Yankees chief operating officer Lonn Trost says in the following interview that the story and rumors are fiction and more or less scoffs at the entire report. In Trost’s words, the story “is an absolute fabrication” with no merit or validity.

Lonn Trost joined WFAN in New York with Boomer and Carton to discuss the report that the Yankees could soon be for sale, the story being a work of fiction, what he makes of them saying they have sources in both banking and baseball, if a minority owner can simply sell their part of the team and other aspects of the story.

Are you surprised about the report or is it just part of being the Yankees?:

“There’s stories about the Yankees and what we do, about every aspect of our existence. However, this one is an absolute fabrication. There’s no merit to the story; there’s no validity to the story. I’m sure that nobody can find any evidence about this. There are no discussions; there have never been any discussions.”

The story is just comical, at best, isn’t it?:

“Listen, it just never happened. Comical is a great word to use, but we’re reading fiction on the front back page of the newspaper.”

So they say they’re hearing from sources in baseball and banking, but you’re saying none of it is true?:

“I’ll go moreso. With respect to MLB, we will ask the commissioner to undertake an investigation and take appropriate action. With respect to investment bankers, we have an investment banker. We’ve had one for 30 years. … They’re partners with us in many of the subsidiaries we have, and we have never had any discussion with them at all.”

If one of the minority owners wanted to sell their piece of the Yankees, would they be able to do that without the others voting on it?:

“There’s a process, actually. First, we have many limited partners with many limited interests and the process is quite simple. First, they come and meet with myself and with Randy and with Hal and a decision is made at that point whether they can be brought into the fold. At that point, a proposal is made, it’s formalized, they have to go through an MLB investigatory process. And even at that point, it first has to go to the partners who could stop that from happening. … Nothing can get done without going through a very elaborate process, which ends with the Steinbrenner family. And we’re not talking about major positions.”

Why do you think the Steinbrenners would ever want to sell what their father and family have built?:

“This is just fiction; it just never happened. We’re aghast at such a story.”

In the story, it even basically says that Hal Steinbrenner hates the players. What do you make of that?:

“I also read that he’s not here much. He’s here every single week.”

Listen to Lonn Trost on WFAN in New York here

But, Charles Barkley says it’s true, that Shaq has told him that he’s interested in the position and Barkley expects him to interview for the job in the very near future. It would be an interesting move, that’s for sure. I can’t really picture it, especially given Orlando’s situation wondering if Dwight Howard will stick around. Shaq and Howard have had their moments before, so the move seems a bit nuts, but we’ll see what actually goes down.

Charles Barkley joined The Dan Patrick Show to discuss the merits of Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant vs. Tim Duncan, what he makes of Shaq and the Magic, Shaq’s interest in the position, Shaq’s situation when it comes to Dwight Howard, Howard’s indecisiveness, the Miami Heat not being able to win a championship, if Kobe Bryant can win another and the possibility of trading Andrew Bynum.

If you could have the future of Kevin Durant or LeBron James, which would you pick?:

“LeBron James. He’s going to be the best basketball player in the world the next five to 10 years. … He’ll get better because he’ll just get more mature, but he’s the best player in the world.”

Better player in their generation, Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan?:

“Wow, that’s a great question. How do I answer that question? Tim Duncan is the best power forward ever. Kobe Bryant is one of the 10 greatest players ever. … I’m not sure how to answer that question.”

Do you make anything of this talk of Shaq discussing being a GM with the Orlando Magic?:

“It’s interesting, to be honest with you. Obviously they’re trying to do anything to keep Dwight there and bring a buzz. … They’ve got to do something, either way, whether Dwight stays there or not. Bringing Shaquille in as your general manager is an attention-getter. Whether Dwight stays or leaves, you’re bringing attention to your organization.”

Is Shaq interested in that job?:

“Yes. I don’t know what’s going to happen, obviously. Obviously we’re aware that he’s interviewing for the job. … He’s from Orlando and has affection for the organization, so we’ve just got to sit back and wait.” He told you he’s interested in it?: “Yes.” When’s he interviewing?: “I’m not sure when he’s interviewing for the job, but I think it’ll be now or sometime real soon.”

