Hey, I have a lot of time on my hands. So here’s some sports rules that I don’t like.
① Offsides in soccer and hockey. Never understood it.
② “Overtime” in football. The College rule is dumb and the Pro rule is that the coin flip determines the outcome. I like either “no ties” (first to the tie score wins; credit to the GSN show “catch21”) or “king me” (second to the tie score wins; forces the leader to play; not stall)
③ Sports with no “mercy rule”. (Even pro games that are 37-0 are boring.)
④ Sports with teams that play the mythical “Home for the Blind” to pad their records.
⑤ Division 1 NCAA Basketball “leagues”. (I like the idea that there are different tiers with the bottom of an upper tier gets demoted and replaced with top of the lower tier.)
⑥ NCAA rules on “eligibility”. “Schools”, (Most are really Gooferment subdivisions), can “graduate” “student-athletes” who can’t read or stars leave without graduating. If I were “king” and heaven help the politicians if I was, “Doctor Guillotine, the King has summoned you.”, I’d have “exit exams”, just like they have “entrance exams”. “Student athletes”, who fail the exit exam or just leave, cost the “school” a scholarship for 8 years. (Think that will get their attention?)
⑦ NCAA needs better treatment of “student athletes” when the coach leaves or is dismissed. Signees, freshmen, and sophomores should be given “immediate clearance” to play elsewhere.
⑧ Sportsmanship in all sports. It’s sports; not warfare. Coach’s antics are unacceptable. Athlete’s might get a warning. I like soccer’s red and yellow cards. Maybe the football players need to play without equipment; like rugby. Maybe we need rules that really penalize “unsportsmanlike conduct”! What message are we sending to society or children? And, perhaps, we should have a mandatory “sit out” anytime there is a hint of a concussion. For example, if the ref has to stop play for any injury, then that player is “administratively unavailable” a quarter (i.e., elapsed time of 15 minutes; the equivalent of a “time out” in the hockey penalty box). Multiple “unavailables” lead to some number of game exclusions as directed by a doctor of unimpeachable credentials dedicated to protecting the player. College and pro.
⑨ Refs and umps need a feedback mechanism. They’re not “gods”; they make mistakes. But, they are also not the “devil incarnate” and deserve respect.
⑩ And, don’t get me started on “instant replay” rules.
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Reinke Faces Life 