Norva

Didn't Idaho play in the Sun Belt in football just a few years ago?

Unless the NHL expands I do not think they should change their current structure, besides some swap-outs like Winnipeg out of the SE and the Coyotes to the east should they move to Quebec. When you can have a nice, even, symmetrical division set up its stupid imo to have uneven divisions. If the NHL goes 32 I would prefer an NFL like set-up but 4 8-team divisions is just fine.

What I would do is different, I think the NHL and NBA should keep their current structure but dump conferences, at least for playoffs (Can still used for All-Star Game for instance). The playoffs should be seeded 1-16 league-wide. Perhaps give the division winners a guaranteed top 6 seed than the rest of the league fight for the other ten spots.

The NHL and NBA conferences are really pretty pointless. In the NFL one conferences was once a rival league, in the MLB the two league were historically completely separate entities and one still has a different rule set than the other (DH in AL). However in the NHL and NBA its just geography and while it may have served a purpose for travel costs or what have you at one time it clearly is pointless today.

I mean, imagine a Leafs-Habs Stanley Cup, or Wings-Hawks, Bruins-Rangers, Penguins-Flyers, even the Lighting-Panthers

But seriously, I see no reason not to open it up like that. At the very least it provides several new intriguing matchup possibilities. Same in the NBA, imagine Knicks-Celtics-Bulls being able to face each other, or Clippers-Lakers or other local bouts or historic rivalries.

Obviously much different but the Arena League used to do this and it provided amazing Arena Bowls like Tampa Bay Storm-Orlando Predators, and San Jose Sabercats-Arizona Rattlers. They should bring that back too really.

Quinnipiac just joined the MAAC a few weeks ago. I doubt they will move again for a while.

So, what does all this mean for basketball?

Namely the mid-majors.

A couple less conferences means a couple less auto-bids and more at-larges, right? Is this good or bad for mid major schools in basketball? Just wondering being a fan of such a program.

Loyola, who just came off winning their first national championship in May, is heading to the Patriot League next year

Sad to see them leave the MAAC

I wonder if they will go with 9 teams or find a replacement team to stay at 10?

If FSU leaves for the BIG 12 does that mean USF might possibly take their spot in the ACC!?

You are impossible

Just let him have his hissy fit...

And for good reason. If you can have all divisions with an equal amount of teams there is no reason not to. It's silly imo to have some divisions with 7 and some with 8.

But with that format the league could potentially expand to 32 teams.

They could wait to do it until they expand then.

And for good reason. If you can have all divisions with an equal amount of teams there is no reason not to. It's silly imo to have some divisions with 7 and some with 8.

I just didn't like Toronto being in a separate division from the Ontario teams and Buffalo. It would probably work fine though.

And since they already dumped the East vs West All-Star format, if they adopted my playoff format they could drop the conference distinction all together. I am not sure how they would do the schedule, math is not my forte, but I am sure they could find away to give the Penguins more games against NY and Philly.

Not bad, but must you call it the NASCAR division in every post you make? That joke has run it's course.

Here is what I would do assuming PHX heads east:

Pacific: Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Jose, Colorado, Dallas

Northwest: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Minnesota, Winnipeg

Central: Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Columbus, Pittsburgh

Northeast: Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Buffalo, Ottawa

Atlantic: Boston, NYR, NYI, NJ, Philadelphia

Southeast: Washington, Nashville, Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina

Toronto should be in the same division with Montreal and Ottawa imo, plus they go well with Buffalo. I also say they should scrap the current playoff format and do this:

6 division winners get top 6 spots

Next best 10 teams regardless of conference affiliation

All seeded 1-16

So basically there would be no guaranteed East Conference vs West Conference Stanley Cup Finals anymore. It would open the door to even more Finals match-ups including great rivalries like cross-state/provincial ones.

I'm personally pulling for the Orlando Islanders.

Rochester Islanders as a close #2.

A good pic of Culpepper as a Mountain Lion.

I think the Bears are close to perfect, I think if they lighten the navy just a little bit it would look great. It's way to dark imo it looks almost black,

NFL

Tampa Bay Bucs: Grew up near Tampa, first team I remember rooting for and watching growing up.

Arizona Cardinals/Buffalo Bills: I go to college near Buffalo now, I have family in Arizona and have always loved the state so I root for them as secondary teams.

