Maybe if they'd actually started...

Maybe if they'd actually started this game at 8 pm/ET as it was scheduled to, or even if they'd thrown the first pitch at 8:30 instead of close to 9, there might have been a small chance of it's ending by 11. And maybe then I wouldn't have had to see the commercial with Dontrelle Willis showing off his famous pitching kick a dozen or more times. As it was it ended close to 11:30, not including the mandatory postgame show. All for a game that's really just a fan event and means little in the larger scheme of things. Sure, the winning league gets home-field advantage for the World Series, and some serious bragging rights, but the odds of some of these players' ball clubs ever making it that far are slim to none, so what's their incentive? Especially since, with what looked like about 40 players on each team, is it really that much of an honor to be picked? Well, Oriole Miguel Tejada was honored with the MVP award. He hit the lead-off home run that started the American League on the road to their eighth straight victory. And in addition to his awe at his shiny trophy, there was a glimmer of genuine excitement when he saw the Corvette that Chevrolet gave him, so unique in a sport where you most often hear about the big-name players who get huge contracts. The rest of the game was littered with commentary from the announcers and hosts who were kings of stating the obvious, some of the player stats they were spouting seemed like they were for people who'd never watched a game before. Isn't this game for the fans? I'm so confused. Anyway, there was some crowd booing as Kenny Rogers no, not THAT Kenny Rogers took to the field after a temper tantrum that sent a cameraman to the hospital. So many supporters were saying this was an uncharacteristic outburst for him, but I'd swear I saw the cameraman take a step back when he had to film the AL lineup. Maybe I just imagined that. And while I don't necessarily get the point of this event, as a Mets fan I had to side with the majority of announcers who seemed more than a little miffed that Pedro Martinez was a no-show. Yeah, sure, the game is really of no consequence, but he's a marquee player who does get paid the big bucks and he should be able to toss a few balls around for the fans to watch for an inning or two without getting too stressed out from exhaustion. I didn't realize, however, that out of the seven times he's been chosen to participate he only appeared at three. Hmm.... Maybe he was just afraid that his image would be the one that they'd decide to have Scooter an annoying animated baseball use to demonstrate at a third-grade level what different types of pitches look like. That might have kept me home, too.