To make a wider field they would have to tear out seats so that’s not going to happen. This assumes they want to keep the sidelines as wide as they are now which seems logical to me. You need that extra room to make sure a guy does not hit the wall when running out of bounds.
The ball carrier is stopped with the ball in the end zone but his feet outside the end zone. Where do you place the ball for the next play?
[Pet Peeve time]All things which could be done in the NFL right now, if the will was there. Fact is NFL coaches are almost pathologically conservative; they’d rather waste time and opportunities running 3 yard running plays half the time rather than “risk” throwing the ball all the time, just because the Monday Morning pundits would be all over their ass if their new “radical” approach failed (or seemed to). Same thing with going for it on 4th down. You’d think a team which has been out of the playoffs for several years would sooner or later embrace a radically aggressive offensive strategy (including going for it on 4th down), if for no other reason than they would have nothing to lose, but I guess not.
Colleges aren’t much better; at the Florida-Georgia game yesterday a talking head said that Urban Meyer had faked punts 8 times during his tenure, and had succeeded all 8 times. They were absolutely effusive in their praise for his acumen, while I thought it betrayed a deep conservatism. What if he had gone for it 50 times, making it 67% of the time-now THAT would have been bold, and probably would have been more beneficial than faking it successfully 8 times and punting away the other 42 (esp. when you didn’t fake it, the receiving team had to hold up for a second or so making sure there’s no fake, limiting return yards in the process). But in football there’s absolutely no concept of a move which didn’t work being, before the fact, the indisputable (or at least arguable) right choice anyway. Instead Meyer has to wait until it’s a virtual mortal lock before he pulls the trigger, at which point he’s lionized for his “boldness.” Phooey.[/off soapbox]
Someone did research on what would happen if a team never punted - meaning go for it on every 4th down. They concluded that it would be a good strategy. I don’t have a link but I will try to find one.
Field goal up to 30 yds. 1 pt
30 to 45 2 pts
45 to 55 3 pts
55 plus 4pts
Baseball- DH in both leagues immediately. It adds all the good elements to the game . I love it.
This would lead to some absurd situations. Say a team is down by three points near the end of the game. They get to the 10 yard line, but time is winding down. Do they run a play designed to gain 10 yards and score a touchdown, or do they run a play designed to lose 35 yards?
I like it!
If I was playing I would literally break your knee in a pile in order to get your foot out of the end zone.
You can spot the kicker wherever you want. He could set up 30 yards back. It would not matter. Snapping the ball would be fun.
I think this has it backwards. A FG should be worth more the closer to the goal line the line of scrimmage is.
G to 25 - 3 pts
25 to 40 - 2 pts
over 40 - 1 pt.
Nobody pays to see FG kickers.
So, should an 80 yard TD pass/run earn more or fewer points than a 1 yard pass/run at the end of a 79 yard drive?
My point is that a short field goal is the reward for gaining more ground than the team that has to try for a 50 yard field goal. There’s no need for different points for different distances. The game is all about gaining yards. If you have a FG kicker who can kick it 70 yards, then go ahead. Otherwise, you’re going to have to drive the ball farther.
A variation of this was an early practice in football. When the system of four downs was first developed a team could make a first down by moving the ball ten yards forward - or five yards backwards. (This would have been for your original first down line of scrimmage.) So if you were in 4th and 5 situation and didn’t think you could move the ball up five yards to make a first down, you could instead drop back ten yards and take a kneel down for a first down.
Computers calling balls and strikes? Only video-game geeks could get behind that idea.
0.1 mm from the goal.
Football:
All levels – the clock continues to run on an incomplete pass unless it went out of bounds.
All levels – a pass blocked in the end zone counts as a safety
Pro – adopt the college rule that a blocked kick, fumble, or interception can be returned to the other end zone for two points.
Pro – To settle a tie after regulation, play a regular fifth-quarter rather than sudden-death.
Basketball:
All levels – get rid of the three-point shot
All levels – no alternate possession; bring back the jump ball.
All levels – no stopping the clock after a bucket. It continued to run subject to the five-second rule.
Baseball:
All levels – if the pitcher takes more than 15 seconds to deliver a pitch (pick-off attempts do not apply toward this rule) the batter gets a ball. The batter cannot leave the box at all unless the ball is hit.
IS there any reason to this, other than just being Old School? Because I much prefer the arrow.
