I love the MLB All-Star Game. There is no other way to express my feelings about one event. It is the game I look forward to, year after year.

     Known as the Mid-Summer Classic, it is usually held on a Tuesday in July, sometime after the teams have reached 81 games played. The American League, the Junior Circuit, is pitted against the National League. While the game itself is nothing more than an exhibition game, memorable moments from prior contests are aplenty.

     I look at the NBA All-Star Game--a lot of showboating, dunking, flinging of 3 pointers, with little defense shown by either the East or the West teams. The game was so devoid of excitement that the NBA decided to make the 2018 affair a pickup game--two stars would select players to fill out a roster. Which failed to create any more excitement, defense or suspense. There are some memories--like Magic Johnson returning to the court in 1992 as All-Star after being diagnosed as HIV-Positive and winning the M.V.P. award comes to mind, a number of overtime games, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant sharing M.V.P. honors in 2009 or the record 108,000+ who attended the 2010 game in Cowboys Stadium.

     The brainchild of NBA Commissioner Walter Podoloff, Boston Celtics owner Walter Brown and PR Haskell Cohen, the 1951 game was intended to generate interest in the league like the MLB game did.  The first game, held in Boston, drew 3,500 interested souls. While now there is certainly a fervor about the NBA All-Star Weekend, which includes a Rising Stars game, a 3 point contest, a slam dunk contest and a skills competition which is way beyond it beginnings, to me, it fails to rise to the level of intensity that the MLB stars play at. The NBA All Star Game is not my cup of tea.

     I am even less enthused about the NFL Pro Bowl Game. A post-season event, when the players are tired, longing for some relaxation to heal their bodies after the grueling season, there are few great recollections of this game. As meaningless as All Star games are, the Pro Bowl is totally meaningless--unless a player succumbs to injury. I liked the format of the College All Stars playing the previous year's champs in Chicago's Soldiers Field which ended in 1976. There was a team to root for--the underdog collegians or the NFL.  In 1958 the College All Stars defeated the Detroit Lions and in 1963 the Green Bay Packers lost to the youngsters. Now too much is at stake for the collegians to beat the pros and no one associated with the league wants to see first round draft choices exposed to too much hitting at the outset of their fledgling careers.

     Hockey has just as much a nonsensical  showcasing of its stars as the NBA All Star Game. There is no checking or hitting, allowing for high scoring affairs. The origins of the NHL All Star games started in the 1930's  as benefits for injured stars like Ace Bailey of Toronto and Howie Morenz of Montreal. In 1946-47 the NHL started the real All Star games with the First and Second Team All-NHL players against the defending Stanley Cup champion. The NHL went through many machinations to its present state of four all star teams competing against each other.

     No NHL All-Star Games were held in Olympic years for good reason--the league shut down when so many players competed for their respective countries. My attendance at the NHL events were two fold--I went to the 1979 Challenge Cup at Madison Square Garden where the Soviet Union Red Army squad dominated the NHL All Stars, winning the three game set 2-1; and I went to an open practice at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, NJ prior to the 36th contest.

     That's it. I have no desire to go to any more of those phony, gimmicky weekends the NFL, NBA and NHL hold. Because it is baseball, and only baseball's greats who I want to see.

     The first MLB All Star Game originated in Chicago in 1933. To date, the 88 games played have resulted in this statistic--each league has won 43 games, with 2 others ending in ties. Either league has had long winning streaks and periods of dominance. The AL won 12 of the first 16 games. Then the NL won 33 of the next 42 games with 1 tie through 1987, which included winning 19 out of 20 from 1963-1982. Since 1988, the AL has been resurgent, winning 23 of 30 with 1 tie. The game was held in alternating years in an AL park then an NL park as host (except that in 2016 the AL was designated as the home team at Petco Park in San Diego because the year before the game was held in Cincinnati, an NL park and then the 2017 edition was awarded to Miami, another NL ballpark).

     My own first memory of the MLB All Star Game came with the 1957 contest at the old Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals. I can still visualize, on my family's black and white TV screen, the teams lining up on the foul lines, with the packed house of 30,963 showering adoring cheers upon the Cardinals' players as they were introduced--the crowd was especially loud for Stan Musial, the Cards' extraordinary hitter now enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I can remember nothing more, as I was 6+ years old. For the record, the AL won, 6-5.

