If you could change just one thing in Sports

[Bubba Wheels]

Without a doubt with me it would be the guaranteed contract in baseball. Pay players like Magglio Ordonez and Pudge Rodriguez more than the gross national product of some third world countries and then watch them sleep-walk through 2 or 3 years because they don't like the 'cold weather climate' or some other crap. More and more just want to see minor league games in person.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Tough one. Don't know whether I'd go for a salary cap in baseball or a legitimate playoff system in college football.

Oh, wait. Can we change history? Then I would have moved the Yankees to Ulan Bator in say, um, 1908.

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

Tough one. Don't know whether I'd go for a salary cap in baseball or a legitimate playoff system in college football.

Ditto. But if pressed I'd have to say a playoff system for college football.

[Joe]

I'd eliminate the NBA 3 point line

[st.cronin]

I would make the NFL roster limit about 20.

[Dutch]

I'd put the Bucs back in orange uniforms where they belong.

[Eaglesfan27]

The NFL is my favorite sport and there isn't anything truly significant I would change about the NFL. Therefore, I'll go with my second favorite sport, and add a playoff system in college football.

[lighthousekeeper]

i know it's not realistic, but i'd model the U.S. (and world) baseball system to be like the european (and world) soccer system, with promotion/relegation, meaningful world cup competitions, and champion cups.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

i know it's not realistic, but i'd model the U.S. (and world) baseball system to be like the european (and world) soccer system, with promotion/relegation, meaningful world cup competitions, and champion cups.

Ahh...nice idea. Now I've got three things to wish for.

[Coop]

Blow up Florida so the marlins can move to a decent state

Does that count?

[famatu]

eliminate the field goal from football. you either score a touchdown or you get no points!

[Cringer]

Bass Fishing would get the good TV contracts replacing the NFL, MBL, and NBA on TV.

Ok, no, serious....

Pro Bowling would.

[AgustusM]

simple - money has ruined all sports IMO - go back to say a mid 80's level of tickets and salaries. players average salary was about 300k - which obviously is quite a bit higher then the average American - but only about 10x higher which helps offset their short careers as opposed to now where they make about 100x more.

more affordable tickets means more accessible sports for all and

less money to players means less egotistical jerks and their entourages bulldozing their way through life with absurd amounts of cash to pave the way

[stevew]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

i know it's not realistic, but i'd model the U.S. (and world) baseball system to be like the european (and world) soccer system, with promotion/relegation, meaningful world cup competitions, and champion cups.

Yeah, i agree as well. There should be about 20 top teams, and then another 20 or so level 2 teams.

[Sweed]

I'd be saying good-bye to the DH.

[RendeR]

Goodbye to the DH, excellent choice

Playoffs in College football

Soccer style leagues for baseball (superior idea!!)

Flat rate salaries for players based on performance each season, if you are the best RB this season, next year you make the top dollar amount, the #2 guy gets a salary slightly lower..etc etc..this requires a true ranking system for all positions which could become difficult for linemen of all types. Performance based salaries, go figure...


I wish for all of the above.

[George]

Playoffs in college football.

[Farrah Whitworth-Rahn]

I'd change the whole score keeping thing. It's just not fair that one team wins and one team loses. There should really be no losers, it's bad for their self esteem.

[lynchjm24]

I'd eliminate commericals from broadcasts.

Also, college basketball teams would get 2 time outs a game. Let's see the players, not the coaches.

[Anthony]

significantly lower the salaries of professional athletes, so that the top players are making money in the hundreds of thousands, rather than the tens of millions.

[Ben E Lou]

Get rid of the ones I don't care about so that more in-depth, year-round coverage could be given to football, baseball and basketball.

[CraigSca]

Toward what end, HA?

As an aside, I don't mind the way athletes are paid because they have rare abilities. Now, actors and actresses on the other hand...

[Joe]

hmm maybe I'd make it so every play in football can be reviewed, even ones that were whistled dead

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Toward what end, HA?

