Champs return home

The Dallas Mavericks returned home in triumph Monday, cheered by hundreds of fans celebrating the franchise’s first NBA title and the first professional championship of any kind in the area in more than a decade. Owner Mark Cuban walked off the plane at Love Field carrying the championship trophy he was handed after Sunday’s Game 6 win over the Miami Heat. Next came forward Dirk Nowitzki (holding trophy) with hardware of his own: the NBA finals MVP trophy. Cuban, who bought the team in 2000, had the championship trophy in a seat next to him on the plane and he apparently kept it close throughout the Sunday night celebration. “This will sound weird,” he wrote on Twitter. “I’m laying in bed. With the trophy next (to) me.” The team’s victory parade through downtown is Thursday morning. – Associated Press