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Sunday, August 02, 2020

Rest in Peace, Mike Gale

One of the highlights of my writing career is having the opportunity to cover the NBA All-Star Weekend from 2005-2010—and many of my favorite All-Star Weekend memories are associated with the ABA Reunions held during several of those All-Star Weekends. I interviewed Mike Gale at the 2007 ABA Reunion in Las Vegas. Gale, a key rotation player for the 1974 ABA Champion New York Nets who twice made the ABA All-Defensive First Team (1973, 1974), passed away on Thursday at the age of 70.

Gale is at least the third ABA Reunion participant who I interviewed who has passed away. Warren Jabali passed away in 2012. Fatty Taylor, who organized the 2005 ABA Reunion, passed away in 2017. Also, Moses Malone passed away in 2015. I did not formally interview Malone, but I spoke with him at the 2005 ABA Reunion, and I took a photograph of him alongside Julius Erving that will always be a cherished moment and memory for me.

Here is my 2007 article about Mike Gale: Mike Gale's Journey from Elizabeth City State to the ABA Finals 

Gale, like almost every ABA player who I met at the ABA Reunions or on other occasions, was a friendly, perceptive, and enjoyable interview subject. I appreciate the way that he and the other ABA players welcomed me with open arms, and I hope that he rests in peace.

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posted by David Friedman @ 12:14 AM

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Wednesday, September 09, 2015

We Are Family

Note: Sister Sledge's "We Are Family" was released a few years after the NBA-ABA merger, but it is the perfect theme song to represent how ABA players feel about each other. This article was originally published on March 2, 2005 at HoopsHype.com but the link no longer works, so I have reprinted the article in its entirety below.

Loyalty and togetherness.

These unbreakable bonds connecting most ABA players were renewed and strengthened throughout the "ABA Ol' School Reunion," which took place in Denver during the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend. The Reunion was organized by Fatty Taylor, who played seven years in the ABA, and his longtime friend James Render.

"I got the idea for the Reunion because the NBA All-Star Game was coming to Denver, Colorado, which is an ABA city," Taylor said. "So it is only fitting to have a Reunion for all the ABA guys. I just decided to get all the guys together in a spirit of fellowship. We figured that it is a chance just to see each other again. There is no telling when your day will come. It started off as a big party, but it turned into more than I thought it would."

The ABA Reunion is not an "official" NBA All-Star Weekend event and this does not bother Taylor at all. "I just thought that it was something that I really wanted to do--getting in touch with guys who I haven't seen in years. They were happy and wanted to see each other. See, the ABA players are a little different from the NBA players. We had a close-knit league. The NBA tried to destroy us and never wanted to see us make it. We played hard and we tried hard (to not let that happen)."

Taylor would like to make the ABA Reunion an annual event. "This is something that could be for us every year at the All-Star Game--an ABA Reunion, having different festivities. Everybody likes each other and we are happy to see each other. When we played against each other, we went out there and played hard, but after the game we would go out and party and have a good time. We just want to relive some of those good times."

The festivities began on Thursday, February 17 when several ABA players--including Rick Darnell, Mike Davis, Willie Davis, Joe Hamilton, Eugene "Goo" Kennedy, Warren Jabali and James Silas--gathered at Denver's East High School to sign autographs and reminisce. Riding in a yellow Hummer stretch limo to the school, the players regaled each other with stories. Not surprisingly, Julius Erving featured prominently in several of them--both for his ABA exploits and for his summer-league displays.

Joe Hamilton described a Dr. J move that was so otherworldly that Hamilton fell off of the bench in amazement and was fined by his coach for not keeping his mind on the game. Several players mentioned the Doctor destroying Sidney Wicks in a summer-league game after Wicks had proclaimed that he was going to shut down Erving. Asked about this later, Erving remembered the incident, saying that it happened at the Willie Naulls game in Los Angeles.

Mike Davis described a Rucker League encounter when Connie Hawkins blocked Wilt Chamberlain's patented fadeaway jumper, except that he was not satisfied to just block it--he wiped the ball all over the backboard before sweeping in the rebound. After that, Chamberlain discarded the fade away for that evening and proceeded to dunk on everybody in sight.

