Poker-faced Orlando hosts gathering of NBA stars

SACRAMENTO—There is no reason why Orlando, Florida should not feel like a million bucks—make that a 100 million bucks—as it prepares to host the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.
Basketball’s biggest pick-up game will be broadcast throughout the NBA universe, including the Philippines from the new Amway Center in downtown Orlando on Sunday afternoon (Monday morning in Manila).
The city, home to Disneyworld, Universal Studios and SeaWorld among other tourist draws, will welcome up to 60,000 out-of-towners who will bunk in about 25,000 hotel rooms, reports ESPN Sports. Visitors, mostly NBA fans are expected to pump $100 million into the economy of America’s theme park capital this weekend.
Although Orlando is all smiles as it spreads the red carpet for everyone, it is in the midst of a private poker game with its top resident athlete —Dwight Howard of the NBA’s Magic.
Howard, a.k.a. Superman, has long expressed his unhappiness with the Magic and his desire to skip town at the right time. But as members of teams on his growing wish list descend on his backyard this weekend, Howard should have fun for at least a day.
He will suit up as a starter for the East All Stars, along with Miami’s Dwayne Wade and LeBron James, Chicago’s Derrick Rose, and New York’s Carmelo Anthony. East reserves are Chris Bosh, Miami; Luol Deng, Chicago; Joe Johnson, Atlanta; Paul Pierce, Boston; and Deron Williams, New Jersey.
These Eastern seaboard superstars will face a Western wellspring of talent—starters Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers; Chris Paul, Blake Griffin of the cross-town LA Clippers; and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Western reserves are LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland; Marc Gasol, Memphis; Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas; Kevin Love, Minnesota; Steve Nash, Phoenix; Tony Parker, San Antonio; and Russel Westbrook, Oklahoma City.
The NBA All-Star Game, on its 61st year does not have the ratings strength of the National Football League’s Super Bowl—where new product commercials are debuted because of the sheer size of the viewing audience.
This year’s Super Bowl won by the New York Giants over the New England Patriots and watched by 111.3 million pair of eyes, was the most widely viewed event in American television history. It drew 47.0 household rating and a 71 share and was the highest-rated Super Bowl since 1983.
The last NBA All-Star Game drew a 5.2 rating, small potatoes compared to Super Bowl numbers. But the viewing audience for the 2011 NBA All-Stars went up 37 percent from 2010, partly because of the league’s titillating story lines.
Among this year’s spellbinding scenarios is the meteoric rise of Asian American basketball star Jeremy Lin.
Cut by two NBA teams and on the verge of being let go by the sputtering Knicks, Lin filled in the shoes of Melo Anthony who has since returned from injury, to lead New York to eight straight wins.
The rest was “Linsanity” in the NBA.
Some sports pundits have even suggested the off-beat—that the Harvard-educated Lin, the first American-born NBA player of Chinese descent, should be inserted in the Eastern All Star lineup to boost the game’s TV ratings.
An article in the Detroit Free Press said Lin is the toast of America’s talk shows, including “Good Morning America” and “Today” and will eventually end up on the late night circuit, including Live with Jimmy Kimmel, Manny Pacquiao’s favorite talk show host.
So if Lin is “good enough for those (TV) outlets, he should be good enough for the NBA’s showcase game,” says the Free Press piece.