NBA commissioner David Stern is easily among the five most intelligent people I have ever had a conversation with, so he certainly doesn't need to look into this space for advice.

  But, being the charitable sort, I shall offer some anyway.

  Be careful of how you play Dallas owner Mark Cuban.

  Yes, he pushes the envelope. Yes, he makes a mockery of your fine-based system of discipline. Yes, his high-profile crusade to rid the league of bad officiating causes some embarrassment.

  But you need him. Your league needs him.

  At a time when franchises are either dying on the vine or leaving in search of healthier vines, Cuban is a young, rich, dynamic owner who has given franchises a blueprint for success -- weakened economy be damned.

  He has, in a short couple of years, resuscitated a moribund franchise in Dallas. He has done it by pumping in a lot of money, which not every owner can do. But, he has also done it by ignoring convention, by being innovative and progressive and by catering to nearly every whim of the paying public -- those are things anybody can do.

  You cannot afford to run this man out of the league.