2008 will surely go down in history as a terrible year for mavericks. First, the Jason Kidd trade failed to give the Dallas Mavericks the boost they needed to advance deeper into the playoffs. Then, superstar Dirk Nowitzki had another mediocre postseason. On the political front, "maverick" John McCain was soundly beaten in the presidential election, and fellow self-proclaimed maverick Sarah Palin wasn't able to help the Republican ticket anywhere near as much as McCain must have hoped.

And now, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been charged with insider trading. And corporate law maven Steve Bainbridge believes that the SEC has a "pretty good case" against him. At this point, the mavericks of the world can't wait for 2009.

UPDATE: Mavericks also can't be happy that their longtime rival, the Iceman, is likely to run for governor of New Mexico. It doesn't look like there will be any strong maverick candidate to put up against him.