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Boston's Farrell was wrong not to make Sale an all-star

Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale deserves a spot at the All-Star Game, but Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell left him off the Top 5 pitching roster for the summer classic.

Farrell is the AL manager for the game, and perhaps Sale will still get added, but the excuses I'm hearing are hilarious.

Sure, he missed some time on the disabled list, but Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw missed even more, and he may start for the National League.

This is not about Kershaw, though, who deserves to play, but Sale does too. Sale has a record of 8-1 with team playing under .500 baseball, and he has a National League-type ERA at 2.16.

Not too shabby.

Sale pitches Wednesday against the Red Sox, and that will be must-see TV. Go get 'em Chris!

Not smelling like a Rose:

Derrick Rose has been missing in action for two years, yet the Bulls and Team Rose inexplicably still let this kid run the show.

The Carmelo Anthony visit was a mess, and locking out the media makes me believe they are hiding something. The franchise's handling of Rose continues to miss the mark - from shooting before games and his lengthy injury return to this latest debacle with Carmelo.

I wonder how the other players feel about Rose's lack of interest in recruiting, because we all know Joakim Noah wants Anthony in a big way.

Look, Rose has banked over $30 million for the last two years and has played in only 10 games. Sorry, but in my world he stopped being the tough South Side kid a year ago.

Downtown Derrick is the Baron of Trump Tower with a now-you-see-me and now-you-don't act.

Has any guy's stock tumbled with the fans more than his value? Hey, it's only Year Three, so take your time kid.

Soccer joins betting world:

I was in Las Vegas over the Fourth of July weekend and the sports books were buzzing as usual, but it was with a new twist.

Yes, Las Vegas has caught on to the World Cup soccer craze, and I even laid down a bet on the Netherlands-Costa Rica game. I took the under 2.5 goals, and the game ended in a 0-0 tie with a shootout won by the Netherlands when time expired.

It isn't just the World Cup that's gaining a foothold. Las Vegas is now also taking action on the English Premier League and Major League Soccer.

I have to admit that I have had trouble watching a soccer game unless the USA was involved, but a funny thing happens when a bet is involved. You end up watching it like any other game, and I didn't miss a minute of it.

Why? Because I had money riding on it.

Do I know a lot about soccer? Not really, but I watched and enjoyed it more than I expected.

With the advent of soccer gambling becoming more mainstream, look for soccer to take a bigger stage overall because it sure is more interesting when you have some skin in the game.

Program notes:

Follow me on Twitter@ north2north, and listen to Fox Sports Daybreak with Andy Furman and myself from 5-8 a.m. Monday through Friday on Fox Sports radio, and check me out on iHeart radio or Foxsportsradio.com.

• Mike North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.

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