Mac the Knife Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 NHL: 5 divisions of 6 teams each - Atlantic, Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western. No conferences.Regular Season:83 game regular season. Each team plays the five other teams in its division 7 times (35 games). They also play home-and-home against the 24 teams from the other divisions (48 games).Postseason:24 qualifiers because, well, why the hell not? the 5 division champions are seeded #1 through #5. 19 other qualifiers, without regard to divisional alignment and seeded #6 through #24.Seeds #9 through #24 play in a best-of-three Playoff Qualifying Series. The winners are then re-seeded to meet seeds #1 through #8 in a best-of-five Preliminary Series. Surviving 8 teams advance to Quarter-Finals, then 4 to the Semi's, and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCall Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 NHL: 5 divisions of 6 teams each - Atlantic, Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western. No conferences.Regular Season:83 game regular season. Each team plays the five other teams in its division 7 times (35 games). They also play home-and-home against the 24 teams from the other divisions (48 games).Postseason:24 qualifiers because, well, why the hell not? the 5 division champions are seeded #1 through #5. 19 other qualifiers, without regard to divisional alignment and seeded #6 through #24.Seeds #9 through #24 play in a best-of-three Playoff Qualifying Series. The winners are then re-seeded to meet seeds #1 through #8 in a best-of-five Preliminary Series. Surviving 8 teams advance to Quarter-Finals, then 4 to the Semi's, and so on.Don't believe teams would go for a plan involving an odd number of games. Half the league would have to play one less home game and one more road game, losing revenue even by one game. Probably wouldn't fly with them. In the 4 major leagues, you pretty much gotta have an even split of home and road games. Quote https://dribbble.com/MakaioCall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonBlue Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Here's a nuttier NHL realignment idea I came up with tonight (based on 32 teams, yes I know):Campbell ConferencePacific: SEA Coyotes, LA, SJ, ANA, CAL, EDM, VAN,Central: STL, CHI, MIN, WPG, DAL, NAS, COLWales ConferenceAtlantic: NYR, NYI, NJ, PIT, PHI, CAR, WAS, CLB, DETEastern: TB, FL, BOS, BUF, TOR, Markham Not the Leafs, OTT, QUE, MTLSeason format: out of division 2x, all other games in division (4 or 5 meetings in the Wales, 5 or 6 in the Campbell)Campbell Conference Playoffs:Pacific Champion vs. Wild CardCentral Runner-Up vs. Pacific 3Pacific Runner-Up vs. Central 3Central Champion vs. Wild CardReseed based on record for 2nd round.Wales Conference Playoffs:4 wild cards instead of 2, wild cards play one game to determine who advances, then playoffs run like Western ConferenceCampbell teams have a 57% chance of making playoffs. (8 of 14) Wales teams have a 56% chance of making playoffs, including the play-in games (10 of 18) Everyone except Colorado, Calgary, and Edmonton is in a division of teams in the same time zone. Colorado is behind the rest of their division so games starting at 6 p.m. MT is not as big of a deal. Quote "I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be." -Peter Gibbons RIP Demitra #38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 If the league did some kind of no-conference, 1-16 type playoffs, what do you guys think about teams choosing their opponents in the first round? #1 seed picks their opponent first and so on. If you are on the East Coast and you don't want to travel to the West Coast, choose a different team if it's really important to you. I think it would add an interesting new level of drama. Would teams really pick around the hot team that "nobody wants to play"? Plus, we'd get to blame our GM/coach for picking the wrong team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCall Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Here's a nuttier NHL realignment idea I came up with tonight (based on 32 teams, yes I know):Campbell ConferencePacific: SEA Coyotes, LA, SJ, ANA, CAL, EDM, VAN,Central: STL, CHI, MIN, WPG, DAL, NAS, COLWales ConferenceAtlantic: NYR, NYI, NJ, PIT, PHI, CAR, WAS, CLB, DETEastern: TB, FL, BOS, BUF, TOR, Markham Not the Leafs, OTT, QUE, MTLSeason format: out of division 2x, all other games in division (4 or 5 meetings in the Wales, 5 or 6 in the Campbell)Campbell Conference Playoffs:Pacific Champion vs. Wild CardCentral Runner-Up vs. Pacific 3Pacific Runner-Up vs. Central 3Central Champion vs. Wild CardReseed based on record for 2nd round.Wales Conference Playoffs:4 wild cards instead of 2, wild cards play one game to determine who advances, then playoffs run like Western ConferenceCampbell teams have a 57% chance of making playoffs. (8 of 14) Wales teams have a 56% chance of making playoffs, including the play-in games (10 of 18) Everyone except Colorado, Calgary, and Edmonton is in a division of teams in the same time zone. Colorado is behind the rest of their division so games starting at 6 p.m. MT is not as big of a deal.Why are there 2 divisions of 7 and 2 of 9? Doesn't make any sense when you can go all divisions of 8. Quote https://dribbble.com/MakaioCall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonBlue Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I was trying to think of a way to keep