February 5, 200719 yr http://www.nba.com/allstar2007/news/sprite_samdunk_070205.html NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2007 – New York’s Nate Robinson will defend his crown in the 2007 Sprite Slam Dunk competition to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by EA SPORTS™, Feb. 17 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Robinson will compete against three first-time entrants – Boston’s Gerald Green, who is an alumnus of the NBA Development League, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas – for this year’s title. Last year in Houston, the 5-9 Robinson outlasted Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala 47-46 in a dunk-off to become only the second sub-6-foot winner in contest history joining Spud Webb, the 1986 champion. Webb provided the bounce pass for Robinson’s only 50-point dunk of the competition. Golden State’s Jason Richardson was the last player to win back-to-back Sprite Slam Dunk titles capturing the 2002 and 2003 competitions. The only previous repeat Slam Dunk champion was Chicago’s Michael Jordan, who won the 1987 and 1988 contests. The judges of this year’s Sprite Slam Dunk competition will include Jordan, who is the all-time All-Star Game scoring leader with 262 points in 14 appearances; 1985 and 1990 Slam Dunk champion and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins; 1997 Slam Dunk winner and starting guard for this year’s Western Conference All-Stars Kobe Bryant; 2000 Slam Dunk winner and 2007 Eastern Conference All-Star reserve Vince Carter and 11-time NBA All-Star and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving. There are two rule changes for this year’s competition: Upon receiving the ball from the referee, players will have a two-minute time limit to complete their dunk. If a player hasn’t completed a dunk when the two-minute clock expires, he will have two more attempts to do so. Also new this year is the use of television instant replay, at the discretion of the referee, for clarification of rules compliance. The Sprite Slam Dunk will be broadcast live nationally as part of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by EA SPORTS, which will also feature the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam; Sprite Slam Dunk; Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout; PlayStation® Skills Challenge; Haier Shooting Stars; NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas, the league’s interactive event that attracts more than 100,000 fans each year; and the 56th NBA All-Star Game. Sprite is the world’s leading lemon-lime soft drink and has been the official soft drink of the NBA since 1994. The brand’s association with the NBA and players like LeBron James help to reinforce Sprite’s straightforward attitude and “subLYMONAL” message. Below is a list of previous winners and the lineup for the 2007 Sprite Slam Dunk: SPRITE SLAM DUNK YEAR-BY-YEAR WINNERS 1984—Larry Nance, Phoenix 1985—Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta 1986—Spud Webb, Atlanta 1987—Michael Jordan, Chicago 1988—Michael Jordan, Chicago 1989—Kenny Walker, New York 1990—Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta 1991—Dee Brown, Boston 1992—Cedric Ceballos, Phoenix 1993—Harold Miner, Miami 1994—Isaiah Rider, Minnesota 1995—Harold Miner, Miami 1996—Brent Barry, L.A. Clippers 1997—Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers 2000—Vince Carter, Toronto 2001—Desmond Mason, Seattle 2002—Jason Richardson, Golden State 2003—Jason Richardson, Golden State 2004—Fred Jones, Indiana 2005—Josh Smith, Atlanta 2006—Nate Robinson, New York 2007 SPRITE SLAM DUNK COMPETITORS Participant, Team Pos. Ht. Wt. Gerald Green, Boston F 6-8 200 Dwight Howard, Orlando C 6-11 265 Nate Robinson, New York G 5-9 180 Tyrus Thomas, Chicago F 6-9 215
February 6, 200719 yr They're both above the dunk contest now... I don't blame them. While it'd be cool to see, the dunk contest is for young players to grab some attention for the most part.
February 6, 200719 yr ^I'm not sure but maybe he can show us something cool with him being a big guy & all.
