Author: Sean
Bio: Bleacher Report Writer, longtime fan of Curtis Joseph

1. Legalize Gambling – Tax it… It would inject some money into the economy, and it would make watching sports much more fun for everyone. Downside: It would create a new generation of degenerate gamblers
2. Spread the 24/7 Love – Seriously, is there anything cooler than the Hard Knocks and 24/7 shows on HBO? After watching the Pens-Caps one, I couldn’t even hate Sidney Crosby anymore. These shows provide a really in depth look at professional athletes we don’t really know much about.
3. Make wearing colors at home the American standard – Soccer teams around the globe already do this. NFL and College Football teams already do this. So do NHL teams. Why don’t the NBA and MLB make the switch as well? Does anyone actually buy Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, or Heat jerseys in white?
4. NFL Overtime – Do it exactly like college, but start from the 50.
5. Down By Contact in College Football – Unnecessary and somehow has outlived its usefulness. Don’t penalize a guy for hitting the ground after making a great play. If he isn’t down by contact, let him get up and run.
6. Make All Star Games Fun – The NHL All-Star game Skills Competition is easily the most entertaining All-Star event I’ve watched. Following closely behind are the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and the MLB Home Run Derby/Celeb Softball game. All-Star weekend is supposed to be fun, so why don’t we make it that way? And counting games for home field advantage…seriously?
7. Extra Time in Soccer – Is there anything more arbitrary in sports? Why does the soccer referee get to be a complete dictator about when the game ends?
8. Stop Expanding March Madness – 68 teams is already enough. People may see VCU making the final four from the play-in round as a justification for further expansion. But eventually there will be a point where too many teams will be involed in this thing as people try to make more money off of it. Good luck making the Final 4 in 2035 when there’s 128 teams in the tournament.
9. Stop Penalizing for Celebrating – Sports are supposed to be fun. Don’t throw a flag at a guy for dancing in the end zone as 70,000 people cheer for him. Do penalize clearly organized and planned out celebrations like Joe Horn with the phone or T.O. with the Sharpie. Don’t fine the guys for having fun though, just penalize their teams. The coach will take care of the rest.
10. College Football Playoffs – About as obvious a choice as there could be on this list. NFL playoffs are already so much fun. And how about March Madness? An eight team college football playoff would captivate the nation for a month, easily.
11. League reviews on diving in Soccer – The NHL and NBA review video and make determinations whether players should be suspended for serious penalties, technical fouls, or faked injuries as a means of gamesmanship. In soccer, leagues should constantly review video and fine/suspend players for diving. The incessant flailing and faking really turns Americans off to the sport. If it were better regulated and there was less of it, we’d be more open to the sport as a whole.
12. Salary Cap Floors – Leagues can determine a set amount of money owners should be making (based on ticket revenue and league licensing payouts) and investing back into their teams. The numbers should be something that guarantees that even the poorest owner is turning a profit, but one that also ensures competive balance among the teams in the league. The NHL has already instituted it (though the Islanders craftily circumvented it with impossible to reach incentives for veterans), and the practice would work great in Major League Baseball.
13. Pay College Athletes – These guys practice and play enough that they’re basically working a full-time job. The least we could do is give them some of that TV money so they can live like normal college students. We give these kids a free education, but take away all their free time and tell them they can’t work. Then we’re surprised when these broke college kids start taking things for free. Kids would also stay in college longer if they were being paid enough money to support themselves.
14. Make games affordable for the real fans to go – The true fans have been out-priced by the ever-rising ticket prices of professional sporting events. This has killed the atmosphere at great stadiums of the past like Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, the Boston Garden etc. The die-hard, working-class fans are now relegated to the upper depths of the stadium where they cannot be heard. This leaves a corporate-like atmosphere in the lower bowl and for those watching on TV.
15. Organize a bigger Champions League competition for the world – I know that the FIFA Club World Cup already exists and is a tournament that squares off Champions League like winners from around the World. But it would be so much sweeter if there were one Champions League style tournament that all of the professional soccer leagues in the world sent teams to. This would be like an international March Madness and would draw as much attention as the actual world cup itself. Right now, very few people care (or even know) about the FIFA club world cup.
16. Pay scales for rookies vs. veterans – Veterans should make more money on average than rookies, period. Especially in a league like the NFL where half of the first round picks turn out to be busts; those players shouldn’t be guaranteed all that money from the start.
17. Retirement benefits for players – It’s sad that old NFL players can’t afford to pay for their medical bills. This is a multi-billion dollar industry. The fact that they can’t find a way to take care of former employees is embarrassing.
18. What’s that trapezoid supposed to accomplish anyway? – Seriously, get rid of the thing. The trapezoid was the most senseless new rule that the NHL instituted. It accomplishes absolutely nothing.
19. Expand Instant Replay – Just for important things (Goals and Potential Offsides on Goals in Soccer, Home runs and Fair/Foul in baseball). Nothing crazy, we just need to get the big calls right.
20. Let the winning league in interleague play get home field advantage – We pit the leagues against one another every season, and ESPN tracks the overall record for each league seemingly for no reason. Instead of letting one game decide which league gets home field advantage, let’s use a 252 game sample of interleague competition. The AL would have hosted 10 times since interleague play began, while the NL would have hosted 4 times.