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: *** NBA commissioner defiantly defends his league : WASHINGTON (AP) - David Stern decried the stereotyping of his : players and did his best to defend the NBA's sinking television : ratings Saturday night at his annual All-Star news conference. : Facing questions that touched on several topics -- including the : number of youngsters entering the league, the possibility of an : age limit and the need for rules changes -- some of the : commissioner's strongest comments came when he was asked if he : felt he needed to make a sort of blanket statement directly to : the public regarding the conduct of his players. "I'm not : prepared to make apologies because that would engage in the same : stereotyping that has been engaged in by the media about our : players," Stern said. "The vast majority of our players are : extraordinarily hard workers and great members of their : communities, and I'm getting a little short on the subject of : having to apologize for them because I don't think they need : apologies." : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406132542 : *** Sonics' Mason wins Slam Dunk contest : WASHINGTON (AP) - Desmond Mason likes to draw and paint. And now : he's a slam dunk artist. The Seattle SuperSonics rookie won the : NBA slam dunk contest Saturday night, beating 19-year-old DeShawn : Stevenson of Utah and Charlotte's Baron Davis in the final round. : "You've got to be more creative now, and that's what I tried to : do," said Mason. "That's what all the guys tried to do, you could : see it. I think everybody was nervous. It wasn't the strongest : dunk contest ever. But it was fun doing it." Mason, the oldest : competitor in the field of young leapers at age 23, had a soaring : left-handed dunk on his first try of the final round to get a 45 : out of a possible 50. Then he received a 44 with a two-handed : cradle on a drive from the right side for a final-round 89. : Stevenson, who won a high school dunk contest last year before : going right to the NBA, finished with a final-round 85 and Davis : a 77. : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406132438 : *** Bucks' Allen wins 3-Point shootout : WASHINGTON (AP) - Ray Allen got his act together just in time. : The Milwaukee Bucks guard and part-time thespian recovered from : some sloppy footwork to hit 10 straight shots late in the final : Saturday and win the 3-point shootout at All-Star weekend. Allen, : holding his follow-through motion after many of his arching : attempts, went 16-of-25 to total 19 points as the last of the : three finalists on court. He edged Kings forward Peja Stojakovic, : who had 17 points, with Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki third with : 10. Stojakovic teamed with Monarchs guard Ruthie Bolton-Holifield : to win the 2ball title less than an hour before. "It's : nerve-racking out there," said Allen, who starred alongside : Denzel Washington in the Spike Lee film "He Got Game" in 1998. : Each player had a minute to put up as many shots as he could from : five spots behind the 3-point line. Each basket counted for a : point, with every fifth ball-red-white-and-blue like in the old : ABA-counting double. : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406132460 : *** Sacramento: Kings of 2ball : WASHINGTON (AP) - Sacramento finally has a basketball title. OK, : it's only 2ball, but it's a start. Kings forward Peja Stojakovic : and Monarchs guard Ruthie Bolton-Holifield won the event Saturday : at the NBA All-Star weekend, beating Cleveland's Trajan Langdon : and Eva Nemcova, 62-57, in the final. "In Sacramento, we're : trying to get on the map," Bolton-Holifield said. "The Kings are : having a great season. The Monarchs are looking forward to having : a great season. This would be a great way to get it started." The : purple-clad duo won with consummate teamwork. The two players : take turns shooting from various spots on the floor for 60 : seconds, with each spot having a certain point value. In the : first round, Bolton-Holifield hit six straight 7-pointers from 19 : feet, 9 inches. In the final, Stojakovic found his rhythm, at one : point nailing 4-of-5 from the 8-point spot beyond the NBA's : 3-point line. : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406132515 : *** Wally World, sophomores rule Rookie Challenge : WASHINGTON (AP) - Wally Szczerbiak had a bloody good time : Saturday, leaving the floor with a gash under his right eye and : the Most Valuable Player award in the Rookie Challenge. : Szczerbiak of the Minnesota Timberwolves scored 27 points to lead : a team of second-year NBA players past a rookie squad, 121-113, : in a fast-paced, above-the-rim game featuring slams, no-look : passes, alley-oops and little defense. Momentarily irritated when : Khalid El-Amin accidentally hit him across the face in the second : half, Szczerbiak slammed the ball to the floor before breaking : into a smile and then slapping hands with El-Amin. Moments later : Szczerbiak was forced to leave the floor with blood dripping from : his cheek. Local favorite Steve Francis, who left Maryland after : his junior season, added 20 points for the second-year team. : Quentin Richardson paced the rookies with 20. : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406132538 : *** ALL-STAR NOTEBOOK: Kobe's sore, in more ways than one : WASHINGTON (AP) - Kobe Bryant's shoulder is hurting, and so are : his feelings. Bryant, who said he's playing in Sunday's NBA : All-Star Game because he feared be suspended if he didn't, : arrived in Washington on a redeye flight early Saturday -- a day : later than the other players. "I didn't understand why people : were making such a big deal out of it. ... I want my