MO MONEY!!!

Allow us to start today's ramblings with a standing ovation for Mojo, who has officially become a published author.  No, kids, I am not making this up.  Mojo was published in Special Warfare magazine.  His writing is professional and intriguing.  You can read him here starting on page 13.  As a result of this accomplishment, we have doubled his Logical Betting salary.  Congrats, brother, don't spend it all in one place.  What follows are his words alone.  Cheers!

Let’s face reality.  When you were a kid, sports were about the amazing feats of the human being and your futile but imaginative attempt to reach those heights.  We attended games to see and marvel at the wonders; and as a side note it was entertaining.  I am not talking about your little league soccer or T-ball, but rather professional sports.   However, along the way someone started looking at the bottom line and thought that it needed to grow; all the way to the center of attention.  Therefore, over the years, the SPORT gave way to ENTERTAINMENT.  

Get crazy with the Cheez Whiz!

Trouble believing me?  Remember that it is ESPN not SPN. Besides, if you charge seven dollars for slightly stale nachos with cheese whiz, what do you think the real purpose of having sports… For the wallet. What once was a small ticket fee to provide the basics to improve the sport/processing fee, the question became “How much can we charge?” (LB Note - I love the $10/ticket "processing fee" for you to buy your own tickets online and print them using your own ink on your own printer. A$$holes.)

This post will go no further in trying to debate that idea, but it will adopt the assumption that it is true and therefore, we should see what will come next in order to accomplish the real goal of sports and the adopted mantra…. MO MONEY!

In the last few decades we have seen some rule changes.  Let’s look, by sport, at some of the biggest changes and do a quick look at how it helped achieve our adopted mantra!  We will then look at the "soon to be adopted yet never discussed outside my mind" rule changes that I propose that will do what every owner is after anyway: Player Safety Mo Money!  (LB and Mrs. Mojo Note - you don't want to be inside that mind).

LB Note - Time to interject here for a brief moment before we get back to Mojo's post. He told me about this post at Army/Navy a few weeks ago (WE WON!!!), and debated some of his more, shall we say, "unique" rule changes in the back of an Uber sitting in Baltimore traffic. I reeked havoc on a few of his crazier ideas, the likes of which I can't remember since our friend was basically bar hopping us around town and, well... hopefully I remember some of them as I spend the next 1,284 minutes editing this, since he's now a published author and refuses to do it himself. He's at risk of losing that pay raise...

Baseball

Baseball is perhaps the sport most steeped in tradition.  Changes to America’s past time would be heresy and those who proposed them heretics.  That is what happened when in 1997 interleague play was adopted.  What that late? Yes.  The last time the Tigers won the World Series the only team from the National League they played were the San Diego Padres in the World Series.  However, following the 1994 players strike (loss of money) the league wanted to allow teams to travel to other cities where displaced fans would surely pay to see their team when they came to town (mo money): Brilliant! How can we make baseball more lucrative?

I PROPOSE:

That they focus on what the fans want, homeruns.  In 1973, the American League adopted the Designated Hitter.  This is the big bat who does not play in the field but rather sits in the dugout and bats in place of the pitcher.  He hits the long ball and it sells tickets.  In fact, after the National League saw attendance rise following the designated hitter rule, they held their own election in 1980, but it was not passed with a vote of 4 for, 5 against, and 3 abstaining.  The Cardinals GM, John Clairborne, the leading proponent of the vote was fired five days after the vote. However, if DH’s sell tickets and tickets make MO MONEY let’s make the DH in both leagues.  

Good man

The second thing is to target the length of baseball games. They are too long.  In the new age of instantaneous, we cannot spend several seconds watching pitches talk to their coaches or their catchers.  They are grown men and we don’t have time for pastime anymore.  Get rid of anyone visiting the mound.  Several minutes are lost every game to this over the course of a season we lose hours here.  These are professionals, they should be prepared  before they go to the mound.  Cut out all that ‘strategy’ to the game; fans don’t pay for good coaching, they pay for home runs and walk offs so let’s care about our fans...especially Benjamin and give the fans what they want.

LB Notes - You still hear the occasional talk about the NL going to the DH, but I don't see that happening. They are targeting the length of games for sure (experimenting with the pitch clock, for example), but fans also love the drama of the game. That includes coming to the mound. That's like saying you can't have a timeout in basketball or football. There has to be a method for coaching and strategy within the game. So I respectfully disagree 100% with that idea.

Here's an interesting topic, though... if fans really want to see a bunch of home runs, why are they so outraged about PED use in sports? I've actually heard people propose that the way to end the PED issue is just to make it all okay. Interesting theory... I also think that the PED thing is a bigger deal in baseball than football because of the traditions and football just being a more violent sport.

Basketball

Seems like they accept anyone...

Basketball was an easy one for me.  The two most exciting things are the slam dunk and the 3-pointer, but only the 3 pointer keeps games close, arenas full, and overtime nachos a better possibility.  It was first tested in 1945 in a game between Fordham and Cornell Columbia.  It would then be adopted by the American Basketball League and the American Basketball Association before finally adopted by the NBA in 1980 following a one year ‘trial’.  It didn’t take long for the NBA owners wallets to realize what Furman coach Eddie Holbrook realized, “It’s a coach’s nightmare and a spectator’s delight.”  Well, coaches don’t buy nachos but spectators do!  Bring on the 3 pointer.  This tempts my desire for tradition.  Not the tradition of how basketball is played but the tradition of rules (rule) changes in the name of our love for our spenders fans.  

I PROPOSE:

We enter into play the 4-pointer.  The distance from the three point line can be debated later; after we calculate how much money this can bring in.  Think of being down by 5 but getting fouled on a 4-pointer!  That will put the pressure on fathers everywhere to keep little Johnny, who is already an hour past his bedtime, at the game to see if the the 1972 76ers could have come back in any of their 73 losses to actually have double digits in the win column.  Based on the success, this is one rule that we could expand a bit further out.  I am not against hearing, “He launches it from half court, down by 6, but yes! He just hit a 7 pointer to win the game”.  I believe it would sound something like coins hitting the piggy bank!

LB Notes - The NBA is actually talking 4 pointers already. They are by far the most progressive of any of the four major sports, even going as far as to not opposing legalizing sports betting. The whole 5 and 6 pointer thing is pretty redonk to me, though. I don't see how having those shots makes more people watch the sport, but hey, maybe I'm wrong. I wonder if the NCAA would then adopt the 4 pointer if the NBA did. I wish there were a way to make them full court press more, that would be pretty cool.

Football

That's for Roger

Football is the biggest money maker.  Under the tutelage of current commish, Roger Goodell, he has taken the value of the 32 teams to 35 billion!. This guy understands the true meaning of sports and our mantra! Despite lockouts, referee strikes, and a wave of criminals in his ranks, he has managed to stay on task and ensure that owners become rich whether or not their teams are winning or have winning character on their roster.   One of the biggest rule changes under his leadership has been the evolution of instant replay.  First introduced in 1986 but used only when referee's chose to review it, was canceled in 1992 before being brought back in 1999 when coaches were allowed to challenge twice in a game.  In 2004, coaches who were successful on their first two challenges could challenge a third time. However, Roger knows that more is not always more lucrative and has not allowed more replay since it slows down the game, and the pace of game is one of the biggest concerns since people pay to see action, not referees under the hood of cameras.  So that will not be our rule change.

I PROPOSE:

That we help improve one of the most exciting but not always experienced parts of football: special teams.  Right now kickoffs are taken at the 35 yard line and often leave the ball sailing out the back and the return lost forever.  I say we back the kick up to the 5 yard line.  This way the kicker will get the chance to return the ball almost every time.  It will give them better field positions and lead to more scoring and MO MONEY.  However, let’s not stop there.  If a team elects to do an onside kick, the kick will take place at the 50.  This allows the kicking team, who is obviously down, a chance to have better field position and thus make the game closer and close games keep people in the stadium and people in the stadium buy $9 dollar beers and $6 dollar nachos and help us make MO MONEY!

Hell, let’s not stop there either. We want close games. Blowouts don’t make money.  Watching the Lions come back a record 8 games this year shows me how much attention comebacks get so let’s make them easier.  It goes against the rules and conduct of sports but not of our mantra!  I hate seeing the last 2 minutes of a game wind down cause the other team did not manage their timeouts.  Let’s not make the fans suffer due to poor timeout management.  The last two minutes of every game the clock stops automatically.  Finally, to give the highest grossing sport one last boost to keep people from leaving to go across the street where bars sell beer and nachos for just $3 dollars (heretics!) allow a team, once in a game, to not just go for two, but to go for 5!  If you give a team a full two minutes to come down the field with a chance to score 11 points on the last play you will have many people ordering up a second batch of nachos and we can watch the money pour in like cheez-wiz.

