http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/1743/wtfdetroitallstarbannerjt2.jpg

TNT just announced the starters. What's the best guess as to the reserves? Here's mine:

EAST
Starters
G: Dwyane Wade
G: Gilbert Arenas
F: LeBron James
F: Chris Bosh
C: Shaquille O'Neal

Reserves
G: Jason Kidd
G: Richard Hamilton
F: Jermaine O'Neal
F: Caron Butler
C: Dwight Howard
WC: Chauncey Billups
WC: Michael Redd

WEST
Starters
G: Kobe Bryant
G: Tracy McGrady
F: Kevin Garnett
F: Tim Duncan
C: Yao Ming (Injured)

Reserves
G: Steve Nash
G: Allen Iverson
F: Dirk Nowitzki (Starter)
F: Carlos Boozer
C: Amare Stoudemire
WC: Josh Howard
WC: Carmelo Anthony
IR: Shawn Marion

another reason the fans should not have the vote. shaq has played what- 5 games!?

ridiculous. his resume gets inflated with another undeserving allstar nod. the fans should only have 1/3 of the vote like in the nfl.

howard should be the east's starting center, hands down.

I don't know if you realize this, but we could have drafted 2 of the Eastern Conference starters with the Darko pick, and we could have drafted one of the potential Western Conference reserves. Granted, I still feel Darko would be a lot better if he'd gone to a crappy team and gotten a ton of minutes, but it's still depressing.

another reason the fans should not have the vote. shaq has played what- 5 games!?

ridiculous. his resume gets inflated with another undeserving allstar nod. the fans should only have 1/3 of the vote like in the nfl.

howard should be the east's starting center, hands down.


Rumor has it Riley is going to tell (strongly suggest for the PC world) Shaq he can't play in the game. He feels Shaq has no business playing in a meaningless game when the team he plays for has barely seen him and he isn't in top form. I wonder how Shaq will take that news, and I wonder if Stern will care either way?

I hope Riley does say that and I hope Shaq does sit out. He doesn't deserve to be on the All-Star team. It's a travesty, and a sham, and a mockery...............

he probably will play just because. he said something recently regarding this. i don't remember word for word, but basically he was asked how he felt about being ahead of dwight howard in fan voting when howard is having an allstar year and shaq is sitting on IR.

shaq basically said he had to wait his turn so dwight should have to as well.

sounds like someone is jealous of howard already! hopefully someone here can find the actual quote...

Nash should be starting once they bump General Yao. Move TD to center, KG to PF and TMac to SF, where he should be anyways.

Dwight Howard deserves that starting East C spot.

I'm fine with your team shags.

Rip better make the damn team.

Rip better make the damn team.

word as well as Caron Butler AND Carlos Boozer

Just caught a few minutes of Pistons Weekly (hosted by [smilie=blaha.gif] this week)

GB was pretty geeked to announce that two members of the Pistons have been named as All Star participants.

Not who you would think.

:mason:
will be doing the player introductions (hand picked by David Stern, apparently) and one of the Automotion chicks (a blonde, Erin?) won some internet vote and will be on the All Star dance team.

Hopefully we get a real player or two as well (Rip for the squad and Max for the Rook/Soph game?)

One cheerleader from each squad was selected. Sorta like how Bobby Higginson was always at the MLB All-star game.

Mike Henneman. Donross Diamond King.

He will be the PA announcer.

Glenn already posted this, but was tricky with his thread title.

http://www.wtfdetroit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8357 (http://www.wtfdetroit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8357)

Wasn't trying to be overly tricky, was trying to be all-inclusive since we'll most likely need an All Star thread anyways.

Threads are expensive (bandwidth) and I was just trying to conserve.

I smell a merge coming, or is that just gas?

Wooo!! Feel that merge high!

:mccosky:


No Vegas for Maxey

Jason Maxiell won't be going to Vegas, unless he's paying for the trip. The NBA announced the teams for the rookie challenge a little while ago, and Maxey was left off the sophomore squad.

