With that said, I don’t think any amount of practice could prepare the player who was on the receiving end of this amazing alley oop dunk by Gabe York of Orange Lutheran High in California.

York has been recruited by University of Arizona, and he proves why here, defying gravity for a few moments before the crowd goes nuts.

Have you EVER seen a high school dunk that good? Might even rival LeBron over John Lucas…

This video has been making its rounds,

Mark Zuckerberg drives to the hoop. He de-friended Matt Barnes on Facebook after this hard foul.

Why? Because it is the perfect storm. He’s the first Asian-American NBA star, which boxer Floyd Mayweather thinks is the only reason he’s getting publicity. Enough has been said about race playing an issue – it is significant but there are other factors in play here.

He plays in New York, the largest media market in the world and a city starved for a championship. Oh, wait, the Giants just won one a few minutes ago. And even that got overshadowed by Linsanity, Linomenon, VaLintine’s Day or whatever other word you want to shove Lin into.

He is the first Harvard basketball player to have any NBA success since players stopped wearing short shorts.

Oh and until two weeks ago, he seemed as likely as Mark Zuckerberg to be the next NBA star. So the pandemonium may be warranted. I still didn’t want to jump the bandwagon.

And then, there was Lin’s sixth game. That game last night against the Raptors was unbelievable. Unbelievable that the guy was able to somehow, someway, help bring his team back despite coughing up the ball 9 times. When he hit that ice cold three pointer with .005 seconds, I knew that was it.

I’m on the bandwagon. At least until they lose to the Sacramento Kings tonight.

What do you think?

Is Lin here to stay? Will all these turnovers catch up to him? Is this coverage really all about race? And will they ever make a Social Network 2? So many questions. Only time will tell.

Always a stickler for accuracy, Ferrell researched each player extensively to find these previously unknown facts about the starters. Apparently Derrick Rose’s favorite movie is The Notebook (great flick).

It seems the game was a joke too – the Bulls clobbered the Hornets by 23.

If Will Ferrell were a broadcaster, would he be in the top 10 of all-time?

We’ll be counting down the Top Ten broadcasters beginning tomorrow. Will Ferrell may or may not be included.

We’re amidst that awkward weekend between the AFC/NFC Championship Games and the Super Bowl, where all the journalists have flocked to Indianapolis for a week of non-stop coverage. It’s also in Indianapolis where a new coach, Chuck Pagano, was just hired to resurrect the Colts from a dismal season without Peyton Manning. Which means that despite having a season that proves his pre-season claim as being an elite quarterback in the NFL, Eli Manning will be playing second fiddle to his older brother yet again.

Eli deserves recognition. Scouring the news wire, Reuters just released an article titled “Eli takes giant step out of brother Peyton’s shadow.” As much as that should be the case, it’s just not. While Eli could surpass his brother in Super Bowl titles with a win next week, it won’t give him the spotlight. Even though he mounted 7 fourth-quarter comebacks with the G-men this year, even though he earned a Pro Bowl-bid, Eli’s story is not as compelling as the Peyton situation because what is happening with Peyton is unprecedented. Plus, it could have an effect on YOUR favorite team (even if that team is the Giants).

Peyton is all but gone from Indy. While it’s not 100% that he’ll even play (and former Colts VP Bill Polian thinks it’s far from 100%, as he told Mike and Mike), the potential of Peyton Manning playing for your team is valuable. Not $28 million valuable, which is what the Colts would have to pay him if he’s on the roster come March 8, but valuable nonetheless. Imagine if he’s able to play at the elite level he was on not long ago – that could really change a team like the Dolphins, Redskins, or Jets.

That is a huge IF though. Will he join the iconic franchise faces of Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Joe Montana, and Brett Favre to leave their long-time teams at the tail end of their careers? Imagining Peyton Manning in a Dolphins’ uniform made me shed a single tear. Seeing Favre play as a Jet and as a Viking just took away from his legacy (all the bone-headed stuff he pulled post-Packers didn’t help). That’s the last thing anyone should want for the lovable Peyton.

Will Peyton play, and if so, for who? That is the huge question no one knows the answer to, but keeps asking. That is the question that keeps Eli in Peyton’s shadows.

You tell us – will Peyton play again? If so, with who?
We’re also looking for your Super Bowl predictions. Giants or Patriots? Score? Why?
Post it on Facebook.

were more quality

point guards in the NBA.

You probably don’t need proof to agree with me. But if you’re like my friends (and don’t believe most of the statements I confidently/blindly make), then I’ll need to prove why this is the Year of the Point Guard. Luckily, I don’t need to look far.

