OT: Something you hate about sports leagues? (NHL, MLB, NBA, NFL, CFL)

[Stylizer1]

NHL: I hate division play instead of 1 vs 8 in the playoffs.

MLB: The season has too many games. More teams should make the playoffs.

NBA. I hate zone defence. There are less mistakes on D and keeps players standing around which makes 3 pointers easier to shoot. It turns a game of chess into a game of checkers.

NFL: I hate running out the clack at the end of the game. It takes what could be very exciting final 2 minutes and slows it down.In the final 2 minutes the play clock should be set to 20 seconds and the game clock should stop. more opportunity to make mistakes. It would kind of like the NBA shot clock resets to 14 after a missed shot instead of going back to 24 seconds. Forces teams to make quicker decisions for a shot.

CFL: It's an over all terrible league now. The talent pool is so watered down now with so many more leagues for players to play in. I feel if they don't merge with the XFL it is only a matter of time before people lose interest. I loved the CFL in the 80's and 90's because it was fun and the league marketed it's stars. Does the CFL even have any stars today?

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[SPF6ty9]

NHL: I hate division play instead of 1 vs 8 in the playoffs.

MLB: The season has too many games. More teams should make the playoffs.

NBA. I hate zone defence. There are less mistakes on D and keeps players standing around which makes 3 pointers easier to shoot. It turns a game of chess into a game of checkers.

NFL: I hate running out the clack at the end of the game. It takes what could be very exciting final 2 minutes and slows it down.In the final 2 minutes the play clock should be set to 20 seconds and the game clock should stop. more opportunity to make mistakes. It would kind of like the NBA shot clock resets to 14 after a missed shot instead of going back to 24 seconds. Forces teams to make quicker decisions for a shot.

CFL: It's an over all terrible league now. The talent pool is so watered down now with so many more leagues for players to play in. I feel if they don't merge with the XFL it is only a matter of time before people lose interest. I loved the CFL in the 80's and 90's because it was fun and the league marketed it's stars. Does the CFL even have any stars today?

Have to bigly disagree with this. Love that MLB actually puts emphasis on having a good regular season. I'm quite disappointed with them and NFL adding more playoff teams, but I guess money wins. And the one game wildcard elimination thing is kind of gimmicky.

 

[thinkwild]

One thing that always stood out to me was the trophy presentations between the NHL and NFL. For the Stanley Cup, it is first presented to the team captain, who then passes it on to all of his team mates, then the coaches and GM, and maybe later the owner. In the NFL that order is reversed. Seems kind of telling. Not sure if thats an American-Canadian thing or an ownership culture type of thing. And Hockey is always accused of being only accessible to the richest and yet it has the most, well im not sure what the right word is here, i was going to say egalitarian but not sure if thats it either.

 

[Stylizer1]

Have to bigly disagree with this. Love that MLB actually puts emphasis on having a good regular season. I'm quite disappointed with them and NFL adding more playoff teams, but I guess money wins. And the one game wildcard elimination thing is kind of gimmicky.

I just find too many teams are out of it by the end of the 1st month. If they played less games it would make wins worth more. Giving more cities the chance for playoffs would offset poor fan attendance for the middle of the pack teams. Of all sports MLB has such a huge discrepancy between the haves and the have nots. Get rid of 40 games and let more teams make the playoffs. 165 games means no urgency. I think baseball is boring during the regular season but is great because of the playoffs.

 

[SensPerpetualRebuild]

NHL: I hate how the loser point ruins the final minutes of a tie game. I hate how the mid-period time outs for ads destroy momentum/flow. It really ruins the game and I yearn for the old days. I hate how the refs never huddle up and decide not to call a penalty. They should take a page from the NFL. I find the shootout boring AF. Rarely watch. Most people won’t agree but I hate the “Michigan” goal. It was cool the first time. its a very skilled play but you can’t pick up the puck with your hand so I’m not sure why you can pick it up with your stick.

 

[Stylizer1]

NHL: I hate how the loser point ruins the final minutes of a tie game. I hate how the mid-period time outs for ads destroy momentum/flow. It really ruins the game and I yearn for the old days. I hate how the refs never huddle up and decide not to call a penalty. They should take a page from the NFL. I find the shootout boring AF. Rarely watch. Most people won’t agree but I hate the “Michigan” goal. It was cool the first time. its a very skilled play but you can’t pick up the puck with your hand so I’m not sure why you can pick it up with your stick.

When I was a kid there were no TV timeouts. Commercials were less than 20 seconds and they happened in between plays. I hate the loser point too. You shouldn't get a point for losing. It should be 2 points for a win in regulation. 2 points for a win in overtime. If it has to go to a shootout winner gets 1 point. Loser gets nothing.
When going into overtime you are removing 2 players to get an out come faster so both teams should get the chance for the 2 points. If they still can't win you should lose 1 point. This would make teams play hard to the end instead of hoping to make it to overtime so they can get the welfare point.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

The actual sports aside (as in the rules/regulations of the sport) I think the NFL has the best schedule/playoff format out of every sports league.

