Cuban’s Cash Flow to NBA Goes Dry

Is Mark Cuban behaving better, or has David Stern learned to look the other way?

Whichever is the case, Cuban, the maverick owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, hasn’t been fined by the league this season.

This after accumulating more than $1 million in fines and three games in suspensions for his courtside conduct and penchant for outlandish comments in his first two seasons as an owner.

The only time this season that Cuban’s behavior made news was earlier this month when, in an April Fool’s Day stunt, he wrestled with an actor dressed as a referee.

Stern told Associated Press that he found that gag “pretty funny” and added that although Cuban still berates officials and opposing players, “I don’t think he’s been extraordinarily vehement. He makes good points, fair points, and he’s a fan.”

The league commissioner did have one complaint, however.

He said workers at the NBA office haven’t been eating as well because the lack of Cuban fine money “was a jolt to our breakfast fund.

“We had budgeted for much better,” he quipped.

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Trivia question: Who was Hiram Bithorn?

Permanent seating: Part of the answer to New York City’s $3.8-billion deficit has been kept in a shipping container at a storage facility run by the city’s Parks Department.

Yankee Stadium seats, 1,000 of them, installed during the facility’s renovation from 1973-75, have been stored there for three years.

The city plans on selling them for $1,000 apiece this summer, just as soon as it figures out how to best conduct the sale.

Buyers will get a certificate or plaque of authenticity showing where the seats were located in the stadium.

George Tahan, a expert who sells vintage seats on his ballparkseats.com Web site, told Bloomberg News the city’s price might be a little steep.

Of course, if it comes up short, the city can always do what Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman does:

Ask George to write a nice, big check.

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Hot seat: Bill Self stepped into the pressure cooker Monday when he was officially introduced as the coach who replaced Roy Williams at Kansas.

But if the spotlight bothered him, he veiled it well.

Self, who is known for having a good sense of humor, showed his good nature when Kansas chancellor Robert Hemenway presented him a chair representing the Kansas head coach’s seat.

“I just touched it,” Self said, “and it already feels very hot.”

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Trivia answer: A pitcher for the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, he was the first Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues, and the stadium in Puerto Rico the Montreal Expos are using as their part-time Caribbean home is named in his honor.

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And finally: Reigning NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart will throw out the first pitch Friday, before the Angels play the Boston Red Sox at Edison Field.

So which is harder, throwing a strike in a packed major-league stadium, or making a three-wide pass at 190 mph?

No contest, Stewart said.

“I can race three-wide all day long and that doesn’t bother me a bit,” he said, “but throwing a baseball ... that’s going to take a little practice.”