     But the bug had bitten me and I was smitten with the All Star Game. So I was again seated before my TV in 1958, watching the teams line up in Baltimore, where the host AL won again, this time 4-3. Yankees' announcer Mel Allen did the play-by-play on NBC and the Vice President of the United States, Richard Nixon, threw out the first ball. I recall the Yankees dominated the roster--my hero, Mickey Mantle, Elston Howard, Bill (Moose) Skowron and White Ford--were there. Yankees' manager Casey Stengel piloted the team against Fred Haney of the Milwaukee Braves; that was when I learned that the managers from the previous World Series teams would lead the two squads. I also recalled the Braves' left hander Warren Spahn was the NL starting pitcher, facing another Yankees' favorite, Bullet Bob Turley.

     MLB tinkered a bit with the All Star Game from 1959 through 1962. There were two games held in each year. In 1959, both games were held in NL parks--the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the then home of the Dodgers, and Forbes Field, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh campus (fun fact--part of the left field wall from Forbes Field was retained and sits behind a cluster of buildings which include Pitt's law school). I have no recollection of the games, which the AL won 5-3 in LA, while the NL triumphed 5-4 in Pittsburgh.

     It was the AL's turn to host in 1960. The first contest was held at the Kansas City Memorial Stadium, home of the Athletics. Game 2 was two days later, this time at Yankee Stadium. The AL starters included Mantle, Yogi Berra, making his 14th appearance as the catcher, Roger Maris and Moose Skowron. Bill Momboquette from Boston faced the Pirates' Bob Friend, who had previously started the 1958 game. Musial led the NL, as the Cardinals' star was on his 18th squad; also there was Henry Aaron of the Braves and Willie Mays, then an 8 time All Star.

     The NL won in KC by a 5-3 score, led by a 3 run first inning and homers from perennial All Star catcher Del Crandall of the Braves and Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame Chicago Cubs' star. In New York, the NL routed the AL 6-0 with 4 homers. This was Willie Mays' first trip back to New York since the Giants had left, which was part of the fanfare surrounding the game. Mays singled off of the Yanks' White Ford in the first inning and then homered in the third inning. Future Hall of Famers Eddie Matthews and Musial also homered. It was Boston's Ted Williams' 19th and final All Star game. A paltry 38,362 attended the midweek day game. Those who came gave rousing cheers to their Yankees and to Mays. Mel Allen handled the play-by-play with the Dodgers' Vin Scully, a New York native and Fordham University graduate; As Mel might have said, "How about that! What a duo!!"

     Game 1 of the 1961 season took place at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, another day game. The affair lasted 10 innings with Stu Miller the winner for the NL and Hall of Fame knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm absorbing the loss. What was memorable was the ovation Willie Mays received from the partisan Giants fans; and home runs into the fierce wind by Hall of Fame slugger Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins and countered by an enormous blast from George Altman of the Cubs. But the game is most known for the wind-aided balk that Miller incurred, when a powerful gust of wind moved him off of the pitching rubber.

     Game 2 in 1961 is famous for being the first tie. Rocky Colavito homered over the Green Monster of Fenway Park in the 1st inning. Red Sox pitcher Don Schwall gave up all 5 NL hits and the lone run.

     The first game of the 1962 duo was held at D.C. Stadium. President John F. Kennedy threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Arch Ward Trophy was awarded to the M.V.P. of each game; Ward founded the All Star game in Chicago. Dodgers' speedster Maury Wills ran his way to the trophy. Leon "Daddy Wags" Wagner, an outfielder with the expansion Los Angeles Angels helped the AL break a 5 game slide.

     I do not remember the 1963 game in Cleveland, when MLB reverted back to the one game per year rule. I do recall the 1964 game from Shea Stadium in Queens, the home of the New York Mets. I was in Las Vegas with my family and I found a projection screen at the Talley Ho Hotel, the forerunner to the Aladdin Hotel, a venue my family frequented a lot on our trips across the U.S. I remember the colorfully jacketed Lindsay Nelson, the voice of the Mets handled the telecast. Ron Hunt, the second baseman for the Mets, a guy who set records for getting hit by a pitch, was an NL starter and received an enormous reception. However, the show was stolen by Johnny Callison of the Phillies, who hit a walk off homer over the auxiliary scoreboard in right field to win it for the NL, 7-4.