Here's who they picked: Centers Andrew Bogut and Andrew Bynum, Forwards Danny Granger and David Lee, guards, Monta Ellis, Raymond Felton, Luther Head, Chris Paul and Deron Williams.

Hard to argue the picks. All of those guys play more minutes than Max, but it seems like they could have taken one more forward and one less guard. Pretty sure Maxey has to be on the short list of alternates. Maybe he will get the call. Paul is just now coming back from injury, so maybe he will be excused from the All-Star festivities. We'll see.

Still no word on whether Richard Hamilton or Chauncey Billups, or both, have been selected by the coaches to the East squad. TNT will make the announcement Thursday night. Hopefully, we will get some word tonight.

"Maxey" is a weak nickname.

I prefer Mad Max.

Werd.

TNT is announcing the AS reserves tonight at 7 pm.

I'm not an Isiah fan at all, but I can appreciate this for sure. I wonder how his players feel about this?

Nice job by the headline writer too.

Oh, and just ignore that last sentence.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/493841p-415971c.html


PUMPING PISTONS: Thomas declined to name the seven reserves he picked except to say, "I voted for all the Pistons. The Pistons I voted for. Because they are good and I like them. Whenever there is a Piston that has a chance he's got my vote. I'm biased."

Thomas has gone out of his way on several occasions to praise the Detroit organization this season. Some have theorized that he is keeping his options open in case Flip Saunders does not return as Pistons coach.

I will probably watch TNT tonight. TNT tonight, I'll watch.

[Geez, I couldn't even Yoda right.]

He's not a good coach/GM. A good coach/GM he is not.

LOL....one of you photo-shop guys please do the obvious

http://ironteam.net/archives/yoda.jpg

http://keepitoffmywave.com/images/Isiah.jpg

Anybody got a gut feeling?

Does Rip get in?

I don't think anyone else on the team has a chance, which is fine.

Rip doesn't get in.

I will never watch the All star game again.

This is my Jim Brown moment.

My moment of Jim Brown.

I read this morning that Dwight Howard is doing the dunk contest, that should be something.

Here's some light reading whilst y'all consider whether or not Rip will get in.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=173230


These players should be All-Star reserves

February 1, 2007

Tonight, the NBA will announce its All-Star reserves, and I'm betting it's somewhat screwy. There have been masses of injuries to NBA stars that will, no doubt, mess with the voting. To refresh: Fans vote for NBA All-Star starters, but coaches vote for the reserves, picking a backup for each position plus two wild card spots.

It seems to me that any player who appears in an All-Star game should have to play a certain percentage of his team's games to be eligible. Let's say 75 percent -- if you miss more than a quarter of your team's games (roughly 11 or 12 at this point in the season), then that is a significant enough stretch to warrant looking for a guy who has been healthy and productive. That's bad news on my ballot for Paul Pierce, Michael Redd, Carmelo Anthony, Lamar Odom and Chris Paul.

Another rule: Winning counts. That's not to say that All-Star-caliber players can't be toiling for last-place teams. But if I have to choose between Ben Gordon and Joe Johnson … sorry, Joe.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Starters
G: Dwyane Wade and Gilbert Arenas.
F: LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
C: Shaquille O'Neal.

Should-be reserves
G: Vince Carter. Solid shooting and 25 points per game have kept an injury-riddled Nets team in the playoff picture.

G: Richard Hamilton. Mr. Consistency. He's averaging 22.7 points, and has been in double digits every time out this year.

F: Caron Butler. The Wizards are winning, and not just because of Arenas. Butler is averaging 20.6 points and 8.0 rebounds.

F: Jermaine O'Neal. Quietly having one of his best seasons: 19.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.0 blocks.

C: Dwight Howard. Needs more shots, but 16.8 points, 12.1 rebounds and 56.2 percent shooting are All-Star worthy numbers.

WC: Jason Kidd. Arguably having his best season as a Net, shooting 43.8 percent and averaging 8.8 assists and 8.2 rebounds.

