ZWF: Can the All-Star game be saved?
Zander's Weekend Facts #55: Sunday, February 26, 2023
Bless you if you were able to get through last Sunday’s NBA All-Star game, because I certainly could not.
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a focus on the downfall of the All-Star game in sports, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 95 features a preview of the 2023 MLS season, with the season kicking off yesterday. Get the low down on every team and hear who Zander predicts will win MLS Cup. Go download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, February 26, 2023:
Is this the end for the All-Star game?
After watching last Sunday night’s NBA All-Star game, many viewers came to the same conclusion. The game absolutely stunk.
Of course, the number of people who actually viewed the game was not as many as previous occasions of the event. With just 4.59 million viewers tuning in, this year’s edition was the least watched NBA All-Star game ever. That’s a long ways away from the 22 million that watched the event in 1993, or even the 8 million who watched in 2013.
The NBA’s annual celebration of its top talent has long been billed as boring, uneventful, and “barely basketball.” But this year’s event may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The NBA may have forseen this when they changed the format from the best of the Eastern Conference against the best of the Western Conference, to captains drafting their own teams from the All-Star roster. When that started to get old, the league then incentivized winning each quarter by handing out money to charities. Then, the league introduced the elam ending in the fourth quarter, eliminating the clock and placing a target score.
When these new ideas were first introduced, they all seemed like the thing that would save the All-Star game. For the first year or two that they were put into place, it reenergized the game and made it exciting to watch. The players actually seemed like the cared! But the shine wore off quick.
Flash forward to this season, when one of the captains, Giannis Antetokounmpo only played a total of 20 seconds before coming out due to an injury he suffered in a game before the All-Star break. The other captain, LeBron James, didn’t play the second half after suffering an injury. Both players ended up playing in their first games back from the break.
Beyond the captains, it seemed that the game lacked any sense of defense, like even the word was forbidden in the arena. Of course, that’s been commonplace for years now in this event.
It also didn’t help that by the third quarter, the outcome of the game wasn’t really in doubt. The elam ending helped energize the fourth quarter and actual defense had to be played. But when the game score isn’t close, it’s just a slog to the get to the end.
Even watching TNT’s alternate telecast featuring the always entertaining “Inside the NBA” crew could barely make the game palatable.
This is probably said after every All-Star game over the last decade or so, but something needs to change. And after all the flack the festivities got not just from online bloggers, but also from players and coaches, that change may be coming soon.
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry told Bleacher Report, “I think the league can ease up on all the obligations players have during All-Star Weekend. People don’t understand the day-to-day responsibilities an All-Star has.” “Even the player introductions and the draft on Sunday, it was too long. Players get fatigued. It’s a lot going on.”
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who coached Team LeBron in the game, said right after the game, “It’s an honor to be here, it’s an honor to be a part of a great weekend, great players, but that is the worst basketball game ever played.”
And the hate towards the All-Star event extends beyond basketball. The NHL, which made its All-Star game unnecessarily complicated by creating a playoff consisting of divisional teams, just suffered its worst All-Star viewership since 2009. MLB’s midsummer classic, routinely the most watched of the All-Star games, suffered its lowest rated event ever last year. The NFL went so far this year as to completely scrap the game and replace it with a bunch of extracurricular competitions.
So maybe it’s just time to end the event. Just name the players who made the All-Star team and give the league a week off in the middle of the season. Or maybe, there is an incentive out there that will actually compel the players to play. It’s the reason why not as many people are watching these events in the first place.
But could you blame the players? Taking a risk on injury during essentially an exhibition event is a tough choice. Especially considering many of the players who take the court in the NBA’s All-Star event witnessed Paul George’s gruesome leg injury in a USA Basketball scrimmage in 2014.
With the outcry that has come from those inside the league and from fans, a change to the festivities is likely to happen soon. That notion is also assisted by the fact that the league and the NBA Player’s Association will be negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement over the next few weeks and months.
So to those complaining of the All-Star game being unwatchable, don’t worry, change is coming. However, it remains to be seen whether or not the game will even continue.
Salute to the All-Star game.
For more on the NBA All-Star game, check out this article from SB Nation - The new NBA All-Star format sucks and everyone hates it
What Zander’s been reading this past week
It’s no secret, public transportation is severely lacking across the United States. There’s several reasons as to why this is the case, and a major reason is the cost. But why does it cost so much money to build a subway in the U.S.? This week’s featured article has the answer.