Isn’t Shaq always poking fun at Dwight Howard?:

“I think they’ve had some issues in the past, but I think they are friends, to be honest with you. I think they’re cordial friends. I think Shaq has taken some shots at Dwight that were unnecessary and uncalled for, but Dwight’s a great player and a great kid.”

More on the Dwight Howard situation:

“I’m not sure Dwight knows what the hell he wants to do. As I said on the show, Dwight needs to grow up and be a man and make a decision. He’s either got to stay or he’s got to go. The way he’s handled the situation right now is not cool at all. Stan Van Gundy is a great coach and I thought he got screwed by the organization. … I’m sick of talking [about the Howard situation].”

On the Miami Heat:

“You know what the problem is? That team’s not great. They lost to Dallas because they’re very small and they have no depth on the bench. And they’re not going to win the championship. They might win this series against Indy. They might even beat the Sixers or the Celtics, but they’re not going to beat the [Spurs] or the Oklahoma City Thunder. … LeBron is going to get the heat because people just don’t like all the stuff that went on in his life. But the guy is underrated; he’s unbelievable.”

Will Kobe Bryant win another title?:

“They can reload quickly. … Once you trade one of those big guys, you’re going to be able to bring something good in. I do think you’ve got to trade one of those big guys and you can bring a couple good guys in.”

I would probably trade Bynum:

“I agree with that because I’m not sure he’s ever going to reach his full potential. There’s just something missing, in my opinion. But I think you do trade him, get a bunch of good pieces. They’ve got to get more athletic, obviously, and they’ve got to get some depth on the bench. I would do that.”

Listen to Charles Barkley on the Dan Patrick Show here

Maurkice Pouncey joined 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh to talk about the start of the Steelers OTAs, Willie Colon making the transition from tackle to guard in his return from knee surgery last year, why he thinks Colon will excel as an interior lineman, what Chris Rainey (a former Florida Gator like Pouncey and the Steelers 5th round pick this year) will bring to the table as a scat back in Pittsburgh’s offense, Rainey’s ability to stay out of the vision of defenders thanks to his diminutive stature and shiftiness, what Rainey and other rookies will miss out on due to not being able to attend this set of OTAs, what he knows about first round pick David DeCastro and what changes there are to the Steelers playbook under new offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

On Willie Colon making the transition from tackle to guard:

“I think it’s going to be a great transition for him, and he’ll probably be one of the best guards in the league right now. He’s working really hard on his technique right now, he’s a big guy to move guys out of there, and I’m happy he’s right there next to me.”

If he thinks Colon has the interior lineman mentality needed to play his new position:

“Oh heck yeah, Willie’s got that dog in him. He’s a go-getter. He’s definitely going to go out out there and fight every play.”

On what fellow Florida Gators RB Chris Rainey will bring to the table in the Steelers new offense:

“Oh man, that scat back. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, get outside man and make plays.”

On a short running back like Rainey being able to hide behind his linemen and stay out of the line of sight of defenders:

“Most definitely, he did it today. He skidded through the line, all the defensive guys in there, and then broke it all the way down for a touchdown. It was exciting to see.”

On what the rookies will miss while not being allowed to attend OTAs:

“They’ll miss some, but we’ll catch them up fast. I’ve been texting and calling them, and I’m pretty sure Coach Koogs [Kuglar} is in contact with them a lot to help them out throughout the process. But I can’t wait for them guys to get up here and get ready to go to work.”

Whether he’s seen much of David DeCastro, the Steelers first round pick out of Stanford:

“Not much, but I’ve seen him on the YouTube clips. He looks like an awesome player.”

On what changes there will be to the Steelers playbook under new offensive coordinator Todd Haley:

“Different terminology, but all the stuff is kind of similar. We just got to get used to different verbiage.”

Listen here to Pouncey with on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh

And with the season now over, Metta World Peace surely has some interesting things to say about how everything ended.

