Big 'Ol Weekend O' Sports: Friday night recap

So, in relation to the post I made earlier today, I'd like to talk a little about the things that transpired tonight. The night's 2 major happenings were the beginning of NBA All-Star weekend, and the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Personally, I watched some of both. I watched all of the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game, a little of the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge and then part of the opening ceremonies.
The Celebrity All-Star Game was fun as usual. The entertainment factor alone in watching people that shouldn't play basketball actually play the game is amazing. It makes me feel better about how I play the game. I mean, who DOESN'T want to see Mark Cuban try to back down Chris Tucker, or Dr. Oz of Oprah fame try to shoot a wide-open 15 foot jump shot. I mean this was a game where at halftime 1 team was shooting 20% from the field, and the other had 15 turnovers. At the same time, you find out a few of these guys have some game actually. Rapper/actor Common impressed me a little, he can really handle the ball well. He had like 8 points. Actor Joel Moore, best known for being in Avatar and Dodgeball, also impressed, which is funny because he looks like a dorky guy, but he had a nose for the ball and some good moves to the basket. I only have a couple complaints from the event. The use of Harlem Globetrotters as players is stupid. They're actual basketball players, they shouldn't be allowed in. I realize they're there to keep the game interesting and make sure at least a few points are consistently scored, but still. Also, Michael Rappaport didn't deserve the MVP award, he had 4 points, and supposedly "shut down Terrell Owens". TO just didn't try in the 2nd half. It probably should've gone to Special K from the Globetrotters, he had like 17, but they refused to give it to anyone but a celebrity. Its a fun little event they do though, and I enjoyed it. Oh, and the West (Special K, Cuban, Common, & co.) defeated the East 41-37.
I only watched a little of the Rookie-Sophomore game, so I can't speak much to that. I know the Rookies actually beat the Sophomores for once, and were led by Tyreke Evans of the Kings. Russell Westbrook of the Thunder dropped 40 points. The Rookies won 140-128. The only other thing that stood out to me was that Rookie DeJuan Blair had 23 REBOUNDS (he was a steal for the Spurs). It may not have been close, but I'm sure the high scoring lent itself to a lot of action.
Then there was the opening ceremonies. I missed most of the introductions due to other distractions, but watched quite a bit of the presentation. From what I understand the Americans were received quite well by the crowd. It was a solemn but good moment to acknowledge the Georgian luger that lost his life earlier today in competition, as well. It was very classy to give him the attention that they did, and it was great to hear the crowd gave a lot of respect to the other Georgians. The presentation was incredible. The use of the projectors upon the stage floor was beyond impressive. The images and grace of the performance were fantastic. It was thoroughly enjoyable, even if the ensuing speeches by the Vancouver Event President and IOC President were a little bit dull. Still, the performance was an incredible depiction of the different areas of Canada and their natural essence. The homage to the land and the natives as well as normal society was very cool. Then the last action of the night was the lighting of the torch, which had a little hitch in it. It was meant to be joint lit by 4 people, but only 3 torches rose from the stage, which obviously causes a problem. They took it in stride though. Excellent choices were made for the lighting of the torches. Wayne Gretzky is a no-brainer, as was Rick Hansen, a Canadian paralympian. It was cool to see the Canadians pay respect to Steve Nash, I never really though of him as someone who linked himself to his Canadian roots. Overall, it was an very splendid ceremony. I'm ecstatic now for the games to begin.
More to come as things develop in the next couple days.

-Hype