cabin and sings bless this house, which i now realize is not an actual song outside of jewish overnight camp communities - the lyrics are as followed: 

Bless this house for we are all together // Bless us all, we may not meet again // Think of all the happiness we’ve found here // Take it home and share it with a friend // Come along, sing a song, and you’ll never say goodbye // And you’ll see, and agree, friendships won need never die.

camp life is divided up into groups by campers’ age (and typically counselors’ age!) into groups called villages ! the youngest village of campers (and therefore youngest staff) were 2nd-5th graders, then it was 6th & 7th graders, 8th & 9th graders, and finally 10th graders in the last one. the older staff are typically put with the older villages, and you typically move up with the campers you were assigned to in years prior (not necessarily the same cabin, but the same village !) that way, you get to watch as your campers grow and mature, which can be the weirdest thing.

camp days are very structured ! for my camp, it went like this: wake up->morning assembly (where the whole village gets together and tries to wake up before breakfast)-> breakfast -> cabin clean up -> cabin activity/instructional swim (depending on the age of the campers!) -> activities (that the campers sign up for at the beginning of the session, staff accompany the campers to the activities) -> lunch -> rest hour -> free swim (where campers can choose to go to the pool or to the lake) -> more activities -> free time (all of camp is open, campers choose to go where they want!) -> dinner -> evening program (planned by the staff typically the night before -> camper lights out -> staff meeting -> staff to bed

there are more than one type of counselors ! my camp had counselors and specialists. counselors stay with their campers all day, aside from during activity times, when they choose which activity to attend for the day. specialists are hired to work in a focus area in camp ! whether that’s the ropes course or the art shack or the pottery barn or the basketball courts or the stables, these are typically people with experience in the area to lead activities throughout the day and rejoin their cabin for meals and at night ! there are also supervisors. these are two supervisors per village and one per specialty area (think ropes supervisor, art supervisor, sports supervisor, etc). these are typically the oldest staff, and people who are juniors in college (age 21 or so for the youngest village) and above.

speaking of cabins, there are typically 4 staff members to a cabin, two counselors and two specialists, and about 15-20 campers in a cabin. that means there’s about 1 staff member to every 4-5 campers in the morning and at night, and 1 counselor member to every 10 campers or so during the day when the specialists are doing their focus area related things.

camp hook ups are real my dude. everyone (including campers) knows which staff are hooking up. sometimes, those hook ups last more than one summer, and sometimes those hook ups become marriages ! my favorite staff member when i was a camper married his camp girlfriend last fall and i was so excited for the two of them. there’s another staff couple getting married this summer. it happens !

yes, everyone wears those tacky tie dye shirts. and everyone is excited to make and wear those tacky tie die shirts. 

some staff, but not all, have camp nicknames that they only go by at camp. my first couple of years, there was a staff member named lauren who went by toaster. others use their hometown or an abbreviated version of the name of their hometown. some use abbreviation of their last names (ie stallsman->stalls).

camp food is Not Good. after campers went to bed, i know more than a few staff members who would take their cars out into the real world to get fast food and bring it back !

speaking of cars at camp, there aren’t many, and you don’t see them at mine ! the parking lot is around the corner on the road into camp so as not to remind homesick campers that there’s people who leave every week for breaks. i want to say there were about 20 spots in our parking lot and about 150 staff members ! people typically arrange rides home for days off. 

international staff are paired with host families for their days off so they always have someplace to go to where they’ll be welcome. host families are campers’ parents who sign up to help out !

the camp community is very tight knit. people will talk to each other all throughout the year and get excited to come back to camp every summer. it’s hard to say goodbye when the time comes for summer internships and jobs, but there are always going to be camp friends to come back to. 

camp makes people more outgoing, hardworking, and, in my opinion, happier. it becomes a second home for you to become the best version of yourself and makes you want to come back year after year. 

EDIT TO ADD: cell phones are only allowed for staff at camp ! you can only use them when campers are not around as per camp rules, but not all staff follow that rule ! i’ve seen staff use their phones for pictures on shabbat, or youtube videos in the cabins before lights out ! other staff use their phones for daily camp related things like playing music for wake up/cabin clean up. campers are not allowed to have phones and their phones will be confiscated if they’re caught with them !

[mwcowan]

Mark & Georgia’s Big Trip

Chapter Seven – Miscellaneous Ramblings II

Another busy week, but that’s become the norm. At least this week we saw good progress towards getting everything together that we’ve been trying to get together. But not much of a theme so just some thoughts on the important events of the week.

Caretakers

The biggest milestone this week was that we selected and hired our housekeeper and caretaker. Plus their two boys – we will soon have a new family in our home, and we’re very excited. You’ll soon meet Ranny and Pina, and their boys Prince Denver and Ethan, who will take up residence in our caretaker’s apartment.

Ranny (pronounced “Ronny” – remember that the vowels AEIOU are pronounced here, without exception, Ah, Eh, Ee, Oh, Oo) for the previous seven years has worked as a groundskeeper for Kawayan Cove so he comes with excellent gardening and tree maintenance chops. Pina has been a homemaker, is a great cleaner and a good cook; Georgia says she’s a good student and will quickly learn our favorite dishes. She already knows that I like fresh fruit every morning – half the battle’s won already! Prince Denver (8 yrs) and Ethan (4 yrs) are just normal boys, though very polite. I think it’s going to be fun having them around.

Capiz

Capiz is both a province in the Philippines, on Panay Island, as well as an oyster from the area known for its special shell. A capiz oyster is on the left, the harvested and cleaned shell on the right. One shell of the oyster is flat, growing to 3-5 inches in diameter, and importantly, translucent.

You find all sorts of items here made from capiz – Christmas ornaments, outdoor lights, ashtrays, you name it. When we lived in the Bay Area, Georgia always said you could tell a Filipino’s house because of the capiz lights in the trees. Harvesting and producing craft items from the shells is today the principal livelihood of the people of Capiz. Historically, capiz is important in Philippines heritage and culture, one that’s given away by the Capiz oyster’s Western name: windowpane oyster. For thousands of years the shell served as the “glass” in Filipino windows; many older homes still feature these windows today.

So why this story about capiz? On this week’s trip to Manila, we were wandering around a mall and walked into an antique store. Stacked against the back wall we found a number of dusty old capiz windows. The shop owner had no hard information about their provenance but said they were likely from the 1800’s. They looked it; the Narra and Molave wood was weathered but the craftsmanship was still evident and not of this century. No nails or screws, the window frames are joined with hand-made mortise and tenons, held with wooden pegs. The capiz was dirty, but almost 100% intact – it looks fragile but is actually pretty sturdy stuff. We’re not sure yet what we’ll do with them, but we now have three panels. After an afternoon spent cleaning them we have a treasure we’ll proudly display.

Calamansi

I don’t think Calamansi has been featured in my Strange Fruit of the Day series; it’s really not that strange anyway. Calamansi is the citrus fruit of the Philippines. About ¾ to one inch in size, they look a lot like a key lime but aren’t limes. The insides and juice are orange, but they’re not oranges. They aren’t lemons either, they’re just Calamansi. They flavor many Filipino dishes: you’ll typically squeeze one onto your Pancit before eating, or onto your grilled fish, and they’re often an ingredient in the dipping sauces served with many dishes.

There are no limes here, so I had a dilemma: how to make a proper Gin and Tonic. Finding decent gin was easy (S&R/Costco), and after searching a few stores I found tonic water. But no limes. Calamansi to the rescue! I’m now able to enjoy my favorite summer cocktail. And it’s always summer here! Cheers!

The Massage Table

Massage is a way of life in the Philippines. Go to almost any beach and there will be massage tents set up, in the city there are plenty of establishments, or just call for home service. My only complaint, actually my neck’s complaint, is that the traditional Filipino massage is performed on a flat bed, not a massage table. You’ll sometimes find a real massage table but it’s rare. Fast forward to our weekly trip to S&R, and there it was! My neck had a sudden seizure as I tried to walk past, so into the cart it went! We set it up on the “meditation deck” and brought in a masseuse that Hervé and Lett turned us on to. She’s expensive, about $12 an hour, but good. Very good. Ahhhhhhhh, heaven!

Friends with Furniture

Our friends from Manila, Noel and Michelle Tanada, who have been mentioned before in my blogs (they’re the members at the Balesin Island Club with whom we’ve had some memorable trips) visited us yesterday. I don’t think I’ve ever said much about them. Michelle is a former local TV star/singer; after that career a serial entrepreneur, starting and running businesses in the advertising field. Noel was originally headed for a career in law, but left that world for his art, which encompasses traditional forms such as painting and sculpture, but his real passion lies with interior design and furniture design. In all they do they only use native and sustainable materials, or recycled materials, and always local labor. You can learn more and view some of their products at www.ecohomeart.com. They are also both active environmentalists, deeply involved with coral rehabilitation (www.coralmovement.org). This shot is with them at Balesin Island last year.

Today’s visit was more than a social call as they delivered a van full of furniture, some of the last items for our living room. We’d asked Noel to create some custom bar chairs, a breakfast table and chairs, and a credenza. Since we live in Kawayan Cove he chose a bamboo theme (kawayan is the Tagalog word for bamboo). He also brought a special floor lamp for us. All beautiful and unique pieces we’re proud to have.

House Tour

Finally all the major furniture is here and the house is feeling pretty livable (though we did fine with just a plastic card table and a mattress on the floor for the first 2 weeks…). So, I’ll wrap this up with a photo tour of our newly furnished rooms.

First up is the living room. The coffee and end tables from the acacia slab have arrived, we’re very happy with them and like the way they go with the sofa and love seat. The turtle on the coffee table is from Puerto Vallarta and has a special connection with Kawayan Cove – every fall Olive Ridley sea turtles arrive at Kawayan Cove to lay their eggs.

These are two of the barstools Noel designed for us. Using 100% native and sustainable materials, the backs feature split bamboo and the upholstery is hand-woven Tikog grass from Leyte. Besides a warm an inviting look, Tikog is durable and has a very nice, soft feel. It’s woven into many items here, historically the Banig which is the traditional Filipno sleeping mat.

Also in the same style and materials are this breakfast table and chairs. Noel feels the table design is sexy, resembling a woman’s curves. You decide!

One of Noel’s more creative pieces is this dramatic floor lamp, reflected in our corner windows. The lamp is made of water hyacinth reeds. Beyond being a sustainable material, the use of water hyacinth has an additional benefit as it’s a nuisance here, growing quickly and clogging rivers and harbors.

New in our master bedroom is this computer desk, made of mahogany from our design by Boyet, one of the construction foremen for our contractor. Boyet also made all of the cabinets in the house.

Our small guest bedroom, the one with the great view, has two new side tables of acacia, which we picked up pre-made at the same place where we got our slab. Note the baskets on the wall, which made their way here from the White Sulphur Springs Ranch rummage sale!

Last up is our second guest bedroom. In trade for the lack of a view you get a larger room, with a sofa and coffee table, which is the final piece of our acacia slab. Any of you who visited the Mokawk Community Resource Center last fall will recognize two paintings by Tyler Jacobsen, and a woven wall hanging by Salli Wise. Sorry the bed’s not made, we’ll make sure that’s done before you arrive!