Metta World Peace joined Mason & Ireland on ESPN 710 in Los Angeles to discuss the Lakers’ inability to close against the Thunder and how the series might have gone had they been able to finish stronger. He also opined that the team could have taken care of Denver with more ease had he not been suspended in Round 1 and repeated how he wished he’d had a chance to help out more in crucial situations.

On the shape he was in this season:

“If you think about it, I’ve been playing basketball for a long time and I’ve been guarding the best player ever since I’ve been in the NBA. And I’ve probably got more wear and tear on my body than anybody. But with wear and tear on your body, what you discover is ways that you can take care of your body, when you gotta put in the effort to find out. And the training staff really helped me out a lot. So I’d say it’s 50/50 — me, and the other 50 percent was (the training staff). They got me back in shape. Once I got back in shape, I started to do things that I couldn’t do before like catch the ball in the lane and finish a layup. And that was real difficult for me over the last couple of years. I didn’t know what was going on, but I had this nerve problem in my lower back that I didn’t really know about. It was a small problem but it really affected my game. But as of right now, I feel like I can dominate again.”

On how many games it would have taken Los Angeles to beat the Nuggets in Round 1 had he been available for the entire series:

“I gotta say anywhere from four to six. … It should have took us four-to-six games to beat them and some of that probably played a factor in the first game that we lost in OKC due to a little bit of probably fatigue. … With all that said, we still shoulda been up 3-1.”

On the team’s inability to close games against Oklahoma City:

“As a team we were unable to close. That’s 100 percent right. We did, um, at the end of the game, it was unfortunate that we didn’t close them as a team. Now, we do have capable players of closing. I wish I coulda had the ball more at end of the game to assist Kobe (Bryant’s) drive … because I know he wanted to close the game, that’s what he like to do. And myself, sometimes at the end of the game or a crucial play, Kobe will ask for the ball sometimes (and) I’ll shoot it. I don’t really (have) that type of attitude at that time in the game. And so I wish I could have assisted, but I’m a team player first, and that’s kind of one of my weak points is that I’m a team player. And I won’t just go and do things that’s not in the concept of the team. So I kinda wish I would’ve had the ball a couple times at the end of those games. … I think me and Kobe are just as good as closers as anybody in the league, but it was just unfortunate that I wasn’t able to be in that position to help.”

Listen to Metta World Peace on ESPN 710 Los Angeles here (starts at 3:30)

Jon Kitna joined Mitch in the Morning on KJR in Seattle to discuss the details behind this fascinating new chapter in his life, touching on how long this was in the works and his value system and approach to his new career.

On leaving the NFL behind to become a high-school math teacher :

“I knew football was over. Whether it was starting to teach or whatever, my time was done. I was blessed to play as long as I played and never imagined it going as long as it did. And I never thought I was gonna play to where my son — my oldest son is gonna be a freshman next year — and I never wanted to, so I always thought it was gonna be done. So when that became apparent that that wasn’t gonna be the case, I definitely wanted it to be done before he started high school, and for him to have that kind of, almost normalcy. And on top of that my back just became an issue that, as I told the Cowboys last year, I just don’t think I can be depended on to have to go in and win games or do anything like that. So I knew it was over. I think it would have been different if I had been starting for the last three years and then all of a sudden it was over. But kind of being a backup, I think it makes it a little easier.”

On becoming a fan of the game instead now :

“There’ll be things that I miss and there are certainly things that happen every day in the NFL, in locker rooms and stuff that you just can’t recreate those situations. It’ll be hard to watch games on TV because you really only see about half of what’s really happening on TV. I laugh because people make judgments about what they see on TV and things like that. Well, it’s hard to make judgments. And so you’ve gotta become more of a fan. … I’m glad that I had 16 years and I was blessed by it. And it will be different, but fortunately for me it’s not like I’m sitting around doing nothing and I won’t have a lot of time to think about it.”