As an aside, I don't mind the way athletes are paid because they have rare abilities. Now, actors and actresses on the other hand...

the money the teams save by not paying athletes millions of dollars would go into a fund that would pay for programs/services in the cities they operate in. outside of the few hundred or so people from the state who work at the stadium there really isn't any benefit to having a pro team in a city, some research has shown. when teams threaten to relocate and pretend that they actually serve a purpose in the city other than for entertainment value they're just serving everyone some steaming bullshit. there really isn't any social benefit from having a team in your city, they really only exist to make the owners money.

so i say let them invest millions into the cities they live in by paying athletes what they're really worth (a person who can throw a basketball through a hoop and can jump real high with little to no college experience making more than doctors and CEOs??? is being able to catch a football really worth several million dollars a year? c'mon...) and taking that money and put it into a community pool that would assist in paying for programs for children, maintaining roads (teams benefit from our taxes paying for the maintanence of the very same roads that everyone uses to get to the stadium - let them invest in that), etc. teams could do so much more for the cities in which they operate, for something that is a pure luxury they make out like bandits and the athletes are being paid ridiculous and unnecessary amounts of money. it was never established just who said they're worth millions. there's no law that says they have to make millions - minor league players pay for a fraction of what we pay major leaguers. Arena Football League players don't make anywhere near what an NFL player makes. so the models are there, people do play for hundreds of thousands of dollars. it's not unheard of.

[Buccaneer]

One thing is to get 3 wishes

1. Eliminate DH
2. Permanently eilimnate any consideration of a CF playoffs
3. Disband the NBA or the MLBPA, whichever is easier

I still have in mind to radically change college football and basketball to where they either become intramural sports instead of big-time, corrupt quasi-pro leagues or just eliminate the sham that is the "student-athlete" unless one chooses to do so. I prefer the Ivy League model of such. Prestige of a university being tied to its sports teams is ridiculous. Either make them a paid professional representing the university or de-emphasize the whole thing. So there.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

the money the teams save by not paying athletes millions of dollars would go into a fund that would pay for programs/services in the cities they operate in. outside of the few hundred or so people from the state who work at the stadium there really isn't any benefit to having a pro team in a city, some research has shown. when teams threaten to relocate and pretend that they actually serve a purpose in the city other than for entertainment value they're just serving everyone some steaming bullshit. there really isn't any social benefit from having a team in your city, they really only exist to make the owners money.

so i say let them invest millions into the cities they live in by paying athletes what they're really worth (a person who can throw a basketball through a hoop and can jump real high with little to no college experience making more than doctors and CEOs??? is being able to catch a football really worth several million dollars a year? c'mon...) and taking that money and put it into a community pool that would assist in paying for programs for children, maintaining roads (teams benefit from our taxes paying for the maintanence of the very same roads that everyone uses to get to the stadium - let them invest in that), etc. teams could do so much more for the cities in which they operate, for something that is a pure luxury they make out like bandits and the athletes are being paid ridiculous and unnecessary amounts of money. it was never established just who said they're worth millions. there's no law that says they have to make millions - minor league players pay for a fraction of what we pay major leaguers. Arena Football League players don't make anywhere near what an NFL player makes. so the models are there, people do play for hundreds of thousands of dollars. it's not unheard of.

Wow, that's like a 94% tax rate!

[lynchjm24]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

(a person who can throw a basketball through a hoop and can jump real high with little to no college experience making more than doctors and CEOs??? is being able to catch a football really worth several million dollars a year? c'mon...)

Arena Football League players don't make anywhere near what an NFL player makes. so the models are there, people do play for hundreds of thousands of dollars. it's not unheard of.

Your first question.. Yes, it clearly is.

To the second point I quoted from you, leagues like the Arena League don't generate revenue, therefore they don't get paid. Most of the players in the Arena League are playing to get to a league where they can get paid more.

I love listening to people bitch about what athlete's get paid. Seventy years ago there were plenty of assholes in baseball even when they were just getting renewed at a few thousand dollars a year. The only thing that changed was the media's coverage.

Ticket prices are not based on athlete's salaries... they are based on supply and demand. It's not that difficult a concept.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Wow, that's like a 94% tax rate!

no, that would mean they're still making millions, but are only taking home hundreds of thousands. i'm saying the leagues should readjust the dollar amount they put on meaningless skills. 8 figure salary because you can accurately toss a football 50+ yards? that's just silly.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by lynchjm24

Your first question.. Yes, it clearly is.

