Nba All Star Weekend

Writers from around the Tribune Co. share what they would like to add to the NBA All-Star weekend, which runs Friday through Sunday in Houston. Feel free to join the conversation with a comment of your own. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times It's simple, really. Make the All-Stars play defense like they would in a normal regular-season NBA game. And that isn't asking too much, especially if you're Carmelo Anthony, Zach Randolph or anyone who plays for the Lakers. Yes, this would put coaches Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra in the uncomfortable spot of yanking players after they let the second or third guy blow past them for a pass-to-themselves-off-the-backboard dunk.  So be it. These players and coaches are all paid ridiculous sums of money, and for them to show up at the All-Star Game and make a mockery of the game that has made them all very rich is a slap in the face to the fans who buy their tickets and products.

Writers from around the Tribune Co. share what they would like to add to the NBA All-Star weekend, which runs Friday through Sunday in Houston. Feel free to join the conversation with a comment of your own. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times It's simple, really. Make the All-Stars play defense like they would in a normal regular-season NBA game. And that isn't asking too much, especially if you're Carmelo Anthony, Zach Randolph or anyone who plays for the Lakers. Yes, this would put coaches Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra in the uncomfortable spot of yanking players after they let the second or third guy blow past them for a pass-to-themselves-off-the-backboard dunk.  So be it. These players and coaches are all paid ridiculous sums of money, and for them to show up at the All-Star Game and make a mockery of the game that has made them all very rich is a slap in the face to the fans who buy their tickets and products.

Spectacular slam dunks, fancy passes and arching three-point shots are expected to delight fans at this weekend's NBA All-Star game at Staples Center. But the real razzle-dazzle is taking place off the court, before and after the game. A-listers from the film and music world, including Jamie Foxx, Diddy and Justin Bieber, are preparing to mix with current and former NBA players at an avalanche of celebrity-studded events ? concerts, pregame competitions and parties stretching from Hollywood to Venice.

Dwight Howard is one of the biggest names representing the Adidas basketball brand. At the 62nd All-Star Game in Houston, Howard will debut a special NBA All-Star edition of the "D Howard Light. " The signature shoe features a design based on speed, style and Houston's "history of aviation," according to a release sent out on behalf of Adidas.  The design was also reportedly inspired by the atmosphere of NBA All-Star Weekend. Howard and the Lakers (19-25) are trying to work their way back into the playoff hunt after solid wins over the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder.

While merchants in Texas count their profits from Super Bowl XLV, downtown Los Angeles business owners are hoping for a big score from their own high-profile sporting event next weekend. Downtown businesses expect to reap hefty profits when the NBA All-Star weekend rolls into Staples Center, drawing thousands of big-spending celebrities, professional athletes and die-hard hoops fans for four days of basketball, dinners and parties. Although Los Angeles hosted the annual basketball celebration seven years ago, economists predict this year's event will generate even more profits.

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls were fined $10,000 each by the NBA for missing a news conference at the NBA All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City.

BT The Game Today, 2:30 p.m., Channel 4 LAKER IN GAME Kobe Bryant, Guard (Shaquille O'Neal not playing because of an injury) CLIPPER IN GAME Elton Brand, Forward (Brand assumed O'Neal's roster spot) ET RELATED STORY Clipper camp: NBA All-Star weekend features three Clippers in three events. D4

The Lakers just scored a slam dunk in the Latino market. On Monday the team announced a 20-year agreement with Time Warner Cable to create the nation's first Spanish-language regional sports network, with the Lakers as its centerpiece, starting with the 2012-13 season. The groundbreaking partnership is just the latest in a series of efforts by the Lakers and the NBA as they reach out to the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. "If you're not able to connect with [Latinos]

Good news for all of those Linatics out there: Jeremy Lin will be taking part in the NBA All-Star weekend. The NBA confirmed that the seemingly out-of-nowhere New York Knicks star will play in the Rising Stars Challenge on Feb. 24, giving fans a chance to see the player that the New York Times and USA Today dedicated a combined 13 stories to in their Friday editions. Yeah, he's that big. Linsanity is so big that even NBA Commissioner David Stern apparently is unable to stop it. Stern had told USA Today that Lin would not play because the pool of 18 players had already been chosen.

Dwight Howard is one of the biggest names representing the Adidas basketball brand. At the 62nd All-Star Game in Houston, Howard will debut a special NBA All-Star edition of the "D Howard Light. " The signature shoe features a design based on speed, style and Houston's "history of aviation," according to a release sent out on behalf of Adidas.  The design was also reportedly inspired by the atmosphere of NBA All-Star Weekend. Howard and the Lakers (19-25) are trying to work their way back into the playoff hunt after solid wins over the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson , NBA Commissioner David Stern and Sacramento Kings ownership are expected to gather at All-Star weekend in Orlando, Fla., to discuss a new arena term sheet to submit to the city council March 6. In a joint news release by Johnson and Stern, the sides expressed confidence about meeting the NBA-imposed March 1 deadline for a plan to finance a new $387-million arena downtown. "Our approach makes good on the principles that have guided us throughout this process: protecting the taxpayers, creating jobs, and pursuing an open and transparent process," Johnson said in the statement.

