What do we even want out of All-Star games these days?
Are we looking for full-tilt competition? Or an opportunity to watch elite athletes have a little fun?
I’m not sure we, as a sports-watching society, have decided one way or another. Probably never will.
But I know one thing that nobody wants.
Quick links: Curry cooks up All-Star win | Schwellenbach speaks | State eyes Olympic cauldron relocation
FUN, INTERRUPTED
Credit: Jed Jacobson/AP
Credit: Jed Jacobson/AP
I’ve stated before that I am pro-shtick.
If you’re gonna do something weird or different, own it and run with it. Commit to the bit or die trying.
But would it kill anyone to pick up the pace a little?
The latest version of the NBA All-Star game dropped last night, and honestly … the basketball part was reasonably entertaining. Steph Curry and “Shaq’s OGs” won the four-team mini tournament, twice getting to the required 40 points before their opponents.
The Hawks' Trae Young (playing for “Chuck’s Global Stars”) scored four points and made several slick passes en route to seven assists.
It all took more than three hours though!
Tedious introductions. Musical interludes. Awkward internet guy Mr. Beast giving away cash for half-court shots. We love the (Atlanta-based!) guys from TNT — but a nearly 20-minute tribute in the middle of the final game?
C’mon now.
“I didn’t like it at all,” Young told reporters afterward. “… I thought it was very competitive at the beginning, but as the games kept going on it was too long of breaks.”
The thing is, folks: All-star games of all ilks have outlived their actual usefulness. We have highlights and video clips and pretty much any game we want on demand. It’s no longer a rarity to see the best in the NBA (or the NFL or Major League Baseball) square off.
Which is fine!
Because it’s OK for things to exist just because they’re fun. And absent real, live, fisticuffs-inducing competition (see the NHL’s new “4 Nations Face-Off”), it’s smart for leagues and networks to lean into the absurdity.
But nobody needs three-plus hours of Kevin Hart yelling into a microphone in their lives.
Let’s tighten up the set.
What do y’all think about the NBA All-Star game — and the current state of similar celebrations? Shoot me an email and let me know!
TRIVIA TIME
Who’s the only player in Hawks franchise history to win NBA All-Star game MVP?
Answer at bottom of the newsletter.
PLAYING CATCH-UP
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Braves spring training doesn’t take weekends off, and neither does the AJC.
Here’s what you may have missed since Friday:
⚾ Pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach isn’t taking anything for granted after his outstanding rookie season: “I got my chance last year because there were injuries. I know that I have to come out here every day and earn my job.”
🤔 Rotation-mate Spencer Strider had a very … philosophical year of rehabbing: “Mastery is something that doesn’t really have a destination.”
💸 General manager Alex Anthopoulos talked luxury taxes and the team’s offseason approach: “Now, we’ve lost free agents, no doubt about it, but we have some people we’re going to give opportunities to.”
BEGUILED BULLDOGS
UGA men’s basketball dropped another game after leading at halftime — this time against No. 21 Missouri at home.
The Bulldogs now sit at 16-10, flirting with the edges of NCAA Tournament exclusion. And the angst appears to finally be boiling over.
🗣️ Head coach Mike White said this after Saturday’s game: “At halftime, we’ve tried watching positive; we’ve tried watching negative; we’ve tried not watching. We’ve tried just talking; we’ve tried no talking. We’ve tried giving our guys a lot of time just on their own; we’ve tried giving them no time on their own; we’ve met in the middle. This is a mystery. I haven’t coached a team that has struggled this much early second half.”
🗣️ Y’all have any recommendations for a new halftime approach? Maybe they should give this classic, expletive-laced Kirby Smart speech a try!
TORCH TALK
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Our friends over at “Politically Georgia” report this morning that Atlanta’s Olympic cauldron may be on the move.
The Georgia World Congress Center Authority wants to relocate the structure — famously lit by Muhammad Ali to begin the 1996 Games — to Centennial Olympic Park downtown. Price tag: $2.5 million.
The cauldron, of course, still sits outside what was originally Centennial Olympic Stadium. And then Turner Field, home of the Braves. And now Centre Parc Stadium, home of Georgia State University football.
ON TAP THIS WEEK
⚾ Tuesday: The Braves hold their first official full-squad spring training workout. The girls high school basketball state tournament begins (check out the brackets).
🏀 Wednesday: Boys state high school basketball playoff games begins. Here are your first-round matchups, but keep in mind: we’ve got two rounds this week and two more next week before the finals start March 5 in Macon.
⭐ Thursday: The Hawks begin post-All-Star break competition, hosting the Magic at 7:30 p.m. Watch on FanDuel Sports Southeast.
⚽ Saturday: The Braves play their first spring training game, taking on the Twins (1:05 p.m., no TV). UGA men’s basketball visits No. 1 Auburn (4 p.m. on ESPN2). Atlanta United kicks off its season by hosting CF Montreal (7:30 p.m. on Apple TV).
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Mike Troxell/AP
Credit: Mike Troxell/AP
Ryan Preece’s No. 60 car flipped upside-down with four laps to go in Sunday night’s weather-delayed Daytona 500.
William Byron dodged the carnage from that wreck and others to claim NASCAR’s crown jewel for the second straight year.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
All I thought about was my daughter.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Oh, and the trivia answer is Bob Pettit, who won four times as a St. Louis Hawk (1956, 1958, 1959, 1962).
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