WC: Ben Gordon. Bulls' leading scorer is shooting a solid 38.7 percent behind the arc, and averages 21.5 per game.

Apologies go to …

Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince. The Pistons are not winning at the ridiculous clip they had last season, so Hamilton is the only one who should be an All-Star.

Joe Johnson. His numbers are fabulous -- 25.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists. But he could not lift his team past key injuries.

Luol Deng. Deng is sort of like Caron Butler Jr. If he develops the way Butler has, he's a future All-Star.

Eddy Curry. He's having a nice season, but his lack of rebounding keeps him behind Howard in the center pecking order.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Starters
G: Kobe Byrant and Tracy McGrady.
F: Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.
C: Yao Ming.

Should-be reserves
G: Tony Parker. Continues to show an amazing shooting touch --he's at 52.8 percent this year, and averages 19.0 points.

G: Steve Nash. No-brainer.

F: Shawn Marion. One of the best two-way players in the league.

F: Dirk Nowitzki. No-brainer, again.

C: Amare Stoudemire. Still working his way back, but over the last two months, he's been his old self: 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds.

WC: Carlos Boozer. His knee injury means he won't play in the game, but he still deserves selection, with 22.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 56.9 percent shooting.

WC: Josh Howard. Injuries and a suspension might open the door for Howard. The Mavs deserve two All-Stars, and Howard (19.4 points, 7.2rebounds) is a worthy pick.

Apologies go to …

Allen Iverson. He'll make it, of course. But he shouldn't. Poor shooting, the Sixers fiasco and the fact that his teams are 13-21 when he plays are good reasons to keep him out of the game.

Zach Randolph. He's enjoying a resurgence, and the Blazers are playing better. But not well enough to get Randolph on the team.

Marcus Camby, Mehmet Okur and Elton Brand. I'll apologize to these guys, but someone is going to have to replace Yao and Boozer. These three will get consideration.

Ray Allen. Hard to argue with 26.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists. But he does not make it for the same reason Joe Johnson did not.

Anybody got a gut feeling?

Does Rip get in?

I don't think anyone else on the team has a chance, which is fine.

Rip definitely gets in. Someone from the Pistons will make it, and he's been the best Piston this year.

I think Chauncey has an outside shot, but that may be based on reputation more than actual performance. That and the Pistons were awful without him.

Rip is on the front page of NBA.com for the Reserve Selection article.

I'd say he has an outside shot.

Rip and Smooth.

I got no problem with either "Billups was owed an All Star game after 2004 anyway"

Rip deserves it....he's been having an fantastic year, imo.

Billups, Hamilton to represent Pistons at All-Star game
Pair of Aces
by Keith Langlois


It’s not a full house this year, but the Pistons are sending a pair of aces to Las Vegas. Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton will represent the Central Division leaders at the All-Star game as members of the East team. The announcement was made Thursday night on TNT prior to its nationally televised doubleheader.
Only eight of the 15 Eastern Conference teams were represented, the Pistons being one of four teams to have two players make the 12-man roster. Also named as reserves were guards Jason Kidd and Vince Carter of New Jersey, forwards Caron Butler of Washington and Jermaine O’Neal of Indiana and center Dwight Howard of Orlando.

“I’m so happy that Rip made it,” said Billups, who arrived in Detroit along with Hamilton prior to the 2002-03 season. “He’s having a career year and he’s definitely deserving. There would have been a piece of me that would have been very, very disappointed that he didn’t make it, as well. I always feel we’re a package deal. We came here together and talked about how we were going to do this, we were going to do that. For one of us to make it and not the other, I would have been disappointed.”

The fact Billups was voted to the team by Eastern Conference coaches despite missing eight games tells him that he’s now achieved a certain status within the game.

“I think it solidifies it with everybody else, not me,” he said. “I always feel the same about me. I feel I’m one of the best and I prove that most times when I play. To the outside world I’m not a big, big superstar, but this proves that I’m moving up that ladder a little bit, that I could get a vote like that from the coaches. They play against me every single night. You would think they would know who’s an All-Star and who isn’t.”

