All Star Festivities Open Thread
by Ben Swanson on Feb 19, 2011 5:38 PM EST
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PrintThe Bobcats don't have anyone in the skills competitions or the All Star Game, but I thought I'd create an open thread for anyone who wants to talk Dunk Contest, ASG, or whatever.
Conversation starter: Which sporting event has the better musical performances, the Super Bowl or the NBA All Star Game? What if you're only talking about the past decade or so?
After the Black Eyed Peas debacle, I'd have to go with the All Star Game. That performance just put a big skidmark on the Super Bowl halftime show history. However, Prince was pretty good at the Super Bowl, if my memory serves me well. Your thoughts?
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It's a pretty tough call.
After the unforgettable “wardrobe malfuntion” the NFL decided to play it safe with aging classic rockers and a 6 second time delay to prevent any “warning label worthy” lyrics from being broadcast. That was fine for a while. The Who were incredible, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers did a great job, and even though the Rolling Stones looked like the “Old Geezers on the Block” they still know how to tear up a joint in a big way.
So the NFL decided to roll the dice with youthful acts again and selected the Black Eyed Peas instead of Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift. (It’s only a matter of time before Swift is the headliner, I guarantee it. She’s too pretty, talented, and popular to be ignored and what passes for country music nowadays is more popular than any other genre in the nation now that even Hip-Hop sales are in decline.) As a result we got a whole lot of flash and almost no substance whatsoever. I think the Peas have set the Super Bowl Haltime Shows back even worse than the 1/4-second flash of Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nipple.”
But the NBA All Star game is usually so boring that I’ve fallen asleep before the musical extravaganze and this season I’m not even planning to watch at all. Let’s face it. The owners, players, and even the talent agents despise the event and only do it each season out of some sense of obligation and perceived fan expectations. They are so worried that a Lebron or Kobe will pick up an injury during the game that almost no risks are taken unless tempers flare. The first time one of the league’s elite picks up a season or (God forbid) career threatening injury during an NBA All-Star game or even one of the peripheral events will also be the time when the NBA seriously considers bagging the whole thing entirely. Having it take place just before the playoff races really heat up is a ludicrous idea at best. One turned ankle or hammy injury during a game that means nothing could well destroy an entire team’s chances to be competitive in the post season.
For musical entertainment value, I think the Super Bowl still has a slight edge. But as an overall entertainment package, the NBA game may be more exciting, but it will never provide the same level of buzz and hoopla of a Super Bowl. Shoot, even the commercials run during the Super Bowl are front page news and the primary topic of conversation at water coolers all over the country.
Because of injury worries, the NBA All-Star Game is the standout exception to the league promise that “Amazing can happen any time.”
P.S. - Is it an interim fling or a permanent bromance?
by Ourdaywillcome on Feb 19, 2011 6:19 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
TNT's whole production tonight has been outstanding
The big fantasy draft was hilarious and the ‘Lost Dunks’ segment was fantastic.
Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is,
I get more props and stunts than Bruce Willis
- Guru, of Gangstarr
lost dunks was fun
Brent Barry was hilarious at times, especially when he did the “ball off the head after 20 cups of gatorade” segment
What would Charlotte's Shooting Stars' team be?
I’m thinking Stephen Jackson, Dawn Staley and Dell Curry.
Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is,
I get more props and stunts than Bruce Willis
- Guru, of Gangstarr
CABLE MONOPOLIES SUCK !
Can’t see anything, TV is down :-<(
by chris in union county on Feb 19, 2011 9:42 PM EST reply actions
Why was DJ not in the skillz? :(
Would have thought MJ could have pulled some strangs.
GREAT Dunk contest!
GSO
"I'd rather jerk off a tiger in a phone booth than draft Cam"
-Mel Kiper, Jr.
Best dunk contest in years
Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is,
I get more props and stunts than Bruce Willis
- Guru, of Gangstarr
by Ben Swanson on Feb 20, 2011 12:04 AM EST up reply actions
He woudnt be able to beat Steph and his pedo pimpin
"There is nothing like a wise phrase or quote to help convince others that your decision makes sense." - Anon
"If you're ever in a fair fight, then your tactics suck." ಠ_ಠ
that was really awkward
ESPECIALLY the wink
I know the wink probably had nothing to do with anything, but the way he looked and the way the cameras caught him, I was like… well Steph does look like he’s 12.
