Now, for the less important news. I’m saying good-bye to Newsday today after eight great years. And sadly, like Stephon Marbury, I will not be getting a buyout from James Dolan. (Everybody now … ah-one, ah-two, ah-three … The Knicks are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday.)

This is all for yucks, of course. This has been a great run for me, by far the most rewarding years of my life and career. During six years on the Jets beat, I made some lifelong friends. I can’t even describe how good those times were. All I can say to my colleagues who are covering that team in the new digs at Florham Park is this: Roll up a paper ball in my honor and pelt Cimini with it. :)

Being your NBA columnist has been an honor, too – as has working with King Fixer, who will be expanding his horizons to write about league stuff in addition to the Knicks from time to time.

For those who want to check in with me, I’ll be going to CBSSports.com to be their NBA columnist. It’s a new chapter, a new adventure, and a new opportunity in my career. I’ll miss all my colleagues and the readers – even those who didn’t much care for my opinions – but sometimes in life it’s time to try something new.

In addition to the unbeatable assignments and great times professionally, my personal life has changed immeasurably since I arrived at Newsday in April 2000. My wife and I have been blessed with two unbelievable boys – neither of whom, sadly, stands much of a chance of playing in the NBA. (Note: Alan Hahn is at least a foot taller than both of those boys’ parents.)

I lost my dad on Thanksgiving Day, 2005 – Nov. 24 – and wrote about that in my farewell blog when I left the Jets beat two years ago. The lives of sports writers are inexorably linked to their jobs. I’ll never forget huddling in a Courtyard Marriott in Massachusetts with my brother and working on the story of Herman Edwards’ departure – and the Jets’ search for a new coach – in the middle of settling my dad’s affairs. Time marches on. Coincidentally, I will be starting the new chapter in my life on Monday, which will be Nov. 24. I trust they have Internet up there …

Those of you who’ve been reading closely know that my time of late has been occupied with blistering Stephon Marbury and asserting that Mike D’Antoni is right to sit him down and move forward without him. Maybe someday down the road, Steph and I will cross paths and laugh about all of this.

It was interesting, because my last assignment for Newsday – the Cavs-Nets game Tuesday night – was highlighted by one such moment.

In the early days of Laveranues Coles’ career with the Jets, he wasn’t nearly as personable and endearing as he is now. At one point during our working relationship, he’d asked me to get out of his way in the locker room, referring to me as “Little Media Man.” This resulted in years of punch lines in the media workroom at Weeb Ewbank Hall, which was one of the funniest and best places to work in journalism.

There was a day when Edwards decided to solve the locker-room access problem by giving the beat writers a second chance to interview players after practice each day. On the first day of this new policy, I approached Coles at his locker. He started berating me, telling me, “Ain’t no media allowed in here,” etc. I told him that Herm had, in fact, changed the policy to allow us in the locker room after practice.

LC didn’t like this, and told me I should go get a real job, such as working at Jillian’s. I informed him that this – aggravating professional athletes – was my job.

“That ain’t no job, writin’ paragraphs,” LC sniffed.

On Tuesday, I was walking across the IZOD Center court at halftime, trying to get within earshot of Jay-Z to ask him about his friend, LeBron James. As I walked past the scorer’s table, who do I see sitting there in a courtside seat all by himself? Laveranues Coles!

I approached him, and we shook hands and reminisced like old friends. I didn’t remind him of our past verbal sparring. I didn’t tell him how cool it was that I would bump into him during my last assignment for Newsday, given that the very first story I wrote as a Newsday employee was about Laveranues Coles.

So with that, Little Media Man, a.k.a. K-Berg, a.k.a. your privileged NBA columnist and blog host, would like to say good-bye and thanks for the memories. See you in the funny papers.

One of Cuban's attorneys, Stephen Best, posted an interesting transcript of an interview with the former Mamma.com CEO conducted by his defense attorneys. In the interview, Guy Faure admits not being able to recall what Cuban's response was when he told the billionaire he had some confidential information to share with him.

