Antoine Walker wants you to know that drinking bottled water is bad for the environment

The weekend supervisor at the water company is unhappy that some people in Lego Land choose to drink bottled water rather than regular tap water. He has decided to start a public education campaign to teach people about how wasteful it is to drink bottled water. He wants to let people know about the negative impact of bottled water, from the creation of many plastic bottles to the high cost of transportation.

Joining him in this effort is Antoine Walker. Together they are going door-to-door trying to convince folks to stop wasting money and resources on bottled water. Today they are visiting an office where the workers pitch in to rent a water cooler and pay for bottle water to be delivered. The weekend supervisor and Antoine Walker patiently explain the many negative environmental effects of bottled water. They also point out that the high-priced water in the bottles comes from the exact same source as the municipal water does.

After hearing what the two men have to say, the office manager decides that she and her co-workers are wasting their hard-earned money. As soon as they finish the last bottle they have already paid for, they will be cancelling their service.

Below: Steve Francis and Jalen Rose inspecting the forklift from the bottled water company.

Mountain rescue squad

The number of mountain climbing accidents and wilderness disasters in Lego Land has risen steadily in recent weeks. (See photo above) Because of this, Shaq and some of the other NBA stars have decided to form a mountain rescue squad to help out during outdoor emergencies. (See photo below)

Shaq and the others have raised thousands of dollars by selling autographs and personal memorabilia on the internet, and, with this money, they were able to buy the parts so that Steve Francis could build a rescue helicopter in his workshop. Steve Francis had never built a helicopter before, but everyone is impressed with what a good job he has done.

Today, the NBA stars/mountain rescue squad have their first emergency call. A mountain climber has injured himself and needs help getting off the mountain. Steve Francis and road Kobe Bryant head out to help the injured person. They have to use a special stretcher that is attached to a long rope to reach the climber.

Below: Road Kobe Bryant uses the megaphone to communicate with Steve Francis down below.

Below: Steve Francis has loaded the injured mountain climber into the stretcher. It is a wild ride back up to the helicopter.

Below: The stretcher is almost up to the helicopter.

It turns out that the injured mountain climber is not a mountain climber at all. It is Gary Payton, who had gone out all by himself searching for Yetis. Luckily, he is not very badly injured. Mostly he is just a little scared and a little cold-- nothing that can not be cured by a nice steaming mug of hot chocolate.

Road Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton have a long talk about what happened and what Gary Payton can do differently the next time he goes out into the wilderness. Gary Payton now understands why it is so important to always take a buddy with you. Next time, he promises that he will make sure that Vince Carter comes along.

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.

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.

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?"

Working out at the gym

During the off-season, NBA stars spend a lot of time working out in the gym so that they can be as strong as possible for the start of the regular season. Physical fitness is very important for everyone, but especially for professional basketball players because of the grueling schedule they face.

Below: Antoine Walker is lifting weights.

Above: Tony Parker works on his legs.

Below: Dirk Nowitzki builds his upper-body strength.

Below: Steve Francis rides the exercise bicycle. When he is finished, Steve Francis will enjoy an nutritious fitness shake high in protein, vitamins, and electrolytes.

They formed a band

Some of the NBA players, along with some of their non-basketball-playing friends, have decided to form a band. As with all bands, the hardest part was coming up with a name. They came up with (and rejected) many names before settling on the Lloyd B. Free Singers, although some members of the band still want to call themselves the Latrell Sprewell Experience. (See photos, above- Antoine Walker playing guitar- and below- the Lloyd B. Free Singers giving their first concert)

The members of the band are as follows:

• Lead singer: Eva Longoria Parker
• Guitar players: Antoine Walker and the guitar-playing guy
• Bass: Kevin Garnett
• Drums: Steve Francis
• Keyboards: The keyboard-playing woman
• Saxophone: The man who plays the saxophone
• Trumpet: Shaq

Below: Eva Longoria Parker singing

Who else would be running the sound system but Vince Carter and Gary Payton?

Below: Footage from their first concert

The long wait is over (for some people)

The long-awaited package from the Lego factory has finally arrived, and many of the people and NBA players in Lego Land are quite happy. Predrag Stojakovic was able to get rid of the white firefighter's helmet that he was forced to wear-- now he has a black captain's hat that he wears backwards. (See photo above)

The first person that Predrag Stojakovic shows is Kevin Garnett. Kevin Garnett tells him that he looks cool. (Photo below)

Below: Eva Longoria Parker (on the left) did not get anything new, but her friends did -- new heads and hair.

Below: Jalen Rose and Steve Francis are excited to try on the new flippers.

Not everyone is feeling quite so excited, however. Allen Iverson still has not heard anything about a contract for next year, and he is starting to get a little worried. Instead of relaxing and enjoying his off-season, Allen Iverson has been spending a lot of time on the computer checking to see if there are any new developments. (See photos above and below) So far, there has not been much to report.

One more photo of Antoine Walker hanging out at Steve Francis' repair shop

All week long, Antoine Walker has been helping Steve Francis at the repair shop. Steve Francis is very happy about this, because he has been very busy. So far this week, the two NBA stars have fixed two cars and one truck, replaced the chain on a 10-speed bicycle, and repaired one broken vacuum cleaner. It has been a good week for business, but both players are looking forward to a relaxing weekend, and they hope that all the readers of the Overflow blog have one as well.

Steve Francis has a repair shop

In addition to being an NBA basketball player, Steve Francis owns and operates a repair shop. He fixes cars, trucks, bicycles, and small appliances. Sometimes Antoine Walker likes to hang around the shop and help out with the work. Today, the alien guy has brought his UFO in because it is having trouble starting in the morning (especially when the weather is cold).

Above: Steve Francis and Antoine Walker discuss the problem with the alien guy.

Below: The UFO.

Steve Francis and Antoine Walker have different ideas about what might be wrong with the UFO. Steve Francis thinks that starter motor is bad and will need to be replaced. Antoine Walker believes that it is just the starter solenoid that is faulty and not the entire starter. The only way to find out is to open the UFO up, so they both get to work.

Above and below: Steve Francis and Antoine Walker try to diagnose the problem.

Above and below: More pictures of the two NBA players working on the UFO.

Below: Steve Francis uses his jack hammer.

While Steve Francis and Antoine Walker are busy fixing the UFO, they do not notice that they are being spied on. (See photo below) Gary Payton and Vince Carter are trying hard to get a glimpse of the UFO and the alien guy. They have been tracking the movements of the UFO for several days, but they have not told anybody about what they have seen because of a promise they made to Dirk Nowitzki.

Below: Gary Payton uses the binoculars to try to get a closer look.

The UFO is now all fixed and Steve Francis, Antoine Walker, the alien guy, and the pig are standing around the repair shop enjoying ice-cold sodas. In the end, Steve Francis is correct -- the entire starter has to be replaced, not just the solenoid. This is bad news for the alien guy, because that costs more money, but Steve Francis does his best to give him a break on the price.