TVSquad

That's the marketing slogan that Fox Sports and Major League Baseball is using to drum up interest in tonight's All-Star Game. For the last couple of years, the league that wins the game gets home-field advantage in the World Series. (Not that it matters--in 2003, the Marlins clinched against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium, and last year, the Red Sox swept the Cardinals.) As a kid, I used to love watching the All-Star Game. I clearly remember Pete Rose bowling over Ray Fosse and Reggie Jackson hitting the light tower in old Tiger Stadium. But as the years have gone by, you can just tell that the players really don't take much pride in being there. Yes, they get bonuses from their respective teams for making the All-Star team, but I'm quite sure most of them would rather have a few days off. Fox will do all that it can to make tonight's broadcast worth watching, but just watching players go through the motions is not going to make most of America tune in.