THE INTIMIDATOR STANDS READY TO HELP: In Charlotte, Scott Verner reports that the Kannapolis Intimidators, the Single A South Atlantic League team formerly known as the Piedmont Boll Weevils, introduced their new logo designed by Sam Bass yesterday. NASCAR driver & Intimidators co-Owner Dale Earnhardt: "I definitely will come over and watch the game and be part of it. ... If we're having a slow night in attendance, yeah, I'll make an appearance and try to help bring people in" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/29). THE TOP MAVERICK: In Dallas, Jodie Valade writes that Mavs Owner Mark Cuban said that the Mavs players, after receiving new laptops, will receive e-mail addresses "within the next couple weeks." Cuban receives an average of 400 e- mails a day, "nearly all of which he responds to," but he is not expecting the same attention to e-mail from his players. Cuban: "I'm not going to force them [to respond], but I'll strongly encourage it" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 11/29). During last night's Raptors-Mavs game, TBS' Cheryl Miller reported on some of the upgrades Cuban "has provided for the players in their locker room," including a large TV and VCR in the middle of the locker room. Miller: "Some of the players' stalls include a DVD player, a Sony PlayStation, just to name a few things." Cuban "made sure the players received" Egyptian cotton towels so they don't have "to towel down with a two dollar towel." TBS' Mike Fratello: "Cheryl, would you do me a favor? Grab a couple, put them in a bag and bring them back to the hotel" ("NBA on TBS," 11/28). Cuban, on the media attention he has received: "As long as they spell my name right, and as long as they write about the Mavericks, then I don't care. There is no such thing as bad press" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 11/29). NOTES: In Toronto, Craig Daniels wrote that "there are those in the executive suites around the NBA who think the Grizzlies have two seasons left in Vancouver, no more." Daniels, comparing the success of the Raptors to the Grizzlies: "The reality is that far more corporate head offices are in Toronto, which is part of the reason the Grizzlies were always a tougher sell than the Raptors. The population base is larger in the Toronto area, and there is more disposable income in southern Ontario than B.C.'s Lower Mainland. The market in general is more forgiving" (TORONTO SUN, 11/28)....In Boston, Edes & Hohler noted that some "indications" are as part of their negotiations with free agent C Dave Nilsson, the Red Sox agreed to provide some funding for the Australian Baseball League, the country's only professional league, which Nilsson bought to "save from extinction" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/28).
