Dirk Nowitzki turns 33 with surprise bash
The private event to commemorate Nowitzki’s 33rd birthday -- dubbed “Dinner For 41” -- featured exactly 41 guests, including Mavericks teammate Brian Cardinal, Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and various team staffers and close friends. Also in attendance were former Stanley Cup-winning Dallas Star Mike Modano and three award-winning scientists who are also Mavs fans.
As part of the evening’s program, Nowitzki was presented with a Larry O’Brien championship trophy cake and treated to performances from a Dallas Symphony Orchestra string quartet (Christopher Adkins, Diane Kitzman, Gary Levinson and Ellen Rose) as well as Dallas-based comedian Paul Varghese.
Special guests included Dr. Hans Deisendorfer, professor of biochemistry at UT Southwestern who won a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1988 for his work in X-ray crystallography; Dr. Al Gilman, chairman emeritus of pharmacology at UT Southwestern who won a Nobel Prize in medicine in 1994 for his work on how cells communicate with each other; and Dr. Eric Olson, professor and chairman of molecular biology at UT Southwestern who won the LeFoulon Delalande Grand Prize from the French Academy of Science in 2009.
“Dirk was definitely surprised,” said Brian Dameris, one of the attendees and a former Mavs employee. “It was the perfect ending to the best week of his life.”
Marc Stein | email
Senior Writer, ESPN.comBegan covering the NBA in 1993-94
Has also covered soccer, tennis and the Olympics
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Jeff Caplan joined ESPNDallas.com in December 2009. Jeff covers the Mavericks, Rangers and colleges. He has a wealth of experience in the area, covering multiple beats in his 11-plus years with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
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Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
Marc Stein
Marc Stein began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 as Senior NBA Writer. He also makes regular appearances on "SportsCenter," "NBA Shootaround," "NBA Fastbreak," "NBA Coast To Coast," ESPNEWS, ESPN "First Take" and ESPN Radio.
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Jeff Wade joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2009. He is one half of "The Ben & Skin Show," heard weekdays from 9a-12p on 103.3 FM ESPN, and also works as sideline analyst for the TV broadcast of all Maverick home games.
103.3 FM ESPN PODCASTS
Play Podcast ESPN's Stephen A. Smith chimes in on the Dallas Mavericks' season, their free agency plans and more.
Play Podcast Mike and Mike join Ben and Skin to discuss Jerry Jones' window and the Mavs future. They don't see Dirk Nowitzki leaving even if the Mavs miss out on the dream of Deron Williams or Dwight Howard.
Play Podcast Mavs F Dirk Nowitzki says he's too old to stay with a rebuilding franchise but couldn't imagine himself leaving the city of Dallas.
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Play Podcast Mavs guard Delonte West dishes on his desire to return to the Mavs, his relationship with Lebron James and how he ended up hanging out with Dez Bryant over the weekend.
Play Podcast Ben and Skin discuss the three most important figures for the Rangers, Mavs, and Cowboys. Who is the most vital to the ultimate success of each organization?
TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
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Dirk Nowitzki
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.4 | ||||||||||
| Assists | J. Kidd | 5.5 | ||||||||||
| Steals | J. Kidd | 1.7 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | B. Wright | 1.3 | ||||||||||
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