One of my all-time favorite Saturday Night Live sketches from back in the day featured a debate between several potential Democratic candidates for the presidency… each one explaining why he didn’t want to run and lose to popular incumbent George H. W. Bush. (Amazing how quickly things change… Papa Bush, of course, went on to lose that election to Bill Clinton.)
Sadly, that clip appears not to be available on the Internet. It’d be worth looking up, just for the late Phil Hartman as Mario Cuomo, saying, “I have mob ties!”
Why am I spending time looking for near-twenty-year-old SNL bits on YouTube? (How else do you spend your Monday afternoon?) Well, I think we’re seeing that bit repeat itself, with potential contestants for the 2010 Slam Dunk Championship. 2008 champion (and 2009 runner-up) Dwight Howard says he’s done with the competition. Kevin Durant politely declined the invite, humbly saying he considers himself just a “regular dunker.” And last year’s champion, Nate Robinson, can’t even get off the bench right now. The Slam Dunk contest might be the next time we get to see Krypto-Nate take off his warmups.
The biggest name currently “involved” in the dunk contest is arguably the biggest name in the NBA. During All-Star weekend in 2009, LBJ said he’d compete at this year’s contest — but King James told reporters recently the odds of him participating have dropped to around 50-50.
That leaves the contest in the hands of much lesser lights. There are online petitions aimed at getting the Lakers’ Shannon Brown and Washington’s Nick Young added to the dunk contest roster. Others have suggested Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozan. Excellent dunkers, all… but not exactly the big names you’d usually see in big-time NBA promotions.
Anyone in particular you’d like to see in the dunk contest this year? Post your favorite dunkers’ names in the comments.
Slam Dunk 2010: Does Anyone Want In? originally appeared on About.com Basketball on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 17:33:48.
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