Davis, who lives in New York, got up at 4 a.m. and had to take a flight with a Las Vegas connection to arrive in Denver. When the pilot said that the plane was flying over Colorado, Davis felt like saying, "Hey, drop me off here!" He was tired and hungry during the drive to East High School, but would not have missed the ABA Reunion for the world. Signing autographs and interacting with fans has a special meaning to Davis, who explained that he'll never forget meeting a professional basketball player for the first time when Carl Braun, the New York Knicks' star guard in the 1950s, spoke at the Boys and Girls Club that Davis went to as a child.

Many of the fans at the East High School event had not even been born when the ABA existed, but others had vivid memories of the league. One older gentleman brought with him a program from the 1984 NBA All-Star Game, which was held in McNichols Arena in Denver and featured several ex-ABA players. When he seemed a bit reticent about asking for autographs, Darnell came over, talked with him, asked him which players he was looking for and made sure that he got the signatures he wanted.

Warren Jabali is a very interesting figure. When it is suggested to him that it is amazing that one year he averaged 10 rpg as a 6-2 guard/forward going against much taller players, he says simply, "They couldn't jump." There is no pretense to his comments and no extra words--he gets straight to the point. Most of the ABA players are quick with a joke or a comment, but Jabali is more reticent, perhaps because he feels that he has been misquoted and misrepresented previously. He has a Jim Brown-like presence--quiet, but strong and confident.

After the appearance at East High School, which was covered by the local Fox television affiliate in Denver, the players headed back to the Doubletree Hotel for the Welcome Reception. While a DJ spun songs from the 1970s, the ABA players renewed acquaintances and interacted with fans who bought tickets for the event.

That night Hamilton told me about playing on the 1974-75 Kentucky Colonels team that won the ABA Championship. He recalls that when Coach Hubie Brown arrived, things changed. "We're like, 'Hubie, come on, we're veterans.' We practiced like it was the first day. It could be February the 15th and we've played 60 games. We're still practicing like it's the first day, but that's Hubie. Hubie knew every nook and cranny of this game. Any situation that would come up, Hubie Brown had something for it. His knowledge of the game was just so amazing."

Hamilton indicated that Brown's encyclopedic understanding of basketball mirrors the football wizardry of the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick. Hamilton knows something about football. He used to work as the Athletic Director for Louisville's youth programs and his son Joey III is an assistant coach at Male High School in Louisville, winners of three state football championships under the direction of Bob Redman (father of NFL quarterback Chris Redman).

On Friday, the players did more autograph signings. During the Reunion weekend, Lelands.com donated its expertise to coordinate in person signings by over 20 ABA players--including Hall of Famers Julius Erving, George Gervin and Moses Malone--of 300 basketballs and will sell the limited edition balls over the next year, with some of the proceeds benefiting the Colorado Hawks, Taylor's AAU team for fourth through twelfth graders.

Friday night's "Ol' School ABA Reunion Party" at Invesco Field featured a performance by India.Arie, daughter of five-time ABA All-Star Ralph Simpson. She performed several of her hits, including "Video" and "Talk to Her," plus material from her new CD. Throughout the evening, video screens showed montages of ABA highlights, which were provided by Arthur Hundhausen, webmaster of the Remember the ABA website

ABA players frequently point out that at the time of the merger, the NBA needed what the ABA had: the best young players--like Erving, Gervin, Malone, David Thompson and Artis Gilmore--and an exciting, free-flowing game. Hundhausen's videos provided evidence of this, showcasing a fun, fast-moving game featuring ball and player movement, good shooting, dramatic dunks and devastating blocked shots.

It is amazing that Gilmore, one of the great all-around centers in the history of the game, is not in the Hall of Fame and is not even among this year's finalists for the honor. Gilmore is stoic and resigned about the mystifying snub, although he poignantly notes that induction would have meant more to him if he had received it before the passing of his mother within the last year.

Saturday was an open day for the players to rest and unwind. On Sunday morning, hundreds of retired NBA and ABA players attended the NBA Retired Players Association's annual brunch at the Hyatt Regency/Denver Tech Center. Cedric the Entertainer served as emcee and several ABA players and coaches received awards--including Byron Beck (Original Denver Nugget), Larry Brown (Coach of the Year; he was unable to attend the ceremony), Spencer Haywood (Legend Award), Dan Issel (Founder Award), Doug Moe (Humanitarian Award) and David Thompson (Mr. Denver Nugget Award). Lafayette "Fat" Lever (Community Service Award) and Kiki Vandeweghe (Basketball Executive Award), who both played for the Nuggets in the NBA, were also recognized.