To the second point I quoted from you, leagues like the Arena League don't generate revenue, therefore they don't get paid. Most of the players in the Arena League are playing to get to a league where they can get paid more.

I love listening to people bitch about what athlete's get paid. Seventy years ago there were plenty of assholes in baseball even when they were just getting renewed at a few thousand dollars a year. The only thing that changed was the media's coverage.

Ticket prices are not based on athlete's salaries... they are based on supply and demand. It's not that difficult a concept.

and i'm saying it's time teams start earning their keep in the cities they operate in, rather than just existing to provide the fringe benefit of entertainment. the skills athletes have serve no useful purpose in society, their value is severely distorted. college football provides a very comparable product to the NFL in terms of quality of players and calibre of talent - USC football is better than what you get from the Arizona Cardinals i'm sure we'll all agree - and those players play for free. the models exist. don't give me that retarded "supply and demand" nonsense - pro sports are universes unto themselves. they exist in bubbles. where else outside of pro sports would an athlete be able to make money off his three point range? in what field could a pitcher use his ability to throw a ball 90+ mph? now, take a doctor, attorney, IT tech, engineer, salesman - take them from their current companies/sectors and if you put them in a different sector i bet you'll find the skills they have would allow them to command similar salaries to what they were making.

there is no law that says pro athletes should be millionaires. there is no demand for their useless skills outside of their respective leagues.

[Icy]

As already suggested, promotion/delegation in USA sports. USA is a really big country compared with Spain, and here for soccer, basketball etc we have like 5 levels with over 20 teams each. Also the lower divisions (under 3rd) are splitted on regions, having each one it's own low level division. In the end, every small village has a semi-pro team and the kids can start to play there with the dream of one day reaching the top divisions.

I wonder why there are 32 teams in the NFL for example, 32 teams only in a country with of Millions of athletes??. Of course the best of the best are in the NFL, but i wonder how much athletes won't ever be able to show their skills because the lack of competitions after college, or you're in the NFL or you need to leave football. In Spain they would play in a lower division as professionals and still well payed or as semi-pros, with the average Spanish salary but playing their sport not working in a factory. Also some of them boom after a few years playing in the lower divisions and end playing in the top one to become stars. That talent woud have been wasted with a system like the USA sports one.

[MJ4H]

Playoffs for college football.

If I got more than one wish, I like the idea of tiered leagues in the US, though I don't care too much for pro baseball (though, I might like it a lot more if it were tiered in this way). What about tiering some other league, even college football would be kind of cool to tier (10 leagues of 12 each and lose the top 3 and bottom 3 in each league at the end of the season). Would be a pretty fun time. Heck maybe even add in division 2 teams and below for more tiering fun. I just really like the idea of tiers.

[Shkspr]

I'd outlaw all magazines, radio call in shows, cable outlets, and internet message boards that give the so called "fan" a voice. THe decline in American sport can be directly tied to the notion that Joe Sixpack's opinion about whether or not athletes are overpaid is in any way informed or relevant. Fans need to shut the fuck up and watch the god damn games without thinking that they have any valid thoughts about what GM's or coaches "should" do.

[Anthony]

yeah, who cares about people who think that the real millionares should be cops, firefighters, teachers? who wants to hear people's opinions that athletes are mostly non-educated people who have skills of little use to society?

[Cringer]

Yeah, I think I am sold. Promotion/Delegation system for U.S. sports, and get rid of College Football.

Yes get rid of college football, and basketball, and baseball. Half those guys don't care they are in college anyways.

[Cringer]

I just got one from watching the CBS pregame show. The NFL goes back to a 14 game regular season schedule so guys like Dominick Davis can't get those all important 24 yards so he can claim he has rushed for 1,000 yards 3 straight years.

In other words, making 1,000 yards rushing would be a legit barometer of a RB again.

[Bad-example]

I would invent and implement the Partial Mute Button, which would allow viewers to mute all sportscasters while still being able to enjoy the real sounds of the game.

Oh, and fix baseball by creating a system with better revenue sharing and a salary cap to level the playing field to some degree.

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by Farrah Whitworth-Rahn

I'd change the whole score keeping thing. It's just not fair that one team wins and one team loses. There should really be no losers, it's bad for their self esteem.

