The second-year quarterback has not turned the ball over since Nov. 6

Noble as they might have been, aging legends who have accepted steep hometown-discount deals didnt do so for charity.Future Hall of Famers such as Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan, men who have cashed NBA paychecks worth well more than $200 million each, simply valued winning with the only franchise they ever played for more than maximizing their wealth.The negotiations with Duncan and Nowitzki have always been handled quietly, devoid of the kind of drama and public posturing that ultimately led to the stunning divorce of the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade, whose Chicago honeymoon officially began Friday with his introductory news conference.The hometown discounts werent as steep for Wade, who was never the Heats highest-paid player, but they started at a much earlier stage of his career. They each sacrificed financially for the sake of the franchise, but Duncan and Nowitzki never felt the kind of disrespect that Wade did during his last couple rounds of contract talks with the Heat.For Duncan, the financial sacrifice paid off in playoff dividends. In his final four seasons, when his salaries were a fraction of his market value, the San Antonio Spurs averaged more than 60 wins per season, won eight postseason series, advanced to a pair of Finals, and floated down the river for the fifth time as the featured attraction of a championship parade. Duncan made about $35 million during the steep-discount stage of his career, including the player option for next season he exercised a couple of weeks before announcing his retirement in what amounts to a $5.6 million farewell gift from the franchise.For Nowizki, leaving more than $30 million on the table the past two seasons didnt work out nearly as well. The Dallas Mavericks won a total of two playoff games in that span, increasing that tally to five in five seasons since the franchises lone title run in 2011.No wonder Nowitzki decided to opt out of the final season of that three-year, $25 million deal. He was more than willing to take less money to give the Mavs a chance to compete for championships in his twilight. Competing for the No. 6 seed? Pay the man.Mavs owner Mark Cuban did just that, giving Nowitzki a two-year, $50 million deal after negotiations that essentially consisted of handing the longtime face of the franchise a blank contract, seeing his suggested price, then suggesting Dirk beef up the numbers a bit more.Its a deal that prompted comparisons to the last contract of another one-team legend: Kobe Bryant, whose two-year, $48.5 million extension drew criticism. Not that Kobe cared.Its the popular thing to do, Bryant said of hometown discounts when asked about the topic during a Dallas visit in the first month of the 2014-15 season. The player takes less, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I think its a big coup for the owners to put players in situations where public perception puts pressure on them to take less money. Because if you dont, then you get criticized for it.Its absolutely brilliant, but Im not going for it. I know the new head of the players association aint going for it, either.Two years later, Nowitzki aint going for it, either. Not under these circumstances, at least.Asked that day about Bryants comments, Nowitzki explained that he willingly took a massive pay cut because his priority was to compete my last couple of years at the highest level. He cited the signing of Chandler Parsons and the trade for Tyson Chandler as good moves by the Mavs made possible by his discount deal.We feel like weve got a good group, Nowitzki said at the time, and hopefully we can make it work.We all know how that worked out. Parsons is gone to the Memphis Grizzlies after two injury-marred seasons with the Mavs, who werent willing to make a long-term investment in him after the forward had more knee surgeries (two) than playoff game appearances (one) during his Dallas tenure. Chandler left last summer when the Mavs wanted to put him on hold while pursuing DeAndre Jordan in free agency.It would have been a much different story if Jordan didnt jilt the Mavs after temporarily committing to Dallas. The Mavs probably would have been battling for home court in the West last season and may have become an intriguing destination for free agents this summer. In that case, Nowitzki likely would have been comfortable playing out the final season of his discount deal, allowing the Mavs front office to use every possible dollar to upgrade a team with real hopes of a long playoff run.But reality for the Mavs is constant shuffling of a roster around Nowitzki, who had grown frustrated after following up a title run with five years of failing to make it out of the first round. Hes not a hypocrite for cashing in on this contract; hes a realist.Dallas isnt in nearly as dire straits as the Los Angeles Lakers were when Bryant signed his last deal. The Lakers were coming off a 27-55 campaign in which Bryant played only six games while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon. Over two seasons, they won a combined 38 games while Bryant made $48.5 million, but his presence was a box-office bonanza, especially during his 2015-16 farewell tour.In other words, it could be argued that Bryant was a bargain for the Lakers as the leagues highest-paid player the past two seasons. And Bryant, whose career earnings of more than $328 million rank behind only Kevin Garnett, knew that would be true.I think youve got to look at the business of basketball, Bryant said during that November 2014 visit to Dallas. I think for a lot of writers, for a lot of fans, they have a very tough time distinguishing the two.This is a business, and you have to look at individuals and what they generate and the market that theyre generating revenue in. And you cant separate those. People have a hard time separating that stuff. From a business