The ABA Reunion concluded Sunday evening with a gathering at the Seawell Ballroom in the Denver Center of Performing Arts, just a few blocks from the Pepsi Center. The ABA players joined fans to watch the NBA All-Star Game on big screen TVs. After the game ended, the party was just beginning, as the screens switched to Hundhausen's ABA highlight video montages. The After Party lasted until past 1 am. Some retired NBA players stopped by as well, including current Hall of Fame finalist Adrian Dantley.

Four-time All-ABA guard Mack Calvin put the whole weekend into perspective: "I think that what is important and special about this is that the ABA players--Doc and Gervin and all the guys--have always been a unit. A lot of guys can think about doing their own thing, but those guys have always been team guys. There has always been some camaraderie. I think that this exemplifies the overall attitude for over 30 years. The ABA guys are like a family. We had to stick together in order to survive. It's all about seeing these guys and talking about the old days."

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posted by David Friedman @ 12:49 PM

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

The ABA "Ol’ School Reunion" Rates a Perfect 10

A shorter version of this article was originally published in the July 29, 2005 issue of Sports Collectors Digest.

A Special Event Brings the ABA Family to Denver

The "ABA Ol' School Reunion" kicked off on the afternoon of Thursday February 17, 2005 when several ABA players—including Rick Darnell, Mike Davis, Willie Davis, Joe Hamilton, Bobby Jones, Warren Jabali, Eugene "Goo" Kennedy, and James Silas—signed autographs and spent time with fans during a public appearance at Denver's East High School. The Reunion is the brainchild of seven year ABA veteran Fatty Taylor and his longtime friend, James Render. They expect to make the Reunion an annual NBA All-Star Weekend event and are already making plans for Houston, the site of the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.

The Reunion is not an "official" NBA All-Star Weekend event and Taylor has no plans to change this: "The ABA players are a little different from the NBA players. We had a close knit league. This (the ABA Reunion) is something that could be for us every year at the All-Star Game—an ABA Reunion, having different festivities." The ABA players battled each other during games and on the practice floor, but they have always felt a togetherness that transcends individual or team rivalries. Joe Hamilton helped rookie teammate James Silas adjust to the professional game, even though Silas' improvement could potentially have cost Hamilton playing time. Silas still remembers the good advice that Hamilton gave him about protecting the ball in traffic against smaller, quicker players; the friendship between the two men is readily apparent three decades after they first met in training camp. What made the ABA unique was not just the tri-color ball, the dunks and the three pointers—it was the character and demeanor of its players.

On Thursday evening the ABA players convened at the Doubletree Hotel for the Welcome Reception. The players savored the opportunity to reminisce with teammates--and opponents. Fans who bought tickets for the event mingled with the players, swapping old stories and taking pictures with childhood heroes.

Grammy Award winner India.Arie, the daughter of five-time ABA All-Star Ralph Simpson, performed a rousing set of her hits—plus tracks from her new CD--at Friday night’s "Ol’ School ABA Reunion Party" at Invesco Field. Meanwhile, overhead video screens displayed ABA highlights provided by Arthur Hundhausen, webmaster of RemembertheABA.com. The exciting footage brought everyone back in time to a league that featured a fun, fast moving game punctuated not only by high flying dunks and dramatic blocked shots but also accurate outside shooting and deft player/ball movement.

No Reunion events were scheduled on Saturday, so players gathered together informally or did some sightseeing. The next morning, Cedric the Entertainer emceed the NBA Retired Players Association's annual brunch, held this year at the Hyatt Regency/Denver Tech Center. Hundreds of retired NBA and ABA players packed the hotel ballroom, including Rick Barry, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving, Bill Russell, David Thompson and Bill Walton. Several ABA players and coaches received awards, including Byron Beck (Original Denver Nugget), Larry Brown (Coach of the Year; he was unable to attend the ceremony), Spencer Haywood (Legend Award), Dan Issel (Founder Award), Doug Moe (Humanitarian Award) and David Thompson (Mr. Denver Nugget Award). Lafayette "Fat" Lever (Community Service Award) and Kiki Vandeweghe (Basketball Executive Award), who both played for the Nuggets in the NBA, were also recognized. At the event's conclusion many of the players stuck around to sign autographs.

