Everyone breaks out their resolutions this time of year, and even though we have full control over whether we succeed or not, most of us fail. Cut out the carbs, stop smoking, get to the gym every morning, stop procrastinating…..by February most of us have abandoned our goals and are back to our normal, less productive, self-destructive ways. So I’m not making any proclamations here on how I’ll change in 2015 – instead I made a list of how I’d like to see others (or other things) change in the world of sports. Without further ado here’s my wish list for 2105…….
1. Eliminate the word “process” from the vocabulary of anyone associated with sports, the NFL in particular. Jason Garrett uses the word ad nauseam in each and every press conference – I can only imagine his conversations at home…the process of walking the dog, the process of taking out the trash, the process of having dinner. Peyton Manning has to “process” everything before he can make a decision about his future playing plans. Dez Bryant didn’t complete “the process” of making the catch.
Enough already.
2. Speaking of “the catch,” let’s get our rules committee together NFL, and weed out rules the belie common sense, OK? Anyone who saw that play in Green Bay last Sunday knows it was a catch – it looked like a catch, it smelled like a catch, it ….well you get it. But yet the “rules” defined it as a non-catch. Ridiculous. For a previous example revisit the “tuck rule.”
3. Enough of the hyperbole associated with the College Football Playoff system. Four teams and three games do not make a legit playoff – unless perhaps you only have 16 teams total competing (not the 128 that the FBS encompasses). Let’s expand this thing sooner rather than later. Five “power conferences” (and Notre Dame) and only four playoff spots up for grabs just doesn’t compute. And Bill Hancock, director of this thing, who for years said there was nothing wrong with the BCS and a playoff would never happen because it would ruin college football, just because people are discussing and debating what you’ve created doesn’t mean its as good as it can get – and shouldn’t that be the ultimate goal?
4. NHL, its time to eliminate your archaic “points” scoring system. Two points for a win and one point for each team just for 
getting to overtime (tied) is ridiculous and confusing to the non hardcore hockey fan. When there were actually ties, awarding a point to each team when the game ended made sense – it doesn’t anymore. Hey Gary Bettman, in case you weren’t aware you eliminated ties when you incorporated shootouts into your game in the 2005-06 season. Time to stop being quirky and go to what every other sport in the world uses to slot teams– wins and losses plain and simple.
That’s all I have for this year – at least for now. I don’t want to appear greedy.
