Now that the NBA playoffs and terribly over-hyped college draft are finally over, fans can turn their attention to other sporting events around the world. From the U.S. to France to Nome, Alaska, here's a look at what's happening in the world of sports.
Baseball
Baseball's best and brightest get together tonight to play the 64th All-Star Game at Baltimore's Camden Yards. Four of the first five American League batters are Toronto Blue Jays.
Mark Lanston of the California Angels will start on the mound for the American League and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Terry Mulholland will start for the National League. Here is a list of the other starters, selected by fans to be the best at their respective positions.
American League:
Catcher: Ivan Rodriguez, Texas.
First base: John Olerud, Toronto. I for one would like to see him become the first man since Ted Williams to hit .400 for a season. Unfortunately, I don't think he has a prayer.
Second base: Roberto Alomar, Toronto.
Shortstop: Cal Ripken, Baltimore. Does the number 2,130 mean anything to you?
Third base: Wade Boggs, New York.
Outfield: Ken Griffey II, Seattle; Kirby Puckett, Minnesota; Joe Carter, Toronto.
National League:
Catcher: Darren Daulton, Philadelphia. As long as Lenny Dykstra with his tendency to wrap his car around trees while driving under the influence doesn't give him a ride to Baltimore, he will play.
First base: John "Monster Chaw" Kruk, Philadelphia.
Second base: Ryne "$7 million man" Sandberg, Chicago.
Shortstop: Barry Larkin, Cincinnati.
Third base: Gary Sheffield. The Triple Crown threat of a year ago was recently awarded a spot on the San Diego Padres' 25th anniversary dream team, but for some reason, he now finds himself playing for the Florida Marlins.
Outfield: Andy Van Slyke, Pittsburgh; David Justice, Atlanta and Barry Bonds, San Francisco. It is nice that a big leaguer has finally shown that stars can play as well after they sign the big multi-million dollar fre- agent contract as they did before with their old team.
Other baseball notes
Just to demonstrate how low the Mets have sunk, the only player on their team to have done anything worthwhile this year is a man who now holds the record for most consecutive decisions with a loss. Anthony Young continued to build upon his unbelievable streak by losing his 26th straight game last Wednesday. Even though Young gave up just three hits, struck out seven, and allowed no walks in eight innings, the '62, I mean the '93 Mets could only muster one hit against San Diego as they lost to the Padres 2-0.
Speaking of continuing to build upon major league records, Ricky Henderson of the Oakland A's hit home runs to lead off both games of last Monday's doubleheader, giving him 61 leadoff homers for his career.
Cycling
American rider Lance Armstrong won Sunday's eighth stage in the world's premier bike race, the 2,312-mile Tour de France. This is a special victory for Armstrong, who at age 21 is the youngest man to win a stage since Henri Cornet won a stage at the age of 20 in 1904. Belgium's Johan Museeuw is the race's overall leader. The race ends July 25 in Paris.
Dog-sled Racing
Following the lead of the NHL, which now has franchises in Dallas, Anaheim, Tampa Bay, and Miami, the word out of Nome, Alaska is that the Iditarod has changed locales. Instead of racing across the breadth of Alaska, the famed dog-sled race has been replaced by the dogs having to swim from the Bahamas to Florida while pulling their human teammate in a dingy.
