Mark's Thoughts: Five Unheralded Things That Need to Change About Sports

The start of a list of many things about sports that need to be changed, but items that aren't being talked about...

There are some major things that need to change about the world of sports.  The BCS, the Designated Hitter, NFL overtime rules, voters in the college football polls being uninformed, star treatment for NBA players, and so on.  These are major problems that do need to be addressed; however, they have all been discussed by many writers.  I would like to start to compile a list of things that need changing in sports that have yet to be addressed at any great length.  

1) There needs to be an increase of quality nicknames in the world of sports.  There is just a huge lack of good nicknames in sports.  There are a few, but the problem is the majority of them belong to Shaq.  The other nicknames are just shortening names, or using initials. For example, LeBron, CP3, Manny, A-Rod, etc. The excessive marketing that has encompassed sports might be one of the reasons that nicknames have gone away. Poor nicknames are forced down the throats of fans by announcers, ESPN, and marketing executives. No longer are nicknames able to come about naturally. It would be nice for nicknames to come about, and then for the nickname to be used by commentators and commercials.

2) Arenas need to stop selling beer at halftime. Too often people come to the game after drinking up a storm at a restaurant or bar and sit down with a beer in each hand. Then at the end of the third quarter comes the run to get another two beers for the last quarter. I don't know if the limiting of the beer sales at halftime would cut down on alcoholic incidents.

3) Leagues and conferences need to stop creating networks and placing quality games on those networks without first having a way to have those networks seen by a wide audience. The problem is not just the Mtn. or the NFL network, but every network that has been created by a league or conference to date. It seems that these networks never learned the lessons of the Internet or mortgage collapse. You can't just want something to be profitable and magically it becomes profitable. Let the people see the network, and have it be a good product.

4) The NBA is just too nice. What happened to the intensity that used to be on the court, and the anger that can be seen from players after they lose games? It just seems that too many players are just playing to collect a paycheck. The problem isn't that the players are making too much money, this same problem of people not caring about what they are doing exist at all workplaces. It is frustrating to see people mail in performances regardless of what profession that they do, but it is very frustrating when it comes from performers who are paid to come and give it their all for the entertainment of others.

5) Innovations in broadcast and improvements in sports shouldn't be stopped due to a blanket argument of "purity of the game." Hockey is a really good example of this fact. In the 1990's hockey had an argument that it was one of the top sports in America along with the NBA, MLB, and NFL. Yet, hockey really made a lot of mistakes. One of the major mistakes they did make was trying to cater their sport to fanatical base. In the nineties the NHL was trying to make changes to make hockey more watchable; however, the "hockey purists" didn't like the changes and constantly complained about it until the league altered the changes they made that improved the watch-ability. The league didn't try to attract new fans to the sports, and hockey has suffered ever since. There are things about sports that shouldn't change. There just needs to be a better reason for keeping them than because of the "purity of the game."

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Mark's Thoughts: What is Worse Computer Crash or Lack of Sports

My computer went down hard, but it would have been easier to bear with some sports to watch...

The blue screen of death.

Yes, everyone knows the screen that Bill Gate's designed to basically tell you that your computer is about to kick the bucket.

That blue screen of death came over my notebook computer yesterday, and instantly my computer croaked! Needless to say that I was a little upset about what occurred. Especially about the timing of the crash, right before midterms. (Yes, for all of the reader that don't know I am still in college, and I am taking a heavy load of class during the first half of the semester. This is also an explanation for the lack of consistent postings since mid May.) I would take my notebook to school, and all of my notes for all of my classes were on that machine....

What was worse about this experience was the fact that I had to make the tech support phone call. Which is somewhere between being forced to work with anyone on Top Chef this season (seriously! It is as if the producers thought, lets get the worst human beings we can find that are also chefs and have them on the show) and having to remove my own kidney. To my relief, I didn't get transferred overseas for the call. That alone cut two hours off an all ready long two and a half hour tech phone call. The good news after going over the computer with the tech guy. I might be able to save some of my files, and my computer is still under warranty(thank goodness!). The bad news, although it is possible, it will be a miracle if I am able to get any of my files off.

So Billy boy won this round, and Vista takes adds to its list of casualties. Yet, during the phone call, of which the larger duration was spent on hold, all I could think about is it would have been nice to have some sports to take my mind off the computer.

What?!? But Mark, there is the NBA Finals, isn't that the best of basketball?

Sure I admit I will be following the Finals, but the match up seems way over hyped. All the major news outlets keep saying how great it is to have Boston and LA in the Finals; however, there are holes on both teams. This isn't like the teams in the 80's with All-star talent stacking both benches. No, this is a watered down version of the rivalry. Also I am torn on who to rout for in the series. I really don't like either team. KG is awesome to watch, but Boston fans are really annoying right now(Although they do have a valid reason for being annoying). Also the help that LA received in getting to the Finals angers me. If you listen you can hear me pound the side of my head every time ABC shows the statistic of free-throw attempts per series for Kobe Bryant. (Thud! Dang I can't think about that stat, I need my brain for classes.)

