Baseball's All Star festivities took place last night with Josh Hamilton stealing the show, even if he wasn't able to win the Home Run Derby. The monsterous 500-foot homers Hamilton was belting (a record 28 home runs in Round 1) made me say "oh my god" about 15 times. Simply amazing stuff (and no, I don't care if the balls are juiced or not). It wasn't just one of my favorite moments in baseball's All Star festivities in recent memory, it was right up there with any moment from any sport's All Star festivities in recent years...and that includes Dwight Howard's amazing performance in the Slam Dunk Contest this year. So two questions have popped to mind: 1)Which sport has the best All Star festivities (the day/night before the game)? and 2)What can these sports do to improve their festivities? Let's rule the NFL out right off the bat. The only thing I think of with the Pro Bowl festivities is Robert Edwards ruining his knee, and career, in a beach football game. The NHL festivities I actually really like because there is a team competition on top of the individual events. I'm not sure it's the best, but I do think it's just about as good as it can be, which is really all you can ask. MLB can be entertaining, but I'd love to see some more competitions...fastest player, race around the bases, hardest throw (though nobody would probably do it). More can be added. The winner, however, for me remains the NBA. The rookie-sophmore game, the 3-point contest and Dunk contest are all still entertaining to me. I would like to see them add a game of H-O-R-S-E (or something like that). I also wish the "big guys" were in the competitions (i.e. a dunk contest with LeBron, Kobe, Vince, T-Mac, Howard, J-Rich, Baron Davis & Josh Smith). Maybe upping the money, or "something" could make that happen. But with those guys or not the NBA remains king in my book....even if Josh Hamilton was king for a day.
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Random thing I hated today...Wade Boggs wearing a Yankees hat in the celebrity/legends softball game. Hard for me to keep campaigning for him to have his number retired by the Sox when he does things like this.
i have to say, i do love the football kick by a random fan during halftime of the pro bowl, even though i never watch the pro bowl. but the three-point contest is my favorite, probably because Larry did so well when i was growing up. Bourque hitting all the targets was pretty cool too.
and, i have washed my hands of Wade Boggs. NOT a red sox. i don't consider him one of my own.
in all sports:
All should have: Egg toss (who wouldn't watch that)
seriously - I would love for the NBA to do HORSE which definitely would get the crowd going nuts....I could see Kevin Love hyping up the crowd and then draining a 3/4 length shot from the other foul line to win it. I also think that the dunk contest should have a minimum of 6 players.
NFL - would be great to have a linebacker competition where you have to tackle a deer.
NHL - I really like it the way it is - do they still do the hardest shot?
Boggs wore a Red Sox hat last year. What a moron.
JBS has great suggestions. Credit goes to DK for the HORSE game - I won't hold my breath.
I like the NHL's though I rarely watch it. The dunk contest is good about every 3 years, maybe 4. Though has had some recent highlights. I completely agree about more big men taking part, & the judges they usually get are certainly educated enough to compare a big man's dunk, to a finesse type of guard. I always like the Rookie, Sophomore game in theory, but in reality I usually see the highlights the next day and go, "Damn, they started that stuff already," and tune in for the rest of all-star weekend. I gotta catch it one of these days....
Pro Bowl sucks (goes without saying) but a couple of the lead in events (i.e. watching Takeo Spikes bench press my yearly threshold in one set) are quite entertaining.
They took some of these and gave them to the rookies coming in this year (not combine) and it was fun to watch as well.
I will watch home run derby if I happen to be in front of a tv when it starts, but I won't schedule my day around it or anything. Again, it is great in theory though - and there usually isn't anything good on in the summer either.
Like the running the bases and hardest through additions DK had. (agree no one would risk throwing their arm out)
Dwight Howard was a recent exception to Big Men taking part in the Dunk Contest....
Last year in the NHL they had a "most creative breakaway" contest that was judged by 4 judges. One of the judges....Dominique Wilkins.
Is Bobby Hull going to judge the NBA dunk contest next year?
It was a pretty good idea and there were some good skills displayed but overall it was pretty awkward. If I recall correctly the winner missed his shots. It was like the slam dunk winner not hitting a dunk. I am kind of hoping that they don't bring it back.
I do love the other competitions in the NHL. I loved seeing 77 winning the accuracy competition in Boston a few years back. It was one of the most exciting non-game sporting moments I can remember.
I'd like to see the NFL do a kick, punt, and pass competition. Any bets on who would win?
I think I'd put my money on Carson Palmer. Are there any Kickers who are athletic enough to throw? I wouldn't be surprised if Randy Moss was one of those guys who could step in and win it without practicing any of the skills involved.
MLB should have a shooting the needle in the vein accuracy contest.
HORSE would be great. During the playoffs a few Celtics players were hitting underhand shots, backwards, from half court while one of the local TV guys was doing his pregame report and it was pretty entertaining.
Ray & Cassell, was it... ?
Agree, the breakaway competition "trick shot" was entertaining and awkward. Ovechkin won by doing the Tiger Woods move where you bounce the puck in the air, then he knocked it high, did a 360 and hit it out of mid-air. The problem is the goalie could easily stop every shot. I think they should do it again this year, but with a carboard cutout for a goalie.....at least that way they may score, which would be more exciting. The Dunk contest doesn't happen with Marcus Camby trying to block them....I think it would work.
Strong arm, although pitchers wouldn't do it, may work for catchers or outfielders.
I was also thinking the Dunk contest should be 8 people done in a tournament head-to-head format...2 tries each, best dunk counts. Maybe more in the finals or something.
Finally, I love the 3-point contest but I think the contestants should be done based on the most made in the regular season. Having the likes of Tim Legler win takes a little something out of it.
Hamilton's performance in the 1st rd of the HR derby last night is the reason i watched. He said before that he wasnt trying to just hit HRs he said he was going to try and hit it out of the stadium. And i think a few of those shots would have left the stadium if the upper deck didnt block the alley.
I like the NHL with the fastest player, hardest shot and most accurate. THe Dunk contest is pretty watered down rarely anything new just a new costume.
I think baseball should have a hardest throw and most accurate throw non pitcher, fastest player, and a pitchers competion that they have to pitch with their opposite hand no batter but that have like 10 pitches most strikes wins.
But i really like the H-O-R-S-E idea. Should implement in some fashion in all All Star weekends.
I hate the fact that they're talking on baseball tonight about Hamilton and the 'record' that he set for the home run contest---seriously--who really cares that he set a gimmicky record for taking batting practice?? I was entertained watching it and all but to hear them breaking it down like it was a playoff game or something felt a little stupid. I vote for the NHL skills competition as most entertaining---so much variety of what they can do in the competition. While I like the 3pt competition, dunk contest has gotten just plain stupid--especially this year when dwight howard won for a dunk that wasn't even a dunk rather throwing the ball through the hoop from 2 feet away. Does Al Iafreighttrain Iafrete still hold the record for hardest shot???
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