The NBA All-Star Game is a joke. It has been for some years now, but professional hoopsters from the eastern half of the world's most prestigious basketball league really drove home the punchline this year, with a 211-186 win over the Western Conference. The All-Star event isn't quite as ludicrous as the NFL's Pro Bowl, but it's getting close.

This is the first time in a few years that I have sampled All-Star weekend. The Festivities, in Indianapolis this year, began on Friday night with a revamped version of what used to be the Rookie game. Now, there are four teams and two three-on-three games (looks like they stole the idea from the NHL, and what the hockey All-Star game has become. The winners of the two mini-games squared off for the so-called championship.

All-Star Saturday is still better than the game itself. There was a series of skills challenges, the three-point shooting contest, an added one-on-one competition this year, and the slam dunk contest, which is still considered as the highlight of the evening. The skills competition got a bit confusing at times, but wasn't bad. If you haven't seen the three-point shootout in a few years, they've made some changes.

They still have the six racks of balls scattered around the arc, but now there are more two-point 'money balls' and two extra balls that are worth three points. There were eight contestants with three making it to the final round. Boston's Damian Lillard won for the second straight year.

The most anticipated event followed. It started as a challenge between WNBA three-point champ Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty, saying she could beat Stephen Curry of the Warriors. Both players took it to heart, and took it seriously. A three-point shooutout round was set up, just like the three-point competition except Ionescu used WNBA-sized basketballs. Ionescu went first and scored 26 points, which would have qualified for the finals in the previous contest. With pressure on, Curry made nine of his last ten shots and ended up with 29 points, winning the contest.

The Dunk Contest only had four participants, and one of them isn't even currently in the NBA. Last year's winner Mac McClung is with Orlando's minor league team now, but was still invited to compete, and ended up winning! No real innovative dunks. Shaquille O'Neal and others were used as props, and the crowd booed many of the judges' conservative scores.

As far as the All-Star game itself, this year it returned to it's familiar format. In recent years, it was either American players against international All-Stars, or superstar captains would draft the All-Star squads before taking the court. This year it was back to Western Conference vs. Eastern Conference.

At least the TNT telecast got off to a good start. It opened with about a three-minute piece featuring Hall of Famer Reggie Miller (who played his entire NBA career with the Indiana Pacers) talking to comedian and Indiana native David Letterman. That segued into the pregame crew with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Shaq, but no Charles Barkley because he was doing an 'alt cast' on sister network TruTV. It would have been nice to hear Barkley, but not worth flipping to another channel.

The West was favored. They had more experience with players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Curry. The East was younger, but had shooters like Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton of the hometown Indiana Pacers. After an early exchange of several baskets, the East took the lead and never trailed again. At the end of the first period, the East led 53-47. One hundred points were scored between the two teams combined, and the only reason to continue watching at this point, was to see if one (or both) teams would score 200.

The halftime score resembled something that would have been a final in the NBA a few years ago. The East led 104-89 at the break. Lillard had 22 points and Haliburton 18. Jennifer Hudson was the halftime show, but her performance was brief, compared to a Super Bowl show, and the exhibition continued.

To a man, when NBA players were asked before the game, they said they were there to put on a show. No one said they were there to win, and there really was no incentive, other than professional pride and the spirit of competition. Maybe some defense was expected in the fourth quarter, but that never materialized. Needing 40 points in the fourth quarter for an even 200, Haliburton hit a three with 1:26 remaining to put the East at the two-century mark. The previous high total in an All-Star game was 196, scored by the West in 2016.

In the post-game presentation, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was not smiling. While presenting the trophy to captain Giannis Antetokuonmpo, he just said, "to the Eastern Conference All-Stars, you scored the most points. Well... the trophy is yours." Lillard scored 39 points and was named MVP. Unbeknownst to just about everyone, even though the announcers said it when it happened, Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves led all scorers with 50.

We're not expected to see much in the way of defense in All-Star games, but this year was taken to new lows. I don't recall any fouls being called, but there actually were three, resulting in five free-throw attempts. The West hit their only free shot, while the East made three of four. You'll see a lot of alley-oops and dunks with defenders just watching, but this year players were just gunning from long distance. You even saw half court shots or really long three-point attempts for no reason. The East took 97 three-pointers, making 42 (43 percent). The West was 25-of-71 beyond the arc (35 percent). There were three blocked shots, so some defense, but of the 14 steals, many were just passes intercepted by the other team. The West had 60 assists (to the East's 46), which indicates players were setting up their All-Star teammates for some good shots. On the other hand, the East took more three-pointers than twos (the West was pretty evenly split), which indicates a problem.

The players seemed to appreciate being named as All-Stars, but they don't really seem to appreciate (or even want to attend) the game itself. Maybe the league should scrap the game, make All-Star Saturday the showcase occasion, and either revamp or abolish the dunk contest. Maybe they could try what the NHL has done, and go to a series of three-on-three games (that's not a lot better). All I can say is I hadn't watched the NBA All-Star game in a few years. Seeing it this time, it appears I haven't missed much.

Spring training: Because the Dodgers and Padres begin the regular season early, playing sa two-game series in South Korea a month from now, the two teams play the first spring games, starting on Thursday. Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts says Shohei Ohtani will not play in the first two exhibitions, but thinks he'll be ready for the opener in Korea. Roberts also called it 'unlikely' that Walker Buehler, coming off elbow surgery, will pitch in any Cactus League games.

Losing Lachemann: It was sad to hear that former Angels coach Bill Lachemann passed away earlier this month at the age of 87. Lachemann's brothers Rene and Marcel were more well-known, but Bill was the manager of the Butte Copper Kings of the Pioneer League when I was in Idaho Falls in 1997. He autographed a baseball for me, and also gave me a couple of great interviews. He was also one of the two managewrs in the first game I ever broadcaastr. A rather soft-spoken man who knew his stuff, Lachemann was always kind to me, and fun to be around.

It's also sad to lose a family and American treasure. Sid Zimman, who was an uncle on my cousins' 'other side' of the family, passed away last week at the age of 100. He was still Uncle Sid to me, and I loved talking to him at family events. He was an honored World War II veteran and a great family man. To his children Jill and Jeremy and their families, I'm so sorry for your loss. What a great life he had, and a great family to share it with.