The East starters, as voted by fans and announced a week ago, are Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, Washington’s Gilbert Arenas, Chris Bosh of Toronto and Cleveland’s LeBron James.

Billups and Hamilton both made their first All-Star appearance a year ago, when Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace also represented the Pistons and Flip Saunders coached the East. Billups scored 15 points and dished out seven assists in 16 minutes while Hamilton had six points in 13 minutes.

“It’ll be different for me this year,” Billups said. “Last year was my first year and I was running every day, all day. I never had a dull moment and I was soaking everything in. It’ll be more relaxing this time around.”

Hamilton leads the Pistons and is 17th in the NBA in scoring at 22.7 points a game, shooting 46 percent. Billups remains among the league leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio at 7.6 to 2.1 and is averaging 18.1 points a game while shooting 39 percent from behind the 3-point arc.

In fan voting, Billups finished fifth among Eastern Conference guards behind Wade, Arenas, Carter and Kidd, with Hamilton finishing 10th. Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince were sixth and eighth among forwards.

Billups said if the Pistons hadn’t been so inconsistent over the season’s first half, Prince probably would have been voted to the team, as well.

“People probably think I’m biased, but if you look around the Eastern Conference, you can’t show me three or four better forwards than Tayshaun Prince,” Billups said. “I feel that. I play with him every single night, so I know what he can do. I know there’s just not very many guys better than him. Yeah, our record and how up and down we’ve been cost Tayshaun.”

The most notable absence for the East team was Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, 11th in scoring at 25.3 points a game. Two probably All-Stars, Boston’s Paul Pierce and Milwaukee’s Michael Redd, are both injured and would not have been available to play.

Three Phoenix Suns – Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion – lead the reserves for the West team, which surprisingly includes only Dirk Nowitzki from the Dallas Mavericks despite their NBA-best 38-9 record heading into Thursday night’s games.

Rounding out the Western reserves are San Antonio’s Tony Parker, Denver’s Allen Iverson and Utah’s Carlos Boozer. Voted in as West starters were Houston’s Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, Minnesota’s Kevin McHale, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The league will have to choose two more players from the West to replace Yao and Boozer, both injured.

The All-Star game will be played at 8 p.m. Feb. 18.



Haha, silly Langlois. I guess he's due a mistake now and then. I like his stuff, so I'll let it slide.

I would love it if McHale was actually voted in. Highlight of the year.

damn, it would have been nice to see Maxiell in the rook/soph game.

Pistons trainer Mike Abdenour will join Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups on the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Abdenour has been selected as an All-Star trainer for the third time.

"I don't know if that means I am getting really old, or what," he said. "The way our trainers association works, it's on a rotation and my number came up. It just so happens to be in Las Vegas."

Josh Howard and Melo were just added as injury replacements.

Two of our favorites right there.

Josh Howard and Melo were just added as injury replacements.

Two of our favorites right there.
no disrespect, but josh howard? wtf.

no disrespect, but josh howard? wtf.
what's wrong with Howard? he's the second best player on the best team in the NBA (you could argue the Suns are as well).

I don't have his numbers, but I suspect he's putting up 20 points, 5 rebounds and 3-4 assists per game.

EDIT - I was close. 20 PPG, 7 RPG and 2 APG. Plus good defense, 1.5 steals and a block a game.

Also, only Kidd, Josh Smith and Pierce have more rebounds as a guard, and Smith and Pierce are really SF's. he's also 30th in scoring, ahead of Nash, Billups, Marion.

what's wrong with Howard? he's the second best player on the best team in the NBA (you could argue the Suns are as well).

I don't have his numbers, but I suspect he's putting up 20 points, 5 rebounds and 3-4 assists per game.

EDIT - I was close. 20 PPG, 7 RPG and 2 APG. Plus good defense, 1.5 steals and a block a game.

