Not exactly, Superman.

slam (slām)

v. tr.

1. To shut with force and loud noise: slammed the door.

2. To put, throw, or otherwise forcefully move so as to produce a loud noise: slammed the
book on the desk.
3. To hit or strike with great force.

v. intr.

1. To close or swing into place with force so as to produce a loud noise.
2. To hit something with force; crash: slammed into a truck.

n.

1. 1. A forceful impact that makes a loud noise.
   2. A noise so produced.
2. An act of shutting forcefully and loudly: the slam of a door

slam dunk (slām'dŭngk')

–noun Basketball.
a particularly forceful, often dramatic dunk shot.

dunk shot (dŭngk shŏt)

–noun Basketball.
a shot in which a player near the basket jumps with the ball and attempts to thrust it through the basket with one hand or both hands held above the rim.

You are probably wondering where I am going with this. I was not home on Sunday, as I was on the road driving from a little getaway to the Cheddar-State. Thus I missed the NBA's All-Star Weekend and the premiere of the new Knight Rider (the latter is a blessing most likely). This morning I checked out some highlights from the game, namely the Slam Dunk competition. This is what I saw :

I like the Superman angle. It was funny and unexpected. The execution (a.k.a. - The dunk) was a bit disappointing. Howard is a really good player with a dominant offensive arsenal and rebound abilities (he's got to seriously work on that defense). For a 6-11 Center-Foward, who wears a "Superman" outfit, you think he would have actually touched the rim. He jumped from inside the freethrow line and performed an overhand layup. There was no "slam". It was more like whimper. The rim didn't shake, didn't bend or buckle. A good reason to dub this as the "Phantom Dunk". Good enough to win, but invisible to everyone else.

This is a prime example of why I have been tuning out the NBA the last few years (part of it involves the fact that the Knicks stink so badly, the other being the lack of modesty of most players - there are exceptions as with everything). The NBA has become mostly an assortment of And 1 players. There's nothing wrong with that, except its not very professional. Street ball is all about showing off and the individual effort. I see that in the NBA and it makes me cringe. Anyway. Heres a few REAL dunks, for comparison :

DR. J :

Wilkins and Jordan :

Vince Carter :

'Nuff said. Howard Stern needs to figure out something, before the NBA turns into the NHL or worse, MLB.