Vegas Baby...Vegas

The NBA All-Star game is hands down the most exciting all-star game in professional sports. I don't care if you don't like basketball, this is a fact. Nobody wants to play in the Pro-Bowl (just ask Ray Lewis who was an injury replacement for the Bronco's Al Wilson and ended up passing his spot off to teammate Bart Scott), baseball's home-run derby has fallen flat on its face now that the steroid era is upon us, and the NHL just played its all-star game on a Wednesday night.
What makes this year better than the rest can be summed up in two short words by the great Johnny Drama..."Vegas Baby". In a city that made Vince Vaughan a superstar, laid 2Pac to rest, and claims its own slogan, "What happens here, stays here", Las Vegas is a wondrous whistle-stop. Hosting the most entertaining weekend on the sports calender in a place that is known for showcasing top tier entertainment makes sense. Besides the actual game, here are three things that make NBA All-Star Weekend so special.

1. Complete fan voting control on who gets to start. Take this year's game, if it were up to the coaches, Shaq wouldn't be in Vegas. Most look at this as a travesty, but I love it. Remember in last year's game, when he was attempting a free throw and instead of clanking another one off the front rim, Shaq throws himself an alley-oop off the backboard. The guys a crowdpleaser in every sense of the word (or two words) and I couldn't imagine an all-star game without him. Another example is having Tracy McGrady start. The fans are what make the game so great, and if T-Mac's who they want to see, their shouldn't be any controversy with him starting over Steve Nash. However democracy doesn't work all the time (see Our President). I don't care if he was a participant in the MSG brawl, Carmelo Anthony is an all-star to everyone who knows basketball. He proved this over the summer at the World Games when he out shined the leagues brightest stars. He's the leagues leading scorer and if David Stern doesn't choose him to replace Carlos Boozer as a reserve, then 'Melo got robbed at gunpoint.

2. Although not as exciting as the slam dunk contest, the three-point shootout is a tasty appetizer. Last year's winner Dirk Nowitzki is the obvious favorite to win it all again, but If I had to predict a winner, I like Ray Allen. He's the prettiest player with the smoothest game in the entire league. As a two time winner, if Allen were to come out on top again, he'd join the likes of Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only 3 time winners in the history of the event. The fact that he's been trapped in small market cities like Seattle and Milwaukee his entire career makes me want to cry. He's 6th in the league in minutes played and as quiet as his personality precedes him, he's gotta be one of the most frustrated players in the league. They need to send him to a contender soon...people who don't get to see him on a nightly basis don't know what they're missing.

3. With the awful memory of 5'9" New York Knick Nate Robinson taking 14 attempts to make his between the legs off the backboard dunk behind us (the one over Spud Webb was nice though), this year's dunk contest has the possibility of a Boston Celtic actually winning something. With the actual contestants not being announced until Monday, it's almost a lock that Gerald Green will get an invite. I had the pleasure of witnessing Green's 42 inch vertical in person when I went to the TD Banknorth Garden with my dad to watch the Celtics take on the 76ers (a real battle between two playoff contenders). To give you an idea of just how high Green gets, the half-time entertainment consisted of two guys doing tricks on skis while jumping on a trampoline. Being afraid of heights, it was tough to watch as the two acrobats would go at least 30 feet in the air...whenever young Gerald went up for a rebound, I felt petrified for his safety. I'm expecting a Vince Carter type performance. With that being said, I'm gonna have to go with my man to dethrone Mr. Robinson and give Celtics fans a consolation prize for the 2006-07 season.