The Fifty Year Itch

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't care for Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. To me, it's a mere exhibition, and it's not supposed to mean much in the big picture. However, the New York Mets are hosting the festivities . . . and that might not happen again for a long, long time.

The first time . . . the only time the Mets hosted was back in 1964. The team had moved into Shea Stadium that year, which was the most state-of-the-art venue at that time. That year, Phillies' outfielder Johnny Callison capped a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth with a three-run home run, giving the National League a 7-4 walk-off victory, the last one in All Start Game history. Meanwhile, second baseman Ron Hunt made Mets history by becoming the first player from the team to crack the National League's starting lineup. In the Mets' three-year history, many considered him to be the team's first true star.

Cut to 49 years later. Shea Stadium is gone, replaced by Citi Field, the House That Fred Wilpon's Raging Ebbets Field Obsession Built. There are ten more teams in the majors, and a lot more money being made. Another second-year Met will be making his All-Star debut and starting for the National League: Matt Harvey, the phenom right-handed pitcher who is among the leading candidates for the Cy Young Award. Also in the starting lineup is third baseman David Wright, who has taken the lead for the otherwise moribund franchise, locking himself in with the team through 2020, at a time where fleeing the Mets might have been a better move. No team's unofficial motto should be "Hey, At Least We're Not The Marlins."

I consider myself a "lapsed" Mets fan, meaning that I'm not as into the team as when I was younger, but I cannot imagine rooting for any other team. That said, I'm perplexed as to why this is the second time in fifty years the team is hosting. I wrote to the Mets about it, and I got this message:

Thank you for your email. Major League Baseball picks all of the host cities for the All Star Game and typically they select new ballparks to showcase them. Since Citi Field is the second new ballpark in Mets history that is most likely why the Mets have only had the All Star Game twice.

That made a little bit of sense . . . but it still stuck in my craw. In 1964, there were twenty teams in the majors. The leagues would expand by four teams in 1969, and two each in 1977, 1993 and 1998. While I wouldn't expect a fixed rotation amongst all teams, I would've thought the Mets would get their chance sometime in the 1990s. The Houston Astros -- who broke into the majors in 1962 along with the Mets -- hosted three times in that fifty year span, including their 25th anniversary season . . . and the Astrodome was only a year younger than Shea Stadium. The Mets' cross-town rival Yankees got to host in 1977 and 2008; the latter being the team's final year in the original Yankee Stadium. That season also marked the final year Shea Stadium was used by the Mets. The Angels hosted three times (1967, 1989, 2010), all in the same venue. Logic would be nice. Did the Mets offend Major League Baseball in some way? Did they not file paperwork? Or was this about putting the screws to a franchise known for not getting much respect? I know, that's a little bit of overkill, but the team did used to call their second home game of the season "Opening Day II" and have Rodney Dangerfield throw out the first pitch.

I don't know why I think this hard about the All-Star Game. It's a game that's marred by tradition. Think about it . . . it's held on a Tuesday night, with the first pitch usually coming in at 8:45 p.m. Eastern time, guaranteeing a finish after midnight thanks to network broadcasting. Meanwhile, the NFL, NBA and NHL hold their midseason classics on a Sunday. Also, there was the kneejerk reaction by commissioner Bud Selig to have the winning league's representative in the World Series get home-field advantage, after both teams ran out of players in the 2002 edition, leading to an unsatisfying 7-7 tie in Selig's hometown of Milwaukee. I feel that the All-Star Game should be used as a tiebreaker, but only before "coin flip." Either the team with the best record gets home field, or it goes to the team with the better interleague record. Or perhaps it should go to the team with the better head-to-head record, when applicable. The All-Star Game is an exhibition. It was made to be an exhibition, back before interleague play, allowing players from both leagues the novelty of playing against each other. Why should, say, the Red Sox get a possible four games out of seven at home against the Pirates in October, just because the Royals' sole representative got a bloop single, driving in two runs and giving the American League the lead for good? By the way, does anyone realize Kansas City still fields a team? I'm not anti-Kansas City . . . I just got irritated watching last year's All-Star Game in KC, when Fox kept playing "Kansas City" (you know, "I'm goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City, here I come") damn near every time they went to commercial.