Defense rests

LB Notes - Holy s**t he's lost his mind... Mrs. Mojo is definitely using that paragraph in the divorce proceedings, where she will clearly be getting MO MONEY.  I don't even know where to start.  Let's start with what actually makes sense... the NFL is looking at pace of game issues.  The argument to start this is that the game needs to be faster, but you're going to go to an automatic time out in the last 2 minutes of the half?  Is this the end of an NBA game now?  And the NFL just moved kickoffs up to address player safety, and now you want to move them back?  All those articles about the potential death of the NFL all have to do with player safety.  If the NFL doesn't exist (I think it will be fine, for the record), they how is that MO MONEY?  I can't even deal with the 5 point play thing, so I'll just post this video about the number 5 instead.  I give Mojo credit for keeping with what we talked about in the Uber.  Hey, how about we bring back the XFL kickoff idea where they run for the ball at midfield like crashing a fumble?

Hockey

Finally worked that in

Hockey is one of the greatest examples of why rule changes take place.  Following the 2004-2005 lockout, the NHL lost way too much money.  Apparently the loss of athletes ability to play the sport they loved was also cited as a problem, but really it was the loss of revenue (LB Note - Just follow the money, baby).  Therefore, sweeping changes took place.  Changes to speed up neutral zone trap play and line changing, both of which were not exciting, along with a big change to overtime that even the ignorant hockey fan could notice.  In the past, overtime was 5 minutes and a scoreless OT resulted in a boring, non exciting, non money making tie.  Now, a scoreless OT leads to a shootout.  It could be argued that this causes victories not going to teams but individual talent, but hey, the ratings are up and when ratings are up so is the dollar dollar bill y'all.

I PROPOSE:

Since the shootout, not the extra 5 minutes, is the exciting part I propose that we go right to the shootout.  Who are we fooling and what are we selling.  Who goes to stand in line for $5 dollar hot dogs when they only have 5 minutes.  Nobody.  Let’s get right to it.  Take a few minutes for the ‘Popcorn here!  $4.50 gets you four handfuls of Popcorn here!” guy to make his rounds and some more booze to be sold, “Get your shootout shots here!  $7 dollars for a skimpy but lucrative poor of Captain Morgan here!”  The increased booze can help lead to some post game fights….might let the city courts make some more money on arrests but hey, if the fans want it let’s do it for our fans.  

LB Note - There would have to be some tweaks to the points system for standings, but I could get with this. I like the fighting idea, we need that back in hockey. What Mojo does not point out, though, is his two other NHL proposals from the back of the Uber... 1. Make OT 2 on 2 with goalies. 2. In lieu of 2 on 2, play 6 on 6 with no goalies. I drunkenly chastised him at the time, but I kinda like these ideas a bit more than the "right to shootout" idea. We could still have the dudes in the stand selling $12 rum and Cokes. I Googled to see if they stop selling alcohol at hockey games, and they stop after the 2nd period, as far as I can tell (that was a tough search). Knowing that, I'm now back to the shootout idea. Good one, Mojo.

FUTURE PROPOSAL:

In addition to professional sports we could see a follow up post about college sports which are all about the scholar-athlete alumni fund!  If you think I am off base about my satire approach to the real reason of sports then check out this video from The Onion about the expanding of the March Madness bracket.  Hilarious.  Additionally, if you don’t think college football, with its best team by election after some equation is applied to replace the easy to read win loss column, then you might not find this post funny, but don’t take life too seriously.  Our commissioners don’t do the same with their respective sports and it seems to be working out for them.

Dolla dolla bill

In the serious finish to this silly post, I do wonder where the limit is on how money has influenced sports.  I am not saying it is all for the worse, but typically when you are led by your wallet you are blind to the things that matter.  Just how it would be irresponsible for doctors to  prescribe what patients want commissioners can’t always provide what fans want.  When they become led by those they are supposed to lead, owners and players;  they become lambs in the Army of the modern George Washington. It will be hard to slow or stop this cycle, however, because when commissioners give the fans what they want, the fans, in turn, give the owners what they want...MO MONEY RIGHT?

We want to take a minute and thank all of you who have read us throughout the years, and especially those who seem to have found us this year.  We have shared some very meaningful thoughts and ideas about family and life, most notably around the Dawg's wedding and our beliefs about the importance of community.  Thank you for your comments, texts, Facebook shares, emails, etc.  Your thoughts and encouragement keep us going.  From all of us here at Logical Betting, we wish you and yours a Happy 2017.  Pretty much only one song could possibly send this post off.  Hasta.