Just last night was a prime example of how deep the point guard position is in the NBA this year. My Sixers (all you non-Philly campers groan, but stick with me) played host to the Nuggets and former Sixer Andre Miller, coming off the bench, was KILLING IT. He scored the last 10 points of regulation for Denver, which would’ve all been for naught had Andre Iguodala made both of his free throws at the end of regulation. But, Iggy choked. Then, in OT, Miller hit a huge jumper to put his team up two before the Sixers’ Jrue Holiday turned the ball over to Miller on an errant kick-out pass to seal the game for Denver.

Andre Miller and the Nuggets handed the 76ers their first home loss.

It’s worth noting that the Sixers let Miller go after Holiday was drafted as the point guard of the future. Despite his late game error, the 21-year-old Holiday is definitely a rising star. Yet the game belonged to Miller, who had 28 points and 10 assists coming off the bench behind the Nuggets own blossoming point guard, Ty Lawson.

Meanwhile, on the left coast, Lob Angeles was making due without star point guard Chris Paul. Chauncey Billups nailed a buzzer-beating three pointer to win the game over the Mavs. Billups, Mo Williams and Villanova-grad Randy Foye split time running the point in place of CP3, with Williams dropping 26 points in his return from injury and Foye tossing up an instant highlight to Blake Griffin. Apparently anybody looks good passing to Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, not just Chris Paul.

Elsewhere, the Chicago Bulls must be crossing their fingers that superstar point guard Derrick Rose has a speedy recovery. Their offense had been stagnant without Rose until last night, winning over the Suns as Rip Hamilton played for the first time in ten games. But I digress.

The Celtics' point guard Rajon Rondo, mean mugging.

What I was getting at is this – the NBA is run by point guards. Yes, every team has to be balanced. Every team needs bigs. But ever since Magic came into the league 30 years ago, the point guard position has been evolving. Look no further than Rajon Rondo. Like him or not, the guy excels at everything on the court – rebounding (5.1 rpg), scoring (15 ppg), and of course, passing (9.4 apg).

Despite Rondo’s success and determination, the aging Celtics have struggled in the early going. That’s the thing – a point guard is only as good as his team, and a team is only as good as their point guard (with the Heat as one exception – Mario Chalmers, really?). CP3 has been MVP-status for a few years, but – prediction – this is the year he goes over the hump into Championship-status.

Last year, the Mavs won the championship on Dirk’s back. But they had seasoned floor general Jason Kidd directing traffic. Obviously you need to have balance. But without a strong 1-man, you’ve got nothing.

It’s the Year of the Point Guard. I didn’t even mention Russell Westbrook, Ricky Rubio, Deron Williams, Kemba Walker, or John Wall. Ok, I take that back. Now I’ve mentioned them.

Disagree with this post? Let us

know. Comment below or

tear it apart in your own post. Submit posts to:

sportsbroadcastcamp@gmail.com. If it’s good we’ll post

it on the site. If it’s bad, we’ll think about it.

Author: Brad Hess is the social media coordinator for Play by Play Camps. He appreciates athleticism in any form, but especially the home-run swing of Ryan Howard and the jukes Lesean McCoy puts on a defender. He’s just getting warmed up – he’ll be contributing blog posts to Play by Play Camps throughout the spring.

Andrew, going into his 8th year of camp, also has his own blog you can find here.

Jordan Valdés

With his own online radio show, Jamie is captivating and inspiring the eager ear of Philadelphia sports fans. Keep up the hard work, Jamie! And hopefully see you next year.

Each week, we’ll be posing a sports question, leaving it up to you to decide the answer. E-mail sportsbroadcastcamp@gmail.com with your response, and the best responses will be posted publicly on our site at the end of the week. Our first question will be baseball-related. If that’s not your thing, don’t worry, NFL, NHL and NBA questions are in the works.

This week, we’ll start with an easy one - “Who are the top 3 shortstops in baseball today?”

Now, keep in mind there are no wrong answers. So you think Derek Jeter is one of the top 3 – ok, substantiate! Prove it to us. Is he a good hitter? Does he have an unbelievable fielding percentage and a cannon for an arm? Is he speedy? How speedy is he?

Don’t just list three shortstops, craft a post that shows you know what you’re talking about. This is your chance to have your writing published. Use this awesome thing called the Internet and prove what you feel about your favorite players.

(note – extra points if you can figure out who the shortstop pictured is…)