Cuban's Attorney, Christopher Clark: We spoke earlier about you were telling Mr. Cuban in words or substance : “I have confidential information for you”.

Faure: No, I do not.

Best goes on to write in Cuban's blog: "The SEC knows this-they have the transcript, yet they brought the case anyway. Why? Do they have a different statement from Mr. Faure ?

"Why did the SEC end their multi-year investigation of Mamma.com Inc. for alleged securities laws violations days before interviewing present and former Mamma.com Inc. executives about this matter? Was the timing a coincidence? We think not."

Cuban's brother, Brian, an attorney, posted on his own blog under the headline, "My brother is not Martha Stewart."

And Floyd Norris, the chief financial correspondent for The New York Times, had a fascinating post in his blog in which he shares the text of a threatening email sent from an SEC attorney to Cuban during the insider trading investigation. The lawyer, Jeffrey Norris -- no relation to the Times writer -- chastised Cuban in the email for his role in supporting the film "Loose Change," which was highly critical of the Bush Administration.

The funny thing is, Norris' blog on the Times' Web site isn't labeled as a blog, even though that's what it is. The reporters who chatted with Cuban before the Mavericks-Knicks game at the Garden on Sunday night had a good laugh with him when Cuban was informed that the Times was no longer using the term "blog." Cuban suggested months ago that newspapers were devaluing their product by lumping it in with Joe Sixpack blogging in his basement. (Neil Best, no relation to Cuban's attorney, blogs in his basement. But he's a pro -- and gets good traffic.)

For this and other reasons, this Cuban investigation doesn't pass the smell test. There is no way he is dumb, arrogant, or naive enough to make a monumental and obvious mistake like this. There's got to be more to the story than we know.

Nov 17th 2008 1:20PM

Mr. Cuban stated, “I am disappointed that the Commission chose to bring this case based upon its Enforcement staff’s win-at-any-cost ambitions. The staff’s process was result-oriented, facts be damned. The government’s claims are false and they will be proven to be so.”

I know nothing of the facts of this case, but I will say this: Cuban had better be careful. Martha Stewart didn't go to prison for insider trading. She went to prison for obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators.

A few minutes ago, I spoke with Scott Friestad, an SEC enforcement officer who has worked on the entire Cuban case. He confirmed that his office spoke with Cuban several times during its investigation, and last year deposed him once under oath. Whether Cuban did anything wrong, we don't know. But he'd better hope that his sworn testimony is deemed truthful by the SEC.

No criminal charges have been filed, but Friestad said that in cases such as this, criminal prosecutors often go after a defendant in a civil insider trading complaint based on their sworn testimony taken during the investigation.

This is big, important, and potentially devastating stuff for the highest-profile owner in the NBA.

Speaking of which, the league won't comment on the Cuban lawsuit.

"We don't comment on matters such as these," NBA spokeswoman Maureen Coyle said.

This is the last thing the NBA needed. A former referee already in prison, and a prominent team owner sued for insider trading.

Hours after learning that his 6.3 percent ownership stake in Mamma.com would be diluted by a discounted public offering, Cuban ordered his broker to sell his entire stake of 600,000 shares, according to the complaint, filed in the Northern District of Texas.

According to the SEC complaint, Cuban was informed of the offering plan by the CEO of Mamma.com, which is now known as Copernic Inc., on June 28, 2004. Having agreed to keep the information confidential, and bound by SEC regulations forbidding trades made on such information, Cuban "became very upset and angry during the conversation" and said he did not support or wish to participate in the public offering, according to the civil lawsuit.

“Well, now I’m screwed,” Cuban told the executive, according to the complaint. “I can’t sell.”

But that evening, Cuban sold 10,000 shares of the stock at an average price of $13.4990 per share, the SEC alleged. The next day, he sold the remaining 590,000 shares at an average price of $13.2937.