The final ABA Reunion event happened on Sunday at the Seawell Ballroom in the Denver Center of Performing Arts, just a few blocks from the Pepsi Center. ABA players joined fans to watch the NBA All-Star Game on big screen TVs. After the game ended, those in attendance were treated to more of Hundhausen's ABA highlight video montages. The After Party lasted until past 1 a.m.

Signing Basketballs and Reliving Memories

Throughout the weekend, Lelands.com coordinated in-person signings of 300 ABA replica basketballs by nearly two dozen ABA players--including Hall of Famers Julius Erving, George Gervin and Moses Malone. Lelands.com will sell the limited edition balls over the next year. Taylor says, "Some of the proceeds are going to our AAU team, the Colorado Hawks. I'm one of the directors and one of the coaches. We start at the fourth grade and go up to the twelfth grade."

After Julius Erving finished his signing on Friday, he spent some time with Branio Buckner. Buckner and some of his friends attended the first NBA Slam Dunk Contest, held in Denver in 1984. Buckner recalls, "We were sitting in the stands and maybe about an hour before the Dunk Contest started we were trying to figure out some props or what we could do to be seen or something. I thought about some cardboard boxes, so I went to the box office and asked if they had any empty boxes. They said, 'Yeah,' so we got them and ripped them apart. Then we asked if they had a marker and they said, 'Yes,' so we got a marker and wrote zero to ten on the cards. We went back to our seats and started testing the crowd. Every time somebody dunked we raised up a '5' or if they deserved a '10' we’d give them a '10.' Dr. J got a '10,' so we gave him a '10' and the crowd just went crazy. So we just kept going that day. Then the Rocky Mountain News approached me and asked me some questions. The same day as the Dunk Contest was going on they came up and recorded us talking and took some pictures. Also, Sports Illustrated took some pictures and they put me on the videotape. I'm on the (dunk contest) videotape that year."

Although Buckner received a lot of media attention for his impromptu contest judging, he had never met Erving prior to the ABA Reunion. Buckner explains how he finally got to share a moment with Erving after waiting more than 20 years: "I got introduced to Fatty Taylor. I knew that he was a former ABA player and I was working with him to help promote and sell tickets for the ABA Reunion Party and he said that he would make sure to introduce me to Dr. J and let him see the cards and pictures that I saved for 20 years."

Buckner has a lot more in his collection than just his hand made signs and the 1984 Slam Dunk Contest press clippings: "I have some cards. I have pictures. I have basketballs. I like to collect the red, white and blue balls from the three point contest. I have probably five or six of those, plus an ABA basketball." Not surprisingly, Erving is his all-time favorite player. Among active players Buckner likes Earl Boykins and Carmelo Anthony.

The night before Buckner met Erving he got his picture taken with Magic Johnson during one of the many All-Star events that were held in downtown Denver. Buckner says, "Now I have pictures of the two players I idolized."

Most of the ABA players genuinely seemed to enjoy interacting with the fans and signing autographs. While he took his turn doing the Lelands signing, four-time All-ABA guard Mack Calvin spoke about what it means to him, as a former Denver Nugget, to participate in an ABA Reunion in Denver: "I think that what is important and special about it is that the ABA players—Doc and Gervin and all the guys—have always been a unit. There has always been some camaraderie; we are like a family. I think that this exemplifies the overall attitude for over 30 years. It is an opportunity for guys to sign a few balls, make a few bucks and be excited about being here. We are family. The ABA guys are like a family. We had to stick together in order to survive."

Calvin added that he has participated in other signings and card shows and has enjoyed the experience. He is very grateful for the opportunities bestowed upon him as a result of playing professional basketball: "I've just been very fortunate and blessed to have been given the gifts of the physical abilities to play this game and to meet the wonderful people that I’ve met. I thank God for that."

The NBA brought back all of the original 1976 ABA Slam Dunk Contest participants—winner Julius Erving, runner-up David Thompson, George Gervin, Larry Kenon and Artis Gilmore—as judges for the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest. After the Friday Lelands signing, Gervin took a moment to reflect on how far things have progressed from 1976: "I think that it’s fantastic, man. Carl Scheer and Angelo Drossos had a vision—I wish Angelo were here today to see what his vision has become. They wanted to add some entertainment to the game and they did. It's 30 years later and players are dunking and shooting three pointers and taking All-Star Weekend to another level."