     1965 is noteworthy in that the winning managers from the AL and NL were not with their respective teams. Yogi Berra had been fired by the Yankees. Johnny Keane, who led the Cardinals over New York, was now the Yankees' manager. Thus the second place skippers--Gene Mauch of Philadelphia and Al Lopez of the White Sox were the managers. A further embarrassment was avoided because Fred Hutchinson's Reds tied the Phillies for second place in the NL; Hutchinson had died after the 1964 season, so the NL did not have to choose who would manage the squad. The NL hung on to win the game 6-5, with a save by Hall of Famer Bob Gibosn of St. Louis, who struck out hometown hero Killebrew and the Yankees' Joe Pepitone, he of the longish hair, to end the game.

     I did not see the 1966 game, held at the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis. However, we actually drove by the ballpark on I-44 while it was going on, and I listened Jim Simpson and Tony Kubek describe the action.

     1967 in Anaheim, California was known for the 15 innings that the game took, dominated by pitching off of a higher mound. Dick Allen smashed a home run off of the Angels' Dean Chance in the second inning. Hall of Fame 3B Brooks Robinson of Baltimore matched Allen's homer in the 6th inning. Cincinnati's Tony Perez hit the game-winning homer in the 15th inning off of Jim "Catfish" Hunter--both would later be enshrined in Cooperstown.

     1968 had its share of moments. The NL won, 1-0, with no RBI's in the game. It was the first late afternoon game and the first indoor game, as the Houston Astrodome was the site.

     I remember the downpour which caused the 1969 game in D.C. at re-named R.F.K. Stadium to be postponed to the next afternoon. Larger-than-life "Stretch," Giants' Hall of Fame 1B Willie Mc Covey, hit 2 HR's and Hall of Fame OF Carl Yazstrezemski of Boston made a heroic catch to save the AL from surrendering more 9 runs in the 9-3 beat down. New York Yankees' ace Mel Stottlemyre started the game because the Tigers' Denny Mc Lain was late in arriving back in D.C. on his own plane.

     1970 was special in that it was the first prime time game; that Riverfront Stadium was opened only two weeks prior to the game; and this was the game where the Reds' Pete Rose bowled over Ray Fosse of Cleveland to score the winning run, ruining Fosse's career in the process. The Rose and Fosse families had dined together the previous night

     Reggie Jackson was the highlight of the 1971 game at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Pinch hitting for teammate Vida Blue, the Oakland slugger hit a ball off of the light tower on the roof of the right field grandstand, propelling the AL to a rare win. 13 Hall of Famers were on the NL team; 9 were on the AL squad.  Six of the Hall of Famers homered in the game. Both managers (Sparky Anderson and Earl Weaver) and one coach (Walter Alston) were voted into the Hall of Fame.

     Tug Mc Graw, the father of country singer Tim Mc Graw, and a relief pitcher for the Mets, was the winning pitcher when the NL won in extra innings at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in 1972. Henry Aaron thrilled the home crowd with a homer.

     To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first All Star Game, some surviving stars from the game in Chicago were on hand. It was Willie Mays' 24th and last ASG. 19 Hall of Famers including managers and an umpire, Nestor Chylak, were involved in this game. Catfish Hunter was struck on his hand by a liner from future Hall member Billy Williams of the Cubs, causing Hunter to miss two weeks of the season.

     The big event in 1974 was that Steve Garvey of the Dodgers was elected to the NL squad by virtue of a write-in campaign.

     In 1975, the game was held in Milwaukee County Stadium. Thus County Stadium joined Sportsman's Park in St. Louis and Shibe Park in Philadelphia as the three places where two different franchises were hosts. Honorary Captains were also named for the first time: Mickey Mantle for the AL and Stan Musial for the NL.

     For the country's bicentennial, the 1976 game was in Veterans' Stadium in Philadelphia. Philadelphia also hosted the NBA and NHL All Star games and the NCAA Final Four that year. Of note, Mark "The Byrd" Fidrych, a zany rookie pitcher for the Detroit Tigers started for the AL and Phillies' Hall of Famer Robin Roberts was an Honorary Captain. Former Washington Senators broadcaster then working in New York, Warner Wolf, was in the booth for ABC.

