We are two weeks away from All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, and I think I speak for most Hawks fans when I say I am more excited for this year than any year in the past decade or so. To the victor go the spoils, as the saying goes, and with the Hawks perched in 4th place in the East right now, I am hopeful to see as many as three Atlanta players participating in the various events throughout the weekend.

The first domino fell into place today, as Al Horford was named to the Sophomore Squad for Friday night's T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. No big surprise there, as Horford was an easy choice last year, finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting (he wuz robbed I tells ya!), and generally has performed at the same level if not better in his second tour of duty. With his targeted return of Feb. 4, he should be back in plenty of time to be fully ready to showcase his skills at the league's midseason classic.

Reserve squads for the East and West All-Star teams will be announced tomorrow night on TNT, and every prediction I've seen so far has Joe Johnson making the trip. While I think you can make a case for Mike Bibby on the team as well, I don't expect to hear his name called tomorrow. Still, we are very hopeful he'll be included in the mix for the 3-point shootout, the contestants of which will be announced on Feb. 4.

Congrats again to Big Al for the honor, which will make him the first Hawks player to participate in the event as both a Rookie and a Sophomore.