Gay men’s ‘frat’ offers alternative- If You Are A Delta Man STAND UP!

For those rejected by traditional fraternities, DPhiU provides true brotherhood

Delta Phi Upsilon National Membership Chairman Adrian Homer, left, and members Jarod Moore and Timothy Jackson at the DPhiU national conference in Miami, Fla. last week. — SUBMITTED BY DARRYL WILSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DPHIU

Fraternities and sororities put much emphasis on their ideals of community service, sisterhood and brotherhood. So when Anthony Fluellen, a Lincoln University graduate, wanted to join a fraternity, he was confident that his morals matched those of the fraternity he was interested in.

“I just knew if not anybody else, I knew that I would make that line for my qualifications alone and my social spirit,” he said. Fluellen was an A and B student, a student ambassador, the 2009–2010 Mr. Lincoln University, and president and founder of the Gay Straight Alliance at Lincoln. But Fluellen’s confidence only got him as far as an interview.

“I deeply believe that because of my sexual preference, I was denied not once, not twice, but three times,” said the 22-year-old. Fluellen continued to search for an organization that would give him that fraternal bond he wanted and would accept every aspect of him.

Two months ago, Fluellen officially became a member of Delta Phi Upsilon (DPhiU) Fraternity, Inc., the first international fraternity for gay men.

Fluellen’s story is very much like other members of DPhiU who say they were rejected based on their sexuality.

“I did everything I was supposed to do. I made the connections. I went to an interest meeting,” said David Butler Jr., who was actively involved at Towson University. “I thought if they wanted anybody to be a member, it would be me.”

Butler was upset when he then got a Facebook message saying the organization’s members would not want him to represent them on campus.

“The reality was I was an openly gay man,” said Butler, who is the North Atlantic regional director for DPhiU.

Butler said that the man who sent him the Facebook message is gay himself, but assimilated to be in the fraternity.

“The issue that we are facing in Black communities between gay men and heterosexual men has to do with notions of hegemonic masculinity to which many heterosexist institutions such as fraternities ascribe,” said Lee Carson, president of the Black Gay Men’s Leadership Council. “The reality is there are lots of gay men in mainstream fraternities, but the homophobic nature of most frats keeps these men closeted.”

Both Butler and Fluellen blame ignorance in the Black community about homosexuality as the underlining cause of the discrimination they faced in Greek life.

“This is not a Divine Nine thing, it’s a community thing,” said Butler about the nine national Black fraternities and sororities. “The Black community created the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.”

“Black folks are seriously behind the times when it comes to LGBT acceptance and understanding,” wrote Chris Alston, president of Philadelphia Black Gay Pride, in an email. “We need to tear down that wall currently surrounding some of the ignorance in the African-American community. … Unfortunately we have a long, tedious task ahead of us to get this city where we need to be concerning the LGBT communities of color.”

Fluellen is the second member to join DPhiU in the Philadelphia area. George Banks joined in November 2010 and is helping to develop community service projects, and a chapter in Philadelphia.

“Philadelphia has a huge population of gay men of color. I think it’s extremely important to have our organization here so we can continue to be positive role models for gay men of color,” said Banks.

The organization is not currently affiliated with any universities, but has regional divisions throughout the country. The North Atlantic region has 37 active members.

“Young men are coming out earlier these days, and they don’t have any positive role models to support them,” said Kendrick Clack, president of DPhiU.

The organization’s five principles are brotherhood, friendship, loyalty, justice and temperance.

There currently are no straight men in DPhiU, but Clack said the organization would accept straight men. In the North Atlantic, prospective members must have at least college or technical training to join. For more information on the organization, visit dphiu.org.

Representatives from Alpha Phi Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi said their organizations do not allow or encourage member discrimination based on sexual preference. Representatives from Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma and Iota Phi Theta could not be reached for comment.

DeSoto school board doesn’t decide fate of new superintendent

By MARK NORRIS

Published 25 July 2011 07:58 AM

Related items

Superintendent Kathy Augustine has been on paid leave since July 11, her first day on the job.

