Cuban calls out every Mav after loss to Thunder

The Dallas Mavericks are testing the patience of Mark Cuban.

The outspoken owner called out his entire roster Tuesday, a day after the Mavericks fell behind by 23 and lost to Oklahoma City, which is among the worst teams in the NBA and played without its top two scorers.

"It's only one game, which I keep reminding myself of," Cuban said in Wednesday's editions of The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "But let's just say I wasn't happy with our preparation, execution or effort. Not only did it look like we had no idea what we were doing, but we did it without effort. The effort and energy, on both sides of the ball, by each …

Vikings wary of being picked No. 1

Last in a series

MANKATO, Minn. It isn't hard to remember the last time somebodywrote off the Vikings.

It was on the morning of Jan. 3, this year, when columnists onboth sides of the Mississippi - in Minneapolis and St. Paul, that is- said the Vikes should end the charade and not bother to take thefield against New Orleans.

The basic complaint was that Minnesota had backed into theplayoffs, losing three of its last four to wind up a truly wild-card8-7.

But the Vikes walloped New Orleans 44-10 that afternoon andstunned San Francisco 36-24 before almost taking Washington intoovertime in a 17-10 loss.

And now, the Vikings must live up to …

Thousands protest low salaries in Serbia

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of public employees are marching in Serbia's capital to demand raises.

More than 5,000 Serbian teachers, doctors, policemen and other workers blew whistles and waved banners as they blocked a central area of the capital during Friday's march.

Wages in Serbia's public sector were raised slightly this …

Govt: Medicare paid $47 billion in suspect claims

The government paid more than $47 billion in questionable Medicare claims including medical treatment showing little relation to a patient's condition, wasting taxpayer dollars at a rate nearly three times the previous year.

Excerpts of a new federal report, obtained by The Associated Press, show a dramatic increase in improper payments in the $440 billion Medicare program that has been cited by government auditors as a high risk for fraud and waste for 20 years.

It's not clear whether Medicare fraud is actually worsening. Much of the increase in the last year is attributed to a change in the Health and Human Services Department's methodology that imposes …

Orton gets second chance; 10-game winner of 2005 might cut it loose this time

In the Bears' never-ending search for a franchise quarterback,coach Lovie Smith made the move he felt he had to make Monday,turning to Kyle Orton as the starter for next Monday's game atMinnesota and presumably the rest of the season.

Forecasting that far at this position for the Bears can behazardous, and Smith said Rex Grossman's sprained left MCL iscertain to keep him out of only the next game. But in handing thereins to Orton, the Bears are getting a look at the one passer theydon't know a lot about.

Orton has not played since the 2005 season finale at Minnesotaduring his rookie season, when he guided the team to 10 victories.

"Everybody knows that …

Over 200 Benninger direct warping installations in China

The high demands for Benninger direct warping installations in China and elsewhere in Asia are an indication of how well Benninger machines have been on the market.

Over 200 direct warping installations are currently in operation throughout China. The latest installations are equipped …

Embraer expects executive jet business to increase as a percentage of revenues

Brazilian jet maker Embraer's executive jet business will increase as a percentage of revenues from 15 percent to 25 percent by 2010, a top executive said Friday.

Luiz Sergio Chiessi, vice president of market intelligence, said the "relative importance of the business jet division is going to grow" as Empresa Brasiliera Aeronautica SA increases its portfolio.

Embraer currently offers the Legacy 600 executive aircraft, which seats up to 13 people, and will start deliveries of two versions of the smaller capacity Phenom jets later this year. By 2013, Embraer will offer another three models: the Lineage 1000, Legacy 450 and Legacy 500, he said.

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