- In a non-surprising mood, Andres Nodl was picked up by Carolina, after being placed on Waivers. It was more than expected that one forward had to be released at some point this season, and Nodl was the odd man out. It's great that he will get plenty of playing time in Carolina, and he is a special player. I wouldn't be surprised if he produced in Carolina...but at this time it was the best move for this Flyers team.
- The consistent injuries to Pronger just show us all that the Flyers need to pick up another defense. If you look back, this was an issue I had since day one with the Flyers of this season. I wish they would have chased defensive help after getting a goalie in the off-season, but at that time i also expected Carter and Richards on our Flyers.
Scott Hartnall is making this process very difficult. At the start of the year, I had no problem trading him....but now with his production...how can you? I dont know if i've seen him play any better in his career. Flyers have plenty of youth players who are more than trade-able. There were plenty of names (HarryZ, Wellwood, etc) who wen't from being our top youth prospects to 2nd tier with the addition of Schenn, Courtier, and Read. Getting rid of two of those guys to a bad team for a defender is certainly plausible, and encouraged by myself.
And this leads to the big news out of England today. Since I know none of you are aware, but Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba of Chelsea FC denied a low-dollar contract extension from the front office at Chelsea. This denial essentially shows that he may become a free agent after this season. With the horrendous season Chelsea is having, there never was much of a chance to see him back in blue next year. Drogba's age and dropping skill leaves him far below what is necessary to play top-level soccer anymore.
This led to what I envisioned and dreamed of before, that our Philadelphia Union pursue Didger Drogba as their superstar signing. MLS has a tag you can place on a player that does not count against your salary cap...something they have not done yet (with Adu). This tag was placed on Beckham when he came to LA and Henry when he came to New York.
Such signing would be perfect for the offense-lacking Union. With his fading skill, he would still be beyond spectacular in the MLS. There is already rumors that the LA Galaxy are chasing Drogba if Beckham leaves after this season...and well, i'd rather see one of my favorite players of all time in Philly.
This is the chance for the Philadelphia Union to get worldwide recognition.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Basketball in America
In light of the NBA lockout being lifted, I see all current problems persisting. The super teams stay super, the mediocre teams enjoy their 5 games-over .500 to get smoked in the first round, and the bad teams stay bad unless they hit that next superstar out of the draft. Something the Sixers missed in Evan Turner with the #2 pick, and it's starting to look like even the Wizards missed in John Wall. Some other teams that missed out with the #1 pick, Trail Blazers (Oden), Raptors (Bargani) and the Bucks (Bogut). None of those teams have even had a chance at success, with those picks turning out horrible.
So is this fixable? Maybe. Do I have a crazy hypothetical way to change this? Absolutely.
Now hear me out, and don't quit reading this after my next words.
The NBA should draft ALL players out of high school.
Yes, I know I am talking about eliminating college basketball as you know it. Yes, I am an avid college hoops fan, but please, stick with me on this one.
I see this as beneficial in a few ways, and am taking away from other sports as a prime example.
The main issue I drew to this conclusion is overall basketball attendance in our country, especially at the professional level. NBA has attendance issues, and there are ZERO other meaningful professional league that draw fans. The NFL also has similar issues, but is such a monster, it's not worth considering changing anything.
Think of how many people in this nation attend a professional baseball game. MLB's 30 teams sold a combined 73,425,667 tickets in 2011. AAA baseball draws in the 15 million range, AA baseball draws in the 10 million range as well. You can throw in all the small leagues, and you just see how many people attend a baseball game.... over 100 million.
NHL drew 20,928,036 ticket sales in 2010-2011. On top of that, the AHL drew 1.5 million, ECHL draws 1,000-3,000 a game, and all the leagues in the great lakes area have small filled arenas. You also can look at the OHL, QJMHL, WHL, FHL and the attendance numbers they draw in Canada and northern America. People go to hockey games.
But what does basketball offer? It offers the NBA, which draws 20 million a year. After that, nothing else that draws meaningful attendance is out there.
Of course college basketball is huge, but that's money that goes to a campus, and not the sport. Also, attendance of non students (who hardly pay to go) is struggling for most teams.
This is where my theory comes in. And that theory is to drastically change the sport and draft players out of high school in an expanded draft.
This would develop NBA players for teams, and give a future to players in America.
Lets face it, I absolutely hate the NBA draft and how it works. Every year, the first round pick is almost secured a spot in the top 9 of any NBA roster. The second round pick fights for the last spot on a team, or ends up being released. Regardless, nearly 10-15% of your team changes based on who you draft alone (2 players, 13-ish man team). While I absolutely agree that most first round picks deserve to be on the court and are at the NBA-level, it's the other players that call me into question.
How great would a minor league basketball team be. This would give those great college players who aren't quite NBA material a place to play in America. What happens currently, is that they go overseas, and basically play their life away outside of America. Only the top 60 players in ALL of college basketball make it to the NBA. And considering there's 450 players in the NBA (on average), the rosters add 13% more players every year. Players get squeezed out of a NBA roster spot, and that leads to retirement, or playing overseas.