shoulder to : recuperate to benefit my team in the second half of the season," : the Los Angeles Lakers star said. "It was a little hurtful to : hear people's comments." Bryant was fined $10,000 for missing : Friday's mandatory media day. He said he remained in Los Angeles : so he could get treatment on his sore right shoulder. "I wouldn't : be able to play if the game was yesterday," Bryant said. : "Today I feel pretty good. It definitely feels a lot better than : it has in the past. I felt that resting my shoulder and getting : treatment on my shoulder was going to be much more important to : me than getting fined $10,000." Bryant, the NBA's leading scorer, : doesn't want to play much Sunday. Of course, playing time : decisions are up to Western Conference coach Rick Adelman. "I'm : going to talk to him," Adelman said. "Somebody's got to play. I : can't put my coaches in the game." : KARL M. & GEORGE W.: When asked to name one highlight of his 13 : All-Star appearances, Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone opted for the : Oval Office over the rectangular hardwood. On Friday, Malone and : his family were invited to the White House, where they spent a : few private moments with President Bush. "That's my highlight," : Malone said Saturday. "I know I've got to play the game tomorrow, : but I could go home right now. That was awesome for me." The : visit was arranged by Malone's wife, Kay, through Malone's : friend, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. "A lot of things : don't get me too excited, and I don't get too nervous with a lot : of things, but I was nervous," Malone said. "When I got ready to : take a picture, I didn't know if I was supposed to put my hand on : his shoulder or what." : VLADE'S NERVES: Sacramento Kings center Vlade Divac, chosen to : the West team as an injury replacement, is a nervous first-time : All-Star. "It's amazing. It's a big crowd," said the 33-year-old : Yugoslav, surveying the huge gathering of reporters before : Saturday's practice. "I'm a little nervous." Divac's sense of awe : hasn't escaped Kings teammate Chris Webber. "I'm liking that, : because Vlade's usually cool," Webber said. "I'm teasing him and : telling him to go to the wrong locker room and telling him the : wrong times and stuff. He doesn't believe anything I say right : now." : PASSING OF THE TORCH: With seven first-time All-Stars playing : Sunday, 10-time participant David Robinson of the San Antonio : Spurs is feeling very old-guard. "This is a whole new breed of : guys," Robinson said. "When I first came in, we had all the guys : I grew up with -- Larry Bird and Magic (Johnson) and Michael : (Jordan) and Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler -- and you don't : see any of those guys now." Robinson appealed to the fans to give : the new generation a chance. "The talent level is incredible," : Robinson said. "But it's taken the fans a little time to get to : know these guys and love these guys, but they're good guys." : NBA TAKEOVER: When the All-Star Game comes to town, the NBA is : definitely in charge. The Washington Wizards are the host team, : but Wizards season ticket holders who wanted to come to Sunday's : game had to settle for seats in the upper bowl of the MCI Center, : and those who own luxury boxes had to pay extra to use them this : weekend. The arena's good seats are reserved for members of the : NBA "family" -- sponsors, officials and media. The NBA even : brought its own floor, specially made for the All-Star game by a : Michigan company. After the game, it will be for sale. The league : will feature it in an NBA and WNBA catalog for $250,000. : ALL-STARS ON ICE: Even the son of a wealthy sports team owner : isn't immune to the trappings of fan-dom. Among in attendance for : the start of Saturday's practice was Washington Capitals owner : and Washington Wizards part-owner Ted Leonsis, whose son Zack was : collecting autographs on a red, white and blue basketball. : CAN THE ROCK SHOOT THE ROCK?: What can the NBA do to boost its : sagging television ratings? Commissioner David Stern had a witty : answer to that question Saturday. "We're going to rename it the : XBA," Stern said. "And that's just the beginning." Actually, the : NBA went head-to-head with the XFL on Saturday night, with 2ball, : the 3-point shootout and the slam dunk competition airing on TNT : against the nascent football league on NBC. : A NEW YORK DRAFT: This year's NBA draft will be held at New : York's Madison Square Garden, commissioner David Stern said : Saturday. The draft will be held June 27, starting at 7 p.m. : *** Jordan hardly an All-Star president after rocky rookie year : WASHINGTON (AP) - With the NBA having descended on the nation's : capital for the All-Star game, players and league officials will : get a rare glimpse of another visitor: Michael Jordan. : Of course, given his embarrassing first year as a front-office : executive with the last-place Washington Wizards, Jordan might : want to stay away from this game, too. : "I'm embarrassed," Wizards guard Mitch Richmond said. "I know : Mike is. It's his name on it. The players are embarrassed by it, : too." : Mediocre for more than a decade, the Wizards have never been as : bad as they've been this season. : They are 12-37, 23 1/2 games behind first-place Philadelphia in : the Atlantic Division. That's the second-worst record in the NBA : behind the Chicago Bulls (6-42), the team Jordan led to six : championships. : This is Jordan's first full season as a part-owner and president : of basketball operations, the season he predicted a .500 record : and the playoffs. : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406132556

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