Is It Still About Winning??

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Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports, said the 2006 ratings might be topped this year. Advertising spots sold out at a record pace, at $400,000 per 30 seconds.

“Anybody who says the All-Star Game has lost its luster doesn’t know anything about baseball and doesn’t know anything about television,” Goren said, his voice rising. “It’s absolutely absurd.”

That the ratings are down from the 1980s reflects the growth of cable television, not fading interest from viewers, he said.

“The All-Star Game is going to have 30 percent more viewers than the final episode of `The Sopranos,’ which everybody thought was a big hit,” Goren said. “The All-Star Game is flat-out the top-rated show of the summer, and it tops the ratings every summer.”

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