Your unpopular sports opinions?

Submitted by DISCUSS Man on

I think the NHL should bring back ties instead of gimmicky shootouts. I also think the NBA should institute a 4 point line that was talked about not that long ago. Would shake up the game of basketball like it was when the 3 was instituted.

No politics or religion, please. This is a thread on your unpopular sports opinions.

DISCUSS

amphibious1

February 13th, 2015 at 4:26 PM ^

My sarcasm detector malfunctioned. Shit....

So.... Any Anarchist athletes?

Just to be clear though: "You know, I’m actually Independent, actually an Independent and I have been for some time. But there’s no doubt this world needs a lot of help." - Tom Brady

robbyt003

February 13th, 2015 at 4:44 PM ^

I like the NHL shootouts.

I think the NBA should institute a 10 point shot.  It would be for any shot behind the half court line.  Now that would make the game interesting.  

bmacjr11

February 13th, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^

We should narrow the goal posts by 4 feet and make kickers kick from the 25.  It was an immediate boost to the Pro Bowl.  I couldn't keep my eyes off of that game for one second.  Oregon may actually just choose to start going for 2 every time though..... WAIT???

South Bend Wolverine

February 13th, 2015 at 2:54 PM ^

This isn't so much unpopular as unorthodox, but I have my own take on how to solve the issue of extra points being meaningless rituals.  I say adopt the rugby system - you take the PAT based on where the TD was scored.  If you score in the corner of the end-zone, you have to kick from way over on the side of the field.  Right now, PATs are stupid & boring, especially in the NFL.  This would shake it up.

bmacjr11

February 13th, 2015 at 3:25 PM ^

And I was being sarcastic of course, as the thread implies..  But in all seriousness, if XP's were made to be more difficult, what is then stopping teams from going for 2 every time?  With how simple an XP is right now, the statistical likelihood of a converted XP is the main reason teams (Oregon excluded) still choose to take that point rather than risking a less likely 2-point conversion.

Maybe some fans see that as good thing, but I think the fact that it is so easy, is also what makes the 2-point conversion so dramatic and important.

It'sGreatToBe

February 13th, 2015 at 4:36 PM ^

but the one thing to note is that in rugby you have to ground the ball, which means it isn't always kicked from wherever the player crosses the try line. Plenty of tries are scored from getting in the corner but grounding the ball under the posts. Not sure how you'd institute something similar in football (short of requiring grounding), which may result in a greater percentage of difficult conversions, plus a strong bias for up-the-middle runs when you're within the 5.

That said, it'd be fantastic to watch PATs from the sideline. Would make excellent kickers much more valuable in the game.

go16blue

February 13th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^

That any fan base outside of maybe Stanford or Northwestern prides their sports teams on their relative academic rigor is laughable. We take kids who are dumb as bricks so long as they can play football, same as OSU, same as MSU, same as Middle Tennessee State. Our school as a whole may be superior but it's silly to think that extends into athletics.

Source: Good friends with an athletic trainer. Some of our players literally cannot read.

turd ferguson

February 13th, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^

I think this is mostly true.  I just commented in Ace's post that it's interesting how many kids cite our top academics as a reason for their interest in Michigan.  My guess is that, in general, we're getting kids who are more interested in academics than other programs.  At the same time, I don't think we turn away or avoid many more low-academics kids than other programs.  The result, I'd guess, is that our average or median player (academically) is quite a bit stronger than most schools' average/median player, but our academic floor isn't much higher.

bmacjr11

February 13th, 2015 at 3:39 PM ^

This theory is untestable, and really in no relation to what irks this sub-topic posters original point but I would think Denard would fall in the category for exactly that reason.. What is cool about Michigan, is that he grew and learned so much that not only did his interviews get exponentially better.. but he was able to stand in fron of the entire B1G brass and deliver a pretty damn good speech.. Could that have been done if he attended....say... LSU? 

JClay

February 13th, 2015 at 3:10 PM ^

Definitely. Brian (I think it was him, could've been Ace or Seth) mentioned one of the reasons he didn't like the Legacy Numbers/Patches was because he switched and his number could've went on to be a Legacy number otherwise. Which is certifiably nuts. He was the 50th best ever to play his position at Michigan.

