Innovation in sports, except for the stubborn. hardcore, traditionalists, is welcome. Something new, often improvement, and, at the least experimentation, are involved.
It happens often, every week, even every day.
Major League Baseball (MLB) has changed rules on infielders’ positions, the time batters can stand out of the batters box, and the time pitchers have to pitch a baseball.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has modified playoff arrangements with four play-in games, two in each league, starting this week, including the Chicago Bulls game Wednesday against at Toronto and another game with a victory.
New is not always good, however, this change on the surface should be a positive move.
Over the years additional MLB teams have been included in the playoffs. Once upon a time only two teams qualified for the playoffs, directly to the World Series. MLB would not think of starting with two teams in the playoffs now. Not at all!
The National Football League has added the number of teams to participate n the playoffs. Generally, more is better. More teams in the playoffs means more interest, more key games, more money.
Expansion and positive changes have visited college sports and high school sports.
The NCAA college basketball Division I field once was eight teams at the outset. Now, 68 teams start tournament play and, although unlikely in the near future, talk has included having 96 teams start out in both men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. College football continually expands with the number of bowl games and college football playoffs soon will expand.
Although not front and center, the NCAA’s hockey tournaments, men’s and women’s, have gained ground steadily. There were two Big Ten Conference teams in the semifinals this year in men’s hockey, Minnesota and Michigan, something the men’s basketball teams could not do. Only one Big Ten team, Michigan State, entered the men’s basketball Sweet Sixteen, and Michigan State lost prior to gaining the Elite Eight. Michigan fell in the men’s hockey semifinals and Minnesota went as far as the championship game prior to being sidetracked. Not a household sports school, Quinnipiac University in men’s hockey defeated both Michigan and Minnesota. Three of the four teams in the women’s hockey Frozen Four were from the Big Ten Conference. In the championship game, Wisconsin beat Ohio State, 1-0, and in one semifinal, Wisconsin defeated Minnesota, 3-2, in overtime.
- In high school off-season basketball, the annual East Aurora-West Aurora alumni basketball game will be played at 6 p.m. Friday, April 21 at East Aurora, always a fine rivalry and game.