Photo: John F. Rhodes / Staff Photographer

• DeSoto ISD superintendent placed on leave
• Acting superintendent unsure how long term will be
• Editorial: DeSoto needs to re-evaluate new superintendent

By MARK NORRIS

Staff Writer

mnorris@dallasnews.com

The DeSoto ISD school board’s meeting melted down Monday night as trustees adjourned with no decision on the fate of superintendent Kathy Augustine.

Trustees left a closed-door meeting abruptly after about two hours, as board president Warren Seay announced they would table the issue of Augustine’s employment until the next board meeting, scheduled for Aug. 8.

The board room, filled with parents and community members, became chaotic as trustees quickly left with no explanation.

Only four of seven trustees — barely a quorum — were present at Monday night’s regularly scheduled meeting. Van Stripling, Curt Krohn and Aubrey Hooper were absent.

“It is important that the full board, all seven members, participate in the discussion and make the best decision for DeSoto school children,” Seay said in a written statement issued Tuesday morning.

Augustine has been on paid leave since July 11, her first day as DeSoto superintendent, after a report detailing a yearlong investigation found pervasive cheating in Atlanta schools while she served as that district’s second-in-command.

Augustine, who did not attend Monday’s meeting, has said she played no role in the cheating scandal and was upset other educators altered students’ answers.

Longtime DeSoto administrator Levatta Levels has taken her place as acting superintendent.

Sandra Wheeler, the only trustee to speak to reporters after the meeting and a critic of Augustine’s hiring, hinted that poor attendance prevented a decision.

Wheeler said she hadn’t known that so many other board members wouldn’t attend Monday.

“This is such an important decision that our entire board should be present to express their opinion on the direction we take on the matter,” she said.

Wheeler also said “you have to have four” when asked why a decision on a potential voluntary exit agreement wasn’t able to be made.

Seay declined to answer questions about the confusing end to the meeting or whether a board member had left during the closed-door session.

Community members who had waited almost four hours for a decision were left confused and stunned by the board’s inaction.

“We want to take this issue off the front page and focus on the kids,” DeSoto ISD parent Jeff Sherels said. “This is not cool to sit here for a couple of hours and we learn we’re no better off than when this started.”

DeSoto resident Kenneth Marmon was blunt.

“I think other communities will laugh at us,” he said. “I’m very disappointed.”

Before trustees went behind closed doors to consider a decision on a voluntary exit agreement with Augustine, they heard from upset community members.

“We’re facing public scrutiny,” said Cecil Lofton, a critic of the board’s decision to hire Augustine. “We’re spending tax dollars on a superintendent who isn’t here.”

But DeSoto resident Kim Fatica said nothing Augustine has been accused of rises to the level of criminal wrongdoing.

“She has been met with nothing but slurs,” Fatica said.

Georgia’s investigation, ordered last year by Gov. Sonny Perdue, found that 178 educators were involved in the cheating and that some changed students’ answers on state tests to improve their scores.

Since then, numerous Atlanta administrators and school officials have resigned.

Georgia investigators said that Augustine authorized a letter to state officials falsely claiming no evidence of cheating existed at one school and that she illegally kept a report from Atlanta media that suggested cheating took place at some schools.

Staff writer Matthew Haag contributed to this report.

greaT read: NFL Hall of famer Michael Irvin talks for the first time about his gay brother and explains why he’s on a pro-gay mission from God.

** This was a awesome story! Kudos to Cyd and Michael Irvin for this, it's something that needed to be read, and said. I am one of the biggest Cowboy Fans for various reasons, and we need more people to express their views about something that is becoming less and less taboo!  - TOG

Photographed by Roger Erickson | Styling by Constanze Han

NFL Hall of famer Michael Irvin talks for the first time about his gay brother and explains why he’s on a pro-gay mission from God.
By Cyd Zeigler

It was a Friday evening in Fort Lauderdale, warm and clear, like so many that 12-year-old Michael Irvin had experienced growing up in southern Florida. He was riding in a car with his father, Walter, a roofer by trade who spent what little spare time he had operating as the local Primitive Baptist minister. The two were heading home after an errand that was a regular payday ritual: Walter would drive into town to buy cigars and then drop off money with Michael’s grandmother to help with her bills. It was the late 1970s, a time of strife in America, and young Michael had already seen a lot in his low-income neighborhood. But nothing prepared him for what happened next.

As Walter drove up Northwest 27th Avenue, about to turn onto 16th Street, his son noticed a man who looked just like his older brother, Vaughn, walking away from their house toward “all the craziness in the ’hood,” Irvin remembers. It couldn’t be Vaughn: “This man was wearing women’s clothes.” But it was. “My brother had a very distinctive walk,” he says.

Irvin couldn’t believe his eyes. He turned to his father. “My dad looked back at me and said, ‘Yes, that’s your brother. And you love your brother.’ ” 

That was it. Irvin, who went on to become one of football’s greatest players, as well as the epitome of the troublemaking macho NFL stereotype, would never again discuss the issue with his father. “Whether Vaughn and my father later spoke about it, I don’t know. But it wasn’t something that was ever discussed among the family,” says Irvin, speaking for the first time about the gay older brother he idolized.

Walter Irvin’s message was simple: Michael was supposed to love his brother unconditionally, no matter what he looked like or who he was. But, still, the discovery was a shock that haunted Irvin as he grew into one of college football’s most feted stars. He worried that people would find out about Vaughn and bring shame upon the family. Most of all, he worried that he was gay. He kept his brother’s secret while winning a national championship with the University of Miami in 1987 (he scored a winning touchdown with a 73-yard catch during that season) and leading the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s. Irvin was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2010, NFL .com named him one of the 100 greatest football players in history.

Meanwhile, he developed a reputation as a reckless, self-destructive celebrity who polarized public opinion like no other athlete of his generation. Irvin was a great player with a big mouth and a nasty streak, a man with a penchant for fast living. He made it a point to parade his female conquests past his teammates. Although he’s been married to his wife, Sandy, since 1990, Irvin made what he calls “mistakes” throughout his Cowboys career.

“Growing up, whoever had the most women and the nicest car, he was the man,” he says. “So when you get in the locker room, you remember that. I’m gonna get all the girls so that everybody says, ‘Michael’s the man.’ ”

In 1996, Irvin was arrested on charges of cocaine possession. He arrived in court wearing a full-length mink coat to plead no contest. The NFL suspended him five games. In 2000, he was arrested on possession charges in the company of a woman who was not his wife. The charges were later dropped. In 2005, he was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia. He claimed the items were those of a friend. ESPN, his employer at the time, suspended him.

Now, after working through some of his personal demons with his long-time bishop, T.D. Jakes of the Potter’s House church in Dallas, Texas, Irvin is ready to talk about Vaughn. More than that, he’s become a passionate supporter of gay athletes and equal rights for same-sex couples. Today, Irvin is a widely respected football commentator with weekly appearances on the NFL Network. He hosts The Michael Irvin Show on Miami’s WQAM with former World Football League player Kevin Kiley. For two years, the pair has delved into gay issues; in recent months, they have turned their attention to the subject of athletes, coaches, and team executives coming out of the closet. Now, Irvin is waiting for the day when America has its first openly gay active athlete in one of the top four professional sports leagues.

“If anyone comes out in those top four major sports, I will absolutely support him,” says Irvin. “That’s why I do my radio show every day. When these issues come out, I want to have a voice to speak about them. I think growth comes when we share. Until we do that, we’re going to be stuck in the Dark Ages about a lot of things. When a guy steps up and says, ‘This is who I am,’ I guarantee you I’ll give him 100% support.”

