DETROIT - On the way to Comerica Park, a centerpiece of a revitalized urban island in an otherwise struggling city, it's hard not to notice Tiger Stadium.

The crumbling relic was the site of one of the most memorable All-Star Game moments ever, Reggie Jackson's shot 34 years ago that might have reached Canada had it not been stopped by a rooftop light standard.

Now, the old stadium merely exists without a purpose.

"We have a lot of abandoned buildings here," a longtime Detroiter said.

With the playing of another Midseason Classic Tuesday night, won again, 7-5, by the American Leaguers, it might be fair to ask whether the gleaming Comerica or the decrepit grounds once roamed by Ty Cobb is a better symbol for baseball.

Certainly, baseball has evolved and prospered. Already this season, 40 million fans passed through the turnstiles on the way to another attendance record, supporting the notion that the steroid menace has been put out of mind. Revenue will reach $4.6 billion. The game's strong international flavor was firmly demonstrated Monday night by the flag-waving, if overly long, Home Run Derby. Soon, baseball's global appeal will be enhanced by the World Classic.

But the ever-resilient game sometimes cannot get out of its own way.

For example, Kenny Rogers just did not belong. He was a blight on the experience after his disgraceful actions in Texas. He should have just stayed away, and shame on the game for not having the ability to make that happen.

And astonishingly, just five African-Americans participated in the All-Star Game.

"It stuns me," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "There is no question players started gravitating toward basketball and football. The question is why. We do need to be more aggressive."

There is also the question of whether the game has gone too gimmicky with some of its innovations in a belated attempt to catch up with the marketing savvy of pro football and basketball. Critics have panned home-field World Series advantage going to the All-Star Game winner, but baseball had to do something to make this slumping exhibition compelling once more.

"I shudder to think where we'd be the last five years without the wild card," said Selig, who could've added interleague play and other modernizations to a game that did nothing to enhance its appeal in the decades before and after Jackson's magnificent blast.

There is a limit, however, to what should be done with the game. At least as long as Selig is in office, you'll never see a World-vs.-North America format in the All-Star Game.

"A lot of changes could come," Selig said, "but I still like the American League against the National League."

It is also a good thing that Selig will not capitulate to the Olympics.

Although the All-Star Game itself lacked in dramatics, it was refreshing for the game. The new blood among the 22 first-timers was a demonstration of what's coming. That's more interesting than what's going, particularly the absent Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.

And it was certainly not a bad thing to hear Rogers get his comeuppance, first with the pregame introductory boos, next with his less-than-welcoming reception in the seventh inning, and then with Andruw Jones' justice-delivering blast.

"I've earned the right (to play) with the way I've pitched," Rogers said. "I didn't want it to be a distraction."

Rogers doesn't get it, but the game will go on. It always does.