The Best of the Best...Who Cares?

All-Star weekend is upon us. The very best of the NFL and NHL will showcase their skills in the annual Pro-Bowl and NHL All-Star game this Sunday. In theory, matching the elite of the elite in any form of competition, whether it be a cooking challenge (Top Chef is my favorite TV show by the way) or a game of Risk, should get any observer excited. However, I could essentially care less about the upcoming football game in Hawaii or the hockey game in Raleigh, and I believe most other American sports fans feel the same way.

The only All-Star game that I am remotely interested in each year is the Mid-Summer Classic, MLB's All-Star game. I can't quite pinpoint the reason why, but I think it might be a combination of a few things:
1) the game actually means something (more on that in a moment);
2) the sport itself is basically a collection of 1 on 1 matchups (pitcher vs. batter), and watching all these mini duels between the game's best is compelling;
3) it appears as though the players are actually trying to win;
4) baseball in general has a special place in my heart for nostalgic reasons, as it was the first sport I really followed at the professional level.

At the moment, the only All-Star game out of the big 4 American sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL) where the outcome has any importance is the MLB. Beginning in 2003, home-field advantage for the World Series was given to either the American League or National League's representative depending on which side won that year's All-Star game. Previously, home-field was alternated between the two leagues each year. Many argue that home-field advantage shouldn't be awarded in such a willy-nilly fashion, however I disagree. The current home-field advantage format of 2-3-2 began to be used regularly in the 1924 World Series. Since then, this format was followed in every year but three. The 1943 and 1945 World Series followed a 3-4 format due to World War II travel restrictions and there was no World Series in a strike-shortened 1994 season. In those 83 World Series, the team with home-field advantage has won 48 of them, which is slightly better than 57%. Home-field advantage in baseball is not as important as in other sports, so I think giving the MLB All-Star game some meaning in this fashion is warranted. Similar treatment of home-field advantage in the other three sports would be a mistake.

The Pro-Bowl stinks of players' apathy. As reported on the NFL's website this morning, the following players will not participate in the 2011 Pro Bowl due to "injury": Nnamdi Asomugha, Tom Brady, Lance Briggs, Dwight Freeney, Antonio Gates, DeSean Jackson, Andre Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Nick Mangold, Shaun O'Hara, Jason Peters, Ed Reed, Asante Samuel, Richard Seymour, Ndamukong Suh, Brian Urlacher, Patrick Willis and Kevin Williams will not play because of personal reasons. You can't really blame the players for not wanting to risk injury for a meaningless game. I think the Pro Bowl really has no chance to ever be popular. The nature of the game just won't allow it. I do think the Pro Bowl experience could be improved by adding some sort of skills competition to the Pro Bowl. The NBA has the Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Contest, the MLB has the Home Run Derby and the NHL has the All-Star skills competition. These contests are my favorite part of each of the sports' All-Star festivities. I think adding a QB Challenge (using kegs as targets of course) or a competition for punters where you have to punt the ball into some sort of target is a good idea, though it wouldn't help the actual Pro Bowl game itself.

I do have to say I am somewhat intrigued by the NHL's All-Star Game this year, as it is the first year for the All-Star Fantasy Draft. Captains for each side will select from a pool of players chosen by a combination of fan balloting and the NHL Hockey Operations Department. Eric Staal of the host Carolina Hurricanes will serve as captain of the aptly named "Team Staal," and along with his alternate captains, Washington's Mike Green and Vancouver's Ryan Kesler, will stage a draft against Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and his assistants Martin St. Louis of Tampa Bay and Chicago's Patrick Kane on "Team Lidstrom." However, I think I am more interested in the draft itself, rather than the actual game. The draft is Friday night at 8 EST on Versus in case you were wondering.

If my power and cable are restored by the weekend (a recent snow storm has left me in the dark since Wednesday), I'll be catching up on the Office, not watching the Pro Bowl or NHL All-Star Game.