Oh, what a night!

Last night, while I was doing Over the Ropes with Nick Malone, I unfortunately missed to huge sporting events. After the show, I kept my ears covered so I would not hear who won these events. No, not a Congressional hearing. Not Pacman Jones wrestling. I missed one of the best Slam Dunk Contests in recent history and I missed a Mixed Martial Arts fight with one of the sports fastest rising stars, Kimbo Slice.

First, in the dunk contest, Dwight Howard put on a one man show, scoring a perfect 100 in the 1st round. His first dunk started with a bank off of the back of the backboard. He caught the self pass and windmilled it home from behind the hoop. How could he top that you ask. In the second dunk, Mr. Howard dressed for the occasion. He removed his jersey to reveal a Superman shirt. Then his teammate, Jameer Nelson, handed him a cape. It's all about presentation. Howard got a huge running start. He stopped right after the free throw line, made the highest two-footed jump I have ever seen, and threw the rock through the hoop. And the crowd goes wild! So does Kenny Smith.

In the final round, Howard went up against last years champion, Gerald Green. But the champ was no match for the man from Orlando. Howard's next dunk was the most technical dunk of the whole competition. He threw the ball up, caught it in mid-air, slapped it against the backboard with his left hand and then jammed it with his right. For his last dunk, Dwight mounted a mini-hoop on the glass and left the ball in it. He jumped, took the ball off of the mini-hoop and dunked it into the regular hoop. Not as good as his others but enough to seal the deal.

I would also like to say that one of the most impressive dunks was Green's first dunk, where he put a cupcake, with a lit candle, on the back of the rim. He recieved the pass from Rashad McCants and while dunking, Green blew out the candle. I love it! But, to take nothing away from Green, Jamario Moon, or Rudy Gay, Dwight Howard beasted the competition beyond belief.

The next event I missed was the Elite XC fight between Tank Abbot and street fight legend Kimbo Slice in Miami. At the start of the bout, Abbot tried to take Kimbo down but had no success. Less than 20 seconds into the fight, Kimbo knocked Abbot to the ground, but received a warning for a hit to the back of the head. After a short delay, Kimbo went back on the offensive and released a flurry of shots to Abbot's head. Tank stumbled, which left him open to Kimbo's onslaught of an uppercut, left hook, and two right crosses. Abbot is out cold, much like many of Kimbo's past opponents. The audience goes crazy for the hometown boy. Kimbo is on his way to the top of the Mixed Martial Arts world.

It's also nice to see two humble and genuinely nice guys, in Dwight Howard and Kimbo Slice, succeeding in their fields. Those two should get more press than the Pacman Joneses of the world.

Anyway, I'm happy I ended up being able to see these events (God Bless Youtube), they didn't disappoint.

Max Caster

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