My List of the dumbest things in sports

[Mr. Friscus]

This isn't a ranked list, but let's begin:
- The 4 week wait from the end of the College Football regular season to the College football playoff.
- Basing college football rankings on sports writers' opinions and their program bias.
- Soccer players flopping
- Baseball pitchers getting mad that a batter watched a home run for too long or didn't act correctly.
- All the players from the bullpen taking 5 minutes to run all the way across the field when there's a minor argument at the plate just to stand around.
- The pettiness of MLB hall of fame voters
- The NBA not updating the game as far as keeping the 3 point line where it is to encourage non-stop 3's.
- The NBA not allowing officials to swallow the whistle when people like James Harden perform pathetic shot attempts and base their entire game on trying to draw a foul rather than trying to score.
- NFL Holding/blocking calls in the NFL that are on the other side of the play that have no bearing on the outcome of the play.
- NFL Pass interference calls at the spot of the foul. Make it 15 yards for a regular PI, and if it's a flagrant foul, it can be at the spot.
- Maintaining human beings for calling strikes in baseball. Switch to laser box grid.
- Allowing pro golfers to continue to use state of the art technology to continually break golf courses. Baseball uses wood bats when metal is available, make pro golfers have limits on their clubs and balls.
- In the same tone, make Tennis players give up the space technology rackets and use wood rackets to bring back the serve and volley.
- Baseball umpire's little-men complex and their constant involvement into games with ejections because their feelings got hurt.
- The NCAA's existence, and raking in billions while players are expected to be pure amateurs.
- FIFA's corruption for World Cup locations and how much they make from the host country.
- Tic Tac roughing the passer penalties in the NFL

That's all I got right now, feel free to comment or add others.

 

[rightwinger]

Excellent list
Can’t say I disagree with any of it

 

[Ralph Norton]

This isn't a ranked list, but let's begin:
- The 4 week wait from the end of the College Football regular season to the College football playoff.
- Basing college football rankings on sports writers' opinions and their program bias.
- Soccer players flopping
- Baseball pitchers getting mad that a batter watched a home run for too long or didn't act correctly.
- All the players from the bullpen taking 5 minutes to run all the way across the field when there's a minor argument at the plate just to stand around.
- The pettiness of MLB hall of fame voters
- The NBA not updating the game as far as keeping the 3 point line where it is to encourage non-stop 3's.
- The NBA not allowing officials to swallow the whistle when people like James Harden perform pathetic shot attempts and base their entire game on trying to draw a foul rather than trying to score.
- NFL Holding/blocking calls in the NFL that are on the other side of the play that have no bearing on the outcome of the play.
- NFL Pass interference calls at the spot of the foul. Make it 15 yards for a regular PI, and if it's a flagrant foul, it can be at the spot.
- Maintaining human beings for calling strikes in baseball. Switch to laser box grid.
- Allowing pro golfers to continue to use state of the art technology to continually break golf courses. Baseball uses wood bats when metal is available, make pro golfers have limits on their clubs and balls.
- In the same tone, make Tennis players give up the space technology rackets and use wood rackets to bring back the serve and volley.
- Baseball umpire's little-men complex and their constant involvement into games with ejections because their feelings got hurt.
- The NCAA's existence, and raking in billions while players are expected to be pure amateurs.
- FIFA's corruption for World Cup locations and how much they make from the host country.
- Tic Tac roughing the passer penalties in the NFL

That's all I got right now, feel free to comment or add others.

Only one I strongly disagree with depending on what you mean by "flagrant":
- NFL Pass interference calls at the spot of the foul. Make it 15 yards for a regular PI, and if it's a flagrant foul, it can be at the spot.

DB's can then deliberately interfere (doesn't take much) when they are beaten and only incur a 15 yard penalty rather than give up a TD.

I don't believe a team should ever benefit from deliberately committing a penalty - in any sport.

