The Not-So-Golden Rules

In addition to helmets and short fuses, one thing that both NASCAR and the National Football League have in common right now are rule changes.
And in both cases, the changes have more than a few critics.
First, let's deal with the NFL (while there still is one). The owners approved a few rule alterations this week. One of those changes is to bring kickoffs back to the 35-yard line. The idea is that giving the kicker 5 fewer yards of playing area will produce more touchbacks. And who doesn't love the idea of watching more touchbacks and fewer plays like this.
No matter which NFL team you follow, you can find a coach who doesn't like the change. And it's not hard to understand why. The goal might be keeping players safe, but those coaches who don't simply surrender to the urge to kick balls out of the end zone will simply tell the kicker to shorten the kick and try to pin the receiver deep. Players will still be injured, as they have been since the pigskin really WAS made from pig.
Now for the NASCAR changes. The revamp that France & Co. approved to their scoring system is summarized here. I say "summarized" because if the new system had any more 'if's, 'and's or 'but's, it would be a grammar textbook.
NASCAR tells us that the system is supposed to emphasize winning. That, of course, explains why the current points leader has no wins and only one top five finish so far this season. And please note that the wild card spots are available only to drivers who finish in the top 20. That would mean that if the Chase were to start right now, one of the four drivers who have won a race so far this season would not be in NASCAR's version of the playoffs.
Oh, and did I mention that the driver in question -- the one currently sitting 43rd in the new and/or improved points system -- won the alleged Super Bowl of NASCAR?
By the way, you still have a couple of hours to vote on the lineup polls on the right side of this page. Your votes, and your votes alone, will determine which drivers will represent the People's Pitstop at Sunday's NASCAR race in Fontana, California.
We'll be back with the results.