FANS ARE READY TO JAM SESSION OPENS NBA TO ALL.Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer Typical NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= fans in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. might cherish the fact their city is the site for Sunday's All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games . The only problem is that it is practically impossible for those fans to see the game in person. Less than 4,000 tickets were made available to fans, and most of those were dispersed through a lottery to Lakers and Clippers season ticket holders. Typical fans are basically shut out of seeing the game live. But the NBA keeps its doors open to them with its ``Jam Session,'' an interactive carnival expected to draw more than three times as many fans as Friday's Rookie challenge The Rookie Challenge is a competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend on the day prior to the regular All-Star game. From 1994 until 1998, the event was called the "Rookie Game," and composed entirely of first-year players. and the All-Star game combined. The NBA All-Star Jam Session is a vast, 350,000-square-foot exhibit at the Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center (abbreviated LACC) is a convention center in downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, and was best known to video games fans as host to E3 until its cessation in 2006. From that will overflow with basketball games, exhibits and memorabilia from Thursday to Monday. Nonstop concerts will be in a place called ``Club NBA,'' and several celebrity events will be held. ``There is so much here that it's very hard to explain what it is,'' said Sheri Kamakani, the NBA's manager of events and attractions. ``You actually have to come here and see it.'' The Jam Session is in its 11th year, and each year, it has grown and changed to accommodate popular exhibits. This weekend, a record crowd of 125,000 is expected. Some of the exhibits are quirky. Lego replicas of Kevin Garnett Kevin Garnett (born May 19, 1976) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Boston Celtics. The 6 ft 11 in, 220 lb (0 kg) power forward is regarded as one of the best all around players in the game today. , Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (IPA pronuncation: [no'vɪtski]) (born June 19, 1978 in Würzburg, Germany) is a German basketball player for the United States' National Basketball Association's (NBA) Dallas Mavericks. and several other NBA stars stand in one display. Another exhibit allows fans to compare their hands to those of NBA players. Another display lets them compare their shoes to Yao Ming's size 18 1/2, Tim Duncan's size 16 and LeBron James' size 15. Autograph stages with players, slam dunk courts with shortened baskets and a basketball court in a cage modeled after one of the famous West Fourth Street courts in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. also are part of the Jam Session. The largest part of the session is a practice court equipped with bleachers that seat 4,000. With $20 tickets still available, the Jam Session could quench quench, v to cool a hot object rapidly by plunging it into water or oil. quench to put out, extinguish, or suppress; to cool (as hot metal) by immersing in water. fans' desire to be a part of All-Star weekend. The only problem is that fans could have trouble getting in during peak times. The Convention Center can hold 15,000 fans at a time. One of the sessions - All-Star practice Saturday - already is sold out. Other sessions could also sell out, but still, the event is much more accessible than the game. ``I'm honest,'' Kamakani said. ``I went to both, and I would absolutely rather be here. You have access to players. You can get autographs, and you can hear concerts from Nelly and Fabulous.'' Fans' relation to the All-Star game and All-Star weekend has become a hot topic in recent years. The NBA controls most of the game's tickets and divvies them out to corporate sponsors. Two years ago, when Philadelphia held the game, fans were disgruntled dis·grun·tle tr.v. dis·grun·tled, dis·grun·tling, dis·grun·tles To make discontented. [dis- + gruntle, to grumble (from Middle English gruntelen; see because hardly any of them got to go to the game. The fans' argument was so sound that 76ers chairman Ed Snider Edward M. Snider (born January 6, 1933, Washington, D.C.) is the Chairman of Comcast-Spectacor, a Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company which owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA the Philadelphia Phantoms of the minor American told a Philadelphia newspaper that he would never host the event again. Fans in Los Angeles could have a similar sentiment as those in Philadelphia, but they have not been nearly as vocal as those in City of Brotherly Love. But it might not be a news flash that the NBA has a closer connection to corporate America than fans. Maybe the Jam Session - as NBA executives hope - shows that isn't true. ``I'm excited about having all of this here,'' said Andy Burden, the session's technical director who led its construction. ``There is a lot of work and a you put in a lot of time, but it's worth it to create what is basically a basketball theme park.'' CAPTION(S): 2 boxes, map Box: CALENDAR OF EVENTS Box/Map: ALL-STAR JAMMIN' Jon Gerung/Staff Artist |
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