Appetizer

The All-Star weekend began in its usual fashion with the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge on Friday. This exhibition pits the rooks against the sophomores in 48 minutes of knock-down, defence packed carnage… ok, maybe not. As with every year there were a ton of thunderous dunks, long range three point shots and crazy ball handling- with little to no defence.

Andre Iguodala was spectacular, hitting 13 of his 17 FG?s and drilling four three balls in the sophomores? victory. In total he had 30 points, 4 steals, 6 rebounds and the game?s MVP trophy. Not a bad day at the office. Of the top 10 picks in the 2004 draft, 6 were selected to play for the sophomores- Iguodala being one of them.

Other notable performances came from Toronto?s Charlie Villanueva who flooded the box score with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Houston?s Luther Head who added 18 points and 4 assists.

Sophomores over Rookies 106-96
MVP- Andre Iguodala
Thoughts: I wonder when the rookies will next beat the sophomores? Charlie Villanueva continues to make Stephen A. Smith look like a jackass (not that he needs much help).

Main Course

Saturday night began with the RadioShack Shooting Stars competition which saw the San Antonio team of Steve Kerr, Tony Parker and Kendra Wecker destroy all other competition in a resounding win. Considering the San Antonio team went first and set the bar so high, it was a pretty uneventful competition.

Winner- San Antonio
Thoughts: Why can?t these All-Star athletes hit a simple jump shot? I won?t say anything bad about Kelly Miller.

The Shooting Stars competition was followed by the PlayStation Skills Challenge. Canada?s own Steve Nash won the Skills Challenge last year and was heavily favoured to repeat this year. However, that was not the case as Nash couldn?t sink the near free throw line jump shot. Dwayne Wade ended up winning in what has to be one of the worst stacked events of the weekend. If you have a Skills Competition without Jason Kidd and Tony Parker, you might as well just not have it at all.

Winner- Dwayne Wade
Thoughts: Nash?s inability to hit that shot was embarrassing. What a snoozer of an event. Dwayne Wade is the most skilled player in the NBA? I think not.

Next up was the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout which featured a couple great shooters in Dirk Nowitzki and Ray Allen with a supporting cast of scorers, including Gilbert Arenas, Chauncey Billups, Quentin Richardson and Jason Terry. As the TNT analysts kept reminding us, most of these players are scorers, not shooters. Which, again, begs the questions- who picks these players?!

It looked through the first round as if Allen was going to pull out an easy victory, but the determined German, Nowitzki had other plans in mind. Nowitzki heated up in the second round and easily took the competition.

Winner- Dirk Nowitzki
Thoughts: Dirk Nowitzki?s stroke is as smooth as Scarlett Johansson?s naked rump. Fill the competition with pure shooters, not star scorers.

Now to the good stuff- or so we thought. The Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk contest is not only the longest name in the history of competitions, it?s also an eye-sore of an event when not stacked with the best dunkers in the league- this year?s dunk contest would be one of those times.

There were two great dunks in this competition. One by Andre Iguodala, who threw the ball off the back of the backboard, caught it in mid-air and threw it down with authority. The creativity, power and danger-factor (Iguodala nailed his head on the backboard on his first attempt) made it one of the best dunks in recent years. The other spectacular dunk of the eve belonged to 5 foot nothing Knicks guard Nate Robinson, who took a pass from Spud Webb and jumped over the 5?5? dunk legend Webb and slammed it home.

Those two dunks aside, it was the worst dunk contest in recent history. Not only were all the other dunks average and unexciting, but the two aforementioned ones followed a good 20 or so failed attempts. In fact, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were visibly frustrated with the number of attempts Robinson took. Iguodala could also be seen shouting ?Come on!?

Winner- Nate Robinson
Thoughts: Nate won, but shouldn?t have. That dunk by Iguodala was something special. If Rob Babcock was still working for the Raptors, he?d be fired after this weekend?s Iguodala-fest. Rafael Araujo over Andre Iguodala? Give me a break. Araujo has a Trump?esque penchants for getting people fired.

Desert

The 55th annual NBA All-Star Game took place in Houston?s Toyota Center and featured a slew of memorable moments. The show started off with Juno winner Jann Arden butchering Canada?s national anthem, which, unfortunately for Arden, was followed by Destiny?s Child?s flawless rendition of America?s Star Spangled Banner.

The game began as most NBA All-Star Games do- Lots of turnovers, lots of dunks and lots of three pointers. The West started strong and took a big lead, but the East turned up the defence and pulled ahead in the fourth quarter behind LeBron James’ 29 points.

Other notable performances include: Houston?s Tracy McGrady with 36 points, Miami?s Dwayne Wade with 20 points and San Antonio?s Tim Duncan with 15 points and 10 rebounds

This year?s All-Star Game was actually one of the better in recent memory. It wasn?t as high scoring as past games, but was quite competitive in the second half. The Detroit Pistons? Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and B-B-B-Ben Wallace gave the East an edge on defence and a rare continuity that propelled their team to victory.

Memorable moments include LeBron James mocking physics with a gravity-defying lay in, Ben Wallace embarrassing Pau Gasol with two consecutive blocks, Vince Carter hitting back rim on two monster jam attempts, Kobe Bryant splitting two defenders and hitting a ridiculous shot in the last few minutes and, last but certainly not least, Eva Longoria?s exposed navel.

Winner- Eastern All-Stars
MVP- LeBron James
Thoughts: LeBron is the youngest All-Star Game MVP in league history. Who?s luckier- Tony Parker or Jay-Z? Those All-Star jerseys were the ugliest I?ve ever seen. You better believe Big Ben will be practicing his free throws after that air ball. Chris Bosh had no PT in the fourth. Just how many arm bands does Paul Pierce need? Shaq looks old. Tracy McGrady looks depressed. Nice Toronto connection with Bosh, Carter and McGrady playing. The All-Star game should decide who gets home-court advantage- like in baseball.






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