and try whipping Zach Randolph or Stephon Marbury sometime. Dude has a Finals appearance and 8 playoff series wins under his belt, he's a gym rat, he accepts blame when things go wrong and credits his teammates and coaches when things go well. He's also led Dallas to seven straight seasons of 50+ wins. It would be far more accurate and fair to say that he's had his moments of clutchness (37 and 15 against the Spurs in Game 7, 53 points in a pivotal Game 5 against the Suns) as well as times where he's come up woefully short (Heat and Warriors). And oh yeah, Dallas' record in deciding games with Dirk is 5-0, and he played very well in four of those games.

He deserves plenty of legitimate criticism for his performance against Miami and Golden State, but maybe you didn't notice Avery getting worked like a punching bag at the hands of Pat Riley and Don Nelson. Or Jason Terry unable to hit water from a boat. Or none of the Maverick's perimeter defenders able t to keep Baron Davis or Dwyane Wade in front of them. But

The constant ragging by you and other national media types is just snowballing into something that is out of proportion. The Warriors were a much better team after that trade, Dallas was in fifth gear all season against half the league tanking for Greg Oden and when the Warriors win 50+ games next year, it won't be seen as nearly the upset it is now. I wonder why guys like Vince Carter, Randolph and Marbury don't get raked over the coals as often as Dirk, and it probably has something to do with the insanely high expectations Dirk has on him. Please, do try to keep perspective.

No gratuitous swipes at Dirk Nowitzki in this column. BTW, his PER against Golden State was over 20. Not MVP-worthy, but All-Star caliber. Will you be instituting a policy against naming Zach Randolph, Stephon Marbury and Vince Carter by name? The first guy asked off from the club to get titty dances, the second is a cancer that didn't want to share the spotlight with KG in Minnesota, and Carter so dogged it in Toronto that he once tipped off the Sonics bench to a play the Raptors were going to run at the end of a game. But let's go ahead and keep ripping a hard-working, team-first guy because he played a bit below his standards. At least he didn't just up and quit like Kobe did last year against the Suns.

Yeah, his domestic policy achievements were positively progressive in hindsight. And the Watergate affair was more about the stonewalling and cover-up than the initial offense. Next to Bush he's a wise and enlightened ruler.

But that doesn't erase continuing a murderous war in Southeast Asia, the secret bombing of Cambodia, shredding Bretton Woods and using the machinery of the federal government to screw political opponents. You can put lipstick on a pig, but that doesn't mean I'll fuck it.

and Hillary said nothing of substance, just the typically mush-mouthed vague platitudes. About halfway through the interview I just started glossing over her answers because it's just typical politician mealy-mouthed responses. I will not vote for her if she wins the Democratic nomination. She is just as much of a threat to our freedoms and our prosperity as a nation in her own unique way as Guiliani or any of the other Republican candidates. I can do without Hillary's brand of timid and cautious "pragmatic centrism."

My hairline started receding around the age of 26. I'm 29 now and I'm at Stage 3 on the Norwood Scale (anybody going bald knows what this refers to.) For the first two years I experienced what the boyfriend of the LW is going through now. It was wrenching, and you can laugh at the silliness of it all, but it just sucks, especially when you're the only person among your peers going through it.

I got tired of getting a haircut every two weeks and spending way too much time in front of a mirror trying to get my hair to do what it used to do, so I bought a pair of clippers. It will be jarring the first time you shave your head. You can experiment with different lengths to find what works best for you. I use a #1 guard. The ironic thing is that now I get more compliments on my hair than I ever did when I still wore it out long. The loss of my hair also compelled me to get into better shape. It's not fair, but women DO prefer thick, luscious locks to a chrome dome. Having said that, they will forgive baldness, they won't forgive being both fat AND bald. I took the opportunity to work my butt off and get into better shape, losing 35 lbs of fat in the process. Interestingly enough, I'm having more success in the romance department too since the head shave and rededicating myself to fitness. You can see for yourself the before and after pictures here:

Before:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/225/444139217_bcac7b03c3_o.jpg

After:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/250/520844924_5f8d63922f_b.jpg

It's better to make the best of the hand we've been dealt than try to hold on to what is no longer there. There are times when it still bothers me, I have to admit I would prefer to have my hair back, but women have their own body issues to deal with as they get older as well. We lose our hair and their tits begin to sag. The boyfriend of the LW needs to hit the gym if he's out of shape, dress well, work on his "inner game" and the rest will take care of itself.