Artie

February 13th, 2015 at 3:24 PM ^

Could've and should've are two different things. I think Brian just uses that as an example as to what could happen in the event that an all-galaxy player is given a legacy number. I don't think anyone is pretending Kovacs was anywhere near that sort of player.




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JClay

February 13th, 2015 at 3:40 PM ^

This was before Kovac's senior year and I took it, when he said it, to mean it was a possibility. As though "there is a legitmate chance this guys goes down as the best walkon ever" and his number is held out for other great walkons. I may have interpreted it wrong. 

Either way, I think there was a huge amount of confirmation bias going on because he was such a great story and likable. Again, he wasn't bad, but he definitely was far less effective than people on here seemed to make out like he was.

TheFugitive

February 13th, 2015 at 2:56 PM ^

Basketball:

No more fouling out, instead automatic 2 FTs and the ball if a player over the limit is called. 

I hate charge calls under the basket, eliminate that entirely. 

Playoffs:

Top x amount of teams get in regardless of conference.  Seed division winners somehow, but anyone with a losing record (Panthers for example) is the lowest seed and they do not host a game.

Timeouts:

need to be limited.  There's too many, less strategy with all the stoppages of play. 

Baseball:

Pitchers need to throw the daggone ball sooner.  2 bases for walks if a strike is not called, 1 base otherwise. 

Code-7

February 13th, 2015 at 3:01 PM ^

This would be great! One of worst things to sit through. Of course the batter being able to take their sweet time in the batters box would need to come to a halt as well.

Code-7

February 13th, 2015 at 2:58 PM ^

Instead of ending in a tie, I would like the overtime sessions to be played as 20 minute periods until there is a winner. If it works for the playoffs, then why doesn't it work for the regular season.

pdgoblue25

February 13th, 2015 at 2:59 PM ^

Nobody is forcing them to play football.  Acting like you had no idea that being hit by someone who is running as fast as they can for 12 years could be bad for your health is completely naive.

Most of them went to school for free, and they have every right to use their degrees to pursue a different profession.

xxxxNateDaGreat

February 13th, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^

And I respectfully disagree.

For one, I'd be willing to bet that most of their degrees aren't worth jack shit. For every engineering student playing in the NFL, I'll bet my life that there are dozens of sports management or general education majors. And that's not even considering the guys who left early and barely finished their Gen Eds.

Two, I agree that no one is forcing them to play. But I don't think anyone is saying that they are playing against thier will, merely that they were playing under the supervision of physicians who, until very recently, had only their EMPLOYER'S (and therefore, their own) best interest at heart.

Medicine and league rules have both advanced so much in the last 30-50 years that players have more awareness and more control about their health, but the people who were/are expressing the most concern are the guys who played in the 60's, 70's, 80's and even 90's, and most of that concern seems to be directed towards the current crop of unpaid teens who are quite literally putting their lives on the line for a shot at becoming a millionaire, while others around them risk nothing and profit handsomely off of them.

DealerCamel

February 13th, 2015 at 2:59 PM ^

I really harbor no actual hate for the Spartans or the Buckeyes.  I just don't have it in me, I suppose.

That being said, I want to rip the head off the reporter who was talking about Deflategate and said, "Well, Tom Brady is obviously a cheater, he probably cheats on his wife too" while being completely serious about it.  Actually, the whole sports culture of "try to rip the other side down as much as possible" is something I can't abide. 

I'm a fan of dynasties and enjoy seeing them while they last, which is why I'm a Patriots fan and have no problem with Bama or LeBron James.  The exception to this rule is the Spurs, for what they kept doing to the Pistons in the early naughts.  Damn communists. 

FormAFarkingWall

February 13th, 2015 at 3:01 PM ^

Scottie Pippen was an average player at best. His inclusion in the HOF is an outright joke.

I hate the over reliance on sabremetrics and think the eye test is still more important.

The pistons made the right call passing on Trey Burke.