[This is Part One of a two-part post on Washington Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld looking back at his almost 25-year tenure making player personnel decisions in the National Basketball Association. Part Two can be read here.]

“I told you I was going to get
the best brains in basketball.”

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Why not start with a Vince Carter dunk and a Shaq reaction?

When people think back to NBA All-Stars battling on the Verizon Center hardwood in Washington, D.C. in 2001, they call it a great game. That’s slightly inaccurate. It was a great finish that came down to the very last possession and a missed attempt by Tim Duncan. But large chunks of the rest of the game were a sloppy mess, the two teams combined for 40 turnovers. Still, none of this is to take away from the great show put by Stephon Marbury, Kobe Bryant and MVP Allen Iverson, 15 fourth quarter points, 25 for the game. The East came back from being down 21 points to win 111-100, the stars trading big buckets and making Washington fans forget about how they got there.

The evening also featured homecomings of all sorts. Both Chris Webber and Rasheed Wallace, former Bullets big men, returned to Washington as All-Stars. Iverson, of course, returned to the place he called his “second home, his home away from home” after the game. And David Robinson, from nearby Manasas, Virginia, was making his final All-Star appearance.

The East had young-and-gunning guards and wings to complete — Iverson making his second All-Star appearance, along with Tracy McGracy (1st), Vince Carter (2nd), Allan Houston (2nd) Ray Allen (2nd), Glenn Robinson (2nd), Jerry Stackhouse (2nd) and Stephon Marbury (1st). Unfortunately, this crew didn’t know how to pass to each other in the game’s early going. Turnovers, often from trying to pass too much — with three courtesy of Iverson very early — resulted in the West jumping out to an 11-0 lead that was pushed to 30-17 at the end of one quarter.

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{flickr/SneakinDeacon}

Last Thursday, it seems that Josh Howard was on hand for the Wake Forest football opener against Presbyterian. While there, Howard donated $100,000 from his foundation to endow the “Josh Howard Scholarship” at Wake. Good stuff to hear. However …

Via pictures graciously provided by Flickr user SneakinDeacon, we must wonder what the 30-year old Howard was wearing. Looks to be comfortable gear for a football game … or questionable gear for handing over big novelty checks. But I’m not one to judge.

What one really must wonder is if Brendan Haywood considers the outfit “Josh Howard Hood” … ahhh, the answers to the unknown questions of the universe. Read more »