A collective sports conscience springs in 2011?
MOSES LAKE - A new year means the date on the calendar will simply change for the next 365 days.
In most cases it means little change in the sports world that will be anything but dramatic.
Sure, new names surface as heroes or goats and punchlines to jokes about texting cute women who work within an organization.
But will a new year mean great change? Will the sports fan see revolutionary moves that better our world?
So I decided to put my prediction cap on and took a shot of resolution potion. What I came up with is this top 10 list of New Year Predictions mixed with a hope that our sports may see people with a conscience only concerned with doing the right thing.
1. The commissioners of the Big 10 and Big 12 will have their brain swapped in a major operation.
That would mean that the current 12-team Big 10 and the current 10-team Big 12 will switch their leaders. The two men will, shortly after the procedure, return to a new home and realize how moronic the other was. The Big 12 becomes the Big 10, the Big 10 does vice versa and all is right in the collegiate numerical universe.
2. Members of sports television media decide they do have a responsibility to the public and stop promoting persons of ill-repute.
Why does ESPN constantly glorify coaches like John Calipari and Bruce Pearl? The former has led two programs to Final Four trips that do not exist because of recruiting violations and the NCAA is allegedly already sniffing around his third home. Pearl was a narc back in the 80s, known for being sketchy for years, and was finally caught. But, "oh boy what great coaches they are!" Um, no. They are cheaters who only have good players in the fold to make them look good. If they recruited on an even playing field those two men and many others like them probably couldn't go .500 coaching their local JV teams.
3. Danica Patrick decides she really is a sham and quits all racing.
The woman can't win, barely competes, and bares skin. So why do racing fans have to be drowned in her constant presence in promotions for the sport? Yes, what a great lesson she and the media are giving to our young girls today. "Hey you don't have to have talent or be respected as a strong woman. Just bare yourself in Maxim, Stuff, and GoDaddy, and you are all good, sistah!" Danica, you stink, you know it, have even begun to admit it. Go get a job at Hooters and leave us be, okay?
4. The sports world decides to only cover...sports.
No more stories about non-illegal behavior behind closed doors. Does it matter that Tiger Woods is a cheap philanderer? Nope. Who cares if Brett Favre sends XXX-rated texts to a female employee of the New York Jets? Not I. I don't know about you, but I believe deep down that the majority of the sporting-fan public cares about the GAMES. Sure, they try to tell you 'oh people love scandal and that's why we cover it,' but...When was the last time a bunch of guys sat around at a sports bar and had a conversation about which athlete is dating who over a talk about which defense was better, the '85 Bears or the '00 Ravens?
5. The NCAA declares a playoff for major college football.
But it can't be more than eight teams. Use the seven major bowls for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final, rotating the top three bowls for the final two rounds. Use the other bowls for the 32 other teams left out and keep 30 undeserving teams at home. You can't have too many rounds because, yes, it is hard to travel 50,000 fans three consecutive weeks during the holidays. But eight teams that win a league title and are seeded through power points would be fair and be enough to end the debate.
6. All professional leagues in America decide to contract in order to make their products better.
Really, 32-teams in the NFL? 30 in the NBA and MLB? Heck, 20-to-be in MLS? The quality of strong play is weakening every year and more-and-more subpar athletes are collecting paychecks that would cover the average worker for 15 years of service. The seasons should be shorter, more games should be relevant, and each team needs to have more stars and less moons on them. It just seems the pro sports world is becoming a combination of "let's make more money" meets "everyone gets a trophy."
And on that note...
7. Every state high school athletic association gets a conscience and begins to develop young adults as they were sworn to do decades ago.
That means...
Making less classes in all sports other than football and soccer, which require more athletes. So that would mean, oh, four classes for football in Washington and two for every other sport. If you think ACH basketball couldn't compete with a Royal or Warden or even some CWAC schools, please. Sports was supposed to be about teaching young people how to enjoy themselves while also learning the values of winning and losing. They were supposed to learn that if you aren't good enough work harder or move on - that someone is always going to be better than you. Now? Everyone starts getting a medal if they stink or have a bad attitude. Team cancers can't get cut from teams because coaches are scared of angering the one parent an administration is intimidated by. Also, every sport is being dummied down to where what used to be illegal or an error in play is now rewarded as talent.
Right.
That's why in every international ranking in sports our American teams are falling down the polls and in individual sports we see little or no presence at the top. When did these failings start? Approximately 25 years ago. Oh, gee, that's when everyone was starting to get medals and ribbons and no one could be cut. Do the math and support our associations when they decide to create future adults who have learned to earn something rather than it being handed to them.
Don't you take more pride in a home you bought with your own money than one given to you?
Happy New Year.