Also, only Kidd, Josh Smith and Pierce have more rebounds as a guard, and Smith and Pierce are really SF's. he's also 30th in scoring, ahead of Nash, Billups, Marion.
i said no disrespect, sheesh.[smilie=heatsmiley2:

I was just making his case, not ripping you. Perhaps there are more deserving canidates, perhaps not. but those are solid numbers on a great team either way.

Maybe we need an "inside jokes revealed" thread?

We've been discussing actually making that thread for a couple of years now.

I'm wondering how many player and/or celebrity arrests there are going to be in Vegas for the AS Game.

I'm going to predict a Rodman arrest.

NBA's Eastern Conference Sends Four Players To All-Star Game

February 8, 2007

LAS VEGAS—With the teams comprising the NBA's Eastern Conference a combined 18 games below .500, fans and coaches saw it fit to only send four players from the struggling division to this year's NBA All-Star Game. "To fill out an entire roster would have been impossible," said Eastern Conference head coach Eddie Jordan, who will play Gilbert Arenas, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and Chauncey Billups for the contest's entire 48 minutes. "I mean, who else is out there? Shaq is old and hurt, Vince Carter can't even get his team to .500, and I don't even know who Chris Bosh is." In order to make things fair, Jordan said, he is hoping that Western Conference coach Mike D'Antoni will fulfill Jordan's request to give him one player from the Western squad, count all Eastern Conference baskets as three points, and for D'Antoni to not play any of his tall players

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/nbas_eastern_conference

1992 NBA All-Star game on ESPN Classic right now.

Otis Thorpe's first all-star appearance......Joe Dumars and Isiah representing.... one of my favorite things about All-Star weekend approaching is when they do a All-Star marathon on ESPN Classic.

can anyone's fantasy team top 4 allstars?
b-diddys: nash, carmello, bosh, butler.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/nbas_eastern_conference
A half-dozen teams in the East are over .500.
A half-dozen teams in the West are over .500.
But obviously, because they have Phoenix and Dallas, while we have Boston and Charlotte, they are infinitely superior. Didn't the East beat the West last year? Hmmm...

Report: Shoulder Sidelines Nash for Sunday's All-Star Game
Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes that "Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash will not play in Sunday's All-Star Game because of his ailing shoulder, ESPN.com has learned."

In addition to no Nash, it's looking like no AI and no Kidd for the AS game.

If many more guys drop out, Sarunas Jaskiseveichesuycychicfcdlocses will be waiting by the phone for the call.

This All-Star game is sounding less exciting by the minute...

Okur and Ray Allen named to replace the guys with boo-boos.

I'm going BTW.

^that should be a wild time.

Joe Johnson is in.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/2007/02/14/0215jjohnson.html

Memo says that being named an All Star roster replacement is a bigger achievement that winning the 2004 Championship with the Pistons.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660195451,00.html

To me, that's one of those things that you are better off thinking, but keeping to yourself.

tell him to mail me his ring.

http://www.nba.com/media/pistons/mason_256_070213.jpg


Mason: An All-Star Announcer

by Ryan Pretzer, Pistons.com

John Mason is in demand.

Detroit Pistons fans know him simply as Mason, the Pistons’ in-arena announcer and progenitor of the call, “DEE-TROIT BASKETBALL,” and they wave and yell for his attention like he was one of the players. They did it again before the Pistons hosted the Boston Celtics last week.

Mason obliged, signing as many autographs as he could before tip-off. He received handshakes and pats on the back in return as he signed his way down the line.

“That’s what they’re doing,” Mason said as he settled into his courtside seat. “The fans are congratulating me.”

The NBA wants Mason, too. His popularity with local fans and players across the league made him an easy selection to be the in-arena announcer for 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas.

Mason will call this Saturday’s festivities, including the McDonald’s NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by 2K Sports and the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, followed by the main event at 8 p.m. Sunday – the 56th NBA All-Star Game at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“I was part of the NBA championship, two NBA Finals, I got a ring, and I almost lost my mind,” said Mason, shaking his head in astonishment. “This is like a rocket going to the sky. Unbelievable.”

