All Star Games????????

Is it worthwhile to have All-Star games in professional sports? Also, is it beneficial to allow fans to vote for the starters in these All-Star games?

The NHL just had it's annual goal filled, uninspired, pond hockey game. A game that's intent is to showcase both the game and it's best players. Neither has been accomplished in many years. A 12-9 game like we saw this year is in no way reflective of what a good hockey game is supposed to be. Hockey is a sport in which emotion, hard work and toughness make for great teams and great games. The problem with the All-Star game is that there is no effort or desire to win and because of this there are no hits or even penalties (meaning no power play chances either)and absolutely no form of defence is played. Combine that with the fact that the players ( because they don't care) don't execute very well on the fundamentals. So really the NHL All-Star game is completely unnecessary. There are much better ways that the league can promote the sport and it's players. The NHL could have the defending Stanley Cup champion take on a European All-Star team or something to that effect after the season is over or just find a way to have a novelty game that also has some meaning.

Secondly it is completely unnecessary to allow fans to vote on the All-Star team. Too often players get voted in based on past credentials and not on their current seasons performance (ie Jonathan Cheechoo) which just speaks to the lack of knowledge that many of the fans voting have. If the teams were chosen by the coaches and players we would be more likely to see the best of the best every year. At the very least the fans should have to vote from a list compiled by coaches or scouts.

Now the NBA All Star game is approaching and there isn't a lot of reason to get excited about it either. How can any fan of basketball be excited to see a 201-200 game? There is such a lack of effort put forth by the players that they make their NHL counterparts seem as though they are trying. The NBA however does have an exciting atmosphere surrounding the game, but the game itself lacks any defence at all, so all fans see is the two teams trading shots back and forth which results in nothing more than a poorly played pickup game. As far as voting goes, the fans (as stated above) tend to vote for the big names rather than the best players for any given year. A perfect example of why fans should not be voting is that defending 2-time MVP (and going for a third this year) Steve Nash wasn't voted in as a starter. This just shows a complete lack of knowledge by the fans who cast their ballots.

Truly the same sentiments can be echoed for the Pro Bowl and the MLB All-Star game. However, at least in baseball the team that wins has home field advantage awarded to the team representing either the American or National League in the World Series. At least there is something at stake, but players still tend to not take the game all that seriously. In recent memory the fans have also done a fairly descent job in voting for the teams.

Still, there is no real need for these exhibitions in any of the professional sports leagues. Perhaps one day the people who run the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB baseball will come up with more entertaining and meaningful ways to showcase the best that their leagues have to offer. Maybe they will also ensure that if they are going to hold these lackluster "competitions", that the best players from that year will be represented.....................not just the most popular.