NBA All-Stars Losing Their Glamour

This year's NBA All-Star Game is a bit different then those in years past. For beginners, the game is being played in Las Vegas, the first time the game has been played in a city without a NBA team. Also, it will be a game full of lack-luster, non-deserving players. In my mind, the All-Star Game should be for those players that have played like an All-Star during the year and are deserving of recognition. However, that is not the case because the starters are voted in by fans (making it the "American Idol" event of professional basketball). Let's look at the glaring problems with this year's All-Star game for the East and West. With the East, there is Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq is a dominant player, but has he been an All-Star this year? NO! Shaq has played in more All-Star games (14) than he has games this season (10). Dwight Howard should have gotten the nod to start. Then there is the new Kobe Bryant of the NBA, Gilbert Arenas. Gilbert scores points, but do I believe that he should be a starter? Once again, no. Arenas is shooting a pathetic 43% from the field and has hoisted up 984 shots this year. No wonder why he scores so much, it's a simple numbers game. "Now if I throw up at least 20 shots a game I'm bound to score about 30 a game and make the All-Star team." Not to mention, Arenas has taken 413 foul shots already this season, solidifying his status as a flopper that gets too much star treatment. Caron Butler, Arenas' teammate, is more deserving of the start. Anybody that watches the Wizards knows that as Butler goes, so does the team. With the West, every position is out of whack. The team features 3 centers and 2 "point forwards." First, Yao Ming is the starter when he has been gone since November with a broken foot. Because the NBA knows that Yao has the backing of millions in China and is a lock as the starter every year, they list Duncan and Garnett as forwards so they have chances to start as well. Here's a couple of homework assignments for all of you, go home and watch all the Spurs' and Timberwolves' games from this year and tell me how many games Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett played forward spots and not center. I'm telling you now, you can count them on one hand. Here' s your second homework assignment, go watch all the Jazz's games from this year and tell me how many games Mehmet Okur played center and not power forward. Center is not Okur's natural position, he's even 2 inches shorter than Duncan, but that's the position he plays. Why do I mention this? Well, because Okur was listed as a center on the All-Star ballot. Quite the conspiracy theory, no? The same goes for the point guard position on the West's squad...Kobe Bryant! Seriously, how many times does Kobe play the point? Steve Nash has won two straight MVPs, is averaging double the assists that Kobe does (which is really the purpose of the point guard, right?) and still gets snubbed out of a starting spot on the team because Kobe and T-Mac have to start. Then there is the story of the 2 Nuggets, Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. Neither deserve an All-Star selection this year but they both got one. While 'Melo sat out 15 games for that sissy punch he threw, Iverson sat out for a month after demanding a trade. When together, they were supposed to be unstoppable, everybody thought it would be the start of a Nuggets dynasty. Yeah, with 'Melo and Iverson together, the Nuggets have a losing record and have allowed a Boozer-less Jazz to gain a 7 game lead on them in the division. The NBA needs to re-evaluate what the purpose of the All-Star Game is. Is it to earn money by showcasing it's most popular faces, or is it a way to recognize players that have stepped it up and played like an "All-Star"? As of right now it's the first, which is a shame.

Reversal of Roles for Father and Son

When Austin stepped onto the court at The Marriott Center on the campus of BYU he found himself playing under the shadow of a great. The retired jersey of Danny Ainge lurks in the rafters above everybody that plays there. But, to Austin, Danny Ainge is more than a great player that changed the face of BYU basketball, Danny Ainge is his father. Austin Ainge has had his critics while playing at BYU, “He’s definitely not Danny,” has been muttered more than once. However, right now, the tides are changing. Danny Ainge, the Executive Director of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics, is making history. The Celtics have lost a franchise record 14 straight games. In the days of Larry Bird, and Danny Ainge, the longest losing streak the Celtics ever had was 4 games. Austin Ainge, the starting point guard at BYU, is making a little history of his own. BYU has been dominant during their current winning streak, having picked up road wins at The Pit in New Mexico and at Utah, which BYU hasn’t done in over 20 years. In addition, BYU has defeated Air Force and UNLV, #10 and #13 rpi, at home by a combined 36 points. Those two wins added to BYUs current home winning streak, 28 games, the second longest in the nation. All while doing this, Austin has contributed significantly with his pin-point passing, sharp shooting, and ability to control the tempo of the game. For just this little moment in time, in seems that Austin may be the one lurking over his father.

Brett Favre - Please Retire NEXT Year

Brett Favre has more than accomplished what he set out to do in the NFL. When Favre came into the league, there were droves of people that pronounced his name "Fav-ray," I still do. Favre brought back a Super Bowl title to the Green Bay Packers, has won 3 MVPs, brought tears to many frozen cheeseheads, and was behind the scenes in the now infamous "Lambeau Leap." Didn't you just love how hard the Broncos tried during their Super Bowl runs to make their "Mile High Salute" just as/if not more popular and failed miserably? Those Denver Donkeys, so funny......
Favre has also made his mark on the record books, he holds the NFL records for most consecutive starts (237) and most consecutive 3,000 yard seasons (15). Favre needs just 7 TD passes, 2 more wins, 3,900 yards passing, and 5 interceptions to become the NFL all-time leader in each of those respective categories. With that said, I can understand why he would come back for one more year, but anything after that will just be another sports star at the slaughter, like Michael Jordan with the Washington Wizards. Watching "His Airness" dunk those last couple of seasons was like watching Oliver Miller dunk...in slow motion. It's been a good run Brett, you have your spot in Canton, so just play your last season, retire, and move on with life. Your now gray hairs will always be remembered and your legend has been solidified at the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field!

Pick Your Poison - There's No Way Around It

I don't know what is worse: having to wait 2 weeks for the Super Bowl, being a sports writer that has to find a Super Bowl topic that hasn't been beaten like a dead horse, or the innocent public having to read the crap that the sports writers put in front of us. Today, all 3 have joined forces, in the form of the crappiest article ever written on espn.com. David Thorpe of espn.com posted an article this morning entitled, "Best football players from NBA rosters." In this article, Thorpe goes through a football roster and puts NBA players in every position. In his opening paragraph he wrote, "take a second to imagine the kind of havoc some of these guys would wreak on the football field." This has to be the most ludicrous notion I have ever heard, that basketball players can make a switch to the NFL. I don't think Thorpe has even watched any of the fights this season, none of them can even land a clean punch. Heck Thorpe, the golf season just started, why don't you write an article on best women's golfers in the NBA, that would for sure involve Mike Miller, Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, and Adam Morrison (he wouldn't be the first LPGA golfer with a moustache). How about the best basketball players from soccer? I can see David Beckham running the point and Freddy Adu throwing down some LeBron-esque dunks! Ooh, what about John Daly on the pitcher's mound? Hey, if David Wells can do it, anybody can. Better yet, what about professional wrestlers in baseball? They would fit right in with the steroids and all; however, their flopping abilities may be better suited to the NBA. If you are not an insider subscriber to espn.com, I'm terribly sorry you cannot participate in reading this laughfest of an article, maybe there is a reason they make you pay to read that stuff, it's that bad.