Watching sports all these years there are a few things I wish I could change. I did not include ticket and concession prices or players salaries.
BASEBALL
Doubleheaders: Bring back the scheduled doubleheaders in baseball. It was fun to spend all day at the ballpark catching two games.
Phantom Tag at Second: In the midst of a double play there are times when a player never touches second base before throwing to first. Yet the umpire calls the runner out at second. I can't find anything in the rule book that states second base is the only base with a halo rule. Meaning if your foot is in the imaginary halo ring around second that is close enough and the runner is out. Umpiring 101 foot must touch the bag to count as an out.
Balk Rule: It is a hard rule to understand and serves no real purpose. I believe a pitcher should be able to do what he can to keep a runner from steeling a base. There is no restrictions on the runner, so why should there be on the pitcher.
3-Run Mercy Rule: This would only apply to the Mariners. If a team scores more then 3 runs against the M's then the mercy rule comes into play and the game is called. Think of how this will save on our pitching staff. The Mariners have scored more then three runs in only 7 of their last 20 games. Felix Hernandez has had one or no run support in 8 of his 17 games.
FOOTBALL
2-Feet Down for a Catch: College rules allow one foot down inbounds for a catch, while the NFL you must have two feet down. I wish College also required two feet down to keep it consistent. It would better prepare College players for the NFL.
NFL Sell-Out Rule: NFL teams must be sold out in order for the local market to televise the game. The rule is out dated and needs to go. Times have changed and the popularity of football has never been bigger. The only teams hurt by this are the bad teams who end up with the top 5 picks in the draft. By having the games blacked out the NFL is missing the opportunity to show case their up and coming talent. With today's technology there are to many ways to view a game that a blackout is really not effective anymore.
NFL Turning Into the No Fun League: Let the players celebrate when they make a touchdown, sack, interception, block a kick or recover a fumble. I don't want to see props used for their celebration but a little dancing is fine. The NFL wants to cap the celebration so it is not taunting. These are grown men and if they don't want to see the player celebrating then stop them from making a big play. Think about how much taunting goes on at the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped or at the bottom of a pile.
Superbowl: There are two things I would change about the Superbowl. The first would be rotating the Superbowl to every NFL stadium. If they have to play in cold weather to get to the Superbowl, then they can play in the cold to win the Superbowl. I would love to see a Superbowl in Seattle someday. The second thing is to play the Superbowl on Saturday. I know it is tradition, but think of all those sick days people would save by not calling out on Monday. The 2012 season has at least one game being played on every day of the week but Tuesday. Opening day has been moved to Wednesday this year because of the Democratic National Convention. This is one tradition that is out dated and time to change.
FOOTBALL, SOCCER and HOCKEY
Overtime: No fan wants to see a game end in a tie or shootout. Let them play until someone scores, at some point fatigue will set in and someone will score. In the NFL both teams need to have at least one possession in overtime and again play until someone scores.
BASKETBALL and SOCCER
Flopping Penalty Box: Just like in hockey I wish there was a five minute penalty box in basketball and soccer for floppers. This is a pier art form for some players but it is a waste of time for fans. Anyone who watches knows the routine, the player over exaggerates the contact and flails to the ground. Once on the ground they hold a leg or foot and grimace in pain. Finally when they get to their feet with the help of their teammates they will then limp a few steps with a painful look on their face. Then like magic they are back to running at full force. I am thinking the flopping would stop if they got dinged with a 5-minute penalty.
NASCAR
Reverse Direction: This idea comes from my youth, spending time at a skating rink and the DJ would call out reverse direction. Then there would be a mad scramble to change directions. Think of the fun if you had 40 racing cars reversing direction on the track. I know that would not really work but it could if half way through the race all cars pitted and then reversed direction. It would make the race more of a challenge for the drivers to figure out turning into the corners and where the best grooves on the track are.
Let me know if there are changes you would like to make in sports.