...remind me again... why do we let women post here?

[biological warrior]

Get rid of the coun flip in football, instead the 2 team captains should duke it out for possession of the ball.
Also, the best team should be able to draft first.

[Farrah Whitworth-Rahn]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

...remind me again... why do we let women post here?

Because there's no way in hell I was serious

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

there is no demand for their useless skills outside of their respective leagues.

And therefore the demand does exist. And the leagues don't create demand, the demand exists & the leagues are a mechanism to fulfill that demand.

Basically my argument is that entertainment is not a "fringe benefit", it's a neccessary part of making life tolerable.

[lynchjm24]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

yeah, who cares about people who think that the real millionares should be cops, firefighters, teachers? who wants to hear people's opinions that athletes are mostly non-educated people who have skills of little use to society?

Honestly, I don't give a crap about the opinion that cops and teachers should be millionaries. It's a moronic stance, it always has been and it always will be. It's just a bullshit stance that is compeletly based in jealousy. I can't stand listening to cops and teachers bitch much longer. If you don't like what the job pays then by all means find something else to do.

Why does it matter if athlete's are non-educated? (I would guess that the average pro athlete has more formal education then the average person in this country anyway. 99.9% of the NFL spent at least 3 years in college. Most NBA players still spend more then 1 year in college. MLB probably has an equal mix of players who spent 3 years in college and those who only went to high school.

Almost anyone can be a cop or a firefighter. I know plenty of shitty teachers that don't even deserve what they do make. At least in pro sports at some point you had to earn your way there, and once you got there you most likely had to perform at a level that made someone want to give you a lot of money. Last night we had a good laugh as we were talking about running in a 5K and most of us blew the town's lazy fat ass police force out of the water in the race, even though we all work desk jobs and don't exactly tear through the streets in our spare time.

[vex]

Originally Posted by Bad-example

I would invent and implement the Partial Mute Button, which would allow viewers to mute all sportscasters while still being able to enjoy the real sounds of the game.

Genius.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by AgustusM

simple - money has ruined all sports IMO - go back to say a mid 80's level of tickets and salaries. players average salary was about 300k - which obviously is quite a bit higher then the average American - but only about 10x higher which helps offset their short careers as opposed to now where they make about 100x more.

more affordable tickets means more accessible sports for all and

less money to players means less egotistical jerks and their entourages bulldozing their way through life with absurd amounts of cash to pave the way

My god, the jealousy of some people is absurd. Hell, lets punish anyone who makes a lot of money - god help it that they earned it themselves.

And learn economics 101 - ticket prices are not due to salaries.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

yeah, who cares about people who think that the real millionares should be cops, firefighters, teachers? who wants to hear people's opinions that athletes are mostly non-educated people who have skills of little use to society?

Because whiny fucks like you don't want to pay more taxes to have teachers paid as such. Society value their skills in the free market - and they are paid as such. If you are whining about it- don't watch the games or pay to participate - your choice.

[AgustusM]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

My god, the jealousy of some people is absurd. Hell, lets punish anyone who makes a lot of money - god help it that they earned it themselves.

And learn economics 101 - ticket prices are not due to salaries.

First off start by putting away the attitude - you can disagree without being condescending.

Second, the money concern is not a question on jealousy - it is a question of the way people who feel the are above the common courtesies of society due to their wealth, and in some cases above the law. for example players like Terrell Owens did not exist in the past because they would be cut and broke - he can afford to be an ass because he is already set for life. Of course it doesn't help that many people fawn all over these people and treat them like gods. I am a huge sports fan and I admire players, but I have never idolized them.

Third economics, again put away the condescension.- I KNOW economics and I know prices in any market are set by supply and demand - However I also know history and history shows us that in the pre-free agency, multimillionaire athlete days ticket prices were much lower. The difference is in the past when tickets were affordable, more people from all socioeconomic levels could afford to go to more games. Now most games (and baseball especially) are on corporate tickets which lends for a much less passionate, informed crowd then in the past.

Also in addendum to my original comments - my primary disgust with money and sports is the unproven rookie contracts ala Alex Smith, Ryan Leaf , etc. I am far more bothered by money going to totally unproven players then to guys who have earned it with their play on the field.

