Thursday, December 11, 2014

Fixing a Broke System

Every sport league tends to have the same problem. Bad teams making it to the playoffs while good teams are at home. This year the NFC South is most likely going to have a team make the playoffs with a sub 500 record while a team in another division with a winning record won't make it. In basketball the Eastern Conference will have roughly 3-4 teams make the playoffs while in the West Conference there are arguably 10 teams that have the ability to make the playoffs. How entertaining would it be if only winning teams made the playoffs? I'm not suggesting realigning all the divisions or conferences I'm suggesting that the playoffs shouldn't allow teams with a losing record to make it.

In basketball the top 16 records make the playoffs. In football the top 12 records make it. In baseball the top 10 make it. It would make winning the divisions a bit less important, but there can be caveats placed to reward the teams with the better records like home field advantage. Teams with losing records make at least on playoff series or game unappealing. The teams with losing records don't deserve to make the playoffs year in and year out. Especially in basketball the playoffs would be much better had the Western Conference gotten the slots given to the Eastern Conference teams that had a losing record last season.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The Real MVP

Watching football this past weekend the real MVP made his case even stronger and yet he's most likely not going to even be a thought when it comes to award time. JJ Watt had a sack, a strip fumble, a fumble recovery, and then a receiving touchdown all in one game. This isn't the first time he's done this in a game this season. Watt has 11 and a half sacks and has 4 touchdowns on the season that's unheard of for a player that plays on the defensive side of the ball. He's even returned an interception for a touchdown. The season Watt is having is definitely MVP worthy, but since he doesn't play the pretty boy position (Quarterback) the award most likely is going to go to either Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, or Peyton Manning. This isn't me writing about how the quarterbacks don't deserve to win the award, but explaining why Watt should win the award.

The Houston Texans are 6-6 not destined for the playoffs while Rodgers, Brady, and Manning are leading their respective teams to the playoffs and they all have the ability to make other players better, but the award is veered toward the most valued player on the team and it's a shame that it has turned into an offensive player's award. I'd love to see Watt walk away with the MVP, he's had an impact on the Texans defense that might equal the same impact that Brady and co have on the offensive side of the ball. The defensive player of the year should walk away with the MVP, but it'll forever the pretty boy's time to shine.