Whether baseball wants to admit it or not, the All-Star Game is no longer a competitive, dog-eat-dog game that really made it the most special event of all the major sports.

The NFL's Pro Bowl in Hawaii is a joke because the game comes after the Super Bowl and the rules are changed. The NBA and NHL all-star games are nothing but offensive shows. At least the baseball All-Star Game could always be viewed as a real game.

But that was in the past. Now the Midsummer Classic is a glorified exhibition. The main criteria for the managers is to get as many players in the game as they can and still have a pitcher or two left over in case the game goes extra innings. Few pitchers even pitch more than one inning now. The starters, even the biggest stars, are gone after the fifth inning.

The Home Run Derby has overshadowed the All-Star Game in terms of excitement and become the central All-Star event. Monday's power-hitting display draws more viewership and interest than the game itself. More people talk about who will win the Home Run Derby than who will win the All-Star Game.

The All-Star experience has turned into a week of pageantry leading up to the game. The host city has fan fests, the All-Star Futures Game on Sunday and the Home Run Derby on Monday. Once the pregame festivities are over, the game is anticlimactic.

In 1999, the All-Century Team was introduced at Fenway Park, and there was an outpouring of sentiment and applause for Ted Williams. Then Pedro Martinez started for the American League and pitched two superb innings, striking out the first five batters. After that, I was bored out of my mind.

If that's what Major League Baseball wants, so be it. But I have two possible remedies to inject some competitive juice back into the game.

1. U.S. vs. the World. This is not an original idea because the NHL adopted it for its All-Star Game first. But the idea might be well-served in baseball because the game has become more international. Pride would be restored to the game. Imagine the possibilities: a battery of Pedro Martinez-Ivan Rodriguez for the World team (if Martinez were healthy); Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza as U.S. teammates; or Mariano Rivera pitching to Derek Jeter to close out a game.

2. World Series advantage to the winner. If Major League Baseball wants to retain the NL-AL format, the home-field advantage for the World Series should be determined by which league wins the All-Star Game. For instance, if the NL All-Star team won, the NL champion should host Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 in October.

In the past the players would lace on the spikes and compete. While nobody wants his All-Star team to lose, nobody will hang his head if his team loses either. Today's players seem to merely enjoy the All-Star celebration instead of having a burning passion to win.

The shift away from a competitive atmosphere seemed to occur sometime in the mid-'90s. The blame could fall on agents, salaries, bonus clauses, interleague play, free agency -- a number of factors.

Whatever the reason, the best example of an All-Star Game as it should be played was 1970, when Pete Rose bowled over Ray Fosse in the 12th inning to win the game for the National League. That play would never happen now. The players would make a courtesy slide into home plate and make sure nobody got hurt.

At one time the NL beat the AL in 19 of 20 All-Star Games. The NL loved it, and the AL players hated it. Then the AL won 13-3 in 1983 when Fred Lynn hit a grand slam off Atlee Hammaker at the old Comiskey Park. Another memorable game was the 1979 All-Star Game, the last one in Seattle, when Dave Parker threw two runners out from right field.

But none of the recent games stand out. In 1998, the high-scoring game in Colorado (13-8) was expected. Mike Piazza returning to his Philadelphia roots in 1996 to win the MVP award was somewhat appealing. Yet the games lack the same drama as when Stan Musial hit a 12th-inning home run to win the 1955 All-Star Game, or when Willie Mays would dominate.

Now that both leagues fall under the umbrella of Major League Baseball, there are no league presidents to give impassioned speeches to their teams about the importance of winning the game. So perhaps one of my suggestions could be implemented to recapture the pride that made the All-Star Game so great in the past.

Dave Campbell, who played eight seasons in the major leagues, is an analyst for Baseball Tonight and ESPN Radio.