     The Seattle Kingdome was the locale for the 1979 affair. Dave Parker of Pittsburgh won the M.V.P. award for his throwing out toe runners at third base and at home plate. Lee Mazzilli of the Mets hit a pinch homer in the 8th inning to tie the game and in the 9th inning he drew a bases loaded walk off of the Yankees' Ron Guidry to give the NL the lead for good.

     Dodger Stadium introduced the first large screen video scoreboard in the 1980 game. The ABC crew was Keith Jackson, Al Michaels, Don Drysdale and the acerbic Howard Cosell. Only Cosell would be frustrated repeatedly during the broadcast as he did not have enough airtime to suit his pompous yet entertaining ego.

     Due to the players' strike, the 1981 ASG was held in Cleveland in August. The 72,086 who showed up is the largest crowd to attend an All Star contest.

    Montreal hosted the 1982 game, making it the first outside of the US. Four Expos contribute to the NL's 4-1 win. Cosell was back in the booth for ABC. His French was not too good.

     The 50th anniversary game in 1983 returned to its roots at Comiskey Park in Chicago on July 6th, the same date as the first one. Fred Lynn hit the only grand slam in ASG history, leading the AL to a rare victory.

     Back in San Francisco for 1984, the NL won behind clutch hitting from M.V.P. and Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter. Mexico's favorite son, Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers, struck out three Hall members in the fourth inning--Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson and George Brett. One inning later, 19 year old Dwight Gooden also stuck out 3 AL'ers.

     Roger Clemens of the Red Sox started and went 3 scoreless innings in 1986 in his hometown of Houston, throwing 21 strikes and only 3 balls. Valenzuela struck out 5 consecutive batters, tying him with the great Carl Hubbell who, in 1934, struck out legends Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons.

     Anaheim in 1989 was where football/baseball player Bo Jackson smashed a monstrous home and made a great fielding play en route to the game M.V.P. award. Doc Severinson and the Tonight Show Band performed both anthems and Disney characters were present. An addition to the TV booth was former sportscaster turned President, Ronald Reagan, who assisted Vin Scully during the first inning.  Philadelphia 3B Michael Jack Schmidt, as Harry Kalas, the famous Phillies' broadcaster used to call him, was voted into the NL starting lineup but retired a few weeks before the game was played. He participated in the opening ceremonies in uniform, to tremendous adulation.

     Ernie Banks threw out the 1990 first ball at Wrigley Field, which now had lights. There were two Greg Olsons in the game--pitcher Gregg from Baltimore and catcher Greg representing the Braves.

     The AL defeated the NL 4-2 in Toronto in 1991. The winning pitcher was from the Blue Jays and the losing pitcher was from Montreal. Such irony.

     Beloved Phillies Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Steve Carlton and Jim Bunning tossed out the 1996 ceremonial first pitches at the Vet. World Series M.V.P. Joe Carter, whose hit defeated the Phillies in the 1993 World Series was soundly booed, a time honored Philadelphia tradition. Ironman Cal Ripken, Jr., in the midst of his consecutive game streak, broke his nose in the pre-game warmups and still played SS for the AL.

     Cleveland's Sandy Alomar, Jr. became the first player in ASG history to win the ASG M.V.P. award in his own ballpark in the 1997 game. Larry Walker and Randy Johnson, both former Expos' teammates, faced each other in an at bat. Johnson, who had hit the 100 m.p.h. mark with his fastball and had a nasty slider, threw over Walker's head for fun. Walker responded by turning his batting helmet around then entering the opposite batter's box, facing the lefty Johnson as right-handed hitter. Ultimately, Walker walked.  This was not the first time Johnson fired a pitch over an ASG player's head; in 1993 hr did it to the Phils' Jon Kruk, who meekly struck out.

     With a starting lineup featuring 5 Hall of Famers and Alex Rodriguez, whose status was jeopardized by his steroid use, the AL used homers by A-Rod and and Roberto Alomar along with 19 hits in hitter friendly Coors Field in Denver to overwhelm the NL in 1998; the NL also offered 5 Hall of Famers as starters. This is the highest scoring game in All Star history. The AL winning pitcher was Bartolo Colon who, incredibly, is still active today as a pitcher with the Texas Rangers.