perspective, you have to take that stuff into account, and you have to try to -- as a player -- be in situations where it can be a win-win for everybody.A win-win for Nowitzki and the Mavs would have been using his discount deal to construct a legitimate title contender. It worked once, when Nowitzki took $16 million less than a maximum contract during the summer of 2010 to ease the luxury-tax burden on Cuban, who immediately invested the savings into acquiring Chandler on a salary-dump deal.It wasnt for a lack of effort, but the Mavs couldnt find a way to parlay this most recent Dirk discount into a roster that was a threat in the West.Nowitzki, whose two-year deal -- with only $5 million of his salary in the second season guaranteed as essentially retirement insurance for the Mavs -- ensures that he wont have to hear any noise about possibly leaving to chase a ring in his 20th season, settled for more money and a chance to keep competing for a spot in the playoffs.His previous deal still helped the Mavs during their annual roster remodeling, as his $12.5 million cap hold made it relatively easy to create room to sign Harrison Barnes to a four-year, $94 million deal and trade for Andrew Bogut in a salary-dump deal. This contract will make it tough for the Mavs to be aggressive bidders in next summers free-agency market if Nowitzki returns, but thats a small price to pay after two decades of legendary service.The Mavs are good enough to fight for a playoff berth. They wont have to watch Dirk, who hopes to join Kobe as the lone members of the NBAs 20-year, only-one-team club, suffer the indignity of playing in meaningless games as his career winds down.Duncan was rewarded for his financial sacrifice by being able to compete for a championship until he rode off into the sunset. Precious few get that luxury. Nowitzki wont be on that list. The end of his career will likely be more lucrative and less fulfilling than he wanted. Anthony Banda Jersey . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Jose Alvarado Rays Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/1256i-kevin-kiermaier-jersey-rays.html . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Michael Perez Rays Jersey .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Diego Castillo Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The usually generous Tennessee Titans have become quite stingy with the football during the holiday season.They have gone four straight games without a turnover.Its an impressive run for the Titans and quarterback Marcus Mariota in particular in the teams longest such streak since the start of the 2013 season. But theyll face a team Sunday in the Kansas City Chiefs that ranks third in the NFL with a turnover differential of plus-11 and are tied for the league-high with 25 takeaways.The Chiefs have 14 interceptions and have recovered 11 fumbles this season. Defensive back Marcus Peters leads Kansas City with five interceptions, while safety Eric Berry has three.Theyre an aggressive defense, not that ours isnt, Titans coach Mike Mularkey said Wednesday. Theyve just been able to get more balls. Theyve got the interceptions theyve had. Theyve been able to score four times with interceptions. Theyve had a fumble recovery for (a touchdown). Theyve been more opportunistic. Its not that theyre playing any harder or any different than our guys. Its just that theyve had things go their way, the ball bounce their way, more than us.The Titans have 15 takeaways with the defense just recovering their first two fumbles this season in last weeks 13-10 win over Denver.Ball security is an area the Titans struggled with early this starting with three turnovers in the opening loss to Minnesota . Mariota has lost four fumbles with three returned for touchdowns along with eight interceptions -- two of those pick 6s. DeMarco Murray, who fumbled in the opener, has the other turnover.Everybody has been responsible for taking care of the football, taking care of our football, Mularkey said. It starts with the quarterback, obviously, and he has done a better job. You can see him in the pocket, some things hes improved on from early in the season, and even out of the pocket when hes carryinng it, but everybody has been very good with it.dddddddddddd Theyre all responsible.The second-year quarterback has not turned the ball over since Nov. 6 when he was intercepted twice with one fumble, which were turned into two touchdowns in a 43-35 win by San Diego. Mariota has thrown 115 consecutive passes since that last interception, which he knows will be challenging against the Chiefs.Theyre probably one of the better defenses in the league, one of the toughest defenses well probably face all year, Mariota said. Theyve got guys all across the board that can make plays whether its up front or on the back end. Again, were going to have our work cut out this week.The respect is mutual, according to Berry.Honestly, theyve been doing a great job of taking care of the ball, Berry said of the Titans. The offense is pretty good. You can tell theyre very disciplined. Were just going to have to try to make some plays to make some things happen.Kansas City coach Andy Reid called Mariota a good player whose improvement from his rookie season is easy to see. The Titans quarterback also looks more comfortable and appears to be seeing both defenses and the field well. Reid said Mariotas deep passes are beautiful.As much as the Titans see the Chiefs as a test of how well they can protect the ball, the Chiefs still want to find a way to take it away.Thats what makes this such a great challenge, Reid said. Well try to do our best that we can against them.Game notes DL Jurrell Casey was limited in practice Wednesday after sitting out the win over Denver. ... LB Sean Spence (ankle) and DL Karl Klug (Achilles) did not practice.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL.---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker ' ' '