All-star

All-star (also stylized as All-Star) is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. It can also be used for a group of individuals, who are popular in certain areas.

Sports

"All-star" as a sports term refers to individual players named to an "all-star" roster or team representing the top performers during and before the end of a season in a given sport, or to a list of top participants who played in individual sports such as golf and bowling. Events limited to such honorees are referred to as "all-star games" or events.

In American team sports the premier all-star games are the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, NBA All-Star Game, Pro Bowl, NHL All-Star Game, and the MLS All-Star Game. Many all-star teams, such as collegiate "all-conference" and All-America squads, are recognitions of performance only, without the connotation of those selected ever being teammates in a game.

National Hockey League All-Star Game

The National Hockey League All-Star Game (French: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held at the midway point of the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many of the League's star players playing against each other. The Game's proceeds benefit the pension fund of the players.

Format

Current

On November 18, 2015, the NHL announced significant changes to the All-Star Game format, starting with the 2016 game: instead of one game pitted against two teams, there will be three games of 10-minute halves each, with four All-Star teams based on the league's four divisions. The Atlantic Division All-Stars will face the Metropolitan Division All-Stars, while the Central Division All-Stars will play against the Pacific Division All-Stars. The winners of these two games will then meet in an All-Star Game Final. The format for all three games will be three-on-three. If a tie remains after 20 minutes, then it will directly go to a three-round shootout plus extra rounds as needed to determine the winner; there is no standard overtime.

All-star game

An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, but sometimes dividing the players by an attribute such as nationality. Selection of the players may be done by a vote of the coaches and/or news media; in professional leagues, fans may vote on some or all of the roster. An all-star game usually occurs at the midpoint of the regular season. An exception is American football's Pro Bowl, which occurs at the end of the season.

All-star games are organized like regular games, but are often played with less emphasis on victory. Competing goals are to give many players time in the game and to avoid injury. In hockey, for example, there is no serious checking, while in football no blitzing is allowed. In basketball, there is virtually no defense played until the final quarter. However, the Australian State of Origin series does involve physicality that often leads to on-field scuffles.

Wrist shot

A wrist shot is a type of hockey shot that involves using arm muscles (especially those in the wrist and forearm) to propel a puck forward from the concave side of the blade of a hockey stick. Generally, when the puck is shot in a similar manner using the convex side of the blade, it is referred to as a backhand shot. The power of a wrist shot comes from lower body strength more than arm strength. The advantage of a wrist shot over a slap shot is the minimal amount of setup required, creating an element of surprise. Moreover, a wrist shot is far more accurate than a slap shot. Conversely, the reliance on wrist and forearm muscles to propel the puck causes the wrist shot to be less powerful than the slap shot, though this is not true for all players, even those with "big shots". Transfer of bodyweight and the flex of a hockey stick are also key factors for a wrist shot. Weight should shift from the back leg to the front leg for maximum power. The flex of a stick is also key for a powerful wrist shot. Applying energy and weight onto your stick gives a whip like motion and thus provides your shot with even more power. The lower the flex number on a hockey stick, the more bend the stick creates.

Team

A team is a group of people or other animals linked in a common purpose. Human teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.

A group does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Naresh Jain (2009) claims:

Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their true potential, and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond his or her limitations. Teams can be broken down into from a huge team or one big group of people, even if these smaller secondary teams are temporary.

A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members.

Thus teams of game players can form (and re-form) to practise their craft/sport. Transport logistics executives can select teams of horses, dogs, or oxen for the purpose of conveying passengers or goods.