Mark Cuban is not afraid to say what’s on his mind or to tell it like it is and for that, he is taking a lot of criticism. From me, he gets admiration. Bluntness is a trait that I have also been accused of and without a doubt, I am guilty as charged. To many people, it seems that politically correct spin is preferred to brutal honesty. When it comes to stocks, I know which one will help you make money and avoid losing it. I also recognize which style plays well to the masses and suspect that is why we get far too much of it on financial TV. With the growing popularity of Hedgefolios, I am evaluating some offers for media appearances and have wondered whether my commentary will be received like Mark’s. I probably won’t answer a reporter’s question with a Cubanesque “You know what, that was a really stupid question” response or get bleeped for hurling the f-bomb, but you can count on blunt answers.

One important thing to remember about the public’s reaction to Cuban is that it’s much more salacious to give ink and airtime to his critics. The press is so hypocritical of Cuban it’s almost funny. He just got fined for swearing at a reporter and I wonder, why are so many reporters wanting to ask him so many questions? If the language and behavior was so offensive, maybe it should not have been publicized so we can save the masses from being permanently damaged. Maybe they should have played the interview with the Heat owner instead of giving airtime to Mark. Hmmm? I doubt the Heat owner was being hounded for interviews and who would really care what he says anyway. So - no fines for other owners in the NBA. Good for them - I guess it helps to stay in the luxury boxes, wear fancy suits (not blue jeans and team jerseys) and generally, stay out of the limelight. By the way, other than Mark Cuban and the owner of your favorite team, how many NBA team owners can you name?

You may not like Mark because you don’t like what he stands for. But at least you know what he stands for and that’s good. He hates to lose, he has fun, he supports his employees, he is a patriot -(check out fallenpatriotfund.org and have you ever noticed the hands over the hearts of Mavericks during the national anthem?), he donates to charity, etc. etc. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he has some bad points too but don’t we all?

Above all else, Cuban is a winner and his good AND bad personality characteristics make him that way. The Mavericks had a regular season franchise record of 608 wins and 1440 losses before he bought the team (42% winning.) Their regular season record since his purchase is 371 wins and 171 losses (68% winning.) Enough said. For the past 10 years, the NBA was losing fans year after year and for some reason, this season the finals had a 12% ratings improvement. I believe Cuban had something to do with it and I KNOW he had a lot to do with my desire to watch for the first time in years.

Now Mark is pushing a new site called sharesleuth.com and guess what? The press, investors, regulators, pundits, and some nervous execs are being a bit critical. His financing of sharesleuth is going to try to expose unethical and illegal activity in stocks that you invest in. He’s trying to do something good for investors and take a new approach to solve a problem that despite all other efforts, is still around. His sole mistake in this new venture is blatant honesty that he intends to trade on what sharesleuth discovers. I laughed when I heard a critic suggest this would be akin to insider trading. I think that would make him the first person accused of publicly preannouncing that he is going to trade ethically about unethical behavior exposed by ethical methods. Doesn’t sound like a crime to me.