On June 30, the first trading day after the private investment in public equity (PIPE) was announced, Mamma.com shares plunged 8.5 percent to a closing price of $11.99. Shares continued to crater and were trading at $8.00 on July 8, 2004 -- 39 percent off their pre-announcement price.

Copernic's stock has continued to falter, and in mid-day trading Monday was at $0.25 per share.

The SEC's lawsuit requests a jury trial and asks that Cuban repay the $750,000 in losses he avoided, plus interest, and an undisclosed civil penalty.

Cuban, who was in New York Sunday for a game between his team and the Knicks, did not respond to an email seeking comment Monday on the allegations.

Here are some links:

The complete text of the SEC complaint against Cuban, from Forbes.com.

The Dallas Morning News story.

Copernic's Web site.

Before the game -- which seems like a long, long time ago -- I asked Thunder coach P.J. Carlesimo for his take on teams paying players not to play. The Knicks are doing it with Stephon Marbury, the Grizzlies with Antoine Walker, the Bucks with Damon Jones, and the Pacers with Jamaal Tinsley.

"Each situation is different," Carlesimo said. "I just think that people are coming to realize that it’s not always the best five players or the most talent that wins. No one ever wins in this league without having a lot of talent. But I think a lot of teams are winning in this league. Teams are winning with defense and playing together. It’s become pretty evident that it’s not just about talent. There’s other factors playing into it.

"I don’t know if that played a part in the decisions also. But I see people a little bit more concerned nowadays than they used to be with chemistry and how the parts fit together and not just the pure talent."

That creates angst in the players' association and among agents, but it makes for better basketball. Carlesimo is the perfect guy to comment on this. You may recall he had a bit of an altercation with Latrell Sprewell in Golden State 11 years ago. In those days, the player had the advantage and the coach had no power. If this trend with Marbury, Tinsley, et al means power is shifting back to the coaches, I’m all for it.

But I'm looking at the Warriors' hiring of Larry Harris as an assistant coach, and I'm seeing more trouble for Mullin in the Bay Area.

He's already had his right-hand man removed -- assistant G.M. Pete D'Alessandro was replaced by assistant coach Larry Riley -- and now an accomplished G.M. has been ushered into the organization. Harris has high-powered representation, and everyone around the league knows he was treated shabbily in Milwaukee. I can't imagine Harris is going to Golden State to be an assistant coach for long.

At the end in Milwaukee, his hands were tied and he wasn't allowed to make any trades -- otherwise, Zach Radolph would be a Buck -- and then his legs were cut out from under him entirely.

The Bucks wound up with one of the bright minds in the game, John Hammond, running the show. With Hammond -- Joe Dumars' longtime right-hand man in Detroit -- the Bucks are going places. But if I'm Chris Mullin in Golden State, I have to wonder even more if I'm going places with a possible replacement sitting on the bench for the rest of the season, evaluating the talent from a courtside seat.

I can report that the Nets have come up with the most creative and altruistic ticket giveaway I've ever encountered. As David Waldstein reported in the Star-Ledger today, the team will provide up to four free tickets to each unemployed fan who submits a resume to the Nets Job Bank. Fans who participate also will get access to a job fair at the IZOD Center on Nov. 22.

"Hopefully they'll come out and experience the Nets, and then when times get better they'll invest in us, because we invested in them," team president Brett Yormark said. "No other team is doing that, and I think it's the appropriate thing to do, because times are tough."

This is a great idea. Applause, applause, applause. (Tom Ziller of Fanhouse likes it, too.)

The team will make 1,500 free tickets available for the promotion ... 300 for each of five games.

Golden State wants to accommodate Harrington's request for a trade. But like the Knicks with Eddy Curry (knee), the matter will have to cool while Harrington is on the shelf.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets have emerged as a quiet player in the trade market, equipped with a $9 million trade exception acquired in the Chauncey Billups-Allen Iverson deal. To match salary in a potential Zach Randolph trade, for example, the Nuggets would only have to send back about $6 million in salary to make a Z-Bo deal work. Keep in mind that Denver G.M. Mark Warkentien is extremely fond of Randolph, having been instrumental in Portland drafting him in 2001.