 

[DrEasy]

When I was a kid there were no TV timeouts. Commercials were less than 20 seconds and they happened in between plays. I hate the loser point too. You shouldn't get a point for losing. It should be 2 points for a win in regulation. 2 points for a win in overtime. If it has to go to a shootout winner gets 1 point. Loser gets nothing.
When going into overtime you are removing 2 players to get an out come faster so both teams should get the chance for the 2 points. If they still can't win you should lose 1 point. This would make teams play hard to the end instead of hoping to make it to overtime so they can get the welfare point.

It should be:

- 3 pts for the winner in regular time, 0 for the loser.
- 2 pts for the winner in OT, 1 for the loser.

This way every game has 3 pts to play for.

As for other sports: I'd normally love watching basketball, but there's so many time outs and ad breaks that there's no flow to the game. The last 3-4 minutes of the game drag on, it's terrible.

 

[BankStreetParade]

NHL: I wish they would tell us exactly what time the game was going to start at. I don't want a 7PM listing if the game isn't going to start until sometime between 7:08-7:30 depending on ceremonies or whatever. Be more clear about start times so people can choose whether they want to watch all the stuff that happens before puck drop or just tune in for the opening faceoff. I'd also like to see a hybrid touchup offside where the attacking team can play the puck on a delayed offside but only to pass it out of the zone and continue play. Too many stoppages because it was a razor thin offside in the first place and the momentum of the game is stopped. It's not a safety thing either, so doesn't really make sense to me.

MLB: automated strike zones. The vastness of strike zones from umpire to umpire is kinda crazy and it's not really enjoyable to me. Especially when you already have such distinct home team advantages with different sized parks and homerun distances to different parts of the stadium.

NFL: basically everything is a flag, or rather it should be. There's at least one player on each side of the ball cheating on every single play of the game.

European football: caps on team spending. Rich teams farming good players from less affluent teams doesn't help with competitiveness or parity. It's the antithesis of sport, essentially, to turn it into a "who has more money?" game.

Golf: inane rules written in, like, 1881 determining championships because of idiotic applications. These guys are professionals, not a bunch of bros out for some beers, cigars and hacking up the course. There's obviously rules to adhere to in every sport that ensure a level playing field but stop enforcing all the ticky-tacky shit because "that's how it's always been". And stop making the players have to officially score their own cards. There's a ton of people working the course and camera crews following everyone. Have someone else tally their scores for them to be submitted officially and let the players focus on playing. Even the guys in darts, snooker and bowling don't have to keep and submit their own scores.

 

[Cosmix]

NHL: I hate division play instead of 1 vs 8 in the playoffs.

MLB: The season has too many games. More teams should make the playoffs.

NBA. I hate zone defence. There are less mistakes on D and keeps players standing around which makes 3 pointers easier to shoot. It turns a game of chess into a game of checkers.

NFL: I hate running out the clack at the end of the game. It takes what could be very exciting final 2 minutes and slows it down.In the final 2 minutes the play clock should be set to 20 seconds and the game clock should stop. more opportunity to make mistakes. It would kind of like the NBA shot clock resets to 14 after a missed shot instead of going back to 24 seconds. Forces teams to make quicker decisions for a shot.

CFL: It's an over all terrible league now. The talent pool is so watered down now with so many more leagues for players to play in. I feel if they don't merge with the XFL it is only a matter of time before people lose interest. I loved the CFL in the 80's and 90's because it was fun and the league marketed it's stars. Does the CFL even have any stars today?

NHL: might as well eliminate Divisions altogether.

MLB: Far too many games. Divide the Season into two seasons and then have the winners play against each other in a final.

NBA: Don't care!

NFL: I don't like running out the clock too.

CFL: The players are better athletes than ever.

I remember when the CFL paid higher salaries than the NFL. THAT was a long time ago.

 

[Stylizer1]

It should be:

- 3 pts for the winner in regular time, 0 for the loser.
- 2 pts for the winner in OT, 1 for the loser.

This way every game has 3 pts to play for.

As for other sports: I'd normally love watching basketball, but there's so many time outs and ad breaks that there's no flow to the game. The last 3-4 minutes of the game drag on, it's terrible.

Too many points. You shouldn't get points for almost winning. 2 points for regulation win is fair for both teams. Remove 2 players and you still play for 2 points, still fair. By the time the shootout comes you've had your chance to win and can't. Now it becomes a skills competition and both teams get penalized a point because of it and they are grinding out for a single point. By having 3 point games you are going to create a bigger separation faster between the good teams and the bad teams. You should never get a point for not winning.

