February 8th Atlanta, GA

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BAR Atlanta, is Buckhead's original party destination. For over ten years, they've been serving up beer and debauchery in quantities bigger than the national deficit to Atlantans of all varieties. Their general manager, Randy, a young, friendly guy, was extremely enthusiastic when we contacted him earlier in the week about the Ultimate Sports Adventure tour stop. "Hell yeah, we'll help you guys out. Come on down and get ready to get drunk, buddy, 'cause we're gonna show you Atlanta... BAR style." We were prepared.

So, Randy got us reserved parking right outside the club on Atlanta's busiest night at Atlanta's best bar - Saturday before the All-star game. Amazing. And, to top it off, he graciously allowed us to ask for a $1 donation from each and every soul that ventured into the place during the night, raising a total of $502 for the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation. BAR Atlanta, YOU ROCK!

We have to mention here the spies Phil's mom sent out to the event. See, Phil's mom, Ann, used to live in Atlanta. She called two of her minions, Donna and Michelle, and sent them down for a little glimpse into the Ultimate Sports Adventure lifestyle... Michelle: "yes, we're down here to check up on you guys... your mom wants to know what you two are doing at all these bars." Well, basically, we worked the door and collected money for the charity and talked about our tour for five hours, which greatly disappointed little Michelle. "There's no story here," she says. About that time, Phil got the monster pro video camera out to do some footage... a cute college coed walked up, "Hey, are you guys from Girls Gone Wild?" she asked. "Maybe, why do you ask?" Phil replies coyly. "Well, get these babies on camera!" And with that, we got quite a good look at two perfect breasts, and Michelle got some dirt to pass on to an expectant mother.

Along the same lines, this report would not be complete without mentioning a certain friend from Atlanta who we will randomly call "Steven" to protect his reputation. During an after-hours party in the RV, "Steven" pulls a disappearing act with a girl from the bar, into the RV bedroom. This put Rafe on severe tilt, requiring him to boot the reluctant couple out of the RV, muttering to himself under his breath something about not signing up to work for more than one charity case on this trip. Phil, for once was smiling about sleeping on the couch.

February 9th Atlanta, GA

Pics

At the request of WebTickets.com, we somehow managed to get our asses up and in gear at 9am (after partying until 5am). We drove down to Philips Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center in time to get a prime-A-number-1 spot near the arena. And then, we napped.

After a brief rest, we walked the NBA Jam Session, a basketball lover's dream, 350,000 square feet of NBA, NBA, NBA. It was here that Phil met two time slam dunk champion, Jason Richardson.

Another nap, and soon we're off to our second major tour stop, the NBA All-Star Game. We arrive just in time for player introductions. Jordan, in his 14th appearance, gets the loudest ovation, followed closely by Kobe.

Not having checked the game lines (big mistake), Phil sets the over/under at 247, Rafe sets the game line at West -4. Rafe takes the over, Phil takes the West.

The first half, quite a snoozer, is full of bad basketball by the game's greatest players. Jordan in particular was stinking it up. In all honesty, we were both a little disappointed with the event, and by halftime the under looks to be a good bet. Of course, by that time, the guy two rows back informs us that the real line is 255. Rafe negotiates out for even.

The Village People, Mariah Carey, and Kool and the Gang entertain during intermissions and halftime.

Second half starts out with a flurry of scoring and high-flying plays. And, as the half progresses, it is clear that the entire point of the game is to get Jordan the ball as much as possible. His last second heroics failed at the end of regulation when his jump shot from the left baseline rattled in and out. Of course, the overtime really tilted Rafe, as the over had become a certainty and the West had another chance to cover the spread.

With just 5 seconds left in OT, Jordan, hits his miracle turn around jump shot to give the East a two point lead, and seemingly the game. The crowd, and we, erupted in jubilant high-fives and back slaps all around. During the ensuing timeout, the crowd started chanting: "MVP, MVP!" and you could see Michael's patented grin all the way from the upper deck where we were sitting.

Kobe inbounds and takes the ball down the court in desperation, throws up a three from the corner. What? A WHISTLE! Now, for the West to have a chance to cover, Kobe must make exactly two out of three foul shots with the game and the bet on the line. He makes the first, misses the second, and swishes the last! Rafe is apoplectic, and we're in Double OT, the first time in the history of the All-star game.

Kevin Garnet completely dominates the second OT, scoring the first seven points. And, by the time its over, the West has won by 10 and covered the spread.

We head back to the RV for a good night sleep, in preparation for what is surely going to be an epic week at the Daytona 500. Stay tuned for all the tilting and more USA antics from Daytona International Speedway, TRACKSIDE, TURN 4! We'll be the guys on top of the big blue RV drinking Margaritas blended with the Daquiri Whacker and singing karaoke at volumes that will dominate the cars racing by.