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By Michael Lopez

As we all know, summer is a great time of year to travel Europe. It doesn't matter if you're a freewheeling college student or an NBA superstar, there is always a ton of cultural activities to immerse yourself in. And in Dwight Howard's case, that includes Spanish flamenco dancing and spirited fun with the locals.

The Orlando Magic center happens to be in Madrid right now, on a promotional tour for Adidas Basketball. And judging from the pix that were posted on Global Grind today, he seems to be having a fantastic time!

For an appearance on a Spanish talk show, Howard donned a red wig and threw out hilarious one liners en español. He also played games with the audience and shared his favorite basketball tips.

But perhaps the funniest Dwight pic to emerge from his Spain vacation has him dancing flamenco at a Madrid restaurant. Hand-in-hand with a Spanish señorita, the 6’ 11” baller towered over everyone on the dance floor.

Howard also made sure his Twitter followers were well aware of his exploits. Throughout the week, he posted.

"I don’t know Spanish!"

"u have to get everyone in Spain to follow me lol"

"man it was for fun. It's my life I can have fun with it. U only live once."

Which European country would you most like to visit this summer? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Adidas, basketball, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Dwight Howard, NBA, Orlando Magic, Spain, Sports

By Sharmaine Jones

Your votes are in! The NBA announced the starting lineups Thursday, Jan. 27, for the 2011 NBA All-Star game.

The most entertaining game of the NBA season will be held Feb. 20 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, so its befitting that Lakers guard Kobe Bryant earned the most votes, with more than 2.3 million. Bryant is no stranger to the All-Star game — he's won the All-Star MVP twice and this will make his thirteenth consecutive appearance.

New Orleans guard Chris Paul will join the vet in the Western Conference back-court; the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony and last year's scoring champion Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who is appearing in his first All-Star game, will man the forward positions; and the Houston Rockets' Yao Ming made the cut at center, but will miss the game because of an injury. NBA commissioner David Stern will announce Ming's replacement, but we're rooting for Minnesota Timberwolves' forward/center Kevin Love. He's well deserving after an impressive first half averaging 21.6 points and 15.7 rebounds.

Miami Heat teammates Dwyane Wade and LeBron James will represent the Eastern Conference at the guard and forward positions respectively, Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose will fill the other guard slot and Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard will play in the center position. New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire beat out Boston Celtics ' Kevin Garnett to claim the remaining forward position. Stoudemire was sure to tweet credit where credit is due:

“Thanks to all my Amazing fans, you guys have made this a special year in NY. All-Star isn't possible w/o my teammates. Thanks 2 my TEAMMATES”

Although we're excited to see the West avenge their 139-141 loss to the East last year, we're even more excited for this years Sprite Slam Dunk contest. Powerhouse dunker and rookie phenom Blake Griffin is set to contend, with the league's most popular player, Kobe Bryant, taking notice. Kobe tweeted:

“Got to say congrats on a break out game for @BlakeGriffin I'm watching big fella”

If Griffin dunks anything like does during actual games, basketball fans are in for a real treat!

Who did you vote for? Tell us in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags All-Star Game, Amare Stoudemire, basketball, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, NBA, Yao Ming