Stern sees to it that fans vote in the starters and that those players grab plenty of camera time. He lets the 30 coaches fill out the rest of the rosters, and since head coaches know a thing or two about players, they usually get it right.
This year's MLB game features the usual suspects in Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Then, there's pitcher Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians, four months ago competing for a roster spot, now starting for the American League.
It is unlikely that LeBron James and Yao Ming will ever risk being reserves, even if they are injured, as long as they play. They are popular enough to be virtually automatic starters. Brandon Roy and David West will always have spots when they are merited.
Some players deserving of All-Star selection get snubbed, but that's life, so get over it.
When Manu Ginobili erupted for multiple 40 point games after the All-Star break, how many coaches likely regretted not voting him as a reserve? The answer: anyone with eyes and a brain.
Enough Cincinnati Reds fans stuffed ballot boxes in 1957 that only one of the eight starters played for another team.
Instead of encouraging fans of other teams to stuff ballot boxes, then commissioner Ford Frick stripped fans of their right to vote and mandated that players, coaches, and managers select the rosters.
Selig wisely recognizes the necessity of allowing a fan vote. Fans allow a sport to survive, not coaches or managers. All the talent in the world matters not if no one pays to see it. Handing average spectators the power to choose who will start is vindicating.
For those supporting annually mediocre teams...(clears throat)...er, the Houston Astros, such a process allows Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt to attract some of the attention they might get if they played on a championship contender each season.
Sure, managers would ensure that Berkman and Oswalt made the roster if they were weaving spectacular seasons, but that would leave me, the fan, in the cold.
That is the worst condemnation a sport can receive. Leaving fans in the cold is like considering Taco Bell suitable diet food.
Those who complain that Yao Ming starts every year in the NBA game because people in China clog the Internet and vote should get off their fannies and vote.
If that many people in China care enough to vote, it means at least a sizeable portion of them care enough to watch. Never forget that players need fans as much as fans need them.
That's why this sports fan would rather see players save the hustle for the playoffs.
All-star contests allow us to appreciate a league's talent without staunch team loyalties binding the engagement. NL vs. AL and East vs. West pales in comparison to Yankees-Red Sox or Spurs-Lakers. I will stop watching the moment these games serve any other purpose.
American League Manager Terry Francona can talk about "preserving history" and "respecting the game" all he wants. Fine.
Baseball's summer classic can do both without dangling a coveted prize at the end of its rope.
This will be the last All-Star contest played in the current Yankee Stadium. Many people called it "The House That Babe Built" or, those who bemoaned its short right field, dubbed it "The House They Built for Babe."
The storied venue has hosted 37 World Series and the most contentious boxing match in history. Adolf Hitler implored a German fighter to defeat a black one. Fans faced a heavy dilemma then.
The complex underwent a two year remodeling beginning in 1973. That redesigned bowl of history will be retired after this season.
That should be enough for Selig but it isn't.
His summer classic meant a lot more before 2003. Then he decided it didn't mean enough and that's when he screwed it up.
This time it counts—against Major League Baseball.
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