I love star-gazing.

What a wonderful experience it was this weekend, watching the stars shine.

I lay on my back Sunday night and looked through the skylight in my living room as the stars lined up in beautiful formations. They were even out Sunday afternoon soaring before my eyes.

These were not stars of gas and cosmic dust, but they were no less awe-inspiring. These were the stars of the National Basketball Association and the National Football League.

Michael Jordan was the brightest of the stars as he twisted through the stratosphere on his way to yet another gravity-defying performance. He walked away with the Most Valuable Player award Sunday afternoon after palming the slam-dunk championship Saturday, although his victory over Dominique Wilkins appeared to be fixed.

Basketball is more conducive to showcasing the brillance of the stars since it’s more of an individual sport in which a great player can pick up a ball and immediately make something happen.

Spectacular play after spectacular play kept the fans cheering and breathless at the same time. Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Isiah Thomas dished out assists to the left, right, over the shoulder and behind the back. New stars Lafayette Lever and Karl Malone made impressive debuts. Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, though his star has lost some of its luster, sky-hooked to another record. Perhaps the game should have been moved to the Adler Planeterium to give justice to the heavenly bodies.

The NFL Pro Bowl was comatose in comparison. As it usually is. That’s because pro football is the only major sport that waits until after the season is over to hold its All-Star contest. That makes it anticlimactic.

Many of the players have been couch potatoes for more than a month, and it showed as each team turned the ball over five times. Football is a pure team sport in which everything a player does is dependent on teammates doing their jobs. A week is not long enough for a football team to prepare from scratch.

But that’s OK, considering these exhibitions don’t mean much. Or do they?

Try telling Dennis Harrah of the Los Angeles Rams or Bill Maas of the Kansas City Chiefs that these games amount to nothing. They weren’t fighting like it was just another game. The AFC was probably getting sick of getting blown out of the Super Bowl every year. There is pride on the line. And money.

The NHL All-Stars tonight certainly won’t be pulling punches and/or checks. They want to win and prove to the other players that they deserve to be there. The money is good incentive, too.

Jordan and Co. from the East earned $2,500 apiece for their victory. The West players had to settle for $1,500 each and the satifaction of having watched Air Jordan do his stuff.

Not bad for an afternoon of having a great view of the Great Slammer.