     Maybe the most emotional game in ASG history took place in 1999 at Fenway Park. The nominees for the All-Century Team and all time great Ted Williams were there. Williams threw out the first pitch after being announced to the Fenway partisans that he was the greatest hitter of all time. Every great in attendance mobbed the frail, aged Williams, surrounding the mound. Additionally, Boston's Hall of Famer, Pedro Martinez, became the only pitcher in ASG history to strike out the side in the top of the first inning. His NL counterpart on the mound, and losing pitcher, was Curt Schilling. Schilling and Martinez were the 1-2 punch on Boston's 1994 World Championship team.

     At Safeco Field in Seattle in 2001, A-Rod, the starting AL shortstop, pushed Cal Ripken, Jr. over from 3B to play short in Ripken's 19th and final All Star appearance. The players and fans gave Ripken a standing ovation. Ripken singled off former Mariner Randy Johnson and stole second base in the bottom of the 1st inning. In the 3rd inning, the Orioles' number 8 launched a home run over the left field fence, garnering another standing ovation and his second M.V.P. award.

     A 7-7 tie in 2002 led to the games from 2003-16 being played determine home field advantage for the AL or NL representative in the upcoming World Series. All-Star Fan Vote was inaugurated with this game; Johnny Damon of Boston and Andrew Jones of Atlanta were chosen by the fans to participate in the game.

     The 70th anniversary game in 2003 came back to Chicago. U.S. Cellular Field had been constructed next to the original site of Comiskey Park. Garret Anderson of the Angels won the Home Run Derby on the previous night then collected the M.V.P. award for a 2 for 4 performance which included a double, a homer and 2 R.B.I. to lead the AL to a win.
   
     Game number 75 in 2004 saw Roger Clemens give up 6 runs in one inning for the first time in his career--no less than in his home town of Houston. With the AL hitting for the cycle in the first inning against Clemens,  the AL thrashed the NL. An oddity occurred with Carlos Beltran. He had been selected to start in the outfield for the AL while a member of the Royals. Kansas City traded him to Houston weeks before the game and Beltran made the NL roster as an injury replacement.

     NL starting pitcher Brad Penny of Miami struck out the trio of Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter and David Ortiz in the top of the first inning at beautiful PNC Park in Pittsburgh. With the two top closers in MLB history pitching, the AL stung Trevor Hoffman of San Diego to take a 3-2 lead in 2006. Maraino Rivera, the all-time saves leader and a certain Hall of Famer, shut down the NL to preserve the win.

     With Suzuki more than redeeming himself and hitting the only inside-the-park home run in ASG history, the AL triumphed in 2007 at AT&T Park, San Francisco's replacement for Candlestick Park.

      President Barack Obama was present to throw out the first pitch at the newest incarnation of Busch Stadium in St. Louis. He joined Joe Buck and Tim Mc Carver on the FOX Network's coverage for the 2nd inning. This was the fastest ASG, lasting 2 hours and 31 minutes in a 4-3 AL victory, giving the New York Yankees home field advantage in the 2009 World Series.

      On July 13, 2010, a moment of silence was held for George Steinbrenner, the mercurial owner of the New York Yankees, who had died earlier that day. The NL won the game in Anaheim, giving the NL the home field for the first time since 2001. AL manager Joe Girardi created a bit of controversy by not pinch hitting A-Rod in the last gasp for the AL. This followed Girardi not removing the slower David Ortiz for a pinch runner earlier in the ninth inning--Ortiz was thrown out attempting to advance after a base hit.

     A 5 run outburst off of Justin Verlander, then the Tigers' ace, led to an NL 8-0 victory in 2012 in Kansas City. San Francisco's Melky Cabrera was named M.V.P.; later in his career, Cabrera would be suspended for a substance abuse violation.

     2013 featured Mariano Rivera's last appearance in an All Star Game. When he jogged towards the mound in the 8th inning at Citi Field, home to the crosstown rival Mets, Rivera received a long and loud standing ovation from the crowd and from the players on both teams. He was named M.V.P.

     At Target Field in Minneapolis, the AL took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st on the strength of  a Derek Jeter double, a triple by 2014 game M.V.P. Mike Trout and a home run by Miguel Cabrera. All three will head to the Hall of Fame, Jeter soon and Trout and Cabrera upon retirement.

