Sports November 20, 2011

Although many people see the Astros moving to the AL as a move that will change the game for the better, I see it as a potential disaster. Sure it balances out the leagues and the divisions, but it leaves an odd number of teams in both leagues. Under the old system, and the one that will expire at the end of the 2012 baseball season, teams in the same league would play each other, and could because there were an even number of teams in each league. But now, interleague games will be played almost everyday. This may not matter for the first couple months of the season, but it will greatly affect the playoff races in September. Say, for example, the wild card leader has a slight lead over the second place team. The second place team, in September, has to play a tough team at the end of the season in its own league, while the first place team has to play the worst team in the other league. That will really mess up that race. Sure, you can argue that there are bad teams in both leagues, but shouldn't a playoff spot awarded in one league be decided by the teams in that league, not teams in the other league? The odd number of teams in each league will force this situation to become a reality, and a team that may not deserve to get a postseason spot may get in, while the other does not. True, the new rule that makes two wild card teams alleviates some of the problems, but there will still be race for the second spot, one that this situation decides incorrectly.

I also think the new wild card game has the right idea in mind. The Wild Card team should be penalized for not being a division winner and have some sort of handicap. The game will have huge implications, because it will make the Wild Card teams burn their best pitchers before the real playoffs start. One game is also the right number, because playing too many games will leave the division winners rusty, as is a common case with teams who sweep a team in the first round, then have a long lay over and end up losing. However, I don't think this rule handicaps the Wild Card enough. Any good team can win one game and then beat a far better team in a short series. Baseball is unique from a sport like Basketball in that the road team in the early rounds actually has a chance against a better team. So, I propose a new solution. The best team, in a five game series, should get 4 home games, with only Game 3 being played on the road. The rule that states that the best team can't play the Wild Card in the first round should be eliminated. The best team has earned the right to play the worst team in the first round, regardless of division. True, the Wild Card often has a better record than a division winner (look at the AL East dominance of the Wild Card spot), but the best team should have put a team in its own division away, given 18 opportunities to do so. The series between the other two division winners can remain the same, as a division winner cannot be severely handicapped. The one game playoff can stick around, I actually think it will be an exciting game, with a Game 7 like atmosphere.

More than halfway through the NFL season I hate the new kickoff rule. Kicking off from the 35 yard line has made kickoff returns obsolete and touchbacks all too common. Before, only the best kickers would get touchbacks, and those would be the elite kickers. Now, anyone who doesn't kick the ball through the endzone is considered below average. The return game has also disappeared. Hardly ever does a returner take the ball to mid field on a kick off anymore, and doing so has become very difficult. What was wrong with the old system anyway? What was wrong with a ~80% return rate? So what if one team has good field position consistently just because it has a good kick returner and a good kicker? This new rule is like saying you can't throw the ball over 20 yards down field and can only throw the ball 20 times a game. It's like saying its "unfair" to have a better quarterback that the other team and the player can only be used sparingly. I don't think these new rules are at all beneficial to the game. Football is unique in that it has 3 phases: offense, defense, and special teams. These new rules essentially eliminate a third of the last phase, and make football more of a 2 phase game. I hope the NFL sees the light and decides to go back to kicking off from the 30.