Keep It Real Friday!

Short Keep It Real Friday this week. I believe I've said my peace on Steroids and Alex Rodriguez, the NFL combine doesn't happen till this weekend, and the dog days of the NBA are about to begin . .

ONE TOPIC!

LeBron James will participate in the 2010 NBA slam dunk contest. That alone brings in a couple hundred thousand more viewers. When LeBron fist announced that he would challenge the 2009 winner the coming year, two things came to mind. (1) What has taken so long? (2) How will this not bring out Kobe "Bean" Bryant?

Quick Note: I'm a fan of the NBA, and while I cheer for the Boston Celtics to win a championship every season, I'm not oppose to seeing LeBron v. Kobe for the NBA title, not one bit.

Back to LeBron participating in the slam dunk contest, it instantly makes next years All-Star weekend 10x more exciting, but some things do need to change to make this contest as good as it can be, or used to be. Given that I have absolutely no idea what the qualifications would be to make these decisions, I've determined I'm qualified to do so.

Change #1

No Nate Robinson, or anyone else who isn't actually an All-Star. Once you start running out players like the Nuggets J.R. Smith, I can't hold back. They may very well be fantastic dunk artists, but anytime you can win an award and instantly be added to a list which includes the likes of Dr. J, His Airness, and The Human Highlight Reel, without ever having actually played in an All-Star game, I take issue. Harold Miner, Gerald Green, and Desmond Mason? For some reason, they don't exactly sit well with me. If your not playing on Sunday, you aren't dunking on Saturday.

Change #2

LeBron wasn't the first to bring it up, but it couldn't have been said better. You don't get unlimited time and attempts to nail a dunk. After you've failed the first two times, we know what your trying and it loses it's luster. I could shoot 50 half court shots, and just because I drill the 50th one but miss the first 49, it doesn't mean that is "my shot." Three attempts, at the most. For those of you who watched Rudy Fernandez lay that dunk down after 19 failed attempts, admit it, you'd were more annoyed than impressed.

Change #3

No Superman cape, no kryptonite tee, and no allowing your opponent to throw down a dunk over your head. You think Michael would have let Dominique jump over him en route to the rim? Do you think Dr. J thought of himself as Superman? Do you think Dee Brown and Spud Webb were into wardrobe changes, mid-contest? No, No, and No. Grab the rock, think of something creative, and smash the ball through the rim. Period.

These 3 changes, along with the presence of Bean Bryant, LeBron James, and any number of their fellow All-Stars would create a dunk contest for the ages. KEEP IT REAL! Take back the slam dunk contest.