As the year winds down, a few thoughts that I would like to see:

– Starting games at times where people with real jobs who have to get up at a decent hour can actually see the endings once in a while.

– Coaches stop blaming themselves for everything that goes wrong as a protective mechanism. Full disclosure, this doesn’t work at home. My wife agrees, yes I did screw up.

– When starting lineups are announced for college hoops and football games, their salaries are also listed next to their position.

– Eliminate at least one-two timeouts for all games. There are a million TV and replay reviews that stop the game where coaches can huddle up with the players. This isn’t 1975.

– Charles Barkley doing golf coverage. Ben Wright, Gary McCord and David Feherty aren’t coming back.

– Dynamic pricing for Pirates games and free or greatly reduced tickets for low-income fans. And not just the cheap seats. The rich don’t go to all the games and when they do they’re looking at their phones the whole game. Let those who can’t afford it sit down by the field and fill the stands. Half hour before the game, tickets are $10. They make their money on the $10 beers anyway.

– How about college football teams bypass one week a year without new uniforms, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and donate that money to the local homeless shelter or food bank?

– Enough with the one-handed catches. These new gloves have more stickum than Fred Biletnikoff wore. If they used two hands once in a while they may catch a few more balls instead of the goal to always make top plays.

– Announcers forced to announce why an NBA player is missing a game. Not just that he’s missing.

– Automatic technical for 3-point shooters who flop.

– Stop going for it on fourth down every time just to show everyone you have more testosterone than everyone else, even if the decision is completely ridiculous and costs your team the game.

– Can we go five minutes without a mention of analytics? My ears bleed when I hear launch angle and exit velocity.

– One championship game between the Saints, Bishops, and Our Ladies and a second for all the public schools of similar size. At the end the two champs play each other.

– Finally, prayers for all the young and old who are in over their head with the relentless onslaught of sports gambling apps, commercials and social media. Hoping the Broncos kicker makes a 53-yard field goal so you can pay your mortgage is a tough way to go through life.

Jeff Bartlett resides in Bellwood. He is an occasional contributor to Voice of the Fan.