As a sports fan, I've developed some opinions on improvements to various sports that I want to get off my chest. So here is list of my "old man shouts at cloud" ideas:
Soccer (Football)
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Needs to do something about penalty kicks. They are too automatic and punitive especially for fouls committed in some corner of the penalty box. Move the spot back or introduce a circle of the same radius and fouls outside of the circle are from the spot of the foul and those inside are on the circle on a imaginary line from the center of the goal through the place of the foul.
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While they are it stop deciding matches with penalty kicks. How about taking turns with corner kicks plus maybe other "set plays"?
Basketball
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I'm beginning to think that the three point line in basketball was a mistake. It is like when World League of American Football (WLAF) introduced a four point field goal for 50+ yards. An easier to make shot should be the reward for getting the ball in low. Don't incentivize taking shots from distance.
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Elam Scoring
Ice Hockey (NHL)
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The NHL awards two points for a win and one point for an overtime or shoot out loss. This discourages teams from taking chances late in tie games. Teams know they can still get two points in overtime and secure at least one point if they lose. Regulation wins should be three points, Overtime/shootout wins worth two points and one point for overtime losers.
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The NHL should replace the All-Star Games with a league wide 3-on-3 tournament where teams can win points that count in the standings. The 3-on-3 format is used in overtime, so it "part of the game". Logistics of a single-elimination with 32 teams would probably require multiple hosts with main host city starting the quarterfinal round.
General
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Will some sport in the U.S. adopt a promotion relegation scheme, please! It just too cool IMO. College sports would be a good first place to implement. Imagine a college football team finishing last in the SEC getting demoted to the Sun Belt conference.
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It would be interesting to see different forms of playoffs with things like pool play and double elimination.