Sports Then and Now

Dwyane Wade was the MVP of a super-sized All-Star Game.

The 2010 NBA All-Star Game told us a lot. First, pro basketball has a huge fan appeal that is Texas-sized! We can thank two of the most visible and dynamic owners of professional sports franchises for that as Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones and Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban made much of this event possible in a plush new stadium that is less than a year old.

According to TNT NBA Anchor Ernie Johnson, a Guinness Book of World Records for attendance at a basketball game was set with 108,713 people attending the game at Cowboys’ Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Feb. 14.

Second, after trailing throughout most of the game, the world’s greatest collection of athletes proved that coming from behind is no big deal if none at all as the West refused to let the East pull away.

Third, we are seeing a changing of the guard in terms of the best-of-the-best players in the NBA as we enter a new decade. The good news here for basketball fans is that the best players in the league are still very young and while many are veterans, they are in their prime or just reaching it.

In football, it is said that many players need four years to develop to become an all-pro caliber and championship player. The speed of the game is faster and some differences in rules between the college and pro game factor into that. The same can be said in basketball give a year or two shorter or longer. There is also a learning curve with things like the pick-and-roll, help side defense, and clock management. Read the rest of this entry →

You can always count on LeBron James to put on a show at the All-Star Game.

Professional sports All-Star games are kind of like new pennies. They are too bright and alluring not to pick up, but you quickly realize that they aren’t really worth much.

Of the “big 3” sports, the NBA All-Star Game is probably the best, if only because the rosters are small enough that you have some of the best stars on the court from opening tip to final horn.

In recent years, the NBA has turned the concept of the All-Star Game into a star-studded three-day extravaganza where the actual game can almost be anti-climatic to all the events that precede it.

The idea of special events in advance of the All-Star Game actually dates back to the ABA when Julius Erving dazzled fans with his famous foul line dunk. The NBA created its own dunk contest in 1984 and added a three-point shootout two years later. The weekend now also includes skills and horse competitions, a celebrity game and a game between first and second year NBA players.

By the time the actual All-Stars take to the court on Sunday night, seemingly half the players in the NBA will have participated in one event or another. Read the rest of this entry →

New Orleans and Oklahoma City are linked by tragedy and redemption.

Linked by Tragedy and Bonded by Response to Tragedy, New Orleans and Oklahoma City Walk the Same Road to Redemption

The New Orleans Saints have propelled their city to the center of the sports world’s attention, and are the sentimental favorite of most of the “uncommitted” fans as the Super Bowl approaches. They’ve been called the new, “America’s Team,” and one recent article has dubbed them, “God’s Team.”

In addition to having lived with 40 years of “Who Dat?” frustration over Saints football, New Orleans has earned the sympathy and support of much of the country for everything they suffered during Hurricane Katrina, and the after-effects that continue to persist.

But many years before Katrina, Oklahoma City experienced an event that was at least equally devastating to the civic psyche as New Orleans’ natural disaster. Read the rest of this entry →

Despite flying under the NBA radar, Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks are challenging the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Considering that the Cavaliers, Celtics and Magic have dominated the headlines in the Eastern Conference of the NBA, you might be surprised to discover that following their win Friday night over the old men from Beantown, the Atlanta Hawks actually have the second best record in the East and the fourth best record overall in the NBA.

They punctuated that fact against the Celtics with their fourth victory over Boston this season to register an improbable season sweep over the squad many just assume will be facing Cleveland for the right to play in the NBA Finals in June.

After the continued performance of the Hawks, basketball experts might have to rethink that assumption.

Though they don’t have the household names and marquee superstars of the Cavaliers, Celtics and Magic, the Hawks are quietly going about their business of creating a consistent team that could be a threat come playoff time.

While it may appear to the casual fan that the Hawks have come out of nowhere, in reality this is not an Atlanta team that suddenly has risen from the dredges to become a surprise contender. In contrast, the Hawks have actually been building to a crescendo over the last couple years.

It started during the 2007-2008 season when they finished with just a 37-45 record, but still took the eventual champion Boston Celtics to a seven game series in the playoffs.

Last season Atlanta improved to 47-35 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs before being unceremoniously swept by the Cavaliers.

The Hawks appear to be ready to make more noise this season as, in addition to the sweep of the Celtics, they have wins over the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz. Read the rest of this entry →