Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas, Gil Lebreton column: All-Star weekend was no Six Flags.(Column)

Byline: Gil Lebreton

Feb. 21--Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said last weekend that he can envision a future NBA All-Star Game being played at the Cowboys' new stadium.

Let me be the first to heartily endorse that idea because, after all, if it happens in Arlington, it stays in Arlington. How else are we going to get to see Siegfried and Roy? As Cuban wisely predicted, alas, how is any host city ever going to be able to top this year's game in Las Vegas? Well, not the game itself, which evolved this time into a parade of uncontested layups, and which, if memory serves, was decided when a guy in an Elvis suit dribbled out the clock and dunked over Wayne Newton. No, the incomparable stuff, the true "Vegas, Baby!" moments of the weekend apparently were on the streets and sidewalks, or they happened sometime after 3 a.m. As Cuban wrote in his blog back in January, "The biggest question about the All-Star Game? Not whether Josh Howard should be in it... The biggest question is whether the All-Star Game will be able to shut down the city. "Complete absolute gridlock. Sidewalk gridlock... Free buffet gridlock... Party gridlock." The Mavs owner pointed out that he's been to Super Bowls, Final Fours, etc., and even to the granddaddy of Las Vegas conventions, the old Consumer Electronics Show, and they were all mere cocktail hours compared to an NBA All-Star Game. Cuban calls it the "ultimate party weekend." It showed in the game, unfortunately. But what did you expect for your $20,000 scalped ticket -- a few pick-and-rolls?

You knew the game was in Vegas when Newton came out, bronzed like a July Fourth brisket and flanked by the pink-plumed late shift from the Folies Bergere. He was singing -- what else? -- Viva Las Vegas.

I shuddered, mostly because I had this vision of the 2010 (or whenever) NBA All-Star Game, live from the Cowboys' new stadium, the Jethrodome, and who comes out to sing the national anthem but... Garth Brooks.

In 1995, Arlington hosted baseball's All-Star Game, and the city rolled out its seldom-used red carpet. The big party of the week, as I recall, was held at Six Flags Over Texas. You could ride the Judge Roy Scream all night. In Vegas last weekend, on the other hand, there were parties at the Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, at least ...