Sunday Morning Update

So I was able to sequester some clips of the happenings of last nights NBA All-Star contests. I must say, I feel like DeMar DeRozan (of the Toronto Raptors) got a little robbed in the dunk contest. I feel like his first dunk of the 2nd round was the dunk of the night, and more was made of Robinson's dunks than should have been. Granted, Nate Robinson is only 5 foot 9, which makes his dunks an even greater feat, but still DeRozan brought it. My only fear is that people knowing Nate Robinson's name better than DeRozan's factored into the final vote. For some reason, the NBA thought it was a good idea to give the fans a text vote to decide the winner of the final round, rather than use the judges. Why switch methods of judgment midway through the contest? I don't know, but its not that big of a deal. I'd still call it a close call between DeRozan and Robinson, it could really go either way. Both put on a really decent show though, even if the creativity WAS a little lacking this year.
Paul Pierce's win in the 3 point shootout was pretty cut and dry, he came out and shot the basketball well in both rounds. I thought Stephen Curry might catch him in the finals, but couldn't quite do it. It was a pretty impressive winning performance, but truly not anything seriously mind-blowing. Chauncey Billups was the other finalist with Curry and Pierce. Channing Frye probably shouldn't have been in the contest, and left the big man shooting to Dirk Nowitzki (should've participated). Congrats to Pierce though.
The other clips I got to watch were the skills competition. Steve Nash won the contest pretty handily. The final round between him and Deron Williams was a landslide, mostly because Nash ran the obstacle course flawlessly and Williams screwed up on one of the passing drills. Granted, I feel like there's a little chance to their obstacle course, sometimes how the ball bounces into a circle on a pass is just as important as the skills the guy throwing the pass has. With that said, its all in good fun, and Steve Nash is clearly a skilled enough player to win something like this. My only other gripe is that I'd love to see a big man try this competition. I realize they wouldn't win because they are slower, but why not anyway? It sounds right up Hedo Turkolgu's alley, he's pretty skilled with the ball. Anyway, Nash had a lot of fun in reaching the trophy and subsequently hoisting it up, so its all good.
Since I have this chance I'd like to make a couple predictions for today. As I have mentioned, today is the Daytona 500, and the NBA All-Star Game is tonight. I'd like to touch on these, and who I got to win. In Daytona, I finally feel like its Mark Martin's year. He's been racing effectively in NASCAR since before I was born, but has never won a Daytona 500. He came a very close 2nd in 2007. In the mid 2000s, he contemplated retirement. He wasn't being as successful as in the past, but he took part of a year off, came back with a new racing team, and rejuvenated his career. He's once again very competitive, finishing with a chance in the playoff system last year. This is his chance to win the Great American Race; he starts in the 2nd position. As for the All-Star Game, I like the East. I'm going to be a bit of a homer with this pick, but hey, its an All-Star Game, it doesn't mean much more. The West has been hit by the injury bug before the game even started. 3 of their chosen players aren't playing, including Kobe Bryant. The East is only going to miss Allen Iverson, who only would be playing anyway because the fans voted him in. I like the East's athleticism to defeat the West's size. The All-Star game is a lot of running and athletic manuvering, and the Eastern team is built for it. LeBron will become the 3-time All-Star Game MVP, showing off his variety of skills with a cast around him he could only dream of.
We'll just have to see how right I am.