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Every year - in every sport where “fan voting” is allowed - an argument pops up RE: whether or not the “fans” should be given the duty of naming the starters for that sport’s “All Star Game”.  And, of course, in the NBA … fan voting IS in place. 

There have been examples of the fans getting it wrong in the past, no doubt.  But I’m sure the media gets it wrong sometimes too (as do coaches (who select the reserves)) when it comes to sentimental selections for All Star games, regular season awards, etc. 

However, this year … the fans get a collective High 5 from me; a pat on the back; whatever ya like.  The fans got it RIGHT this year in the NBA. 

While Jason Kidd may be entering his twilight - and his team may be struggling - he’s still putting up the numbers in New Jersey, and he’s still looked upon by most … as one of the best point guards in the NBA.  Heck, some would still call him THE “best” - with the only others in the argument being Steve Nash and Chris Paul (note: I say Nash is #1).

Kidd will be joined in the East by Kevin Garnett (top vote-getter overall), LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and Dwyane Wade. 

The only player that could/should be questioned is Wade.  He hasn’t been the same player this year … he’s been injured a ton … and his team is terrible.  His vote is clearly based on popularity and TV commercials … not on his current play on the floor.  But I’ll give the fans a mulligan on this one … ’cause they got it BANG-ON with Howard getting the nod over Shaq.  And how could you argue KG or LBJ?

In the West, I have NO issue with ANY of the picks.  Kudos to the votes for putting Yao Ming, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, and Allen Iverson in the starting 5.  Iverson got in there with a late surge over TMAC - and that’s the way it should have been.  Nice.

To the fans of the NBA:  Thank You.

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Meanwhile, in Toronto, everyone seems to be weighing-in on what Jamario Moon should do in the Dunk Contest.  Here’s my idea (though I don’t know if it’ll get used now - ’cause it’s no longer a ’secret’ … I’m letting it out of the bag now!): He walks onto the court in his Raptors’ uniform with a duffle bag in his hand.  He reaches down … unzips the bag … and pulls out a ‘costume’ — that you could probably get at any local costume shop for $50 or less … And that costume??  An astronaut jumpsuit!  Maybe even with the NASA logo on it - maybe even with his name on the back!  He steps into the jumpsuit … zips up … and goes on to throw down a Jordan-jumpman dunk from at or near the free throw line — or at least some kind of dunk that’d allow him to get good enough ‘air’ … so he truly looks like a dude that is walking on air … or … ‘walking’ in … ’space’ …

E. Smith
ericsmithfan590@yahoo.com

This entry was posted on Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 8:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.