AnythingChicago

1. Netherlands #1 2. Ecuador #1 3. Qatar #1 4. Ecuador #2

NFL-style MLB Realignment (playoff format would mat h that of NFL with Wild Card Round consisting of five-game series and all other series consisting of seven games) American League East Baltimore Orioles Cleveland Indians New York Yankees Raleigh/Durham (formerly Tampa Bay Rays) North Boston Red Sox Detroit Tigers Montreal Expos (expansion) Toronto Blue Jays South Chicago White Sox Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Texas Rangers West Las Vegas (expansion) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Sacramento Athletics (formerly of Oakland) Seattle Mariners National League East New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Washington Nationals North Chicago Cubs Colorado Rockies Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins South Atlanta Braves Cincinnati Reds Miami Marlins St. Louis Cardinals West Arizona Diamondbacks Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Here's a handy (albeit crudely drawn) map so you can see that despite some weird divisions -- such as St. Louis and the White Sox both being aligned in the South -- this actually makes a hell of a lot more since geographically than the NFL's current divisional alignment.

Updated above (despite the community's disdain for such a format) to reflect the latest College Football Playoff Rankings that were released today.

Here's my take on a College Football postseason. 32 teams (10 conference champions and 22 at-large) compete in a single-elimination bracket format.Duration: approximately five weeks (second weekend of December to third weekend of January).Each of the first 28 games will take place in a bowl site that is determined chiefly by the geographical location of the highest seeded teams (much like the NCAA basketball tournament).The semifinal and final would operate exactly as it does now, with the two semifinal games rotating between the predetermined large bowls, and the final being played in a predetermined site.Eight bowl games (or greater if more are added) would exist for non-playoff qualifying schools. Currently, those bowl games are the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the Raycom Media Camelia Bowl, the Boca Raton Bowl, the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl, the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, and the GoDaddy Bowl.Below is an example of what a 2015 version of the format outlined above might look like. (Disclaimer: I seeded the teams yesterday, so the seeds do not reflect any of the conference championship games and follow the Week 15 College Football Playoff Rankings.)Seeds (all-caps denotes conference champion): 1s: Alabama (1), Oregon (2), Florida State (3), Ohio State (4)2s: Baylor (5), TCU (6), Mississippi State (7), Michigan State (8)3s: Ole Miss (9), Arizona (10), Kansas State (11), Georgia Tech (12)4s: Georgia (13), UCLA (14), Arizona State (15), Missouri (16)5s: Clemson (17), Wisconsin (18), Auburn (19), Boise State (20)6s: Louisville (21) Utah (22), LSU (23), USC (24)7s: Minnesota (25), Nebraska (NR/26), Oklahoma (NR/27), Marshall (NR/28)8s: Memphis (NR/29), Duke (NR/30), Northern Illinois (NR/31), Georgia Southern (NR/32)First six out: Colorado State, Air Force, Cincinnati, UCF, West Virginia, Stanford

Dig around that attic for your abaci, fellas, 'cuz I surmise that's all you'll need to calculate the attendance of tonight's Coyotes-Panthers game.

If Seattle doesn't have a viable arena, and Kansas City isn't willing to comply with the NHL's demands, then what about Portland?

Panthers to Québec City, Coyotes to Kansas City. Enough said.

I don't disagree with that at all; I thought that an American/National Conference format would be beneficial for the NBA, and I put the NHL in the same format just for kicks and giggles.

Since the NBA is becoming a joke because of how much stronger the Western Conference is, here's my idea for NBA realignment: American Conference East Division Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets Charlotte Hornets Orlando Magic Toronto Raptors Central Division Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Oklahoma City Thunder West Division Denver Nuggets Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Phoenix Suns San Antonio Spurs National Conference East Division Atlanta Hawks Miami Heat New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers Washington Wizards Central Division Chicago Bulls Memphis Grizzlies Milwaukee Bucks Minnesota Timberwolves New Orleans Pelicans West Division Dallas Mavericks Los Angeles Lakers Portland Trail Blazers Sacramento Kings Utah Jazz And, hell, the NHL in the same format while I'm at it: American Conference East Division Boston Bruins Florida Panthers Montreal Canadiens New Jersey Devils New York Islanders Central Division Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings Nashville Predators Ottawa Senators Pittsburgh Penguins West Division Anaheim Ducks Colorado Avalanche Dallas Stars Edmonton Oilers Vancouver Canucks National Conference East Division Carolina Hurricanes New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Tampa Bay Lightning Washington Capitals Central Division Chicago Blackhawks Columbus Blue Jackets Minnesota Wild St. Louis Blues Toronto Maple Leafs West Division Calgary Flames Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes San Jose Sharks Winnipeg Jets

Could work, but that would mean a shortened offseason, which I doubt players would be in favor of.Their offseason would have been occupied anyways by the June-July World Cup.

If it has to be held in the winter, then it'll have to be held at the end of 2022 because of the 2022 Winter Olympics in February. If they held it, say November 17 through December 17, 2022, it might work out. The European leagues would have to start their seasons more than a month earlier (say, mid-July) to compensate for the lengthy international break, but with no World Cup that summer the early start would be welcome by European football fans, I'd imagine.

