Earvin "Magic" Johnson will go down as one of the NBA?s great ambassadors, so it comes to no one?s surprise, really, that he would provide a ringing endorsement of the league?s All-Star festivities.  

 Following Atlanta Hawks rookie Josh Smith?s aerial exploits in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk Contest Saturday evening, the legendary point guard and now part-owner and TNT analyst boastfully proclaimed that not only had the dunk contest ? a one-time can?t miss TV event ? returned to glory but with it, All-Star weekend?s renaissance as well.

 With all due respect to Magic, I?m not sure exactly what he was watching because All-Star weekend once again was nothing more than a veritable snooze fest.
 
 Smith?s arsenal of awe-inspiring dunks - including a windmill dunk from just outside the paint, in which the 19-year-old rookie paid homage to former Hawks great Dominique Wilkins - was by far the highlight of the weekend.  

 Though there were other highlights from the dunk contest ? namely Amare Stoudemire?s ?header? dunk and J.R. Smith?s behind-the-back number ? the All-Star weekend festivities as a whole are in dire need of a facelift.  

 As in scrap everything outside the dunk contest (as long as the league can ensure a better field next season; Chris Andersen, my friend, save yourself the embarrassment next year and stay home), including the outdated East-West All-Star game format.

 Let?s just say that watching NBA players dribble around pylons and chest-pass basketballs through targets is about as interesting as watching paint dry.  And unless Larry Legend ? who would have still torched this year?s field, even though he?s been out of basketball for 13 seasons ? and Craig Hodges plan on making a comeback, I could also do without the brick fest known as the three-point shootout.

 We won?t even delve into the Shooting Stars competition, while the Rookie Challenge, though a noble concept, lacks in any real intrigue.  I also don?t need the Association?s product packaged around some cheesy pop acts, either, but do understand that All-Star weekend is about more than just basketball, unfortunately.

 The centerpiece of the weekend, obviously, is the All-Star game itself, and while the East was able to snap a three-game losing streak by defeating the Western Conference All-Stars, 125-115 on Sunday, the time has come for a new formula.  

 While the arrival of Shaq and emergence of sophomores LeBron James and Dwyane Wade may have tipped the balance of power in favor of the East, the current All-Star game format has nevertheless become mundane.  

 There?s no allure, no intrigue.  The media does its best to hype the event, mind you, but the game just does not measure up.  Kind of like the Super Bowl most years.

 It?s about time ? why not next year's game in Houston? - NBA commissioner David Stern adopts a USA vs. International All-Star format.  

 With the struggles the US has had in recent Olympic Games and world championships and the influx of International stars thriving in the NBA game today, the format may just provide All-Star weekend with a sorely-needed shot in the arm.

 On paper, could an International squad rival the US in terms of depth of talent?  Probably not.  But again, as we?ve seen in the Olympics and as the Detroit Pistons proved in last season?s NBA Finals, talent on paper doesn?t always win out.  

 But out of curiosity, let?s look at what an International All-Star squad could look like on paper nonetheless, shall we?

 At point guard: Canada?s Steve Nash ? arguably the MVP of the league after the first half of the season ? would be a more-than-worthy selection.

 Shooting guard: Argentina?s Manu Ginobili - one of the league?s most unheralded players and a vital cog in the Spurs? championship aspirations.

 Small forward:  Russia?s Andrei Kirilenko:  The Jazz would likely be in the playoff hunt had their leader not been limited to just 25 games due to injury.  AK-47 leads the league in blocks and provides tenacious rebounding.

 Power Forward:  Germany?s Dirk Nowitzki:  A silky-smooth shooter and a lethal scorer, Nowitzki is a proven NBA commodity.

 Center:  China?s Yao Ming:  Yao may still have his detractors, but the Houston Rockets center remains a budding star who?ll only improve as he matures, and most certainly would round out this International starting five.  

 The likes of France?s Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs), Lithuania?s Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cleveland Cavaliers), Canada?s Jamaal Magloire (New Orleans Hornets), Serbia and Montenegro?s Peja Stojakovic (Sacramento Kings) and Vladimir Radmanovic (Seattle Sonics) and Spain?s Pau Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies), would make for a rather intriguing bench.  

 Would a US v. International format be better than the current All-Star system the NBA has in place?  Only time would tell.  But it nevertheless would be an experiment worth trying for a season or two.  

 I know this much:  unlike the slam dunk contest, players would not need an incentive to take part in such a game; the competitive juices on both squads would be flowing from the get-go and not just the last eight minutes of the fourth quarter, as is the case way too often in the current East-West format.

 Call me fickle, but I?ve simply grown tired of All-Star weekend and how little it has to offer fans.  

Kostas.Bolos@realgm.com