This award goes to the Least Valuable Performer not in the All-Star game itself, but of the entire All-Star weekend. Some people seemed interested in only removing joy from the festivities, and they deserve to be recognized.The nominees:
Wayne Newton. I know he's a Vegas icon, and he's probably a hell of a guy, but ... I don't understand his appeal, and I'm tired of looking at his "face." When it's time to put a likeness of Wayne into a wax museum, just wait until he dies, and put the actual Wayne Newton in there. I'm pretty sure the composition is about the same. Wayne Newton is guaranteed not to decompose.
The NBA. I realize that I had them nominated for MVP, too, but they made their share of poor decisions. First was not allowing Dwight Howard to move the rim up to 12-feet for a dunk. That seemed joyless and unnecessary. Then, they wouldn't let Nate Robinson dunk over a card table and a Playboy bunny. Also joyless. And to top it all off, they failed to deliver on Bette Midler.
Tyrus Thomas. He talked about just wanting to get paid, and he put pressure on himself to perform ... and he showed up and performed average dunks, one of which he couldn't even make. Bad weekend for Tyrus Thomas.
Michael Jordan. Maybe the greatest dunker ever ... inarguably the worst dunk contest judge ever. He gave out one "10" all night, and it was on a (relatively) pedestrian effort by Gerald Green on the last dunk of the evening. I will go to my grave believing that Dwight Howard was robbed of this title, and Jordan is the main reason for it.
Gilbert Arenas. Gilbert did perform the trampoline dunk at a timeout, which was fantastic, but ... weren't you expecting more from Gilbert this weekend? Other than that, all we got was that palms-up hands gesture that I haven't quite figured out. Nothing remarkable during the three-point contest, nothing remarkable during the game ... well, other than when TNT mics caught him saying he would "cross Kobe up," which was followed immediately by Kobe taking him to the hole.
And the winner is...
Michael Jordan. I cannot forgive the judging of the Dwight Howard dunk. I know Michael wasn't the only one, but he's being chosen as a representative of the group. The whole night, and I'm sure that this was different later on at the casinos with Charles, but Jordan sat at the table and seemed so curmudgeonly and austere. All-Star Weekend didn't need him.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
My current theory on the Arenas hand gesture (from my sister) is that he is "holding" his on-screen name card--meaning it would only make sense to a TV viewer.
All it takes is one Bog interview question to find out the truth, though.
I agree. Wayne Newton looks like what THE ROCK will become when he turns 60 years old. Everything from his coaching during the celebrity hoops game to the lip synching the pre-game "festivities" were a bit lame.
And for a professional lounge singer....his voice sounded like Bea Arthur.
NBA All-Star Weekend is a grotesque joke.
It should be in Vegas every year.
Gil's 'hands up' is the hibachi heating up...
i wonder why noone mentions how stoned MJ was in that contest!! at first i thought he was drunk but his red eyes told a different story :-)
The NBA All-Star Game should be cancelled. These animals dont know how to act. The cant be a part of society. They are primitive. In my opinion they should just do away with the NBA and send all the animals back to the projects were they belong, because after all, thats the way they like to live. They can hide behind all there money from playing with a basketball, but deep down they are who they are and will never change or addapt to the way things should be. Lets face it. "They" are responsible for the downfall of this country. They should just all go back to where they came from because at the end of the day all they really want to do is sit under a tree and watch the elephants go by!
alison...keep trying. If you post enough anonymous internet messages like this one, you might actually start to feel better about your own pathetic existence. Must suck being you.