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Sports & Recreation
Sunday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. ET. That's when the next NBA All-Star Game hits the boards. ... For the past five years, who gets to start for the NBA All-Star match-up has been determined by popular vote. This year sponsored by Sprite, the ballots have been coming in through NBA arenas, on-line voting at NBA.com, and {ready?} at movie theaters in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. As of the 5th returns, posted January 16th, here's how things stack up for the top 5 players at each position -- East & West: Eastern Conference Guards: Allen Iverson (Phi) 883,290; Tracy McGrady (Orl) 482,170; Reggie Miller (Ind) 310,635; Stephon Marbury (NJ) 307,828; Tim Hardaway (Mia) 274,420. Centers: Alonzo Mourning (Mia) 462,246; Theo Ratliff (Phi) 361,356; Dikembe Mutombo (Atl) 343,495; Jermaine O'Neal (Ind) 279,080; Antonio Davis (Tor) 138,836. Western Conference Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 853,156; Jason Kidd (Pho) 545,213; Jason Williams (Sac) 414,079; Gary Payton (Sea) 399,069; Steve Francis (Hou) 310,753;. Centers: Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) 931,452; David Robinson (SA) 335,237; Vlade Divac (Sac) 301,915; Patrick Ewing (Sea) 188,693; Hakeem Olajuwon (Hou) 113,620. We won't bore you with the details of whether or not we think some of these guys deserve to be near the top of the list {or, for that matter, on the list at all}. Suffice it to say that, from where we sit, a popularity contest is not the best way to determine starters for an NBA game. But it does point to one thing pretty clearly. The NBA All-Star Game is not about the quality of play. It's a popularity contest, pure and simple. Granted, the better players are often more popular. But popularity can long outlast quality of play on the court ... or, on the other side, can easily come to a player prematurely, whether because of hype or, say, high scoring games that don't necessarily mean the best for his team. The 'starters' by popular vote make the team, then. But after that, it's the coaches who get to pick the rest of the teams. This seems to us like the worst of both worlds. Either we go -- all the way -- by a popularity contest, or, preferably, let the coaches {probably along with reputable sports commentators and writers} choose. But that won't happen. In typical fashion, the NBA is trying to have its cake and eat it, too. ... Enough of the criticism, though. ... For more years than I can remember now, probably since a few years after the advent of free agency, the NBA All-Star Game has become nothing more than one of the best 'playground' games around. ... That should be good enough, I suppose. But then I keep coming back to the fact that there are lots of guys around the country who are literally playing their hearts out in playground games, some of whom, simply because of chance, will never see NBA hardwood, though they may be better than some of the folks who'll be starting in the All-Star Game. Oh, well. ... It doesn't mean I won't watch. And, even though the NBA is in something of a viewer slump, it doesn't mean there won't be millions of others -- around the world -- watching, too. ... . ******* ******* If you would like to submit something for our Good Sport feature, or if you simply would like to suggest something you think we ought to cover, e-mail us at ... sports@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* |
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