LJWorld.com / Game belongs in Vegas

Archive for Saturday, February 24, 2007

By John Smallwood - Philadelphia Daily News

February 24, 2007

Las Vegas — If I were going to lay a bet on it, I’d take the odds against Las Vegas ever getting a NBA team, or a team from any of the major professional sports leagues.

It’s not that Las Vegas isn’t ready for an NBA, NFL, NHL or Major League Baseball team. It’s that none of those leagues is ready for Las Vegas.

Too much money, too much idle time, far too many available vices — rich professional athletes based in Las Vegas would be inviting disaster.

After all, this is Sin City, and there’s reason why the board of tourism has a campaign that says, “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.”

Putting professional athletes in Las Vegas on a full-time basis would be like starving Adam for 10 days before offering him the apple.

But as the 2007 NBA All-Star Event proved, a three-day weekend in Las Vegas is manageable.

And frankly, considering what All-Star Weekend has evolved in to, Las Vegas might be perfect as a permanent site for the NBA’s signature showcase celebration.

Let’s face it: All-Star Weekend stopped actually being about basketball a long time ago.

Sunday night’s 48-minute exhibition of showboat dunks, no-look passes, ill-advised three-point shots and no defense had as much to do with the game that James Naismith invented as the Streetball Tour that has grown so popular.

The West won, 153-132 — if anyone cares.

Considering how out and about the players were last weekend, it’s amazing any of them had the energy to play a game.

And since the game itself doesn’t matter, keep the All-Star show in a city that knows how to do things better than anyone else.