I actually enjoyed
the black eyed peas halftime show
i have yet to see an NBA all-star concert I’ve enjoyed EXCEPT Beyonce, so the super bowl wins by a large margin in my mind
the “wardrobe malfunction” maybe the best superbowl halftime ever outside of nipplegate, and maybe outside of Michael Jackson
regarding the dunk contest
once they brought out a “kia” I knew it was rigged and blake was gonna win, which explained why the judges scored Serge Ibaka so low
I mean, the dude did two things no one had ever done (actually doing a “true” free throw line dunk and biting a toy off the rim)… as awkward as the whole toy thing was, it was no less awkward than anything Kenny Smith said the whole night, or the choir, or Chris Webber calling out Dwight Howard
ive seen people jump over cars from end to end, blake griffin jumped over the hood, which im sure anyone in any of the dunk contests ever, could have done
javale mcghee dunked three balls at once… three… does anyone appreciate how much hangtime it takes to do that? rediculousness
No question Javale McGhee should have won, and it should’ve been he and Serge in the finals
by adamcawa on Feb 20, 2011 11:26 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
And see, here's where my problem with this dunk 'contest' is
It’s total BS. Plain and simple. I suppose it’s my fault, because I keep watching it every year, and every year I just end up being disgusted,annoyed, and frustrated. Maybe it’s my whole thing against the All-Stars (be it NBA, MLS, NFL, MLB, etc). It’s just a big super extravagant money maker for the NBA (or other league) that I suppose ‘celebrates’ the game and the most ‘talented’ players out there, ie the most popular ones in the league (usually from the big market teams). But then of course, as ourday points out, you’ve got players, coaches, managers, and agents who are all scared stiff that someone might sustain an injury during this weekend. So in many cases, it’s not like anyone’s actually trying.
In my mind, if you’re doing a dunk contest, do a dunk contest. Don’t give me this crap where you bring in a Kia or a choir. What the hell is this, a circus? It may just as well be one. You see Javale McGhee’s final dunk? Yeah, beat’s Griffin’s in my book. Nice and (seemingly) simple and without any stupid crap. Of course, it’s probably hard to convince most that his was better, after having to go after Griffin’s stunt.
The whole thing is a sham. The judges are incredibly inconsistent, and in most cases, have already made up their minds who’s going to win the thing. Like adam says, how the hell do you score Serge Ibaka so low? I mean really. Remember the whole Nate Robinson and Dwight Howard junk? Remember how Rudy Fernandez was completely shunned, (unfairly so, in the eyes of many?). You could go on and on with this subject. Get two players who are the ‘main event’ and then bring in two fillers, who may have better dunks during the opening rounds, but are incapable of advancing because it’s all designed around the two ‘main event’ players. They could have the lousiest dunk ever during the opening round, (ie, Dwight Howard) but still make it to the final.
This contest is nothing more but an extravagant show-off, and maybe that really is the point of it, you know, but in my mind, awesome dunks don’t require the use of Kias or Superman capes or whatever. Maybe I’m taking the dunk contest too seriously, I don’t know, but I feel that it could be so much better if only the NBA actually tried.
Also, I wish they hadn’t cut Horse from the All-Stars. Again, the NBA had it set up with the dumbest rules. I feel like if properly constructed, a true Horse game would be fun to watch.
by Roger, Roger on Feb 20, 2011 12:58 PM EST up reply actions
It's not really a competition, it's an exhibition.
Despite a winner being declared, there really is no winner.
The entertainment value is less than what the Bobcats offer during half-time on most nights.
by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Feb 20, 2011 8:24 PM EST up reply actions
The entertainment value is less than what the Bobcats offer during half-time on most nights.
Is that in reference to the dunk contest?!?
Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is,
I get more props and stunts than Bruce Willis
- Guru, of Gangstarr
Yes
that said the half-time show at the Bobcats games can be pitiful at times
by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Feb 20, 2011 10:40 PM EST up reply actions
I don't know what you were watching, but that was some of the best entertainment I've seen
Sure, some guys may have gotten robbed, but a dunk contest hasn’t been that entertaining since… I don’t even know.
Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is,
I get more props and stunts than Bruce Willis
- Guru, of Gangstarr
by Ben Swanson on Feb 20, 2011 11:09 PM EST up reply actions
I didn't watch any of it...
and I only watched half of the All Star Game…
I’m just ready for more Bobcats Basketball!
Bobcats Basketball is my only pro sports passion...
by andrewlail76 on Feb 21, 2011 11:39 AM EST up reply actions
it was definately
one of the more entertaining and creative dunk contests
and other than blake and javale’s final dunks, pretty much all of the dunks were something new
probably the best overall dunk contest since 2000
I think they should come up with a system based on number of attempts rather than time… you get 3 free attempts and then every miss after that you lose points, so if you get a 50 on your 4th attempt, you can only really get a 45.
It takes so much “umph” out of the dunks when you have to attempt them 7 times. Which also means that if you’re gonna use an assist, you had better trust the person tossing you the ball (cough derozan cough).
I didn't watch it this year.
I saw it last year when GW & Flip gave it a go.
Grown men having fun. Not really a competition. No stakes.
by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Feb 21, 2011 10:08 PM EST up reply actions
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