As the Dallas Mavericks start off their 2010-11 season tonight, fans should expect great things from this franchise. In a league full of superstar-powered teams like the Lakers, Heat and Celtics, too many people have written off the franchises that don't have a LeBron, Kobe or even a Kevin Garnett in their lineup. This year, the Mavs will show that superstars pale in comparison to a team that has the will and capability to fight.

The bright lights, casinos and entertainment of Las Vegas can be distracting, but when the Horned Frogs travel to Sin City Saturday to take on the UNLV Rebels, head coach Gary Patterson said his team will be focused.

Patterson said the team would not spend much time in the city. The schedule for the weekend is simple: fly in to Vegas, sleep, eat, play football and come back home. Business as usual for the Horned Frogs.

The TCU Jazz Ensemble has performed with several international artists in the past, but the tables have turned since the group was invited to be an international guest at the Havana International Jazz Festival Dec. 15-20, Director of Jazz Studies Curt Wilson said.

Wilson said Harmony International, a travel group, invited the jazz band to the festival after the band's performance as the featured college band last February at the Texas Music Educators Conference in San Antonio.

While most students are home for the holidays this December, the TCU Jazz Ensemble will represent the university as one of the first American bands allowed to perform in Cuba in almost half a century. The band was invited by Harmony International after making a stellar performance at the company's Texas Music Educators Conference earlier this year.

An opportunity like this is unique and commendable for many reasons. It is a huge honor to be selected for a trip to a country most adults have not had the opportunity to visit since the U.S. banned travel to Cuba in 1963.

On Sept. 9, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ruled "don't ask, don't tell," unconstitutional as a violation of free speech and equal protection rights. The policy is a prohibition on openly gay service members in the military. Last Wednesday, an appeals court temporarily overturned the measure by request of the Justice Department. This has led to tremendous confusion over whether veterans ousted from the military by the measure can re-enlist, and has caused controversy over whether the law should even remain in place.

In the midst of steadily increasing college expenses, more students can get a better break from the government this year.

Students are eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $2,500 thanks to the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

According to the IRS website, the tax break was designed to expand the reach of the existing Hope Credit, which applied to 2008 and earlier tax years and could not be refunded.

Conflicts that divide the Palestinian region and its people were showcased in a film screening and a question-and-answer session with filmmaker Matt Sienkiewicz Monday evening.

The documentary film "Live from Bethlehem" tells the stories of three journalists and the struggles they faced trying to produce news in a region torn by war and occupation, Sienkiewicz said.

The film followed the Ma'an News Agency over a one-year span and narrated the daily challenges that news makers in the region faced.

Republicans have talked extensively about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the new health care bill. The bill passed this year after Barack Obama made it one of his main priorities on the 2008 campaign trail.

Democrats and Americans saw a broken health care system where people were being denied coverage and where insurance premiums were skyrocketing. Since the passage of the bill, however, many Americans are skeptical of what it contains.

Morgan Burns got into trouble with her parents for an $800 phone bill after sending over 12,000 texts in one month during her freshman year.

As a result, Burns, a senior strategic communication major, now has unlimited texting and pays her own phone bill. Even though she now has unlimited texting, she said that she still texts less.

"I don't know why I text less now," she said. "I didn't get texting until my freshman year of college, so I guess it was exciting that I had it so I used it all the time."