C's

Something something Houstonians are fat

The Celtics never wore a font like that. Or if they did, definitely not in 1986.

Don't forget the botch job that is the 85-86 Celtics. McHale in particular. I'm curious about when they started :censored:ing this up. Of the past five 2Ks the only ones I've played are 2K13 and 2K16, and 2K13 definitely did not have these errors. Not on the 360 version at least.

All Seattle cares about is the Seahawks. I think Seattle has too many people with very limited free time pouring 60-something hours a week into soul-sucking IT/software jobs for there to be much of a fanbase for teams playing more than once per week. The Mariners are the only other big-four team up there right now and, despite having a baller stadium, they can't even pull enough scraps to stay out of the bottom third in MLB attendance. People act like the Sonics were Seattle's Cleveland Browns when they moved but in reality they were one of the most forgettable, whatever franchises in the NBA and had a following to match. A Seattle NHL team would probably do better than Arizona/Florida/Vegas but not by a whole lot. And that's if they put the arena downtown. If the arena goes up in Tukwila or whatever Glendale North they were throwing around last year before the bidding deadline, forget it.

I wonder what they'll name Kane's shill character. Kendrick Payne?

Oh great. "We've decided not to expand to Quebec City at this time due to ongoing certainty about the situation in Raleigh. More on that later though, because VEGAS BITCHEZZZZ!!!" And Quebec remains vacant while the Canes either go to Seattle or keep lurching along in college basketball land.

NFL divisions don't really matter geographically. They have a week to get to the game, adjust, play the game, and get back.

Hopefully that's not anywhere near Penn State.

Kind of like how Sunrise puts the Panthers within reach of Ft. Lauderdale?

Barring an 11th hour surprise, it's looking like the Tukwila people will be the only Seattle group to submit an expansion bid. Vegas and Suburbia? Two more Glendales? Why not!

15? I'll take the over. What are the odds on Vegas gold? Will there be a cow skull or playing cards in their branding? Let's put some money on this. Make it interesting. Definitely over. I'll say black/red/Vegas gold. I think the logo will at least contain the ace of spades. Maybe that's an idea for the color scheme. Sky blue, sand, and black, just like the album cover.

I think there's an acronym for this.

Hey, these franchises are the future of the league!! /hfboards

NBA in Puerto Rico and Montreal = fail. And GTFO with that Colorado and Arizona thing.

Can I just say that this is by far the best thread on the site? Half of me wants these franchises either contracted or relocated north for the health of the league, the other half of me wants them to stay put forever and maybe have Gary Bettman bring Atlanta back in the fold as well as New Orleans and Alberquerque, just because the boneheadedness of the people calling the shots and the running commentary on here and the rest of the internet is so god damn entertaining.

The Rays are the least valuable team in baseball. Yeah, real successful. If the players union got wind beforehand that those jobs would be coming right back, methinks they'd mellow a bit. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the team responsible for the lease if they're relocating, whereas MLB would be responsibe in event of contraction (the franchise being wiped out against their will)? If so, MLB probably has a lot more resources to terminate that lease than the 30th most valuable franchise in baseball Tampa Bay Rays would. Dispersal/expansion is a rather tedious charade, agreed, but it's for the greater good. Can't help but notice that you don't seem to be at all bent out of shape about the idea of the Marlins being contracted/replaced.

I don't trust Vancouver with baseball. Yeah, hockey works, because it's Canada and hockey can't possibly fail in a Canadian city with sufficient population as long as the dollar is up to par, but the Grizzlies lasted six years there. Baseball requires double the capacity and plays twice as many home games. If the Rays somehow got out from under Tropicana and moved there they might have a prayer, but otherwise they'd be the baseball Grizzlies in a league that's more tilted toward big markets than any other. No bueno. Virginia Beach is right next door to Baltimore and Washington. Not happening, Angelos would go postal. NBA only, maybe NHL if they go out trying to find the next Nashville or something (top of my head comparison, I haven't been to either place so I have little clue how they compare with each other).

What part of "the Rays are doomed to the ball and chain known as Tropicana Field until the late 2020s" isn't clicking with you? Do I need to go into microsoft paint and make a diagram for you using the virtual spray can? Central Florida can be salvaged, but it's out of reach for the Rays. They're cooked from a business standpoint (and baseball is a business). On another note, to whoever it may concern, the quote function on this site makes me want to grow my pubic hair back in so I can yank it out in frustration.

Because they're a bombed business venture in an untenable situation that does nothing but sponge revenue sharing from the rest of the league. They're the Diet Marlins in that regard. One idea for softening the blow for all those hardcore central (and southern) Florida baseball fans is allowing the new Florida teams to claim x amount of players from the franchises they'd technically be replacing. The logistics of that would be a bitch to figure out though, since a) there's probably a collusion complaint in there somewhere, and I'm not sure Orlando has a MLB-ready stadium, so that would mean letting the Rays exist as a blatant lame duck for 2-3 years prior. I mean I guess we could also contract/relocate the Rays and just leave central Florida barren, if they're that loathe to a new expansion team. Fair point, although any course of action here is bound to be covered in red tape and legal sludge. My idea's just a little more out there than the others. If I somehow had a stake in this, the prospect of central Florida done right would be a hell of a lot more appealing to me than letting the Rays continue as they are or moving them to one of other places.

nevermind

Contract teams only to immediately replace them with teams in the exact or nearby locations.... I'll give you a minute to realize the absurdity of this idea. Tampa Bay's ONLY problems are fanbase and stadium issues. Everything about the organization is very well ran and contracting them makes no sense. Why would you want to take the team out of the hands of people who are making it a success? Why would you need to contract a team to relocate it when you can just relocate it? The Marlins are poorly ran, but contracting them too is unnecessary if you're going to place one right back there. You have an established franchise. You work on either getting present ownership to improve the state of the franchise or work on getting them replaced, which is difficult, but honestly contraction is even more so. Seems you have no clue as to how sports franchises and leagues work. Tampa's ONLY problems are fanbase and stadium issues? Yeah, how nitpicky of me to not overlook such unimportant things to a franchise. Where the hell are you gonna relocate the Rays? Charlotte? Awful sports market (unless you're nascar) and I'm pretty sure they don't even have a stadium. Yeah, sounds like a plan. Portland? No stadium, public funds are too tapped out to build one, just about everyone there with an interest in MLB is a Mariners fan. Montreal? No stadium, questionable fan support. NYC Metro/Jersey? No stadium, a location in Jersey would be ill-advised if you're counting on drawing from the metro area (because this isn't football), questionable fan support considering it's been 50 plus years since NY had 3 teams, 50 years since the Mets came into the picture, and just about all of the area's baseball allegiances have been established and they'll have little reason to jump ship on their current team. And in case you're not up to date, the Rays are chained to Tropicana until the late 2020s. Tampa-St. Pete won't negotiate a new stadium anywhere and won't let them out of their lease. I don't care how well they're playing, the Rays cannot succeed at Tropicana (success as a franchise goes beyond posting 90 win seasons every year, you know). Everything from the facility itself, to the infrastructure, to the location, to the market as a whole is utter crap. They're the least valuable franchise in baseball. A replacement team in Orlando would well off the ground by the time the Rays rid themselves of Tropicana. "Work on getting ownership to improve the state of the franchise?" Is this a joke? Do you even know who Jeffrey Loria is? Christ almighty. I suppose you think Gary Bettman should keep "working with" Glendale, too. Between Loria, his cronies, stadiumgate, all those firesales, the Ozzie-Castro thing, and the expansion team they're currently fielding two years into their new ballpark, the Marlins are a snakebitten brand and couldn't do a better job of turning off Miami if they tried. MLB won't be able to strongarm Loria into selling, because the owners are a bunch of terrified goobers who won't dare vote against Loria in case he ends up getting to keep the team anyway and they have egg on their face. So then what are you left with. It's just as well that baseball cuts their losses and puts a new team in that stadium (which is owned by Miami-Dade, not by Loria). Accuse me of not knowing how anything works all you want, but tell me, which one of us is in here bawling about how team x shouldn't be contracted all because they're winning games, like a clueless 12 year old squeaker? Hint - it's not me.

Outside of maybe Montreal there aren't any good new places to put teams that have a chance to succeed and not just be revenue sharing sponges. If you're gonna do a 3rd NY team at least put them in the city, not in :censored:ing Jersey. Really, contract both existing Florida franchises and put expansion teams in their place. The Marlins are poison and exist only so that toad running the operation can cash revenue sharing checks from MLB (and they're basically an expansion team already), and the Rays are locked into Tropicana/Hell for god knows how long. Wipe out the two unfixable problems you have (Loria and his unsalvagable brand, and Tropicana) and start anew in Miami and Orlando this time. Miami so you don't leave that ballpark vacant, which would blow any future stadium aspirations for other teams sky high, Orlando because Tampa's not a good sports market, but the Rays' ratings from the area as a whole were solid I believe. Not bad enough to justify completely ditching them anyway.

Bored again. 20 team MLB! Needless to say, all of this takes place in a world where: shiny new baseball-only stadiums haven't been opening every other year for the past two decades, any inconvenient lease contracts have been eaten by Mac from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and any fans of teams that got trapdoored will have no hard feelings and simply begin rooting for the next closest team, or, failing that, one of the big market clubs. (Was going to be 16 teams, but in the end I couldn't bring myself to cut the Reds and Braves. All that history... and then to balance out leagues for my dumb interleague idea I added 2 back to the AL. Whatever.) AL EAST Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Toronto Blue Jays Detroit Tigers Chicago White Sox AL WEST Anaheim Angels Texas Rangers Las Vegas Aces (black and red, logo can be a club or a spade or something) Seattle Mariners (worst travel ever, but they get a bungload of TV territory as a consolation prize... have fun on those trips on Mexico City!) Mexico City Somethings (green and red, emphasis on green) NL EAST New York Mets Brooklyn Kings (bring back the B, put them in purple, maybe make the script and front number two different colors as a Dodger throwback, ask a genie to magically create New Ebbets Field, etc.) Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Cincinnati Reds NL WEST Chicago Cubs St. Louis Cardinals Milwaukee Braves Los Angeles Dodgers San Francisco Giants SCHEDULE 96 intra-division (8 three-game series each against each division opponent) 30 intra-league (2 three-game series each) 24 inter-league (8 three-game series against designated 'natural rival') PLAYOFFS Top two from each division advance to the playoffs. West division runner-up plays the East division winner, and vice versa. Should be self-explanatory from there. One thing I want is to have each team play their interleague natural rival 24 times, so that an actual... you know... rivalry can form and it's not just a mid-May sideshow (also means more games in the western time zone for those poor souls on the west coast). Would create some strength of schedule imbalances, but still not as bad as the NFL, and they get by. The way interleague has been handled so far, it's just a nuisance. Nobody, not even the teams involved, care about the Yankees going to play the Padres and Rockies, Red Sox playing the Nats and Marlins, or the Cubs playing the Angels and Rangers. Granted, my idea still generates some utterly :censored:ing worthless matchups, like Braves/Mariners or Mexico City against the first NL team that pisses off the new comissioner, but there is value in having the Cubs/White Sox, Angels/Dodgers, and some combination of Red Sox/Yankees/Mets/Brooklyn square off more often in lieu of some of the other random matchups involving these teams. Schedule these series around Memorial Day and 4th of July and whatever else. Wow. What a useless post, even by my standards.

Oh my god! Keep it to yourself! This is a serious realignment thread for serious realignment proposals only! Thank you! The nerve of some people!