Nero would have been proud of how NBA players and officials dealt with the league's troubles at this weekend's All-Star Celebration -- by raising a glass, getting their groove on and then putting on the most entertaining-yet-competitive game in recent memory.

I've been to eight All-Star Games and none were more fun to watch, nor had more parties thrown in conjunction. Georgetown alum and game MVP Allen Iverson set a record by hosting a party every night, four nights running. That's a new twist, too, since the festivities previously began no earlier than Friday.

The two hottest invitations of the weekend were both Saturday night -- MJ's Hidden Beach Party and the NBA Players' Association bash. My D.C. contacts got me to the NBAPA fete at the Armory Fieldhouse ahead of the crush and zipped me through a backdoor past the George McGinnis lookalike wielding a metal-detection wand. Frankie Beverly had the joint jumpin' as only he can, followed by a 2:15 a.m. appearance by Snoop Doggy Dogg. The fieldhouse is huge, but they needed every bit of space for some 6,000 revelers.

"Believe it or not, the players' party used to be mostly players," said one former league official schwwwinging it. The players' presence was still felt, their heads floating above the undulating surface of other partyers -- I noticed Theo Ratliff, Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Oakley, Rip Hamilton, Olden Polynice and Pat Garrity. Sherm Douglas, Mark Jackson and Nick Van Exel were present but a little more difficult to spot in the throng.

Jordan's bash? That Mike hasn't been spending enough time in D.C. was apparent, since he rented the National Museum of Women in the Arts as his site, located on a downtown triangle that created a traffic and parking nightmare. Getting in was so tough that former Blazers forward Buck Williams and NFL star Bruce Smith were turned away. Word is MJ never showed.

I saw Snoop live and lived to tell about it. That was enough to make my all-star night.