I feel my early prediction of Lakers in 5, can still come true. It will depend on Jackson out coaching Doc Rivers in the second game. (I still see that happening.) Yet, with the questionable circumstances leading up to the current Finals I wouldn't be surprised to see this series be encouraged to go seven games by the league. (That is all I am saying about the conspiracy theories.)

Also, what didn't help was the Stanley Cup Finals actually being good. I watched the final overtime of game 5, which was great. Then I watched, for the first time since the strike, a complete game of hockey, game 6. WOW! It was awesome. It was up tempo, it was fun, and it had drama. It came down to a save with 3.2 seconds left to preserve the win. With the puck sliding behind the goalie in front of the net as time expires. The HD also helped me to follow the puck, and might be what hockey needs to try and make a comeback.

There is baseball. Yet, it is hard to follow the games of a single team from Utah. What else is there to watch right now...Soccer? Please, I would rather be on the phone with tech guy Mike. Until the fix, I guess I am on the school computers. I guess it could be worse. My computer could have caught fire like a Dell, and there is less than 90 days until college football.

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Quick Hits: Jazz Lose to Spurs, NBA Playoffs, NHL, and More...

Last night may have been the best loss of the season for the Jazz...

It seemed a very unfavorable time to take a break from writing on the Blog for the last few days; however, my wife had her Wisdom Teeth pulled and I have been taking care of her. That has really cut into my blogging time. She is doing much better now, and so I am now able to touch some topics I would have liked to have written a full entry on.

The Spurs Flexed Their Muscle Against the Jazz Last Night -- Wow! The Spurs shut down everything that the Jazz were trying to accomplish last night. Sure Deron Williams wasn't going at a hundred percent, but he was completely useless last night. Parker made him look terrible for the entire first half. Yet, it was nothing in comparison to the egg that Boozer laid last night. Letting Tim Duncan go coast-to-coast, was just another highlight on the Defense-by-Boozer highlight real. Though, his offense might have actually been worse last night. He was passing on wide open shots. He wasn't going to the rim. When he would get the ball in good position under the hoop, it seemed he would panic and try to outlet the ball to the outside as fast as he possibly could. His lack of an inside game caused multiple turnovers which the Spurs capitalized on. The Spurs were better at every position last night.

The Good News The Jazz Avoid the Spurs in the First Round--Before the game yesterday, the Jazz fans seemed to be ingesting large amounts of liquid courage. With this courage they were calling for the Jazz to play the Spurs in the first round. Forgotten were the Western Conference Finals of last year or the fact that 1999 was the last year the Jazz won a game in San Antonio. Forgotten, that the Jazz have NO answer for Manu Ginoboli. All of that didn't matter because the Jazz were playing far better basketball over the last five game than the Spurs. The game last night was a giant wake-up-call to Jazz Nation...THE SPURS OWN UTAH! That fact makes the loss last night bearable. With a win the Jazz would have been facing the Spurs in the first round, a very challenging match-up against a veteran team. Instead, the Jazz face the Rockets and Tracy (My hands influence the course of the universe, but I can't get out of the first round) McGrady.

The Greatest Fear All Jazz Fans Should Have Right Now!--How injured is Deron Williams? After Carmelo Anthony took Deron to the ground, Deron has been playing awful. The game against Houston was the first indication that Jazz fans should worry. Bobby Jackson...YES...Bobby Jackson gave Deron Williams problems the entire game. One could have made an argument that this one game was a abnormality, but Parker's schooling of Williams last night proved he is more injured than he is letting on. Why is this a HUGE problem? Deron Williams is everything for the Jazz. Take away Williams and Boozer and Okur become very average players. No one can create their own shot on the Jazz besides Williams. No one can create shots for other people, if Williams isn't orchestrating the offense. Take away Williams and the Jazz wouldn't even be sniffing the playoffs this or any season with the current lineup.

NBA Officiating in the Playoffs -- One more quick thought on the NBA Playoffs. I think it will be interesting to see one year removed from a major officiating scandal how the NBA will deal with the "Star Treatment" that has been present in the playoffs since Jordan. The series that will point out if this is an issue for the NBA is the Wizard Vs. Cavs. This is the third year in a row that these two teams have faced each other in the first round of the playoffs. The past two the Cleveland LeBrons have narrowly won the series, thanks in large part to suspect officiating. If this continues for a third season, the NBA might have a much larger officiating problem than the scandal of last year. This will be an interesting unspoken subplot in that series to keep an eye on.

NHL Playoffs -- Yes, the NHL playoffs are going on right now. This could be shocking to most people considering they get the same exposure as the Mountain West Conference. The shame of the non-exposure for the NHL is the fact that they now have an enjoyable product to watch. I can't name a single player on Detriot's or Nashville's roster; however, it was very enjoyable to watch their game last night between commercials of the Jazz-Spurs. The new rule changes make the game more open, and more athletic. There are players now that have serious talent. Crosby on the Penguins is really amazing. If you have a minute and Versus, you might want to think about giving the NHL Playoffs a look in from time to time.

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