Check out this week’s featured article on Slate - Consultants Gone Wild: The real reason it costs so damn much to build new subways in America - (Link for article on Apple News)
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Ukraine War: Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To mark the occasion, President Biden visited Ukraine early last week for the first time since the war began. Biden restated the United States’ commitment to Ukraine, while negotiating with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on additional U.S. assistance. During a speech in Ukraine, Biden vowed that “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia.” Also last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States.
U.S. Weather: Almost every lower-48 state was impacted by extreme weather last week. A massive blizzard had its effects felt from coast-to-coast, with areas in the Northeast, Upper Plains, and even Southern California hit by snow. The mountain areas in Southern California even had rare blizzard warnings issued. On the flip side, the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast experienced unseasonably warm weather, with Washington, D.C. reaching a record high of 81 degrees on Thursday.
Covid/Flu Test: On Friday, the FDA issued emergency authorization for the first combination Covid and flu test that can be used at home. The company that developed the test, Lucria Health, announced earlier last week that it had filed for bankruptcy protection after it had expected the authorization to come in August. The test will be able to be purchased over the counter and can provide a result for anyone two years old and older 30 minutes after a nasal swab.
Journalist Shooting: A local news reporter was killed while covering a shooting near Orlando, Florida. On Wednesday, 24-year-old Dylan Lyons was at the site of a homicide reporting for Spectrum News 13 when he was shot and killed by the same man involved in the earlier shooting. Spectrum News photojournalist Jesse Walden was also injured in the shooting. The suspect then shot and killed a 9-year-old girl before being taken into custody by police. Since 1992, 13 journalists and one media worker have been killed on the job in the United States.
Nigeria Election: The largest country in Africa, Nigeria, held its presidential election on Saturday. Voters are looking to name President Muhammadu Buhari’s replacement, as Buhari cannot run after serving two terms. During Buhari’s tenure, millions of jobs were lost in the country and 2/3rds of the population live in poverty. There are 18 candidates running, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former governor of Lagos state Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and businessman Peter Obi. In order to win the election, a candidate must win at least 25% of the vote in 24 of the 36 states in the country. If no candidate achieves that mark, the election would head to a runoff for the first time in Nigeria’s history.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the ZF Sporting Club:
College Basketball: The college basketball season is heading into the final stretch, with this week marking the final week of the regular season for some and the beginning of conference tournaments for others. The Missouri Valley, Sun Belt, and West Coast conferences are among 14 conferences beginning their conference tournaments this week. The remaining conferences will wrap up their regular seasons this week, with #3 Kansas at #8 Texas, #7 Arizona at #4 UCLA, and Duke at North Carolina among the notable matchups slated for the coming days.
MLS Season Kickoff: The 2023 MLS season kicked off on Saturday, marking a new era for America’s top club soccer league. Starting this year, all MLS matches will be available to stream live on MLS Season Pass, which is available on the Apple TV app. Among the notable matches yesterday, Nashville SC took down New York City FC 2-0 in the first match of the season, D.C. United came back to beat Toronto FC 3-2 with a 98’ goal, and Thiago Almada scored twice in added time as Atlanta United beat San Jose Earthquakes 2-1. Tonight at 8:00 pm et, Seattle Sounders take on Colorado Rapids, and on Monday night at 10:00 pm et, Portland Timbers host Sporting Kansas City to conclude the opening weekend of the season.
Brandon Miller: Alabama men’s basketball’s star freshman Brandon Miller has been among the biggest names in college basketball this season. However, last week, it was revealed that Miller was on the scene of a shooting committed by then-teammate Darius Miles back in January. Pretrial testimony revealed that Miller drove to the scene with Miles’ gun in the backseat. Prosecutors have stated that Miller will not be charged with a crime, and he has continued to play for Alabama since the information was revealed.
Carabao Cup Final: The final of the EFL Carabao Cup, a domestic soccer tournament in England, is set to take place today. The final includes the 3rd and 5th place sides currently on the Premier League table, with Manchester United taking on Newcastle United. Manchester are looking for their first EFL Cup trophy since 2017, which is the last trophy the club has won. Newcastle are seeking their first trophy in a major competition since 1969. The two sides are also fighting for the Premier League title, with both clubs within striking distance of top of the table Arsenal with 14 matches left to play in the season.
Regional Sports Networks: It was revealed last week that Warners Bros. Discovery will exit the regional sports network business by the end of March. WBD currently holds the local rights to 10 U.S. pro sports teams that air on three AT&T-Sportsnet branded networks and on a Root Sports branded network. The news comes as Diamond Sports Group, which holds the rights to 42 teams’ local rights on the Bally Sports regional networks, is expected to file for bankruptcy protection next month.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
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You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.substack.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, March 5, 2023.
