At the halfway mark, some observational points include:
**The Eastern Division features another tight 3-way race with the top teams, Charleston, Chicago and Houston leading the charge as predicted. Milwaukee is waiting in the weeds and Philadelphia has no chance.
**In the Western Division, it's been topsy-turvy time as the two teams predicted to finish on the bottom are currently 1-2 in the standings. The defending champion Oklahoma City Lariats lost Hall of Fame center Max Payne and replaced him with a cut pile guy, Phuc Mailife, who is performing admirably. Rookie forward Reckless Abandon has been as solid as his predecessor, the retired Stone Flinthorn and the result has been a 5-0 Lariats team. Sacramento replaced 80 percent of its starting lineup with good, if not great, players, and has once again been a surprise at 4-1. Whether it's too late for Seattle or San Jose to get back into the playoff hunt remains to be seen. Both of those teams suffered tough injuries, with Seattle losing All-MBA forward Smokey Talisker and San Jose losing veteran guard Jerry Curl. Both are returning soon.
**Owner Tyler Masterson shocked the MBA world by benching Hall of Fame guard Hrundi V. Bakshi, who he replaced with up and comer T. Kanes Masterson. The move has paid off, with Masterson leading the league in scoring at the halfway mark with a 21.6 points per game average.
**Rookies, as projected, are making a huge impact. Half of the rookies added to the MBA are starters for their teams, but the big shock is 6-7 forward Vic Hitler of Houston, who was not on anyone's radar as a world-beater, turning in a half season where he is scoring at a 20.4 ppg clip.
**9 starters will be lost to retirement at the end of this season, with Milwaukee and San Jose the hardest hit.
Milwaukee lost both its starting center and its backup center along with forward Bruno Pantanal, a rookie of the year and starter for all 6 seasons on the Greyhounds.
San Jose loses the only Hall of Famer in forward Gato Do Mato, along with veteran starting guard Jerry Curl.
Seattle will lose one of the best players in the franchise's history, Smokey Talisker.
**And yes, Pug Mahone has announced that he will return for yet another season in the cut pile.
**All three players who suffered 3-game injuries, Jerry Curl of San Jose, Smokey Talisker of Seattle and Heater Van Meter of Milwaukee, have had enough and will retire at season's end.
SEASON 36 ALL STAR GAME TIDBITS
**The East holds a 22-13 advantage over the West, but the West has won 3 of the last 4 contests, including last season, and 7 of the last 9.
**Dallas will host this season's game. It has two starters for the West in center Necag Gecan and power forward Gulemon Mon-Mon.
**Philadelphia's Ama Spikie, needing one more award to make the Hall of Fame, did not make the All Star Team, but he will return next season to the league. He is a four-time All Star having a horrible season.
**Also noticeable by his absence on the All Stars is Hall of Famer Gato Do Mato, a six-time all star who is also scoring less than 10 points per game this season and will be retiring at the end of the campaign. His lack of points has contributed mightily to the poor 2-3 Fighting Amigos mark in the first half.
**The other two active Hall of Famers, Ching-Chong Chung of San Jose and Max Payne of Charleston were solid picks this season for the All Star Game. Both will start for their respective squads.
**Six-time all star and Hall of Famer Hrundi V. Bakshi is not on this year's star team and is not starting for Houston, although he is currently leading the league in 3-point shooting off the bench and will return next season.
**Three rookies made the All Star Game this season, the most since Season 30. In the past five seasons, either one or no rookies made the team.
**Only one All Star Game player will be retiring after season's end---Bruno Pantanal of Milwaukee.
**There are seven first-time All Star Game players.
**Chung of San Jose, has the most All Star appearances with his 8th selection. Only three players have made more appearances:
Uncle Bob Masterson with 10
Mamadou Zongo with 10
Curly Hogbottom with 9
Chung is tied with Doug Fresh and Jonny Cockaroo, who also had 8 appearances.
**Chung is tied for fifth all-time as far as being an All Star Game starter. This will be his 6th start, matching the starts by Diamond Dallas Paige, Soul Duran, Tommy Zoop and Saggital Occlusal.
The Top 4 Players in All Star Games Started Are:
Curly Hogbottom-9
Mamadou Zongo-8
Boone Doggle-7
Uncle Bob Masterson-7
**Chung is the only former MVP of the All Star Game appearing in this contest.
**Chung comes into the game in 9th place all time in All Star Game points and third in most 3-pointers made.
**The MVP of the past two All Star Games, Smokey Talisker of Seattle, will not appear and will never appear again.
**The toughest position to make an All Star Game remains a guard position in the East. Bop-Bop of Charleston, with his 20.0 GVP, is the only player with a GVP of at least 20 to not make the team.
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