At 45 years old, Irvin isn’t satisfied. A deeply religious man, he’s begun grappling with images of himself standing at heaven’s door. Irvin doesn’t think touchdowns are going to score him a ticket to eternity. 

“The last thing I want is to go to God and have him ask, ‘What did you do?’ And I talk about winning Super Bowls and national titles,” Irvin says. “I didn’t do anything to make it a better world before I left? That would be scary.”

Irvin studies the Bible and attends church every Sunday when he’s not on TV. During his Hall of Fame acceptance speech in 2007, he mentioned his wife, Sandy, twice; he mentioned his pro coaches, Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson, once each; and he referenced God 14 times. The theme song for his radio show is Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.” 

As he approached the end of his football career, and as legal troubles piled up, Irvin searched deep within himself to understand the life choices he had made. Together with Jakes, whom Irvin considers his “spiritual father,” he searched for the root cause of his drug abuse and womanizing, and they revisited the car ride with his father more than 30 years earlier. That, Irvin now realizes, was a major turning point in his life.

Growing up, Irvin greatly admired his brother Vaughn, who was a successful bank manager while still living in “the ’hood,” says Irvin. That success made him “God” in his younger brother’s eyes. “He was the smartest, most charismatic man I’d ever seen in my life. We would all say, ‘Can you believe -- white people put Vaughn in charge of all that money?!’ ” The boys had similar personalities: Both were gregarious and got along with just about everyone. As the 15th child of 17, Irvin wore Vaughn’s hand-me-downs as a boy, and they grew up in close quarters. Even as Irvin kept the secret of Vaughn’s sexual orientation, he remained close to him until Vaughn died of stomach cancer at the age of 49 in 2006. 

Did Vaughn’s 15 other siblings know of his secret? “Oh, they knew. We all knew,” says Irvin. “It just wasn’t discussed.”

Homosexuality wasn’t exactly an issue that could be discussed in the football locker room, either -- unless, of course, it was in the form of the homophobic bile rife among his colleagues and friends. As Irvin’s national profile grew, he subconsciously distanced himself further from his brother’s sexuality.

“We went back to that day,” Irvin says of the car ride in Fort Lauderdale, “and through it all, we realized maybe some of the issues I’ve had with so many women—just bringing women around so everybody can see—maybe that’s residual of the fear I had that, if my brother is wearing ladies’ clothes, am I going to be doing that? Is it genetic? I’m certainly not making excuses for my bad decisions. But I had to dive inside of me to find out why I was making these decisions, and that came up.”

Years with this secret have given Irvin a glimpse into the solitary confinement so many closeted athletes feel locked inside.

“I’m not gay, but I was afraid to even let anyone have the thought. I can only imagine the agony—being a prisoner in your own mind -- for someone who wants to come out. If I’m not gay and I am afraid to mention it, I can only imagine what an athlete must be going through if he is gay.”

And yet, Irvin says, 15 years ago his champion team would have accepted a gay teammate on one condition: that the player could play. Winning was all that mattered. 

“I believe, if a teammate had said he was gay, we would have integrated him and kept moving because of the closeness.” As a leader in the locker room, it would have been Irvin’s job to keep the team together, first and foremost. And if that job called for him to support a gay teammate and share his connection, he thinks he could have. “We had a bunch of different characters on that team. Deoin [Sanders] and Emmitt [Smith]. I believe that team would have handled it well.”

The quarterback of Irvin’s all-conquering team was Troy Aikman, infamously “outed” by sportswriter Skip Bayless in his 1996 book, Hell-Bent. Bayless wrote, “I had heard the rumor since 1991. An off-duty Dallas police officer who traveled with the Cowboys and worked security at their hotels first told me that the ‘word on the street’ was that Aikman was gay. Over the next four years, I heard the rumor from two more police officers who worked around the team, and I know they mentioned it to team officials.”

Did Irvin and his teammates discuss Aikman’s sexuality? Irvin pauses for a while before answering, “No, we didn’t. I didn’t think Troy was gay, but even if he had been, I think we could have handled it. Would it have affected the team? No sir. I was going to make sure of that.” 