[WVUFAN]

Originally Posted by AgustusM

Third economics, again put away the condescension.- I KNOW economics and I know prices in any market are set by supply and demand - However I also know history and history shows us that in the pre-free agency, multimillionaire athlete days ticket prices were much lower. The difference is in the past when tickets were affordable, more people from all socioeconomic levels could afford to go to more games. Now most games (and baseball especially) are on corporate tickets which lends for a much less passionate, informed crowd then in the past.

As the teams make more money from the revenue of games, from TV deals and marketing, so should the players who cause the money to be made. In the "olden" times, players were not paid appropriately for what they contributed. Now, things are more fair.

As to the idea that teachers and policemen should be paid more than athletes, this is the last thing we want. We don't want people entering the teaching field or the law enforcement field just for the money -- we want people that have a passion for those careers REGARDLESS of the money. Plus, tax money does not go to athlete pay -- but it does to teachers and policemen. The general public isn't the least little bit interested in having their taxes raised for this purpose.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by WVUFAN

As to the idea that teachers and policemen should be paid more than athletes, this is the last thing we want. We don't want people entering the teaching field or the law enforcement field just for the money -- we want people that have a passion for those careers REGARDLESS of the money.

I've personally known probably a dozen people who would make fantastic teachers (imo, obviously) and who told me that they would have gone into teaching if the money was there. Your point is not without merit, but I think it's perfectly obvious that higher pay would attract better candidates.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

i know it's not realistic, but i'd model the U.S. (and world) baseball system to be like the european (and world) soccer system, with promotion/relegation, meaningful world cup competitions, and champion cups.

Yeah, I think is the way that baseball stays relevant into the 21st century, honestly.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

and i'm saying it's time teams start earning their keep in the cities they operate in, rather than just existing to provide the fringe benefit of entertainment. the skills athletes have serve no useful purpose in society, their value is severely distorted. college football provides a very comparable product to the NFL in terms of quality of players and calibre of talent - USC football is better than what you get from the Arizona Cardinals i'm sure we'll all agree - and those players play for free. the models exist. don't give me that retarded "supply and demand" nonsense - pro sports are universes unto themselves. they exist in bubbles. where else outside of pro sports would an athlete be able to make money off his three point range? in what field could a pitcher use his ability to throw a ball 90+ mph? now, take a doctor, attorney, IT tech, engineer, salesman - take them from their current companies/sectors and if you put them in a different sector i bet you'll find the skills they have would allow them to command similar salaries to what they were making.

there is no law that says pro athletes should be millionaires. there is no demand for their useless skills outside of their respective leagues.

I don't see how people can consistently make this argument, yet will happily plunk down money for movies and other entertainment. The supply and demand of paying athletes premium dollar and the jealousy of "common folks" is simply jealously and little else.

Pay people whatever someone else is willing to pony up, plain and simple. Who cares what their job is.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by AgustusM

history shows us that in the pre-free agency, multimillionaire athlete days ticket prices were much lower. The difference is in the past when tickets were affordable, more people from all socioeconomic levels could afford to go to more games.

Actually, that's not really completely true: taking inflation into account, ticket prices have remained essentially unchanged from the 1950s into the 1990s. There was an increase in ticket prices that outpaced inflation in the 1990s, but this was driven by the opening of several new state-of-the-art ballparks. In such cases, with a clean slate, owners could charge what the market will bear, knowing the novelty factor would drive fans to the new parks. Also, during this time, ticket prices for franchises with older parks still grew at a rate pretty close to inflation.

As for the socio-economic argument, I'm not sure you can really say that today's ticket prices are inhibiting the "common fan" from going to the games. Baseball ticket prices averaged about $20 in 2001. In 1950 dollars, that is only about $2.75, which is only about $1 over the actual $1.60 1950 average . I would suspect that the 1950s $1.60 would still be pretty steep for lower-income families, so this "high ticket prices" issue was always there, free agency or not.

Even if you rolled back ticket prices, supply-and-demand would still rule the day: if it was a hot ticket, those tickets would probably be informally bid up over face value, and a fair share of those tickets would still find themselves in the hands of people who could afford to pay for those tickets at a premium.