All-Star Game is nothing but a popularity contest

The All-Star Game should be an opportunity for the best players from the American League and National League to represent their respective position and attempt to win their league home-field advantage in the World Series. Fans, however, have yet again turned the voting into a popularity contest, resulting in undeserving players given an honor that others deserve.

It is time that Major League Baseball realizes that some fans do not understand what qualities make an All-Star, and they need to take voting for starters out of the their control. Allow the fans to vote for the final roster spot for each league, but no more. Too many players miss out on a great opportunity, and it needs to stop.

This season, it is so frustrating to see Derek Jeter and Russell Martin leading the voting at both of their positions. Neither one of them have been productive this season, and both are far from deserving to even be considered for a spot in the game. Both players, though, are from New York, and are lucky to have a faithful fan-base that will continue to vote for them no matter how bad the struggles are.

On Wednesday, June 29, Martin hit a three-run home run. It was his first extra-base hit since May 24. In the 19 games prior to the 29th, he was only 10-67 (.149 BA), and had eight RBI's.

In comparison, Alex Avila, the starting catcher for the Detroit Tigers, who deservers to start the All-Star Game, has gone 28-85 (.329 BA), with 2 HR and 18 RBI's since May 24. Steadily, Avila has become the premier catcher in the AL, while Martin has continued a downward trend.

Jeter has yet to play a game since going on the disabled list on June 13 with a calf injury. Prior to getting injured, Jeter was only hitting .260 on the season with only 12 extra-base hits.

Jhonny Peralta, the starting shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, and possibly the biggest surprise in the AL this season, has 30 extra-base hits on the season, greatly improved his defense, and ranks in the top ten in the AL in BA, SLG, and OPS.

If those numbers aren't strong enough to earn a trip to Arizona for the All-Star game, then I'm not sure what is. Sadly, fans around the league have seemed to be unsure how to vote for some time now, and MLB continues to sit idly by.

Photo Courtesy of AP File Photo

Brandon Knight brings excitement back to Pistons

Darko Milicic, Jason Maxiell, Arron Afflalo, Rodney Stuckey, DJ White, and Austin Daye. If you have followed the Detroit Pistons at all in the past ten years, you would know that those are their first round draft picks from 2003-2008. A good group of role players are listed there, but none of them have reached the potential that fans believed they could when drafted. They have also become the reasons that many Pistons fans are skeptical when it comes to Joe Dumars ability to draft talent.

Some of those skepticisms subsided last season when Greg Monroe became one of the best young big men in the league. After last night's draft pick of Brandon Knight at 8th overall, there has never been more excitement in recent memory of a Pistons draft.

Knight is going to be a very good, if not great player during his NBA career. The reasons go beyond the fact he averaged 17.3 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 4 RPG in his only season as a Kentucky Wildcat. Knight is an intelligent, classy, well-rounded individual that will bring excitement to Pistons fans for not only his on-the-court contributions, but off-the-court as well.

Not only does Knight bring superb skill to the court, he also brings an extreme amount of intelligence. In 2010, he graduated from the prestigious Pine Crest School in Florida with a 4.3 GPA. If basketball skills weren't able to get him into college, his grades certainly were, as he had Ivy league schools clamoring for him to attend.

The one trait that Knight has, in my opinion, that separates him from the rest of this draft class is his ability in the clutch. During this season's NCAA Tournament, twice were the Wildcats given an opportunity to win a game in the closing seconds, and each time Knight came through with baskets to advance his team. Even more amazing, Knight was 0-for-7 and 2-for-9 shooting respectively before taking the final shot of each game. It's very rare to come across a player that is able to put aside previous struggles in clutch moments. Luckily for Pistons fans, Joe Dumars and the organization found one of those rare talents.

I look forward to seeing Brandon Knight slashing to the lane and winning basketball games for my favorite basketball team for many years to come. At the same time, I'm very happy that Joe Dumars has finally figured it out when it comes to the NBA Draft. Hopefully in the future, he'll be stuck trying to find gems late in the first round then in the lottery.

Photo Courtesy of Jerry Mendoza

What would make baseball's top rotation?

Earlier this week, many of us were able to witness Justin Verlander come within five outs of throwing the third no-hitter of his career, and the second one this season. Orlando Cabrera, however, laced a 0-1 fastball up the middle and made sure Verlander would not make the Indians his next no-hit victim.

The day following Verlander's dominating performance, the baseball world was buzzing about how great the 28-year old from Virginia is. Some experts believed there was nobody better than, while others still had their doubts when it came to comparing him to others that are regarded as baseball's best pitcher.

