Did anybody out there stay up to watch the All-Star Game until the bitter end?

The game was almost decided in the 11th inning, but National League outfielder Nate McLouth threw out Dioner Navarro trying to score the winning run.

The American League finally won it in 15, when Michael Young’s sacrifice fly mercifully ended the game. The AL domination continues, although this victory required extra effort.

Commissioner-for-Life Bud Selig sent word that this game would NOT end in a tie on his watch. Managers Clint Hurdle and Terry Francona had to play it out, even though they had already emptied their bench and depleted their bullpen.

“You know, you wait a lot of your life to do something like this,” Francona said afterward. “And in the last two hours, it wasn’t a whole lot of fun.”

How stressful was it? “I have acne on my forehead,” Francona said, according to ESPN.com.

Hurdle managed to keep one NL pitcher, Brad Lidge, available as the game dragged through extra innings. But by the time Lidge got into the game, he had already warmed up six times.

Francona wisely kept a starter, Scott Kazmir, available as his final hurler.

“In the dugout, players began to wonder what might happen next,” ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark wrote. “Would Kazmir have to pitch, say, the next 17 innings? Would either team be allowed to activate one of those leftover Hall of Famers — say, Whitey Ford or Steve Carlton? Or would it be time to turn this crown jewel of baseball into a total farce, by handing the baseball to somebody who hadn’t thrown a pitch since, oh, middle school.”

Alas, Kazmir worked the 15th and earned the victory when Young hit his sac fly off of Lidge.

The real heroes were the pitchers who went longer during extra innings: Aaron Cook (three innings) for the NL and George Sherill (2 1/3 innings) for the AL. Without their efforts, the thriller could have turned into a farce.

WHY THEY CALL HIM RAMPAGE

According to Sherdog.com, mixed martial arts star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson lived up to his nickname while driving erratically through Costa Mesa, Calif., to Newport Beach. Police gave chase, but Jackson didn’t stop until he reached his destination.

Sherdog picks up the story:

“Jackson was observed weaving his gray and green Ford pick-up truck in and out of traffic on a flat front tire while talking on his cell phone, according to a release from the Costa Mesa police department. An officer on motorcycle attempted to pull Jackson over but the fighter continued driving south on 17th St and over a center divider at Cabrillo Ave. in what became a chase with local authorities around 1:30 p.m.

“Authorities said Jackson drove through red lights and onto the sidewalk on multiple occasions, ‘causing pedestrians to flee in terror.’ Jackson collided with a vehicle at the 17th St. intersection and continued driving on an exposed tire rim. The fighter was later linked and charged for to two other collisions on the southbound 55 freeway prior to the pursuit.”

The intrepid editors at TMZ have posted a nice slide show of the arrest.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wondering how Dan Uggla will remember his All-Star Game:

• Seriously, has anybody ever played worse in the Midsummer Classic? How do you top three errors, three strikeouts and one double play hit into?
• Is this what happens when you decided to bronze your All-Star glove before the game?
• Who expected the All-Star Game – and its endless pre-game ceremonies – would expand into a two-day event?
• How many of those Hall of Famers ended up staying up way past their bedtimes?

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

David Whitley, Orlando Sentinel: “They want you to get all misty-eyed and raise a final toast to Yankee Stadium. Unless the home team starts hitting on more than Madonna and makes the playoffs, this will be the final big show at ‘The House That Ruth Built.’ The only problem is that sentiment is 35 years too late. Today’s Yankee Stadium resembles the old one as much as the current Michael Jackson looks like the one from 1973. Yankee Stadium spent two years getting torn down, rebuilt and totally reconfigured. If you bulldoze a house and build a new one where it stood, is it the same house?”

Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoSports.com: “Cranky blowhard Billy Packer is leaving CBS’ college basketball. Now whose going to overrate Coach K?”

David Thomas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, on the home-run derby: “OK, so you’re the Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of State Farm Insurance. You’re not getting 15 minutes of fame presenting the winner’s check on national television, but you are getting about nine seconds. And you call Justin Morneau ‘Jason.’”

Dwight Perry, Seattle Times: “Arizona coach Lute Olson says he’s fed up with college basketball’s “one-and-done” phenomenon, and vows to do something about it. Unfortunately for Wildcats fans, he was referring to NBA-bound freshmen, not his team’s recent NCAA tournament exits.”

Mark Kriegel, FoxSports.com: “The truth is, it’s been a little boring this summer. The season has been lacking in debate. And isn’t that the whole point with baseball, to give you and your friends and your father something to argue about? So admit it. You miss him. I’m talking about Barry Bonds, of course. Not only is he the greatest hitter of his chemically-enhanced generation, he’s also the greatest heel. You can hate on him, as I have made it my practice to do. But you’d be wise to acknowledge that he’s also the guy you love to hate.”

Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star: “You know how Barry Bonds’ agent said that Bonds has offered all 30 teams his services for the minimum salary, and he would give that money to kids, and he would go on a hunger strike to end the strife in Darfur? You remember that little offer. Well, come a little closer … I have heard from some very good sources that Bonds’ people never made their offer to the Kansas City Royals. In fact, according to my highly placed sources, Barry’s people have never made any offer at all to the team. In fact, according to my incredibly sound sources, one whose name just might rhyme with Peyton Smore, Barry’s people probably do not even have the Kansas City Royals phone number.”

MEGAPHONE

“I feel like I needed to be in a bullet-proof car. My wife is pregnant and she’s getting her life threatened. It’s stupid.”

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, on the abusive behavior of Yankees fans during the All-Star parade.