Irvin is certain that, in light of today’s relatively more enlightened attitudes, a team would have no choice but to embrace their gay teammate. He also notes that his 2009 appearance on Dancing With the Stars would never have happened 10 years ago, when he was still embodying the macho stereotype. “No way, man. I could not have done that kind of thing before.” (He made it to seventh place on the contest, but says it was tough: “There’s a difference between being quick on your toes on the field and going heel-to-toe on the dance floor.”)

So now that society has loosened up, is it wrong for a gay player to hide his sexuality, or is he still entitled to his privacy? “I think it’s his own preference, who he wants to share that with. But I would like to see players come forward and be happy with who they are.

“Hopefully, as we move forward, we’ll get to a place where there’s no way it’s even considered; it just is what it is and everybody can do what they do. That’s the ultimate goal.”

Irvin wants to eradicate homophobia in every corner of American society. He points to churches that have skewed the word of God to persecute those who don’t share their dogma; he shakes his head at the black culture he says has gone adrift in a sea of homophobia; and he said it’s time to end the second class–citizen status of gays in the eyes of the law.

“I don’t see how any African-American with any inkling of history can say that you don’t have the right to live your life how you want to live your life. No one should be telling you who you should love, no one should be telling you who you should be spending the rest of your life with. When we start talking about equality and everybody being treated equally, I don’t want to know an African-American who will say everybody doesn’t deserve equality.”

Love him or hate him, Michael Irvin doesn’t care. He’s on a mission. He hopes opening closet doors for gay people will be a key chapter in his life story. “I have to make sure we do things to bring people together. The Super Bowls will be the footnotes on my resume.”

Black LGBT Community Diversity in Corporate America | Black Enterprise

Black LGBT Community Diversity in Corporate America | Black Enterprise

My Birthday Wish List

One of my friends told me I never know what to get you, you have mostly everything you want, so I'll be posting a online wish list of a few items that I DON'T have that have caught my eye.... #Leggo

I Love the photographer Audrey Woulard! I have not had time to take her workshop yet, but she has a book out that I must have!!!!

Audrey Woulard Book!

My Response To Tracy Morgan.....

So it's been almost a week since the United States was shaken by Tracy Morgan's "I'd kill my son if he were gay comment during a stand up performance in California. I have never been a huge fan of Morgan myself, but I will say that didn't help him earn any brownie points with me either (no pun intended). 


What exactly he meant by that we may never know, you cannot get too offended when comedians make fun of social relevant and sometimes not so relevant issues. My disappointment came primarily from someone in his position in the black community where you've been given a chance that many young men dream of, and you make a fool out of yourself, and this is not the first time for Morgan.


We live in a society where black men, particularly same gender loving, gay and bisexual black men have it the HARDEST. Our death rates higher than other race, many of us are in some kind of way tangled up in the criminal justice system,  lacking education, role models, and the list goes on, so when you have a black father say something like that about disowning his own child it makes me look beyond the whole "gay" thing. 

"I know how bad bullying can hurt," Morgan said. "I was bullied when I was a kid. I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. I never want to use my comedy to hurt anyone. My family knew what it was like to feel different. My brother was disabled and I lost my father to AIDS in 1987.... Parents should support and love their kids no matter what. Gay people deserve the same right to be happy in this country as everyone else. Our laws should support that." -Tracy Morgan (Huffpost.com)


Well I am glad his PR people helped him come up with that, but my question is, why did it take you have to try to clean up a terrible situation for all of this to come out. Why do so many black men hide so many things about what's going on in our lives, and how we truly feel? These are the exact reasons we are dying at the number we are. People are too careless when it come to other people lives. 


I am really getting tired of this. It makes me revisit the whole Eddie Long case, why do black men in great postions keep making these mistakes that make all of us look bad, then trying to clean them up only make THEM look even more stupid. We MUST do better!




