There are times where the columns almost write themselves.
This is not one of those weeks.
There are a fair number of things I could write about, but none of them (in my opinion) enough to carry a full column, and I don’t want to do a Random Ramblings and use up topics that may grow up to be a column of their own in the future.
So, when in doubt, turn to the world of sports and some of the absurdities therein.
Case in point, yet another example of why the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is the only all-star game worthy of the title. The NBA held its annual shoot-around, which it calls an All-Star Game, and saw the West edge the East 192-182 in what was a not-unusual score for the event.
There is no defense in the NBA all-star game, as could be told by the score. This, even though at the end of the season they name an All-Defensive team.
The NHL usually competes with the NBA for the title of least defensive (I put it that way because most offensive could have a different meeting) all-star game, and for the same reason. Nobody makes the NHL All-Star Game on the basis of defence.
And, of course, the NHL has also found it necessary over the past few years to modify the rules of the All-Star Game to the point where it looks more like the road hockey games we used to have when only six or seven kids were available.
Don’t even get me started on the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which never features any of the players from the teams playing in the Super Bowl, because it’s held a week before the Super Bowl, and usually sees more players pull out for various reasons than actually play.
Then we come to baseball. The All-Star Game has been American League against National League since it started in 1933. The only concessions it has made to the regular rules of the game are relatively minor. The rosters have been expanded, partly to allow for more pitchers after the embarrassing tie game some years ago when both teams ran out of pitchers in extra innings, and partly because of the rule that every team has to have a representative.
Other than that, it’s nine guys in the field, most of whom know how to field their position, and nine guys at the plate, most of whom know which end of the bat to hold.
Is it any wonder there’s only one All-Star Game I usually make the time to watch?
