Tuesday, July 10, 2007
All-Star Games Need Some Help
Wow, that Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday night sure was great, wasn't it? The way that guy hit the ball, and those pitchers, and that one thing that was amazing -- it was all really, really good. Really.
Alright, our deadline is Tuesday, so I'm writing this before the game even happened. But I bet I had you going there for a minute.
My ridiculousness does bring up a valid point, however -- the various all-star competitions in professional sports. And specifically, which one of them is the best.
We'll start with the MLB All-Star Game, since it's still fresh in our minds. Overall, it's pretty decent -- the Home Run Derby adds a wrinkle to the proceedings that other sports can't necessarily match, but the game itself lacks something.
Gone are the days of Pete Rose running over Ray Fossey at home plate to score the winning run; most athletes today aren't even passionate enough to show up to an exhibition put on soley for the benefit of the fans. This year's Home Run Derby was pretty exciting, especially after the snoozer of a first round, but aside from Albert Pujols, there wasn't a bonafide superstar to be seen. I know guys like Matt Holliday and Magglio Ordonez are really good baseball players, but in a home run contest, don't most fans want to see players like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and maybe even Sammy Sosa? Alas, none were to be found, although most of them were actually in the stadium while the contest was happening. That's just not so cool.
And it carries over into the actual All-Star Game, despite the league's unique format in which the winning team's league has home-field advantage in the World Series. The only players who go all out are the young guys who have something to prove, and that's why players like Michael Young of the Rangers win the game's MVP award more often than the superstars.
By far the worst all-star event unfortunately comes from the country's most popular (well, second-most popular... we'll get to that in a second) league, the NFL.
The Pro Bowl has the potential to be pretty great, but one factor always makes it forgettable -- it happens after the season ends. We get all pumped up about the Super Bowl, and with good reason given the games in the past few years. But then we're expected to be enthused about an exhibition game where too many players (again with the lack of passion) decline the invitation? Throw in the fact that it's played in a completely foreign time zone and on that awful turf at Aloha Stadium and the collective yawn from the sports world is pretty deafening.
I suppose we should mention the NBA All-Star Game, but I'm a little bit afraid that I'm going to get shot if I do. Let's just say that the lack-of-passion issue comes up again, and if David Stern has even half a brain, he probably should never purposely send athletes who heavily promote a pseudo-gangster lifestyle to a place like Las Vegas ever again.
We find a bit of a bright spot with the NHL All-Star Game, mostly because the NHL really goes out of its way to cater to the fans for the all-star weekend. They have an exhibition game featuring the young stars of the league, then they hold a skills competition that is always lots of fun (if you can find the network carrying the coverage) before the actual All-Star Game even begins.
Once it does, the rules of the game are set up to allow for the stars to show off just how good they can be when they don't have a 250-pound goon hanging on their jerseys. The game is usually an offensive showcase and I, for one, am always impressed at how skillful the players are. Even the defensemen are way better skaters than you or I could ever hope to be.
But we save the best for last, and it should come as little surprise that the most entertaining all-star event in professional sports comes from the nation's No. 1 spectator sport -- NASCAR.
The Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge is basically what every non-NASCAR fan wishes NASCAR was on a weekly basis. For starters, only drivers who won a race the previous season qualify, along with two drivers who finish in the top two spots of the All-Star Open qualifying race and another driver who is voted in by the fans. Then, the race itself is broken up into four 20-lap segments and drivers in the back of the pack are eliminated at the end of the first two segments. When the race is finally decided, the winner takes home $1 millon, which is enough to make even the most successful drivers put a little extra heart into the race.
In this year's race, for example, brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch were battling for position late in the race, and when neither one gave any ground, they collided and wrecked each other's car. That doesn't usually happen in the typical weekly race.
Add to that the Pit Crew Challenge and the myriad of special paint schemes making their debut and it's easily the best all-star event in pro sports today.
-- -- --
But I'd also like to hear what you think about all-star games, even if I didn't mention your particular favorite.
So e-mail me at sports@valleycenter.com or check out the blog by visiting www.valleycenter.com and clicking on the "RR Blogs" link. You can even send me a response through the good old U.S. Postal Service if you'd like -- our address is PO Box 1529, Valley Center CA, 92082.
And if it's a really good response, we might just invite you to participate in an all-star blog commenting event to be held midway through the blog commenting season.
We're still working on that million dollar all-star prize, though.
Alright, our deadline is Tuesday, so I'm writing this before the game even happened. But I bet I had you going there for a minute.