On always having a backup plan because he originally didn’t think he’d cut it in the NFL:

“It just didn’t seem like that was gonna happen. So when it did happen it was totally surprising and didn’t know how long it was gonna last. And so I’ve always kind of been trying to prepare for life after football, but it’s hard. It is hard to keep that mindset because the game is so fun and the lifestyle you’re afforded to live is so fun and so rewarding. But at the same time, it’s almost a trick, because it is so not normal. And so it just really becomes — when you get out of the game, you have to allow your mind, your whole mind to shift back into what is normal.”

On always figuring he’d become a math teacher:

“Well, that was my degree, and I enjoy it. I enjoy math. I’ve found it much more difficult than I thought coming back here. And I’ve always felt like I had a healthy respect for teachers, but now I feel like I just have even more. … It’s overwhelming, honestly. And part of that’s coming in in the middle of the year and not having done it for 16 years and things like that. A lot has changed. But yeah, my wife and I always felt like our greatest impact for our lives was gonna be in a public high school coaching and teaching. And for me, the thing that I like to teach the most is math, and the thing that I enjoy the most is math. So that was always kinda the hook for us.”

On what he wanted to do more, coach the football team or teach math (he’s doing both):

“My vision is to run a football program that focuses on training the young man, not the football player. We call it being a transformational coach as opposed to a transactional coach. Coaching character and integrity through the avenue of high-school football and producing better young men as they graduate and move on.”

Listen to Jon Kitna on KJR here

Roy Halladay, the ace of the Phillies pitching staff, has never been know for throwing at opposing hitters. No.34 is having a pedestrian year for his standards sitting at 4-4 with 3.58 ERA. The Phils are looking to get back on the winning track consistently here at the quarter mark of the baseball season.

Roy Halladay joined The Dan Patrick Show to discuss how much he can argue balls and strikes with an umpire, the percentage of umpires that think baseball fans come to see them at games, Cole Hamels/Bryce Harper moving past their confrontation from a few weeks ago, hitting a rookie batter as a welcoming gesture and his pick for the best pitcher in baseball.

What are you allowed to say to an umpire as a pitcher and catcher?

“That’s tough. I think a lot of the time depending on the umpire you can ask them. I think as soon as you start telling them then you are in trouble. There’s different guys that you can be a little more upfront with and they are okay with it. Other guys aren’t. I think that is the tough part is a lot of times you don’t know who those guys are and one may be different than the next. That’s definitely a tough part of it and I understand they get criticized a lot and probably don’t appreciate it, but as a pitcher you want your catcher to at least feel like he saying look just trying to get him to be a little bit accountable and he gets rung like that. That’s a tough one to follow.”

Give me a percentage of umpires that think fans come to the games to see them?

“I would say it’s few. Most of them that I have had have been very good. There’s a couple that like throwing guys out and getting into confrontations and they always seem to be in the middle of things. There’s a few of those guys and I don’t know if that is a reason and if they want to be seen or what. I think the number is probably lower than players and coaches probably say.”

Cole Hamels-Bryce Harper part two tonight? What do you think?

“Nothing. I don’t know on their part, but I would guess both sides have said what they have said. I think both sides…I think their GM [Nationals] and obviously Cole were penalized for those things. I think at this point what’s done is done and you move on. I really don’t see a whole lot going on from that standpoint other than the competition on the field of one trying to get a hit and one trying to get an out, but I don’t see a whole lot outside of that.”

Have you ever welcomed someone to the big leagues like that?

“I have not. There’s probably a few guys I would have liked to, but I just never did. [Dan Patrick: Like who?] Unfortunately the guys I would have liked to were already there before me and I couldn’t do it.”

Best pitcher in baseball is who?

“Justin Verlander. [Dan Patrick: What makes you go wow when you see him?] First thing is he has the stuff. You have seen that for a long time. I think what I have seen recently out of him is that he has been able to control it and dial it down at times and then add when he needs to. I don’t think you see the 100 mph every single pitch. You see him pitch it and work through lineups and he’s taken that overpowering stuff and become a pitcher with it and that’s a tough combination when you have both of those.”