I took these two photos at the Lelands basketball signing on Friday of All-Star Weekend 2005. The first photo features Moses Malone and Julius Erving, while the second photo shows Erving signing several items for Branio Buckner:



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posted by David Friedman @ 1:02 AM

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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The Kobe Show is in Full Effect/Veteran Shaq Still the Class Clown

As you probably already know, Kobe Bryant won the 2007 All-Star Game MVP award as he led the West to a 153-132 win with 31 points, six assists, six steals and five rebounds. My fourth and final 2007 All-Star Weekend report for HoopsHype.com describes that performance--and also tells you about the busy schedule he maintained throughout the weekend. Also, I did not have an opportunity to post a link to my third report, which described Saturday's All-Star Weekend happenings. Here are those two links (10/5/15 edit: the links to HoopsHype.com no longer work, so I have posted the original articles below):

Veteran Shaq Still the Class Clown
February 18, 2007

For the most part, the East's practice Saturday at the Jam Session Center Court followed standard All-Star Saturday protocol. The East team went over some basic NBA plays and how the point guard will signal them during the game. There were the usual shooting contests, with the squad divided into two groups, one at each basket. Then came the half-court shot contest, with "pride" on the line as Coach Eddie Jordan put it, although one strongly suspects that the players privately increase the stakes.

Gilbert Arenas, LeBron James and Vince Carter each sank half-court shots. Just as the practice appeared to be winding down, Shaquille O'Neal made a special request: that the players hold an impromptu breakdancing contest between the bigs and the smalls. The packed crowd loved it as Shaq went first and showed off an array of moves belying his size and age. James took center stage and received enthusiastic support from the audience as well. Dwight Howard then offered some freestyle moves. Shaq joined in during both James' and Howards' performances as the fans roared their approval. It is easy to see why Shaq is so well liked--he is charismatic and fun loving and really knows how to give the crowd what it wants. He revels in being, as he puts it, the "class clown."

After the East's practice finished and before the West's practice began there was a media availability period on the court. I spoke with some players who I did not catch at yesterday's media session. Caron Butler looks forward to a potential Scottie Pippen comeback. "Pippen was my idol (as a kid)," Butler told me. "I hope that he (Pippen) comes back to play. The game needs it. He's a great ambassador for the game. Everybody out here grew up watching him."

I asked Kevin Garnett what he thinks about the possibility of Scottie Pippen coming back. "No thoughts whatsoever," he replied tersely. I then asked him if he would be happy to play with Pippen if the Timberwolves signed him. "If he came to the Timberwolves I'll be happy to play with him but other than that I have no thoughts." How long will Garnett continue to have to hear questions are trade rumors and about when will he finally win a title? "I'm pretty sure that until I win it, that will be the next question," Garnett replied. "If you are single the next question is, 'When are you going to get a girlfriend?' If you have a girlfriend, the next question is, 'When are you going to get engaged?' When you get engaged the next question is, 'When are you going to get married?' When you get married the next question is, 'When are you going to have kids?' When you have a kid the next question is, 'When are you going to have another kid?' So people are always going to come up with new questions.”

I asked Garnett if he watched the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge and he replied to that query with a lot more energy and enthusiasm than he displayed when talking about Pippen. "Yeah, I watched," he said. “It was terrible. Terrible. The rookies were too laid back. The rookies did not come out with the fire that I thought they would have. It looked like they did not want to be there." He did not accept the idea that the young players got caught up in the hype and did not know how to prepare for that type of showcase. "They know how to prepare for a game," he declared, incredulous that anyone would propose such an excuse. "I know that it's entertainment and their chance to display their skills and stuff, but they still have to put forth some effort. It looked like they were just out there."

I asked Gilbert Arenas if the half-court shot that he nailed on his first attempt foreshadows the kind of performance that he is going to have on Sunday. "No, I'm going to go out and have fun," Arenas replied. "If having fun gets me close to the MVP, then I'm going to take it. If not, then it's up for grabs for somebody else." He is not concerned that his comments and predictions of 50 point outbursts will create a backlash against him. "I said that I was going to score 50 against Phoenix and I scored 50 against Phoenix. I said I was going to score 50 against Portland." I pointed out that the Portland players seemed to resent what he said--and that Arenas did not come close to getting 50 against them. "At the end of the day, I still have one more game against them. So if I score 50, hey, everything that I said was true." Arenas does not believe that Portland shut him down the last time he faced the Trail Blazers despite the fact that he scored just nine points on 3-15 shooting. "I was playing possum. I just tried to win the game. I want to hit 50 in their building; I didn't want to hit 50 in my building."

