It has been a while since I last posted - thanks to a couple trips (Chicago, Minnesota, & South Dakota), trying to write a novel in a month (November is National Novel Writing Month), and a wheel-throwning pottery class (and you thought all I did was watch races! Ha!).
So, I thought I'd let you know what I want from the sporting world this Christmas.
NBA: I confess, I never watch a game. I'm not sure why, as I attend college men & women's basketball games regularly. I even watched three men's games on TV yesterday. But the professional version holds no charm for me. In fact, I can't find anyone I know who admits to watching - even though I have several ardent baseball, football, soccer and college wrestling fans. With a season that stretches from October through June with several games per team a week. Maybe we need fewer games to gin up interest? I'm not sure what it would take to interest me, but they don't have it right now. And the people I used to know who watched the NBA, don't anymore. Something needs to be fixed fast.
BCS: I thought the new system was designed to take the popularity vote out of the equation by torturing some numbers in a secret formula to determine who is the best? So why did it come down to who coaches and writers thought should play Ohio State? Can't we just cut back on the regular season games and actually do a playoff system like the other college divisions do?
Indianapolis Colts: My favorite team seems determined to be the "best team who never played in the Super Bowl." I'd just like Peyton Manning to get this playoff-losing-monkey off of his back and get to the big game.
Overcommericalism in sports: Does every statistic mentioned by an announcer have to be sponsored by some corporation? Can't you just tell me how many points in the red zone the team has scored without telling me the stat is sponsored by Pontiac, Home Depot, Sprint or Coca-Cola? Nascar has perfected this, but judging by the recent college football and basketball games I've seen (both in person and on TV), the rest of the sporting world is quickly catching up. It isn't like the corporate sponsorship is lowering the ticket price, so where is the money going?
Nascar: First, I'd like to see the Busch series completely revamped. How about sports cars such as the mustang, trans am, firebird, etc? That alone should hinder drivers learning something in the Busch series that helps in the Cup series. Ban Cup drivers from driving for their Cup team in the Busch series. For example, drive for Roush in the Cup series, you can't drive for him (or an affiliated team) in the Busch series. I'd also limit the number of Cup pit crew members who could work on the Busch pit crew. Point System - Isn't it time competitors got points for the pole position? With 35 cars locked in the field, there isn't a lot of incentive (beyond pit selection and track position) to win the pole. Give a few bonus points for the top five spots, and there will be a nice rush for the pole. I'd also semi-eliminate the 35 locked in positions. Instead, everyone qualifies on time, but the top 35 cars from the prior year get 4 mulligans for the next year. For example, if Dale Jr. didn't qualify in the top 43 cars at Daytona in February, he could bump the 43rd place car (and then only have 3 more opportunities to do that). After he'd used his 4 mulligans, he'd be stuck qualifying on time or sitting out a race. For added incentive, I'd let teams "sell" their mulligans to each other, with a nice donation to the Nascar Foundation, of course.
Well, that's the start of my Christmas list. What do you want from the sporting world this year?
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