MLB

Tampa Bay Rays: Grew up in Tampa area, still hate the name/color change.

Arizona D-Backs: See Arizona Cardinals, also I just have happened to have attended the same amount of Diamondback games as I have Rays games.

NHL

Tampa Bay Lightning: Again grew up in Tampa.

Buffalo Sabres: Went to a game, go to school in the area now so adopted them as a secondary team.

NBA

No team don't really follow them at all. Ever since the whole 61 points for his grandfather in high school though I have always really liked Chris Paul and followed him. One of the only reasons I follow NBA so I guess I am a Clippers fan this year.

Arena Football

Tampa Bay Storm: LOVE the Storm, me and my dad use to go to NFL games when I was a kid, then we found a much more affordable alternative and became Storm season ticket holders. Many of my best sport moments and father/son bonding memories are at Storm games. So they hold a very very special place in my heart.

NCAA Football

South Florida Bulls: Similar to the Storm, my dad worked at USF for a little while and we had season tix their first few seasons in football. ALso they are from Tampa so go Bulls!

Every other NCAA sport

Niagara Purple Eagles: My school, I graduate soon. If they had a football team I would put them ahead of USF, but they don't.

South Florida Bulls: Still follow the other USF sports as secondary teams.

My fiancee goes to UCF but I find their fan base way to annoying and she doesn't care one way or the other about sports anyways.

Domestic Soccer

(FC) Tampa Bay Rowdies: Again grew up in Tampa and even though they came about just after I moved I still root for them, especially since there is no team up where I am now.

Overseas 'football'

Manchester United: No I am no band wagoner and it has nothing to do with the fact the Glazers own them and the Bucs (hate the Glazers anyways). I wanted a team to follow but I could not form an attachment to any team, I am someone who has to have some kind of connection to a team I root for. Be it from where I grew up, live in, or even just a game I went to or a place I have family or vacationed in I always have to have some connection and no matter how hard I tried I could not form one for any English team. Well my mother started dating a retired doctor from England who is a Man U fan and they bought me a jacket with the team emblem on it. Since he is the only connection I have to English soccer, I became a Man U fan. It also helps that people would keep coming up to me and talking about Man U when I wore it and I never knew what to say, so I decided I should just start following them.

CFL

Toronto Argonauts: Wanted a CFL team to follow. As a kid I vacationed in Toronto a couple of times, loved it and thought it was a beautiful city, it also happens to be the only Canadian city I have ever stayed over night in, so I adopted them as my team. I use to follow all the other Toronto teams as secondaries as well but that didn't ever really stick with me. No real reason why just didn't. Still love the Argos though!

Lacrosse

Orlando Titans: Okay so they are dead now and only existed a year, but I went to their first ever game and loved the fact they were to first pro lacrosse team in Florida. I hope pro lacrosse heads to Florida again someday soon.

Rochester Knighthawks/Rattlers: Briefly lived there and went to a few 'Hawks games and I like other Rochester teams to (except RIT hockey, I don't hate them but RIT-Niagara is a pretty solid NCAA hockey rivalry).

I have a few other random minor league teams in various sports I like; the Florida Everblades, Awesome name, logo and color scheme. Lakeland (Flying) Tigers, use to go to their games a ton when I was young. Love FSL baseball, beautiful parks and very inexpensive. I like the Rochester Red Wings as well, went to a few games there. I also follow my old high school football team.

The Rays have never played in Tampa.

I wouldn't call it a drain if they are making a profit and over the last 4 or 5 years the value of the team has increased by quite a bit.

TV viewership was among top in the league before this season, yet whenever I mentioned that before it was dismissed out of hand. Now that it went down, it's somehow a valid point? Right.

nvm

Those Maryland flag unis were possibly the best college unis ever.

Okay a bit of hyperbole there, but they were amazing.

Where did South Florida go? For a team that has a good chance to win the BE this year I don't see why they would leave the BCS.

Cincinnati Reds in the American League with Cleveland Indians (their in-state rival) and the Boston Red Sox? An absolute "no-no".

To be fair, Pennsylvania has two NL teams (in-state rivals, if you will) in real life.

Cincinnati will never switch leagues. They were the first team and will ways be in the NL.

They were not the first team. The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 have absolutely no relationship to the current Reds franchise which started in 1882 in the American Association.