I don't want to sit and compare pitchers to determine, in my opinion, who the top pitcher in the league is. There are way too many variables to take into account and the difference between pitching in the AL and NL is so vast that it's almost unfair to compare pitchers in the separate leagues. Instead, I want to create what would be the best five-man pitching rotation in baseball today. Of course, there is room to debate, so I'd love to hear feedback on who you would put into your rotation. However, in the meantime, here is my fantasy rotation. Stats listed are their career numbers.

1. Roy Halladay (178-89, 3.29 ERA, 1.17 WHIP): Although he is 34 years old, Halladay has actually improved statistically every year since 2007. While he didn't become a strikeout pitcher until 2008, Halladay has always been the best when it comes to efficiency. In 335 career starts, he has 62 complete games. In 2010, Halladay had nine complete games and only averaged 108.1 pitches per start. At the top of any rotation, consistency and efficiency are key and Halladay exemplifies that. There is nobody else in the league who compares to him in those regards and that is why in my rotation, he's the ace.

2. Justin Verlander (92-55, 3.68 ERA, 1.22 WHIP): While consistency is the key to Halladay's success, the same is not true for Verlander. At least, that was the case until the 2011 season. In the first 165 starts of his career, Verlander had only 10 complete games. In only 16 starts this season, he already has four complete games and one in each of his last two starts. The key to Verlander's success has always been his ability to overpower hitters. However, this season he has changed his approach, dramatically improved his changeup, and is now mixing his ability to be overpowering along with consistency and the results have been unbelievable. With opponents hitting only .188 against Verlander and his WHIP at a staggering 0.85, this may be the season he sets himself apart from the rest of the pitchers in baseball.

3. Cole Hamels (69-48, 3.43 ERA, 1.15 WHIP): Any strong rotation needs a left-handed pitcher. There is no better left-handed pitcher in baseball than Cole Hamels, and that is why he would be the third pitcher in my rotation. Hamels has had an outstanding season thus far in 2011, but he has always been a top pitcher, even if it has been while under the radar. The number of wins he has posted is not overwhelming, but the WHIP Hamels has posted throughout his career (1.15) ranks near the top since his debut in 2006. In the past three seasons, Hamels groundball-to-flyball ratio along with opponent's batting average have dramatically improved. If the maturation continues in the coming years, Hamels may not only be considered the top left-handed pitcher in baseball, but the best period.

4. Jair Jurrjens (46-30, 3.32 ERA, 1.28 WHIP): As a Detroit Tiger fan, it is almost painful to see the success that Jurrjens has enjoyed since being traded to Atlanta after the 2007 season. While injuries have been somewhat of an issue in the past, Jurrjens is still very young (25 years old) and this season is proving he may have the brightest future of all the pitchers in this rotation. While he is not overpowering, he does a great job of keeping hitters off-balance and his control is exceptional. Although his fastball can top out in the mid-to-high 90s, the most effective pitch in his repertoire is his changeup. The key for Jurrjens is developing a strong third pitch. The slurve has been a work-in-progress for a few years now, but maybe this is the season that it fully develops to put Jurrjens on the next level.

5. Josh Johnson (48-23, 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP): The hardest choice in determining this rotation was where to place Johnson. While he has the ability to easily be in one of the top two spots, the injury-prone track his career has taken has really taken its toll. After 14 starts in 2008, Johnson underwent reconstructive elbow surgery. When he returned in 2009, Johnson went 15-5 with a 3.23 ERA and looked like he was close to reaching full potential. However, after another exceptional year in 2010, he was shut down due to back problems in September. Johnson looked to be well on his way this season to a potential Cy-Young before going on the 60-day DL due to a shoulder injury. When Johnson returns, he has an overpowering fastball and exceptional command with his secondary pitches. If he can stay healthy, he will flourish. If not, he will be added to the list of players you wonder, "what if?"

Those are the five pitchers that I would put in my rotation if given a team and unlimited checkbook. Who would you have in your rotation?

Photo courtesy of GraphicsHunt.com

Hey, it's time to leave Detroit alone

The Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 earlier this evening to win the Stanley Cup. Sadly, this night will be remembered for the way that Vancouver fans responded to the loss. In one of the most disgusting scenes that I have seen as a sports fans, hooligans took to the streets of downtown Vancouver and set fire to police vehicles, smashed business windows, looted and threw bottles and other objects at police officers trying to put an end to the violent behavior.

When watching the 2010 Winter Olympics last year, which took place in Vancouver, I could not believe how beautiful a city it was. I thought it was not only a beautiful city physically, I thought that the citizens there provided a fantastic atmosphere and showed the world how great of a city it was. However, after tonight, there is very little positive thoughts in regard to Vancouver. It's difficult to label an entire city based off of the act of one group, but this isn't a small crowd partaking in these acts. The group committing these acts is very large and full of immature people.

With what's happening in Vancouver tonight, it's time for people to lay off the city of Detroit and find a new city to bash.

Having spent my entire life in metro Detroit, I've grown sick and tired of listening to people who want to compare every negative issue to something that occurred in Detroit. This city will never be forgiven for the Palace Brawl in 2005, whether or not it was the Indiana players who went into the crowd and began the physical confrontation. Every riot will continue to be compared to the one that happened after the Detroit Tigers won the 1984 World Series. Finally, who could forget the Canadian reporter, Robert Tychkowski, who wrote an article in November that stated the forecast in Detroit was, "muggy with a chance of murder."

I'm never going to argue that Detroit doesn't have issues as a city, however, when it comes to sports, there is no doubt that this city and its fan base knows how to handle both winning and losing with class. There has been 11 professional and major University championships won in my lifetime here in Michigan and not once have we had any issues with fans behaving like we are seeing tonight in Vancouver. Detroit even lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2009. Did we riot in the streets? Did we set cars on fire? Did we attack police officers with physical violence? To the surprise of many people, most of which have never spent any time in this city, the answer to all of those questions is no.

One thing that people need to remember, this is over a hockey game. This isn't an issue of life or death, it's not even an issue serious enough to warrant any of the behavior we are seeing tonight. This, folks, is a game. There is always going to be a winner and there is always going to be a loser. Sadly tonight, the Vancouver Canucks aren't going to be the biggest losers when all is said and done. It's going to be the city of Vancouver.

Step aside Detroit, there's a new whipping boy in town, and deservedly so.

*I want to thank CTV for the great coverage of tonight's events in Vancouver. Provided a great glimpse for those of us at home.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

NHL proves yet again it has no backbone

Nathan Horton laid on the ice motionless for what seemed to be an eternity. The camera zoomed in so everybody watching could see as he struggled to take deep breaths on the ice while unconscious. The panic he went through when he finally regained any sense as to what was going on was unbearable.

That was the end result of one of the most vicious, disgusting hits I have ever seen in hockey. Aaron Rome, the responsible party for this hit, not only deserved to miss the rest of the Stanley Cup Finals, but he deserved to miss much more as well. The problem is, the NHL yet again showed that its disciplinary action is far from respectable by only suspending him for the rest of the Cup Finals.

Possibly even more disgusting than the hit itself, was Mike Murphy, senior vice president of hockey operations, stating that the hit was not covered under Rule 48 and was simply an issue of a late hit. Murphy went on to explain exactly what went into the decision-making process behind the suspension.

"Two factors were considered in reaching this decision," said Murphy. "The hit by Rome is clearly beyond what is acceptable in terms of how late it was delivered after Horton had released the puck and it caused significant injury."

For those of you who are unaware of Rule 48, it defines an illegal hit to the head as, "A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted."

What is most frustrating about this whole situation is the fact that while the hit was definitely a north-south play, Rome was targeting an unsuspecting player. Replays clearly show that Horton takes nearly three full strides before contact takes place and Rome's eyes never leave Horton the entire time. Rome knew that the puck left Horton's possession, yet he was intent on delivering a critical blow. Sadly, he did.

The NHL took steps forward this season to finally addressing hits to the head, an issue that has been hindering the league for quite some time now. However, an incident like we saw Tuesday shows just how much further they need to go to addressing the problem.

One step toward possibly doing this is the NHL naming Brendan Shanahan the new head of discipline next season, taking over for Colin Campbell. While some will contend that Shanahan will have a conflict of interest when addressing disciplinary actions for teams like the Red Wings, who he played for, I believe that being a former player, along with working in the league office will help him intelligently and fairly hand down discipline.

As for now, I only wish somebody in the league office would have had the backbone to stand up to the dirty hit by Rome and suspend him for a greater length of time. It was one of the most disgusting plays we have ever had to witness, yet sadly, there will be another hit in the future that tops it. Hopefully by then, the league works out its problems and can adequately handle it when it does happen.

Lebron James the NBA's best?

