They do the same thing in hockey. Why people cannot comprehend the simple idea of scheduling teams of same class I dunno! It doesn't do a higher team any good to beat up on a lower and the lower team taking a beating helps no one.
Good story. My nephew who plays center and likes to mix it up anyway was playing a team that was higher and older. At the face off my nephew asks the big kid opposite him "How's the wife and kids?" He came back later with "You should learn how to shave!". They got pounded but my nephew battled the whole time.
As for All Star games, they're all kinda lame. Basbeball is marginally better perhaps, with the NFL (especially now having it between the conference championships and the Super Bowl) being the most lame. But even baseball, with injuries and psuedo-injuries there were, what? 84 players? It's a joke.
I agree with rickl, if you want it to count, go to one starter (two tops) and get relivers in there and play the starters the whole game if you have to! And none of this Euphorian picking one guy off a team just to make people feel better crap, and lets play the best players and play to win. Or don't play to win and quit jerking us around pretending you are!