Panelists

Mark Cuban

Owner, Dallas Mavericks and Co-Founder & Chairman, HDNet

In September 2001, Mark Cuban and co-founder Philip Garvin launched HDNet, the world’s first national television network broadcasting all of its programming in spectacular 1080i high-definition television (HDTV).  Fueled by Cuban’s business leadership and enthusiasm, HDNet has quickly emerged as the leading provider of quality HDTV news, entertainment and sports programming.

Cuban, who grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, was an entrepreneur at an early age.  He began with several small businesses that he launched as a teen, and then put himself through Indiana University by doing everything from providing disco lessons to starting a chain letter. He always seemed to be selling what people wanted.  Soon after college, Cuban started his own computer consulting firm, MicroSolutions.  By 1990, after seven years of nonstop work, the company was grossing $30 million a year.  It was then sold to Compuserve.  Cuban retired, but not for long.

In 1995, he and partner Todd Wagner co-founded Broadcast.com, an Internet service that provided streaming audio and video of live news, radio, television and sporting events.  Broadcast.com then gained notoriety when it showcased events such as President Clinton’s Grand Jury testimony and a Victoria’s Secret fashion show.  In launching Broadcast.com, Cuban hired a group of industrious and inventive employees, offering stock options in lieu of big paychecks.  The gamble paid off when Broadcast.com went public, and was then purchased by Yahoo in 1999, making Cuban one of the wealthiest people in the country.

In January of 2000, Cuban fulfilled a dream by purchasing the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise.  The face of the organization began to change immediately.  He was successful in instilling a sense of pride and passion into Mavericks’ fans by being the ultimate role model, cheering the team from the stands.  He also became the only owner in team sports to encourage fan interaction through email on his own personal computer.  His commitment to do everything in his power to improve the team has paid off, as the Mavericks finished the 2002-03 season with a franchise record 60 wins. 

Today, Cuban’s passion is high definition television, and he firmly believes HD is the next step in TV’s evolution.  His company operates two 24x7 all-HD networks, HDNet and HDNet Movies. HDNet provides viewers with exciting and topical news, sports, music and entertainment programming.  The network features up to 20 hours of original programming each week, all produced in the highest quality 1080i HDTV format – more original high-definition programming than any other network. 

HDNet news and entertainment includes original series “HDNet World Report,” “Face 2 Face with Roy Firestone,” “Art Mann Presents,” “HDNet Concert Series,” and “True Music,” as well as every episode of the acclaimed Warner Bros. series “Smallville.” Live sports productions include NASCAR auto racing, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer games.  HDNet Movies, the company’s second network, features a wide selection of major studio’s theatrical releases – all uncut, unedited, and appearing in their original aspect ratio - as well as features produced and finished in true 1080i high-definition. 

Cuban has partnered once again with Todd Wagner to create 2929 Entertainment, an entertainment holding company that owns 100% of Landmark Theaters, Magnolia Pictures Distribution, and Rysher Entertainment, and holds a stake in Lions Gate Entertainment.  2929 has also created 2929 Productions to produce television and theatrical releases and HDNet Films to produce high-definition movies for simultaneous release on television and in theaters.

Mike Zarren

Asst. Exec. Director of Basketball Operations & Associate Counsel, Boston Celtics

A lifelong Celtics fan and season ticket holder, Michael Zarren is the Celtics’ Assistant Executive Director of Basketball Operations. Now in his sixth year with the team, Mike is widely recognized as one of the leaders in the field of advanced statistical analysis of basketball players and teams, and is an important part of the team’s player personnel evaluation and strategic planning processes. In addition, Mike is the team’s salary cap and legal expert and is responsible for the development of new technologies for team use, including the team’s best-in-class statistical database and video archive/delivery system. Mike was previously a management consultant, during which time he performed econometric and other quantitative analyses for Fortune 500 firms across a wide variety of industries. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, and of the University of Chicago, where he worked with "Freakonomics" author Steven Levitt. Mike is also a published board game author and a member of the bars of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the states of New York and Massachusetts.

John Hollinger

Columnist, ESPN

John Hollinger began writing for ESPN.com in 2005. He is best known for his analytical work, including creating the Player Efficiency Rating (PER), a statistical rating of an NBA player's per-minute productivity. He's developed several other statistical measures in recent years, and his PER and team rankings are updated daily on ESPN.com.

Before joining ESPN, John authored four annual editions of the "Pro Basketball Forecast," which analyzed every NBA player and team and provided detailed advanced stats for each. He also contributes to ESPN the Magazine, ESPNews and the New York Sun.

His previous stints include work for SI.com and Oregonlive.com.

Dean Oliver

Director of Quantitative Analysis, Denver Nuggets

Dean Oliver is currently Director of Quantitative Analysis for the Denver Nuggets and in his fifth year in the NBA.  He provides statistical insight on trades, free agency, draft analysis, cap management, and tactical issues.  He played and coached Division III basketball for Caltech in the late 1980s and is in the movie about Caltech basketball, Quantum Hoops.  He was an advance scout for 4 years at the same time he was a Ph.D. engineering student at the University of North Carolina.  While working as a consulting engineer for 9 years, he also wrote about basketball analytics on the side and ultimately wrote the book, Basketball on Paper, praised by both Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith and baseball analytics pioneer Bill James.  The book forms the basis for much of the analysis done in basketball at all levels.  In recent work, he quantified how important the fit of teammates is in developing a team, particularly showing that the sum of players is not equal to the whole team in many situations.  He is currently on the editorial board of the Journal of Quantitative Analysis of Sports and the executive board of the Association of Professional Basketball Research.

His work prior to joining the NBA involved managing environmental problems, including Superfund sites, expert witness testimony, risk analysis, insurance recovery, and financial planning.  He often worked with industry and regulatory agencies to develop optimal cleanup strategies and identify target risk levels.

Oliver grew up playing basketball in Hawaii (not far from President Obama).  He lost the sight in one eye at age 10, just when he was developing a good jump shot, but, following the motto of “Damned the jump shot, full speed ahead”, he continued to play by insanely attacking the basket.  Married to a Brazilian, he now speaks Portuguese and works his Brazilian contacts for their soccer secrets.

Moderator

Marc Stein

Columnist, ESPN

Marc Stein began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in
2002 as its Senior NBA Writer. He also makes regular broadcast appearances on SportsCenter, NBA Shootaround, NBA Fastbreak, NBA Coast To Coast, ESPNEWS, ESPN First Take, Outside The Lines and ESPN Radio.

Before joining ESPN, Marc covered the NBA for eight-plus seasons at the Dallas Morning News and Los Angeles Daily News. He has also worked for the Washington Post, Orange County Register and San Bernardino Sun.

The proud Cal State Fullerton graduate -- who also considers himself America's most fanatical supporter of Manchester City in the English Premier League -- resides in the Dallas area with his wife and two sons.