Hartman: Grant believes changes needed to keep NFL on top

In 2011, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig hired former big-league manager Joe Torre as an executive vice president, and one of Torre's major roles was to help with the study of instant replay, which is being introduced this year.

I think it would be a good idea for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to consider hiring former Vikings coach Bud Grant to a similar position in his league office, because he has long been a proponent of rule changes that are starting to get traction around the league.

This week, NFL owners will meet in Orlando to discuss a number of topics. One known to be on the agenda is a discussion on whether to change the setup for extra-point kicks.

Goodell has been talking about the possibility of making changes to the format to make it more of a challenge. Grant long has considered that a good idea.

"Well, you know, Roger must have read my book," Grant said. "They have come to the conclusion — not because of me, but I've advocated for a number of years — that the extra point has become a nothing play. They came up with the statistics that they missed two last year, or whatever it was. The TV people won't like it because it's a timeout on both sides, but it's a nothing play."

According to Sports Illustrated, over the past three seasons NFL kickers have attempted 3,709 extra points and missed only 18. That's an average of one miss for every 200 extra points kicked.

Grant said he has had a couple of ideas for how to make it more challenging.

"… I think it will come to pass, but you have 32 teams and everybody has their own ideas. You form a committee, and committees don't get anything done."

Two other changes that Grant would like to see are the removal of the touchback for kickoffs that are returnable, even if they are in the end zone, and to eliminate the fair catch on punts, a rule that has been in the CFL forever.

"[Critics] come back and say, 'Someone is going to get hurt back there.' Well, they've been doing it for years in Canada, and I'm sure somebody could get hurt, but I never had that experience," Grant said. "… The punt return then becomes a viable play, entertainment, and you won't be going up for a beer when they're going to punt because they're going to force them to return the punt, which would make our game even better.

"The time to change is when [a sport is] at the zenith. Right now football is at the top of the list so we can make some changes and keep it at that level."

To those of us who have got to know Jared Allen, it would be a great surprise if the future Hall of Fame defensive end doesn't come to terms with Seattle after turning down its initial offer. Look for an announcement that Allen has signed with the Seahawks next week unless some other team makes a better offer.

According to the Sacramento Bee, the Vikings had a private workout recently with David Fales, the San Jose State quarterback who completed 22 of 35 passes for 439 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 43-24 loss to the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium on Sept. 21. One of the spectators at that game was Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman. For the season, the 6-3, 220-pound Fales completed 312 of 487 passes for 4,189 yards, 33 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions.

Ben Goessling of ESPN.com also reported this past week that the Vikings have interest in Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr as a potential draft pick and attended his pro day workout. Carr had three consecutive 3,000-yard passing seasons for the Bulldogs.

• The Gophers men's basketball team will face off against St. Mary's in the second round of the NIT on Sunday. The Gaels, who are 23-11 this season, had only two victories over NCAA tournament teams this season. They defeated North Dakota State 78-65 in November and American 59-44 in December.

• Going into the game against Penn State on March 9, Gophers senior guard Maverick Ahanmisi had scored 30 points in the first 30 games of the season. But Ahanmisi scored 21 points in 23 minutes against High Point in the first round of the NIT and has scored 41 points in the past four games.

• Carlos Morris, the 6-5 sophomore that the Gophers have recruited out of Chipola College, saw his season end with an 86-79 loss to Jones County Junior College in the NJCAA tournament quarterfinals Thursday in Hutchinson, Kan. Morris averaged 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

• In Thursday and Friday's NCAA tournament games, a number of teams with Minnesota connections won: Harvard, with Eden Prairie standout Siyani Chambers, upended Cincinnati 61-57; former St. Bernard's star Jordair Jett and St. Louis staged a furious comeback to defeat North Carolina State in overtime; Ethan Wragge of Eden Prairie helped Creighton top Louisiana-Lafayette; and North Dakota State, which has a Division I-high five Minnesotans, defeated Oklahoma.

• Las Vegas has listed its favorites for some of the major baseball awards, and Twins first baseman Joe Mauer comes in tied for 13th in American League MVP odds at 20 to 1.