Mark Cuban - The Benefactor

[fluff]

Mark Cuban was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to working class immigrants. He has described himself as a goofy-looking kid with funny teeth and large glasses who dreamed of becoming a pro basketball or baseball player. When he was 12, he started his first business selling garbage bags door-to-door. During his teenage years, he sold powdered milk, and even imported newspapers from Cleveland during a newspaper strike in Pittsburgh.

After graduating from Indiana University in 1981, Cuban moved to Dallas. Without any formal computer training whatsoever, he started MicroSolutions, a computer consulting business. In 1990 he sold the company to CompuServe and became a multi-millionaire.

In 1994, Cuban and friend Todd Wagner wanted to listen to Indiana Hoosiers basketball game broadcasts, but were unable to since they were hundreds of miles away in Dallas. After realizing that it could be accomplished over the Internet and that it might also be a great business venture, they invested $3,000 and went to work building AudioNet. The service enabled people to listen to radio broadcasts from across the country through the internet. In the late 1990s, the service grew in popularity and was renamed Broadcast.com. In 1999, Yahoo.com acquired Broadcast.com for $6 billion worth of stock and Cuban became a billionaire.

In 2000, Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks franchise, considered at the time as one of the worst teams in the NBA. He focused on making games a total entertainment experience for the fans. He became the first owner to encourage fan interaction through email which he personally responds to. Based on fan suggestions, he has made several innovative changes at Mavericks games such as a new three-sided shot clock which allows line-of-sight from anywhere in the arena. An avid fan himself, Cuban can often be seen passionately cheering on the Mavericks right next to the players. The Mavericks record has steadily improved since 2000, finishing in the first round of the NBA playoffs in the 2003-04 season.

Mark Cuban also runs HDNet, an all high-definition television network. He lives in Dallas with his wife and their baby daughter.

[fluff]

I love this guy.

[Bill]

Despite being a billionaire, he really comes across as a regular guy, and I love the fact that he was willing to call NBA officiating the joke that it is, and at great cost to himself.

[LG.]

WOW, I like him too, fluff. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his personality on the show.

[John]

I know very little about Mark. But I definitely like the fact that he came from a "normal background", and is self-made. That's harder and harder to do in today's world, without connections. He went to college, but not a college where you make those connections. I also appreciate the fact that after he sold broadcast.com for $6 billion, he didn't just retire to the playboy lifestyle, but actually did new stuff with his money, even risky stuff at that. He's stepped out of his comfort zone.

That, and the icing on the cake is that he spent time here helping the members understand what was different about this show, and why we needed to tune in. For that fact alone, I'll be tuning in for at least the first episode, and probably the entire series.

[eny]

Ok , internet radio ? I had no idea. Best thing ever.

That and better hair would make me watch . Yes as a matter of fact I am Donald free. I also love the commercial with the kids. I hope it flies.

[Mantenna]

And the man who needs no introduction: Mark Cuban! *applause, cheesy game show music*

But seriously, he's an awesome guy. He's accomplished a lot--more than most probably realize--but still seems so down-to-earth, which is fantastic. Here's hoping the show will be a "total entertainment experience" for the viewers!

[Qboots]

Mark Cuban is scheduled to be on The View tomorrow morning. (Mon. 9/13)

[eny]

The View is great for reality show contestants , because Lis can match any of them word for word. Helloo did your hair fall out - No ? *smirk from Lis*

[eny]

in memory of an old member who posted sequentially in every thread - Anna

A shameless plug for icerocket.com , Cubans venture into the google world. Cooler than google , with a side screenshot of the webpage so you can say - oh yeah I was there already. Brings up some different stuff than usual to the top of the pile .I tested it with some obscure hockey querys , and was pleasantly surprised. Also gives blog results. .
Continuing with my shameless Donald bashing , I don't think the Donald googles well, or at all let alone trying to come up with an alternative.
/threadjack over