Slam Junk Contest

This past weekend was full of sports, enough to keep any fan happy. The Olympic games were kicked off Friday, the University of Maine men's hockey team played a two game series against Hockey East Rival Boston University, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) was on their All-Star weekend break. This years events took place at the new Cowboys Stadium and was hosted by Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks.
The festivities included the celebrity game where actor Michael Rapaport shut down NFL wide receiver and fellow loud mouth Terrell "T.O." Owens. Though Rapaport only had four points in the game that also included members of the Harlem Globe Trotters, he was able to keep T.O. from scoring. Owens had been the reigning two year MVP for the celebrity game.
There was also the game between the rookies and sophomores of the NBA in what is called the Rookie Challenge. The rookies were lead by Sacramento Kings' Tyreke Evans and the Milwaukee Bucks' Brandon Jennings. The sophomores were lead by two players that were big time players last year-their first year in the league- the Miami Heat's Michael Beasley and the Memphis Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo. Though the sophomore have that one year of experience under their belt they were unable to hold of the rookies by a final score of 140-128.
Other events included the game itself that was one by the East in front of 108,713 people. Now it is understandable why the NBA held this years All-Star break inside a football stadium. 108,000 may sound like a lot but you know what they say about Texas- everything is bigger in Texas. That could also be true about the slam-dunk contest.
This years slam-dunk contest was one for the third straight time by the New York Knicks' Nate Robinson. Not that it was much of a competition, he was up against Toronto Raptors' rookie DeMar DeRozan, Los Angelas Lakers' Shannon Brown, and Charlotte Bobcats' Gerald Wallace. None of whom really threw down any kind of dunk worthy of getting the Texas sized crowd of their seats. Nothing quite like the dunk Magic' big man Dwight Howard did in 2008. At one point commentators Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith were offering to go back into the locker room and lace up to show the guys how it was done. Congratulations to Dwight Howard, but it may be a long time before the Dunk Contest is held inside such a large venue. I feel bad for those who gave up a Saturday night to be there, or like me who stayed home to watch.(though it was still not as bad as trying to watch the Pro Bowl)