Listen to Roy Halladay on The Dan Patrick Show here [Interview begins at the 14:38 mark of the podcast]

Woods won two months ago at Bay Hill, but has taken plenty of flack since then from those wondering if he can return to his old form. Part of his strategy for getting there is playing more tournaments, which he says he’s excited about. Woods also says his confidence is growing and he’s hitting the ball better than he had.

Tiger Woods joined 106.7 The Fan in Washington D.C. with The Sports Junkies to discuss how he’s striking the ball, his confidence level since playing The Masters, his driving statistics, why he believes he can win into his 50s and why he’s playing more tournaments this year.

When you’re swinging a club now, how does it feel compared to when you won at Bay Hill two months ago?:

“I’m actually hitting it more solid. That’s the fun part. My compression’s better; my trajectory’s better. Things that we’ve been working on are starting to come together.”

How about your confidence level as compared to during The Masters?:

“It’s growing, it’s growing. We figured out some things that happened. I fell back into my old motor patterns at Augusta, how to shape shots. I’ve gone through that before and I’m just fighting through it.”

You rank third in total driving on tour. Is that another indicator to you that you’re on the right track?:

“Absolutely. That’s something that I’m proud of, becoming more efficient. My all-around stats are certainly a lot better than they have been in years. That’s something that we’re proud of. I’ve been close and I’ve just got to keep working, keep getting more efficient at what we’re doing.”

Looking down the road, do you think you can keep winning tournaments into your 50s?:

“Absolutely, 100 percent agree with that. It just has to be on the right golf course. It can’t be, at that age — well, by the time I’m at that age, it’ll be some golf courses over 8,000 yards. It’s probably not going to be at one of those; it’s probably going to be at a shorter golf course like you’d find at a British Open. Tom [Watson], at Turnberry, it was like the perfect Open. It was howling, it was a golf course he had won on and knew how to play and it was playing very quick. … You can certainly see a certain player playing into their 50s and being successful on a certain venue. You can’t do it on all venues, there’s no doubt. Some ballparks are just too big.”

You’ve increased your schedule this year. Why is that?:

“Well, I’m just playing more events. That’s one thing I said I was going to do and it’s something I’m excited to do. I’m excited to play new events. This year I added the Honda Classic and now Greenbrier. Last year, I played in the Fry’s. I’m trying to play at different places.”

Listen to Tiger Woods on 106.7 The Fan in Washington D.C. here (Interview begins at 9:00)

Martins admitted that the tenuous relationship between Howard and Van Gundy was a factor in the decisions, but said there were many other reasons as well. Meanwhile, Howard has basically been estranged from the organization since having season-ending surgery a month ago. It’s a mess, and it will be interesting to see it unfold.

Alex Martins joined WYGM in Orlando to discuss the state of the Magic, how Howard’s relationship with Van Gundy factored in, if Howard ever asked him to fire Van Gundy, the situation with Otis Smith, the timeframe of getting a decision from Howard on his future, not going through another season like last year and the concerns of Howard being away from the team right now.

What message do you have for fans and season ticket holders who are concerned with where the team is at now?:

“The message that I would send them is the moves that we’ve made and the future of the organization is about winning a championship. I think our track record has been quite great under our family ownership. We have the best record, by winning percentage, in the Eastern Conference over the life of the DeVos’ owning the team. We just felt that these changes were necessary for us to keep moving toward our ultimate goal and that’s winning a championship.”

You’ve said the move wasn’t made because of Dwight Howard. If he had a great relationship with Stan Van Gundy, are you saying the change still would’ve been made?:

“What I said was that the decision was made for a lot of different factors over the course of the last two years. And I think I also alluded to the fact that one of the factors was the relationship between Stan and Dwight. But there were many, many other reasons why those changes were made. I do think that if all the other circumstances were the same and Dwight’s future was already solidified, I think we would’ve been at the same crossroads as to whether we were going to make those changes.”