The host city’s in-arena announcer generally receives the privilege, but with this year’s game being held in franchise-vacant Las Vegas, the league had options. It chose Mason, and informed him of the decision before the start of the regular season.

“What a great honor, because I didn’t know how to do this when I started,” said Mason, who has been calling Pistons games since 2001. “I don’t have an arena voice, and I’ve finessed it. It’s all because I have Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton, now Chris Webber, and Tayshaun Prince. That’s quite an entrée calling card.”

In Las Vegas, Mason will have Billups and Hamilton – both All-Stars for the second straight year – but a lot of other players he’s not used to giving the star treatment. He doesn’t think it will be that big a stretch, though.

“One of the things that [Pistons Senior Vice President of Broadcasting and Multimedia] Pete Skorich taught me was, when I (introduce) the visiting team, not to blow through them, but to give them a pretty peppy, thoughtful introduction,” Mason said. “So it won’t be foreign to me to do that [in Las Vegas]. I’ll just kick it up another notch.”

Skorich, whom Mason credits for teaching him “play for play” how to announce the game, believes Mason’s one-of-a-kind approach will fit right in at All-Star Weekend.

"John Mason has re-defined the role of stadium public address announcer,” Skorich said. “Using his unique personality and vision his high-energy delivery at our games is a major reason why our fans are considered the most spirited in all of sports.”

“Mason’s created style celebrates the Pistons accomplishments but never diminishes the respect for the opposition,” he said.

Though he’ll have to leave “Deee-troit Basketball” at the airport, Mason thinks he can still find a way to acknowledge the Pistons faithful that helped book his ticket.

“Because of the type of event it is, I’ll be somewhat restricted, and I’ll have to get to Vegas and find out how much they’ll let me play,” Mason said. “But I’m going to find a way to do something ‘Detroit special.’”

“I don’t know exactly what I’ll do,” he said. “But I’ll be excited to create it and try to create it in any place that I can.”

Mason will miss the Pistons’ Valentine’s Day contest against the Spurs to begin his preparations in Vegas. He’ll have to get right down to business – even if he’ll feel like a kid while he’s doing it. (Mason’s predecessor, Detroit radio icon Ken Calvert, will return to his old post for the Feb. 14 game.)

“The rehearsals will be long, the rehearsals will be really long,” Mason said. “But it’s the thrill of being a part of the NBA home team. Every kid wonders, ‘what’s that like, to have an NBA credential, and be at everything?’ And now I get to do it -- wow.”

Mason remembers when he was on the outside looking in. It was last season, at the 2006 All-Star Weekend in Houston.

“I didn’t have any tickets, credentials, I didn’t know anybody. I was just trying to get close – and I got 15 miles outside the arena,” Mason said with booming laughter. “What a difference a year makes.”

Look for Mason’s All-Star blog Sunday morning before the All-Star Game, only at pistons.com.

I'm going BTW.

i'm jealous....it should be crazy in Vegas this weekend.

Over/under on how many times we have to hear "What happens in Vegas....." in articles, interviews, blog posts, etc, etc, etc?

David Stern wishes that was true. He'd have All-Star weekend in Vegas every year just so no one could know about allt he off-court transgressions. He'd also start a Los Vegas NBA team and stick all the screw-ups on it. Ron-Ron, S.Jackson, the late-90's/early-00's Blazers. They'd be coached by that DUI coach, I'm too lazy to look up his name.

Herm,

You're going to do something right? Like throw a cupcake a Kwame Brown (I know, but I can't think of something involving one of the guys that will be there). What have the minds at WRH put together?

ALLLLLL-STARRRRRRR-BASKETBALLLLLLLLL....

Herm,

You're going to do something right? Like throw a cupcake a Kwame Brown (I know, but I can't think of something involving one of the guys that will be there). What have the minds at WRH put together?


Every player is going to be there from what I understand. i plan on drunk. The rest will come to me.

