Everyone is getting ready for Halloween

All over Lego Land, everyone is getting their costumes ready for Halloween and trick-or-treating. Dirk Nowitzki is planning on going out dressed as Allen Iverson.

Road Kobe Bryant and home Kobe Bryant will be dressed as lifeguards.

Jalen Rose is going as Antoine Walker, and Tony Parker will be dressed as a mummy.

And finally (for now), Gary Payton and Kevin Garnett will be going door-to-door as Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein's monster.

Korbball? Ja!

This fall, Dirk Nowitzki is once again teaching a German class at the Lego Land Academy of Languages. Basketball has become a quite popular sport around the world in recent years, so many NBA stars have signed up to take the class. The class covers the introductory levels of German pronunciation, grammar, and usage. All of Dirk Nowitzki's students (both past and present) agree that he is an outstanding teacher.

Today's lesson is a very important one for the NBA players-- it is all about basketball, which is often called Korbball in German. For this lesson, Dirk Nowitzki has chosen a basic dialog for the students to practice with a partner.

Below: Dirk Nowitzki in front of his class

In the basic dialog, there are two people--Helga and Peter. They are discussing what they are doing that day.

Helga: Was machst du heute?

Peter: Wir spielen Korbball. Kommst du?

Helga: Ich glaube nicht. Ihr verliert das Spiel immer.

Peter: Meinst du das, oder sagst du das nur so?

The students do a fantastic job on today's assignment. If they keep up the hard work, Dirk Nowitzki is sure that they will all be speaking German fluently in no time.

Above: Steve Francis has a question for the teacher.

Below: Allen Iverson does, too.

The truth is finally revealed

An excited but well-behaved crowd has gathered this morning outside of Lego Land's finest hotel, the Transcontinental. They have all heard that Lego Land's newest arrival is staying at the hotel, and they have come to find out who it is. Rumor has it that the mystery person is staying in one of the penthouse suites (see photo below).

Everyone has their own theory about who it will turn out to be. For awhile, the most popular pick was Tim Duncan, but now a lot of people are leaning towards Chris Webber.

Suddenly, though, the balcony door to the north suite opens, and it appears that someone is about to come out. (See photo above) The excitement is so great that folks can hardly stand it.

Soon the mystery figure steps forward-- it is none other than NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant, wearing his Lakers home (number 8) jersey! A cheer goes up from the crowd and Kobe waves. He is obviously happy to be here in Lego Land.

Just as soon as the crowd starts to settle down, however, there is another surprise. The balcony door to the south suite opens, and someone else comes out. Who can that be? Are there two new arrivals?

Now the crowd is in for a shock-- there are two new arrivals, and the second one is...also NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant! Only this one is wearing his Lakers road (number 8) jersey! An even bigger cheer goes up from the crowd.

Two Kobe Bryants in the same town-- just imagine the possibilities!

People are excited, but they also have a lot of questions

Recently, an article was published by Lego Land's number one sports reporter (pictured above talking to Antoine Walker) that a new resident is on their way to Lego Land. Because of this, rumors have once again started spreading throughout town.

Everyone is all excited, but they also have many, many questions: Who is coming? What position do they play? What team do they play for?

Above: Tony Parker, Eva Longoria Parker, and Kevin Garnett's assistant are busy talking about the latest news. Meanwhile, Antoine Walker is getting ready to ride his skateboard.

Dirk Nowitzki, Karl Malone, and Italian soccer star Gattuso are preparing to go deep-sea diving. (See photo above) They are so excited that they are rushing through the safety precautions that every deep-sea diver must carry out before entering the water. Luckily, Karl Malone (see photo below) realizes what is happening and reminds his two friends to pay attention to what they are doing.

Still, the rumors and counter-rumors are all anyone wants to talk about. Who will it be? Paul Pierce? Toni Kukoc? Pau Gasol? Allan Houston? When will they arrive? Today? Next week?

Below: Steve Francis and Shaq study the back of the box that brought Jalen Rose, Predrag Stojakovic, and Kevin Garnett. They are trying to figure out who the new arrival might be.

Allen Iverson and Antoine Walker go to the movies

Allen Iverson and Antoine Walker are very excited. Tonight they are going to the movies! Watch the video below and try to figure out what movie they are seeing.