all the teams in their own time zone as much as possible, especially DET and CBJ. It was inspired from the way the ECHL used to do playoffs where the different conferences had different bracket setups to minimize excessive travel. Quote "I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be." -Peter Gibbons RIP Demitra #38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexWilson Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I think I've figured out a realignment for the NHL that makes some sense, given the screwy geography and potential relocation of the Coyotes and eventual poorly thought out expansion. Conference 1 - Pacific/Smythe/Gretzky conferenceVancouverEdmontonCalgaryColoradoSan JoseLos AngelesAnaheimPhoenixEventually Seattle by relocation or expansionConference 2 - Great Lakes/Norris/Howe ConferenceWinnipegMinnesotaChicagoDetroitTorontoBuffaloOttawaEventually Markham by relocation or expansionConference 3 Northeast/Adams/Orr ConferenceMontrealBostonNY RangersNY IslandersNew JerseyPhiladelphiaPittsburghEventually Quebec City by relocation or expansionConference 4 - Southern/Patrick/Hull ConferenceColumbusWashingtonSt. LouisCarolinaNashvilleDallasTampa BayFloridaOnce the relocation/expansion is done, each conference could be split into two divisionsThe Pacific into North and South divisionsGreat Lakes into East and WestNortheast into North and SouthSouthern into East and WestThe purpose of the divisions would be for seeding and keeping travel costs down with an unbalanced schedule. Top team in each division would get an automatic playoff berth, with the top two remaining teams in each conference getting the remaining playoff berths.You sadly need a 34th team. 33 teams equals an odd number, which would make the playoffs almost impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rams80 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I think I've figured out a realignment for the NHL that makes some sense, given the screwy geography and potential relocation of the Coyotes and eventual poorly thought out expansion. Conference 1 - Pacific/Smythe/Gretzky conferenceVancouverEdmontonCalgaryColoradoSan JoseLos AngelesAnaheimPhoenixEventually Seattle by relocation or expansionConference 2 - Great Lakes/Norris/Howe ConferenceWinnipegMinnesotaChicagoDetroitTorontoBuffaloOttawaEventually Markham by relocation or expansionConference 3 Northeast/Adams/Orr ConferenceMontrealBostonNY RangersNY IslandersNew JerseyPhiladelphiaPittsburghEventually Quebec City by relocation or expansionConference 4 - Southern/Patrick/Hull ConferenceColumbusWashingtonSt. LouisCarolinaNashvilleDallasTampa BayFloridaOnce the relocation/expansion is done, each conference could be split into two divisionsThe Pacific into North and South divisionsGreat Lakes into East and WestNortheast into North and SouthSouthern into East and WestThe purpose of the divisions would be for seeding and keeping travel costs down with an unbalanced schedule. Top team in each division would get an automatic playoff berth, with the top two remaining teams in each conference getting the remaining playoff berths.You sadly need a 34th team. 33 teams equals an odd number, which would make the playoffs almost impossible.Tell that to the NHL from 1978 to 1991 Quote 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troy_3223 Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 You sadly need a 34th team. 33 teams equals an odd number, which would make the playoffs almost impossible.Sorry I didn't make this clear enough - I'm running under the assumption that Phoenix is going somewhere, whether that is Markham, Seattle, or Quebec City. It's 32 teams, and I would hope that expansion would happen after the relocation of Phoenix to one of those three destinations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joechicago Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 It's actually pretty easy to schedule and have a playoff with an odd number of teams. Consider this (preferable to current model) 25-team league with 5 divisions of 5:Northeast: Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Boston, MontrealAtlantic: NY Rangers, NY Islanders, New Jersey, Philadelphia, PittsburghCentral: Chicago, St. Louis, Winnipeg, Minnesota, DetroitFrontier: Washington, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Nashville, ColoradoWest: Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, San Jose, Los AngelesHome-Away v. everyone not in division = 40 games4 Home/4 Away v. everyone in division = 32 games5 add'l home games v. 1 other division = 5 games5 add'l road games v. 1 other division = 5 games = 82 games.16-team playoff. Divide the playoffs into East-West and seed to avoid divisional matchups. Thus, if the teams finished as I listed them above, the playoff might look like this:Calgary (W2) v. Winnipeg (W7)Toronto (W3) v. Dallas (W6)Chicago (W1) v. Edmonton (W8)St. Louis (W4) v. Vancouver (W5)NY Rangers (E1) v. Boston (E8)NY Islanders (E4) v. Tampa Bay (E5)Washington (E2) v. Buffalo (E7)Ottawa (E3) v. New Jersey (E6) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackieMoon Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Although the new NHL realignment proposal is a step in the right direction (4 divisions instead of 6), I really think it could be tweaked a little more to accomodate two future expansion teams.EASTERN - ATLANTICCarolina HurricanesNew Jersey DevilsNew York IslandersNew York RangersPhiladelphia