(He's baaack. If you didn't catch it, Gansey's first post is here.)

What a great time for a break!  As you all know it is All-Star break for the NBA as well as the D-League - A perfect time to get some rest and just relax. I am excited to see the city of Dallas put on a great weekend of events for the fans.  Let's hope my fellow West Virginia alum  Adam (don't call me Pac-Man) Jones doesn't show up and try to make it rain like he did in Vegas a few years back.

Tell me if I'm wrong, but I just realized Pat Carroll is not my teammate.  I thought with how much we have seen each other this past week I just assumed he was on my team.  With my time in Iowa I should have just gotten an apartment, literally.

It has been a trip from hell in Iowa. As I write this we are busing to Omaha, Nebraska to finally get out of Iowa and back home. We have been here since Thursday.  Now I love playing the game of basketball and competing everyday but playing the same team four games in a row is not exactly normal. For the past six days the only time I left our hotel was to go to the arena for our games or practice!  Feels like I have been on house arrest trapped in a cage and do not know what normal civilization is like in the outside world. 

The D-League needs to look at the scheduling and make a change.  I know it's about money and stuff like that but playing a team four games in a row?  Maybe we need to drug test the person in charge of the scheduling? What about the home team fans? "Geez, Iowa playing Erie again?  It seems like they are always playing them."

Due to the weather our game against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants Wednesday was postponed but had we played this game it probably would have been the most sluggish, poorly played game of the D-League schedule this year.

Here is why...

Fort Wayne played at home vs Rio Grande Valley Tuesday night and after the game would have gotten into Erie in the middle of the night.

We played at Iowa the same night and were supposed to leave at 3am (yes you read that right, 3am!!!) on a bus to Omaha, Nebraska, then fly from Omaha to Chicago, Chicago to Cleveland, and bus from Cleveland to Erie. Arrive in Erie around 4pm and have just enough time to get no rest and play at 7pm.  What a barnburner this game would have been!

Speaking of All-star break, here are my predictions of all the festivities that will be going on...

Dunk Contest Winner: Dar Tucker
With Billy Walker out and not knowing who his replacement will be (should be my boy Joe Alexander  who would be my choice to win it) I have to stick with my teammate Cliff Clinkscales college teammate at DePaul and the Big East connection here.

3-point Winner: Rob Kurz
Makes it look effortless with his 3-point shot and has been rumored to be preparing for this contest with workout guru / Fort Wayne assistant coach Steve Gansey for the contest. Why Rob hasn't gotten a Call-Up this year is beyond me? 

All-Star Game MVP: Morris Almond / Curtis Stinson 
I would love for my teammate Alade Aminu to get the MVP in this All-Star game, but the likes of Almond and Stinson will thrive in this kind of setting. I like the East to win and Almond to have 25+ points and Stinson to have 15+ assists.  So you be the judge on the MVP with those numbers.

Shooting Stars Participants Winner: Pat Carroll
Not quite exactly sure what the Shooting Stars event consists of but Carroll can do a little bit of everything so he is my pick.

Have a safe and fun All-Star break, and for those of you with that special someone (unfortunatly not me) Happy Valentine's Day!

Talk to you next week..