NHL: might as well eliminate Divisions altogether.

MLB: Far too many games. Divide the Season into two seasons and then have the winners play against each other in a final.

NBA: Don't care!

NFL: I don't like running out the clock too.

CFL: The players are better athletes than ever.

I remember when the CFL paid higher salaries than the NFL. THAT was a long time ago.

The CFL never had higher salaries there just wasn't as large of a gap like in the 70's to today.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

NHL: The old boys club hires and retreads and player personnel we've seen for so long. Loser points.

MLB: Same as OP. Too many games and not enough teams in the playoffs. 100%. Also a lack of a min/max salary cap and better revenue sharing for more parody. I get why not, but as a fan, I can't imagine bothering showing up to cheer when my team spends 25 million compared to some spending 150, it's just ridiculous at that point.

NBA: Impact of referees. There's no way around it and they've done a great job adding instant replay reviews, but it still seems like a guessing game too often.

NFL: Agreed with OP again. End of games is allowed to run too slow. They need to work towards changing that.

CFL: LOL. It's not something I consider pro sports and relevant to the conversation, it's essentially a minor league imo and I pay zero attention to it, but that's never going to change.

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDoo]

WRT MLB and “too many games”: if you’ve ever cheered for a team in the thick of a pennant race in August and September, you know how exciting that is to have relevant games played EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Cheering on the Expos in 79, 80, etc was the most compelling thing I’ve ever experienced as a sports fan.

Fewer games and more teams in the playoffs diminishes that. A lot.

 

[GCK]

NHL - Hand pass in the defensive zone should be a whistle with no change allowed for the defensive team.

MLB - Games are far too long. Pitch clock

NBA - 3 point line needs to be pushed back again

NFL - Play clock should be reduced to 30 seconds

 

[JD1]

WRT MLB and “too many games”: if you’ve ever cheered for a team in the thick of a pennant race in August and September, you know how exciting that is to have relevant games played EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Cheering on the Expos in 79, 80, etc was the most compelling thing I’ve ever experienced as a sports fan.

Fewer games and more teams in the playoffs diminishes that. A lot.

You're dating yourself.

I remember skipping class to watch some of those afternoon expo games. I still haven't embraced the Jays the way I loved the Expos.

I remember Gary Carter signing for 2m a year thinking that was the most ridiculous amount of money ever

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDoo]

You're dating yourself.

I remember skipping class to watch some of those afternoon expo games. I still haven't embraced the Jays the way I loved the Expos.

I remember Gary Carter signing for 2m a year thinking that was the most ridiculous amount of money ever

I’m 57.

And I remember Dawson signing for $1M per season and that was a big deal.

And I’ll never embrace the Blue Jays…. In many ways they were the Expos rivals.

 

[JD1]

I’m 57.

And I remember Dawson signing for $1M per season and that was a big deal.

And I’ll never embrace the Blue Jays…. In many ways they were the Expos rivals.

I'm turning 57 this year so we're working off the same old vague memories. Blue Monday and 74-40.

You remember Curtis Pride? I can't remember what year but I remember in the 90s going to Montreal for an afternoon weekend game in late August with playoff ramifications. Big series against the Phillies. We were sitting in the last row behind 3B. Pride hits a bases clearing double in the 7th. I could feel the stadium vibrating. I've never heard anything so loud. Pride standing on 2nd, couldn't hear a thing.

 

[bicboi64]

NHL: I hate our OT and SO rules. If someone loses in the SO they should get nothing, the winner should get 1 point. OT wins should still get 2 points. I also hate the seeding. Keep it 1-8 per conference, as a matter of fact, the only reason for divisions should be for ease of scheduling.

NBA: The play in tournament is stupid. How are you going to have 7 game series for playoffs, and 1 game decisions for the lower seeds. Keep it 1-8 seeds.

MLB: Baseball is such an unprofessional joke of a sport. The whole Astro's fiasco. The punishments handed out there are pathetic. There should've been something more severe and the integrity of the league is forever in question. Also, their playoff format is stupid. Have a 1-8 seed system, have the 7 game series, have a salary cap/floor, etc... Get rid of the playoffs if you're just going to have the stupid playoff format. Its a format that favours rich teams and just have what European soccer has in terms of winning the league meaning winning the regular season cuz the playoffs are a joke.

NFL: This league is the most anti-player league in the world. It needs guaranteed contracts for players, needs more playoff seeds, and 1 game a week is some soft shit. Miss me with the "american handegg ball (don't know why its called football) is tough and intense". I played rugby, rugby leagues across the world have a bigger season and it takes some actual skill to tackle and be physical as opposed what I see in Football.