After the media availability ended, the West held its practice, which went pretty much like the East's--except that no one breakdanced. Tony Parker and Ray Allen were the only players who sank half-court shots. Yao Ming deserves an honorable mention for trying an over-the-head half-court shot that hit the front of the rim.

Another All-Star Saturday tradition is a press conference by commissioner David Stern, sort of the NBA's version of a State of the Union address. Stern was joined on stage by Players Association executive director Billy Hunter as he announced that the NBA and the Players Association had finally reached an agreement to close the one open item in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement: how to deal with the pensions of the so-called "pre-65ers," players who retired before the pension fund was founded. The gist of the new plan is that the "pre-65ers" will now be included, retroactive to July 1, 2005. Each player who was previously ineligible will receive a lump sum payment of $20,000. After that, many players who never received benefits will begin to receive regular payments, while established members of the pension plan will receive a 50 percent increase in their benefits. This is welcome news for the pioneers who laid the foundation for today's game.

All-Star Saturday of course culminates with the various skills events on Saturday night. Each squad in the Shooting Stars competition consisted of a current player, a retired player and a WNBA player. Each one shot from a prescribed area on the court in a designated sequence, with the winning team being the one that made all of the shots in the fastest time. The Bulls team of Scottie Pippen, Ben Gordon and Candace Dupree seemed to have pulled out a dramatic win by a margin of less than three seconds when Pippen sank a half-court shot--but after a video review the Bulls were disqualified because earlier in the round Gordon and Dupree had shot out of sequence, a fact immediately and gleefully pointed out by Detroit participant Bill Laimbeer. His team won the trophy, but the crowd booed him lustily. It seemed like the more they booed the wider his smile became. "The era I played in was very intense and competitive," Laimbeer later explained. "There was no shaking hands or hugging or kissing or anything like that. It was we're going to go out there and kick your butt in basketball. People miss those days, so they still hang on to them."

The Miami Heat won the next two contests, as Dwyane Wade knocked off Kobe Bryant in the Skills Challenge finals for his second consecutive win in that event and Jason Kapono won the Three-Point Shootout with a final round score of 24, one shy of Craig Hodges' 1986 single round record of 25.

The Slam Dunk contest is always the marquee event of All-Star Saturday night, whether or not it ultimately lives up to that designation and its positioning as the final, headlining contest of the night. Defending champion Nate Robinson made a gallant effort to repeat but Gerald Green literally leaped over him to win. Green was going to jump over a life-sized cutout of Robinson to reprise Robinson's dunk over Spud Webb last year, but Robinson was a good sport and stood in for the cutout. Green clinched his victory on his last dunk by earning the only perfect score of the night by soaring over a table that was placed just inside the free throw semicircle.

Another of Green's dunks involved an old-school homage to Dee Brown, the first Boston Celtic to win the Dunk Contest. Green pumped up his shoes and covered his eyes with his arm a la Brown in 1991. The tallest competitors in this event rarely receive much love and Dwight Howard was no exception, despite a jaw-dropping dunk during which he slammed the ball with his right hand while simultaneously slapping a sticker of his face on the backboard with his left hand. Howard put the sticker 12 feet off of the ground. That was impressive to see even if the judges only awarded it a 42 (out of 50).

Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker sat across from me on the shuttle bus ride to the MGM Grand after the Dunk Contest. I asked him if he ever wonders what it would have been like to play Roger Federer when he was in his prime. Becker admitted that he does think about that kind of thing and said that, in his opinion, Federer would beat him on hard courts but lose to him on grass.

I made my way over to the Tropicana Resort and Casino for the NBA/ABA All-Star Reunion Party, an event organized by Roland "Fatty" Taylor, a former teammate of Julius Erving's with the Virginia Squires. The party featured a very nice buffet, a DJ spinning a combination of new and older music and concluded with a performance by BET comedian Chris Thomas. If you are in Vegas but don't have a ticket for the All-Star Game, you can watch the game at the Tropicana with Taylor and other former ABA players. Prior to that, there will be the premiere screening of the movie "Something to Cheer About," which portrays the story of Oscar Robertson's Crispus Attucks high school state championship team. "We had a wide open game, pushed the ball up the court and ran," Taylor recalled of his ABA days. "I'm pretty sure that before the (1976) merger we were more exciting than the NBA."

