Baseball Does It Better

Once again Major League Baseball does a superior job at conducting their All-Star Game festivities. The way MLB does it is far and away the best out of any and all sports. This league has mastered the all-star game. All other leagues should take notice. So what can we really take away from how MLB succeeded with yet another All-Star Game?

Get the Legends of the Game Involved

Other sports try to do this during their all-star festivities, but the MLB really takes the cake here. The Franchise Four was just the perfect amount of time and recognition and it was truly special. Seeing the best four living players (although I would have had Frank Robinson) together at the same time was an unforgettable moment. It was topped off by having the legendary Sandy Koufax throw to the legendary Johnny Bench for the 1st pitch. These are moments you do not forget and should not forget. It is unforgettable, because they find a way to do it every year in a different way. There was this moment, there was the 1999 moment with Ted Williams and the All-Century team and so many others. You have to engage the legends in new and exciting ways.

The NFL tries to do this with the Hall of Fame announcement, but they are often players that just retired a few years ago and it just does not have the same feel. The legends need to be engaged more and in different ways each year. Not just trotting Deion and Jerry out there every year, but we do love us some PrimeTime.

NBA tries to do this as well with their All Star Saturday Night, but there is a better way to do that and MLB has shown us the way. I'd love to see Oscar Robertson there with Jordan and Magic rather than seeing if Sean Elliot can hit a halfcourt shot in some meaningless contest.

Start to Pass The Torch

Baseball has some fantastic young stars in Buster Posey, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Joc Pederson, and so many more. These young stars show a true appreciation for the game and those that have come before them. During the baseball all-star weekend moreso than in the other sports you see these guys treasuring the legends of the game and soaking in knowledge. You saw the respect to Pujols this year given by Trout, Pederson and others. You saw Pederson's younger brother embracing his favorite player in Albert Pujols. You saw all of the players loving the Jeter sendoff, or the Rivera sendoff, or embracing the legends that are apart of the ceremony. Baseball players just really get the history of the game and appreciate it. Seeing Mike Trout win the MVP in Jeter's last all-star game and the torch really passed is a thing of beauty. You don't see that in the NBA or the NFL. In the NFL many stars sit out the Pro Bowl and in the NBA the players are entitled and think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Those sports need to embrace the change like MLB has in passing the torch to the young stars.

Make the Game Mean Something

Perhaps too much is on the line in the MLB All-Star Game. There might be no reason to have it decide homefield, but I love the fact that it does. I love it. The game means more. There is a more vested interest in watching it. Most importantly though, the players care about the game. That doesn't happen in the NBA or the NFL. However, in baseball, each and every person on the roster truly wants to win the game.
Meanwhile in the other sports it is a complete joke. The NBA players hardly play and the Pro Bowl has a completely different set of rules from a regular game. A different set of rules for the players that actually play. NBA and NFL players treat their games as a joke, but nobody does that in the MLB.

Make the Festivities More Exciting

This point is incredibly obvious, but baseball nailed it this year. They already had the most exciting night before the all-star game in sports with the HR Derby, but they improved it this year. They started timing the rounds and decreasing the incentive to take pitches. By doing this, they made the event flow better and got more action in a smaller time period. With everyone's short attention spans today, this was a terrific move by the league. The bracket format was also an exciting change because it made each head to head matchup drama filled. Maybe the NBA can go to a bracket format in their dunk contest. They sure could find ways to make their all-star game more exciting as could the NFL.

I am not saying that baseball is the best sport, but I'm not saying its not either. What I am saying is that the baseball all-star game and events around it blow the other leagues out of the water. I am saying that the NBA, NFL, and other leagues should try to find out why baseball's event is so great. They should be looking at these reasons why baseball is so successful at this event and try to duplicate what the MLB has done. Those two leagues can also have a successful all-star game, but they have to look at baseball's example. 

-Noland

Baseball and Softball at the Summer Olympics

From 1996 to 2008 Softball was an Olympic sport. Unfortunately, it was removed from the program for 2012 and 2016. This is an old story, but for those of you that have not heard it, it is an interesting one. The reason that softball was removed from the list of Olympic sports was that the United States was too dominant. The USA won 3 gold and 1 silver during that time frame and wasn't provided much competition especially towards the end, but I think it is incredibly dumb to remove the sport. We can't just drop the sport because the USA is winning all the time. Talk about taking your ball and going home, this is just an unwise decision.

No Jennie Finch gentlemen.

Not only was softball removed, but my favorite sport, baseball, was also removed. The best Olympic sport was removed for a different reason. There was no star power according to the IOC because of major league baseball. What? Do they realize we could have had Dylan Bundy this time around? Well, I guess they would have no idea since the decision was made in 2006, but it is still an unwise one. Baseball was one of the most competitively balanced sports in the Olympics. It is a worldwide game. Cuba won 3 of the 5 gold medals with the US and South Korea also winning. Australia, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela are all competitive. I think they could have kept it, but what can you do. Davey Johnson wouldn't have been able to manage this time around because he has the Nasty Nats to worry about. The European bias of the IOC seemed to be in play here as well. The Netherlands and Italy were the only teams from Europe to participate in multiple Olympics and neither team had a medal winner.

The international softball federation and the international baseball federation are putting together a joint effort to revive these sports as Olympic Sports by 2020. Rugby 7s and Golf were added in their place. The best golfers better be there to make up for the loss of baseball. We want Bubba. Oh, but it won't happen until 2016 for these sports so for now we will have an Olympics with two fewer sports in 2012. Enjoy.

-Noland