February 6, 200719 yr http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/9977046 Barkley claims to have won $700K in Vegas over the weekend PHOENIX -- Charles Barkley said Monday that he won "about $700,000" gambling in Las Vegas over the weekend. "That was all profit (from) blackjack and I bet on the Super Bowl. I had the Colts," Barkley said in an interview with Phoenix television station KTVK. "I played a lot of blackjack." Barkley did not say how much be bet on Sunday's game in which Indianapolis beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Miami. In an interview in May 2006, Barkley estimated that he'd lost about $10 million gambling over the years. He said Monday that he lost $2.5 million "in a six-hour period" one night last year. "It's a stupid, bad habit. I have a problem," Barkley said. "But the problem is when you can't afford it. I can afford to gamble. I didn't kill myself when I lost two and half million dollars. ... I like to gamble and I'm not going to quit." Barkley, who lives in the Phoenix area, was elected to the Hall of Fame last year. He averaged 22.1 points and nearly 12 rebounds in a 16-year career that included stops in Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston. He was the league's MVP in 1993 with the Suns, and he won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as part of the original U.S. Dream Team.
February 6, 200719 yr Author http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270205007 DENVER -- Steve Nash was too hurt to go back out and too embarrassed to stand for the beating the Denver Nuggets were putting on his Phoenix Suns. Nash's red-faced halftime pep talk inspired the Suns, who overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to beat the depleted Nuggets 113-108 Monday night, despite the league's MVP sitting out the second half. "During the first half they roughed us up, knocked us around and we didn't stand up to them. Steve had a talk at halftime and we played with a little bit more oomph in the second half," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They've got some tough guys and we had to stand up to it. We want to play pretty, but pretty wasn't getting it done tonight." Nash watched from the bench, having aggravated his injured right shoulder in the first half. "I thought it was best to come out," Nash said. "It hurts when I'm moving it."
February 6, 200719 yr You have arguably 5 of the best dunkers of all-time (Maybe replace David Thompson with Kobes) JUDGING this event. 2 of which could enter this thing & possibly place 1-2 Vince/Kobe. The other 3, MJ, Nique' & Dr J are the 3 best dunkers of all time IMO. How about a true "All Star Dunk Contest" between those 5?! (In their primes). Now that would be something. I know nowadays it's for the "up and coming" high flyers but Kobe & Vince not being in it is a complete joke IMO. But it is what it is & I hope this year's dunk contest is one to remember. Go G Green!
February 6, 200719 yr http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=macmullan_jackie&id=2755078 The transformation of Kobe Bryant
February 7, 200719 yr Author http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2756552 CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls fined forward Tyrus Thomas $10,000 on Tuesday, one day after the rookie said he only was interested in the prize money at the NBA's slam dunk contest. He later apologized "for any negative feelings that may have been caused by my comments." The first Bulls player since Scottie Pippen in 1990 to participate in the event, Thomas was quoted in Tuesday's editions of the Chicago Tribune as saying: "I'm just going to go out there, get my check and call it a day." When asked if being around some of the game's greats could be beneficial for a rookie, he responded, "I'm just into the free money. That's it. I'll just do whatever when I get out there." The winner of the Feb. 17 event in Las Vegas gets $35,000. The runner-up earns $22,500, with the third and fourth-place finishers getting $16,125. Joining Thomas are defending champion Nate Robinson of New York, Orlando All-Star Dwight Howard and Boston's Gerald Green. "This fine is an appropriate response to the remarks Tyrus made concerning his participation in the slam dunk contest," Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in a statement. "It is a poor reflection on Tyrus individually and a poor reflection on the Bulls organization, and I am certainly disappointed." Thomas apologized in a statement issued through his agents Tuesday night. What a clown. :irked:
February 7, 200719 yr Author Nash is sitting out tonights game with a shoulder injury. Not sure how bad it is but he didn't finish last nights game because of it.
February 7, 200719 yr Tyrus Thomas on being in the NBA dunk contest... "I'm just in it for the free money"- Tyrus Thomas He was fined $10,000 for his comment...Since you get $16,000 for either winning it or being in it, (not sure which) he is still up 6 grand.. haha
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