UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Of all the All-Star Games in our sports-minded nation, few adhere to the literal definition of "game" as much as the one played by the WNBA.
They don't have one every year because winning gold at the Summer Olympics takes precedent every four years. So when it happens, it's an event worth noting, with nothing at stake but laughter and entertainment and no home field advantage to be won for the playoffs.
It's just game, played for the sheer entertainment of it for the players and the fans.
"Laugh, talk, spend time together and joke around," said Candace Parker of Los Angeles Sparks and Western Conference.
The all-stars returned to the sold-out Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. And a good time was had by all, even by the East which squandered an 11-point lead in the third quarter.
Led by Parker, who scored 23 points with 11 rebounds, the West beat the East, 102-98. Parker, the former WNBA Rookie of the Year and MVP, was voted the game's Most Valuable Player.
Parker's Sparks' teammate Kristi Toliver added 21 points. Former UConn All-American Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx had 14
The East was led by Epiphanny Prince of the Chicago Sky and Ivory Latta of the Washington Mystics. They both scored 15 points.
As for the home team, the Connecticut Sun, Tina Charles had 10 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes. Allie Hightower had six points and four assists in 18 minutes.