10. As if Cowboys Stadium needed validating, the moment occurred two hours before tonight's tip-off when two of the wealthiest, most powerful personalities in sports shook hands at midcourt. "Jerry Jones ... nice to meet you." "Lebron James ... the pleasure's all mine, Mr. Jones."
9. When it comes to handling 100,000+ fans, the NBA isn't quite as well-oiled as say, oh, the NFL. Some media, for example had designated spaces, but not chairs. To fix the problem, some of us went into an upscale, vacant suite and "borrowed" some seats. Others in the media - you know who you are, host of a show on Dallas/Fort Worth's No. 1-rated sports talk station - simply "borrowed" a chair from the adjacent handicap section. Bottom line: Some steal from the rich; some from the poor.
8. I realize the NBA All-Star Game is a see-and-be-scene playground, but can someone explain me the theory behind wearing sunglasses indoors. At night, no less. Must have seen 20 dudes - including you, SeanPuffDaddyP.Diddy - trying to pull this off, none successfully. Betcha $1 none of them even know Corey Hart. (Edit: Okay, Ludacris somehow pulls it off.)
7. Hey look, there's Magic Johnson! Remember when we all figured he'd be dead by now. Don't look now, but that was way back on Nov. 7, 1991.
6. Much respect to the people walking around with official All-Star jerseys. Those babies were selling for a cool $120. If I had to pay that cash, I'd buy a James jersey. More than anyone in the game, he has fun, plays hard and is conscious about not only winning, but entertaining.
5. Shakira > Alicia Keys. She didn't really get into her trademark hip-swivelin', but she did incorporate members of the Grambling Marching Band. The Grambling band is like jalapenos: Makes everything a little spicier, a little better.
4. It's official, we've gone nuts. We've created a sporting event at which the scoreboard video screen is bigger than the actual playing surface. Funniest thing on the board during the game: A bit featuring the players trying out to be the fourth member of Boyz II Men via American Idol-ish auditions. Awful. And awfully funny.
3. Nooooo! Anyone but Dwyane Wade for Most Valuable Player. Hasn't he screwed with Metroplex basketball fans enough already? 2006 ring a bell? Wade played inspired tonight, but seeing him lift another trophy in our town is sickening.
2. Dirk Nowitzki had a great night. Almost an MVP night. But The Colony's Deron Williams botched a play for him down the stretch. Dirk hit two free throws to tie the score at 139, but Chris Bosh answered and West/Denver Nuggets coach George Karl had the audacity to call the final shot for his own player, Carmelo Anthony. Result: Air ball. Slumped shoulders. No fairy tale climax.
1. There were big dunk and big stars, but the biggest memory from the 2010 NBA All-Star Game will be the gigantic crowd - an astounding 108,713. Announced by Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones before the fourth quarter, that number makes it by far the largest crowd to ever attend a basketball game. Everyone was there, from Superbad's McLovin to boxing's Floyd Mayweather. Take a bow NBA, Cuban, Jerry and Dallas/Fort Worth, you did it. Everything is indeed bigger in Texas.
