Josh Howard walks fine, and quiet, line

[HMFFL]

If Josh Howard is following a motto in life these days, it might be the one he revealed at training camp in three-inch black letters tattooed down the length of his spine:

LET IT ROLL

Howard, always a smooth customer who cruises in meticulously restored and customized classic American cars, wears his jeans baggy and his ball cap askew in the style of the day, is concentrating — albeit sometimes in strange ways — on keeping his profile low and his game on the court.

Eager for a bizarre 2008 to fade away, the Dallas Mavericks forward rings in 2009 happy to be back on the court after a troublesome ankle injury kept him out nearly half the season. It doesn’t mean he’s enthused to talk about it.

Asked for his New Year’s resolution, Howard said, "Don’t repeat 2008."

Asked how he plans to accomplish that, he said, sounding slightly amused, "Avoiding the media."

Even after his heartfelt apology to the organization and fans through the media on the eve of training camp, Howard is clearly jaded and wary of an instantaneous, 24-hour media machine after a harsh summer of negativity brought about by his own missteps.

Choosing to say little, Howard has effectively barricaded his once engaging personality from reporters and fans. Around teammates he remains popular and jovial. When reporters approach he quickly turns inward.

Howard prefers to avoid interviews, but when he can’t slip out of sight, his responses are typically brief and bland, sometimes glib and at times smug.

"What he’s trying to do is, no room for error, and he knows that, especially with the media," Mavericks guard Jason Terry said. "So he doesn’t want to do anything or say anything that might get changed around or that sets off some of that stuff that happened in the past. He wants to leave it in the past and let his play speak for itself."

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