Cue the music! Nothing gets me pumped like classic Rocky! Our fight card as usual features two great contests, but first we survey what has transpired over the past week!

And if the Rocky vs. Drago reference does not give you a hint, this week the theme involves a USA-homegrown player versus someone from international lands! Perhaps there is a bit of the underdog versus the intimidating champ, but which is which? You decide!

The premise: (if you know how this tourney operates, feel free to skip down!)

Thanks to all who have voted and/or have taken the time to read this feature so far. Please feel free to comment on any or all future match-ups! The rules are simple. 32 of today’s biggest stars, plus some fantasy forces and a few players of the “x-factor” ilk have been chosen to participate in this exercise. Assume each player is in perfect health and in peak condition, based on their current age and abilities. Suppose these players play each other in a game of one-on-one: games to 11, two points for a three-pointer, and winners out. You can make your comment after each article, or if you like, send me an e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). You can now also make your comments on our Facebook group discussion board. Please vote just once for each match-up. If you are so inclined, feel free to make up an imaginary commentary of how you see the battle going down and I will try to include your input in future articles. I am sure Dennis, Sarge and Ron will give me their “10 cents” on the topic when their schedule permits. Of course, if everyone is feeling shy, I will just call it as I would see it! You have one week to vote, then the results will be published and a new pair of match-ups will be announced. So check back here every week!

Review of last week’s matches:

Game 9: Ray Allen vs. Joe Johnson

Almost everybody that responded commented on how this was a good and intriguing match-up. Not everyone chimed in on this one however, as the Alston vs. Redd game attracted more attention. Out of the five votes (two from our comments section here, three from our Facebook group discussion board), the score stood at three votes for Ray, two votes for Joe. Bring your umbrella to this one, because it would be quite the sight seeing “who can out-range the other” as Sarge put it. Will reasoned that “in the end, you have to go for the younger legs.” Jeff voiced similar sentiments but took the opposite side of the debate by saying “although Joe is younger and has fresher legs, I will take “Jesus” Shuttlesworth to win cuz “He Got Game.” I don’t know if Ray does a victory lap after a made bucket like he did on Denzel in the movie. Arthur was the one who backed Johnson the most, saying that basically a shooter can get smothered in one-on-one play. Allen is known as a shooter, but he has no problem getting to the hoop and creating shots for himself too; he gets to the line as much as, if not more than, the other all-stars in the league. Be careful to short-change him on that front. I vote for Ray Ray too. Winner: Ray Allen.

Game 10: Rafer Alston vs. Michael Redd

The inclusion of Alston itself drew some commentary, as Terrance in our comments section said that so far, “he is in the worst player in the tournament.” Certainly his NBA list of accomplishments is not as impressive, but his street savvy and playground skills made me wonder how he would fare in this format. I love Sarge’s Redd-was-a-Buckeye-therefore-he-wins sentiment; you are a loyal guy, my friend. Kerry came up with a hilarious scenario where Skip to My Lou does not even finish out the game. I won’t be able to do it justice here so check it out for yourself if you have yet to do so!

Frederic on Facebook said that his “initial reaction was to pick Redd, then I remembered who he was really playing in this format. I think Alston can shake Redd loose and do his thing. Alston by a nose.” Will agreed with Frederic, noting that Redd might be a player more dependent on teammates and ball movement in the context of a real game, and thus that might not translate as well in one-on-one play. On the flip side, Jeff figures Redd just steps “out to the 3-point line and bombs away!”

The totals were 2-1 for Alston on Facebook and 3-1 for Redd on our Dropping Dimes comments section. So that makes it 4-3 for Redd. Redd is a very good player, and as an NBA GM, I would pick him over Rafer every day of the week and twice on Sunday. But on the street when it’s Mano e Mano? Once again, Arthur swam the strongest against the general consensus. That’s what makes this so great; anything can happen with a court, two skilled players, and a basketball! Alston would hold his own. My vote for Alston causes a deadlock at four votes apiece.

I called one of our writers, Ron Chow, to break the tie. After considering Skip’s edge in speed against Redd’s advantage in overall offensive skill and the likelihood that he would be able to post Alston up, he made the call. Winner: Michael Redd.

And now on to this week’s feature match-ups.

Game 11: Chris Paul vs. Yao Ming

It looks like CP3 got caught on a switch in the pictured USA/China game from last summer and ended up guarding a tall guy wearing #11. But that is not Yao! Paul won’t have Flash and CB4 to help him out on D like in the picture, so he has to figure out quickly just how he plans to guard a 7-foot-6 giant with tree trunks for legs and perhaps the most solid foundation of fundamental skills outside of Tim Duncan. We have all seen Yao huff and puff during regular games though, and he will need to contend with Paul’s awesome handle and much superior foot speed. Once again, the curiosity factor alone would make this one worth way more than the price of admission!

Game 12: Chris Bosh vs. Steve Nash

It is pretty amazing how organized things become when they are allowed to fall randomly. The pairings were determined by picking names out of a hat, and Canada’s dynamic duo drew each other. Bosh is quick…for a big man. Nash has the easy edge in ball-handling but without team mates, can he find enough openings to slip past Bosh? Or does his generally inferior defensive play expose him to repeatedly being punished by Bosh’s inside-outside game?

Time to put in your 10 cents!

See you next week.

If you are just joining us now, feel free to visit the previous posts.

Round 1, Games 1 and 2

Round 1, Games 3 and 4

Round 1, Games 5 and 6

Round 1, Games 7 and 8

Round 1, Games 9 and 10