Good news for all of those Linatics out there: Jeremy Lin will be taking part in the NBA All-Star weekend. The NBA confirmed that the seemingly out-of-nowhere New York Knicks star will play in the Rising Stars Challenge on Feb. 24, giving fans a chance to see the player that the New York Times and USA Today dedicated a combined 13 stories to in their Friday editions. Yeah, he's that big. Linsanity is so big that even NBA Commissioner David Stern apparently is unable to stop it. Stern had told USA Today that Lin would not play because the pool of 18 players had already been chosen.

A surge in international visitors and huge crowds attending the NBA All-Star weekend and other downtown events have put Los Angeles on track to host a record number of visitors in 2011. "We are forecasting to have more visitors come to Los Angeles than any other year we've ever had," said Mark Liberman, president of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, known as LA Inc. "That is great news. " With a 51% jump in convention room bookings this year and a 16% increase in overseas visitors, the bureau estimates that the city will host more than last year's 25.8 million overnight visitors and surpass the 2007 record of 25.9 million.

NBA All-Star weekend at Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. Friday ? NBA All-Star Jam Session, 4-10 p.m. at Convention Center South Hall. Sophomore All-Stars practice, 9:45-10:30 a.m.; rookies practice, 11-11:45 a.m.; both at Jam Session Center Court in South Hall. Tickets through ticketmaster.com. ? ESPN celebrity game, 4-6 p.m. at Jam Session center court, South Hall. (Separate admission.) ? T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam, 6 p.m. at Staples Center; rookies vs. sophomores game.

Spectacular slam dunks, fancy passes and arching three-point shots are expected to delight fans at this weekend's NBA All-Star game at Staples Center. But the real razzle-dazzle is taking place off the court, before and after the game. A-listers from the film and music world, including Jamie Foxx, Diddy and Justin Bieber, are preparing to mix with current and former NBA players at an avalanche of celebrity-studded events ? concerts, pregame competitions and parties stretching from Hollywood to Venice.

Let's have a big welcome for the NBA from the home of the former two-time defending champion Lakers ? Oh, right, I guess they're still the two-time defending champions. The All-Star game, which lives here between tours, is back after seven years, in which time we paved paradise, or at least the lots next to the arena, and put up luxury hotels, to go with all our five-star restaurants and the nearby family theme park ? Beverly Hills. Unlike 2004, when Los Angeles got the event and Beverly Hills got the participants, the players and some of the owners are downtown, which, of course, wasn't there, at least in its present form.

NBA All-Star weekend at Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. Friday ? NBA All-Star Jam Session, 4-10 p.m. at Convention Center South Hall. Sophomore All-Stars practice, 9:45-10:30 a.m.; rookies practice, 11-11:45 a.m.; both at Jam Session Center Court in South Hall. Tickets through ticketmaster.com. ? ESPN celebrity game, 4-6 p.m. at Jam Session center court, South Hall. (Separate admission.) ? T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam, 6 p.m. at Staples Center; rookies vs. sophomores game.

NBA All-Star weekend at Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. Friday ? NBA All-Star Jam Session, 4-10 p.m. at Los Angeles Convention Center South Hall. Sophomore All-Stars practice, 9:45-10:30 a.m.; rookies practice, 11-11:45 a.m.; both at Jam Session Center Court in South Hall. Tickets through ticketmaster.com . ESPN celebrity game, 4-6 p.m. at Jam Session center court, South Hall. (Separate admission.) T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam, 6 p.m. at Staples Center; rookies vs. sophomores game.

NBA All-Star weekend at Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. Friday ? NBA All-Star Jam Session, 4-10 p.m. at Los Angeles Convention Center South Hall. Sophomore All-Stars practice, 9:45-10:30 a.m.; rookies practice, 11-11:45 a.m.; both at Jam Session Center Court in South Hall. Tickets through ticketmaster.com . ESPN celebrity game, 4-6 p.m. at Jam Session center court, South Hall. (Separate admission.) T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam, 6 p.m. at Staples Center; rookies vs. sophomores game.

The Lakers just scored a slam dunk in the Latino market. On Monday the team announced a 20-year agreement with Time Warner Cable to create the nation's first Spanish-language regional sports network, with the Lakers as its centerpiece, starting with the 2012-13 season. The groundbreaking partnership is just the latest in a series of efforts by the Lakers and the NBA as they reach out to the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. "If you're not able to connect with [Latinos]