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EVENTS
NHL All-Star Game
Swimsuit '99
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Hometown host
Despite injury, Jamison still graciously available
Posted: Sunday February 13, 2000 01:52 PM
By Jennifer A. Cooper, CNNSI.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- This weekend's weather and the injury to hometown hero Antawn Jamison couldn't have done much for the morale of the host area.
When visitors are lucky enough to get on a plane that's actually allowed to land here, they're not greeted very warmly. While the service is friendly and the hosts are putting on their best faces, the rain and general nastiness of the weather has put something of a damper on the festivities-not to mention the damper the weather-related no-shows put on Friday's media sessions. (The Texas contingent, including Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Steve Francis, were conspicuously absent.)
Conspicuously present, however, was Jamison, who has a strained left knee. Seeming to understand his role as a gracious host, Jamison fulfilled his responsibilities and patiently fielded the same question ("It must be a disappointment not to play this weekend") over and over again.
Jamison's answer: " The most difficult will be [Saturday], with all the festivities going on and knowing I could have had the opportunity, but, due to the injury, it's something I won't be able to do."
But he plans to get as much as he can out of it. "I'll be on the sideline for everything," he said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm not going to let it go to waste because of an injury."
The second-year Warrior's attitude is something of a silver lining around all these clouds.
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Storylines We're Following |
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Malone watch
The first sign was a bad one. Karl Malone wasn't anywhere to be found on the map of All-Stars given to the media for the availability session. John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek were there, so it had nothing to do with getting a flight out of Salt Lake City. But Malone will probably show up before gametime on Sunday. He has our attention now, and he's guaranteed that his entrance will be a big deal.
Blast from the past
The first media session of the weekend didn't feature current stars or promising ones of the future. It was with Micheal Ray Richardson, the exceptionally talented what-might-have-been star with the Knicks, Warriors and Nets in the 1980s. He's 44 years old now and still playing in Italy -- a much happier 2000 than most people would have predicted for "Sugar."
Interested spectators
Keeping an eye out for NBA players who made a pleasure trip to the Bay Area rather than one for business, the Glance spotted Dallas' Steve Nash hanging out with 3-Point Shootout participant and fellow Mav Dirk Nowitzki. No sign of Dennis yet, though. |
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Bandwagon |
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A few select media gift-bag contents |
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Schick Diamond razor |
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NBA Entertainment custom mints |
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Two T-shirts |
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NBA Jams 99-00 Court Collection: Shawn Bradley |
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Half Empty, Half Full |
Left-out Coast
The Jam Session is in Oakland. All-Star Saturday is in Oakland. The All-Star Game is in Oakland. But league officials, players, the media, et.al. are staying, eating, playing and, most important, spending, in San Francisco
Good spin: Oakland is appreciative of any national attention it can get -- even if the lion's share of the profit goes to prettier sister San Francisco.
Bad spin: If the point of awarding the All-Star Weekend to Oakland was to give the city a needed ego and economic boost, the league missed badly.
On second thought...
NBA owners were reportedly going to vote on-and probably approve-the sale of the Mavericks to Internet billionaire Mark Cuban during the All-Star festivities. But apparently that's not going to happen now.
Good spin: They're too busy this weekend, and the sale is merely a formality. Cuban seems to be doing quite well without their consent.
Bad spin: They're supposedly not thrilled with the business he's conducted so far-not so much that he signed Dennis Rodman but that he's making such huge concessions to him and being generous and lenient with the other Mavs as well. Yeah, wouldn't want someone setting a "generous" precedent.
Too much spin?
A promo for NBA.com TV was statically adhered to the TV sets in the media hotel.
Good spin: Who can argue with a Mike Fratello clinic on free-throw shooting or Jo Jo White competing with Becky Hammond of the WNBA's Liberty in a game of J-A-M?
Bad spin: Can anyone really watch all-NBA, all the time without having one of those television-induced epileptic fits experienced by some Japanese children a few years ago?
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