I don't think Portland can do better than Markham. Over 6 million people live in the GTA, and proportionately there are many more hockey fans than in Portland's metro area of about 2.3 million. As for SLC, while I think that's another good potential market, I'd still put it behind Hamilton, KC, Markham, and Portland. So I'll update my realignment with Portland in place of Saskatoon later today.

Aside from the Seattle proximity nonsense, I'd still argue that teams in Kansas City, Markham, and Hamilton would all be more successful and profitable than a team in Portland. However, upon further consideration maybe Saskatoon is a bit of a stretch considering the attendence numbers for their current WHL team are strikingly low.

Although I feel like Seattle would be a great NHL market, unlike the cities you listed above, it will not have an NHL suitable arena completed in three to four years. Once they build a new arena (which could be awhile considering the Kings are staying in Sacramento) I'm sure Bettman will make a serious push to relocate a team (such as the Canes or Predators) to Seattle. As for Portland, while that would be a viable NHL market, it would hurt Seattle's future chances of acquiring a franchise, and I feel that the other cities chosen would provide better fan bases. But I'll admit that "Hamilton Whalers" was a huge stretch.

The recent NHL realignment was set up the way it was to pave paths to future expansion three, four years down the road, which is when I would expect some sort of expansion like the one I outlined in my proposal to take place. Columbus's economy has suffered from the Blue Jackets' lack of profit. The team has been bottom 4 in attendance the past few years, further proving that the market for a hockey team in Columbus is too small to survive profitably. Québec City is a much better NHL market. The province can certainly support a second team, and I assure you the attendence would be greater there than it is now in Columbus, especially when they move into the brand new Amphithreatre, but it would probably still be higher even if they had to play their first season in the artifact that is Colisée Pepsi.

I realize that that the current Florida franchise was never in Hartford; in a perfect world, it would have been, but unfortunately it wasn't. I felt that because Hamilton begins with an "H", it would be appropriate to resurrect a former NHL team name to further replicate the "old NHL" in a way, considering the recent resurrection of the Winnipeg Jets and also the Québec Nordiques in this scenario. The name would be just as appropriate as "Los Angeles Kings" or "New York Rangers" are in today's NFL. And to have that logo back would be oh so sweet. All of that being said, the name of the Hamilton franchise wouldn't HAVE to be Whalers. That's just the only name that came to mind for a Hamilton-based franchise.

IMO, the NHL is just begging for an overhaul, with too many southern or small market teams lacking a substantial fan base. This realignment/expansion favors moving many southern teams north, as well as adding two expansion teams to accommodate the new divisional alignment. NHL Realignment East Atlantic Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Hamilton Whalers (formely Florida Panthers; I realize that there are no whales anywhere near Hamilton, but it would kind of be like a Los Angeles Lakers or Arizona Cardinals situation in that the team name doesn't relate to the region but was carried over from a previous franchise.) Montréal Canadiens New York Islanders New York Rangers Québec Nordiques (formerly Columbus Blue Jackets) Tampa Bay Lightning Metropolitan Carolina Hurricanes New Jersey Devils Ontario Legacy (expansion franchise; located in newly built arena in Markham, Ontario) Ottawa Senators Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Toronto Maple Leafs Washington Capitals West Central Chicago Blackhawks Dallas Stars Detroit Red Wings Kansas City Monarchs (expansion franchise) Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators St. Louis Blues Winnipeg Jets Pacific Anaheim Ducks Colorado Avalanche Calgary Flames Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings San Jose Sharks Saskatoon (formerly Phoenix Coyotes; I had come up with a great team name for Saskatoon but it is escaping me at the moment. ) Vancouver Canucks

Obviously the MLS isn't what the Premier League is to England or what La Liga is to Spain, so I think it's safe to say that the MLS has failed by virtue of the fact that it hasn't brought widespread interest of soccer to the general American populace.

Basically any pre-2008 (Devil) Rays logo. How can we not have mentioned the Vancouver Grizzlies? As was evident by last night's performance... The Aints Sadly... Pre-2011 Nationals

Well, it is the Point Less Realignment Outpost and/or Fantasy Land, right? And I do see what you're saying about some of the smaller schools in bigger divisions. What would you suggest I could do with them?

