It’s All About The Stars

The stars come out this weekend. The NFL has its Pro Bowl, the NHL has its All-Star game and the best of the college seniors compete in the Senior Bowl.

The Senior Bowl, which has become – like the NFL draft – a gigantic media gaggle, is more about the practices than the game for league personnel executives. But fans also enjoy seeing top stars such as Ohio State’s Braxton Miller, USC’s Cody Kessler and Alabama’s Reggie Ragland compete. The game is Saturday at 1:30 p.m at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.

The Pro Bowl in Honolulu is a mash-up of players from all the teams, playing not by conference but on selected squads. It’s quasi-football, but it’s football nonetheless and people do watch it because they’ve been trained to watch football on Sunday. This one airs at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Pro Bowlers from the Super Bowl teams will not be present and many others decline their invitation due to injuries real or imagined. Just as everyone gets a trophy in junior soccer, do does everyone in the NFL get invited to the Pro Bowl.

The NHL All-Star game is actually a 3-on-3 tournament of mini-games between four teams on Sunday in Nashville. The winning team, comprised of 11 players, gets $1 million. The games begin at 5 p.m.

Also worth a look: The PGA Tour stop is at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Phil Mickelson grew up playing this course and was tied for 15th after the first round Thursday, though he just missed a hole in one. He hasn’t won here in 15 years.

Plenty of college hoops to pick from as well. Let’s go ACC with No. 11 Virginia at No. 16 Louisville at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and No. 20 Kentucky at No. 4 Kansas a bit later in the early evening (7 p.m.).
Enjoy ‘em all.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman