Mark Cuban.
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Read these extra questions from Mark Cuban.
Was it difficult performing on Dancing with the Stars with a hip replacement? —Karen Mois, Beatrice, Neb.
The hip held up, but it was really strenuous. I lost 30 pounds in less than three months. I'm the one guy who was not an athlete or an entertainer—so obviously, this wasn't natural for me. But, I had a choice. I could either go through rehab with a traditional therapist or dance in the show. Dancing was a lot more fun.
Do you think Major League Baseball should let you bid on the Chicago Cubs? —Miguel Santiago, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
I'm interested, but there isn't really more to say beyond that. The first step was being approved as a potential bidder, which I've been through, but the process has not progressed much further. I'd love to be able to do, but we'll see what happens.
What are your plans for Wrigley Field if you do purchase the Cubs? —Ken Davis, Fargo, N.D.
That is way in the future, if it ever happens. When I got to the Mavericks people were all giving me advice—change this, change that—and one thing that I didn't do was fire anybody. I came in and said 'Let's see what's going on. That is what I would do with any sports team I purchase. See what works, what doesn't, get people's input and then make a decision.
You have been extremely outspoken against the NBA's management in the past. Do you think Mr. Commissioner Stern has dropped the ball on handling the officiating scandal? —Eylon Garfunkel, Tel Aviv
I think he handled it quite well. There are only so many ways to deal with crisis management, I think we have gotten to the point where we have put it behind us and fans will trust the NBA. I don't think it will happen again. I always ask myself, 'Are we doing business in the best way possible to make our fans and customers happy?' I don't necessarily think that the NBA has always done that, and that is where we tend to butt heads. There is a "if it's working, don't fix it perspective" and I think that is a mistake.
One of the more famous comments you made to an NBA official landed you a shift scooping ice cream at Dairy Queen. How was it? —Terrell Reynolds, Scottsdale, Ariz.
I would never ask somebody to do a job I wouldn't do myself. Everybody's job is important. So when Dairy Queen asked me if I wanted to come work for a day, I was like, 'Wow, that would be a blast!' I love blizzards—I probably eat too much of them, so I went out there and hung out with the people. Little did I know there would be lines more than a mile long and helicopters [flying overhead]. It was a big circus.
Are you trying to do anything to help low-income families attend more games? —Mike Diaz, Brooklyn, N.Y.
We pick 10 games a year and we make 1,500 seats available for $2 a piece. Every single game of the year, for single tickets, you can walk up to the box-office on the day of the game—if we have a ticket available—and get tickets for $5 upstairs and $30 downstairs. We have also lowered the price of the upstairs bowl the last three years in a row—even though we had the best record in the NBA last year. Rather than using that as an opportunity to raise prices upstairs, we took it as an opportunity to lower prices.
Did you ever imagine that your life would turn out this way when you were a kid? —Michelle Rodriquez, Lynbrook, N.Y.
[Laughs.] No chance, no how. I'm not the type to pat myself on the back and all that, but somebody has to be lucky, right? When I got to Dallas, I was struggling—sleeping on the floor with six guys in a three-bedroom apartment. I used to drive around, look at the big houses, and imagine what it would be like to live there and use that as motivation. But I never ever imagined that would happen to me. I try not to take any of it for granted and make sure that no one ever pinches me so I never wake up.
Imagine if all your money and possessions were taken away from you, but you were allowed to keep one material thing. What would it be? —Lanai Winter, Chico Calif.
Diapers. I have little kids. Everything else I could figure out, but I would need those diapers.