@uppiTEAomar on Twitter! Follow Me!

The time is now: Mavs are NBA champs

MIAMI — For Dirk Nowitzki, the resume is complete. He's an NBA champion.

For LeBron James, the agonizing wait continues for at least one more year.

Avenging what happened five years ago in perfect turnabout style, the Dallas Mavericks won their first NBA title by winning Game 6 of these finals in Miami 105-95 on Sunday night — celebrating on the Heat's home floor, just as Dwyane Wade and his team did to them in the 2006 title series. The Mavericks won four of the series' last five games, a turnabout that could not have been sweeter.

"I really still can't believe it," said Nowitzki, who had 21 points and took home finals MVP honors.

"Tonight," Jason Terry said after leading Dallas with 27 points, "we got vindication."

James did not. Not even close, and a year unlike any other ended they way they all have so far — with him still waiting for an NBA title.

He scored 21 points for Miami, shook a few hands afterward, and departed before most of the Mavs tugged on their championship hats and T-shirts. Chris Bosh had 19, Mario Chalmers 18 and Dwyane Wade 17 for the Heat.

"We worked so hard and so long for it," Nowitzki said. "The team has had an unbelievable ride."

So did the Heat. Unlike Dallas, theirs wasn't a joyride.

"It goes without saying," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You're never really prepared for a moment like this. ... Neither team deserved this championship more than the other, but Dallas earned it."

Make no mistake: Miami lost the finals, but the blame will be directed at James. Even he knew that after the way he left Cleveland with "The Decision" and all the animus that generated not just in Ohio but around the entire league, the only way he could silence some critics was with a title.

Instead, he got more criticism — and a thinly veiled jab from his former owner with the Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, who reveled in the moment on Twitter.

"Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings," Gilbert wrote. "Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle joined a highly elite group, those with NBA titles as both a player and a head coach. Only 10 other men are on that list, including the presumably retired-for-good Phil Jackson, one of Carlisle's mentors in K.C. Jones, and Heat President Pat Riley — who led Miami past Dallas in 2006, and was the mastermind of what the Heat did last summer by getting James, Wade and Bosh on the same team with an eye on becoming a dynasty.

It might still happen, of course.

But even after 72 wins this season, including playoffs, the Heat lost the last game. And that means this year was a disappointment — except to just about everyone else in the NBA, or so it would seem.

"This is a true team," Carlisle said. "This is an old bunch. We don't run fast or jump high. These guys had each other's backs. We played the right way. We trusted the pass. This is a phenomenal thing for the city of Dallas."

Hating the Heat became the NBA's craze this season, and the team knew it had no shortage of critics, everyone from Cleveland (where "Cavs for Mavs" shirts were popular during these finals) to Chicago (the city James and Wade both flirted with last summer) and just about every place in between lining up to take shots at Miami.

Given their newfound popularity, meet the new America's Team.

Sorry, Cowboys — your long-held moniker might have to be ceded to your city's NBA club. When it was over, Mavs owner Mark Cuban ran onto the court to hug Carlisle, then punched the air and whooped.

"I'm so happy for him. I'm so happy for Dirk," Carlisle said.

Carlisle said Riley came down to congratulate the Mavericks after the game, showing "unbelievable class."

"Their time will come," Carlisle said. "But now, it's our time."

When the Mavericks took a 2-0 lead in Dallas during the '06 finals, plans for their victory parade were announced. The Mavs didn't win another game in that series.

Now, that parade will finally happen. And when it's over, then the league's uncertainty will truly begin. Labor strife likely awaits, and although more talks geared toward movement on a new deal are scheduled for this week, both owners and players are bracing for a lockout to begin once the current collective bargaining agreement expires June 30.

Late Sunday night, the CBA was the last thing on the mind of the new champions of the NBA, whom Carlisle called "the most special team I've ever been around."