College Football (and some basketball) Realignment. The Run Down: There is no such thing as an "independent" school for football nor basketball. There as no such thing as a "partial membership" (such as San Diego State and Boise State are planning on doing by being a Big East football member and a Great West/WAC basketball member). Schools will participate in the same conference for football and basketball. All other sports do not apply to this rule, as the hockey/baseball/soccer conferences are pretty much completely different from that of football and basketball. All of these conferences are geographically sound for the most part. The WAC and Conference USA no longer exist. Here she is: Big East Atlantic Connecticut Huskies Central Florida Knights Rutgers Scarlet Knights South Florida Bulls Syracuse Orange Temple Owls UAB Dragons Midwestern Cincinnati Bearcats Louisville Cardinals Marshall Thundering Herd Memphis Tigers Notre Dame Fighting Irish Pittsburgh Panthers Tulane Green Wave Great Plains (formerly Big 12) East Houston Cougars Kansas Jayhawks Kansas State Wildcats Iowa State Cyclones Missouri Tigers Texas A&M Aggies Tulsa Golden Hurricane West Virginia Mountaineers West Baylor Bears Boise State Broncos Brigham Young Cougars Oklahoma Sooners Oklahoma State Cowboys Texas Longhorns Texas Christian Horned Frogs Texas Tech Red Raiders Midwestern (formerly Big 10) Legends Iowa Hawkeyes Michigan Wolverines Michigan State Spartans Minnesota Golden Gophers Nebraska Huskers Northwestern Wildcats Leaders Illinois Fighting Illini Indiana Hoosiers Ohio State Buckeyes Penn State Nittany Lions Purdue Boilermakers Wisconsin Badgers Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Boston College Eagles Clemson Tigers Florida State Seminoles Maryland Terrapins Navy Midshipmen North Carolina State Wolfpack Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Wake Forest Demon Deacons Coastal Army Black Knights Duke Blue Devils East Carolina Pirates Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Miami Hurricanes North Carolina Tarheels Virginia Cavaliers Virginia Tech Hokies Mountain West North Air Force Falcons Colorado Buffaloes Colorado State Rams Idaho Vandals Nevada Wolfpack Utah State Aggies Wyoming Cowboys South Fresno State Bulldogs New Mexico Lobos New Mexico State Aggies Southern Methodist Mustangs Rice Owls San Diego State Aztecs UTEP Miners Sun Belt Arkansas State Red Wolves Florida Atlantic Owls Florida International Golden Panthers Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders North Texas Mean Green Sam Houston State Bearkats Troy Trojans Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Pacific Coast Conference (formerly Pacific-12) North California Golden Bears Oregon Ducks Oregon State Beavers San Jose State Spartans Stanford Cardinal Washington Huskies Washington State Cougars South Arizona Wildcats Arizona State Sun Devils UNLV Rebels Hawai’i Warriors UCLA Bruins USC Trojans Utah Utes Southeastern Conference East Georgia Bulldogs Florida Gators Kentucky Wildcats South Carolina Gamecocks Tennessee Volunteers Vanderbilt Commodores West Alabama Crimson Tide Arkansas Razorbacks Auburn Tigers Louisiana State Tigers Mississippi Rebels Mississippi State Bulldogs Mid-American Conference East Akron Zips Bowling Green Falcons Buffalo Bulls Kent State Golden Flashes Massachusetts Minutemen Miami Redhawks Ohio Bobcats West Ball State Cardinals Central Michigan Chippewas Eastern Michigan Eagles Northern Illinois Huskies Toledo Rockets Western Michigan Broncos Because of the no partial membership rule, a new basketball conference had to be made for the former basketball only Big East schools as well as one former C-USA basketball only school. Here are your Metro America League teams: DePaul Blue Demons Georgetown Hoyas Marquette Golden Eagles Providence Friars Seton Hall Pirates South Alabama Jaguars St. Johns Red Storm Villanova Wildcats The other basketball only C-USA school was Denver. They will join the Big West. Due to the new no independent schools rule, the four NCAA independent basketball schools have each found conferences. Longwood Lancers - Patriot League Seattle Redhawks - Big West Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners - Big West Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks - Summit League Lastly, some schools switched leagues in basketball due to former partial memberships: Navy AND Army - moving from Patriot to ACC Temple - moving from Atlantic 10 to Big East Massachusetts - moving from Atlantic 10 to MAC Sam Houston State - moving from Southland to Sun Belt (Southland divisional system would therefore fold) And that's all she wrote. So how'd I do?

I loved this look for the Pirates. But it could have used a P outlined in red and a red bill for the cap.

Football only or basketball and other sports included? EDIT: Just found an article on it; football only. The conference would span from Connecticut to Hawaii. Great. Who doesn't love those UConn-Hawaii and Marshall-Wyoming match-ups? This is stupid. Although I wouldn't be against a C-USA and Big East merger for all sports. That makes sense geographically and revenue-wise.

Guys, NHL realignment for Winnipeg isn't that hard. Just put Winnipeg in the Northwest, move Minnesota up to the Central, and scoot Nashville on over to the Southwest. Bada bing. But eventually I think Phoenix should move to Québec City, so here's how I imagine the NHL with a NHC (National Hockey Conference) and an AHC (American Hockey Conference): AHC AHC East New Jersey Devils New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Florida Panthers Québec Nordiques (or whatever they are named) AHC Central Nashville Predators Columbus Blue Jackets Pittsburgh Penguins St. Louis Blues Carolina Hurricanes AHC West Anaheim Ducks Vancouver Canucks San Jose Sharks Winnipeg Jets Minnesota Wild NHC NHC East Washington Capitals Tampa Bay Lightning Boston Bruins Montréal Canadiens New York Islanders NHC Central Buffalo Sabres Toronto Maple Leafs Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Red Wings Ottawa Senators NHC West Los Angeles Kings Dallas Stars Calgary Flames Edmonton Oilers Colorado Avalanche