     Pete Rose, a cherished member of the Cincinnati Reds' World Champions in the 1970's and the all-time MLB hits leader as well a 13 time All Star with the Reds, and who had been banned from baseball for gambling, was permitted to participate in the Cincinnati festivities in 2015. Alongside former teammates Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Barry Larkin, Rose received a standing ovation from his hometown fans. In the game, Mike Trout again was named theM.V.P., having led off the 2015 game with a homer and scoring two 2 runs while reaching base 3 times.

     Another standing ovation was given in 2016, this time to "Big Papi," David Ortiz, the Red Sox slugger. The AL won the contest 4-2, with Eric Hosmer of Kansas City garnering M.V.P. honors.

     In case you forgot it, Seattle's Robinson Cano hit a 10th inning homer to win last year's game in Miami. Cano is now suspended by MLB for using a banned substance.

     So that is the lengthy recollection of the All Star games I have any memory of.  Except for two: 1997 and 2008.

     In 1977, I was in the upper left field stands at the refurbished Yankee Stadium. Having watched the NL batting practice prior to the game and seeing Greg Luzinski of Philadelphia nearly hit a ball over the wall behind the left field bleachers, I was in a festive mood. The pageantry on the field along with the introductions of the players was everything I enjoyed watching on TV, yet even better. Rachel Robinson, the widow of Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier, threw out the first pitch. I cheered Yankees' Willie Randolph, Thurman Munson, Greg Nettles, Rich (Goose) Gossage, Sparky Lyle and Reggie Jackson and booed former Met Tom Seaver as loudly as the din inside the Stadium would allow. The AL had 6 Hall of Famers in the starting lineup. Yet it was another Hall of Famer, the NL's Joe Morgan, who swatted Jim Palmer's sixth pitch into the short right field stands. Palmer surrendered two more homers, a 2 run shot to Luzinski and a solo homer from the Dodgers' Steve Garvey. Seaver was roughed up by the AL, to the delight of Yankees fans. Although the NL won 7-5, it was a thrill of lifetime.

     Until 2008, when the All Stars came to the old Yankee Stadium for the last time. Through a friend, my son and I secured 2 precious seats in the second row behind the AL dugout, directly behind Al Roker of NBC and his wife, Deborah Roberts, of ABC. I literally could reach out to the field and touch someone. Jeter, A-Rod entered the field and returned to the dugout right in front of me. I could hear some of the comments that the AL players were making. Al and Deborah asked some questions about strategy which I answered. The first pitch was thrown simultaneously by Yankees Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson and Goose Gossage. Starters for the AL took their positions flanked by the 49 living Hall of Fame members, each lined up at their positions, with a Stealth Bomber fly over. Sheryl Crow performed the Star-Spangled Banner. There was Chipper Jones from the Atlanta Braves; Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, Chase Utley of the Phillies and David Wright of the Mets on the NL squad. Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Mark Texieira and A-Rod were my Yankees; Joe Maurer of the Twins; David Ortiz, Kevin Youklis, Jonathan Paplebon, Manny Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia from Boston (all booed vociferously). Josh Hamilton, who put on a great performance in the Home Run Derby with a round of 28 homers only to peter out and lose the title to Justin Morneau of the Twins; and Ichiro (that's how good he was--he only needed a first name reference) added to the luster of the AL team.

     The game was dubbed maybe the best ASG ever. It lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes, prompting Derek Jeter to remark that ..."the Stadium didn't want it to end." Because of work and train schedules, we left at nearly 12:30 a.m. on July 15th. The AL won in the 15th inning as I was on a train in New Jersey, heading home from the game of my life. I may have been a zombie in court on so little sleep, but I had an ear-to-ear grin on my face and floated through the day--as well I should.

     I know that I wrote a tome about the MLB All-Star Game. Know that I couldn't help myself. I am still a child inside an adult's body when it comes to the Mid-Summer Classic. I could recount even more highlights which happened before I became enthralled with this event, but it is truly unnecessary.

     Hopefully, you started out with the Home Run Derby on Monday. It was a great prelude to the next day's action. Kudos to Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hopkins, Max Muncy and Bryce Harper. Harper won 19-18 over the Cubs' Schwarber in an epic battle. Bryce's dad pitched to him; the Nationals' fans exuberantly cheered him to the victory.

     If this was a portend of things go come, then don't miss the pomp and circumstance involved with the game itself. Especially in our Nation's Capital. After all, it is the MLB All-Star Game. Unlike any others.