If two guys dive for a loose ball and tie it up, why should the center be rewarded more than the guard? It’s not like basketball needs more reasons to value height over athleticism; and that’s what using a jump ball does.
The scoreboard clock wasn’t originally the official time. (I don’t think it became the official time for the game until the 1960s, or maybe even the 1970s.) The official game time was kept by one of the on-field officials, on a stopwatch. Thus, at that time, while the coaches might look at the scoreboard clock, it wasn’t necessarily accurate.
The problem is that a team that’s got nothing to lose is presumedly a weak team. They’re going to have problems converting 4th downs for the same reasons they presumedly have problems converting on the other three downs. So their radical new approach would be likely to fail and be seen as inherently flawed rather than poorly executed.
Meanwhile another team, which is leading their division with a great record, has no motivation to change anything. They’re going to continue playing in the same way that’s been succeeding for them even though they theoretically have the ability to make something different work. And once again, their conservative approach becomes associated with success based on their talent rather than on any inherent value.
Curious as to the rationale here. Note I might be inclined to agree with you-the advent of the 3-point shot has coincided with the advent of more formulaic and static offensive play-the old center near the basket and the guard standing behind the 3-point line play catch until one finally decides to shoot. The ability to move without the ball is almost extinct, at least in the NBA. It’s almost like teams would rather set up and do this than try to get some easy fast break points.
NBA
Stop this idiotic new technical foul rule where the refs call a tech for little things. Bring the emotion back into the game. Let players yell and jaw at each other. As long as no one’s swinging fists, then it’s all good. The rule was simply one designed by the commish to stop the focus on the bad refereeing. Well it’s not working. So come out, admit that the NBA is harder to officiate than the other major sports, and apologize when bad calls happen
Get rid of the defensive 3 seconds rule. Also get rid of offensive 3 seconds. Big guys have an advantage in basketball, deal with it
We need more refs, but not so we can have more fouls called, but to get things right. 2 extra refs should be stationed at either end of the court whose sole job is to review the fouls from the 3 floor refs. They have a monitor in front of them and can watch the play at any time. The monitor allows them to have instant replay at the touch of a button. Whenever a foul is called, the refs should be able to review it. Block or charge, fouling the shooter or the blocker got all ball, out of bounds and/or foot on the line. Things like that. Get it right David Stern. The solution isn’t to give refs the power to more easily hand out techs, its to use available technology to replay things and get it right
College Football
I will never ever ever accept a sport where rank is determined by voting instead of on the field. Do WHATEVER IT TAKES to make sure that rank is determined by the play on the field. Things like increasing the amount of games in a season and forcing teams to play more variety of teams would give more parity. Clearly delineating what is a Division 1 school and what is just a pretender school. Assume all schools within the league are equal and go strictly by wins/losses. Have a playoff and a single championship game
MLB
I’ve heard about this “balk” rule and read and reread it. I still don’t get it. It’s stupid. Let pitchers twitch and fake out runners. If they want to pretend to pitch then wing a fast ball to first base, let them. Have a timer, maybe set to something like 8 seconds, that allows the pitcher to do whatever he wants on the mound as far as faking out runners and batters. Let him face 2nd base but quickly turn and throw for a strike, whatever, as long as he gets the ball out within 8 seconds
Baseball has some really odd rules. One thing that bugged me, as a non-MLB watcher, is the difference between the National League and the American League. No more of that! Both leagues are essentially conferences, playing in the same game, with identical rules
And none of this different dimensions in ballparks crap. That would be like some NFL teams deciding they want a longer field or NBA cities deciding their team should have a higher basket. All baseball park dimensions ought to be the same. If it’s a home run in one park, it should be a home run in another
Golf
Golf cannot market itself as a sport. It must be classified the same as a game of chess, that is, it’s a skill
Golf cannot pretend that athleticism is a big part of the game. Sure, it helps, as it helps everything in life to be more athletic and healthy, but since it’s not a sport, if people want to ride around in golf carts, they should be able to (this directly targets that stupid controversy from years ago over Casey Martin wanting to use a cart because of his leg). For fuck’s sake golf has a SENIOR’S tour. If old people 60+ years old can be good at something and compete with younger people who are fit, then it’s not a sport
NFL
Hold the Superbowl at the home arena of the team with the best record like every other god damn sport