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By EDDIE SEFKO It’s hard to miss what you never had.But if Dirk Nowitzki knew how good he would feel after taking a summer to let his body rest and his mind clear, he probably would have taken a couple of more stress-free off-seasons in the last decade.Nowitzki is 'bouncier' than ever, he says, after taking a summer to relax for the first time in his NBA career. Every previous year, there were Olympic qualifiers, European championships or other responsibilities to the German national team.After realizing a dream and getting Germany to the Olympics, where he was the country’s flag-bearer in Beijing last summer, Nowitzki finished the second round of the playoffs in May and then did ... nothing.Now, he’s found himself more Dirk-like than ever in training camp. And people are noticing.'Physically, Dirk’s in a lot better shape than he was this time last year in terms of his energy level,' coach Rick Carlisle said. 'And it’s mentally draining going to

Finally, the Arizona Cardinals are looking like the team that rolled through the playoffs to the Super Bowl - just in time for a Sunday night matchup with the perturbed New York Giants. Arizona's dominating 27-3 victory in Seattle on Sunday marked the first time this season the inconsistent Cardinals have put together a complete game. 'It gives us momentum. It gives us a lot of confidence,' linebacker Karlos Dansby said on Monday. 'We know what we can do.

The NBA is back with training camps opening last week and, by my unofficial count, there are 29 teams talking playoffs. I dont think Sacramento is, though I may have missed something. This is the time of year when players flaws are mostly ignored as manag

JIM REEVES Wade Phillips said that the Cowboys looked so crisp in practice Thursday before their bye weekend, they looked like they were preparing for a playoff game.Beyond the fact that Coach Wade must have a memory like an elephant, I’m going to take it on faith that he doesn’t mean they all bolted for Cabo on Friday ....Ba da boom!Oh, and I see where Phillips and Tiger Woods chatted about leadership recently.Talk about your one-sided conversations ...Ba da boom!Hey! I’ve got a million of ’em, I’m here all week and don’t forget to tip your friendly waitresses on the way out.But seriously, folks, if the Cowboys don’t want their entire season to turn into one forgettable punchline, now is the time to do something about it.Or, to mangle an old saying, this is the first day of the rest of their season. They can either begin to salvage it or watch it go straight into the toilet.I’m sure there’s another one-liner there somewh

Some of the dozen or so stories I have open on my desktop right now... LeBron James will be profiled in an upcoming issue of Maxim - here's a preview. In the interview, James is the latest to claim that basketball doesn't have a problem with performance-enhancing drugs because... it just doesn't. I've had a problem with this explanation for years. On Cleveland.com, James talked about a cancer scare he went through last January. The Nets have a potential new owner with very deep pockets, but Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Mikhail Prokhorov will face serious scrutiny before the deal is approved by league owners. The Knicks' exhibition game with Israeli power Maccabi Tel Aviv was delayed for nearly ten minutes when Maccabi coach Pini Geshon received a second technical foul and refused to leave the court. The WNBA's Detroit Shock is moving to Tulsa, and will be coached by Nolan Richardson. Rush the Court has a recap of Midnight Madness, heavy on the YouTube cli

Howard ties Gehrig's playoff RBI mark

The WNBA's Detroit Shock are moving to Tulsa, Okla., a team official told the Associated Press.

Hey, Mets fans, that awful season was just a bad dream -- if you believe StubHub.

The WNBA's Detroit Shock are moving to Tulsa, a team official told the Associated Press. Detroit made its debut in the league ...

France will face Ireland in a two-leg playoff for a spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.