The All-Star Game in 2002 ended in a tie, American League 7, National League 7, after 11 innings.

Bud Selig is 78. He's not apologizing for that any more.

“Can I just say something about that, and would the women in here kindly not listen?” Selig would say Tuesday, 11 years later, in an All-Star break lunchtime chat with the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America in Manhattan. Pausing for effect, the 78-year-old commissioner reminded everyone, “We were (bleeping) out of pitchers.”

So, there was that.

But with that, there was a hastening of the move to make the All-Star Game more significant, and since 2003, the winning league has earned the home-field advantage in the World Series. For a commissioner who'd overseen a sour issue or two, Selig can add that to his list of credits.

“People say, 'Well, you did it for television,'” Selig said. “Well, that isn't unconstitutional or immoral either. We have a TV partner, they pay us a lot of money, we'd like to make them happy. But it has worked.”

It has worked, and if it continues to work, Bud Selig's everlasting image my just be a touch cleaner.

“I don't regard this as part of my history,” Selig said of the 2002 game. “It happened. And he fate of western civilization, by the way, wasn't changed one iota as a result of that tie, lest anybody get too concerned about it.”

Check out my story on the commissioner, along with a column on the Phillies, who apparently are not being taken seriously as trade-deadline buyers, in the Daily Times Wednesday and, as always, on delcotimes.com