SE Washington DC - I arrived 6:30 Tuesday to a jam packed Barry Farms Coliseum.  Thank goodness traffic was light because had I showed up 20 minutes later, I would have ended up covering the game from atop the fence.  The gates were filled to capacity to watch the AND1 superstars take on the Goodman League All Stars. 

The BF Crazies section was on lock.  The Langston Lane Mob were there along with all the other season ticketholders in what was to be a nationally televised event broadcast on ESPN 2. The Goodman League certainly has come a long way. 

The Goodman faithful all recognized the local basketball royalty with names like Andrew "The Sponge Bob" Washington (Delaware), Curt "Trouble" Smith, David "The Incredible Hulk" Hawkins (Temple, Italy), Tre Kelley (South Carolina, Overseas), Eric "Easy E" Brabham (Cordozo, Virginia Tech), Lonnie "L Train" Harrell,  Lonnie Baxter (Maryland), "Young Zo", "Lou the Maryland Dude" Wright (Gwynn Park,Voorhees College)  & "Super Dave" in the layup line but to a nationally televised audience these names will be totally foreign. 

AND1 brought a few of their "brand name" stars such as "The Professor", and "The Helicopter" but their biggest edition was a DC product from the Trinidad section of the city we all know as Hugh "Baby Shack" Jones.  Shack is a favorite son so some in the crowd may have been torn on who to support. 

The Goodman League All Stars were 1-2 against AND1 coming into this matchup so anything less than a victory would not be acceptable by the Goodman faithful, especially on TV. Besides, they had the home court advantage.

The temperature in the gates was 90 degrees at tipoff but felt like 120 in anticipation of highlight reel plays and intense competition.  The commissioner Miles Rawls gave the executive order.  "Move em!"

AND1's The Wolverine (consequently a Detroit, MI native and no doubt a University of Michigan fan) started off the action with a tomahawk dunk.  He managed to incite the Goodman crowd by proclaiming "Who am I?!" "Whom am I?!" to which solicited a sharp retort "Who are you?!", Who are you?!"  It was classic, classic Goodman stuff that I'm glad was caught on video for the world to see.

The AND1 team jumped out to an early 6-1 lead until David Hawkins, L Train, and Trouble Smith powered the Goodman League All Stars on an 8-2 run to seize the lead despite an early offensive barrage by "The Helicopter."

They call him The Helicopter for a reason.  At the 13 minute mark in the first half, The Helicopter took off high over the rim on an alley oop dunk.  Like I mentioned in the Durant piece, TV does these guys no justice.  I was about 15 feet from the action at ground level and his elbows were above the rim. He must have leaped four feet off the ground.  The Helicopter can't be any taller than 6 foot even.

Despite The Helicopter's aerial acrobatics and just inside the parking lot shooting range, Tre Kelley started to get it going and reeled off seven straight points to build a 25-21 lead over AND1.

The game remained tight until Young Zo's dunk and Sponge Bob's coast to coast finish opened up a 32-27 lead.  AND1's Baby Shaq got off to a slow start offensively but he warmed up with a sweet jump hook and the battle with the Sponge Bob took off.  The battles between these two are legendary inside the gates.   It's power on power. Shack racked up eight quick points to help bring his team back to within one at halftime 48-47.

In the second half, the sparks continued to fly as the Sponge Bob got his power game going.  On several occasions his sheer determination and will earned him tough buckets and helped put the Goodman All Stars in position to take home the victory.

AND1's The Professor got in some flurries with 3 point shots and fancy dribble moves but Tre Kelley, L Train, and Lonne Baxter's contributions opened up a brief six point lead.  Baby Shack was the hammer who consistently and persistently converted buckets for AND1 despite some turnover filled exchanges between both teams.   The Goodman All Stars couldn't kill him and he wouldn't die.  Shack just keeps coming just like the Sponge Bob.  AND1 briefly overtook the local team until the Sponge Bob took control down the stretch.

The Sponge Bob powered in five straight points with strong finishes around the rim along with the efforts of The Incredible Hulk Hawkins and Lonnie Baxter to tie the game 90 all at the 1:54 mark of the second half.

DC's Lonnie Baxter, Sponge Bob and AND1's Silky Pooh both exhanged free throws to tie the score at 93 all with 30 seconds left.

Eric "Easy E" Brabham nailed a contested jumper with 3 seconds left and was fouled on the attempt.  Easy calmly converted the 3 point play to open up a 96-93 lead.  AND1 failed on its last second shot attempt to secure the victory for the Goodman League All Stars.  The series is now tied at 2-2. 

Andrew "The Sponge Bob" Washington was given the MVP nod and said after the game "It's great to be here. I come down to do what I do. I'm working out and getting myself ready. It's a blessing to do this."

"The Helicopter of AND1 said, "Its always great to come to DC and play here.  We don't play outside like this in North Carolina but it's all good.  Shack comes down to my hood so I just want to return the love."

Young Zo of the Goodman League All Stars said, "It's a honor to play in the Goodman but better to be 2-2."

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