That Was the Past that Wasn't

Apparently, last night's telecast of the NBA All-Star Game could not hold its own against the 40th Anniversary Special for Saturday Night Live. As far as I am concerned, neither of these forms of entertainment were at all what they used to be. However, since my wife wanted to watch the basketball, I sampled it for a bit until it became apparent to both of us that the actual basketball game had almost nothing to do with the television program. The idea of an athletic competition has been pushed so far into the background by media ballyhoo that I have to wonder whether any genuine sports enthusiast took last night seriously. If last night was a major event for anything, it was that of a double-barrelled effort to provide mindless distraction for the underemployed, since no one seems particularly interested in solving any deeper problems.