Even though the popularity of international soccer is in the midst of a healthy boom, the American brand of futbol is suffering so badly that you’d think the league was headquartered in Detroit. Why can’t America’s teams compete for the hearts and minds of its own fans?
The 2009 MLS All-Star Game drew a 0.3 U.S. rating and 484,000 viewers on ESPN2 Wednesday night. The game was down 28% in households (324,000 in ‘09 versus 453,000 in ‘08), compared to last year’s game on ESPN.
The less than spectacular numbers for the MLS All-Star Game come in a week when soccer continues to draw strong audiences. Two Gold Cup telecasts on Univision (Costa Rica/Mexico and USA/Mexico) ranked 2nd and 3rd among the top 5 sports programs of the week. The USA/Mexico match drew 5.4 million viewers, while Costa Rica/Mexico drew 5.3 million. via.
The MLS All-Star game had a unique format where all of the league’s best players played against Everton, one of the more badass teams in Europe. The game went to penalty kicks, with Everton (and American goalie Tim Howard) prevailing. At least that was compelling and somewhat unique. Major League Lacrosse did something similar with their ASG, pitting their older stars against the league’s “young guns.” But America seems to be so brand-loyal with sports that there doesn’t seem to be any leeway for some of these other leagues to grab eyeballs on TV. Who would have thought America had such a negative attitude toward crap?
The President of the United States supposedly upset the MLB brass by wearing a Chicago White Sox jacket when throwing the first pitch at the All-Star Game last weekend. And all I can say is that whatever pisses off stodgy, white baseball owners is good for America.
[Obama senior advisor David] Axelrod said he had a long talk with Obama before the game because some Major League Baseball executives weren’t happy about the decision.
“There was a big controversy,” he said. “I think Major League Baseball wanted him to wear the All-Star jacket, and he was intent on wearing his White Sox jacket. He prevailed in that. The thing I will say about him — I’ll give him this — he’s not a Cub-hater. He will allow that he wants the Cubs to do well. It’s just that between the two of them, he prefers the White Sox. via.
I think most fans appreciated the fact that Barack Obama stuck with his team, whether or not those people were Sox fans themselves. Now if we could just do something about those jeans. via.
As bad as the home run derby was on Monday night, the 80th All-Star Game was as good last night. The two-and-a-half-hour game was highlighted by defense, including this over-the-wall catch in the bottom of the seventh inning that took the National League’s go-ahead run off the board. Oh, the American League won, 4-3 [box score]. Pointless stat alert; the NL has not won the mid-summer classic since 1996, back when I was underweight and getting beat up at parties by the swim team. No, that really happened once.
Some observations on the game itself: Albert Pujols went 0-for-3 and committed an error in the first that allowed at least one run to score. He was one of many dudes on the NL team wearing white shoes, instead of their respectively-colored team-issued spikes…Tim McCarver sounded more like a third-grade teacher than a baseball analyst. Is there anyone that doesn’t know what homering from “both sides of the plate” means?…Somebody needs to explain to that broad that sang God Bless America that she’s leading the singing of everyone else in the stadium and not putting on a 2-minute concert. Don’t make the song your own, homegirl. It ain’t your song to make. And when (if ever) should we revert back to Take Me Out To The Ballgame? I swear that they had when I was at a Reds game in Cincy two weeks ago. So why do it for TV?
SITE NEWS: I’ll be on Walkoff Walk tonight as a guest live-blogger for the Home Run Derby Tonight. That starts at…8? Let’s say 8.
Nobody wants to play in it. Nobody wants to watch it. Nobody’s happy with which players made the team and which didn’t. And the jerseys they make for this thing are uglier than any shirt Chris Berman has ever worn on the golf course. Wouldn’t the whole mission of an All-Star Break be better suited if…there was an actual break? No? All right, then allow me to offer the following alternatives to make these three days more fun for everyone.
ASYLUM POLL: Do you care about the MLB All-Star Game?
1. Make it an international game. Take one MLB team and pit it against one of Japan’s Nippon League teams, who typically have their All-Star game around the same time of year. Make it an MLB team that either made or narrowly missed the playoffs the previous year. If Japan wins, then we hold all seven games of the World Series in Japan.
2. Make it a money game. ESPN anchor and noted otter owner John Buccigross had this idea for the NHL: Dump 15 million dollars on the field behind home plate and say, “Come and get it. Winners take all.” Play with 25-man rosters and the AL and NL coaching staffs that lost their respective championship games the previous year. Fill the teams like unions do–based on seniority. You don’t want to play? Fine. Give another guy a crack at the cash.
3. Play Flag Football instead. Football’s more awesome than baseball anyway. And yet softball is more awesome than football. Maybe they should play softball. With a big keg of Bud Light right next to the pitcher’s mound. Bud Light probably has a better ERA than Tim Wakefield, anyway.
It’s official: after a month of speculation, Manna Acta has been relieved from duty has manager of Major League Baseball’s most exciting team, which is also coincidentally its most bad. It should be noted that Acta had to fire his entire coaching staff to ensure his return for 2009, but with a 26-61 record heading into the All-Star Break, the writing was on the wall. From SI.com:
“I thank the Nationals for giving me this opportunity and I’m sorry that things didn’t work out as expected. It’s normal for the manager to pay the price when the team is not doing well,” Acta said.
A 5-0 loss at Houston on Sunday was Washington’s seventh in 10 games. The Nationals rank last in the NL with a 5.21 ERA and they have committed the most errors in the majors (82).
I’ve said before that, with horrendous pitching and a 3-4-5 lineup that rivals any other team on paper, that one couldn’t find a better team to watch than the Nationals. It’s only fair to fire Acta if you’ve also fired the team’s baserunning guru, grounds crew, uniform manufacturer, charity liason, director of bobbleheads and meteorologist. Because this franchise is a colossal clusterfugg from the top down. But you don’t have to start winning games for me, Nationals. I love you just the way you are, losing games by scores of 10-8, 9-7, and the occasional 5-0. I can only hope the second half is better. I mean worse. Okay, I’ll settle for “as bad.” I’m not picky.
Kansas City Royals starter Zack Greinke made his first All-Star team. The rosters for the Mid-Summer Waste Of Time have been released, and Greinke, whose waif-like 2.00 ERA made him a lock for selection, or one would have assumed. But stealing some of Greinke’s press is Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. He throws knuckleballs. Knuckle. Balls. Heh. From Y! Sports:
“He’s meant so much not only to the Red Sox but to the rest of baseball,” Francona said. “He’s going to be introduced in St. Louis next week and he’s going to be one of the prouder guys.”
I just heard John Kruk on Van Pelt’s show say that, outside of one’s first appearance, playing in the All-Star Game is a pain in the ass, as it involves taking on things that players would rather not do, and that’s fine. I really think, in this highlight reel era of sports coverage, that the All-Star Game is outdated. Just scrap it because nobody cares. The best recourse? Fly all of the would-be All-Stars to Miami next year and make them play the AFC in the Pro Bowl. At least that way Adam Dunn has a chance of hitting something.
