Heat builds Wall of support with Jewish Fans
[url]http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:IJBgfxxv1ygJ:www.palmbe achpost.com/heat/content/sports/epaper/2006/06/14/a12c_lambi et_scene_0614.html+mark+cuban+jew&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=20 [/url]
By Jose Lambiet
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Miami Heat minority owner Raanan Katz has asked for divine intervention.
Katz, an Israeli real estate investor who was one of the Heat's founders, made news this month in his homeland when he asked that all Jews head to Jerusalem's Western Wall and pray for the Heat. Why?
"God can help," said Katz, who also owns a dozen strip malls from Fort Lauderdale to Coral Gables, as well as one of the best non-NBA hoops teams in the world, Maccabi Tel Aviv. "Someone asked me when the Heat went into the playoffs what he could do to make sure the Heat won.
"Many people in Israel are aware that both I and (Heat majority owner)Micky Arison were born there and for them, the Heat is almost an Israeli team.
"So I told him that all Jews must pray for us. I was half-joking, but all the papers picked up on it."
So far, Katz acknowledged before Game 3, the good vibes may not have helped much.
"I guess we need it more than ever," he said.
Few tickets at large
Guess how many tickets were earmarked for the general SoFla public for a possible three NBA Finals home games? Answer: About 900 out of a combined 60,000 seats.
"Season-ticket holders have the first dibs, and that's 15,000 (per game) right there," explained Heat PR boss Tim Donovan. "Then you've got the sponsors, ESPN and ABC, the NBA, and that leaves about 300 for the general public per game."
And usually, those are in the nosebleeds, where Page Two tracked down Lakeworth pharmacist Mitch Hersh. He sat in the last row Tuesday, where players looked like ants and the seat doesn't even have a cup holder.
"I paid $450," he said. "It's $18 face value. I got it online. No way I'd miss this."
Keeping a low profile
The Dallas Mavericks have desperately tried to keep the location and name of their hotel quiet, even if by now most in Miami know Dirk Nowitzki and his colleagues are staying at the Four Seasons downtown.
Why the attempt at secrecy?
Heat PR man Tim Donovan explains: "When the Heat played at Detroit for Game 2 of the conference finals, someone at a radio station found out we were staying at the Townsend. Next thing we knew, the station asked listeners to keep driving past the hotel in the middle of the night while honking."
Quite a few people actually did, Donovan said, until cops from a station house near the hotel shut down the street to traffic.
Good thing the Heatsters were in interior rooms, he said. But the NBA would hate for anyone to incite Heat fans to do the same thing while the Mavs are in Miami.
Cruise trumps playoffs
About 1,500 Palm Beach county residents were expected at the Triple A for Game 3 on Tuesday, 10 percent of Heat season-ticket holders.
Yet Town of Palm Beach power couple Richard and Robin Bernstein  he insures most of The Island's bigwigs and she's a real estate agent  are missing the entire series.
"We've had season tickets from Day One," Richard said, "and we've been waiting for this for 18 years. I'm bummed out."
What they couldn't possibly miss: a cruise in Greece booked a long time ago.
"Believe me, I'd rather go to the games," he whispered on his cellphone Monday while waiting for his flight to Europe. "But I can't do that to my wife. But then, my plane is delayed right now. Maybe it'll be cancelled and I'll stay."
No such luck. The plane did leave!
Seen & Heard...
While Mavericks owner Mark Cuban rode the bus to the Triple-A with his players Tuesday, Heat owner Micky Arison hung out with NBA boss David Stern on Arison's Sirona III, a 185-foot yacht moored at the back of the arena. . . . Retired Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen needs to take better care of his $150,000, eggnog-colored Bentley. The wheels  with license plate LPIP33, after his jersey  were parked outside the arena with black bumper smears all over the otherwise perfect back. . . . Spotted in the white-clad crowd: Bee Gees front man Barry Gibb; red-headed Trey Anastasio, front man of the now-dismantled jam band Phish; former Backstreet Boys and Paris Hilton boy toy Nick Carter; FAU hoops coach Rex Walters; hip-hoppers Timbaland and Fat Joe; and Shaunie O'Neal, Mrs. Shaq, not be passed over in her leather bustier with Shaq's No. 32 in red rhinestones.
While Mavericks owner Mark Cuban rode the bus to the Triple-A with his players Tuesday, Heat owner Micky Arison hung out with NBA boss David Stern on Arison's Sirona III, a 185-foot yacht moored at the back of the arena</font>
Arison is also a fellow "tribesman" without a German star on his team.