17:00 - Durant has a pair of baskets so far. This is unfamiliar territory for me, as I am not used to rooting against former Texas Longhorns not named Chris Simms. Al just got his first touch, and missed a jumper from the corner.

15:40 - Al scores his first points of the game with a tip-in, then grabs a defensive board. Then, as I type this, he gets a feed down low from Mike Conley for a basket. We're up to 4 points and 2 rebounds...

14:27 - The first TV timeout is taken. If you are watching this game on TV, you will probably notice a sea of pink in the stands. These are local children, all of whom have the vocal range of Mariah Carey. I'm glad I don't wear glasses, I think they might shatter from the octaves that are being reached.

13:20 - Two more baskets inside by Al - he is now the game's leading scorer (tied with Rudy Gay, who I predict will be the game's MVP if the Sophs win - and in fact he just hit a 3-pointer as well).

11:00 - Horford sits with 11 points - I don't think you can ask for much more than he's given so far. Daniel Gibson is in for the Sophomores and immediately hits a three. LeBron James is sitting courtside and he slaps him five as he runs back up court. Not to indulge my school spirit too much, but there are three former UT players here tonight. Durant, Gibson, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Not bad for a football school.

9:30 - Brandon Roy rims one out. Roy is pulling the rare All-Star double duty, playing in tonight's game as well as Sunday's main event. That seems like an honor and a terrible inconvenience to me all at the same time.

7:30 - New Jersey's Sean Williams just did my favorite All-Star play, throwing the ball off the backboard and catching it for a one-handed dunk. Naively, I wonder why more people don't do this in actual games, just cause I think it would catch the other team by surprise.

5:30 - Daniel Gibson is giving a preview of what could be in store tomorrow night during the 3-point shootout, as he has come off the bench to hit 5 treys. I hope he's not using them all up tonight. Speaking of which, with Kobe Bryant sitting out because of a finger injury, Dirk Nowitzki will take his place in the 3-point contest. There are an awful lot of good shooters going tomorrow night, it should be a lot of fun.

4:30 - Al checks back in. Sean Williams has taken over the scoring lead for the Rooks with 12, but I anticipate that being corrected shortly. Gibson just hit another 3, and now has 18.

0:00 - The game was close for most of the first half, but thanks in part to Kevin "Turnover" Durant, the Sophs finish on a tear to take a 66-52 lead into intermission. Al has 13 points, good for second best on the Rookie squad to Durant's 15. Daniel Gibson has 7 3's and 21 points to lead all scorers. Right now some band is coming out onto the floor for halftime, and the kids are standing and shrieking their approval. Or they see a mouse. One of the two.

Halftime - It turns out it was approving shrieks, as Jordan Sparks is performing. Apparently, she won some show where you sing to impress some judges that is quite popular. I think it's called Star Search, but I could be mistaken.