Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Sports: Changes I Would Make
1. Exempt NCAA football from Title IX: I'm all for females competing, but football brings in all of the money for almost every major college athletic program. Colleges shouldn't have to cut men's programs to ensure equality among scholarships, simply because they cannot afford to add the requisite number of female sports.
2. Ban aluminum bats: This isn't the problem that it used to be, now that the NCAA has regulated the standards on aluminum bats. We no longer have to endure 21-14 College World Series finales, but there's still something about the ping of an aluminum bat that seems sacrilegious.
3. Halt expansion: Bud Selig's plan to contract two major league baseball franchises didn't fly, so we're apparently stuck with a lot of bad franchises in pro sports. Until such time as these perennial loses can be contratced, or relocated to new cities, all pro leagues should stop expanding.
4. Release college football polls in October: Now that the BCS relies so heavily on the two major polls, it's time to stop basing the NCAA champion on arbitrary rankings that have more to do with last year's results and this potential, as opposed to the current season's on-field merits. Delaying the first poll until the first week of October means that good teams might not face such long odds of reaching a BCS Bowl.
5. Raise the mound: Major league hitters are bigger, stronger and faster than ever before, so maybe it's time to help the pitchers. Raising the mound would help give some of those overmatched arms a little boost.
6. Add a BCS championship game: Rarely will you see more than four teams enter the bowl season with national championship credentials. Why not seed the top four before the BCS, and then allow the two winners to play a title game one week later? It's less complicated than a full playoff, while maintaining the history of the bowls.
7. Punish the coaches, not the schools: How many times do college coaches cheat, only to leave their former team to face the consequences when they bolt? When a program draws the wrath of the NCAA, due to the violations of a former coach, they should not incur crippling penalties, unless proof exists of wrong-doing that extends to the upper levels of the administration. The coaches at fault, however, should receive suspensions, or be forced to take the terms of their NCAA sanctions with them to their next job.
8. Institute a soft cap in the NFL: Had the NBA's salary cap been in effect in the NFL, we'd still have the Cowboys and Forty-Niners battling for NFC Supremacy. Yes, I'm bitter.
9. Eliminate Interleague play: Does anyone at all care anymore?
10. Ban all old-style Astro-Turf: Thankfully, fewer and fewer teams still cling to this relic of 60's-era innovation. I know that my Astros are to blame for setting the trend of injury-promoting carpets, but they switched to natural grass five seasons ago. For those in climates that make growing grass difficult, the revolutionary FieldTurf (used in places like Nebraska) surfaces mimic the properties of the real stuff.
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2. Ban aluminum bats: This isn't the problem that it used to be, now that the NCAA has regulated the standards on aluminum bats. We no longer have to endure 21-14 College World Series finales, but there's still something about the ping of an aluminum bat that seems sacrilegious.
3. Halt expansion: Bud Selig's plan to contract two major league baseball franchises didn't fly, so we're apparently stuck with a lot of bad franchises in pro sports. Until such time as these perennial loses can be contratced, or relocated to new cities, all pro leagues should stop expanding.
4. Release college football polls in October: Now that the BCS relies so heavily on the two major polls, it's time to stop basing the NCAA champion on arbitrary rankings that have more to do with last year's results and this potential, as opposed to the current season's on-field merits. Delaying the first poll until the first week of October means that good teams might not face such long odds of reaching a BCS Bowl.
5. Raise the mound: Major league hitters are bigger, stronger and faster than ever before, so maybe it's time to help the pitchers. Raising the mound would help give some of those overmatched arms a little boost.
6. Add a BCS championship game: Rarely will you see more than four teams enter the bowl season with national championship credentials. Why not seed the top four before the BCS, and then allow the two winners to play a title game one week later? It's less complicated than a full playoff, while maintaining the history of the bowls.
7. Punish the coaches, not the schools: How many times do college coaches cheat, only to leave their former team to face the consequences when they bolt? When a program draws the wrath of the NCAA, due to the violations of a former coach, they should not incur crippling penalties, unless proof exists of wrong-doing that extends to the upper levels of the administration. The coaches at fault, however, should receive suspensions, or be forced to take the terms of their NCAA sanctions with them to their next job.
8. Institute a soft cap in the NFL: Had the NBA's salary cap been in effect in the NFL, we'd still have the Cowboys and Forty-Niners battling for NFC Supremacy. Yes, I'm bitter.
9. Eliminate Interleague play: Does anyone at all care anymore?
10. Ban all old-style Astro-Turf: Thankfully, fewer and fewer teams still cling to this relic of 60's-era innovation. I know that my Astros are to blame for setting the trend of injury-promoting carpets, but they switched to natural grass five seasons ago. For those in climates that make growing grass difficult, the revolutionary FieldTurf (used in places like Nebraska) surfaces mimic the properties of the real stuff.
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