Is anyone watching it?

Yeah, boring as hell though.

yes it is

cbs making some good passes though but the west is just too damn goood

I don't know about everyone else but this is the only all-star weekend I enjoy out of the 4 major sports. The game is not competitive but it is fun to see the all-stars doing their stuff.

I don't know about everyone else but this is the only all-star weekend I enjoy out of the 4 major sports. The game is not competitive but it is fun to see the all-stars doing their stuff.

it usually is...

baseball has the homerun derby and the celebrity game...

football probowl and is there anything else?

the nba has alot of events but this year, it just wasn't as fun as i thought it would be.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Viva Kobe Bryant and the best of the West.

Bryant, Carmelo Anthony & crew lit up the Strip with their own version of Showtime, romping past LeBron James and the East 153-132 Sunday night in the NBA All-Star game.

An event that some locals called the biggest thing to hit Las Vegas featured showgirls, acrobats, magicians and Elvis impersonators.

Then it was time for Bryant and his teammates to take over in the first All-Star game outside an NBA city.

Bryant scored 31 points, had six of the West's record 52 assists and was picked as the MVP. Amare Stoudemire added 29 points for the West, which quickly built a big lead and held it this time, a year after blowing a 21-point cushion in a loss in Houston.

Anthony, a late addition to the team, scored 20 points and Shawn Marion of Phoenix, who played at the Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV, added 18.

James scored 28 points for the East, and Dwight Howard had 20 points and 12 rebounds. The East barely shot 40 percent through three quarters in a game that isn't known for its defensive intensity before a late flurry during garbage time.

Dwyane Wade had only 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting, but he had reason to be tired after hosting events Thursday and Friday night. Those were two of the many functions that kept the players out until all hours of the night.

Still, the game was secondary to the show in this most unusual of All-Star games -- and it was quite a show.

With tickets unavailable to the public, brokers were asking more than $20,000 for a top seat. Jay-Z, Beyonce, Diddy, Prince, Eva Longoria and Adam Sandler were among those who scored spots in the front row, and Christina Aguilera and Toni Braxton performed at halftime.

The event started with a celebrity red carpet, where Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, flanked as usual by his showgirls and backed by entertainer Wayne Newton, vowed again to get the NBA here full-time with a new arena to play in.

Magicians Siegfried and Roy then welcomed the fans to Las Vegas, before introducing the showgirls who escorted Newton out to the stage for a performance of "Viva Las Vegas." After the East All-Stars were introduced, Newton took the stage again for another performance before the West players were announced.

After another Las Vegas entertainer, Danny Gans, sang the national anthem, it was finally time for some basketball -- after about a 45-minute pregame.

Perhaps that took its toll on the players. There were missed dunks and passes thrown out of bounds by both teams, but the East was by far the worst. They missed seven of their first nine shots, including a blown dunk attempt by Shaquille O'Neal.

James later almost injured himself when he tried to throw himself a pass off the backboard and tumbled over another player, and Jermaine O'Neal appeared to tip in a basket for the West.

A first-quarter timeout brought out some performers from a show at the Tropicana, but there was a serious moment at the end of the period when Bill Russell was among the former Boston Celtics who took the court with the daughter of Red Auerbach, who died last year.

The West led 39-31 at the end of one, and quickly pushed that lead into double digits in the second quarter -- Shaquille O'Neal missed another dunk during that stretch.

The lead ballooned to 23 when Bryant nailed a 3-pointer and followed with a dunk on the next possession, and the West was up 79-59 at halftime.

Bryant had 17 points at halftime and Anthony added 12. James scored 16 for the East, but none of its other players was in double figures.

The East climbed out of a 21-point deficit to win last year's game in Houston, but didn't show nearly the fight this time. Stoudemire fueled a 10-0 run that made it 95-65 with 8:20 remaining in the third quarter, and the West was up by 31 heading to the fourth.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270218032

Yeah.... A super conditioned professional athlete who can play 41 minutes of (psuedo)physical play on back to back nights was tired from dribbling a ball around motionless obstacles for ten minutes.

