So far in this tourney, we’ve had speed vs. speed, small vs. big, and talent vs. experience. Now we move on to the metaphorical unstoppable force against the unmovable object and pit two big men against in each other in this week’s pair of match-ups.

Remember that year David Robinson won the league MVP, and “the Dream” gave him a message during the playoffs by outplaying him? The question of the day is how would these four men step up to the challenge!

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). 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!

Results from last week

Game 3: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Dwyane Wade
Dennis had this to say about this match-up; “I really had to think about it, which stinks because I have three brain cells and they fight with each other constantly.” Watching D’s brain cells fight each AND bearing witness to this match-up would certainly be worth the price of admission!

Sarge picked Dirk, while two votes were cast for Flash. Adding in my vote makes three. Maybe it’s a case of Janet-Jackson-what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, but as great as Dirk is, there still is a bit of doubt in whether he would step up to the challenge in something like this. The way the Warriors took it to him and his Mavs might provide evidence of this. Meanwhile, Wade and his heart of a champion were not enough to do anything against the Bulls, but the man was playing with one arm, and still needs to consider surgery. Sarge correctly points out that “Wade doesn’t have enough of an outside presence to take Dirk.” Still, off the top of my head, other than MJ and Kobe, I cannot think of another player in my lifetime who can find a way to get a shot off like Wade. He’d drive on Dirk to take him off the dribble and the “good” and “evil” voices in his head would tell him to “do it again!” like in one of his latest commercials. I would agree with Sarge in the sense that over the long run, Dirk probably wins more than he loses. But in this one and done style where you need to man up? Winner: Dwyane Wade

Game 4: Tony Parker vs. Ben Wallace
As 4:20 and Dennis pointed out, Parker would try to run Ben “right out of the building” and take the big ‘fro off the dribble. Plus there’s the fact that Ben has “no offense,” as Sarge said. Here’s a way Ben could win though…pure blunt force trauma. Parker blows by him for the fourth or fifth time, and Ben just hip checks him. Sure, it’s dirty, but no blood, no foul, right? Maybe this happens one or two more times, and then human nature kicks in. Parker would eventually take an outside jumper, and should he miss, Ben cleans up the rebound, and proceeds to just throw the ball at the hoop. Maybe it takes four or five offensive rebounds for each score, and it wouldn’t be pretty, but the result could prove positive for Big Ben. Having said that, I agree with our distinguished panel, who all voted for TP. Winner: Tony Parker

Now on to this week’s feature matches…

Game 5: Tim Duncan vs. Shaquille O’Neal

Maybe even two or three years ago, Shaq would have had a good chance to go Roger Federer on the rest of our participants. I’m sure he could still steamroll a smaller player pretty easily. However, by the luck of the draw, Big Diesel drew the current textbook definition of a baller with low post game. Duncan is not as big as Shaq (who is?), but stands about seven feet himself, and has great shotblocking skills. And unlike Ben Wallace from last week, TD knows how to put the ball through the hoop. This battle is sure to be won…and lost, down low. What say you, loyal readers?

Game 6: Shawn Marion vs. Rasheed Wallace

The Matrix and ‘Sheed certainly earn a lot of love from fantasy hoopsters. It must have something to do with their one-trey-one-steal-one-block game! Both would not be considered conventional big men in that they can be deadly from behind the arc, and also are capable of playing D away from the basket. It seems that every few months now, a new article about Marion feeling underappreciated in Phoenix gets published. That type of surliness could translate well in this type of format. Similarly, Rasheed’s brushes with refs and his impressive technical foul totals over the years have been well documented. Well sir, there is no ref to help or hinder you here. But is “The Chosen One” staring right at you ready to jam the ball so hard down your throat, you’ll be choking on Spalding for weeks?

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

See you next week!

Peace.