Welcome to the final installment of "If I Were in Charge Of.....", this installment we look at the NFL. It is arguably the most popular sport in America today. It also has it's share of on and off the field problems. While it is is highly successful, there are some changes that could be made to improve the league. So if I were in charge of the NFL.....
*Give players guaranteed contracts. The NFL is the only league (to my knowledge) that doesn't have guaranteed contracts for players. Given the nature of the sport & what is asked of the players, they deserve guaranteed contracts. Job security is a good thing and I don't think it would hurt the business of the owners to give that to players.
*Expand the rosters, allow more players to suit up for games & have a modified injured reserve. Right now there is a 53 man roster but only 45 can suit up each week (due to the idea of making it competitive for teams who may have more injuries than others). Make it 55 players and everybody can be eligible to play. Also right now if a player is placed on injured reserve he's done for the year & can't come back even if was physically able to. There should be a modified injured reserve similar to the other leagues (like baseball) where a player could be placed on the injured list and a roster move could be made to take the roster spot. If the player is deemed healthy enough to return that season, he should be able to.
*Bring back touchdown celebrations, with a few exceptions. One of the disappointing trends is the taking away of touchdown celebrations which were a fun and entertaining aspect of the game. Players should be allowed to celebrate when they score and not be penalized for it. If they bring in outside props then yeah that should be a fine but other than that, fair game. It is a game after all.
*Work on improving player safety. Player's health, especially when it comes to concussions is at the forefront of the news. Make it priority number one to improve the equipment (including helmets). Regulate that players wear all protective gear (including all the various pads & mouthpiece). Penalize and fine players who do not keep their helmets strapped onto their heads. Teach players the proper way to tackle (wrapping up) rather than to launch themselves with their heads like a missile.
*Develop a minor league system. With the demand of the sport so high, there can be a minor league system in place to put franchises in places that don't have pro teams but would love to have something like this. It would be a good feeder system to the NFL in case of injuries and would give players an opportunity to continue playing football that might not be able to now.
That's the changes I would make. What would you change? Leave a comment and let me know. Also feel free to go back and check other installments in this series.
Showing posts with label if I were in charge of. Show all posts
Showing posts with label if I were in charge of. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
If I Were in Charge Of.....College Football
It's time for another enjoyable installment of "If I Were in Charge Of". This week we look at college football. Growing up in the south, Saturdays in the fall was a given, watching college football. As I've gotten older I've got to see games in person. College football, like college basketball, has some good things but also have some things that would be beneficial to work on. So if I were in charge of college football.....
*Have a playoff. Out of all the changes in the various sports, this is one of the easiest calls to make. It looks like the powers that be agree with me (finally) and are looking to implement some kind of playoff in a few years. Their model would be 4 teams. My model would be more in line with nearly every other system in college football (1-AA, D-2, D-3, NAIA). I would have a 16 team playoff. The conference champions from the power conferences would get an automatic bid and there would be at large bids as well. The games would be played in early December until the "Championship Game which would then be played on New Years Day. For those who don't make the playoff, there will still be bowl games around but the championship will be decided on the field not by computers and voters deciding who will be in the title game.
*Cut and cap power conferences. One of the sad things that has come around in recent years is conference realignment. If I were in charge, some of that would be rectified. Missouri & Texas A&M (and also Nebraska) back to the Big 12. West Virginia, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, back to the Big East. I would put a cap on power conferences having 12 teams. That way each conference can still have a championship game but old rivalries can be kept. Out of all the changes I would make, this is the biggest pipe dream of them all but it would be cool. Tradition in some ways doesn't mean anything anymore in college football but it'd be cool to get back to it.
*For student athletes, half of all sales of their jerseys would go into a scholarship fund to help them pay for expenses outside of their athletic scholarship. Schools are making money off them, it would be nice if they could get something in return to help out with expenses since they can't get a job otherwise (this could be applied to all college athletes).
*The championship game will be televised on broadcast television, period. The last several years ESPN has shown the national title game on their network. While I like ESPN, they're not broadcast TV. All championship games (regardless of sport) should be on broadcast TV. One should be able to watch it and not have to pay to watch it.
*Unless it's an instate school, teams from power conferences cannot play schools that aren't in the same division (i.e. 1-A school playing a 1-AA or D-2). If there is going to be an emphasis on the regular season matters, can't have Alabama playing Georgia Southern.
Well that's this week's installment. What do you think? Leave your suggestions of what you'd change and be sure to check out all the other installments of this series.
*Have a playoff. Out of all the changes in the various sports, this is one of the easiest calls to make. It looks like the powers that be agree with me (finally) and are looking to implement some kind of playoff in a few years. Their model would be 4 teams. My model would be more in line with nearly every other system in college football (1-AA, D-2, D-3, NAIA). I would have a 16 team playoff. The conference champions from the power conferences would get an automatic bid and there would be at large bids as well. The games would be played in early December until the "Championship Game which would then be played on New Years Day. For those who don't make the playoff, there will still be bowl games around but the championship will be decided on the field not by computers and voters deciding who will be in the title game.
*Cut and cap power conferences. One of the sad things that has come around in recent years is conference realignment. If I were in charge, some of that would be rectified. Missouri & Texas A&M (and also Nebraska) back to the Big 12. West Virginia, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, back to the Big East. I would put a cap on power conferences having 12 teams. That way each conference can still have a championship game but old rivalries can be kept. Out of all the changes I would make, this is the biggest pipe dream of them all but it would be cool. Tradition in some ways doesn't mean anything anymore in college football but it'd be cool to get back to it.
*For student athletes, half of all sales of their jerseys would go into a scholarship fund to help them pay for expenses outside of their athletic scholarship. Schools are making money off them, it would be nice if they could get something in return to help out with expenses since they can't get a job otherwise (this could be applied to all college athletes).
*The championship game will be televised on broadcast television, period. The last several years ESPN has shown the national title game on their network. While I like ESPN, they're not broadcast TV. All championship games (regardless of sport) should be on broadcast TV. One should be able to watch it and not have to pay to watch it.
*Unless it's an instate school, teams from power conferences cannot play schools that aren't in the same division (i.e. 1-A school playing a 1-AA or D-2). If there is going to be an emphasis on the regular season matters, can't have Alabama playing Georgia Southern.
Well that's this week's installment. What do you think? Leave your suggestions of what you'd change and be sure to check out all the other installments of this series.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
If I Were in Charge Of.....MLS
It's time for another installment of "If I Were in Charge Of....." This week we take a look at Major League Soccer, a fairly young league in comparison to the others (first season was in 1996) but a sport that is loved around the world. This league is starting to gain some traction but there is definite room for improvement. So if I were in charge of MLS.....
*Have the schedule reflect that of other soccer leagues around the world. MLS has a schedule that runs from March to October (spring to fall) while most other leagues run a schedule that's more August to May (late summer to late spring). While the downside would be going along the same time as college football & the NFL, there would be the benefit of being able to keep players on their respective teams throughout the season & not losing them to such events as the World Cup & other FIFA sanctioned events in the summer months. There would also be the opportunity to get more world class athletes since the schedules would be linked up better.
*Have expansion to have an even number of teams in the league and get into markets right for soccer. Right now there are 19 teams and there is an unbalanced schedule. I would at least get it to 20 teams and probably get it to 24 teams. Right now there are 0 teams in the southeast (there used to be 2 in Florida but got contracted in the late 90s). To expand to 5 teams, I would have 1 team in Miami again, add a 2nd to New York (name them the Cosmos like the team in the NASL league back in the 70s & 80s), 1 in Atlanta, 1 in Phoenix & 1 in Charlotte. There would have to be some realignment with the Eastern & Western conference so here's how that would shape out:
Eastern: Montreal, Toronto, NY Red Bulls, NY Cosmos, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, DC, Philadelphia, New England, Columbus, Chicago
Western: KC, Houston, Dallas, Salt Lake, Colorado, Salt Lake, Phoenix, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Jose, LA Galaxy, Chivas (LA)
*Change the playoff format to a best of 3 for each round. This would differ greatly for soccer as it is done around the world which is by an aggregate goal format (the scores of the two games added and team with most goals in two games advances, if there is a tie, team with most away goals advance). Rather it play out on the field than have that be the case. Higher seed would host game 1 and if necessary game 3. Each round would have this best of 3 format including the MLS Cup Finals. Right now 10 teams (five teams from each conference) advance. In the "new format", 12 teams would advance (six teams from each conference) based on points (tie breaker would be wins) and top 4 seeds would get a bye in the 1st round.
*Have the champion of MLS play the champ of the English Premier League in a home and home series. They would play for a cup (for the sake of having a name the Beckham/Donovan Cup) and have bragging rights for the year. It would bring the top team from the EPL to the states one time a year for more than just a friendly and also give more exposure to MLS players "across the pond".
*More network exposure. I know that MLS recently signed a deal with NBC to cover games but most of them are on the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus, formerly the Outdoor Life Channel). I would have a "game of the week" on NBC proper on Sunday nights running from January until the end of the season (basically picking up where the NFL leaves off) and the first part of the season have special "rival" games on certain Saturday & Sunday afternoons. I would also have a deal with ESPN to air a certain number of games on the main network on Tuesday nights (and make sure that I won't conflict with NHL games that I discussed in an earlier post). I would also keep games on the NBC Sports Network but that wouldn't be the main avenue for people to catch games.
So that's what I think. What do you think? Feel free to leave comments as to how you would change MLS. And feel free to check on back the other posts in the series.
*Have the schedule reflect that of other soccer leagues around the world. MLS has a schedule that runs from March to October (spring to fall) while most other leagues run a schedule that's more August to May (late summer to late spring). While the downside would be going along the same time as college football & the NFL, there would be the benefit of being able to keep players on their respective teams throughout the season & not losing them to such events as the World Cup & other FIFA sanctioned events in the summer months. There would also be the opportunity to get more world class athletes since the schedules would be linked up better.
*Have expansion to have an even number of teams in the league and get into markets right for soccer. Right now there are 19 teams and there is an unbalanced schedule. I would at least get it to 20 teams and probably get it to 24 teams. Right now there are 0 teams in the southeast (there used to be 2 in Florida but got contracted in the late 90s). To expand to 5 teams, I would have 1 team in Miami again, add a 2nd to New York (name them the Cosmos like the team in the NASL league back in the 70s & 80s), 1 in Atlanta, 1 in Phoenix & 1 in Charlotte. There would have to be some realignment with the Eastern & Western conference so here's how that would shape out:
Eastern: Montreal, Toronto, NY Red Bulls, NY Cosmos, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, DC, Philadelphia, New England, Columbus, Chicago
Western: KC, Houston, Dallas, Salt Lake, Colorado, Salt Lake, Phoenix, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Jose, LA Galaxy, Chivas (LA)
*Change the playoff format to a best of 3 for each round. This would differ greatly for soccer as it is done around the world which is by an aggregate goal format (the scores of the two games added and team with most goals in two games advances, if there is a tie, team with most away goals advance). Rather it play out on the field than have that be the case. Higher seed would host game 1 and if necessary game 3. Each round would have this best of 3 format including the MLS Cup Finals. Right now 10 teams (five teams from each conference) advance. In the "new format", 12 teams would advance (six teams from each conference) based on points (tie breaker would be wins) and top 4 seeds would get a bye in the 1st round.
*Have the champion of MLS play the champ of the English Premier League in a home and home series. They would play for a cup (for the sake of having a name the Beckham/Donovan Cup) and have bragging rights for the year. It would bring the top team from the EPL to the states one time a year for more than just a friendly and also give more exposure to MLS players "across the pond".
*More network exposure. I know that MLS recently signed a deal with NBC to cover games but most of them are on the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus, formerly the Outdoor Life Channel). I would have a "game of the week" on NBC proper on Sunday nights running from January until the end of the season (basically picking up where the NFL leaves off) and the first part of the season have special "rival" games on certain Saturday & Sunday afternoons. I would also have a deal with ESPN to air a certain number of games on the main network on Tuesday nights (and make sure that I won't conflict with NHL games that I discussed in an earlier post). I would also keep games on the NBC Sports Network but that wouldn't be the main avenue for people to catch games.
So that's what I think. What do you think? Feel free to leave comments as to how you would change MLS. And feel free to check on back the other posts in the series.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
If I Were in Charge of.....the NHL
It's time for another installment of the ongoing series "If I Were in Charge of". This time around, we look at the National Hockey League. This is a league that has a great playoff system and indeed has had it's ups and downs with regard to leadership (see the lockout that shut down an entire season....ultimate fail). They have improved since then but there are still a few things that I'd do to help with improving the league. So with that in mind, if I were in charge of the NHL.....
*Have a new TV deal with ESPN. Yes I know they signed a huge TV deal with NBC and helped relaunch what used to be Verses (which used to be the Outdoor Life Network) to now the NBC Sports Network but seriously the NHL needs to be back on ESPN. When they left the network, ESPN pretty much dropped 95% of their coverage of the sport. Sad on their part yes but that's what they did. I would work out a contract where ESPN gets Tuesday night games on the original (not ESPN 2 or any of the other ESPN "family of networks") starting at the beginning of the season. If things went well, maybe even have an option to show early rounds of the Stanley Cup Finals. More exposure on ESPN would be beneficial to the sport and would be a nice stepping stone to growth.
*More games on NBC, especially more Stanley Cup Finals games. Yes I know the start of the NHL season overlaps NFL & College football but since NBC only has Notre Dame football on Saturdays and NFL isn't until Sunday night, I'm sure NBC could show regular season games earlier in the year, maybe try and coincide the NHL game with whatever market the NFL game will be in that same day. Also, all Stanley Cup Finals games should be on network television not just a couple.
*Like with my proposal for the NBA, have 4 nights each month called "family nights". That would mean prices from seats to concessions would be set at affordable prices so that a family of 4 could sit in really good seats and watch a game and not stuck in the nosebleed sections. The franchises can make more than enough money the rest of the season that it wouldn't hurt them to have these kind of nights and would help develop the fanbase so that everyone could enjoy the games.
*Continue to work and develop to minimze concussions. Hockey has had its share of concussion related injuries even to top stars like Sidney Crosby. I would make it a priority to be at the forefront of research to help treat and prevent on ice incidents where concussions could happen.
*Have more exposure of the Hockey Night in Canada crew in the U.S. One of the joys of living in Seattle was I got CBC on my cable system and got to watch Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays. I think it would be cool to have more interaction with the crew up there here in the states. Would bring another side and be entertaining to fans here.
What do you think? Feel free to leave comments on how you would change the NHL and go back and check out previous posts in the series.
*Have a new TV deal with ESPN. Yes I know they signed a huge TV deal with NBC and helped relaunch what used to be Verses (which used to be the Outdoor Life Network) to now the NBC Sports Network but seriously the NHL needs to be back on ESPN. When they left the network, ESPN pretty much dropped 95% of their coverage of the sport. Sad on their part yes but that's what they did. I would work out a contract where ESPN gets Tuesday night games on the original (not ESPN 2 or any of the other ESPN "family of networks") starting at the beginning of the season. If things went well, maybe even have an option to show early rounds of the Stanley Cup Finals. More exposure on ESPN would be beneficial to the sport and would be a nice stepping stone to growth.
*More games on NBC, especially more Stanley Cup Finals games. Yes I know the start of the NHL season overlaps NFL & College football but since NBC only has Notre Dame football on Saturdays and NFL isn't until Sunday night, I'm sure NBC could show regular season games earlier in the year, maybe try and coincide the NHL game with whatever market the NFL game will be in that same day. Also, all Stanley Cup Finals games should be on network television not just a couple.
*Like with my proposal for the NBA, have 4 nights each month called "family nights". That would mean prices from seats to concessions would be set at affordable prices so that a family of 4 could sit in really good seats and watch a game and not stuck in the nosebleed sections. The franchises can make more than enough money the rest of the season that it wouldn't hurt them to have these kind of nights and would help develop the fanbase so that everyone could enjoy the games.
*Continue to work and develop to minimze concussions. Hockey has had its share of concussion related injuries even to top stars like Sidney Crosby. I would make it a priority to be at the forefront of research to help treat and prevent on ice incidents where concussions could happen.
*Have more exposure of the Hockey Night in Canada crew in the U.S. One of the joys of living in Seattle was I got CBC on my cable system and got to watch Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays. I think it would be cool to have more interaction with the crew up there here in the states. Would bring another side and be entertaining to fans here.
What do you think? Feel free to leave comments on how you would change the NHL and go back and check out previous posts in the series.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
If I Were In Charge Of....MLB
It's time for another installment for "If I Were In Charge Of". This week's installment looks at Major League Baseball. This is a league that has definitely had its ups and downs and some really stupid moves along with some smart moves. I do believe there are still a lot of improvements that can be made to "America's Pasttime" to make it even better. So here are some changes I would make if I were in charge of MLB....
*Institute a hard salary cap and have a minimum spending level. One thing the NFL (which I'll get to in a later post) totally gets right is this aspect. They have a hard salary cap & along with that have a minimum spending level. One of the most ridiculous aspects of baseball is how teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and such can have players on their team who's salary matches several teams' total salaries. In a way to shorten the gulf between the big market & small market teams institute a hard salary cap. That way the same four teams can't be the only ones going after the top free agents. Gives a more level playing field for the rest of the teams. At the same time, there is a minimum spending level that all teams have to reach. It keeps the stingy owners from not paying their players (I'm looking at you Dan Glass). I would have one exception to the hard cap and that's implementing a type of "Larry Bird rule". In the NBA, there is a salary cap exception for certain players to that teams can re-sign their own players. In this instance, each team will have one exception to for a superstar player to re-sign to make them a "_______ for life" type player. That way fans can identify with at least one superstar for each of the teams in MLB.
*Get rid of home field advantage from the All-Star Game. I always thought that was an overreaction to what happened in the All-Star Game that ended in a tie. Honestly that game shouldn't have ended in a tie, they should've kept playing it until it was over but Bud Selig goofed and then tried to fix the goof and now we have "This Time It Counts". I would either go back to alternating home field between National & American Leagues (even years it's American, odd years it's National) or best record gets home field. That seems more fair than what is involved now.
*Have a consistent strike zone across the board. Case in point, I watched part of the Red Sox/Rays game yesterday and at the end of the game there was literally an at-bat where none of the pitches were in the strike zone & the batter did not swing & the umpire called all strikes. That's ridiculous. There needs to be a consistent strike zone across the board. There will always be judgment calls in sports I understand but when it's understood what a strike zone should be, then call it that way. Different umpires shouldn't have different strike zones.
*Bring back day/night doubleheaders & day game playoff games. Some of this is definitely old school I know but there's nothing wrong with a little old school now and then. It'd be cool to have maybe weekend series where there is a day/night doubleheader (maybe on a Friday or Saturday) so that fans could really enjoy a day at the ballpark. Along with that, have more day game playoff games. It's detrimental to the sport when you have playoff games that have such a late start at night. Having day games (as in like mid afternoon) I think would help draw in more kids to the sport.
*Have "Autograph Days" during each homestand. Each team will have designated "Autograph Days" where they will have players set aside time pregame where they will sign autographs for fans. There will be designated players for each homestand signing. That way fans can have more opportunities to interact with players and players can build more rapport with the fans.
Feel free to post in the comments what changes you would make if you were in charge of MLB and go back and check out previous posts and comment there.
*Institute a hard salary cap and have a minimum spending level. One thing the NFL (which I'll get to in a later post) totally gets right is this aspect. They have a hard salary cap & along with that have a minimum spending level. One of the most ridiculous aspects of baseball is how teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and such can have players on their team who's salary matches several teams' total salaries. In a way to shorten the gulf between the big market & small market teams institute a hard salary cap. That way the same four teams can't be the only ones going after the top free agents. Gives a more level playing field for the rest of the teams. At the same time, there is a minimum spending level that all teams have to reach. It keeps the stingy owners from not paying their players (I'm looking at you Dan Glass). I would have one exception to the hard cap and that's implementing a type of "Larry Bird rule". In the NBA, there is a salary cap exception for certain players to that teams can re-sign their own players. In this instance, each team will have one exception to for a superstar player to re-sign to make them a "_______ for life" type player. That way fans can identify with at least one superstar for each of the teams in MLB.
*Get rid of home field advantage from the All-Star Game. I always thought that was an overreaction to what happened in the All-Star Game that ended in a tie. Honestly that game shouldn't have ended in a tie, they should've kept playing it until it was over but Bud Selig goofed and then tried to fix the goof and now we have "This Time It Counts". I would either go back to alternating home field between National & American Leagues (even years it's American, odd years it's National) or best record gets home field. That seems more fair than what is involved now.
*Have a consistent strike zone across the board. Case in point, I watched part of the Red Sox/Rays game yesterday and at the end of the game there was literally an at-bat where none of the pitches were in the strike zone & the batter did not swing & the umpire called all strikes. That's ridiculous. There needs to be a consistent strike zone across the board. There will always be judgment calls in sports I understand but when it's understood what a strike zone should be, then call it that way. Different umpires shouldn't have different strike zones.
*Bring back day/night doubleheaders & day game playoff games. Some of this is definitely old school I know but there's nothing wrong with a little old school now and then. It'd be cool to have maybe weekend series where there is a day/night doubleheader (maybe on a Friday or Saturday) so that fans could really enjoy a day at the ballpark. Along with that, have more day game playoff games. It's detrimental to the sport when you have playoff games that have such a late start at night. Having day games (as in like mid afternoon) I think would help draw in more kids to the sport.
*Have "Autograph Days" during each homestand. Each team will have designated "Autograph Days" where they will have players set aside time pregame where they will sign autographs for fans. There will be designated players for each homestand signing. That way fans can have more opportunities to interact with players and players can build more rapport with the fans.
Feel free to post in the comments what changes you would make if you were in charge of MLB and go back and check out previous posts and comment there.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
If I Were in Charge of.....College Basketball
This is part two of a series of posts on if I was the Director of the Department of Sports and what all I would do if I was in charge. Last time was about the NBA, this time it's college basketball. Last week was the end to another run of March Madness and partly from that run came the idea for this series. This entry will tie in well to last one as there will be some ideas that will be helpful in both arenas. So, if I were in charge of college basketball...
*No more one and done athletes. Like I mentioned with the NBA post, if a high schooler wants to jump straight to the pros fine but if he signs with a university he stays a minimum of three years and puts himself on track to graduate if he leaves early. Give a real emphasis to "student athlete" and not just "barely a student just so they're able to play one year and then leave".
*Scholarships are a 4 year commitment not a 1 year commitment renewed 4 times. I will probably use this instance as well when I talk about college football but the argument is good here as well. If a university is signing a student to a scholarship it should be for the length of the time that the student will be there. That student can be assured that their scholarship won't be yanked away and given to somebody else on a whim.
*With regard to automatic bids, power conferences can give them to regular season champs, mid-majors to tourney champs. Power conferences can still have tourney champions and get some bonus (better seeding in NCAA tourney) if they win but don't have to worry about a regular season power conference champion being an at-large bid in the NCAA tourney. For the mid-majors, their conference tournaments can be highlighted because of keeping the tourney champ as the automatic bids.
*Have the automatic qualifiers ranked as the higher seeds (1-8) and at large bids as the lower seeds (9-16). This is probably the most out there one but I think it make things interesting. It would assure mid majors that are really good that they will not be ranked no lower than an 8 seed and at large teams that were so so would be ranked no higher than a 9 seed. On top of that, the last 8 at large teams would be the ones playing in the "First Four". Automatic qualifiers from mid major schools shouldn't be the majority in the "First Four". It should be teams that were on the bubble that should be playing in Dayton. Make them earn their way into the tourney.
*Gus Johnson should call March Madness games again. This year, Gus wasn't calling games because he doesn't work for CBS. There should be a contract that allows him to work March Madness games. I know that Jay Bilas for a time worked March Madness games while working also at ESPN. They could do the same for Gus. March Madness isn't the same without Gus. That should be fixed.
That is part two of "If I Were in Charge of". Feel free to go back and check out other posts in this series and leave a comment on how you would change things if you were "in charge".
*No more one and done athletes. Like I mentioned with the NBA post, if a high schooler wants to jump straight to the pros fine but if he signs with a university he stays a minimum of three years and puts himself on track to graduate if he leaves early. Give a real emphasis to "student athlete" and not just "barely a student just so they're able to play one year and then leave".
*Scholarships are a 4 year commitment not a 1 year commitment renewed 4 times. I will probably use this instance as well when I talk about college football but the argument is good here as well. If a university is signing a student to a scholarship it should be for the length of the time that the student will be there. That student can be assured that their scholarship won't be yanked away and given to somebody else on a whim.
*With regard to automatic bids, power conferences can give them to regular season champs, mid-majors to tourney champs. Power conferences can still have tourney champions and get some bonus (better seeding in NCAA tourney) if they win but don't have to worry about a regular season power conference champion being an at-large bid in the NCAA tourney. For the mid-majors, their conference tournaments can be highlighted because of keeping the tourney champ as the automatic bids.
*Have the automatic qualifiers ranked as the higher seeds (1-8) and at large bids as the lower seeds (9-16). This is probably the most out there one but I think it make things interesting. It would assure mid majors that are really good that they will not be ranked no lower than an 8 seed and at large teams that were so so would be ranked no higher than a 9 seed. On top of that, the last 8 at large teams would be the ones playing in the "First Four". Automatic qualifiers from mid major schools shouldn't be the majority in the "First Four". It should be teams that were on the bubble that should be playing in Dayton. Make them earn their way into the tourney.
*Gus Johnson should call March Madness games again. This year, Gus wasn't calling games because he doesn't work for CBS. There should be a contract that allows him to work March Madness games. I know that Jay Bilas for a time worked March Madness games while working also at ESPN. They could do the same for Gus. March Madness isn't the same without Gus. That should be fixed.
That is part two of "If I Were in Charge of". Feel free to go back and check out other posts in this series and leave a comment on how you would change things if you were "in charge".
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
If I Were in Charge Of.....the NBA
I was thinking yesterday about starting a new series on this blog (and hopefully sticking with it). This is the first post in a series on "If I were in charge of....". The basis for this series came from some thoughts I had about changes I would make in different sports organizations and leagues. So if there was a Department of Sports position in government (or in England a Ministry of Sports position, which I would prefer better, sounds cooler & is a nod to the Monty Python skit the Ministry of Silly Walks) and I was named the director and had the authority to make changes, in this series I would list some of those changes I would make.
The first league I would look at would be the National Baskeball Association, otherwise known as the NBA. Growing up, I was a big NBA fan but in recent years my fandom has diminished significantly. I think there can be some things the NBA can do to fix that. So with that in mind, if I were in charge of the NBA.
*Put an NBA team back in Seattle. My first priority would be to get a team back in Seattle. I would make David Stern publicly apologize for the way he and the NBA treated the fans in Seattle in allowing the franchise to leave and go to Oklahoma City. I would take the Hornets (which really should have stayed in Oklahoma City in the first place) and move that team to Seattle. I would essentially make it a three way deal. Deal 1) The Sonics name, championship and records would fully be Seattle's and not shared in any way shape or form with the Thunder. 2) The Thunder in essence would be like the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL when they moved from Cleveland, their own franchise with their own records not connected with Seattle. 3) The Hornets name & records would then be sent back to Charlotte and they can drop the Bobcats name and be the Charlotte Hornets again. I would also give exceptions to the salary cap to any member of the Thunder who was on the Sonics team before they moved if they sign with Seattle (i.e. Kevin Durant could come back to Seattle).
*Drop the one and done rule. In partnership with the NCAA in regards to college basketball (which I'll address in another post how I would change things there), I would get rid of the rule for basketball players to have to wait a year before they can declare for the draft. If guys want to declare right out of high school let them do it. Now those that know me know that this is a change in stance from probably a decade ago when I was all against guys going straight from high school to the pros. But after seeing the last few years of college basketball and the ridiculousness of the one and done players, something needs to change and so I am okay with dropping the rule. If NBA teams want to draft high school players, fine. But that leads me into my next change.
*Develop the baseball system. What do I mean by that? In baseball a player can declare for the draft out of high school or he can choose to go to college. If he chooses to go to college, he has to stay there at least three years. I would implement that system for basketball. No more John Walls or Derrick Roses or Kyrie Irvings. If you want to go to college, you go for three years minimum. At least try to get a degree. If you want to go straight to the pros fine. That also means a more developed minor league system. I would fully develop and fund the NBA D-League and expand it to 30 teams. That way each NBA franchise would have one team that could funnel players to and from. Those drafted out of high school would have to spend a minimum of one year in the D-League. If they're good enough to be a one and done in the D-League great. Otherwise, they're getting developed and not taking a roster spot from a veteran and just sitting on the bench (like a lot of guys drafted out of HS were like towards the end of that era of drafting HS players). If it works for MLB and college for baseball, I think it can work for the NBA and college for basketball.
*Have 4 nights each month called "family nights". That would mean prices from seats to concessions would be set at affordable prices so that a family of 4 could sit in really good seats and watch a game and not stuck in the nosebleed sections. The franchises can make more than enough money the rest of the season that it wouldn't hurt them to have these kind of nights and would help develop the fanbase so that everyone could enjoy the games.
*Have stars competing in the Slam Dunk contest at All-Star Weekend again. The fact that LeBron James has never competed in an All-Star game is ridiculous. He would compete at least once. If you're considered a superstar, you should compete in the Slam Dunk contest. All the greats back in the day did, it should be the same for today.
Well that's the first (in hopefully a continued) series on "If I were in charge of...". If you have changes that you would make if you were in charge of the NBA, feel free to leave a comment below.
The first league I would look at would be the National Baskeball Association, otherwise known as the NBA. Growing up, I was a big NBA fan but in recent years my fandom has diminished significantly. I think there can be some things the NBA can do to fix that. So with that in mind, if I were in charge of the NBA.
*Put an NBA team back in Seattle. My first priority would be to get a team back in Seattle. I would make David Stern publicly apologize for the way he and the NBA treated the fans in Seattle in allowing the franchise to leave and go to Oklahoma City. I would take the Hornets (which really should have stayed in Oklahoma City in the first place) and move that team to Seattle. I would essentially make it a three way deal. Deal 1) The Sonics name, championship and records would fully be Seattle's and not shared in any way shape or form with the Thunder. 2) The Thunder in essence would be like the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL when they moved from Cleveland, their own franchise with their own records not connected with Seattle. 3) The Hornets name & records would then be sent back to Charlotte and they can drop the Bobcats name and be the Charlotte Hornets again. I would also give exceptions to the salary cap to any member of the Thunder who was on the Sonics team before they moved if they sign with Seattle (i.e. Kevin Durant could come back to Seattle).
*Drop the one and done rule. In partnership with the NCAA in regards to college basketball (which I'll address in another post how I would change things there), I would get rid of the rule for basketball players to have to wait a year before they can declare for the draft. If guys want to declare right out of high school let them do it. Now those that know me know that this is a change in stance from probably a decade ago when I was all against guys going straight from high school to the pros. But after seeing the last few years of college basketball and the ridiculousness of the one and done players, something needs to change and so I am okay with dropping the rule. If NBA teams want to draft high school players, fine. But that leads me into my next change.
*Develop the baseball system. What do I mean by that? In baseball a player can declare for the draft out of high school or he can choose to go to college. If he chooses to go to college, he has to stay there at least three years. I would implement that system for basketball. No more John Walls or Derrick Roses or Kyrie Irvings. If you want to go to college, you go for three years minimum. At least try to get a degree. If you want to go straight to the pros fine. That also means a more developed minor league system. I would fully develop and fund the NBA D-League and expand it to 30 teams. That way each NBA franchise would have one team that could funnel players to and from. Those drafted out of high school would have to spend a minimum of one year in the D-League. If they're good enough to be a one and done in the D-League great. Otherwise, they're getting developed and not taking a roster spot from a veteran and just sitting on the bench (like a lot of guys drafted out of HS were like towards the end of that era of drafting HS players). If it works for MLB and college for baseball, I think it can work for the NBA and college for basketball.
*Have 4 nights each month called "family nights". That would mean prices from seats to concessions would be set at affordable prices so that a family of 4 could sit in really good seats and watch a game and not stuck in the nosebleed sections. The franchises can make more than enough money the rest of the season that it wouldn't hurt them to have these kind of nights and would help develop the fanbase so that everyone could enjoy the games.
*Have stars competing in the Slam Dunk contest at All-Star Weekend again. The fact that LeBron James has never competed in an All-Star game is ridiculous. He would compete at least once. If you're considered a superstar, you should compete in the Slam Dunk contest. All the greats back in the day did, it should be the same for today.
Well that's the first (in hopefully a continued) series on "If I were in charge of...". If you have changes that you would make if you were in charge of the NBA, feel free to leave a comment below.
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