If each team had a minor league affiliate, you could send your youth. You would also have a spot for the last player on your bench to improve his game. So many times, that 12th-14th man on a roster ends up being released, and playing their life away in Europe. It would be very interesting and beneficial in my eyes to let these players play in such “minor” league. You could also keep your “back up” players active and in the game, something that the end of the bench doesn’t currently get.
The MLS is my example of this. Most great soccer players are signed by 18 to a team for a fairly inexpensive contract. These players play within development leagues against other teams and their development teams. These players mature, grow, and excel in their game until they are ready for the top level. They get their chance at the top level, and if they excel...they are set. This keeps the young kids playing with their future teammates.
Again, this is very hypothetical, and I could write a lot more about it. I just wanted to get my ideas out and see initial reaction. The number of American players playing overseas troubles me, and I am just as troubled that only 450 basketball players make it in America (30 teams, 15 players). Everyone beyond that goes overseas, and plays great there, get zero attention in America. A minor league system would do so.
Putting a team in Hershey, Baltimore, Trenton, Allentown, etc.. would be very successful in my eyes, in many ways like the AHL is for hockey and minor league baseball nation wide. If the Hershey affiliate for the Sixers had their “Second/Development/AHL/AAA” team playing, would people go? If you answer no...then there is no hope for basketball, because people attend Hockey and Baseball at that level. I think that people would go.
So is this fixable? Maybe. Do I have a crazy hypothetical way to change this? Absolutely.
Now hear me out, and don't quit reading this after my next words.
The NBA should draft ALL players out of high school.
Yes, I know I am talking about eliminating college basketball as you know it. Yes, I am an avid college hoops fan, but please, stick with me on this one.
I see this as beneficial in a few ways, and am taking away from other sports as a prime example.
The main issue I drew to this conclusion is overall basketball attendance in our country, especially at the professional level. NBA has attendance issues, and there are ZERO other meaningful professional league that draw fans. The NFL also has similar issues, but is such a monster, it's not worth considering changing anything.
Think of how many people in this nation attend a professional baseball game. MLB's 30 teams sold a combined 73,425,667 tickets in 2011. AAA baseball draws in the 15 million range, AA baseball draws in the 10 million range as well. You can throw in all the small leagues, and you just see how many people attend a baseball game.... over 100 million.
NHL drew 20,928,036 ticket sales in 2010-2011. On top of that, the AHL drew 1.5 million, ECHL draws 1,000-3,000 a game, and all the leagues in the great lakes area have small filled arenas. You also can look at the OHL, QJMHL, WHL, FHL and the attendance numbers they draw in Canada and northern America. People go to hockey games.
But what does basketball offer? It offers the NBA, which draws 20 million a year. After that, nothing else that draws meaningful attendance is out there.
Of course college basketball is huge, but that's money that goes to a campus, and not the sport. Also, attendance of non students (who hardly pay to go) is struggling for most teams.
This is where my theory comes in. And that theory is to drastically change the sport and draft players out of high school in an expanded draft.
This would develop NBA players for teams, and give a future to players in America.
Lets face it, I absolutely hate the NBA draft and how it works. Every year, the first round pick is almost secured a spot in the top 9 of any NBA roster. The second round pick fights for the last spot on a team, or ends up being released. Regardless, nearly 10-15% of your team changes based on who you draft alone (2 players, 13-ish man team). While I absolutely agree that most first round picks deserve to be on the court and are at the NBA-level, it's the other players that call me into question.
How great would a minor league basketball team be. This would give those great college players who aren't quite NBA material a place to play in America. What happens currently, is that they go overseas, and basically play their life away outside of America. Only the top 60 players in ALL of college basketball make it to the NBA. And considering there's 450 players in the NBA (on average), the rosters add 13% more players every year. Players get squeezed out of a NBA roster spot, and that leads to retirement, or playing overseas.
If each team had a minor league affiliate, you could send your youth. You would also have a spot for the last player on your bench to improve his game. So many times, that 12th-14th man on a roster ends up being released, and playing their life away in Europe. It would be very interesting and beneficial in my eyes to let these players play in such “minor” league. You could also keep your “back up” players active and in the game, something that the end of the bench doesn’t currently get.
The MLS is my example of this. Most great soccer players are signed by 18 to a team for a fairly inexpensive contract. These players play within development leagues against other teams and their development teams. These players mature, grow, and excel in their game until they are ready for the top level. They get their chance at the top level, and if they excel...they are set. This keeps the young kids playing with their future teammates.
Again, this is very hypothetical, and I could write a lot more about it. I just wanted to get my ideas out and see initial reaction. The number of American players playing overseas troubles me, and I am just as troubled that only 450 basketball players make it in America (30 teams, 15 players). Everyone beyond that goes overseas, and plays great there, get zero attention in America. A minor league system would do so.
Putting a team in Hershey, Baltimore, Trenton, Allentown, etc.. would be very successful in my eyes, in many ways like the AHL is for hockey and minor league baseball nation wide. If the Hershey affiliate for the Sixers had their “Second/Development/AHL/AAA” team playing, would people go? If you answer no...then there is no hope for basketball, because people attend Hockey and Baseball at that level. I think that people would go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)