There are things seriously wrong in the world of sports. Gone are the days when athletes played for the love of their sport, and they are instead replaced with over-paid prima donnas who charge fans for their autograph.
While some problems are beyond repair, I have come up with the most rampant abuses in sports and what needs to be done to fix them.
The LeBron James saga has officially gotten out of control. The Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled the phenom ineligible last week for accepting two throwback jerseys. Pending appeal, James’ high school career is done, and he will be left to prepare for the NBA draft, where he is expected to be the top pick in June.
I blame the media for over-hyping James from the beginning. His games should never have been televised on ESPN, and he should not have been on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a junior.
When an 18-year-old player is told he’s great and is surrounded with attention, it’s easy for him to lose sight of the big picture and more likely he will make a mistake when everyone is trying to capitalize off his success. Though it was clear James was not going to college, the circus surrounding and exploiting him likely cost him any chance of ever playing amateur basketball.
The only way to prevent this type of situation in the future is to stop coverage of high school athletes, but when they jump straight to the NBA, it isn’t easy.
Speaking of the NBA, or the Not Behaving Association, when will the on-court assaults from players and coaches stop? The past few weeks alone have seen Indiana Pacer Ron Artest (arguing with Miami coach Pat Riley), Blazers forward Rasheed Wallace and Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan (both bumped a referee) all suspended.
Let’s also not forget that great franchise, the Portland TrailBlazers or the “Jailblazers” as they’re called. For space concerns, I can’t list all the players’ transgressions over the years, but The Oregonian’s Web site lists them, including the 911 tape of Ruben Patterson’s wife after he allegedly assaulted her.
In a league that produced famous bad boys Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer, these antics and arrests are nothing new and I see no alternative but to sell the league to Vince McMahon, bring in all the WWE superstars and televise the games on pay-per view.
The major sports need to spruce up, if not cut out All-Star games altogether. They serve no point except to give players a midseason rest and frankly watching the grass grow is more fun.
Baseball’s game is somewhat bearable, if only Bud Selig would cut out ending the game in a tie. There has been talk of letting the winner have home field advantage in the World Series, which might add some spice to the lackluster event.
The National Hockey League can’t seem to figure out which teams are playing against each other. Is it North America versus The World or the Eastern Conference versus the Western Conference? Make a decision.
The NFL Pro Bowl is so bad, I have to guess only 17 fans watched the AFC pound the NFC, 45-20, this year and even fewer people could shed any light on the game’s significance. My solution: pick the teams, but do not play the game because nobody cares. It’s February, and football is over. We have moved on.
I have finally had enough of money dominating college football. If the NCAA had any sense, it would trim the number of bowl games in half, eliminating most of the mediocre schools from postseason play and maybe opening the door for a playoff.
Organizations like Tiger Athletic Foundation are ruining college athletics. Sure it raises lots of money for the University, but if TAF members have their way, longtime fans and alumni will need to win the lottery if they want to see a LSU football game.
As much as I would like TAF to pack its bags and get out of town, it funnels too much money into the school and has too many friends in high places.
While I have faith the powers that be will implement some of these changes in the sports world, I won’t hold my breath waiting for them to happen.