Top Ten rule modifications that have changed sports

10. College football's OT format
While I feel that this wouldn't work in the NFL, and I don't like the current NFL format, I like how it works for the college game. I have no facts to back that up, but few college games have been more entertaining than the '01 Ohio State/Miami title game or even the 2000 Orange Bowl between Alabama and Michigan. (Michigan won when the Alabama kicker missed an extra point in the 3rd OT.) But both teams get their chances on offense and defense. What more do you need?

9. Boxing corner rule
I don't know much about boxing, but I do know that before the 1930's boxers were allowed to stand over their opponent and wait for the poor guy to get up before pummeling him right back to the ground. There was a rule change right before the legendary Dempsey-Tunney fight at Soldier Field that forced the boxer to go back to his corner before the ref made his ten-count. Dempsey must not have been informed of the rule, and neither were fans, because when commentators announced Tunney had been knocked down, the fight should have been over. But Dempsey didn't get to his corner until about five seconds after the knockdown, thus giving Tunney extra time to gather his thoughts, and eventually his heavyweight title.

8. Narrowing the crease
Throughout the 90's goals in hockey were down. So when the crease went from a "hamburger" shape to a "hot dog" shape, its no doubt scoring instantly skyrocketed. (Clearly right?) An easy way to remember that is people can eat more hot dogs during a 60-minute game than they can eat hamburgers.

7. Re-allowing the slam dunk
"Throwin' down" was taken away from the NCAA game from 1967-76. We should probably thank everyone involved for allowing it back, because if that rule was brought to the NBA, no one would watch. If I wanted to watch a game without that kind of entertainment, I would watch my seventh grade brother play ball, that or a WNBA game. "Your-'mid-range-jumper'-ness" just wouldn't sound as flattering of a nickname to Jordan either.

6. Football instant replay
Personally, I think making sure a call is right in football is necessary. So in the early 2000's when refs were aloud to go "into the booth," it brought even more entertainment to football.

5. Lowering of the pitchers mound
While true baseball enthusiasts enjoy 1-0 or 2-1 pitchers duels, everyone loves a good home run derby of a game once in a while. Officials felt that pitchers had too much of an advantage. While the rule change did show immediate effects, (Bob Gibson's ERA was 1.12 ERA in 1968, 2.18 in '69) it brought the challenge we still see today in pitching. A side note: in 1968, during Gibson's 1.12 ERA season, Gibson still lost nine games. How did that happen?

4. Elimination of the two-line pass
Don't get me wrong, Sidney Crosby is phenomenal, as is Ovetchkin. But to say that they single-handedly changed the game would be untrue. (Now if you told me Kane and Toews changed the game I would disagree.) The two-line pass has sped the game up and made it more viewing-friendly, something that is always good for creating a fan base. But putting your team on TV so whatever fans you have left might have done some good too. Good thing the Hawks are in better hands now.

3. The designated hitter
I wrote a post on top ten DH's of all time on the 30th anniversary of this rule change. Love it or hate it, it has changed the game. This, along with #5 on the list were done for the purpose of making baseball more entertaining. America loves home runs, not as much as Ricky O'Donnell, but none the less, there is an infatuation. But the fact that one league has a DH an the other doesn't is like the NBA having a three-point line in the West, but playing the traditional way in the East. I led that into my next rule change conveniently.

2. The three-point line
The three-point lane changed the face of basketball as we know it. Started in 1979-80, it opened up the scoring and made the last two minutes of every game that much more fun. Without this rule who is Steve Kerr? Reggie Miller? Dan Majerle? Well Majerle might be known for his hair.

1. The forward pass
What would football be today without it. So much history would be entirely forgotten. But according to Wikipedia, (the always credible Wikipedia) the rule was created ultimately to make the game safer, due to football related deaths. To be honest, I don't understand how that would make the game safer but Wikipedia also had this to say:

"The forward pass had been attempted at least 30 years before the play was actually made legal. Vahe Gregorian researched the history of the play for an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on September 4, 2006 on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the first legal pass. Gregorian observed that passes “had been carried out successfully but illegally several times, including the 1876 Yale-Princeton game in which Yale’s Walter Camp threw forward to teammate Oliver Thompson as he was being tackled. Princeton’s protest, one account said, went for naught when the referee ‘tossed a coin to make his decision and allowed the touchdown to stand."