European Soccer: People that complain about Oil giants taking over clubs. Teams like Barca, Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, ManU, Juve, Bayern, etc.... have always been rich and owned by people that are into nefarious activities. Just because PSG and ManC are owned by Middle Eastern billionaires with messed up human rights records, do soccer fans think that makes their own rich clubs any less clean? Soccer is about rich clubs, always has been and the hypocrisy is hilarious.

Fwiw, i don't want baseball or football, I like playing baseball, but far too boring too watch, same with NFL. Hockey, Basketball and Soccer are my top 3

 

[thinkwild]

I dont consider it a loser point in hockey. I think of it as the same regulation tie point that has been around since the Sens were first winning Stanley Cups. It's not the so called "loser" point that is different, it's the new winner points.

I remember one year, somebody had recalculated the seasons standings using the other various systems and none really seemed to have much of an effect, certainly no effect where it was obvious justice had been served. So its possible that the change may not really change anything.

 

[Masked]

NHL: I hate our OT and SO rules. If someone loses in the SO they should get nothing, the winner should get 1 point. OT wins should still get 2 points. I also hate the seeding. Keep it 1-8 per conference, as a matter of fact, the only reason for divisions should be for ease of scheduling.

You are ridiculously wrong about everything here. Teams get a point for a tie game. There is also an extra point awarded for the post game gimmicks.

The only thing needing fixing is getting rid of the stale and boring shootout. It's a waste of time.

Playoff series against division rivals is the best. Seeding based upon conference standings is a horrible idea. What they need to do is get rid of the wild card now that divisions all have an equal number of teams.

Assen na yo!

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDoo]

I'm turning 57 this year so we're working off the same old vague memories. Blue Monday and 74-40.

You remember Curtis Pride? I can't remember what year but I remember in the 90s going to Montreal for an afternoon weekend game in late August with playoff ramifications. Big series against the Phillies. We were sitting in the last row behind 3B. Pride hits a bases clearing double in the 7th. I could feel the stadium vibrating. I've never heard anything so loud. Pride standing on 2nd, couldn't hear a thing.

I remember that Pride hit, and him talking about how he couldn’t hear the crowd cheering but could feel the vibration in his chest.

Most memorable events for me: 1) I was at Charlie Lea’s no hitter and 2) I was at a home series against the Braves in that 94 season…. Which the Expos won and opened up a pretty commanding lead. All three games were effectively sold out and the place was rocking.

The 94 strike really ticked me off. I’ve never been to another MLB game since.

 

[bicboi64]

You are ridiculously wrong about everything here. Teams get a point for a tie game. There is also an extra point awarded for the post game gimmicks.

The only thing needing fixing is getting rid of the stale and boring shootout. It's a waste of time.

Playoff series against division rivals is the best. Seeding based upon conference standings is a horrible idea. What they need to do is get rid of the wild card now that divisions all have an equal number of teams.

Assen na yo!

Teams with the best records should make the playoffs, its as simple as that. The fact that someone can be out of a playoff position despite having more points than another team in the same conference due to divisional standings is lame.

You can look at it as both teams getting a point for a tie, but the reality is a gimmick results in another team getting an additional point. If they make it longer OT or multiple OT, that's one thing, but to have a shoot out decide anything is so unprofessional. Can you imagine if a three point contest decided an NBA game?

 

[SPF6ty9]

I dont consider it a loser point in hockey. I think of it as the same regulation tie point that has been around since the Sens were first winning Stanley Cups. It's not the so called "loser" point that is different, it's the new winner points.

I remember one year, somebody had recalculated the seasons standings using the other various systems and none really seemed to have much of an effect, certainly no effect where it was obvious justice had been served. So its possible that the change may not really change anything.

I agree that it probably wouldn't be a material difference, at least as much as people expect. But changing how points are awarded would likely impact how teams play and strategy, so a backtest of prior seasons probably wouldn't be without bias.

 

[Tuna99]

NFL: Poorly refereed games

MLB: Faux-Posturing between players and umps

NHL: Old boys club that controls the culture (Brian Burke has hurt hockey more then helped it, self promoters in hockey seem to get a much larger share of the pie then in other sports)

 

[thinkwild]

I agree that it probably wouldn't be a material difference, at least as much as people expect. But changing how points are awarded would likely impact how teams play and strategy, so a backtest of prior seasons probably wouldn't be without bias.

That's a fair point, coaches will always find a way to optimize within the system. But one of the premises for doing it is to force players to entertain us better at the ending by not having them play for the point. And i guess there will be times where that will determine actions, maybe making a desperate team pull their goalie when they are tied or something. But a lot of the time these attempts just dont seem to create the perfection of a system they sell it as.

A win is two points. Having some wins 2 pts and others 3 pts seems even weirder to me than the shootout winner point which i have now become ok with for regular season games.