One of my high school history teachers, a certain Mr. Martin, used to announce that he went to church 50 weeks a year. He avoided the two remaining Sundays, nothing less than Christmas and Easter, for those who didn’t come on the other days to make room for them. Besides, he said, he didn’t want to worship with the uncommitted. He always drew a laugh from us about that, and my recollection is that he rarely drew laughs.
I feel the same way about the All-Star Game. It’s a useless distraction from the real game of local teams in a league and division battling for six months to see who can pull themselves up into the World Series. When a game of sport is played and the winner doesn’t really matter, it becomes entertainment.

I watch real games; the entertainment-oriented fans can take my spot for the All-Star Game.
I stand with the hard guys and gals on this one: sports games have one purpose — to win. (Not at all costs, and not cheating, but the goal is to win.)
I’ll spend my time doing something besides watching that useless display of individualistic talent and endless commentary about how good someone is. The commentary, anyway, reminds me of O.A.R. songs — all alike.
Right now the best team, which is what matters most, is the Detroit Tigers. They’ve surprised us all, as have the NY Mets. I’d rather watch the Mets play the Tigers than watch an All-Star game.
Join me in reading a good book that night.