The American League winning 10 of the last 11 All-Star Games would have meant something a couple of generations ago when there was a sharp delineation between leagues and their players. But with stars crossing over — Shohei Ohtani plays for the National League after building his rep in the American League, and vice versa for Juan Soto — the homogeneous nature of the leagues long ago dried up the competitive juices.
Idle question: In 2024, calling the MLB showcase the best of its kind in sports is faint praise indeed. During a night full of stars, shouldn’t the average fan be able to name more of them?
Quick hit: Baseball can now return its All-Star uniforms to the softball teams they borrowed them from.
Legend: Corbin Burnes was the first Orioles pitcher since 1980 to start an All-Star Game. Baltimore Hall of Famer Jim Palmer started four in the ’70s. At the risk of ruffling the feathers of Cal Ripken Jr. fans, don’t sleep on Palmer as the greatest Oriole of them all.
Money matters: After Jalen Brunson volunteered to take an historic discounted contract extension that gives the Knicks more cap room, we can say with relative certainty that there’s at least one NBA star who doesn’t equate less money with “disrespect.”
Net results: Novak Djokovic has yet to win a tournament this year, but after he lost the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz, the ATP computer rankings have the Serbian second, one place ahead of Alcaraz, who is coming off back-to-back Grand Slam titles. Who you gonna believe, a computer or your own eyes?
Future watch: Good news for Rafael Nadal fans — and who isn’t? Using a protected ranking, he has entered the main draw of the U.S. Open.
Obvious: This is the time each year in college football for rampant speculation, but identifying Nick Saban successor Kalen DeBoer as the coach under the most scrutiny is a no-brainer.
Mind games: Alabama players he left behind took offense, but it’s possible that in his new role at ESPN, Saban is just trying to take a little pressure off the Tide by picking Georgia and Texas to play for the SEC championship.
Not so fast: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is smart to hold off on robot umpires until at least 2026, until “technical issues surrounding the definition of the strike zone” can be ironed out. Not, I’m guessing, that they can ever be ironed out to the satisfaction of every player.
Wondering: Do robotic ball and strike calls generally favor hitters or pitchers?
A reminder: An argument for why the remarkable Patrick Mahomes could be underrated: In his six years as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback, he’s been to six AFC title games. Not to mention four Super Bowls.
That girl: Caitlin Clark, who put up a WNBA-record 19 assists along with 24 points Wednesday, appears to be figuring things out very nicely.
In closing: WNBA stalwart Diana Taurasi reportedly has recovered from a lower leg ailment in time to compete in her sixth Olympics. Her return saves the U.S. selection committee the trouble of thinking up another excuse for keeping Clark off the team.
Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.
