LeBron's Coming To 'Dallas Stadium'!

     Mark Cuban, David Stern and Jerry Jones have promised that the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend in North Texas will be:

    “The greatest NBA All-Star Game ever!’’ (Jones.)

    “The largest crowd at a basketball game in the history of the world!’’ (Stern.)

    “The biggest event the country has ever seen!’’ (Cuban.)

    And now LeBron James is committed to doing his part by promising to participate in next February’s Slam-Dunk contest at “Dallas Stadium.’’

   OK, so LeBron’s not up on Texas geography or naming-rights issues.

   But his participation figures to turn back the slam-dunk clock to when it was a featured event. And I’m about ready to secure my seats for the show at “Dallas Stadium.’’

   On Saturday in Phoenix, while Nate “Krypto-Nate’’ Robinson was outleaping Dwight “Superman’’ Howard for the 2009 title, my mind wandered. Nothing against backup Knicks guards, but what if somehow the NBA or a sponsor (as difficult to come by as they presently might be) offered up a large enough purse to enlist as participants the Kobes and the Wades and the …

    "Right now,’’ LeBron said into my TV screen at that exact moment, “I'm preliminarily putting my name in the 2010 contest Saturday night. LeBron James is saying in 2010, in Dallas Stadium, he will compete." It was almost certainly an unscheduled moment for TNT, and it served to upstage the Robinsons and the Howards. But it figures to add a needed boost to this competition at a site where everything will likely be Texas-sized.

Some thoughts:

   *There was a time, 30 years ago, when this event wasn’t for the Rudy Fernandezes of the world; this was Dr. J territory. It was ensuingly even Michael Jordan territory and then it was Vince Carter territory. LeBron’s participation should make this an A-list All-Star event; don’t you assume that James will persuade other superstars to join him?
   *The early line probably doesn’t have James as the odds-on fave. Smaller dudes with similar ups seem to put on a better show.

   *Can Dallas’ Gerald Green still be involved? Please?
   *The Cowboys stadium in Arlington still doesn’t have a name or a corporate sponsor. But it is in Arlington, not Dallas. And the Slam-Dunk Contest might be one of those ancillary events that finds itself housed in Dallas, at the Mavs’ home, the American Airlines Center – and American Airlines strongly prefers, LeBron, that you refer to that building thusly.

533pm feb 15 2009