For NBA All-Stars, making the game is more important than playing in it
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The Sporting News - Making the All-Star team is a big deal. Playing well in the All-Star game -- well, maybe not such a big deal.
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National Basketball Association players trying to win a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the United States have gotten the wake-up call that the "Dream Team" days are done even if supporters have not.
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Back when Tracy McGrady was an NBA prodigy, the scoring championships were nice. They looked good on the rÃ©sumÃ© or when shouted during All-Star Game introductions.
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If Commissioner David Stern puts Carmelo Anthony on the All-Star team, he will have to defy the very image of basketball without brawls he was trying to protect and the one his coaches upheld.
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Carmelo Anthony and Josh Howard looked like worthy All-Stars. Dwight Howard might have stamped himself as the favorite in the slam dunk contest.
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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Charles Barkley loves watching films of himself playing basketball. He says it's not narcissistic. It's about seeing basketball played hard, with players giving 100 percent and the game coming before the individual.
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The NHL is using its All-Star weekend to spotlight its efforts to increase African-American interest in playing and following the sport. But it's still fighting a losing battle
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Basketball referees matter. All sports officials matter, of course, but basketball referees have a particular importance because they a) determine who will play and b) how the game will be played. A referee is at least as important as a good player in the determination of any game's outcome.
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In today&#39;s NBA, it&#39;s tough to gain respect playing in the Eastern Conference. It apparently doesn&#39;t matter that the defending champs loom there.
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CLEVELAND - When the final votes were tallied in 2007, Ray Allen trailed seven Western Conference guards for a spot on the All-Star team. He then was bypassed by the coaches - perhaps because of Seattle's dismal record - and prepared to spend his first All-Star Weekend in years away from the game.
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Statistics in sport often tell only half  the story.
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LeBron James is an old-school basketball player, more like the quiet Tim Duncan than the prototypical me-first star of todayâs N.B.A.
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Rasheed Wallace can be one of the NBA's most complete players at times, making life miserable for opponents at both ends of the court.
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Even a city that spares no expense for a good time has never seen anything like this. The NBA All-Star game on Sunday may be meaningless, and after three nights of parties might be sloppy. But try telling that to people paying top dollar for a chance to see it.
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Las Vegas, site of the NBA All-Star festivities, is a city that owes its very existence to a very simple premise: People lose more than they win.
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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Jan. 4 - Some players seem destined to make a statement in big games, and some seem to shy from the moment.
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TORONTO -- Precious few professional athletes leave their sport on their terms. Even fewer depart having won a championship in their final game. Injuries, diminished skills, and burnout can cut short careers.