Mark Travis

Mark Travis Special to the Caller-Times When the final whistle blew at the Class 3A boys state basketball championship between Dallas Madison and Brock, it not only signified that the season was over, it was also the end of the line for one of the guys who blew the whistles. On March 11, local referee Billy Gaines Jr. called the last game of a 32-year officiating career. A career that included thousands of games and working for three officiating chapters across Texas.

When it comes to back-to-backs, it doesn’t get much better than a pair of wins against the second and third best teams in the NBA. On Monday night, the Dallas Mavericks, owners of the league’s fourth worst record, became the latest team to accomplish that feat after beating the defending champion Cavaliers on the heels of a shocking victory in San Antonio.

Perhaps the only downside to being the most consistently successful sports franchise in the modern era is the inability to determine whether any given year is special or just another ho-hum 50-plus win season. As the San Antonio Spurs surpass the midway mark of the 2016-17 NBA season, it isn’t clear whether they are legitimate title contenders or firmly on the outside looking in as the Warriors and Cavaliers look to complete their Finals trilogy.