 

[rightwinger]

The NCAA's existence, and raking in billions while players are expected to be pure amateurs.

I would also add the Coaches sneaker contracts where they make millions by forcing amateur players to wear the sneaker the coach is being paid for

 

[Mr. Friscus]

Only one I strongly disagree with depending on what you mean by "flagrant":
- NFL Pass interference calls at the spot of the foul. Make it 15 yards for a regular PI, and if it's a flagrant foul, it can be at the spot.

DB's can then deliberately interfere (doesn't take much) when they are beaten and only incur a 15 yard penalty rather than give up a TD.

I don't believe a team should ever benefit from deliberately committing a penalty - in any sport.

I think a DB intentionally tackling a WR is quite distinguishable from a DB that turns around and incidentally bumps a WR.
In the same way, a flagrant foul in the NBA is usually pretty distinguishable from a common foul.

Plus, if a DB is beat... they are steps behind the WR and can't just decide to catch up and tackle him.

And who is to say the team that commits the foul would be guaranteed to benefit? QB's miss WR's long or wide all the time even when the DB is beat. The DB gave the opposing team 15 yards and a first down. That's not benefiting.

 

[pknopp]

NCAA players are now permitted to profit from their play.

 

[Ralph Norton]

I think a DB intentionally tackling a WR is quite distinguishable from a DB that turns around and incidentally bumps a WR.
In the same way, a flagrant foul in the NBA is usually pretty distinguishable from a common foul.

Plus, if a DB is beat... they are steps behind the WR and can't just decide to catch up and tackle him.

Tackling a receiver is not what I'm talking about. Just a simple tug on a jersey can impede the receiver just enough so that the ball, which otherwise would be a completion, is "overthrown" and you see this all the time when the CB knows he is beaten.

 

[MarathonMike]

Good list! One of my biggest gripes is the replay review. It should never take more than 60 seconds but often stops the game for 5 minutes or more as the review officials go frame by frame examining 10 different camera angles. If it's "clear and convincing" evidence then one slow motion replay should suffice. That's especially true in baseball on throw to second plays as they check 20 times to see if the infielders glove nicked the runner's shoelace. Gimme a break.

 

[rightwinger]

Tackling a receiver is not what I'm talking about. Just a simple tug on a jersey can impede the receiver just enough so that the ball, which otherwise would be a completion, is "overthrown" and you see this all the time when the CB knows he is beaten.

I don’t think you can assume the receiver would have made the catch without interference.

A 15 yard penalty works very well in college

 

[Ralph Norton]

I don’t think you can assume the receiver would have made the catch without interference.

A 15 yard penalty works very well in college

Yet it happens all the time.
And it is why I do not like the college rule.

 

[candycorn]

This isn't a ranked list, but let's begin:
- The 4 week wait from the end of the College Football regular season to the College football playoff.
- Basing college football rankings on sports writers' opinions and their program bias.
- Soccer players flopping
- Baseball pitchers getting mad that a batter watched a home run for too long or didn't act correctly.
- All the players from the bullpen taking 5 minutes to run all the way across the field when there's a minor argument at the plate just to stand around.
- The pettiness of MLB hall of fame voters
- The NBA not updating the game as far as keeping the 3 point line where it is to encourage non-stop 3's.
- The NBA not allowing officials to swallow the whistle when people like James Harden perform pathetic shot attempts and base their entire game on trying to draw a foul rather than trying to score.
- NFL Holding/blocking calls in the NFL that are on the other side of the play that have no bearing on the outcome of the play.
- NFL Pass interference calls at the spot of the foul. Make it 15 yards for a regular PI, and if it's a flagrant foul, it can be at the spot.
- Maintaining human beings for calling strikes in baseball. Switch to laser box grid.
- Allowing pro golfers to continue to use state of the art technology to continually break golf courses. Baseball uses wood bats when metal is available, make pro golfers have limits on their clubs and balls.
- In the same tone, make Tennis players give up the space technology rackets and use wood rackets to bring back the serve and volley.
- Baseball umpire's little-men complex and their constant involvement into games with ejections because their feelings got hurt.
- The NCAA's existence, and raking in billions while players are expected to be pure amateurs.
- FIFA's corruption for World Cup locations and how much they make from the host country.
- Tic Tac roughing the passer penalties in the NFL

That's all I got right now, feel free to comment or add others.

