The broadcast kicked off with Kelly Clarkson (above) screeching her way through a particularly leaden version of the superfine “Since U Been Gone” ; all of the song’s not-so-subtle “PDA” / “Obstacle 1”-isms were lost amidst well, the sound of Ms. Clarkson’s voice. I’ve got a broken chandelier in my living room and I’m sending the bill to David Stern. But no sweat, nothing says Black America’s Thanksgiving quite like channeling Interpol on the verse and bridge, Alanis on the chorus.
Swin Cash (above, left) missed about a hundred 3’s in the annual man + woman + dinosaur competition, prompting Chuck Barkley to suggest she had attended the Steve Kerr School of Shooting. It seems to me that something called the Radio Shack Shooting Stars Competition ought to involve forcing home mailing addresses out of Radio Shack customers (I bet Dan Marjele would be great at that). Likewise for the Playstation Skills Challenge, in which Steve Nash, Earl Boykins and Luke Ridenour will display many skills, none of which, sadly, employ a Playstation.
(UPDATE : Former Tottenham trialist Steve Nash heads the assist to Amare Stoudemire for the latter’s one-handed 360 dunk…which wasn’t even the hottest move of the night. And said award shouldn’t even go to Dunk Contest victor Josh Smith ; rather CSTB’s man of the night is New Orleans’ Chris Anderson, who needed 16 attempts to complete 2 dunks. Anderson’s exercise in futility was a spectactular low in an unsually inventive competition.
I wasn’t aware that the Goo Goo Dolls were doing something other than the state fair circuit, nor did I know that the Westerberg-imitator vocalist had mutated into a taller Jon Bon Jovi. A friend says the Dolls’ manager (presumably not Malcom McClaren) is a very wealthy man. I’d say he’s earning his money — anyone capable of getting a band this dull on TV must be a wizard of some sort).