Did Dwight Howard ask anyone in upper management to have Van Gundy fired?:

“I stand by what I said … and that’s the fact that Dwight never did ask me to have Stan fired or to fire Stan. The circumstances over who said what to whom and when, I don’t know all of the specifics to be honest with you. You know that I only took over in this role back in December and a lot took place before that period of time. … I’m not going to get into what I know, what I don’t know, who said what and when.”

Was it a situation where Otis Smith said, ‘If Stan goes, I go?’”:

“I think it’s pretty clear to say that Otis didn’t feel comfortable moving forward without Stan. But when we talk about mutual decision, we had also come to the conclusion that a change was needed with Otis, too, because of a lot of different decisions and factors that have been made over the last two years. So, it’s fair to say that it was mutual because it was a conversation that Otis and I had that we arrived at the same place. He didn’t feel comfortable staying and we felt that there was a change necessary for us to move forward as well.”

Is there a timeframe where you would like to know what Dwight wants to do?:

“We’re going to continue to have those conversations with he and his representative. I think we’ve been clear about what our desire is. But at the end of the day it truly is Dwight’s decision because Dwight’s got to decide whether he signs an extension to his contract with us or not. We’ll continue those discussions … and we’ll quickly move on getting a new general manager in here and let him develop that relationship and determine whether Dwight is going to move forward with us or not.”

Is it safe to say, though, that you guys aren’t going to go through another season of not knowing for sure what he’s going to do?:

“Yeah, I’m pretty well on record saying  that we’re not going to go through the type of season that we went through this past season. Our fans don’t deserve that, our ownership doesn’t deserve that. We want to have the future solidified and move forward in one goal, of winning a championship, at the beginning of last season.”

How worried are you that he’s kind of separated himself from the organization over the last month?:

“Obviously I’d much rather he be here around us and have the opportunity to talk about moving forward together. Having said all that, we’ve stayed in communication with him and his representatives. We do the best we can from afar to influence him and tell him about our continued goal. … We’re going to deal with the situation as it is the best we can.”

Listen to Alex Martins on WYGM in Orlando here

The Mavs struggled to remain consistent all season long coming off an NBA Championship, finishing as the #7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs before being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunders two weeks ago. Nowitzki didn’t seem to be his normal self that carried the Mavs in prior seasons as it became increasingly evident that Dallas must go out in free agency and reload. It looks like that was the plan all along for Mark Cuban. Nowitzki is keeping his fingers crossed for Deron Williams.

Dirk Nowitzki joined ESPN Dallas with Galloway & Company to discuss the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs going the distance, his pick to win the Western Conference Finals, Charles Barkley claiming that he was getting old and that his career was over, idolizing Charles Barkley as a child and the Mavs pursuit of Deron Williams.

Can the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs series go the distance?

“It’s going to be spectacular. Hopefully it’s going to be a long series and we can all watch some great basketball. The whole thing is full of great matchups. Just off the bench with Ginobili and (James) Harden going at it, the two point guards, obviously [Russell] Westbrook was phenomenal against us all series, but Parker is having a phenomenal year, probably in the prime of his career and Duncan is still looking really good this year. And now they got another week off to rest everybody. So, it’s going to be an incredible series to watch. I don’t know. It’s going to be tough to say who is coming out. I think you can make an argument for both. I still think I like San Antonio with their experience, but man OKC looked so good and Durant now really closing games. It’s wide open to me.”

Who’s going to the NBA Finals out of the Western Conference?

“I think San Antonio’s going to do it just because they’ve got one more home game. They really came on strong late in the season and they snatched home-court advantage away from OKC. So, I got to think just by that there is a little slight advantage. But honestly, both teams are good enough to win on the opponent’s floor so I would give a slight advantage to San Antonio, but, man, OKC is looking really good.”

We have Charles Barkley on once a month. Are you familiar with “father time bro?” Charles Barkley said father time was catching up with you and your career was on the downside?

