Welcome to Texas, NBA, where Dirk Nowitzki is the lone star

By Jennifer Floyd Engel

jenfloyd@stqar-telegram.com

Glitterati begin descending upon The Lone Star State almost immediately for NBA All-Star Weekend. Please extend a warm Texas welcome to big time.

Big-time names. Big-time games.

LeBron and Snoop Dogg, Mary J. and Dr. J and Dr. Oz, DWade and CP3 and Sir Charles, Mark Cuban and David Stern, all in attendance to turn Arlington and JerryWorld into "Where hip happens."

A few pointers for our visiting guests:

1. Prepare for big, breaking Cowboys news. Owner Jerry Jones loves to invite himself onto a big stage, especially when said stage is occupied by somebody else.

2. Do not get on I-30 for any reason, especially not to get anywhere important. Because you will never get there and will likely suffer a mild concussion banging your head in frustration.

3. And, most importantly: Do not be alarmed when folks gawk. We do not have a lot of athletic star power at this exact moment. What you will find is there is a whole lot of room on the All-Star stage, like almost the entire stage.

We're lacking in All-Stars locally, and pretty obviously so when two of the most recognizable faces belong to Owner Jones and Cuban rather than, say, a player or a coach.

It was not too long ago we used to have an embarrassment of big-time talent and personalities. We had The Triplets, and Juan-Pudge-Raffy, and The Three Js, and Jimmy J, and LT, and Brett Hull, and Deion, and The Pony Express, and really on and on if we dive into 1970s Cowboys. We had playmakers and The Playmaker. We had championships and the big stage and players that commanded center stage.

What we have now is Dirk in the All-Star Game, and Cowboys QB Tony Romo seemingly on the cusp and a couple of guys in suits and ties and not a whole lot else.

I asked friends and colleagues for a 10-best list of local athletes and received a bunch of "you want 10, really?" in return. Trying to assemble a local Q-rating list, I struggled for Nos. 8-10.

Criteria were simple: (a) talent, (b) recognize-ability and (c) currently associated with a local sporting endeavor, lest this just become a rehashing of The Ring of Honor.

This is what I came up with:

1. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Definitely the most recognizable face of Lone Star State sporting endeavors. He has JerryWorld and his Super Bowls and big-time name recognition. Love him, or hate him, everybody knows him.

2. Cowboys QB Tony Romo. He has cache with The US Weekly-set, as well as talent to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Cowboysland.

3. Mavs owner Mark Cuban. A Facebooker, blogger and Internet savant, this billionaire has many followers. And his NBA ownership only grows his audience .

4. Rangers president Nolan Ryan. Seventeen years after his final game, he remains bigger than anybody playing ball, coaching ball, owning ball, talking ball at The Ballpark in Arlington. He's a true legend.

5. Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki. Unbelievable talent. And in zero danger of winning a championship as long as surrounded by this cast of clowns.

6. Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware. In terms of pure talent, he's probably No. 1. He has a monster game. He's also decidedly low key, content to play ball, do a little charity and keep his nose clean. Not that there is anything wrong with that at all, just keeps him from being big-big time.

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