So there were the 2004 Red Sox, filling the video scoreboard before tipoff, a stirring reminder of what might be.
Griffin had fans roaring before tipoff when he took a microphone and thanked them for their support.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Tuesday's game will come before tipoff.
Long before tipoff, a Lakers fan held up a "We Will Rise Again" sign as players took the court for pregame workouts.
The N.B.A. All-Star Game day commenced ninety minutes before tipoff with a press conference by a player who wasn't playing, Kobe Bryant.
— In the minutes before tipoff inside a sold-out Gampel Pavilion on Saturday, the lens focused, as it tends to, on Notre Dame point guard Skylar Diggins.
FORT WAYNE, Ind .— Two and a half hours before tipoff, before a single fan had entered the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and before she had donned her pink blouse, necklace and high heels, the player who once dared to dribble among men was making her case to be more than one of the guys.
By Thomas Beller February 17, 2014 The N.B.A. All-Star Game day commenced ninety minutes before tipoff with a press conference by a player who wasn't playing, Kobe Bryant.
After getting clearance to play about an hour before tipoff, Bryant wore a mask that didn't appear to affect the league scoring leader, who made nine of 10 free throws.
On game day, a few hours before tipoff, he eats a meal that involves chicken.