I made a chart on All-Star Game locales form 1964-2015. With the Mets getting the game, I think the people with the biggest justified gripe would be fans of Florida-based teams; neither the Marlins (1993) not Rays (1998) have gotten to host. Granted, it's pretty hard to find fans in Miami (last season with at least 2 million fans: 1997) and Tampa (last season, etc: 1998, their inaugural year), but like the Mets' long wait, it's the principle that counts. Included in the list are the ballparks, the number of years each ballpark was in business at the time of the All-Star Game hosting, and the number of previous All-Star Games hosted. As always, thanks to Wikipedia for feeding my need to write about stuff few people would care about.

Addendum: I don't know how to do footnotes in Blogger, so you'll have to scroll up and down. Also, I think the stupid stillborn YouTube window still pops up if you're using Explorer. I'll try to get rid of it, but I wouldn't be opposed to getting advice to how to stop doing that.

Year	Stadium	City	Team	Stadium Yrs.	Prior ASG
1964	Shea	Flushing, NY	Mets	1	0
1965	Metropolitan	Bloomington, MN	Twins	5/10[1]	0
1966	Busch Memorial	St. Louis	Cardinals	1	0
1967	Anaheim[2]	Anaheim	Angels	2	0
1968	Astrodome	Houston	Astros	4	0
1969	RFK	Washington, D.C.	Senators	9	1[3]
1970	Riverfront	Cincinnati	Reds	1	0
1971	Tiger	Detroit	Tigers	60	2[4]
1972	Atlanta	Atlanta	Braves	7	0
1973	Royals[5]	Kansas City	Royals	1	0
1974	Three Rivers	Pittsburgh	Pirates	5	0
1975	County	Milwaukee	Brewers	6/21[6]	1
1976	Veterans	Philadelphia	Phillies	6	0
1977	Yankee	Bronx, NY	Yankees	2/53[7]	0/2[7]
1978	San Diego	San Diego	Padres	10	0
1979	Kingdome	Seattle	Mariners	3	0
1980	Dodger	Los Angeles	Dodgers	19	0
1981	Cleveland	Cleveland	Indians	50	3
1982	Olympic	Montreal	Expos	5	0
1983	Comisky Park	Chicago	White Sox	74	2
1984	Candlestick Park	San Francisco	Giants	25	1
1985	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	Minneapolis, MN	Twins	4	0
1986	Astrodome	Houston	Astros	22	1
1987	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum[8]	Oakland	Athletics	20	0
1988	Riverfront	Cincinnati	Reds	19	1
1989	Anaheim2	Anaheim	Angels	24	1
1990	Wrigley Field	Chicago	Cubs	75/77[9]	2
1991	SkyDome[10]	Toronto	Blue Jays	3	0
1992	Jack Murphy	San Diego	Padres	24	1
1993	Oriole Park at Camden Yards	Baltimore	Orioles	2	0
1994	Three Rivers	Pittsburgh	Pirates	25	1
1995	The Ballpark in Arlington[11]	Arlington, TX	Rangers	2	0
1996	Veterans	Philadelphia	Phillies	26	1
1997	Jacobs Field[12]	Cleveland	Indians	4	0
1998	Coors Field	Denver	Rockies	4	0
1999	Fenway Park	Boston	Red Sox	88	2
2000	Turner Field	Atlanta	Braves	4	0
2001	Safeco Field	Seattle	Mariners	3	0
2002	Miller Park	Milwaukee	Brewers	2	0
2003	U.S. Cellular Field	Chicago	White Sox	13	0
2004	Minute Maid Park	Houston	Astros	4	0
2005	Comerica Park	Detroit	Tigers	6	0
2006	PNC Park	Pittsburgh	Pirates	6	0
2007	AT&T Park	San Francisco	Giants	8	0
2008	Yankee	Bronx, NY	Yankees	33/84[7]	1/3[7]
2009	Busch	St. Louis	Cardinals	4	0
2010	Angel Stadium of Anaheim	Anaheim	Angels	35	3
2011	Chase Field	Phoenix	Diamondbacks	14	0
2012	Kauffman	Kansas City	Royals	40	1
2013	Citi Field	Flushing, NY	Mets	5	0
2014	Target Field	Minneapolis, MN	Twins	5	0
2015	Great American Ball Park	Cincinnati	Reds	13	0

