Better or Worse?

There’s no doubt that the athletes are better these days.

Just watch Tyreek run with the ball in an open field, or count the number of arms coming out of the pen attached to guys throwing harder than 100 mph.

Look at Durant drilling 3’s as a 7-footer. Curry drills them from half-court. Floppy James is built like a linebacker.

Of course, my boys and I have had some healthy debates.

They talk to me about Josh Allen who runs and leaps and throws the ball 70 yards downfield.

I mention that Jim Kelly got drilled 30 times a game - all suspension worthy hits now.

I also talk about what a fabulous athlete Wilt Chamberlain was.

They say that he was playing against plumbers and insurance salesmen.

Jake shows me video of the longest of the home runs that are hit these days.

I countered with the breakdown of the ball Mantle hit that was over 600’.

Yet, here’s my read:

1). Baseball made some changes that really helped the game this year. They got rid of the shift and a lot of the dead time. I was tired of the homer or strikeout result and 2023 was a much more entertaining season.

They still need to reduce the number of pitchers a team can carry so that there aren’t 8 pitchers in a 9 inning game. The starters going longer would make it more like the game was 30 years ago.

2). The NBA - the athletes are amazing - the 3-point line changed the sport - they’re all gunning them up. Some of them can’t shoot at all. 

Move the line back a couple of feet so I don’t have to see guys who can’t shoot the 3 (see James, LeBron) hoist 18 of them.

3). Hockey - man, I loved that sport as a kid! So fast. So electric. Then goalies got huge and they were wearing twin beds for goalie pads. The D collapsed and all the players are so padded up, and gigantic. Game slowed.

Make the rinks bigger or go 4 on 4. Regulate the size of the pads or make the nets bigger.

Boom! Exciting again!

4). NFL

I never missed a game back in the day. Player safety became an issue. The league got involved in political debate. All rule changes were geared to make it easier to score. Quarterbacks turned into professional actors - all campaigning for 15-yard late hit flags.

Add in Vegas and all the betting going on and bad refs and soaring ticket prices and…

…I can’t fix it!

Every generation waxes poetic about the players they watched as kids.

That’s how it should be.

I ran into one of the Sabres players - Dylan Couzins - at a job (contractor was working on his house).

Everyone on the job was buzzing.

“Dylan is coming…Dylan is going to be here…Dylan wants to walk through the home.”

One guy said:

“Are you excited about meeting Dylan?”

“Bob Dylan?” I asked.

A little while later, a kid walked up.

“Cliff, this is Dylan,” the job super said.

I shook the hockey star’s hand.

“What’re you 14?” I asked.

He laughed.

“Are you like 70?” He responded.

I laughed.

That night I got home and mentioned it to the boys:

“Did you get his autograph?”

I laughed again.

“He should’ve got mine,” I said.

My boys laughed!