February 14, 2010: Basketball's Biggest Crowd

February 14, 2010: The NBA holds its All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium (now AT&T Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Instead of holding it at the American Airlines Center, the home of the Dallas Mavericks, it was decided to move it into the massive new home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, in an attempt to set a record for the largest crowd ever to attend a basketball game. It works: The announced paid attendance was 108,713.

The East All-Stars: Guard Joe Johnson and center Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks; forwards Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and guard Rajon Rondo, of the Boston Celtics; forward Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats; guard Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls; forward LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers; guard Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat; center David Lee of the New York Knicks; center Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic; guard Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers; and forward Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors. Stan Van Gundy of Orlando was named head coach.

The West All-Stars: Forward Dirk Nowitzki and guard Jason Kidd of the host Dallas Mavericks; forward Carmelo Anthony and guard Chauncey Billups of the Denver Nuggets; center Chris Kama of the Los Angeles Clippers; guard Kobe Bryant and forward Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers; forward Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies; guard Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets; forward Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder; guard Steve Nash and center Amar'e Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns; guard Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers; forward Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs; and guard Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz. George Karl of Denver was named head coach.

Unlike the other sports, there is no rule that says every team must have at least one representative. Teams without a selection: The New Jersey Nets, the Detroit Pistons, the Golden State Warriors, the Houston Rockets, the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Sacramento Kings and the Washington Wizards. 

Bryant was injured, and replaced by Kidd. Paul was injured, and replaced by Billups. Roy was injured, and replaced by Kama. Iverson did not play, due to "personal reasons," and was replaced by Lee.

The East won the game, 141-139. Wade was named the game's Most Valuable Player, as he led all scorers with 28 points, with Anthony right behind with 27.

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February 14, 2010 was a Sunday. There were no other NBA games played. Baseball and football were out of season. But 6 NHL games were played:

* The New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 at the Nassau Coliseum. (The New Jersey Devils did not play.)

* The Nashville Predators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3 in a shootout at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. This was the last season of play for what was usually known as the Civic Arena.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-4 in a shootout at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

* And the Anaheim Ducks beat the Edmonton Oilers, 7-3 at Rexall Place (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known) in Edmonton.