Things that make you go hmmmmm ...

So here you go: Some samplings of what the little fella had to say after his Pistons debut last night -- a 103-96 loss to the Nets in which he was outdueled by Devin Harris. Iverson had 24 points and was unusually selective in his shot attempts -- almost too selective. Harris scored 38.

"We only can get better," Iverson said. "Our chemistry obviously wasn't where we want it to be on both ends of the court. I know a couple of times on defense, I ran into another guy. And offensively, the flow was there at times but at times we struggled."

I asked AI if he went out of his way to play unselfishly, sort of like he was trying to make a point to his new teammates that he wasn't going to try to take over the offense. Iverson attempted only 12 shots from the field -- and through 2 1-2 quarters had only hoisted it up four times.

"I took what they gave me," Iverson said. "That was the whole thing coming in from Michael Curry and Joe Dumars and even my teammates. They told me when I got here, 'Don't worry about fitting in. Play your game. That's what you're here for.' And the only way that I can help this team is to play my game. I took what the defense gave me. I didn't try to force a whole bunch of things. But when I saw an opportunity to strike, I did. I'm satisfied with it. I'm pretty sure that as time goes by, I will get more aggressive because I will know my spots and I'll know when to go to the basket and when to pull it back."

Enjoy your Saturday. See you from the Garden tomorrow.

Highlights: Amare drops 49 on the Pacers, LeBron drops 41 on the Bulls, and a double-nickel for Tony Parker against the T-Wolves. That's right, 55 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds for Eva's hubbie.

Enjoy it while it lasts, Hawks fans. Your team, for now, is the second-best defensive squad in the NBA. (Courtesy of TrueHoop.)

Chauncey Billups and Cheikh Samb won't be able to take their physicals with the Nuggets until Thursday mornning, so it appears Iverson won't play tonight against the Raptors in Toronto.

See you in The Swamp.

Bing, one of the NBA's 50 greatest players, has a successful, $200-million automotive supply business. So why would he get involved in politics?

Detroit may be a bright spot on the NBA landscape, but its economy is in disastrous shape, and the former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, is serving a four-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to two felony obstruction of justice charges related to his efforts to cover up an affair.

"Our city just went to hell, and nobody seemed to have the guts to stand up and say anything," Bing told Newsday in a phone interview. "People were suffering and we were the laughing stock of the country and I just couldn’t take it any more. There’s no way to sit back when I see so many people suffering when I think I can make a difference."

Bing, a Democrat, has a long road ahead. With no political experience, he'd have to win four elections to become the city's full-term mayor. A February primary and May general election would give him the chance to finish out Kilpatrick's term. Then he'd have to win another primary in August and general election in November to serve the next term.

It's almost like he has to sweep a best-of-7 series.

"'You could look at it that way," he said.

Bing watched the election returns with interest Tuesday night and called Barack Obama's victory "an out of body experience."

"I have met Barack on more than one occasion, and I was tremendously impressed with him and the direction he is going to take this country," Bing said. "I'm not one to jump on board after the fact. I've been there and supported him.

"I'm very proud of what he’s accomplished and proud to see that there’s an African-American in the White House. I don’t think it’s something that people of my generation thought they would see in their lifetime."

No trade, buyout, no waivers. Marbury will sit on the bench for the foreseeable future, making $21.9 million to do nothing.

So how is that a resolution? Despite the brave face put forth by Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni on Tuesday, both realize that the situation won't truly be resolved until Marbury is gone. And Marbury would be gone if Walsh and D'Antoni had their way.

A person familiar with the Knicks' buyout talks with Marbury told Newsday today that the reason Marbury remains a Knick is two-fold: Garden chairman James Dolan refused to buy out Marbury for the full amount of his contract, and Marbury -- in his private meeting with Walsh this week -- reiterated his stance not to settle for anything less. Thus, the stalemate. Now it is simply a matter of who blinks. In my book, that's not resolved. That's still evolving.

