All-Star Correspondence

Our Correspondents from L.A. and Chicago connected with us via speaker phone to go over the extremely entertaining All-Star festivities in New Orleans. Take a listen.

All-Star Correspondence 1

All-Star Correspondence 2

Among the topics we covered with Robby Sikka in L.A. and Ben Shields in Chicago are as follows:

Part 1
A) The Slam Dunk Contest won by a spectacular Dwight Howard, with Gerald Green's terrific effort coming in second. Should Howard's Superman Slam have counted?
B) The Three-Point Shootout won by Jason Kapono, and why Craig Hodges should get back into the mix.
C) The Rookie-Sophomore Challenge, and why the cameras had to show LeBron James every time Booby Gibson hit a three.
D) How Charles Barkley questioned if Damon Jones was still in the league on one hand, and on the other, how Jones has turned his image into dollars despite limited athletic talent.
E) The outstanding community service output of the NBA in New Orleans.
F) The NBA's (should be) improving image compared to MLB and the NFL.

Part 2
A) The All-Star Game itself, won 134-128 by the East.
B) Trudell and Sikka's pregame MVP picks for respective conferences. Who was smarter?
C) Why the East actually had better matchups at most positions, particularly with the starting lineup.
D) How the East was able to run, and why they had to (Yao, Duncan, Amare, Boozer).
E) How respective +/- numbers were telling: +23 for Jason Kidd, -14 for Allen Iverson.
F) How Dwyane Wade giving up in the Skills Challenge is emblematic of the Miami Heat's season. He tired.
G) Collective excitement for the remainder of the season, and in particular, the Western Conference Playoffs.