I’m sure all the non-Raider fans out there want me to come back this week and try to give excuses as to why the Raiders lost in the Super Bowl.

But I’m done talking about it. In fact, I’m done thinking about it. I’m not bitter and I’m not embarrassed; it’s a dead issue with me.

An issue that isn’t dead, however, is the state of the upcoming NBA All-Star game. Since many all-star caliber players were snubbed, a handful of undeserving players were selected.

This happened because the NBA lets the fans vote for the starters and it becomes a popularity contest.

I understand that the NBA likes to get the fans involved and the All-Star game is claimed to be for the fans, but it is taking away the meaning of what an all-star should be.

Let me interject here real quick to say that the Raiders were doomed from the start of the game because of issues with All-Pro center Barret Robbins, who didn’t play in the game. Robbins, who makes all the blitz calls and protects the middle for the Raiders, was struggling with a history of depression and bipolar illness.

Back to basketball.

An all-star is someone who carries his team by coming out every night with consistent effort that results in consistent numbers — someone who has been playing well all year and more often times than not, the last half of the year before as well.

Obviously, with so many players that fit this description there are some that will be snubbed, but this year’s team left off some of the most deserving players I’ve seen in a long time.

Come to think of it, another reason the Raiders lost was because of horrible officiating. While Oakland was making a solid run toward the end of the game, three huge blown calls demolished the team’s momentum.

Sorry about the interruption.

On the Western Conference side, the two biggest names that jump out at me are Elton Brand and Michael Finley. Brand consistently puts up just under 20 points and 12 rebounds a game while playing for a bad team, the Los Angeles Clippers, which means he gets double-teamed more than anyone else on his team.

Finley quietly scores 20 points and grabs six rebounds per game on the Dallas Mavericks, which owns the league’s best record.

So who should go to make way for these guys? Lets start with Yao Ming. He has played only 44 games in the NBA and averages under 10 rebounds and 15 points per game.

Sure he’s popular, especially with all of China voting for the guy, but he is not all-star-worthy.

One of those bad calls in the Super Bowl was a two-point conversion that should have been good for Oakland that was called incomplete. Another bad call was a Jerry Rice catch in-bounds that was called out.

Sorry. No more Super Bowl talk — I promise.

I would say that Kobe Bryant needs to go to make room for Finley, but that’s an unfair argument for a Laker-hater like myself to make so I’ll leave that alone.

Players who are probably less deserving than Finley do include his teammate Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns’ Shawn Marion.

The third call that hurt the Raiders was a pass interference call on the Raiders’ defense on a Brad Johnson pass that was visibly uncatchable.

It let Tampa Bay continue downfield when it shouldn’t have and it was brutal for the Raiders’ momentum.

The Eastern Conference has its problems as well with Vince Carter as a starter on the All-Star team. Plagued with injuries, he has played in just 12 games this year, obviously not making an all-star impact for his team.

The NBA makes sure there is the same amount of big-men and guards on each All-Star team for match-up reasons, so mediocre players like the Indiana Pacers’ Brad Miller and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Zydrunas Ilgauskas made the team.

But who really cares about matchups in the All-Star game? I’m sure the coaches and players don’t really care because the game means nothing.

But instead you’ve got big-impact players like the Detroit Pistons’ Richard Hamilton and the Washington Wizards’ Jerry Stackhouse stuck watching the festivities at home.

Which is what I’ll be doing as well, and I won’t be happy.

But I’m pretty sure that my unhappiness isn’t NBA related. It’s that damn Tampa Bay defense that really has me heated. They must have been cheating.

Kyle Moss is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale. He is the sports editor of the Daily.