The NBA held its All-Star Game this past weekend in San Francisco. The last time the game was held in San Francisco (one was played in Oakland in 2000) was in 1967. The site was the Cow Palace. Located in Daly City, over 13,000 fans watched the Western Conference players outshine a loaded Eastern Conference squad in what has been described as the biggest upset in the history of this contest. New Jersey native Rick Barry of the then San Francisco Warriors, a team just five years removed from its former home in Philadelphia, was the M.V.P. Hopefully no cattle were present when the game was held; to this day the Cow Palace is still home to the Grand National Rodeo & Junior Livestock Show.
Fast forward to this iteration of the All Star Weekend. It is a far different world that the NBA finds itself in. And world is the key word—so many stars come from outside the United States, playing in the best-paying and most prestigious league on the planet.
The NBA, given the ludicrous high scoring affairs which became routine with the lack of any defense being played, has tried repeatedly to find a combination worth watching. This year was no different.
Four teams were fielded, honoring the former players who populate Inside The NBA. Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley were joined by WNBA legend Candace Parker as leaders of four squads. The goal was to reach 41 points and advance to a final game.
Team Shaq was stacked. Hometown hero Steph Curry led his group to the title and picked up the M.V.P. trophy just like Barry did 58 years ago. Outside of some ridiculous shot-making by Curry, it was a snooze fest. So much so that I didn’t watch any of the event while it was televised for the final time by TNT, whose NBA basketball tenure is ending with the season (although the stars of Inside The NBA will still operate out of Atlanta, in a show produced by Turner Sports, but which will be seen on ABC/ESPN next season; each star has been signed with lofty deals ensuring their continued participation).
I opted for two different shows to watch—first on Saturday, when the three-point contest and Slam Dunk contest were conducted (G League star Matt Mc Clung won the dunk show for the third consecutive year, this time leaping over a car for a three peat which the Kansas City Chiefs were unable to do). Then again on Sunday when the major stars competed (except for aging Lebron James, who opted to rest his legs for the regular season and post-season, to the marked dismay of those watching at the Chase Center and on national TV).
In no way could the NBA ever compete with the lure of Canada and the United States meeting in hockey-crazed Montreal on Saturday night. Nor was there any chance the NBA could eclipse the powerful 50th anniversary show for Saturday Night Live.
Therein lies the NBA’s dilemma. How to secure an audience when other networks and leagues could provide even more satisfying content. (I left out HBO’s return of The White Lotus for a third season on Sunday night)
Players like Draymond Green were outspoken in their criticism of the current format. Younger stars like Victor Wembanyama support a US versus the World match up.
Watching the intensity of the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NHL found an absolute winner in comparison to the non-checking, inflated goal-scoring games of the past. By staging it in a year before the NHL players are allowed to take a mid-season break to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, there was meaning to the games. Nationalistic pride was squarely on the line.
In the Canada-Sweden game, it took overtime to decide a winner. Awakening with a roar in the third period, the U.S. routed Finland.
But what transpired in Quebec in the first nine seconds of the game showed why this was a winning format. Three fights broke out, two involving the Tzchuck brothers, Matthew and Brady, defining the Americans honor. These are established stars duking it out, not goons brought in for a purpose.
The hitting was for real. The skirmishes and pushing was the norm. And real hockey was played, with sharp goaltending and great passing and shooting.
Canada had to outlast Finland on Presidents Day to insure a spot in the championship game against the U.S. when the contests moved to Boston. The finale on Thursday ought to be phenomenal. TV ratings for hockey were markedly raised. Nobody missed the former All-Star Game. Take note, NBA.
There was plenty of basketball in mid-February as the colleges continue to head towards their post-season tournaments and then on to the NCAA Tournament. Good matchups, too.
Let’s begin with the women. In a midweek match, USC and their star, JuJu Watkins, hosted their crosstown rivals, #1-ranked UCLA. The two best women’s players in college are Watkins and Paige Bueckers of the University of Connecticut. More on the UConn star in a moment.
Watkins showed why she may be a smidge better when she led the Trojans to an “upset” of the Bruins. Her stat line was phenomenal: 38 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 8 blocked shots. When UCLA came back with a 10-0 run fueled by 6’7” Lauren Betts, a defensive nightmare for opposing teams, to lead by five heading into the fourth quarter, Watkins and her teammates shut down their rivals with a marvelous display of tenacious defense. All predicated on the leadership of this outstanding sophomore.
