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Let The Debauchery Begin
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If Los Angeles seems a little light on groupies this weekend, don’t be shocked. It’s just that the NBA’s All-Star game, which is the brightest light of the year to the groupie moths, is just a one-hour plane ride away in Las Vegas.
This is a weekend only the guys at The Smoking Gun could dream up: Take a sport where the players have the reputation for being rich and out of control, then drop the lot of them in Vegas for a weekend. It’s a combustible mix and the only people likely to come out of the next three days richer than when they arrived are the “dancers” and “self-employed models.” And gentlemen, good luck getting into Rain or Jet this weekend unless you're 6-8 and can consistently hit a 20-foot jump shot. Or even getting a cab.
We should mention they are going to play basketball this weekend. Sure, basketball with less defense than the public courts at Venice Beach, but is still basketball. And a few local guys are going.
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Tonight (TNT. 6 pm) the needless “rookies vs. sophomores challenge" will put Laker teammates Jordan Farmar (rookie) and Andrew Bynum (second season) against each other.
Then in the big show Sunday (TNT, 5 pm), Kobe Bryant will start for the West, and likely try to redeem himself for his team’s loss to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the Clipper's Elton Brand retains his title for Most Overlooked, Underappreciated Player in the NBA. He’s at home so Mehmet Okur can represent Utah. That’s just not right.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
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