Playing in the ABA taught standout defensive guard Mike Gale that life is full of trials and setbacks and how important it is to be strong enough to bounce back from the low moments. Gale's 1972 Kentucky Colonels went 68-16 in the regular season but lost in the first round of the playoffs. "You can be up and then in an instant you can be down," Gale noted. He later played for the 1974 New York Nets squad that Julius Erving led to an ABA title.

"Pogo" Joe Caldwell was known as a tough defensive player for many years in both the NBA and the ABA. For the past three decades he has been embroiled in a complicated dispute involving the language in his contract regarding his pension benefits. Caldwell never played another professional game after this disagreement began and his new biography titled Banned from Basketball tells his side of the story.

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The Kobe Show is in Full Effect 
February 19, 2007 

The NBA All-Star Weekend is a hectic time for anyone who takes part in the festivities: players, coaches, fans, writers and broadcasters. Few people were busier this weekend than Kobe Bryant. He took second place in the Skills Competition, served as a judge in the Slam Dunk Contest and made the various public appearances that are part of the All-Star experience. He capped everything off on Sunday night with a command performance in the main event, earning All-Star Game MVP honors after producing a game-high 31 points, six assists, six steals and five rebounds. His West team cruised to a 153-132 win.

It's not like Bryant spent the earlier part of the day resting to prepare for the game, either. He was a presenter at the eighth annual Legends Brunch, held this year at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. "This is absolutely the best part of the weekend for me," NBA Commissioner David Stern said in his opening statement. The Legends Brunch honorees this year included Cheryl Miller, Bob Cousy/Tom Heinsohn, the ABA Alumni, KC Jones, Magic Johnson and Dr. Jack Ramsay/the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers championship team. Each year this event gets bigger and better, providing retired players a chance to reconnect with each other and also affording fans an opportunity to mingle with their heroes and get autographs and take pictures.

Last year, TNT's Ernie Johnson served as emcee and comedian Chris Tucker did a standup routine at the end. This year, comedian George Wallace was the emcee and he interjected his comedy throughout the brunch, ad-libbing deftly when something happened that provided an opportunity for a joke or a funny remark.

Cheryl Miller, the recipient of the Legends Humanitarian Award, was presented by Julius Erving. "She looked me straight in the eye," Erving recalled of the first time he met her, "and said, 'I'm going to be a champion in college and then I'm going to take your job.' I said, 'Are you serious?' and she said, 'Absolutely--if they let me.'" Erving pointed out that in addition to Miller's well documented on-court accomplishments that she also has "taken an active, supporting role with a number of charities."

Derek Fisher presented co-honorees Bob Cousy and Tom Heinsohn, who received the Legends Visionary Award. Neither Celtic legend was able to attend the brunch but both expressed their gratitude via prerecorded videos.

For too many years, the ABA has been treated like a crazy relative that has to be kept hidden from view and not discussed in polite company, so it is very fitting that the Legends Brunch recognized that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of that league. "(The ABA) featured dazzling above-the-rim players like Julius 'Dr. J' Erving, Connie Hawkins, George 'Ice' Gervin, David Thompson, George McGinnis, Moses Malone and Roger Brown," Bryant said as he introduced the five ABA superstars (Rick Barry, George Gervin, Julius Erving, Spencer Haywood and Artis Gilmore) who presented ABA 40th Anniversary tribute award to a large group of ABA alumni. It is heartening to see a current player of Bryant's stature have such an awareness of the history of the game and it is a very nice touch that he mentioned Brown, a vastly underrated player who I wrote about two years ago.

John Havlicek introduced a video tribute to his legendary coach Red Auerbach. "Red Auerbach was a great man and the godfather of the Celtics," Havlicek declared. He explained that one of Auerbach's best attributes was that he did not overcoach. Havlicek quipped that if someone gave Auerbach some chalk and a chalkboard at the start of his coaching career, those items would have still been like new when Auerbach retired from coaching. Auerbach's strength was understanding how to motivate people to continue to work hard to be successful. Havlicek added that the numerous overseas clinics that Auerbach did set the stage for the emergence of top level basketball talent around the world.

Satch Sanders introduced his teammate KC Jones, the winner of the Legends Coaching Achievement Award, by relating two stories that capture the essence of Jones' insight into how to play winning basketball. Sanders said that during their playing careers Jones once noticed that a certain player on an opposing team always put a lot of backspin on his bounce passes, slowing the ball down. Instead of taking advantage of that observation to get steals in the regular season, Jones waited until the playoffs to apply this knowledge in a practical way, stealing the ball at a critical time that shaped the outcome of a playoff series. Sanders also mentioned that Auerbach had such faith in Jones that he let Jones decide when the Celtics would employ a pressure defense and when they would pull back from it.

