Pass the word.
The SLAM-DUNK contest is back.
Take a look at Jesse Garrabrant's, Nathaniel Butler's and Andrew D. Bernstein's artwork on NBA.com, Getty Images.com and the assorted sports news sites and you will see some incredible still action of tonight's NBA Slam-Dunk contest and Dwight Howard's remarkable performance.
I found it fun and very relaxing to be watching the NBA All-Star Saturday events from the couch, rather than the scorer's table. It was fun to be at the arena in New Orleans last night for the Rookie Game, but duty called today and I flew from NOLA to Tampa-St. Pete for a Covert book signing event and two festivities to be held on Sunday.
TNT did a terrific job of covering the weekend, first with a two-hour pregame show, then with the 8-11pm broadcast of All-Star Saturday. Ernie Johnson anchored the telecast and guided Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith to an entertaining broadcast.
More to come from my sideline seat for the All-Star Friday activities and my Saturday seat in Fla.
1 comment:
This item from Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer
If you thought the sight of a 270-pound man flying through an arena was something, you should have seen Dwight Howard. The Orlando Magic center brought down the house at New Orleans Arena on Saturday night in spectacular fashion. He also might have brought the all-star dunk contest back to life.
Howard, 22, won the title by beating defending champion Gerald Green, recording two perfect scores on dunks -- one while wearing a Superman cape and the other coming from behind the backboard. They are sure to be YouTube classics.
Unleashing creative slams and displaying a playful personality often muted in Orlando, Howard won over the sellout crowd and entertained the media afterward.
"Two weeks before the dunk contest, I took away some things that I enjoyed doing," he said. "Eating candy, listening to music and I think it really got me focused. I just thank God for winning. It feels good."
The dunk contest was once the glamour event on the all-star weekend undercard. But it hasn't captured the imagination of fans since Michael Jordan's high-flyin' days. Many all-star starters pass on the contest.
"I don't think people want to see the same old dunks," Howard said. "They want to see some spice . . . I think the dunk contest is back."
Fans helped judges decide the winner, text-messaging their favorite dunker during the final round. Their votes made up half of the scoring as Howard earned 78 percent of the vote to Green's 22 percent. He had a perfect score of 100 to Green's 91 heading into the final round.
Howard delivered some mind-boggling displays of jumping ability to become the first center and the tallest man at 6 feet 11 to win the competition since 6-9 Larry Nance captured the trophy in 1984.
Like last season when he was eliminated after his clever sticker dunk went unappreciated, Howard figured fans and judges would again favor to the acrobatic little men. He didn't give them a chance this time.
"I really wanted to win it for all the big men," he said. "Everybody always says, big men can't jump and big men don't look good dunking. I just tried to add a little bit of my personality. With me being so tall, I knew it was going to be tough. I tried to play to the crowd and have fun."
His first two dunks in the final round were spectacular, drawing perfect scores of 50.
Teammate Jameer Nelson affixed a tiny basket to the side of the glass backboard and put the ball on it like a golf tee. Then the NBA's dunk leader leaped and grabbed the ball and dunked in a pumping motion.
Howard bounced the ball high and ran toward the basket in his first attempt. With his left hand, he tipped the ball off the backboard and back to himself, throwing the carom down with his right hand.
Then, Howard donned a Superman cape and played to the crowd. He took off just inside the free-throw line and appeared to fly like the Man of Steel, throwing the ball straight through in one line-drive motion. He also had tossed the ball off the back of the backboard and moved in front of the basket while in the air, catching it with two hands and completing a dunk he said was two years in the making.
Brian Schmitz can be reached at bschmitz@orlandosentinel.com.
Post a Comment