Boldface denotes stadium currently in use.

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[1] Venue was host to the Minneapolis Millers from 1956-60. The Washington Senators moved into it in 1961 and renamed themselves the Twins.

[2] Venue is currently known as Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

[3] Venue known as D.C. Stadium during the first All-Star Game in 1962.

[4] Venue known as Briggs Stadium in 1941 and 1951.

[5] Venue is currently known as Kauffman Stadium.

[6] Venue was host to the Milwaukee Braves from 1953-66. The Chicago White Sox played home games there from 1968-69. The Seattle Pilots moved into the stadium in 1970, renaming themselves the Milwaukee Brewers.

[7] The stadium went through renovations in 1974-75.

[8] Venue is currently known as O.co Coliseum.

[9] Venue was originally used by Chicago Whales of the Federal League from 1914-15.

[10] Venue is currently known as Rogers Centre

[11] Venue is currently known as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

[12] Venue is currently known as Progressive Field

Overview: Rivals II

Tomorrow night marks the return of The Challenge to MTV with its 24th season: Rivals II. Much like Big Brother, this is a show that should have been put down years ago. Much like Survivor, the show has a douchebag hosting it. And much like The Amazing Race  . . . I'm not gonna say anything bad about The Amazing Race. At least not here. Since I already complied statistics on the competitors (male and female), I might as well go over what to expect this season.

1. Lack Of Newbies

This season, there are a mere five new players out of 32 that are competing for the first time. Last season in Battle of the Seasons, that number was 15 . . . almost half of the field. The winning team consisted of four rookies; the team representing the San Diego season from 2011. The bad news? That included Frank Sweeney and Zach Nichols.

2. The New Axis of Ass?

Allow me to back up. Back in the day, when I was recapping The Real World/Road Rules Challenge, I came up with a nickname for any alliance of players that irritated me: The Axis of Ass. Yes, it was really original of me. Back then, I never considered the horror of a permanent Axis. Soon after I stopped recapping, that became a reality. Three insufferable assholes took control of the game: John Devenanzio (aka "Johnny Bananas," the most charmed of the Axis), Kenny Santucci (the self-described "Mr. Beautiful"; the worst Italian stereotype outside of Jersey Shore) and Evan Starkman (a chunky Canadian manchild; best known for turning on ex-Fresh Meat partner Coral Smith in the Veterans' "Trim The Fat" plan during Gauntlet III). Challengers came and went, but those three kept appearing and winning Challenges, acting insufferable every time. It took a rape allegation to sideline Evan and Kenny after the original Rivals season . . . and even then, Kenny still manages to turn up on MTV; most recently hosting the Rivals II preview special with Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi from Jersey Shore. How could you tell those two apart? One has probably smoked a lot of poles and talked a mountain of shit . . . and the other lets people call her "Snooki."