Billion dollar entities like the NBA and NFL using college as a farm system costing students and taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

 

[Ralph Norton]

costing students and taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

How so?
PS - college is definitely NOT a farm system for the NBA - star players wouldn't even step foot on a college campus if not for "one and done".

 

[candycorn]

How so?
PS - college is definitely NOT a farm system for the NBA - star players wouldn't even step foot on a college campus if not for "one and done".

Why are star players going to college anyway?

Let the Rockets and Suns have a farm team like they do in baseball and stop expecting the States to build arenas that sit empty for most of the year.

What is going on in Happy Valley today at the stadium. Nothing. Just like 300+ days a year. Yet every day the citizens of PA are paying for upkeep on it.

 

[MarathonMike]

Billion dollar entities like the NBA and NFL using college as a farm system costing students and taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

So what is your solution? Dump Division I college football and basketball? Taxpayers do not pay directly pay for Division 1 sports but colleges do get kid glove treatment by the IRS. How about revoke the NCAA's tax exempt status and raise the piddly 1.4% tax on university endowments and keep the sports?

 

[candycorn]

My biggest pet peeve is coaches calling a time out just before the snap of the football on an extra point or field goal. I have no problem "icing the kicker" but the whistle blowing right as the kicker is about to kick the ball is going to result, one day, in a kicker wrecking his leg trying to stop when he hears the whistle. There needs to be a rule in place to where you can't call time out with less than 3 seconds on the play clock.

Junior pet-peeve is instant replay.

Get rid of it. Either make everything reviewable or make nothing reviewable. And since making everything reviewable is not practical...have no replay. We got by fine for decades if not centuries before replay came about.

Last pet-peeve is soccer coaches ing their substitutions to disrupt play. Its a time-honored tradition to do this. You sub 2-3 times during a 5 minute span to stop any momentum a team may have who is trying to catch up. I say you limit it to one sub every 5 minutes.

 

[Ralph Norton]

Why are star players going to college anyway?

In football, even star players aren't ready for the pros coming out of HS.

What is going on in Happy Valley today at the stadium. Nothing. Just like 300+ days a year. Yet every day the citizens of PA are paying for upkeep on it.

Football revenue is paying for it, not taxpayers.

And for the record, the collateral revenue from home football games is vital to Happy Valley's economy.

 

[candycorn]

So what is your solution? Dump Division I college football and basketball?

Well no. Private schools can do whatever they want.

Taxpayers do not pay directly pay for Division 1 sports but colleges do get kid glove treatment by the IRS.

Nonsense. Your tax monies at work.

Highest-paid public employee by state 2022 In The USA

Highest-paid public employee by state 2022 In The USA. The highest-paid state employee in your state is probably a football or basketball coach and by a wide margin. A state employee is an individual who is employed by an agency in any branch of a state government.

kamerpower.com

How about revoke the NCAA's tax exempt status and raise the piddly 1.4% tax on university endowments and keep the sports?

What is the point of college? It should be to educate students.

 

[candycorn]

In football, even star players aren't ready for the pros coming out of HS.

Right. Create a farm system. Let the Raiders field a farm team that will travel around playing other teams' farm teams. Works fine for AAA Baseball.

Football revenue is paying for it, not taxpayers.

Nonsense.

And for the record, the collateral revenue from home football games is vital to Happy Valley's economy.

Even on away games.

 

[Ralph Norton]

All paid for by football/ basketball revenue, not taxpayers.

 

[Ralph Norton]

Nonsense.

Do tell.