Even the greatest players in baseball were dwarfed for this All-Star game. It was the yard – Fenway Park – that refused to take a back seat, even to Mark McGwire. Only Ted Williams could rise above the venue itself: because he, Fenway and the Green Monster are one.

Does anyone hear the message here? Fenway is clearly outdated and the clubhouses are not the Taj Mahals of the new stadiums. Nevertheless, players love being there, the fans worship the hallowed ground and Fenway helps make baseball real again during the All-Star classic.

The Red Sox are using the event as a platform for a new Fenway Park, with management insisting this is the last mid-summer classic to be played in Boston.

They want it to be said and written enough times to make it true.

There may be a new yard in the works, but it is far from a done deal. There are property and money matters that must be resolved before Fenway comes down. After seeing the All-Star game and the joy Fenway brings to it, baseball should think about what this facility means to the game. They won’t. It’s about money – more for the Sox, more for the players.

Ted Williams wants the All-Star selection process to change. He agrees the fans should have input, but so should the players and managers. The game is not merely a popularity contest.

The NFL uses votes from all three sources to select the Pro Bowl players. The All-Star game should be played to be won, not just to get everyone into the line-up. Winning used to be the goal, but over the last decade the emphasis has been on every player making an appearance.

Sure the players’ individual teams matter most and they should not be used if there is any question of injury. Pitchers should not work more than three innings, as is the case now. However, position players should be left in the game and used in a way that gives that team the best chance to win.

Baseball’s All-Star game long has been different from every other sports showcase because the game can be played much like a regular season game. Williams came to win. He still considers one of his greatest hits to be the 1941 home run that won the All-Star game in Detroit. How many of today’s players could ever imagine their greatest hit being in an All-Star game?

What this all comes down to is: a ballpark that is a bit of living history can add to the present and the future. Having Fenway Park doesn’t hurt baseball. Neither does an All-Star game where the goal is to win.

Speaking of goals, the U.S. women’s soccer team didn’t take long to find controversy. The story isn’t how the women won, but “the bra.”

Brandi Chastain, who scored the title-winner, was one of 10 team members wearing a new line of Nike sports’ bras. She etched her place in history, pulling off her jersey following the goal, displaying the bra to Nike’s delight.

Chastain says the moment was one of “momentary insanity.” Nike says it may sign her up for promotional work.

The women have learned well from the men in sports. The answer is always money. An individual is more important than the team – do anything for an endorsement deal.

Women have desired and earned the right to equality in sports. They also have a chance to raise the standard of character athletes bring to the games – a standard many men have set too low

In that department in women’s soccer, the score is 0-1.

NEWS columnist Gary Thorne, an Old Town native, is an ESPN and CBS broadcaster.