MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Matheny had quite the choice for the National Leagues All-Star starter. Johnathan Motley Jersey . There was his own Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals ace with a 12-4 record and a 1.83 ERA. And there was the Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, 11-2 with a 1.78 ERA and fresh off a 41-inning scoreless streak that ended last week. He chose Wainwright, who will start Tuesday night at Target Field against the Seattle Mariners Felix Hernandez. "Its going to be great catching them," said Milwaukees Jonathan Lucroy, the NL starter behind the plate. "A lot more fun than facing them." When baseballs elite met at Citi Field last year, NL batters managed just three hits in a 3-0 loss. A year earlier in Kansas City, the AL had just six hits in an 8-0 defeat. Never before had consecutive All-Star games ended in shutouts. "Guys are throwing harder. Guys have more pitches," said Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley, making his sixth All-Star appearance and first since 2010. The big league batting average is at a 42-year low. Strikeouts are at an all-time high. Wainwright and Kershaw are on track to become the first pair of qualifying pitchers in one league with a sub-2.00 ERA since the Mets Dwight Gooden and the Cardinals John Tudor in 1985 -- the last time Minnesota hosted the All-Stars. "Aside from having the ability to win two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, I think this has to be one of the highlights of my baseball career to this point," Wainwright said. "One of the coolest things I can say I did is to start a big league All-Star game." Kershaw understood Mathenys decision. "If Im him, Im probably going to pick Adam, too. Its his guy and he had the best half," Kershaw said. Hernandez, the first Venezuela pitcher to start for the All-Stars, also has sterling credentials: an 11-2 record with a 2.12 ERA. He described his task pretty simply: "Just throw zeroes out there and get my team to win. Thats all I got to do," he said. Back in the great pitching era of the 1960s, the game was different. Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal expected to finish what they started. Now, flame-throwers come out of the bullpen in the middle of games. "Youre not getting three, four at-bats off of the starter unless youre in trouble and youre losing the game," said Baltimores Matt Wieters, elected as a starting catcher but sidelined following elbow surgery. "I think for a while it was trying to get the starter out of the game so you can get to that fifth, sixth, seventh-inning guy. And now those fifth, sixth, seventh-inning guys are throwing upper 90s with a good breaking ball." In addition to pitchers, the spotlight will be on New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter. The shortstop, who turned 40 last month, is playing his final season and was selected for his 14th All-Star game. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera got an emotional sendoff last year, the All-Stars giving him a solo bow. When Rivera entered in the eighth inning all other players left him the field to himself. Cal Ripken Jr. was given a tribute at the start of the 2001 game at Seattles Safeco Field when Alex Rodriguez told Ripken just before the first pitch to switch positions and move from third base to shortstop, where the Baltimore star spent most of his career. The 40-year-old Ripken then homered in the third inning. And two years ago, Atlantas Chipper Jones was feted with a standing ovation at Kauffman Stadium when he pinch hit in the sixth inning and singled. What will Jeters All-Star finale be like? "I dont go into things with expectations," he said. "Im looking forward to playing the game. Ive pretty much stopped it right there." The game is being played in Minneapolis for the third time, following the NLs 6-5 win at Metropolitan Stadium in 1965 and a dull 6-1 NL victory indoors at the Metrodome in 1985. Oakland, a big league-best 59-36 at the break, has seven All-Stars for the first time since 1975. It got another win on Monday night when Yoenis Cespedes beat Cincinnatis Todd Frazier 9-1 in the final round to become the first repeat champion of the Home Run Derby since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 and 99. The Athletics have some incentive for an AL victory in the All-Star game; since 2003, the winners league gets to start the World Series at home, and 23 of the last 28 titles were won by teams scheduled to host four of a possible seven games. "I dont think you can ever underestimate the home-field advantage in a post-season," said AL manager John Farrell, who led Boston to a six-game win over St. Louis last year. "To have that final game potentially in your home ballpark, that goes a long way to affecting the outcome." Lamond Murray Jersey . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat. Randy Smith Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson has a sixth NASCAR championship in hand and two legends within reach. https://www.cheapclippersonline.com/340h-corey-maggette-jersey-clippers.html .Steamboat Ski Resort contends Steamboat Springs, Colorado has long been known as Ski Town, U.S.A., and claims in a new lawsuit that Salt Lake tourism officials violated their trademark when they rolled out the Ski City marketing campaign last month.NEW YORK -- Hockey rarely gets much attention in Norway, a skiing-obsessed nation that turns to soccer when the snow melts. Mats Zuccarello is changing that. Zuccarello is only the seventh player from Norway to make it to the NHL, and hes the first to make it to the Stanley Cup finals. Now, "Zucca" has Norwegians staying up late to watch New York Rangers games and checking the stats to see if he scored. "A lot of Norwegians have fallen in love with Zuccarello," says Roy Kvatningen, sports editor for Norwegian online paper Nettavisen. "First and foremost because hes successful at what he does. He won the scoring title in Norway, he won the scoring title in Sweden, and now hes playing on the biggest stage in the world. "Hes also got a cool name and a good personality: confident, but down to earth." Former teammates of Zuccarello and his mother are being interviewed by Norwegian media. Downhill skier Kjetil Jansrud and players on the national soccer team have sent him congratulatory messages. In his fourth NHL season, all with the Rangers, Zuccarello notched 19 goals and 40 assists in 77 games. He added four goals and seven assists in 20 post-season games to help New York get to the finals for the first time in 20 years. "Some people, like my close family and friends that have been following me since I was young, are really excited," he said. "I told everyone its a huge opportunity for me to play, but at the same time nothing is won yet." The affable 26-year-old winger hopes his success will build up hockey at home, but he knows it will take a lot more than that. "I would love to be a role model for younger players back home and create some more buzz around hockey," he said. "Hopefully this can help. If I was Norwegian or not, I would be equally happy to play in the Stanley Cup finals." Norway finished last in the Sochi Olympic hockey tournament. Zuccarello believes a greater commitment is needed within the country before success outside of it can be reached. "We have 25 rinks. There is no ice in the rinks during the whole summer," he said. "... How are you supposedd to be a good hockey player when you go four months with no ice?" Zuccarello says Norway hasnt made a commitment to hockey since Oslo hosted the 1952 Olympics. Los Angeles Clippers Pro Shop. "Nothing," he said in a frustrated tone. "We have one new rink in Norway that is not from 52. They have renewed it a little bit, but our main rink in Oslo was built in 52, and thats not good enough. Its got to start from the top. Its going to cost money, but the government has money. Youve got to use it to get new rinks, get people excited to go to a hockey game with new seats. Norway is considered the "little brother" in hockey circles to Sweden and Finland. Sweden has 10 times as many rinks than Norway, Kvatningen said. Zuccarello was fortunate to attend a hockey-centric high school and then played three seasons in Norways elite league. From there he went to Modo in Swedens premier league before signing a free agent deal with the Rangers in 2010. He watched the Stanley Cup finals as a youngster in the early morning hours. The first one he recalls was the Colorado Avalanches victory over Florida in 1996 when he was 8. The Avalanche, with Swedish star Peter Forsberg, was Zuccarellos favourite team. They won that series in a four-game sweep -- ending it with Uwe Krupps goal in triple overtime. "I remember waking up. I was going to school, I turned on the TV and Uwe Krupp scored the overtime winner," Zuccarello said. "I didnt think it was live. I thought it was taped." He might be about to create a lot of sleepless nights for grown-ups and kids alike back home once this series against the Los Angeles Kings begins Wednesday. Family members and friends are planning to make the trip to New York to see him play live in Games 3 and 4. They will have to make room for other Norwegian tourists who are looking to make the trek, too. "I know already that more Norwegians have been travelling to New York to catch a game at Madison Square Garden," Kvatningen said. "Even if theyre not hockey fans, its a great experience for Norwegians to go over there and see a small Norwegian guy getting celebrated." ' ' '