When you get right down to it, sports is pretty terrific.
OK, maybe that isn’t much of a bombshell to drop here, in the middle of reams of pages of sports stories. If you’ve come this far in the section, or on our website, it probably is because you already think sports is pretty terrific.
But here’s the thing: We can do better. Sports can do better. Every once in a while, you look at the games and think: Why don’t they do _______? Or why don’t they do things like ________?
Here are five things, in various sports, that could make the games even better. And make sports even more terrific than they already are.
1. Real-time baseball replay: I actually think replay in baseball is outstanding. I just happen to think the way they go about it is significantly less than outstanding. Look, the one thing baseball replay was supposed to do was to remove the egregious calls that can affect — and sometimes ruin — outcomes of games.
Here’s how you do that: In the same way umpires have to decide quickly whether a throw beat a runner, a manager should have to decide if they think the call was wrong. No more consulting for 45 seconds or a minute with the clubhouse while they check six angles. If you think the call was wrong, you have five seconds to say so. That’s it. If it means adding an extra challenge to both teams, that’s fine because the time saved will still be a net positive.
And one thing that almost certainly will be eliminated for good is the scourge of modern replay: a runner who loses contact with the base while sliding for a fraction of a second. For 150 years that was unchallenged and safe. No way anyone wastes a challenge on a maybe call like that any more.
2. Incorporate NHL timeouts to the NBA: In other words: You get one.
Well, not really. There are still the 10 television timeouts scattered through the four quarters. Plus the two breaks between quarters and another between halves. But when the games reach their zenith, no longer can two teams hoard their timeouts, which makes the late fourth quarters of games interminable, and most overtimes unwatchable. You get one to use whenever you want. I’ll even go to one and a 30-second timeout.
In fact, I even will suggest that teams can get one full timeout and two “instant” timeouts — meaning you can use them to stop the clock and move the ball to half-court, as you do now. Only without the bench meetings that send games to a screeching halt.
3. Half the distance to the goal: Few things drive me battier than a football team stuck deep in its own territory that gets flagged for, say, holding. If the ball is at the 4-yard line, that means what normally is a 10-yard penalty is instead a 2-yard penalty, which seems ridiculously random and arbitrary.
My solution: inside the 20, keep the ball where it is. But extend the first-down marker the necessary amount of yards. So if it’s first-and-10 from the 5 and there’s a hold, instead of moving the ball to the 2½-yard line, move the first-down marker from the 15 to the 25.
4. The ground can’t cause a fumble: This one is easy. Says who?
We see the ground cause fumbles every week. Especially in an era of ultra-conservative ball control, make it inherent on the ball carrier to keep the ball in his hands until he truly is down. If he can absorb a vicious hit from the safety and hold on, how bad must grass really be?
5. One-and-one in the NBA: Look, if we can force college kids, high school kids, and CYO kids to shoot one-and-one, why can’t we expect the best athletes in the world to do the same? Make the fifth, sixth and seventh fouls in a quarter one-and-ones, then every other one two shots. It’s not as crazy as the old three-to-make-two rule (what is?), but it would aid and assist trailing teams ever so slightly.
Vac’s Whacks
Fun with meaningless political stats: In their history, the Mets under a Democratic president are 1,905-2,400 (.443) with zero World Series titles, and under the GOP they’re 2,310-2,155 (.517), with two World Series. Also, as @tonyford was nice enough to point out, the Yankees’ last nine World Series have all come under Democratic rule. You have to go back to Ike and 1958 for their last Republican title.
A little renaissance on Utopia Parkway for the Johnnies might be just what this basketball-starved city is looking for.
A few episodes in, but I am very high on “Good Girls Revolt” on Amazon Prime, which is like “Mad Men” from the distaff side.
Winning the popular vote and losing the electoral college is totally the NIT championship of politics.
Whack Back at Vac
Frank Giordano: Why can’t the Mets bring Justin Turner back? He’s developed into a top-five third baseman. Or is the team going to cater to David Wright and his contract?
Vac: As much as anything, pursuing Turner would be an admission someone was fatefully wrong about him the last time. That’s what would surprise me.
Geo Seeger: Someone needs to Bull-rush this ego maniac Phil Jackson out of town. How can you be an effective coach with this ego monster around every corner?
Vac: Is there ego in Zen?
@DigiElon: If I had to watch a Knicks-Nets game as part of my job, I would ask for a raise, go on a hunger strike, whatever it took.
@MikeVacc: Hey, some of us also watched Jets-Browns. This was easy time.
Ron Perri: Theo for Cashman and I’ll throw in Girardi, Gardner and Jacoby and pay anything left on their contracts.
Vac: To which the Cubs would say, “That’s a tasty appetizer …”