FlyersPittsburgh PenguinsTampa Bay LightningWashington CapitalsEASTERN - NORTHEASTBoston BruinsBuffalo SabresColumbus Blue JacketsDetroit Red WingsMontreal CanadiensOttawa SenatorsQuebec Nordiques (Florida Panthers)Toronto Maple LeafsWESTERN - CENTRALChicago BlackhawksColorado Avalanche (temporary)Dallas StarsMinnesota WildNashville PredatorsSt. Louis BluesWinnipeg JetsAVAILABLE MARKETS: Houston, Kansas City, Saskatchewan (2/3 awarded franchises and Colorado goes to the Pacific)WESTERN - PACIFICAnaheim DucksCalgary FlamesEdmonton OilersLos Angeles KingsSan Jose SharksSeattle Totems/Metropolitans (Phoenix Coyotes)Vancouver CanucksPlayoffs: Each conference (two division winners and six wildcards) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top Shelf Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 AAA Baseball realignment, anyone? This combines the International League and the Pacific Coast League into one entity:EASTERN CONFERENCENORTHEAST DIVISIONBuffalo Bisons (Blue Jays)Pawtucket Red Sox (Red Sox)Rochester Red Wings (Twins)Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders (Yankees)Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals)ATLANTIC DIVISIONCharlotte Knights (White Sox)Durham Bulls (Rays)Gwinnett Braves (Braves)Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies)Norfolk Tides (Orioles)CENTRAL DIVISIONColumbus Clippers (Indians)Indianapolis Indians (Pirates)Louisville Bats (Reds)Nashville Sounds (Brewers)Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers)WESTERN CONFERENCEMIDWEST DIVISIONIowa Cubs (Cubs)Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals)New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins)Oklahoma City Redhawks (Astros)Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals)MOUNTAIN DIVISIONAlbuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers)Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies)Round Rock Express (Rangers)Salt Lake Bees (Angels)Tucson Padres (Padres)PACIFIC DIVISIONFresno Grizzlies (Giants)Las Vegas 51's (Mets)Reno Aces (Diamondbacks)Sacramento River Cats (Athletics)Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackieMoon Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I really like that AAA. Never understood why they are in two separate leagues anyways (when their corresponding MLB teams don't line up). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Travel concerns, obviously.Pointless NHL realignment idea:Western ConferenceDivision A: Los Angeles, Anaheim, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, San Jose, PhoenixDivision B: Chicago, Nashville, Dallas, St. Louis, Minnesota, Winnipeg, ColoradoEastern ConferenceDivision C: Detroit, Ottawa, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, FloridaDivision D: New York, Long Island, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Columbus, CarolinaAll four division winners make the playoffs, along with the second and third-place teams in each division. Teams are seeded 1-8, with the two division winners being seeded 1 and 2, the two next best teams after the top three teams in each division being seeded 7 and 8, and the second and third-place teams being seeded 4 and 5 if their division winner is seeded 1, and 3 and 6 if their division winner is seeded 2. What I really like about this thread is that it allows you to throw out some really crazy hypothetical concepts. Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 (edited) I counter with this:5 division winners and the next best 3 from the conference make the playoffs. Also, seed them 1-8 based ON THEIR RECORD - don't reward them with a higher seed for winning a weak division.Also, here is MLB's new scheduling formula:19 games × 4 opponents in own division (76 games), 6 or 7 games × 10 opponents in other divisions within league (66 games), 20 inter-league gamesNow, why didn't they just go with something simpler?9 games vs each team in your league (126)9 games vs natural rival (9, 135)3 games vs natural rival's division opponents (12, 147)3 games vs one of the other two divisions (15, 162).The difference is 36 inter-league games in my plan vs 20 in the current plan. It's almost double the number, but considering 36/162 games is less than a quarter of the season, I don't think the impact on pennant races will matter all that much. Edited March 29, 2013 by Magnus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyk33 Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 If Seattle gets an NBA expansion team to keep both Sacramento and Seattle happyWESTERN CONFERENCENORTHWESTSeattlePortlandMinnesotaDenverUtahPACIFICLakersClippersSacramentoGolden StatePhoenixSOUTHWESTOKCSan AntonioDallasHoustonNew OrleansEASTERN CONFERENCESOUTHEASTMemphisMiamiOrlandoAtlantaCharlotteATLANTICWashingtonNew YorkBostonBrooklynPhiladelphiaTorontoCENTRALMilwaukeeChicagoClevelandDetroitIndiana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withina Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 (edited) spam Edited July 20, 2013 by Joshawaggie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramerica Industries Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 I've refused to delve into this thread before, but it really dawned on me while thinking about Trout/Cabrera from the 2012 MVP discussion (yeah, that still happens with me) earlier today about how MLB could benefit from a simplified two division format than the somewhat cluttered three division format. This thinking