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On 1/21/2015 at 4:50 PM, goalieboy82 said:

what if Magic never got HIV. how much longer could he have played (do the Lakers win one more championship or play in another final).

 

They may go to another final, but I don't think they win another title unless the Barkley for Worthy and Campbell trade went through (BTW, that's the second time that Worthy was almost traded. He was almost traded to Dallas along with one other player for Mark Aguirre and Roy Tarpley).

 

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Suppose Major League baseball was aligned like this by 1970....

AL East

Atlanta Firebirds (Formerly replacement Washington Senators 1961-69)

Boston Red Sox

Cleveland Indians

Detroit Tigers

New York Yankees

Philadelphia Athletics

AL West

Chicago White Sox

Denver Zephyrs (1969 Expansion)

Kansas City Royals (1961 Expansion)

Los Angeles Angels (Since 1954; Formerly Washington Senators 1901-53)

San Francisco Seals (Since 1954; Formerly Milwaukee Brewers 1901, St Louis Browns 1902-53)

Texas Rangers (1969 Expansion)

NL East

Baltimore Orioles (Since 1946; Formerly Philadelphia Phillies 1883-1945)

Brooklyn Dodgers

Cincinnati Reds

Minnesota Giants (Since 1957; Formerly New York 1883-1956)

Montreal Expos (1969 Expansion)

Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

Chicago Cubs

Hollywood Stars (1962 Expansion)

Houston Astros (1962 Expansion)

Milwaukee Braves (Since 1953; Formerly Boston 1871-1952)

Seattle Pilots (1969 Expansion)

St Louis Cardinals

Would the landscape of baseball be radically different from then on?

If KC would have gotten an expansion team in 1961 that never moved, there wouldn't have been a 1969 expansion because Missouri Senator Symington wouldn't have raised holy heck about the A's moving to Oakland.

So, as a result, Baseball 1970 probably looks like this:

American League

Atlanta Firebirds

Boston Red Sox

Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Indians

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

L.A. Angels

New York Yankees

Philadelphia A's

San Francisco Seals

National League

Baltimore Orioles

Brooklyn Dodgers

Chicago Cubs

Cincinnati Reds

Hollywood Stars

Houston Astros

Milwaukee Braves

Minnesota Giants

Pittsburgh Pirates

St. Louis Cardinals

Expansion was originally not supposed to happen until around 1972 or so, and in this timeline, it does. The main candidates are Seattle, Montreal, Denver, San Diego, Buffalo, and Dallas.

Out of those, I can still see Montreal and San Diego going to the NL. In the AL, Seattle is still the first pick, and after that, I would have to say that Dallas would have been the other choice.

With that, here is MLB 1972:

American League East: Atlanta Firebirds, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia A's

American League West: Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, L.A. Angels, S.F. Seals, Seattle Pilots, Texas Rangers

National League East: Baltimore Orioles, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals

National League West: Cincinnati Reds, Hollywood Stars, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Braves, Minnesota Giants, San Diego Padres

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Suppose Major League baseball was aligned like this by 1970....

AL East

Atlanta Firebirds (Formerly replacement Washington Senators 1961-69)

Boston Red Sox

Cleveland Indians

Detroit Tigers

New York Yankees

Philadelphia Athletics

AL West

Chicago White Sox

Denver Zephyrs (1969 Expansion)

Kansas City Royals (1961 Expansion)

Los Angeles Angels (Since 1954; Formerly Washington Senators 1901-53)

San Francisco Seals (Since 1954; Formerly Milwaukee Brewers 1901, St Louis Browns 1902-53)

Texas Rangers (1969 Expansion)

NL East

Baltimore Orioles (Since 1946; Formerly Philadelphia Phillies 1883-1945)

Brooklyn Dodgers

Cincinnati Reds

Minnesota Giants (Since 1957; Formerly New York 1883-1956)

Montreal Expos (1969 Expansion)

Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

Chicago Cubs

Hollywood Stars (1962 Expansion)

Houston Astros (1962 Expansion)

Milwaukee Braves (Since 1953; Formerly Boston 1871-1952)

Seattle Pilots (1969 Expansion)

St Louis Cardinals

Would the landscape of baseball be radically different from then on?

If KC would have gotten an expansion team in 1961 that never moved, there wouldn't have been a 1969 expansion because Missouri Senator Symington wouldn't have raised holy heck about the A's moving to Oakland.

So, as a result, Baseball 1970 probably looks like this:

American League

Atlanta Firebirds

Boston Red Sox

Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Indians

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

L.A. Angels

New York Yankees

Philadelphia A's

San Francisco Seals

National League

Baltimore Orioles

Brooklyn Dodgers

Chicago Cubs

Cincinnati Reds

Hollywood Stars

Houston Astros

Milwaukee Braves

Minnesota Giants

Pittsburgh Pirates

St. Louis Cardinals

Expansion was originally not supposed to happen until around 1972 or so, and in this timeline, it does. The main candidates are Seattle, Montreal, Denver, San Diego, Buffalo, and Dallas.

Out of those, I can still see Montreal and San Diego going to the NL. In the AL, Seattle is still the first pick, and after that, I would have to say that Dallas would have been the other choice.

With that, here is MLB 1972:

American League East: Atlanta Firebirds, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia A's

American League West: Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, L.A. Angels, S.F. Seals, Seattle Pilots, Texas Rangers

National League East: Baltimore Orioles, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals

National League West: Cincinnati Reds, Hollywood Stars, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Braves, Minnesota Giants, San Diego Padres

would like to see Balitmore in the NL East (maybe if there was a Washington team, that would be great)

so long and thanks for all the fish.

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Buffalo was seriously considered for a team at some point? Good lord, that would have turned out badly. They'd have gotten a few years more than the Pilots, at least.

Once upon a time, Buffalo was a big city. Then, we stopped shipping things by canal and the US acquired warmer territory.

It always blows my mind when older Ontarians have told me about when they'd trek to Buffalo, not Toronto, when they wanted a taste of "the big city."

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Buffalo was seriously considered for a team at some point? Good lord, that would have turned out badly. They'd have gotten a few years more than the Pilots, at least.

Several times in fact. They would have been one of the cities in the Continental League and were one of the finalists considered for the 1993 NL expansion.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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Buffalo was seriously considered for a team at some point? Good lord, that would have turned out badly. They'd have gotten a few years more than the Pilots, at least.

Yes, in 69, they were, but in a 1969 issue of SI, Montreal was preferred for expansion over Buffalo because the NL owners liked the city of Montreal better.

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Buffalo was seriously considered for a team at some point? Good lord, that would have turned out badly. They'd have gotten a few years more than the Pilots, at least.

Yes, in 69 , they were, but in a 19 69 issue of SI, Montreal was preferred for expansion over Buffalo because the NL owners liked the city of Montreal better.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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Buffalo was seriously considered for a team at some point? Good lord, that would have turned out badly. They'd have gotten a few years more than the Pilots, at least.

Yes, in 69 , they were, but in a 19 69 issue of SI, Montreal was preferred for expansion over Buffalo because the NL owners liked the city of Montreal better.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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Nobody cares about your humungous-big signature. 

PotD: 29/1/12

 

 

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In 1973, rumblings around the small city of Schenectady NY had someone looking around the old American Locomotive complex, seeing if they could purchase the entire acreage. The city council tried to hold the talks secret, but like most political talks, they leaked.

In 1974, plans for the Wade Lupe Memorial Coliseum were announced, the geodetic done facility would hold, depending on reports, from 13,000 - 16, 500 for basketball. A New Jersey businessman, Mark Binstein, applied for an American Basketball Association expansion franchise, to play in the 1975-76 season. The team would be called the Tri-City Comets, representing the cities of Schenectady, Albany, and Troy.

The idea for the arena, like everything brought up to the council in the mid-70s to early 80s, died due to internal politics. One man delayed and delayed construction of the arena because he wasn't being "heard" about the historical significance of ALCO.

If things went correctly, the 75-76 makeup would have been like this at the season's start:

Eastern Western
Indiana Pacers Denver Nuggets
Kentucky Colonels San Antonio Spurs
New York Nets San Diego Sails
Tri-City Comets Spirits of St. Louis
Virginia Squires Utah Stars


I doubt the Comets would have been absorbed into the NBA, more likely would have merged with the Buffalo Braves and possibly become the Empire State Braves or Comets, splitting time between Buffalo and Schenectady.

tumblr_nulnnz7RCV1r5jqq2o1_250.jpg

Oh what could have been....

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What if Martin Brodeur had retired a Devil?

