Coming February 14th: The NBA All-Used-to-be-All-Stars Game!

Sorry for the delay. Work/life/exams got in the way this weekend (Derivatives, functions, and tangent lines better be key parts of broadcasting sporting events, otherwise my calculus exam will pretty much go to waste in the future...). Since last Monday lots has happened in the sports world. The Jets shocked everyone by beating the Chargers in San Diego to advance to their first AFC Championship Game since 1998. Nate Kaeding better be receiving a cut of the players' bonuses should New York make it to the Super Bowl. In tennis the Australian Open began in Melbourne. I know all of you anxiously wait all day for the tape-delayed reruns on ESPN. And in the NBA, LeBron James announced he won't participate in this year's Slam Dunk Contest, reneging on his promise last year that he would give it a go. But this week I'm concentrating on an interesting quote said by Celtics guard Ray Allen on fans getting all the say in who participates in the All-Star Game:

I like the fact that the fans get the opportunity to vote and pick who they'd like to see in the All-Star Game, but I don't think it should be 100 percent," said Allen.

The way he suggested to do it was have fans account for 50% of the votes, and players and the media each have 25% of the vote. This comes in light of the results released by the NBA which, to put it lightly, are not a reflection of this season. Yeah, some obvious names top the list, and deservedly so. Kobe, D-Wade, Melo, and LeBron are the top four vote-getters, which makes sense since they are the league's four best players. But some other names ridiculous, especially Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady. AI is actually starting for the Eastern Conference, even after playing in only 18 games, averaging 14.7 points for the 76ers. McGrady received over 1,000,000 votes, yet has played in 6 games this year, averaging a whopping 3 points, and is now refusing to play for the Rockets because of a lack of playing time. Iverson.I wholeheartedly agree with Allen: it's time to stop leaving All-Star voting entirely in the hands of fans in all sports, not just basketball. The All-Star Game is supposed to highlight all of the best players in the league. T-Mac and AI are by no means among the league's top players anymore, and to have them nearly be starting is ludicrous. But this issue goes far beyond the NBA. In every sport the All-Star Game is a popularity contest where the most recognizable names get in, not the best players. In the MLB last year Manny Ramirez was suspended just 29 games into the season for trying really, really hard to get pregnant testing positive for hCG, a women's fertility drug. Even with the suspension, though, he came awfully close to starting in the All-Star Game in St. Louis. On May 27th he was the 4th in votes in terms of outfielders, and he ended up 7th when voting ended on July 2nd. He finished ahead of Andre Ethier, the most clutch player in the majors last year with 6 walk-off hits, and Jayson Werth of the Phillies, who had a career year with 36 homers, 99 RBIs and 98 runs scored, to name a few. Clearly leaving this power in the hands of the fans is a mistake. If the powers that be were to give the media and players some say, those deserving of an All-Star nod would be the ones participating. Iverson (with 163,976 votes through Dec. 10th) would not have more votes than the Celtics' Rajon Rondo (113,371 votes), who is more important to his team than anyone else in the league. The Knicks David Lee, the most consistent 20-point-15-rebound-a-night guy in the league, would be second among centers in the Eastern Conference, not even coming close to getting the nod.

I realize that the leagues are a business, and the players are the products they are selling. If the fans want to see certain players, the league will more than oblige to it. But it's not fair to the players who don't trash talk or scored 50 points a night four years ago before injuries and an ego got in the way, yet are far more deserving than the McGradys and Iversons of the world. I know I would much rather want to watch Rondo and Lee play basketball the right way than McGrady and Iverson throw up fadeaway jumpers and not play defense. Baseball games are long enough. Basketball games are long enough. If I'm going to watch a meaningless, long-winded All-Star Game, at least give me the best players, instead of the most popular.