The year 2017 was quite an eventful one in the world of sports and beyond. With the closing of 2017 leading to the opening of a brand new year, many will go through the process of crafting some resolutions for the new year in an effort to improve their lives in some way or another.
Maybe it’s a resolution to lose some weight or clean up that extra room in the house that continues to be ignored and gather all miscellaneous junk. Maybe you have a resolution to be more thrifty or to be more social. Whatever your resolutions may be, best of luck trying to keep up with them after the first three weeks of 2018.
With 2018 about to arrive, here are some suggested resolutions for the sports world to consider in the new year. Following these resolutions will make 2018 better than 2017, hands down.
NFL: Come to a consensus on what is and what is not a catch
Once again, one of the most popular sports resolutions for the new year should be for the National Football League to start coming to its senses on determining what is a catch and what is not. Far too many controversial calls over the years, including this season, have altered the potential outcomes of games. Soon enough, this issue is going to pop up in a Super Bowl, but if the NFL can improve this decision-making throughout the league and keep it consistent, then it can avoid a complete meltdown.
College Football: Add multiple goal line cameras to every stadium
One constant struggle college football seems to have, in addition to the always awful targeting rule, is the constant lack of appropriate replay angles for instant replay officials. It’s about to be 2018, so it is beyond time to excuse any stadium for not having multiple goal-line cameras in place for a proper review to be made. Having two angles in every corner and having those angles in sync would drastically improve the quality of a replay in the end zone. On a similar note, having cameras fixated on the first down lines would be beneficial as well.
And if you can take some time to hash out a concrete set of qualifications for the College Football Playoff and have that back to us soon, that would be great.
MLB: Earlier start times for playoff and World Series games
There is no reason for a playoff baseball game to be starting as late as they have been, especially when games in the postseason typically will go longer than your average game during the regular season. We get it, you have the west coast audience to factor in, but when your playoff games go close to four hours, the west coast audience missing an inning or two likely won’t have too negative of an impact on your ratings.
NHL: Less is more with outdoor hockey games
The Winter Classic is losing its novelty when the league insists on having a full-blown stadium series to play as many games as possible in baseball and football stadiums. What started out as a fun addition to the regular season has now become a bit watered down and is losing its creativity. And playing an outdoor game in Citi Field just doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as playing in Wrigley Field or Michigan Stadium. Maybe it’s time to think of new venues that open the door to the imagination rather than just checking off every baseball and football stadium you can as quickly as possible.
NBA: Find some new contenders beyond Golden State and whatever team LeBron plays for
In the end, having the best team go up against one of the all-time greats is not a bad way to end the NBA’s season, but it would be nice to get some new blood in the race that could potentially pose a viable threat to either the Warriors or Cavs (or whatever team ends up having LeBron James on the roster). Maybe that is taking shape this season, but when the playoffs come around we all know how this will play out, right?
Sports Media: Stop tweeting images of empty stadiums
We get it. You are in the press box to cover an upcoming game. Good job. Sharing your experience on the job and on the road is your right, and there is nothing wrong with that. But your constant need to share photos of opposing fans not showing up for their home games is a bit tired and often just misguided. You may be getting a budget to attend these games, but many fans have to make the decision of whether or not going to pay money to see a bad team play is worth the investment. And remember that fans not showing up to support a lousy team is not an indication that fans do not care.
Sports Media (again): Return to focusing on sports
I know, I know, hot-button issue here. How we consume the sports media has changed and more and more media types have become more along the lines of personalities given space to air their opinions. Sometimes that has led to a disintegration in the integrity of a sports outlet, and in 2018 let’s hope that we see a return to the principle job of many sports journalists by having a focus more on the sports headlines rather than try to create headlines or media types becoming the headlines.
Fans: Stop reacting to made-for-TV sports rant artists
You are playing the game of the TV producers who believe we actually care what someone like Skip Bayless or Stephen A. Smith have to say about any number of topics. In 2018, it’s time for us all to collectively decide to pivot away from these manufactured sports debates that lack any real thought other than to drum up page views. We are all better than this, but anytime we give those antics the time of day, we lose.
Cleveland Browns: Win a game
The 2017 season is just about complete, and the chances the Browns win a game appear to be as slim as they come. With the Pittsburgh Steelers needing a win for a chance to gain home-field advantage in the playoffs, the Browns are practically guaranteed to end the season with a record of 0-16. We can only hope the Browns avoid another disaster on the field again in 2018 with nowhere to go but up.
