Boxing legend Muhammad Ali will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the 75th Baseball All-Star Game (7 p.m., Fox) at Minute Maid Park (formerly Enron Field) in Houston. Am I just getting crabby, or do these spectacles mean less every summer?

Call me an elitist, but I’d care more about a team chosen by players, coaches and managers than the current crop elected by anybody with an Internet connection and time on their hands. Fans tend to vote for hometown heroes, emotional favorites and established superstars. As a result, some rookies and up-and-comers enjoying superlative seasons get snubbed.

The “P.O.V.” documentary “Thirst” (9 p.m., PBS) examines efforts by large multinational corporations to privatize and purchase public water supplies. Some mayors and city managers argue that privatization is the only way to pay for the huge cost of building new pipelines, reservoirs and other infrastructure. Critics say that water cartels will monopolize a finite resource that should belong to people as a basic human right.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Lorelai admits her feelings for Luke on “Gilmore Girls” (7 p.m., WB).
• Incarcerated shenanigans, and DNA secrets to boot, on “Big Brother 5” (8 p.m., CBS).
• Charlie and company take on gardens in Santa Barbara, Calif., in a new season of “Ground Force America” (8 p.m., BBC America).
• Competitive globetrotting on “Amazing Race 5” (9 p.m., CBS).
• A budding criminologist is murdered on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC).
• Charges of bias bedevil a veteran officer on “NYPD 24/7” (9 p.m., ABC).

Late night

Will Smith appears on “Late Show with David Letterman” (10:35 p.m., CBS) … Jay Leno welcomes Sharon Stone and Chris Matthews on “The Tonight Show” (10:35 p.m., NBC) … Andy Dick and Bow Wow Wow appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:05 p.m., ABC).

Caroline Rhea chats on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Bob Marley appears on “The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn” (11:37 p.m., CBS).