Welcome

Welcome to the Blog that's been waiting for you. I am highly interested to hear your thoughts on any topic of discussion. Please feel free to say what you feel and suggest any recommendations you have about this Blog. Don't forget, this Blog is designed for you and you are the one that truly improves it. Please try and comment because I would like to hear what your opinion is on topics that I have written about, or any topic of your own. And bring in others to discuss as well, because two different opinions makes an argument.

Monday, February 19, 2007

A Weekend with the Stars

This is a post I wrote for the Sweet Home Sports website magazine.

Well that was fun. This is the response given by most spectators after the popular all-star weekend which included an unbelievable dunk contest, followed by a phenomenal three-point contest, as well as a repetition in the skills competition. These events may have just been the highlights of the weekend.

When it came down to Sunday night, East versus West, the game was “ok”. Yes, the match-up between the best of the East versus the best of the West was just OK. And that’s stretching it. Players were just goofing off and, dare I say it, having a good time. What these players don’t understand is that the fans want to watch a fun and intense game. But the players felt otherwise. They were throwing alley oops to themselves, and in the case of LeBron James, some did not even complete them. The West crushed the East 153-132, as Kobe’s 31 points, six assists, and six steals were enough to name him the MVP of the game, but not enough to keep the fans in their seats.

So why did I go through the trouble of writing this article? It was the night before that left television sets running. Unknown stars began to shine and the families sitting at home were on the edge of their seats. The dunk contest began with a couple of lackluster, anonymous players, besides 6′11” Dwight Howard. And what did these players do? They made it so their jerseys were selling the next day. Defending champion Nate Robinson exploded, throwing alley-oops to himself while finishing his superb dunks in Michael Jordan fashion, who was in fact judging the contest himself. Even after time expired, he still put smiles on fans’ faces with his off the backboard 360 slam. Dwight Howard managed to stun the crowd with a sticker placement of his face, 12 feet 6 inches off the floor, while still completing the fanatic dunk. But the real story came with the winner of the losers. That’s right, Gerald Green, of the horrendous Boston Celtics really put on a show. And why shouldn’t he during this magnificent weekend? Green came out with ridiculous slams, causing the crowd’s jaws to drop lower and lower. Green came out of the gates hungry, catching a pass from teammate Paul Pierce off the side of the backboard, and putting it in with a two-handed slam. And that was the least impressive of the night. Green came out again, this time with a Dee Brown jersey, and jumped over Nate Robinson while still completing the dunk. Oh, and did I mention he covered his eyes in the process? This historic move gave him a bid to the final round when Green jumped over the scorers table, still having enough air to finish off a perfect windmill slam. And when I say perfect I refer to the judges, who scored Green with a perfect 50.

But that was not the only intriguing part of the night. Jason Kapono easily took the three-point contest without even trying. Kapono was well into the final round before he unleashed his true potential. As soon as the clock started, Kapono began draining three pointers as if they were lay-ups and received an unbelievable 24, crushing former champion Dirk Nowitzki and tying the final round record set by Mark Price of the Cleveland Cavaliers. And that’s not even the end of it. Dwyane Wade defended his trophy with another Skills Challenge win, making it a second consecutive victory and blowing out Kobe Bryant, the second place winner. So as the clock ticks closer to the start of the second half of the regular season, players begin to regroup, putting the past behind them, and preparing for buzzer beaters, explosive dunks, long distance-shots, and a weekend’s worth of action.

No comments: