NFL
1. Points off the Kickoff:
I am admittedly most proud of this idea, because I think it does a few things: 1. Increases the value of a kicker (who, sadly the NFL are trying to push out of the league) 2. Makes for higher scores and potential momentum changes 3. Increases the excitement of a game. I believe that if the kicker is able to kick the ball through the uprights, their team should be awarded three points. The receiving team would still be able retain the ball, the score would just be three points different. For example, a team is down 10 with less than a minute left in the game. They score a touchdown and kick the extra point. In a normal game, viewers would probably stop watching and consider it a junk time td, because mathematically the lesser scoring team does not have enough time if the onside kick is not recovered. Instead, with my proposed rule, the kicker has an undefended chance to kick a field goal through the uprights to tie the game. If the try is successful, the recieving team has just under a minute to drive and try to win the game. WOULDN'T THAT BE AWESOME!? COME ON!?
2. Increased value of long field goals
As you may be able to tell, I am a big proponent of things that can earn a field goal kicker more relevance on a football team. My proposal here is that any kick between 50-59 yards is rewarded 4 points and anything 60 or above is worth 5 points. Imagine that your team is down by three and you have fourth and 8 from about 56 yards away from the uprights. A 56 yard kick is far from a guarantee! Wouldn't it be so rewarding for the kicker (and us fans) if those kicks are just a little bit more valuable?
3. GO FOR IT ON FOURTH DOWN
I am not, by any means an advocate of a team going for a fourth down conversion every time. Sometimes it makes more sense to punt the ball away and rely on your defense. But in an increasingly more offense-centric league I think that if a team has the ball beyond their own 40 and are under 4th and 5, they should go for it. I'm not saying go for it by running your running back into the wall of defenders (a play that I have seen fail far too many times), but go for it with play action plays and qb bootlegs. Any average NFL team is capable of picking up 4 yards, so why does it become different when it is fourth down.1
4. Stop trying the end around and jet sweep
This is a new soapbox that I am standing on this year I do not like these plays at all. If you are unfamiliar with the terminology, it's that play where the wide reciever runs all the way across the field, receives a handoff and loses four yards. Granted, there have been successful jet sweeps (see video below), but the majority of the time it is a fancy looking play that goes nowhere, because blockers can't get where they need to be and wide receivers don't have the trained patience to find the holes that running backs do.
5. Coach's Challenge the Referee
As I was typing this on Friday, this specific rule did not cross my mind. But as I was watching the games yesterday, I remembered how much I favor a coach's ability to be able to throw a challenge flag to try to overturn a bad call that a referee has made. Football is a sport where things happen really quickly, and no matter if it is being called by the best official in the world, there are going to be plays that they get wrong, it's human error. Rather than listening to local fans whine about a blown call and placing the blame on a win or loss on the refs, why don't we give the coaches a chance to let the referees rectify their mistakes? As a Patriots fan, I watched in dismay as Malcolm Butler was flagged incorrectly for a pass interference on Odell Beckham Jr., allowing the Giants to maintain their drive and move into field goal range. If Belichick is able to throw the flag, that play gets overturned, the Giants likely punt the ball away, and the ending of that game potentially looks a lot different.2
6. Get a new commissioner
I understand human error, but routinely getting everything wrong shouldn't go unpunished. The fact that NFL owners don't hold him accountable for dragging their league through the mud baffles me. I could definitely say more about this, but there have been enough words spilled about this to force you all to read more.
7. Mandatory shake-ups for commentating teams
There are exactly two pairs of NFL commentators that I enjoy listening to right now. Burkhardt and Lynch and Michaels and Collinsworth (I don't have ESPN, so I can't judge their team). Even though Chris Collinsworth says senseless things on occasion, I think he brings a lot of football knowledge to the table. Other than that, I would love for any network to at least try out some new folks. I watched the replay of the Colts-Saints super bowl from several years ago and had to listen to Nantz and Simms salivate over Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, just like they do now. The fact that these guys are basically tenured into their positions as commentators often leaves the commentary stale. So give some new people a try... I'm sure we can find someone better than Simms...
NBA
Create a four and a five point line
This rule change is pretty simple, we have a three point line, which is already a pretty long shot, but if we added a four and five point line that were even deeper shots, players who were sharpshooters (Steph Curry, for example) would be able to spread the floor even more than they already do to open up space in the half court. The lines may lead to the demise of guys like Josh and J.R. Smith who would heave a lot of bad shots just to get more points (and likely miss), but it would definitely be an added layer of excitement. Down by 20, NO PROBLEM, we just have to hit four five pointers and we're back in this thing. Let's at least try it during an all-star game, it would certainly make that more exciting.
5 on 4
I will be the first to admit that this thought is not my brainchild, but I like the idea. It is pretty basic: Rather than playing 5 on 5 in the half court, leave one of your weaker defenders (and stronger offensive players) to sit and wait by the other team's basket as an outlet for an easy lay-up. The idea behind this is simple: the best NBA players shoot at an average of about 60% from the floor. That means they miss four of every ten shots that they take. If you can get two rebounds and kickouts for easy layups, that means less work that you are putting in going end to end. Theoretically, if a team wanted to rest players, they could have a rotation of "floating players" so that they can defend hard for 24 seconds, then get a breather when they are not on the defensive end. There are obvious critical flaws (i.e. one person will always be open on the other team), but if your team is fast enough and long enough, they should at least be able to partially contest every shot. It may also bait bad shooters into shooting more (if you choose to defend their four best shooters very tighly, it leaves the one bad shooter open, and he'll have no choice but to shoot the ball). Just typing this has made me want this to happen even more than I already did. (The strategy was also devised by the Sacramento Kings, who aren't exactly the poster child for good basketball ideas).
Number decline regular Season Overtime
I am taking this idea straight from the NHL, but I think it could really improve NBA regular season. I think it would be so cool if for each overtime, the teams lose a player (i.e. overtime 1: 4-4, overtime 2: 3-3, and so on, until you get down to one-on-one). This would do a few things. It would drastically decrease the congestion of the half court sets, opening up a whole new arsenal of plays coaches could draw up. It would speed up the game. It would bring on an almost street ball improvisation type feel, where players have to rely more on instincts and those who think and move quickly get a leg up on the competition. If there ever was a game that went into quintuple overtime, how cool would it be to see each team's best player play a little one-on-one (or would it be the best player?) Obviously, I would only want this to happen in the regular season to help add some excitement to the incredibly stale midseason, when most of the teams are on cruise control and the fans can feel it. This would just spice things up a little bit.
Professional Soccer
No More Short Corners
I have watched and played a lot of soccer in my lifetime, and I really dislike short corners. You know, the play where the corner kick taker passes the ball to a nearby teammate to potentially get a better cross angle, but by that time, the defender is already on them, forcing them to rebuild the attack they had built to win the corner. This is not to say there isn't a time or place for this strategy. For example, a team is in extra time with a one goal lead and they are trying to kill off some clock. This would be an excellent time to use the short corner and hold possession. However, I have seen this play fail far more often than it has succeeded and it negates the opportunity to get the ball on goal. I think that part of the beauty of the corner kick is the chaos that occurs once the ball has been played in from the corner. If the ball is fed into the box, a number of things could happen: 1. It could be headed or volleyed into the net, 2. There could be a poor clearance leading to a chance on goal, 3. There is a shot on goal that is saved, that produces a rebound, that leads to a goal, etc... On the other hand, the short corner allows a defense to move their line forward, shrinking the field, making the game more predictable. Just look how many of these are attempts at playing the short corner:
Youth Soccer
Please don't ban headers for youngsters
When the news came out last week that US Soccer has recommended that you training programs ban headers for players under 10, I was truly disappointed. I understand the risks of headers and the serious nature of concussions, but this is not the answer to future prevention. I believe that the concussion risk is much more prevalent among players who have not been taught how to properly attack the ball. In my twenty years of playing soccer, I have seen very few concussions, and even fewer that stemmed from a player heading the soccer ball. This action is an integral part of the game and it can change the outcome of games. I think that there needs to be an emphasis on how to head and where on the head a player should be striking the ball, but banning heading would drastically decrease the momentum that U.S. soccer has made in becoming much more competitive on the world scale. I don't have all the facts, but I do think that education, not expulsion, is the answer to the header concussion dilemma.
NHL
Goalie-less powerplays
I have seen this happen exactly once. The Bruins were down by a goal with about two minutes left, and the Flyers took a penalty leaving Boston a man advantage. Being down a goal, the Bruins took the risk, pulled the goalie and played a 6-4 powerplay. They passed it around brilliantly, the Flyers never touched the puck, and the Bruins scored to tie it up. This idea is a little bit radical, and extremely risky, but I believe that teams in the NHL should consider playing 6-4 and pulling their goalies no matter what point it is at in a game (unless they are defending a lead). With six skaters on the ice, that leaves an ample number of players to keep the puck in the opposing zone and even if there is a turnover, it creates a difficult shot from distance for the team on the penalty kill. Obviously 6 players are much more difficult to defend than 5 and gives the team on the power play an even bigger advantage. This should especially be used when a team is down to three men on the ice, as it would be truly overwhelming for the other team.
MLB
I am actually not an MLB fan, so I'll leave these opinions to the professionals. But it is definitely not America's past time anymore.
These are all my thoughts for now. When more come I'll update!
Until next time!
1. This would inevitably devalue the punter (and those who read this know I want to add value to the place-kicker position. I think there would still be some value, but I think an NFL team is capable of picking up 10 yards in four plays.
2. Other than Malcolm Butler, who played so well last night, I thought the Patriots secondary looked terrible. Routinely getting beat or giving up bad pass interference penalties to no name wide receivers. It reminded me of watching the Pats secondary of years past, which is not good. Also, they need Jamie Collins to get healthy fast, because Freeny is not going to cut it as a full-time starter for the long-term.