Anyway, while I groused online about how Johnny probably  played a part in the alleged incident, his nose kept clean, and he wound up winning back-to-back seasons (Rivals and Battle of the Exes), lucking into the big money both times. While he rested on his laurels and kept at a lawsuit about how Entourage stole the name "Johnny Bananas" from him (he lost, I laughed), Frank and Zach made their cases to take Evan and Kenny's place. If you're an old-school Challenge fan: Zach is essentially a Bizarro version of Jamie Murray, an alpha male goof that wound up winning three Challenges. While Jamie took time for viewers to warm, Zach and his stupid ponytail took too much screentime in BOTS. Zach is the guy who sets back gay rights by fifty years anytime he opens his ugly mouth. Thoughts of strangling him with his headband dance in my noggin anytime I saw him whine, bitch, and puss out of going into Arena. The worst parts of BOTS came not when those two bitched at each other like an insufferable married couple, but when they tag-teamed to shred Sam McGinn, the likeable butch lesbian. In the final mission, they both screamed at her to keep up the pace. Frank not only shoved her (which should have been grounds for disqualification), but he denied doing that in the subsequent reunion, even as the footage of him shoving her was shown. Frank and Zach are back. So is Johnny. In fact, Frank and Johnny have been partnered as "rivals," based on their bickering on Twitter. As one Axis collapses, another may rise to take its place . . . and it might be even more brutal to watch.

3. The CT Redemption, Part III

Johnny's last two wins obscured the feel-good story of Chris "CT" Tamburello trying to resemble a human being. CT had been on a rocky path for a while, including getting thrown off two seasons (Inferno 3 and The Duel II) before a single mission was played. In the penultimate Gulag, Johnny and Tyler were supposed to compete against each other . . . but in a surprise twist, both had to face CT instead. The girls (Theresa and Tori) took on Tina Barta and won because she was and always will be a fucking scrub . . . but all anybody would remember was how CT absolutely humiliated Johnny. We need to see "Johnny Bananas Backpack" again. We need to see it right now.

The Challenge (Season 20) - Full Episodes

Once it was determined CT wouldn't murder anyone right off the bat, he was paired with ex-RW: Paris housemate Adam King, whom he had fought in The Duel II and jacked up in their original season. While CT had the occasional flare-up, he tried to bury the hatchet with Adam . . . and not between his should blades. In the final Jungle, they lost to eventual winners Johnny & Tyler (ironic in retrospect), even as CT went out of his way to lay the most vicious hits he could on his opponents. It was like he was trying to cremate both of them without using fire . . . but it was perfectly within the rules.

Next came Battle of the Exes . . . this time paired with Diem Brown. I feel that a win from Diem would allow her to pursue her dream: writing songs of heartbreak for Taylor Shift, in case the waif ever runs dry. They broke up for a number of reasons . . . in his defense, they were on a break when he got a hummer before getting thrown off The Duel II. In her defense, it was from Shavoun, one of the nastier pieces of work from RW: Sydney. Anyway, the two sniped as they fought to stay in the game, eventually reaching a peace. In a game full of caricatures, they actually resembled human beings. Since The Challenge is the place where hope goes to die, they got outlasted in the final mission by Johnny and Camila. Since then, Diem had a relapse of cancer, but it went back into remission. I feel that if CT doesn't win this Challenge (this will be his seventh attempt, not counting the two seasons he left early), I figure his destiny would be to get miniaturized and ejected into Diem's ovaries to end the cancer once and for all. Why spend billions on research, when you can shrink a Southie down and have him pummel the tumors himself? And you know he'd be shouting, "ONE! ON! ONE! ONEONONE!!!!! I WILL WORK YOU!!!"

3a. The Possible End Of The CT Redemption

Unfornuately for CT, he's been paired with Wes Bergmann. I apologize in advance to anybody who frequents the Challenge thread on Television Without Pity, because this will be too familiar coming from me. In brief: Wes thinks he's King Shit of Turd Mountain. This will be his eighth Challenge. Unlike CT, he's won a Challenge . . . although The Duel did take place in 2006, which might as well happened in prehistoric times. He gets on people's nerves so easily, he's often targeted by the popular cliques and sent into the endgames, along with whatever hapless soul (or Kenny) that's chained to him. BOTS not only had him going out earlier than any other time, he also managed to drag  Challenge virgin Lacey Buehler with him. She was the best part of the sucktactular RW: Austin season. Most of her time in the second half was spent calling her wheelchair-bound boyfriend back home . . . and given the odiousness of the rest of the cast, she came off as cool, at least to me. To have Wes for a partner is to have a chain wrapped around your neck. Weighted down by an anchor. Daisy, the lovable Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix from RW: Portland would've made for a better partner for CT. I wish him the best, but I'll be expecting the worst.

