Atlanta Braves' Brian McCann's three-run double in the seventh was the difference as the National League ended 13 years of futility with a 3-1 win over the American League in the 81st All-Star Game at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Tuesday evening. The Senior Circuit snapped a 13-game winless streak with its first victory in the Midsummer Classic since 1996.  The 2002 All-Star Game ended in a 7-7 tie.  By virtue of the win, the team who represents the National League in the World Series will have home field advantage for the first time since Major League Baseball adopted the All-Star policy in 2003.  The Cardinals represented their squad very well in the All-Star Game.  Albert Pujols went 0-for-2 with a strikeout, Matt Holliday was 1-for-1 and scored a run, Yadier Molina went 1-for-1 and Adam Wainwright fanned a pair with a walk and hit through one scoreless inning.

The St. Louis Cardinals kick off the second half of their season tomorrow night in the opener of a four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. The Cards took two-of-three against the Houston Astros, capped off with a 4-2 victory on Sunday, to wrap up the first half at 47-and-41. They sit one-game back of Cincinnati atop the NL Central division standings.

Pitchers' Brandon Dickson and Fernando Salas, along with manager Mark Budaska, will represent the Memphis Redbirds in tonight's Triple-A All-Star Game which pits the Pacific Coast League against the International League in Allentown, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  Memphis, which snapped a three-game slide with a 5-1 win over the Nashville Sounds to cap off the first half of the season, hits the road to take on the New Orleans Zephyrs in the opener of a four-game set starting tomorrow night.

The Chicago Cubs open up the second half of their season tomorrow night as they square off against the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a four-game set at Wrigley Field. The Northsiders dropped three-of-four to the Dodgers, capped with a 7-0 shutout loss on Sunday, to wrap up the first half at 39-and-50 overall. They are nine-and-a-half games back of Cincinnati atop the NL Central. Ryan Dempster will be on the bump in Thursday second half opener.

Defenseman Darryl Sydor announced his retirement Tuesday after 18 seasons in the NHL. The 38-year-old Sydor played in 47 games for the Blues last season, posting eight assists.  Sydor played in 1,291 NHL games with Los Angeles, Columbus, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Dallas, and St. Louis, recording 98 goals and 409 assists.  His 1,291 games played currently ranks him 16th all-time among NHL defenseman.  The 6-foot-1, 211-pounder won Stanley Cups with Dallas in 1999 and Tampa Bay five years later.  The Edmonton native spent most of his career in Dallas, playing nine seasons for the Stars.  Sydor, who was originally drafted by the Kings with the seventh overall pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, appeared in 155 playoff games, accumulating nine goals and 47 assists.