Jason Kidd, at 38 years old, got his first championship. Nowitzki got his at 32, Terry at 33. They were featured on the video screen in their building in Dallas during this series on what seemed like a constant loop, each posing with the NBA trophy and looking longingly at it, standing mere inches from it, as if to say "so close, yet so far away."

No more.

It's theirs.

Nowitzki sealed it with 2:27 left, hitting a jumper near the Miami bench to put Dallas up 99-89, and some fans actually began leaving. Nowitzki walked to the Mavs' side slowly, right fist clenched and aloft.

He knew it. Everyone did. Spoelstra implored his team to foul in the final minute, and even then, they couldn't catch the Mavericks.

"All I remember is telling those guys that they deserved it," Bosh said. "Hands down, they were the better team in this series. ... All we can do is just admit it and move forward."

What happens with the next deal may affect the Heat more than anyone. Some owners will insist on a hard cap, rolled-back salaries and, potentially, trying to bust some current deals — which could break up the Big 3 before get another chance to win a title together.

A gloomy end to the season may bring an even gloomier offseason for Miami.

"Every situation has felt like it was an our-back-against-the-wall situation," James said Sunday morning, hours before Game 6 began. "We've been able to figure it out and find our way through and scratch our way through. This is the last test. This is the last pop quiz for us that we need to pass in order to make it all worth it."

They didn't pass. So therefore, it wasn't all worth it. Except, of course, from the Dallas perspective.

Miami had chances to take command and wasted them all. The Heat missed 13 of their 33 free throws, let the Mavericks score 27 points off turnovers and simply could not get a rebound in the final minutes.

Nowitzki finished 9 for 27, and the Mavs still won. He was 1 for 12 in the first half, and they were still ahead, 53-51, thanks largely to Terry's 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

"Was he unbelievable tonight or what?" marveled Nowitzki.

Down the stretch, Terry made another contribution. He grabbed Nowitzki during a time-out, telling him, "Remember '06." The final minutes belonged to Dirk and the Mavs, and a few German flags waved in Miami's arena during the postgame celebration.

"This feeling, to be on the best team in the world, it's just undescribable," Nowitzki said.

After James got off to such a fast start, he had two points in the final 19-plus minutes of the half.

James didn't score in the second half until a layup with 1:49 remained in the third — his first field-goal attempt since 1:05 remained in the half. Kidd made a 3-pointer late in the period, pushing the Dallas lead to 79-71, and it seemed like the only people standing in the arena were the players, referees, Cuban and a few guys around the Dallas bench.

Dallas took control in the second half after some wild back-and-forths in the opening two quarters. Miami took its last lead of the game — the season — just 64 seconds into the second half, lost it 16 seconds later and chased the Mavericks the rest of the way.

They never caught them.

"I can't believe the journey," said Kidd, who lost two previous finals trips with the New Jersey Nets. "The journey, the character of my teammates telling me they wanted to get me a championship. Tonight they came out and played well. I came here twice, this being my third time so third time was the lucky charm."

It was 81-72 entering the fourth, after Ian Mahinmi made a foul-line jumper as time expired in the third, just his third basket of the entire series.

None were bigger. The Mavs could taste a title.

"We had no champions on this team," Mavs center Tyson Chandler said. "And we walked away with a team full of champions."

Of the principal characters from the 2006 series, only Cuban, Nowitzki and Terry remain from the Mavericks' side, and for them, the beginning of this championship celebration seemed sweeter than even they could have imagined. Terry won't have to get his tattoo — the one of the NBA championship trophy — removed, which he vowed to have done if Miami won this series. Nowitzki will never be in the conversation of 'Best player without a title' again.

James is clearly the one with that most-unwanted label now.

NOTES: Carlisle improved to 11-3 as a coach with a chance to close out an opponent. ... James got a 21-minute rest in the second quarter in real time, thanks to a midcourt dustup and the referees taking several minutes to look at replays before doling out the technicals. ... Marc Anthony sang the national anthem, then took a courtside seat near the Heat bench.