NBA BEAT - GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP REIGNS AT NBA ALL STAR WEEKEND

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

Tuesday February 17, 2009

LESSONS IN MANHOOD

They say kiss and make up and let bygones be bygones and those adages were exemplified in Phoenix, Arizona this past NBA all Star weekend. The West led by Kobe Bryant (27 points - 4 assists - 4 steals) and former Lakers teammate (now Phoenix Suns) Shaquille O'Neal (17 points - 5 rebounds) led the West to a 146-119 victory over the East. As a result in what could be considered an NBA PR gesture they were voted to share the games MVP trophy presented by NBA Commissioner David Stern.

The icing on the cake is the West was coached by the Lakers Phil Jackson and in his role it was he who pulled the strings and made the decisions who would play together on the court and how may minutes they would be given. To their credit the three time NBA championship teammates seemed to never have missed a beat as Bryant passed the ball into the post to O'Neal enabling the big man to make his moves to the basket and show the brilliance he once had. He was in rare form for this contest and made his best performance of the season that we've witnessed. He was quick, made decisive decisions and accurate with his shot.

Repeatedly TNT reporters persisted in asking O'Neal how it felt to be a teammate with Kobe again. He eluded the answer though in a positive way and continued to emphasize what a pleasure it was to be a participant in the game once again after many said he was done (lost skills) last season. He also felt proud of his performance given that he is 37-years-old and aging.

O'Neal was also quizzed about if he would want to end his career as a Laker to which he thought would be OK. Lakers coach Jackson noted that it would be good to see O'Neal finish up his career as a Laker and pointed out that he gave former Boston Celtic great Robert Parrish his last who-rah and last NBA title ring as a Chicago Bull on their 1997 championship squad when Parrish was 43-years-old before he retired from the game.

The end result of this game was there were enough smiles going around to make Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neumann proud.

HOWARD'S THE MAN

Another display of good sportsmanship was displayed in the Slam Dunk competition and last season's winner and this season's top vote getter Dwight Howard who wore a Superman's cape in his victory. He did more of the same but this time he had a phone booth prop wheeled on to the side of the court.

For those who don't know the comic book character Superman was a reporter named Clark Kent who when danger raised its ugly head Kent would enter a phone booth and strip off his business suite to reveal his Superman outfit beneath it and then fly off to save the victim and deal with the bad guys.

Howard then had the basket raised to approximately 12 feet from the regulation 10 feet and easily slammed the ball through. The 6'10" Howard was given perfect scores by the judges in his first two rounds. Then the drama set in....

The lyrics to a Jim Croce song warns 'Don't tug on Superman's cape,' but there was one fearless slam dunk competitor who ignored that advice. The New York Knicks 5'9" guard Nate Robinson and previous winner of the 2006 competition left the court after knowingly trailing Howard. We thought he injured his ankle after stepping on a player used as a prop in his previous attempt. When he reappeared he was attired in a GREEN NY Knicks uniform with GREEN shoes.

In the Superman comic book, film and TV series GREEN KRYPTONITE is what took the strength from Superman and gave the bad guys the edge in eliminating him and taking him down. Robinson then used Howard as a prop as he leaped over him and made a dunk that electrified the crowd. When they showed the replay it showed Robinson cheating a bit by placing his hand on Howard's shoulder and cape thus giving him more lift. Howard also leaned forward and lowered his head to give Robinson more clearance.

In a new twist the fans had a few minutes to make the deciding vote of who would be the winner and Robinson received 52% and the Slam Dunk title. What is not well known is that all props must be approved beforehand by the NBA days in advance. Other than Howard's good sportsmanship he also agreed to help Robinson when the Knicks guard asked him several days earlier reportedly commenting "Whatever I can do to help." This type of attitude is exactly what the world can use more of in eliminating greed and selfishness. For his deeds Dwight Howard proved that he is a TRUE SUPER MAN.