Lebron James is one of the most gifted athletes to ever play in the NBA. He has the size to abuse opponents in the post, the speed to drive by opponents on the perimeter and the ability to knock down a shot from anywhere on the court. While there is not one team in the league that wouldn’t want James on their roster, is he the best player in the NBA? For me, the answer is no. The reason being, he has yet to win a championship.

While James took a lot of heat for leaving Cleveland for, well, the Heat, it was well deserved. Lebron James grew up in Akron, Ohio, he was their hometown hero and he had the chance to bring the city and the state their first professional sports championship in ages. He had already led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007 and had them at the cusp of doing the same last season. Sadly though, James has a history of falling short when it matters the most. It’s looking like the same will be true this season, unless Dwayne Wade can again carry his team to their second title under his command.

Falling short would be an understatement after watching James performance last night in Game 4 against Dallas. In 46 minutes of action in a tight ballgame, James finished with only 8 points on 3-for-11 shooting. In addition to that, he turned the ball over four times. Even more shocking is the fact that he went scoreless throughout the fourth quarter and only attempted one shot in those 12 minutes. You’ve got to question whether or not that performance is something you’d see Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant have in the same situation.

For those of you who didn’t pay much attention when the Spurs swept away the Cavaliers with ease during the 2007 NBA Finals, it won’t take long to see how poor James performed during that series as well. Through the four games, Lebron shot a measly 36% from the field, 69% from the free throw line and turned the ball over nearly six times per game. While he did lead the Cavaliers in scoring at 22 points per game, it was the other failures that stood out to observers.

Granted, there is still some distaste I have towards James for how he went about leaving Cleveland last season. Not only was it conceded on his part, but it was not how any superstar should handle free agency or any other type of professional matter. However, with that being said, the statistics and history are still right in front of our eyes. Lebron James never won a championship for his Cavaliers. While the Miami Heat are only two games away from winning their second championship in five seasons, this isn’t Lebron James team.

The man in charge of this team is Dwayne Wade and he’s performing in these Finals like he did in 2006. He has put the team on his back and has them all staring down a NBA title. Sadly, James is just another player along for the ride with Wade, and that’s why he isn’t, and never will be, the best in the NBA.

Photo Courtesy of Robyn Beck/AFP

Harping on Harper

Bryce Harper is 18-years old, has a $9.9 million contract with the Washington Nationals and is on the fast track to being the next star in Major League Baseball. However, with all the success comes the fact that Harper is under a microscope from the media and everything he does, positive or negative, will be on camera for everyone to see.

Monday night was no exception, as Harper took a few seconds leaving the batters box after a home run, and then blew a kiss to pitcher Zachary Neal on his way home. The home run came after Harper was hit by a pitch on Sunday that forced him to leave the game and then he was brushed back by a pitch in his first at-bat on Monday.

While Harper has not made any comments to the media since the incident, there was no shortage of opinion nationwide this morning.

Jim Bowden, a former GM of the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals, posted on his ESPN blog that he believed Harper should be fined privately and spoken to by the Nationals farm director as to the organization's expectations of him. However, Bowden also stated that Harper is a special person and he doesn't see immaturity as a potential issue in the future.

This is where Bowden and I disagree. There are many people who, in my opinion, look too much into what a player says publicly and downplays how the player represents himself on the field. This is not the first time Harper has had issues with showing up an opponent, as he was ejected from a game while with the College of Southern Nevada for taunting.

There is a fine line between being a fierce competitor and acting immaturely. Harper crossed that line on Monday.

I can understand the frustration of believing he is a target of opposing pitchers. Harper is going to find that he is a target throughout his entire career. That's the price to pay of being the number one overall pick and being thought of as the best pure power hitter to ever play the game.

Harper needs to come to the realization that reacting to it will only make it worst. Not only will instances of immaturity stay in the minds of his opponents, they will also stay in the minds of the thousands of fans that he will encounter during road games. Anybody who has sat near the bleachers of a baseball game knows just how brutal some of those fans can be. How will Harper handle the verbal abuse in those situations if he can't handle a brush back pitch?

Putting up great statistical numbers will never be an issue for Harper. With a .342 batting average this season, along with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs, he has shown that the jump to playing under the bright lights of the big leagues is only a matter of when, and not if. However, does he ever mature enough to last in the big leagues is still a question in my mind.

I believed leaving high school to hurry the process to the big leagues was a mistake at the time. Harper now has to grow up as a multi-millionaire, while holding the key to the Washington Nationals future. Can he handle it? I have my doubts.

Photo Courtesy of CSN Washington