My ridiculousness does bring up a valid point, however -- the various all-star competitions in professional sports. And specifically, which one of them is the best.
We'll start with the MLB All-Star Game, since it's still fresh in our minds. Overall, it's pretty decent -- the Home Run Derby adds a wrinkle to the proceedings that other sports can't necessarily match, but the game itself lacks something.
Gone are the days of Pete Rose running over Ray Fossey at home plate to score the winning run; most athletes today aren't even passionate enough to show up to an exhibition put on soley for the benefit of the fans. This year's Home Run Derby was pretty exciting, especially after the snoozer of a first round, but aside from Albert Pujols, there wasn't a bonafide superstar to be seen. I know guys like Matt Holliday and Magglio Ordonez are really good baseball players, but in a home run contest, don't most fans want to see players like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and maybe even Sammy Sosa? Alas, none were to be found, although most of them were actually in the stadium while the contest was happening. That's just not so cool.
And it carries over into the actual All-Star Game, despite the league's unique format in which the winning team's league has home-field advantage in the World Series. The only players who go all out are the young guys who have something to prove, and that's why players like Michael Young of the Rangers win the game's MVP award more often than the superstars.
By far the worst all-star event unfortunately comes from the country's most popular (well, second-most popular... we'll get to that in a second) league, the NFL.
The Pro Bowl has the potential to be pretty great, but one factor always makes it forgettable -- it happens after the season ends. We get all pumped up about the Super Bowl, and with good reason given the games in the past few years. But then we're expected to be enthused about an exhibition game where too many players (again with the lack of passion) decline the invitation? Throw in the fact that it's played in a completely foreign time zone and on that awful turf at Aloha Stadium and the collective yawn from the sports world is pretty deafening.
I suppose we should mention the NBA All-Star Game, but I'm a little bit afraid that I'm going to get shot if I do. Let's just say that the lack-of-passion issue comes up again, and if David Stern has even half a brain, he probably should never purposely send athletes who heavily promote a pseudo-gangster lifestyle to a place like Las Vegas ever again.
We find a bit of a bright spot with the NHL All-Star Game, mostly because the NHL really goes out of its way to cater to the fans for the all-star weekend. They have an exhibition game featuring the young stars of the league, then they hold a skills competition that is always lots of fun (if you can find the network carrying the coverage) before the actual All-Star Game even begins.
Once it does, the rules of the game are set up to allow for the stars to show off just how good they can be when they don't have a 250-pound goon hanging on their jerseys. The game is usually an offensive showcase and I, for one, am always impressed at how skillful the players are. Even the defensemen are way better skaters than you or I could ever hope to be.
But we save the best for last, and it should come as little surprise that the most entertaining all-star event in professional sports comes from the nation's No. 1 spectator sport -- NASCAR.
The Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge is basically what every non-NASCAR fan wishes NASCAR was on a weekly basis. For starters, only drivers who won a race the previous season qualify, along with two drivers who finish in the top two spots of the All-Star Open qualifying race and another driver who is voted in by the fans. Then, the race itself is broken up into four 20-lap segments and drivers in the back of the pack are eliminated at the end of the first two segments. When the race is finally decided, the winner takes home $1 millon, which is enough to make even the most successful drivers put a little extra heart into the race.
In this year's race, for example, brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch were battling for position late in the race, and when neither one gave any ground, they collided and wrecked each other's car. That doesn't usually happen in the typical weekly race.
Add to that the Pit Crew Challenge and the myriad of special paint schemes making their debut and it's easily the best all-star event in pro sports today.
-- -- --
But I'd also like to hear what you think about all-star games, even if I didn't mention your particular favorite.
So e-mail me at sports@valleycenter.com or check out the blog by visiting www.valleycenter.com and clicking on the "RR Blogs" link. You can even send me a response through the good old U.S. Postal Service if you'd like -- our address is PO Box 1529, Valley Center CA, 92082.
And if it's a really good response, we might just invite you to participate in an all-star blog commenting event to be held midway through the blog commenting season.
We're still working on that million dollar all-star prize, though.
Comments:
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Once again you bring up the motivation for NASCAR drivers… money. They have no loyalty to a city, or a team, but they race for coin. Don’t get me wrong, all sports are fueled in part by money, but in team sports players often have something else to play for. The baseball All-Star game, for example, is a time for players to represent and honor their teams and cities.
...and if you don’t think All-Star games are competitive anymore, you certainly didn't watch the AL vs. the NL this year.
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