Magic Johnson won the Legend of the Year award and was introduced by his son Andre. Magic gave credit to several veteran ballplayers who helped and inspired him as a youngster and early in his NBA career: Terry Furlow, George Gervin, Ralph Simpson and Dave Bing. He wished that more of the current players had a greater understanding and appreciation for the sacrifices that players from earlier generations made. "It's a shame that young players don't understand that the reason they are making $15-20 million a year is the guys out here (at the Legends Brunch)," Magic said.

Dr. Jack Ramsay spoke about his 1977 Portland team that was anchored by the multi-talented Bill Walton, whose chronic injuries prevented that team from possibly becoming a dynasty. "For one season and most of another," Ramsay declared, "this team was as good as any." Several players and team officials from that 1977 championship team were on hand to receive their awards, including players Walton, Johnny Davis, Lionel Hollins and Maurice Lucas, assistant coach Jack McKinney, team physician Bob Cook and broadcaster Bill Schonely.

After the various honorees received their awards and Dave Bing led a moment of silence for the Legends who passed away in the past year, National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) president Len Elmore concluded the brunch by emphasizing the organization's renewed commitment to its slogan "We made this game." The NBRPA keeps alive the memory of the contributions of the game's pioneers and helps out any retired players who need financial and/or medical assistance. "We have set our sights on helping others and committed to helping our own," he explained.

After the Legends Brunch, I followed a circuitous route to the Thomas & Mack Center, the site of the All-Star Game. No direct shuttle service was provided from the Mandalay to Thomas & Mack, so I had to take one shuttle to the MGM Grand and then board a different one to get to the arena. Fortunately, I made it there in plenty of time--something that cannot be said of most of the East squad. LeBron James had 28 points, six rebounds and six assists and Dwight Howard contributed 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, but most of the East squad played as if the players had enjoyed the weekend in Las Vegas a little too much.

In the pregame media availability session, East Coach Eddie Jordan was asked about the difference between the two All-Star teams and he quipped, "I see the West being old and the East being young."

However, during the game the East looked tired and sluggish while the West played both faster and more crisply. The West set All-Star Game records for most field goals made with 69, surpassing the previous mark of 67 (2003, in a double overtime game), and most assists with 52, shattering the old record of 46 (1984, in an overtime game). "Probably the biggest thing I'm proud of," West Coach Mike D'Antoni said after the game, "is that we set the record for most assists. That's a great thing. We shared the ball and played hard."

Amare Stoudemire's strong performance represents perhaps the culmination of his comeback from microfracture surgery. He had stated before the season that he would make the All-Star team and Stoudemire not only met that goal but played very well. "A lot of people didn't think that I'd be here today," Stoudemire said. "I stayed focused with my goals and I reached them."

Carmelo Anthony played very well in his first All-Star appearance, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds. "This was the validation of all the hard work that I put in," Anthony commented after the game.

In the end, though, it was Bryant's night and Mike D'Antoni lauded him for setting the tone for the West's win. "Kobe has a competitive edge to him that you can feel," he said. "He wasn't letting up, he said, 'Let's go guys, let's put the hammer down on them.' So you can feel that edge. And he's going to play hard all the time he's on the floor."

After the game, Bryant said that the memory that will last the longest for him from this All-Star Weekend happened outside of public view, when he and fellow Dunk Contest judges Julius Erving, Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins interacted with each other. "We pretty much talked trash the whole time," Bryant said. "You've got guys in the same room who are extremely competitive and you start comparing records and sneaker technology and what a guy could have done if they had the technology that we have--comparing hand size and who can palm the basketball and who can do what. These are things that are fun to talk about. We had a blast doing it."

When Bryant received the MVP trophy from David Stern at center court after the game the crowd reaction was completely different from what it had been in Philadelphia in 2002 when Bryant won his first All-Star MVP and the fans booed to express their displeasure with a statement he had made about being an L.A. player and no longer a Philadelphia person.

"I just feel very blessed and very fortunate to be able to come out tonight and put on a really good show," Bryant concluded.

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posted by David Friedman @ 3:32 AM

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