"It won't be a perfect world," the person familiar with the buyout talks said. "But at least it's an understood and defined one. Short of management waiving him -- which they clearly refused to do unless he agrees to a reasonable settlement -- his cap space is way too important in the coming years to damage by trading him out of panic for some bad contracts that would eat up all that valuable space."

All this talk about eating has made me hungry. Hungry for less Marbury news.

The best stuff, as far as I'm concerned, is the following passage in the SI.com story by Chris Mannix. Three days after Foster was implicated for receiving frequent phone calls from Donaghy in a FOX News report, Foster flew to New York for a sitdown with Lawrence Pedowitz, the former federal prosecutor who conducted the NBA's investigation.

"I told him, 'There is no way that you can write a report that clears my name,'" Foster said. "'Until the NBA lets me speak to the press and lets me let them see how angry I am about this, it's not going to mean a hill of beans. People don't want to hear from lawyers, they want to hear it from my mouth.'"

Here are links to the stories in the Times and USA Today. Enjoy.

It’s clear that Dumars’ acquisition of Iverson sets the Pistons up beautifully for the next two free-agent summers. When Iverson’s $21.9 million comes off the books in July, Dumars will have only $39 million committed to the 2009-10 season.

“I know the sky’s the limit for us,” Iverson said.

He was talking about the next 79 games, not anything beyond that. And with Iverson joining a team with two other talented guards (Rip Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey) and the combustible Rasheed Wallace, there’s no telling how it will shake out for the next six months.

“We think this is a great fit,” Dumars said. “We think that Allen represents what the Pistons represent, and we think we can do big things. We think it’s going to be a seamless transition, and I’m looking forward to seeing it unfold on the court.”

At 33, Iverson is a half step slower and a world wiser than he was when I last covered him in Philadelphia nine years ago. One of my lasting Iverson memories was seeing him watch Shaquille O’Neal fall short of the 40 points he needed to win the scoring title on the last night of the regular season, giving A.I. his first scoring crown.

Iverson scored 33 points in a 105-100 overtime victory over – who else? – the Detroit Pistons and left the arena not knowing if he’d done enough to hold off The Diesel. He said he wasn’t going to watch Shaq’s game on the West Coast, but I had a feeling he would. So I went to the TGI Friday’s I knew he frequented, and sure enough, there he was.

Shaq finished with 18 points, and Iverson and his friends hugged, popped a bottle of champagne, and enjoyed a subdued celebration. There were tears in Iverson’s eyes.

Very few players I’ve encountered in the league have half Iverson’s heart and will to win. He’ll bring those things with him to Detroit. He’ll bring excitement, and he’ll bring an element to the Pistons that might not fit – right away, or ever. But it’s worth the gamble for Dumars, who was able to pull off a win-now and win-later move at the same time.

“I’m not the same 23-year-old Allen Iverson,” he said. “I’m 33 now. I don’t do the same things that I used to do. And if I was still doing those things, I’d be a damn fool. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned from my mistakes.

“I think being in Philadelphia helped me grow up as a person and as a player,” he said. “The reality of being traded opened my eyes even more. I have five kid now. I have my own basketball team now. And I think my wife has helped me get better as a person. … As far as the basketball side of it, I know the game a lot more than I did before. Early in my career, I just played with my athletic ability and didn’t think the game through. Now I use my athletic ability still, but I try to think the game more, more like a John Stockton, trying to be witty about what I do on the basketball court.”

And he showed his wit when Dumars jokingly asked if practice was one of the sacrifices Iverson was willing to make.

You know what happened next.

Then what happens is Iverson’s debut with the Pistons, Wednesday night in Toronto. He’ll be in New Jersey for the Nets Friday night, and so will I. A lot has happened since that night at TGI Friday’s.