NBA All Star Weekend

This weekend, the National Basketball Association held All Star Weekend 2012 in Orlando, Florida. All 30 NBA teams took a break from the stress that the regular season of the NBA brings. All Star Weekend is an event created to celebrate the talent of the NBA's best players and to give the fans an exciting, entertaining experience. All Star Weekend started on Friday night with the Celebrity All Star Game. Celebrities such as rapper J. Cole, comedian Kevin Hart, singer Ne-Yo, former NBA All Stars Mitch Richmond, Penny Hardaway, and more participated in the game. The MVP of the Celebrity All Star Game was Kevin Hart.
After the Celebrity All Star Game, the NBA held an event called the Rising Stars Challenge. In this event, the NBA's top rookies and sophomores are put into a draft pool and drafted by two coaches. This year, the two coaches were former NBA All Stars Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley. The game was won by the team coached by Charles Barkley.
On Saturday, the festivities continued with the Slam Dunk Contest (won by Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz), the 3-Point Contest (won by Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves), and the Skills Challenge (won by Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs).
Finally, to end All Star Weekend 2012, Orlando hosted the NBA All Star Game. The best players from the Western Conference teamed up to take on the best players from the Eastern Conference. The game was dictated early by a tremendous offensive performance by the Western Conference having scored 88 points in the first half (All Star Game Record). The game ended with the Western Conference edging out the Eastern Conference in a 152-149 win. Kevin Durant was named the MVP of the All Star Game with 36 points. LeBron James also scored 36 points. Kobe Bryant scored 27.

Out of GAS-ol?

As the NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaches, so does the NBA's. Ever since the 3 team trade between the Lakers, Hornets, and Rockets that would have sent Lakers Forward Pau Gasol to Houston failed, Gasol's play has been under a microscope. Kobe Bryant came out and publicly scrutinized the Lakers' management for the rumors surrounding Gasol. Kobe suggested that Gasol's performance on the court is being impacted negatively by the trade talk. "Pau, it's hard for Pau because of all this trade talk and all this other stuff, it's hard for him to kind of invest himself completely or immerse himself completely into games when he's hearing trade talk every other day. I wish management would come out and either trade him or not trade him" Bryant stated Monday. Last night, when the Lakers took the court against the reigning NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, it seemed as though Pau Gasol was feeling a large sense of relief. Pau scored 24 points on 11/18 shooting from the field with 9 assists in 39 minutes played. Pau led the Lakers to a 96-91 win over the Mavericks. It looks as though Gasol will likely stay with the Lakers if his performance continues on this trend.

Welcome To My Blog

This is my first post. To get started I want to talk about something that really excited me yesterday. My favorite hockey team, the Carolina Hurricanes, resigned my favorite player, Tuomo Ruutu. With the NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaching, Ruutu has been a name that executives and fans alike have tossed around the rumor mill. Many times throughout the previous weeks, it had been rumored that teams such as Vancouver, Chicago, and Pittsburgh have been interested in aquiring Ruutu before the Monday, February 27th deadline. However, on Wedenesday, the Hurricanes inked Ruutu to a new 4 year, $19 million deal taking Ruutu off the market until the 2015-16 season. Ruutu ranks second among Carolina players with 17 goals and fourth in points with 30 in 57 games played. With the signing of Tuomo Ruutu, the Hurricanes have solidified a core group of players including Cam Ward, Eric Staal, Tim Gleason, Jeff Skinner, Brandon Sutter, Jussi Jokinen, Joni Pitkanen, and Chad LaRose who are all signed to multi-year deals. With that said, the 'Canes are looking to improve their record and hopefully make a push to get into the playoffs. They currently sit at 15th in the Eastern Conference and are 8 points out of the final playoff spot. With the drama that the Ruutu trade rumors brought behind them, it's time to get back to business tonight with a home game against the Anaheim Ducks at 7:00 PM. You can watch the game live on Fox Sports Carolinas on Time Warner Cable or listen live on 99.9 FM The Fan, ESPN Radio. Let's Go Canes!