All Star Weekend...I Love This Game?

Da Realist:

i completely agree with this.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/jay_mohr/02/22/mohr.sports/index.html

Waldini:

I dont completely agree with this. I thought TNT did a decent job on Sat leading up to the actual events. This year's game was boring (even though the score was close) but 2003 (Jordan's last year) was really good. They need a marquee name that white folks can relate to. Shaq is funny but he isnt viewed in the same light as Jordan, Magic, and Bird. PERIOD.

Other thoughts

Dunk Contest - Do agree it has lost its relevance since no major names participate anymore. Gone are the days where 7 folks including His Airness, Human Highlight Film, Skywalker, Larry N! ance, Glide, etc would participate and make it exciting. Plus they give cats too many chances (see Lil Nate) to win. It's a mockery compared to the 80s. The dunks have been tight but it's
taking these guys 15-20 mins to do them.

Skills - Actually liked it b/c they did have marquee names participating

3 point - no opinion

I will keep saying this until I'm blue in the face....today's NBA players are not embraced like the ones from 80s.

Da Realist:

the last real good all star game was 88. or maybe that's just when i started to view the weekend differently. this was the one in chicago, mike got 40 and the mvp, nique almost came away with it because mike outdueled nique in a slam dunk contest that really could have gone either way (but since it was in chicago...) and larry legend won the 3 point shooting contest for the 3rd straight time on the last shot. i cannot recall who won any other game except 1992 (when magic was allowed to play despite his hiv status).

dunk contest is almost garbage now. it's really only so much a contestant to do. how many variations of the between the legs dunk are we going to see? it's mildly entertaining, but not must-see tv. although it's better than all that other stuff. didn't even watch the other stuff. heard dwayne wade won the skills contest and dirk won the 3pt contest, but so what?

another thing. these t! hings shouldn't be prime time tv. this should come on at 1 or 2 like it used to, instead of bleeding into the night like monday night football. the nba needs to be trying to reel in the 12 years olds (like us in '88) instead of trying to chase every single dollar. this should be the one weekend all year long that can begin and end during the hours a normal child can stay up.

now, the all star game. the way the all star game is played now is really a microcosm of how the overall game has been adapted. the players today looked at and practiced all of the "sportscenter" plays they saw their idols doing yesteryear, but didn't pay attention the the real substance of the game. sure isiah used to throw a bounce pass alley oop from half court to dominique wilkins back then or magic will somehow find a teammate with a no look behind the back pass through traffic for the easy score, but it was still a *real* game with all the intangibles (defense included). now, it's understood that no one really plays any defense and everyone averages at least one alley oop pass per half. it's got all the flair, not none of the substance that it used to have.