The franchise: if you thought Mark Cuban was just a spoiled rich kid who couldn't turn the Dallas Mavericks into winners, it's time to eat your words (hold the sprinkles)

Texas Monthly, March, 2002 by Brian D. Sweany

NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD HAD SO MANY people been united by the promise of free Dilly Bars. As the crowd outside the Dairy Queen in Coppell that January afternoon snaked from the front door, through the parking lot, and down a side street, the fans who had gathered to see Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban serve up treats and eats began to grow restless. After almost an hour, the line had barely moved an inch, but the sudden sight of two men wearing Mavericks shirts brought hope. They were carrying a box full of ice-cream bars. "Cuban's a little slow on the cash register," said one of the men as he passed them out. "I thought he'd be used to counting money by now."

A week and a half earlier the 43-year-old Cuban had criticized a call by an official after a loss...