An All Star Coronation

Rain is a sign of a new bright future, washing away the old in preparation of the new. As each drop poured from the heavens little did I realize what we were watching was the baptism of Blake Griffin into a national notoriety, the crowning of the start of his reign in the world of advertising, CPM's and Q-ratings.

Of course the stage was perfect despite the rain. The entertainment capital of the world, performances by Rihanna, Kanye West, Cee-Lo Green and Lenny Kravitz. To quote Clippers announcer Ralph Lawler, “Oh me, oh my!”

Inside STAPLES Center for the Rookie Challenge Friday night everything was different. A makeshift stage for the TNT broadcast crew was set up inside because of the weather, and there as the stage behind one of the baskets for the performances. With the thousands of students - the T-Mobile All Stars as they were marketed - filled the lower bowl of the arena wearing pink jerseys (boys and girls alike), it was mind blowing to hear their excitement for Blake Griffin.

And Griffin did thrill thanks to the assists from Washington Wizards guard John Wall. The highlight alley-oop bounce pass from Wall from behind the three-point line was a work of art.

In the fourth quarter when the crowd realized that it had been a while since Griffin was on the floor, they started chanting, “WE WANT BLAKE!” Griffin did acknowledge the crowd but rookies coach Kevin McHale laughingly tried to get the crowd to quiet down. The crowd refused, and for a while it seemed like there would be a mob of angry kids clad in pink storming the court demanding that Griffin play caught up in a wave of revolution. I could picture police clad in riot gear beating children senseless. What an image.

But no. The buzzer sounded, the rookies beat the sophomores for the second straight year and everyone moved on. After all America did have its revolution nearly 240 years ago.

The wave of Blake continued into Saturday night with the skills, three-point and slam dunk contests. While the skills and three-point contests were fun in and of themselves, the Blake denouement was what everyone was waiting for. Although it was amusing to hear the crowd resolutely boo the Boston Celtics Paul Pierce as he defended his three-point title.

Griffin made it through the first round of the dunk contests deciding to show off his power and save the theatrics for later. It proved to be a great strategy as his nameless opponent in the finals had run out of the theatrics. And everyone knows of the KIA, Baron Davis passing the ball through the sun roof and the gospel choir. It wasn't the most shattering dunk we've seen from Griffin, but the theatrics and spectacle saved the day.

While Kobe Bryant did his best to prevent Griffin's complete crowning during the All Star Game winning MVP honors (complete with the West's uniforms looking like something from a McDonalds in China), something changed. While the game itself was a bore with its soundtrack of crickets, when the East started to get make its charge in the fourth quarter the cheers started again. “WE WANT BLAKE! WE WANT BLAKE!” And this is with Kobe on the floor.

With each second that went by the raindrops hitting the pavement could be mistaken for the sound of change clanging into Griffin's piggy bank. You could hear the endorsements lining up - hell Griffin could do a better job thank I could shilling for American Express about them allowing V.I.P. access to cardmembers to entertainment, sports and fashion events.

Now being a jaded media type who is completely out of touch with pop culture, I was really surprised how enjoyable everything was. Being the old cranky fogey that I am, of course the highlight for me was the Legends Brunch Sunday morning. An event where the public and legends like Dr. J, Bill Russell, Bill Walton, Jerry West, Alonzo Mourning, Elgin Baylor Magic Johnson and James Worthy can mingle together without the velvet rope of separation. As the ceremony began the player who scored the first basket in Miami Heat history Rory Sparrow sat down with his plate at my table.

Yeah Kobe hogged the spotlight (as he did with the ball) Sunday night, and you always have to give it up to the forefathers of the NBA. But the weekend belonged to Blake Griffin. And when's the last time a Clipper has taken over the league?