“Father time bro? Of course. I’m undefeated. [Randy Galloway: When you heard him say 'father time' what did you think?] Well I just thought I had a tough time getting going this year. I don’t think…I am very specific taking care of my body. During the season I eat right. I lift. I train. It took me awhile to get going with the whole lockout. There was too many games and not enough preparation time, so I paid for that a little bit, but I still think I can play some really good basketball. If you look at all of those guys they really take of their body like Steve Nash and Jason Kidd is almost 40. Those guys they can compete at a high level for a long time. Even if you are looking at Tim Duncan he is having a phenomenal year this year. It’s his 16th or 17th year. Whatever it is. I still think he can play at a really high level and I still think I can do it I am going to prepare again like in the regular season you have your routine. You come in and report in October and I am going to spend the offseason getting my body ready again and we’ll see what happens next year and see who’s fighting alongside me and who the warriors are and we will go from there.”

Do you still like Charles Barkley after his comments regarding your age?

“I will always say I was a huge Charles Barkley fan and he was the reason why I changed to the number 14. He wore number 14 in the Olympics in 1992, so I changed to number 14 in basketball growing up. Then it became 41, so I love Charles and also love watching him on TV. Whatever is running through his big head and he is going to throw out there? That is what makes it funny. I’m still a huge, huge fan. I didn’t see it as an insult and if anything he is just having his opinions and he’s throwing his out there. That would make great TV and great radio cause he’s the man.”

If the Mavs don’t get Deron Williams what will you think?

“Oh man it’s tough. We’ll just have to wait and see who we get. I think there are a lot of decisions coming in that we have to make and I think with getting coach [Rick Carlisle] out of the way was great and now we know who is coach for the next four years. I think he did a tremendous job, so that’s already one decision off the books and now we gotta see what’s out there I think it’s hard to comment on that now cause everything could change completely in July. All the free agents probably don’t know what they are doing yet. It’s kind of too early. We’d love to get some great players here and reload. I think Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban have always made that clear. It’s not good enough for us to play for six or seven seeds in the playoff and get swept in the first round. We always want to play at the top and want to have home court advantage in the first round. That’s something we always take pride in and we gotta bring some players in. We are losing a lot of guys from our team, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in July. We would love to get a prime time player like D-Will in, but that’s not an our thing right now. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens in July.”

Listen to Dirk Nowitzki on 103.3 FM ESPN Dallas here

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross joined Steak Shapiro, Chris Dimino and Nick Cellini on 790 The Zone in Atlanta to talk about displeased Dolphins fans, the team’s quarterback situation and the PR battle to stay relevant in South Florida.

On the notion that Miami fans are frustrated with the team:

“Well I think there’s been a shift. There was certainly a lot of unrest the fans thought we should have signed, to start with, Jeff Fisher to coach, and we didn’t sign (Matt) Flynn, and we didn’t sign Peyton Manning. So at that point they thought we probably couldn’t do very much, but I think once we told them we had a plan and we knew where we were going and then we executed on that  plan, I think things have changed an awful lot.”

On the Dolphins’ quarterback situation:

“Well there’s gonna be a competition. I think we’re prepared to be patient and we’ll see how it progresses, but there’ll be some competition at the quarterback position with Matt Moore and David Garrard as well as (Ryan) Tannehill.”

On the battle to stay relevant day in and day out in the Miami sports scene:

“There’s a lot of obstacles. It’s a little different than other parts of the country. Whereas in the fall people have nothing else to do but go to football games up north, it’s beautiful weather down here and in Miami as well. So it’s a little different. So you’re really battling the other sports as well as the good weather.”

On his efforts to bring celebrities on board as minority owners:

“Owning a football team is about winning games, there’s no question about it. … I bought the team and I wanted to really appeal to every segment of the market and have some minority stars brought in as partners in the team. And I think it had some impact. I think a lot of the writers who are used to the X and Os kinda confused the fact they thought that’s the direction we’re going. It was never the direction we’re going, but I think it’s also important that we kind of enhance the fan experience and try and make it more of a family affair. South Florida is known for celebrities and people love seeing them, and having them part of the team I thought would really induce families to bring their children to the games. And I think that had some impact, but it certainly didn’t have it with the football writers.”

Listen to Stephen Ross on 790 The Zone here