Today's Varsity Dad Event: Home Run Derby

What: MLB Home Run Derby
When: 8 p.m. ET
Where: ESPN or MLB.com

Why it makes for great parent-kid sports-TV watching: The simplicity. The entire premise is to jack homers, the most telegenic of any single action in sports.

What an amazing opportunity to bond over the awe-inspiring arc of a well-hit home-run ball.

(And perhaps to note that ol' Dad was more of a plucky singles slapper in college intramural softball and that "Chicks dig the long-ball" is a product of the Steroid Era.)

For older kids, this year's Derby offers the chance to watch the greatest hitter of this generation -- Albert Pujols. You will want to be able to look back and say, "Remember when we watched him in the 2009 Home Run Derby in St. Louis?"

(Beyond that, there is sweet-swinging Joe Mauer and six others to discuss.)

For younger kids, what could be more fun than to keep track of the home runs hit by counting?

I think my favorite tradition of the Home Run Derby is very much in line with the Varsity Dad mindset: The players with kids bring them along, onto the field, where they sit among the gawking All-Stars and get to cheer on their dads.

Who wouldn't want to have their kid next to them while they put on a show doing what they do best?

One of the best sports events of the year for families to watch together.