Something is wrong with the water tower

Shaq has woken up early this morning, and right away he notices that the grass outside his front window is starting to look very dried out. So Shaq decides that it is time to water his yard. However, when he turns on the garden hose, nothing comes out. In fact, when Shaq goes back inside his house, he discovers that the water is not working anywhere at all. Of course, Shaq is very concerned about this situation, so he decides to call the municipal water company to file a report. (See photos above and below)

At the water company headquarters (pictured below), the weekend supervisor answers the phone. He writes down Shaq's customer complaint and then performs a systems check using his computer. The weekend supervisor quickly determines that the water has been cut off throughout Lego Land. It appears that there is a problem with the main water tower that supplies water to all of Lego Land.

The weekend supervisor at the water company calls Steve Francis to notify him of the problem. Steve Francis is one of the best people in Lego Land at fixing things. (See photo below)

Steve Francis and his friend Antoine Walker head over to the water tower to see what the trouble is. (See photo below)

Steve Francis climbs straight up to the top of the water tower and gets right to work. (See photo below)

Above: The view from the top of the water tower.

Below: Antoine Walker climbs the ladder up to the top of the tower.

Steve Francis and Antoine Walker are able to quickly identify and solve the problem. Within a few hours, water service has been restored to all of Lego Land. Now everyone, including Karl Malone (pictured below), can water their lawns, wash their cars, or do whatever else it is that they need to do.

American Culture 101

Currently, there are 30 teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Of these 30, 29 play their homes games in the United States of America. Because of this, every player in the NBA is required by the league to have a strong working knowledge of American history, culture, and politics. In the past, several players have been issued long suspensions for failing to meet the high standards set by the NBA.

Recently, Dirk Nowitzki (below) was notified by the league that he is one of the players who has been randomly selected to take a written test that covers all aspects of American life. The test will include multiple-choice items, short answer questions, and at least one essay.

Dirk Nowitzki is, of course, worried about how he will do on this test, so he has decided to talk to his friend Karl Malone. (See photo below)

Karl Malone is more than happy to help out in any way that he can. He lends Dirk Nowitzki two very important items to study-- his Nixon/Agnew campaign button and his copy of The Collected Speeches of Spiro Agnew (published in 1971). (See photo below)

Dirk Nowitzki studies hard -- Spiro Agnew made many notable speeches in 1969 and 1970, and Dirk Nowitzki knows that he must read them all.

Now that Dirk Nowitzki is done studying, Karl Malone is helping by giving him a practice quiz (see photo below)--

• Question: Who are more dangerous-- the neo-isolationists or the radical-liberals?
• Answer: They are both more dangerous, just in different ways. (Correct)

• Question: Which rock-and-roll groups are most responsible for the blatant drug-culture propaganda that pervades our society?
• Answer: The Jefferson Airplane, Ten Years After, and Steppenwolf. (Correct)

Dirk Nowitzki passes the practice quiz with flying colors. Karl Malone is very confident that Dirk Nowitzki will so just as well or even better on the actual test.

Game night in Lego Land

Tonight Jalen Rose has invited all the NBA players over to play Clue-- "Parker Brothers Classic Detective Game". Clue is a game in which six players try to solve a mystery about which one of them committed a murder. The players also have to figure out where the murder took place and what the murder weapon was.

Below: Dirk Nowitzki and Shaq examine the roll of the dice.

Steve Francis thinks he is on to something-- he has found this lead pipe lying on the floor of the lounge. Vince Carter definitely agrees that the lounge is a strange place to find a slightly-bent lead pipe.

Meanwhile, Jalen Rose and Dirk Nowitzki are investigating the kitchen. They both believe that this large candlestick may hold important clues.

The time has come for the players to make their accusations and then to reveal the true identity of the murder. They have all gathered (see photo below) for the final showdown.

Everyone wonders-- "Who will it turn out to be?"

Playing soccer

Today the NBA All-Stars have decided to take a break from playing basketball, so they are playing soccer instead. They have been joined by two world-famous soccer stars -- Alexandre Pato of Brazil and Gennaro Gattuso of Italy. (See photo below - Pato is on the left next to Allen Iverson and Gattuso is on the right next to Shaq.)

Both Pato and Gattuso play professionally for AC Milan, a club that is considered so important that it is owned by Italy's long-time Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. All of the NBA stars are quite excited that they are getting the chance to play with two soccer stars as famous as Pato and Gattuso.

Here are some photos of today's historic match:

Below: Kevin Garnett gets ready to take a corner kick.

Below: Allen Iverson commits a handball inside the penalty area.

Below: Pato gets ready to take the resulting penalty kick.

Below: Pato scores on goalie Jalen Rose.

Below: Later on, Pato is fouled by Tony Parker.

Below: Gattuso and Dirk Nowitzki are fighting. Shaq and Antoine Walker rush over to break it up.

Special thanks to Dorothy for her assistance in creating this post.