Dunk-a-licious: NBA Slam Dunk Contest

I’ve seen a lot of discussion about the slam dunk contest, and about how Dwight Howard was so impressive with his Sticker Slam. I for one, am impressed as his hops, but the delivery was pretty lackluster. Gerald Green, on the other hand, looked like a champion as he jumped over the table. It showed ingenuity, style, and yes, hops. Howard is clearly the future of the NBA, but Green certainly earned his place in history last night.

Mark Cuban doesn’t Suit Up

If you’ve been by my desk on a Tuesday, you know what there is to see. A sport coat hanging on the hook and a tie around the neck. Around here, the second day of the week is Suit Up Tuesday. The “Suit Up” term comes from Barney (on the show How I Met Your Mother), but I’ve taken it to heart. Jeans on Friday, suits on Tuesday.

Mark Cuban, unfortunately, has refused to follow suit. “I just could never think of any good reason for any sane person to wear a suit in the first place,” he says. Well, Mr. Cuban, I will have you know that I feel more comfortable in a suit at work. It’s a good feeling to take a few seconds out of my morning to tie up a tie. And I feel better walking the streets, knowing that I took some extra time to get ready in the morning and am more ready to face the day. And, if I were a little more rebellious, I would start expressing myself with some funky ties!

Sometimes, I have to dress up on other days. That was the start of Suit Up Thoo-ursday, keeping with the rhyme scheme. Occasionally, other people suit up as well, although I bet they have funerals or Bar Mitzvahs to attend. It works for me, and I am happy to have one day of suitage. I know other people have differing opinions. All I can say is: Suit yourself.

Mark Cuban embraces technology (again)

In addition to maintaining his own blog, called Blogmaverick.com, wherein he extols (and represents) the virtues of modern technology, Mark Cuban has taken another step. The Dallas Mavericks have launched Mavswiki, a wiki that allows users to read and create content related to every aspect of Mavericks’ history, including every game of the 2006-07 season. While the site runs a bit slowly, and the first page could use a bit of organization (adding a “players” link, to start), this is clear a great step in documenting the history of the Dallas Mavericks franchise.

As with Wikipedia, it won’t be perfect. Content of this magnitude is rarely perfect. But let’s remember Chris Anderson’s comparison to Britannica in The Long Tail: In time, Mavswiki will be more correct, more current, and more complete than anything you could find in a media guide.

Good work, Mr. Cuban. Keep on the cutting edge!

ESPN.com: Vote for the NEXT athlete

One of my favorite ESPN features is the NEXT athlete features. ESPN the Magazine does a good job of looking to the future and seeing what will come. Generally, they’re pretty good about it. The first year included Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez, who have since ascended to the stratosphere, along with Eric Lindros and Kordell Stewart, who have… well… A-Rod and Kobe are great, right?

The candidates for the 2007 cover include Dwight Howard, who is a monster, of course. He gets my vote easily. Also on the ballot are Evgeni Malkin, Jose Reyes, Calvin Johnson, and Juan Pablo Montoya. Reyes doesn’t really fit in with the others – he’s energizing, but I really don’t think he’ll ever be among the two or three best in his sport. Howard and Malkin, on the other hand, are already almost there, and both still quite young.

Don’t forget to vote early and vote often.

Dwight Howard is a monster

During my Disney trip, I took one night to venture into downtown Orlando for a basketball game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. Dwight Howard stole the show. From the moment you walked into the arena, you could tell that Orlando has Howard-fever, from all the #12 jerseys on fans of all ages. Once the game started, Howard dominated the game to the tune of 14 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks. Even though LeBron James led all scorers with 29 points, Dwight Howard owned the night, in the stats and on the scoreboard.

ESPN.com’s Eric Neel, a very underrated columnist, wrote a column singing the virtues of Dwight Howard, a very underrated basketball player. Here is an excerpt:

Right now, on the cusp between his truckload of talent and drive and the prospect of true greatness, he’s the most captivating player in the league for me, bar none.

Playmakers like James and Wade inspire me, make me want to move, remind me why I love basketball. But Howard’s thing is some other thing, some tremble-before-me, shock-and-awe sort of thing. He could own this league if he keeps working it. He looks like he has no ceiling. He’s going to get stronger physically, and he’s going to get bolder. At some point real soon, he’s going to be a straight-out unsolvable problem for every team he faces. I see a 10-year run as the East’s All-Star center. I see trophies and rings. I see a plaque in the Hall. Am I getting ahead of myself? Screw it. That’s how good he looks to me. He looks like I should get ahead of myself just to keep pace.

Neel hit it right on the mark, and that’s exactly how I felt watching Howard in Orlando. A full year younger than LeBron, Howard has as bright a future as I can imagine, and it’s going to be fun watching him for the next decade or so.