On September 20, 2012 at 0:50 AM, 'CS85 said:

It's like watching the hellish undead creakily shuffling their way out of the flames of a liposuction clinic dumpster fire.

On February 19, 2012 at 9:30 AM, 'pianoknight said:

Story B: Red Wings go undefeated and score 100 goals in every game. They also beat a team comprised of Godzilla, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, 2 Power Rangers and Betty White. Oh, and they played in the middle of Iraq on a military base. In the sand. With no ice. Santa gave them special sand-skates that allowed them to play in shorts and t-shirts in 115 degree weather. Jesus, Zeus and Buddha watched from the sidelines and ate cotton candy.

POTD 5/24/12POTD 2/26/17

 

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When Magic Johnson came out for the draft in 1979, the Bulls and Lakers (with a pick from the Jazz in the Gail Goodrich trade) flipped for the #1 pick.

1. What if the Bulls won that flip, and got Magic?

2. What if the Lakers drafted Sidney Moncrief (the coach or GM wanted to, but owner Jerry Buss told them to take Magic)?

Let me add: What if the Jazz never traded and managed to land Magic? How different would the histories of the Lakers' and Jazz, nay, the NBA, turned out?

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AKA @LanRovr0 on Twitter

LED Sig Credits to packerfan21396

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Since it's a different topic than my last post, what if the NBA and NHL had been aligned more like MLB and the NFL?

In other words, how would conferences be aligned if they had been based more historically (i.e., when they joined the league) and not necessarily geographically?

(Of course, keeping in mind that MLB has 2 "leagues" and the NHL had named conferences, though in the NHL's case they were still relatively geographical IIRC).

Pyc5qRH.gifRDXvxFE.gif

usu-scarf_8549002219_o.png.b2c64cedbb44307eaace2cf7f96dd6b1.png

AKA @LanRovr0 on Twitter

LED Sig Credits to packerfan21396

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When Magic Johnson came out for the draft in 1979, the Bulls and Lakers (with a pick from the Jazz in the Gail Goodrich trade) flipped for the #1 pick.

1. What if the Bulls won that flip, and got Magic?

2. What if the Lakers drafted Sidney Moncrief (the coach or GM wanted to, but owner Jerry Buss told them to take Magic)?

Let me add: What if the Jazz never traded and managed to land Magic? How different would the histories of the Lakers' and Jazz, nay, the NBA, turned out?

If the Lakers weren't in that flip, Magic may have stayed in school one more year. I don't see him wanting to play for Utah.

Then, Detroit may have decided not to trade their 1980 #1 to Boston on 9-6-1979, and they keep Magic in his home state.

That would have been big for the Pistons, and it could have had some interesting repurcussions:

1. The Celtics don't have the #1 pick in 1980, so they may have been less likely to get both Parish and McHale. As a result, they don't beat the Sixers in the 1981 ECF, and Dr. J gets his title two years earlier.

2. Moses Malone doesn't get traded to Philly in 1982. Instead, Houston decides to trade him in their own division to the Mavericks. The reason: They had an extra first-rounder from 1983-86 because of Ted Stepien's trade-a-thon in Cleveland. Houston gets the extra first rounders that they got from Cleveland in 1983 and 1984 (those turned out to be 11th overall in 83 and 4th overall in 84) and F Jay Vincent.

3. In 1983, the Rockets have three #1 picks. They used their first two on Ralph Sampson and Rodney McCray, and they decide to use their third on a local boy, Clyde Drexler.

4. The next year, not only do they get Hakeem, but they also add Charles Barkley with their second first rounder. That trade eventually makes the Rockets the power in the West.

5. As for the Pistons, it is hard to say how Magic does there. I think he did have influence with the Lakers over coaches (he got Westhead fired during the 1981-82 season, and they brought in Pat Riley). If he wouldn't have been too much of a problem, and if Jack McCloskey rebuilds them the same way that he did in reality, I can see them winning championships with Magic as PG.

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What if Harold Ballard was a nice man... we would have a NHL team in Cincinnati.

You think you guys have it tough? That cheap bastard dismantled what could have been Cup-winning Leafs teams and turned the franchise into the laughingstock of the NHL.

SigggggII_zps101350a9.png

Nobody cares about your humungous-big signature. 

PotD: 29/1/12

 

 

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What if Harold Ballard was a nice man... we would have a NHL team in Cincinnati.

Maybe. The Stingers didn't have great support.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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