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The NBA and NHL both put together their All-Star weekends, but they had clearly different results. On one hand, hockey took advantage of the opportunity with their tremendous Four Nation Challenge while the NBA floundered with another lackluster performance.
The Steakhouse discussed the contrasting weekends the leagues had and why it is indicative of the way NBA players have become.
"The difference this weekend in watching the USA fight Canada right when they drop the puck," Steak started before shifting to the other league. "Then you turn to the NBA All-Star Game, where it is the biggest collection of prima donnas and whiners and excuse-makers."
In a wildly contentious game between the United States and Canada on Saturday night, the Americans took down down our neighbors to the north to advance to the final of the Four Nation Challenge between the US, Canada, Sweden, and Finland. Their performance and passion for the game was the talk of the sports world this weekend.
On the other hand, the NBA also had a four-team All-Star format -- but fans were not nearly as impressed with what came out of it.
"It's verkakte," Steak said about the NBA before listening to Draymond Green complain about the format to the chagrin of Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. "Just make it that you try a little bit! You're not going to try like the U.S. and Canada, but the reason it went to this is because you guys wouldn't even try a little bit."
The NBA is clearly trying everything they can to make this game exciting, but nothing will ever change unless the players find the ability to care.
Steak thinks it all comes down to how pampered these players are in all other facets of their careers.
"You are so pampered as an NBA player! You stay in a five-star hotel, [it's written] in the players' contracts," Steak bemoaned. "You are flying on private jets... And you guys still complain about everything!
"To me, it is a glaring example of why the NHL is a tremendous sport to cover in that locker room and the NBA is a bunch of brooding, spoiled, prima donnas."