It's running late, so I'll speed through the rest of the crap.

4. The Return of Camila Nakagawa

In a cruel twist of fate, none of the second batch of "Fresh Meat" kids have won a Challenge. Meanwhile, this obnoxious twist took part in the non-canon Spring Break Challenge, almost died at one point, and is now on her fifth tour of duty with a win under her belt. That happened with Johnny . . . they were labeled "exes," though I sometimes wonder if a woman trying to grind on him would have better luck getting blood from a stone. Last season, she nagged Eric "Big Easy" Banks during an Arena to the point where he quit on her. TJ Lavin gave Eric a mountain of shit, since TJ is all about hating quitters. TJ can eat a dick. That season ran alongside Survivor: Phillipines, and I was stumped as to how Abi-Maria Gomes was constantly reamed out by players and fans alike, when she wasn't even the worst Brazilian on a reality show with Camila around. That December, I had another contestant from that show -- Roberta "R.C." Saint-Amour -- at TARCon telling me that Abi-Maria was every bit as obnoxious as she appeared on TV . . . and  my only defense would've been, "Dude, seriously, have you seen Camila?!?"

5. The Return of Emily Schromm

The RW: D.C. alumnus has competed in two Challenges and completed them both. What I remember about her was the time in BOTE when he wanted to make fun of her ex Ty by dressing and acting like him . . . and putting chocolate on her face. Yes, Ty is black. In Emily's defense, she was raised in a cult, and the whole "blackface" thing might have been skipped over. Also, Camila helped her out, and she didn't think anything was wrong with it. The only thing that saved Emily from getting raked over the coals by America at that time was Colton Cumbie ruining Survivor: One World with his epic sucking. In the big picture, The Challenge is probably beneath everyone's contempt.

6. Paula vs. Aneesa, Round Six?

Paula Mernek (aka "Paula Walnuts") and Aneesa Ferriera need lives. They are on their tenth and ninth seasons, respectively, and that's a record for Paula. Since I no longer have a kung fu grip on Challenge trivia and minutia (coming from endless hours of rewinding tapes and getting every good quote and meaningful figure for my recaps), I need to use Wikipedia to pick up the slack. Through that, I noticed those two have fought in five endgames; Paula triumphed during Inferno 3, Rivals and Battle of the Exes, while Aneesa won in The Duel and Duel II. I went nuts back when Karamo and Landon tilted against each other in Inferno II because they roomed together in RW: Philadelphia. Back then, I never figured two players would wind up facing off more than once, let alone five times. Just something to look out for in the weeks to come. Seriously, though, they both need lives. Aneesa first competed in the original Battle of the Sexes, and that was the first season I ever recapped . . . and that might as well be called "the long long ago" at this point.

7. No Hurricane Nia

Four players will be debuting this season, hailing from RW: Portland. Amazingly, none of them are Nia Moore, perhaps the nastiest piece of work in recent RW history. She came to the house early on and managed to pick fights with everyone at one point or another. To look back on her "work" is to work on a headache that I really don't want. Last I checked, she was working on her book about how to be a gold digger. That's the gist of it . . . if asked, she'll probably say she's too busy trying to zero in on a draft pick, but she was probably working on separating a D-League reserve forward of his meager earnings. She's probably a lock to appear on the next season . . . even if she's not interested, Bunim-Murray Productions would offer her enough money up front to disturb everybody's shit.

There's a lot of stuff that I'm missing, but I'll stop here. As always, I'll hope for the best, but I'll be expecting the worst. And really, that's what The Challenge is all about.