was also inspired by the NHL re-alignment, which, for many of the problems I have with its execution (which I've discussed in the NHL thread), I do like the premise of.Of course, the first question would be - why realign at all?A: Kinda like how the NHL at times tends to have one weak division get an automatic high seed (Southeast Division almost every time), this also happens regularly in baseball, and seems to happen quite a bit with the AL Central. Detroit won 88 games in 2012, which was fewer than Texas (93), Tampa Bay (91), and Anaheim (89), all teams who missed the playoffs. In 2009, Minnesota won 87 games, but had a worse win percentage than Texas (due to playing a Game 163; Minnesota and Detroit won 86 games in the 162 game slate). In 2008, Chicago eked past Minnesota in a Game 163, but had a worse win percentage than the Yankees (89-73 vs. 89-74). Obviously, the 2005 NL West is the most egregious example, when 82-80 San Diego got in the playoffs (and then got BLASTED in the NLDS), and the 2006 Cardinals winning the Central at 83-78 is also pretty memorable (for some wrong reasons).Yes, the 1972 Mets won a remarkably weak NL East with a miserable 82-79 record (and then beat the Reds juggernaut in the best-of-5 NLCS, showing the randomness of short series'). This is about the only memorable example of a two division format yielding a horribly weak division in the 25 years this lasted in MLB (1969-1993). Sometimes, random happens, but it happens much less often than it does now.So, with that in mind, my proposal would be able to keep a four-team playoff in each league, while doing a better job at getting the best teams in the playoffs.AL East:New York YankeesBostonBaltimoreTorontoTampa BayClevelandDetroitAL West:AnaheimTexasSeattleOaklandHouston*Chicago White SoxMinnesotaKansas CityNL East:New York MetsAtlantaWashingtonPhiladelphiaFloridaPittsburghCincinnatiNL West:Los AngelesSan FranciscoArizonaColoradoSan DiegoSt. LouisChicago CubsMilwaukee**I fully agree that the Brewers should've returned to the AL, not switching the Astros over after 50 NL seasons. But, since Milwaukee would go in the AL West anyway (geographic rivalries with Chicago and Minnesota), this is a very simple swap if you so wish it to be that way.If this were applied to 2012, for instance, then the Yankees, A's, Rangers, and Orioles all get into the playoffs without any dispute, and in the NL, the Nationals, Giants, Reds, and Braves all do the same. In other words, the four best records in each league (...wait for it...) ALL REACH THE PLAYOFFS!And, really, isn't that the way it's supposed to work anyway? Detroit, talent-wise, was one of the best teams in the AL, but they actually would've gotten punished for their immense underachievement in the regular season. So it goes.And Mike Trout might've won the MVP award he so deserved, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCall Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 The point of the Astros switching leagues was to even out the divisions. By going to 2-divisions in odd-numbered leagues, you've just created more unbalance. So that right there makes this plan less attractive than the actual current alignment.And no the Brewers should not have switched leagues. Milwaukee, thanks to the Braves, was always more of an NL city anyway, plus they've formed much better rivalries with the NL Central clubs than they ever did in the AL. Either Colorado or Arizona should've been the ones to switch leagues.Also, Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown, something not down for 45 years. I find that pretty damn deserving. His defense might not have been as stellar as Trout's, but he actually ended up being fairly adequate enough at 3rd base that it shouldn't have taken away from his offensive numbers, which were the best. Thus, the Triple Crown. Quote https://dribbble.com/MakaioCall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramerica Industries Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 That's just a strike against MLB deciding to even out the leagues then. Put Houston back in the NL, though it would create a mildly sticky situation about who to put in the NL East. Chicago is the only team I could think of, based on geography, but even then that's a team west of the Mississippi and also has a ton more rivalries in that division than they would in the East. Ditto with St. Louis and Milwaukee. I guess Houston?I wanted to keep things within the general parameters of the league sizes and playoff qualification. In general, a two-division format will yield more teams that should've been in the playoffs than a three-division format does. It was pretty heinous last year that 7th place Detroit not only won their division, but they were actually the first AL team to clinch. Thus, they were able to set themselves up for the playoffs while the 95, 94, and 93 win Yankees, A's, Rangers, and Orioles had to duke it out to the finish line, and even a little bit beyond that.Also, I don't want to insinuate that Miggy had a poor season or something in 2012. In most years, I would agree with being an MVP winner. But Trout's combination of power, speed, and top-flight defense at a premium position like CF, not to mention Anaheim's stellar record with him in the lineup, put him over the top, in my eyes. Miggy was not exactly as adequate as we think he was at 3B. He was one of the worst defensive 3B in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.