Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones pulled an NBA All-Star Game for the ages. Sure, there wasn’t much defense — at least not until the fourth quarter — and the record-crowd only made noise for the obvious plays (outrageous dunks, etc), but it was a spectacle. But then again, Jerry Jones’ architectural masterpiece of sports arenas had as much to do with that as anything happening on the court.
Now, this is not a knock on the NBA’s celebration of itself, All-Star games should be fun exhibitions, but if you were expecting the pinnacle of basketball competition, you probably left last night feeling rather disappointed. One player who didn’t waste the opportunity for fun, however, was Dwight Howard.
The boys from Vote4Amare are back with their second installment, and this time, they’re not talking about practice. No. Instead, they’re talking about goggles. Now remember, OSHA teaches us the importance of taking care of your eyes with protective goggles, so why shouldn’t that apply to the NBA? Who cares how they look? Following that rationale, what if protected eyes improved your game to an All-Star level? Would you be down with wearing them then? No matter how they made you look?
Yeah, that’s what I thought. Anyway, here is Amar’e and David Spade with their second segment of their Vote4Amare series.
Whatever it is they are doing, they must be doing it right, because at last count, Amar’e was the leading vote-getter among Western Conference centers.
The NBA All Star voting period is in full bloom right now and Phoenix Sun Amar’e Stoudemire hired some help to make sure you know who to vote for when it comes time to cast your ballot. Channeling the Chris Bosh method of using viral marketing, Stoudemire has teamed up with David Spade, who “coaches” Amar’e on the finer points of getting All-Star votes. In their first video, Spade is trying to teach Stoudemire about flopping. Things are going well until Spade gets poked in the chest and his entire body collapses from the strength of Amar’e's hands.
For what it’s worth, while these kinds of videos are all in good fun, I don’t think Stoudemire needs the help. He’s currently the leading vote-getter for Western Conference centers.
Get it while it’s hot, because it’s doubtful this will last long. So yeah, seeing Crawford win the All Star MVP for a catch instead of a timely hit and/or run was refreshing. It’s happened before, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it. The last non-pitcher to win the MVP without a RBI? Willie Mays in 1968, so yeah, it’s been a while. Speaking of “been a while,” when the hell is the National League going to win one of these suckers again?
Granted, it took Crawford’s robbing of Brad Hawpe to secure this year’s win — a streak that’s been going since 1996 — but damn, at some point, you’d think the law of averages would kick in, but nope. That little phenomenon apparently skips All Star baseball.
No, the Texas slugger isn’t participating in tonight’s Home Run Derby, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy his incredible 28-homer round from last year. The funny thing is, because totals don’t carry over to the final round, and because Hamilton couldn’t reproduce his first round magic, he wound up losing to Justin Morneau.
The MLB’s All Star celebration is about a week away, and with that comes the obligatory marketing push. Commercials, print ads, ESPN spots; you name it, advertising-wise, and the MLB is probably using it to get the word out about the baseball party in St. Louis. One such method — the Fox commercial — is being met with some less-than-enthusiastic response, especially from our friends at Major League Jerk. Hef thinks the above commercial is perhaps the Worst Commercial Ever; and while I can see the reason for this sentiment, I’m leaning more towards “this is just silly” side.
I’m not sure, but I think I even like the magnet idea, although, the cheese factor is certainly there. In light of all the steroid crap, do baseball fans still get this excited over an exhibition game with unnecessary meaning tacked on?
We established last year that we like the NBA All Star Game and all the regalia involved. If you don’t, too bad. Don’t watch. That will not, however, interfere with my desire to see freak athletes try new things when dunking a basketball or to watch the NBA’s new breed run up and down the court tonight in an exhibition of fast-break basketball. Sorry, if you’re in it for the defense, this isn’t the weekend for you.
OK folks in Cleveland, you can retire all those nifty words you came up with to describe the Mo Williams snub. Thanks to a Chris Bosh knee injury, the NBA now thinks more of the Cavaliers team and has decided to bring LeBron’s personal point guard to the All Star Game festivities. Now that the “total smack in the face” has been rectified, do you think LeBron is still miffed at the NBA’s front office?
