High Tech All-Star Game

Live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas Texas. It is time to introduce the starting lineups for the 2007 High Tech Leader All-Star Game. We swing it over to your announcers Marv Albert and Bill Walton. Marv: Welcome to this year’s All-Star game, Bill. I’m glad we can be part of this year’s festivities. Bill: Hello to you Marv. This year, there has been quite the buzz around the game and who will be representing the East and West teams on the court. Marv: Let’s get right to it. Let’s begin with the West All-Stars. Starting a center is long time star – Bill Gates from the Seattle Supersonics. There’s no surprise here, as Gates has made the team for the last 20 years. Bill: What a player. Gates has led his team to 10 championships and is regarded as one of the best to play the game. With his point totals upwards of 56 billion, how can you argue? He might be winding down his career, but is still active and makes the Supersonics a powerhouse. Marv: Yes, I agree. His only negative is the fact he leads the league in charges each year. When another player is in a spot that he wants, he simply tries to push them aside. It is interesting to note that the Supreme Court has ruled that many of his charges are not indeed fouls. He is the only player who is allowed 8 fouls per game instead of the standard 6. Marv: Starting at forward from the Dallas Mavericks is Mark Cuban. Bill: Another great talent to be reckoned with. Some might not like his brash behavior sometimes, but you can’t argue with his results. Marv: Filling the small forward position for the west is Steve Jobs from the Sacramento Kings. Bill: Jobs plays the consummate underdog to a tee, but style he has brought to our beloved game is stupendous. Jobs only misstep this season was recommending a new ball called the iball to the league. It was given a test drive in preseason but its cubed shape reeked havoc with the game. Marv: At shooting guard is Andrew Grove from the L.A. Clippers. Another long standing All-Star, we are excited to see what he brings today. Bill: Grove is exciting to watch. He has the most pure athletic talent of anyone on the court. His 40 yard dash time was rumored to have been over-clocked at 2.6 seconds. Marv: Starting at point guard for the west from the Golden State Warriors is John Chambers. Bill: Chambers has the unique ability to distribute the ball with uncanny precision to others on his team. He has led the league in assists for the last decade and is showing no signs of slowing. Marv: And lastly, the West team’s 6th man is Scott McNealy of the L.A. Lakers. Bill: Scott has made significant contributions to the Lakers over the years. He is well known for being a streak shooter that is either lighting up the scoreboard or not a factor in the game. His trash talking is also legendary amongst the players. Bill: Coaching the West this year is Sergey Brin & Larry Page. They should bring an offensive style that has not been seen since the early 90’s Lakers and Celtics teams. Marv: I would also like to mention that coaches Brin and Page are accompanied by their big bodyguard Matt Cutts. Cutts religiously protects them from abusive and sometimes rabid fans. Marv: Now let’s go to the squad from the East. Starting at center from the Boston Celtics is Joe Tucci. Bill: Tucci is a presence to be reckoned with in the middle. He is big and he is bulky, but he gets the job done day in and day out. His reliability is unquestionable. He does however require a huge contract renewal to play each year. Marv: Next up for the East is starting power forward Linus Torvalds from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bill: Originally from Finland and recently traded from the Lakers, Torvalds brought a European influence to the American game and brought a new style that has been a hit with our younger fans. Marv: Starting at small forward from the New York Knicks is Louis Gerstner. Bill: We can’t say enough about Gerstner’s play over the years. He single handedly brought the Knicks back from the league basement to be championship contenders. Marv: The shooting guard for the East this year is Kevin Mitnick from the Miami Heat. Bill: Oh yes, Crafty Kevin Mitnick. Mitnick is best known for leading the league in all-time steals. He now not only leads his team on the floor, but is a defensive consultant for many other high profile organizations. Marv: The last starter for the East this year at point guard is Mark Andreessen from the New Jersey Nets. Bill: Mark fundamentally changed the way the game is played. His knack for reading the floor and knowing where his teammates are on the court and distributing the ball accordingly has made him famous. Marv: And the 6th man for the East is Dennis Ritchie who plays for Chicago Bulls. Bill: Another old timer that established how the game is currently played. Many current and future players owe credit to Ritchie for demonstrating the fundamentals. Bill: Coaching the East is Rupert Murdoch. His many years of experience and success set a standard for coaching today. While he is the oldest active coach in the league, he remains young at heart if not a little crazy in the head. Marv: Bill, as I look around the stadium today, I would like to point out a couple of notables in attendance. I see Sir Tim Berners-Lee in the front row. Berners-Lee actually built all of the stadiums in the league that these great players play on day in and day out. I also see the commissioner, Michael Dell. He moved to the front office after retiring as a player but is considering a comeback. Bill: Good point, Marv. There are also a couple of notable people I want to point out. Do you see Larry Ellison over there? Why is no one sitting within a 10 foot radius of him? Why does his shirt say “Go Gates. No, wait - go McNealy. No, go Torvalds”? Also look at Kevin Rose who is doing ball boy duty today. Marv: Quickly, let’s thank our technical crew today. Thanks to Nicholas Negroponte for providing the laptops we are using today, Jimmy Wales in our research and stats department, and Chad Hurley and Steven Chen for today’s video highlights. Bill: Enjoy the game everyone, and we’ll see you next year.