Isn't this kid's dick about to fall off from being sucked so often?

Maybe he only scored so little because he was having an off night and didn't shoot 18 freethrows...

it usually is...

baseball has the homerun derby and the celebrity game...

football probowl and is there anything else?

the nba has alot of events but this year, it just wasn't as fun as i thought it would be.
The NHL has some nice non-all-star things, like strongest shot, fastest skater, accuracy, all those things. No one ever remembers the NHL.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270218032

Yeah.... A super conditioned professional athlete who can play 41 minutes of (psuedo)physical play on back to back nights was tired from dribbling a ball around motionless obstacles for ten minutes.

Isn't this kid's dick about to fall off from being sucked so often?

Maybe he only scored so little because he was having an off night and didn't shoot 18 freethrows...

NoQ, I don't think that article was implying that he was tired from the Saturday night skills competitions, I think they were saying that he was tired from partying.

I'm surprised that we haven't heard about any player/celeb arrests yet, but maybe everything is really "staying there" as promised.

I made 11 Sportsbook bets on the assorted All Star activities.

I went 0-11 (-610).

Fuck an All Star Game.

(Throw in -100 for a stupid car race. I've never watched a NASCAR race in my life (still haven't), yet I dropped 100 on Tony Stewart. I think I have an alpaca problem).

I think this may have been the most boring all-star weekend in 2000

I listened to some of the game in my car as I went out for "food". Chauncey was getting a lot of praise as the only guy on the East who could "facilitate". Dr. Jack was blowing him hard core.

I listened to some of the game in my car as I went out for "food". Chauncey was getting a lot of praise as the only guy on the East who could "facilitate". Dr. Jack was blowing him hard core.

Dr. Jack just happens to be Jim O'Brien's father in law, hmmm...

NBA ALL-STAR ROWDY CROWDS; FIGHT AT WYNN HOTEL; RAPPERS, POLICE CLASH... NIGHTCLUB SHUTDOWN... MORE

I can't wait to read what happened.

^About time we heard what Hermy got up to.

Glenn, nice.

Bill Simmons, too long to post: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070220

Bill Simmons, too long to post: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070220

First paragraph:


Important note: This column is extremely long, even for a Simmons column. Do yourself a favor and print it out, then read it when you have 20 minutes to kill. And if you planned on reading it in the bathroom, please know that ESPN.com is not responsible for any hemorrhoids that happened because you sat on the bowl too long. On to the column ...

lol, i'm going to bookmark this and read it at work over a cup of coffee.

re: :mason:

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/183658


FLUBBER MOUTH: Speaking of all-star changes, perhaps next year the league could insist that the screamer with the microphone be able to actually pronounce the names of the athletes.

According to those who were there (and we feel very sorry for them), the dude from Detroit, marginally entertaining until he has to actually get something right, butchered Jorge Garbajosa into Jorge Garganani.

Yeah. For real. What a dope.

Even more shocking is that the guy did a Toronto game less than a week earlier. He was awful in that one and to blow it on all-star weekend six days later shows a shocking lack of professionalism.

To the weekend's greatest moment: The foot race between Charles Barkley and Dick Bavetta. When the race was about to begin, you could feel a legitimate buzz in the arena -- and no, I'm not kidding -- that mirrored the energy right before a championship boxing match. Even the payoff was good, with Barkley building a big lead, then nearly screwing up by racing the last 50 feet backward and barely edging a diving Bavetta ... and after the race, a heaving Charles couldn't even catch his breath for an interview. The whole thing killed me from start to finish, although it's probably not a good reflection of All-Star weekend that a race between a 67-year-old referee and a 43-year-old, 325-pound ex-player was the enduring athletic memory.

He's right. That whole thing was more entertaining than any of the other "events", and TNT did an excellent job hyping it up on all their shows. Even all the various testimonials from the players added to the "big time" feel. It was actually fun, great stuff.