It’s that time of year again, where love is brewing in the air.  We’re talking about the love of the game.  No disrespect to the thousands of cards, flowers, chocolates, and all that other lovey-dovey, Valentine’s Day related propaganda which sure enough contribute to a love-filled holiday weekend.  Coincidentally, the weekend of love this year, February 12-14, 2010, surrounds itself around largely anticipated NBA All-Star action, as historically, this is the first NBA All-Star game which will take place on actual Valentine’s Day.  So please excuse the excess of adrenaline and rising temperatures…

Here are the top 30 reasons we’re riled up about the 2010 NBA All-Star weekend: (Special thanks to contributors, pointgod, D&K!)

30. D-League All-Star game.

29. Brandon Jennings’ hair. If he keeps this up, he’s definitely going into our hair hall of fame.

28. A dunk that outdoes this one by the ‘Air up there’ or perhaps a tribute to the classic windmill.

27. Dunks, dunks, and more dunks: technique vs props. Nice to see some who will bring back just pure dunk technique, athleticism, and power to go up against some who like to use clever props.

26. Reunited and it feels so good. Horry and Fox back together in the Celebrity All Star Game.

25. Mark Cuban literally “in” the game. We all know he’s always been in the game, now, his first appearance in the Celebrity Game.

24. Shaq not being an all-star. Now he can focus more on his Shaq vs. reality show.

23. Waiting to see if the rest of the east does a “freeze out” of Iverson. Dude doesn’t belong there and everyone but him knows it.

22. Potential first upset in Rookie challenge since 2000.

21. Some crazy dance moves by Shakira.

20. A surprise all-star appearance by the MVPuppets? Are we tired of them yet?

19. Which NBA player will have enough balls to bring a gun with them? (we kid, we kid, please don’t fine us.) The commish would like for you to leave all weaponry at home.

18. Hosted at the all new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, “because everything is bigger in Texas”. Can they really sell out Dallas stadium? Those cheap seats are going to be terrible.

17. Speaking of the stadium, a contributor thinks the 3-point contest is going to be the lowest score ever. Depth perception in such a large place is waaay different than a normal arena.

16. But I’m relying on Gallinari to disprove that theory.

15. The number of times they’ll show Dwight Howard in his Adidas tanktop. (This comes from one of our female contributors.)

14. Alicia Keys (This comes from one of our male contributors)

13. Kevin Durant defending his H-O-R-S-E title.

12. Brandon Jennings in the Skills challenge.

11. Speaking of Skills challenge, why does Taco Bell Skills Challenge sounds soooo weird?

10. 10 years of NBA on TNT – congratulations to Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley.

9. Haven’t been this excited about the all-star lineup since ’91.

8. First time All-stars: Welcome, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Al Horford, Gerald Wallace, and Zach Randolph.

7. Trade Rumors. Amar’e to the Nets? Ray Allen to the Heat? McGrady to the Wizards? We’ll see what else unfolds.

6. Announcement of the TNT All-Decade Team. Vote now for the best individual performance of the last decade.

5. The Shoes.

4. Let DeMar DeRozan Dunk because he’s got 99 problems but dunks ain’t one.

3. Let Shannon Dunk.

2. One year closer to the All-Star Game in LA next year. (Editor bias. Yes, we’re from LA.)

1. $ on LeBron for All Star MVP. Because he wants the “best in league” title from Kobe.

What are YOU pumped up for?  Let us know!