Way to go New Orleans!! Way to go Stern!!

[Trueblood]

I can't say how pleased I am that things went down the way they did this weekend. I told people over and over at HR.com what a great commissioner Stern is and that it was just a matter of time before he did something good for New Orleans. This past weekend showed how committed he truly is to this city and as a result, the city will take notice. The ASG was a huge event that put New Orleans on the basketball map and the local populace is going to show a certain amount of curiosity in the team.

Bill Simmons hit the nail on the head. This league doesn't deserve the beating it takes. For the first time in a long time, just about all of it's stars are very likeable AND very talented. The charitable activities that they have taken part in are genuine and not just for pub. The league and it's players care about this city more than any other league in the country.

People wanted to kick this league and were hoping beyond hope that it would fall apart after the Donaghy situation. Well guess what, it's not happening. Donaghy is ancient history and the league is back on the rise......but just say NO to European expansion

Long live the great game of basketball and the NBA!!

[2poor]

kudos to Shinn as well.

New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn hosted an NBA board of governors reception before the game Sunday night and said several NBA owners approached him to tell him about how positive their experience was in New Orleans.

"It couldn't have gone any better," Shinn said. "I'm so proud of New Orleans, our staff, all of our people. Everybody joined hands and came together, and that's why this was so successful. I just think we showed the whole world that New Orleans is coming back and coming back strong."

Emboldened from the weekend, Shinn said he planned to send a letter to NBA Commissioner David Stern by the end of the week, lobbying for a future All-Star Game. The game will be played in Phoenix next year. The NBA has yet to award the 2010 event to a city. Stern said last week that the league would consider New Orleans a strong candidate to be part of a rotation of host cities for the event.

City officials: NBA All-Star weekend helped prove N.O. is back

Under an amended lease agreement the franchise signed with the state in December, it must average 14,735 through next season to prevent an opt-out clause from kicking in. Hornets owner George Shinn said fans need not worry about him exercising the option to leave.

"I see it (attendance) getting better and better, and I don't see it going in the other direction," Shinn said. "I'm going to work as quickly as possible with Gov. Jindal's staff.

"I would like to go ahead and put together something to help us and help the state -- and just sign a long-term pact -- so there won't be a question about it. That's what I would like to do. I'm going to bust my chops to try and get it done."

SELLING SUCCESS

[2poor]

New Orleans has always been the best host for the big sports weekends, and even in its weakened state it still came through.

This year, both the city and the league were better off for the event. That's a big change from last year's run in Las Vegas, which became known for the Pacman Jones strip-club shooting, cranky cabbies and waitresses complaining about poor tips, and a game that looked like it was played by 24 guys who had spent 48 hours in Vegas.

This time, on my plane ride out of town, all people talked about were the events.

New Orleans delivers unforgettable All-Star Weekend

[Copperhead]

The All-Star weekend has been deemed a success by the league and by many others.

[sarah42]

if shinn somehow get the all star game back again, that would be great!

if he gets a long term deal done even before that attendance deal is up, that would be great too. i can't believe he said that.

lets not praise stern too much. his comments about Seattle having no hope to keeping the team, as if he's some psychic or that he likes it, during that press conference made me sick. he said without any emotion, and SMUG is the best way to describe him at times. especially when talking about Seattle, a team rich with basketball history of 40 Years , way before football or baseball.

thats not how you talk about a historic team with hall of famers and great fans. its was just 15 years ago that he was at the nba finals in Seattle. again what a punk for his attitude.

great weekend for our city though.

[NO-KG-AI]

Somehow the GB seems to think it was a failure here.... shows how much they know.

[sarah42]

the GB?

[NO-KG-AI]

General Board.

[James_Dolan]

Considering how dead the crowd was the entire weekend, it was pretty much a failure.

[NO-KG-AI]

Wow, just the type of idiot I was talking about.

[James_Dolan]

So as an mod, you can call me an idiot and get away with it right? I'm pretty sure many people would agree with me if I posted that exact statement on the General Board. I am not an idiot. Go and insult someone else, buddy.

[NO-KG-AI]

WEll everyone that was there says it was a complete success, and most said, the best or one of the best AS weekends ever, both the games, and all the surrounding events.

Yet some guy who has no clue thinks he can call it a failure because it didn't sound loud on TV.

yea.

[James_Dolan]

Some guy? The crowds in New Orleans suck, plain and simple. Sound loud on TV? It was like a funeral in there at some points. If you really want to be the wise guy, I can start a topic on it but I feel that will really be pointless. NO is not a basketball city, never was. That's why the Jazz left in the first place and the team averages 12,000 fans with one of the best records. They were disinterested the entire all-star weekend except for Dwight Howard's superman dunk and a few dunks at the all-star game.

[NO-KG-AI]

They looked pretty full tonight.

[James_Dolan]

Good. I hope they keep coming. I want New Orleans to succeed and the people to fill the building. I'm just saying that the all-star game was unimpressive as far as crowd was concerned.

[2poor]

They had a sellout prior to the ASB, against Memphis no less.

They drew 16k for last night's game.

Ignorance is bliss though. All-Star weekend was a raving success, the proof's in the pudding. Nobody really cares if some dude on RealGM didn't like his tv watching experience though...

Also, you don't have the first clue why the Jazz left NOLA. it had nothing to do with attendance.

[RobertGlory]

when has the all-star game ever been loud?????? it's too corporate

i heard plenty from the upper deck every time cp3 or DX did something

why don't all the haters find the first and second dallas games and the denver game archived online and watch them again. that will change your opinion

[James_Dolan]

They had a sellout prior to the ASB, against Memphis no less.

They drew 16k for last night's game.

Ignorance is bliss though. All-Star weekend was a raving success, the proof's in the pudding. Nobody really cares if some dude on RealGM didn't like his tv watching experience though...

Also, you don't have the first clue why the Jazz left NOLA. it had nothing to do with attendance.

That's great. Obviously someone from NO is gonna be insulted when I say the crowd wasn't good but that's just the facts. It's not only me so don't try to make it out as if I' the only that thinks that. Thank you.

[2poor]

Yeah...I think everyone here knows I'm not from NO (or anywhere close...see location).

Ignorance bothers me, what can I say. It is teeming from you.

[2poor]

Although it was a typical All-Star Game on Sunday night at New Orleans Arena - East 134, West 128, Defense 0 - it was also the most meaningful midseason showcase in years and maybe even in decades.

The traveling festival of excess is never meant to be meaningful, of course, but the league managed it anyway. Not stopping there, it went all the way to the impossible, giving people a memorable weekend when most of the previous 56 such gatherings just sort of blur into the past.

New Orleans is big winner in All-Star festivities

The NBA came here to help rescue a city, and what did Paul McCartney say about that kind of work? The love you take is equal to the love you make.

For so many years the NBA's All-Star Weekend has been growing like a tumor upon the soul of the game, a vehicle of greed, selfishness and other vices in blight of the larger team values. But that trend was arrested by coming this weekend to New Orleans, where the NBA's biggest stars spent Friday working on community projects that emphasized giving instead of taking.

Recovering New Orleans helps NBA rediscover its soul

The NBA's All-Star Game grabbed you from the opening seconds and never let go.

Most All-Star Games are as fun as a case of the chicken pox, but this was one of the more entertaining ones in any sport you'll ever see.

The very beginning of the night set the tone. The All-Stars were introduced while a traditional New Orleans band played in the background. As the players waved to the crowd, many of them couldn't help but move to the stunningly good band playing live right behind them. You can't stop the funk; you can only hope to contain it.

New Orleans atmosphere makes this ASG compelling

I mean I could go on with these...but it'd be easier if you just