These teams are going to meet once more at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion to end the regular season on March 1, a game televised on FOX at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are going for as low as $106.00, remarkable for the women’s game. With the win, USC sits atop the Big Ten standings in their first year in the conference. Both teams are clear of third place #8 Ohio State, a formidable team which went to Los Angeles earlier this month and absorbed two punishing losses.
Then there was the nationally-televised Sunday meeting between UConn, the name brand in women’s basketball, and two-time defending champion South Carolina. Led by Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong, legendary head coach Geno Auriemma’s team issued a statement game by thrashing the Gamecocks on their home floor, ending a 71 game winning streak for the other USC.
When the NCAA came out with its initial seeding chart for the upcoming one’s tournament, South Carolina was a #1 seed and UConn a #2 seed in a different region (USC was also a #2 seed). With the losses by UCLA and South Carolina, the Associated Press Top 25 rankings have changed dramatically. A very good Notre Dame team is at the top, followed by Texas, UCLA, USC, UConn, South Carolina, LSU, Ohio State, North Carolina and TCU.
A lot is going to change in the upcoming weeks. What is apparent that on any given night, the top teams are vulnerable.
On the men’s side, #1 Auburn invaded #2 Alabama. That sentence sounds more like a football game than men’s hoops. The Tigers knocked off the Crimson Tide to retain the top spot. Alabama fell to #4, with Texas and Duke ahead of them. Houston, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Texas Tech and St. John’s round out the Top Ten.
Any of these schools are capable of winning the big prize. And like the women, a lot is going to change between now and Selection Sunday. With no clear cut favorite to win it all.
While at the gym on Sunday afternoon, after the TV was changed from first Robin Hood (yes the Errol Flynn masterpiece), then the gristle of Greta Van Susteren on Newmax, I caught a battle between the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. Bradley defeated Drake on the road, still having a chance to win the regular season crown. Both are capable of winning a couple of games during March Madness.
Before I watched SNL, I saw Rutgers and its talented freshmen lose another game, this time at Oregon. Head Coach Steve Pikell’s job is in jeopardy with the mounting losses dashing high expectations.
Reliance on freshmen isn’t working in major college basketball—NIL and the transfer portal allow for 21 and 22 year olds with experience to go between schools seeking the best deals and making powerhouses in the process. See the SEC for a model of the new reality. As Hall of Fame coach Rick Petino indicated about his St.John’s teams, he isn’t going to see high schoolers play anymore when he can recruit veterans and negotiate a deal. So sad.
I did follow some Division III games this week. #1 Wesleyan completed a second trip to Maine with wins at Bowdoin and Bates. #2 NYU concluded a successful road trip with a close win over #7 Emory and then flying up to Rochester for a far easier victory.
NYU is the home for DIII hoops this season. As stated, the men are ranked second. Which pales in comparison with NYU women, undefeated and ranked #1. Big time DIII basketball at a former big time basketball school—I remember Barry Kramer and Satch Sanders leading the Violets when they met NYC rivals at the old Madison Square Garden.
I also watched my alma mater, Franklin and Marshall, soundly defeat nemesis Johns Hopkins, the top team in the Centennial Conference, creating a tie with the Blue Jays and Gettysburg for the CC lead with two games to go before the playoffs begin. This ended a 14 game winless streak against JHU and is the first time since 2017-18 that the Diplomats have beaten Hopkins and Swarthmore in the same season.
A shout out to Drew University. With a win over second-place Catholic on Saturday, the Rangers continued their quest for an undefeated Landmark Conference season. Losers of three games, including at NYU, Drew is ranked #13 in the NPI rankings, the DIII index the Selection Committee uses. This squad might be legitimate enough to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
I caught one additional sporting event. On Friday, #2 LSU downed #1 Oklahoma before a packed house in Baton Rouge. High level competition in a place which treats the sport almost equally with basketball and football in terms of cheerleaders and bands.
All in a week where New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton is once more injured and the New York Jets severed their ties with Aaron Rodgers, the enigmatic future Hall of Fame quarterback. It took this long to mention them—when there is so much else going on.
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