The Pointless Realignment Outpost

[jlog3000]

1 hour ago, mrcubfan415 said:

My personal suggestion for a more geographically accurate NFL alignment:

AFC:

East: Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets

North: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers 

South: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans

West: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders

NFC:

East: Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders

North: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings

South: Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

West: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks

 

I suppose the Steelers and Ravens could be swapped to keep Browns-Ravens a division rivalry and to make Colts-Ravens (Baltimore’s old vs new team) a division rivalry too.

 

Not gonna lie, but that would make more logical sense. Plus, teams like Dallas or Miami would not have to face the other East Coast teams twice; same with Carolina with the other Southeast teams. And it's more travel expense friendly instead of major costs for those teams.

[McCall]

3 hours ago, mrcubfan415 said:

My personal suggestion for a more geographically accurate NFL alignment:

AFC:

East: Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets

North: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers 

South: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans

West: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders

NFC:

East: Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders

North: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings

South: Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

West: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks

 

I suppose the Steelers and Ravens could be swapped to keep Browns-Ravens a division rivalry and to make Colts-Ravens (Baltimore’s old vs new team) a division rivalry too.

Dallas WANTED to be in the NFC East to preserve their rivalries with the Giants, Eagles and Commanders.

 

The majority of 2002 realignment in the NFL was to keep rivalries intact.

[jlog3000]

12 minutes ago, McCall said:

Dallas WANTED to be in the NFC East to preserve their rivalries with the Giants, Eagles and Commanders.

 

That's totally understandable. But DESPITE the fact that Dallas would still needed to make travel expenses in order to maintain said rivalries within the NFC East (same applying with Miami within the AFC East)?

 

[McCall]

19 minutes ago, jlog3000 said:

 

That's totally understandable. But DESPITE the fact that Dallas would still needed to make travel expenses in order to maintain said rivalries within the NFC East (same applying with Miami within the AFC East)?

 

Football travel expenses are not the same as MLB, NBA or NHL as they only play once a week for 17 weeks (plus some possible playoff travel).

[BrySmalls]

On 1/22/2023 at 6:19 AM, mrcubfan415 said:

My personal suggestion for a more geographically accurate NFL alignment:

AFC:

East: Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets

North: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers 

South: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans

West: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders

NFC:

East: Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders

North: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings

South: Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

West: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks

 

I suppose the Steelers and Ravens could be swapped to keep Browns-Ravens a division rivalry and to make Colts-Ravens (Baltimore’s old vs new team) a division rivalry too.

 

That alignment makes sense!

[29texan]

Updating it, based on current rumors and what the NFL would do...

MLB with 32
(*Montréal & Nashville expansion / Astros and Padres switch Leagues / **A's move)

American:

North
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Detroit
- Minnesota

East
- Baltimore
- Boston
- New York
- Toronto

South
- Kansas City
- *Nashville
- Tampa Bay
- Texas

West
- L.A.
- **Las Vegas
- San Diego
- Seattle

------------------------------------------

National:

North
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Milwaukee
- Pittsburgh

East
- *Montréal
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Washington

South
- Atlanta
- Houston
- Miami
- St. Louis

West
- Arizona
- Colorado
- L.A.
- San Francisco

And since they all play each other, now, I'd think there'd be "Protected Rivals", so that you'd still see Cubs/Cardinals, Rangers/Astros, etc.
 

[TrueYankee26]

A couple of geographical 32 team MLB realignment taking away AL and NL. Charlotte Knights and Nashville Sounds are expansion clubs and this also assumes Tampa and Oakland resolves their stadium issues. First, a realignment with 4 divisions and 8 teams.

 

Eastern Conference

East Coast Division

Baltimore

Boston

Charlotte

NY Mets

NY Yankees

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Washington

 

Central Division

Atlanta

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Detroit

Miami

Nashville

Tampa Bay

Toronto

 

Western Conference

Midwest Division

Chi Cubs

Chi White Sox

Houston

Kansas City

Minnesota

Milwaukee

St. Louis

Texas

 

West Coast Division

Anaheim

Arizona

Colorado

Los Angeles

Oakland

San Diego

San Francisco

Seattle

 

And finally the second realignment, no conferences, just eight 4-team divisions. Thinking out of the box here so there may be some surprises

 

Northeast

Boston

NY Mets

NY Yankees

Toronto

 

Mid-Atlantic

Baltimore

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Washington

 

Southeast

Atlanta

Charlotte

Miami

Tampa Bay

 

Great Lakes

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Detroit

Nashville

 

Midwest

Chi Cubs

Chi White Sox

Kansas City

St. Louis

 

Southwest

Arizona

Colorado

Houston

Texas

 

Pacific

Anaheim

Los Angeles

San Diego

San Francisco

 

Northwest

Milwaukee

Minnesota

Oakland

Seattle

[LAWeaver]

Since the announcement that the Arena Football League is planning a comeback, I had the thought of "what if they didn't fail?"

 

Here is my 28-team, no-rhyme-or-reason Arena Football wish list, including teams that currently play in the IFL and NAL.

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Northern Division

Albany Firebirds

Cleveland Gladiators

Columbus Destroyers

Detroit Drive

Massachusetts Pirates (considered relocating to Boston, but we'll keep them in Worcester for now)

New York Dragons (now in Brooklyn)

Philadelphia Soul

 

Southern Division

Carolina Cobras (Charlotte)

Georgia Force (Atlanta)

Jacksonville Sharks

Nashville Kats

New Orleans VooDoo

Orlando Predators

Tampa Bay Storm

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division

Chicago Rush

Dallas Desperados

Grand Rapids Rampage

Green Bay Blizzard

Iowa Barnstormers

Quad City/St. Louis Steamwheelers (Feel like the team would've moved to a larger market, i.e. St. Louis, once the Rams skipped town and the league continued to grow)

Tulsa Oilers (Almost went OKC but Tulsa felt like it fit the smaller-market vibe of the AFL a bit better)

 

Pacific Division

Arizona Rattlers

Colorado Crush

Las Vegas NightHawks

Los Angeles Avengers

San Jose SaberCats

Spokane Shock

Utah Blaze

[jlog3000]

5 hours ago, LAWeaver said:

Since the announcement that the Arena Football League is planning a comeback, I had the thought of "what if they didn't fail?"

 

Here is my 28-team, no-rhyme-or-reason Arena Football wish list, including teams that currently play in the IFL and NAL.

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Northern Division

Albany Firebirds

Cleveland Gladiators

Columbus Destroyers

Detroit Drive

Massachusetts Pirates (considered relocating to Boston, but we'll keep them in Worcester for now)

New York Dragons (now in Brooklyn)

Philadelphia Soul

 

Southern Division

Carolina Cobras (Charlotte)

Georgia Force (Atlanta)

Jacksonville Sharks

Nashville Kats

New Orleans VooDoo

Orlando Predators

Tampa Bay Storm

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division

Chicago Rush

Dallas Desperados

Grand Rapids Rampage

Green Bay Blizzard

Iowa Barnstormers

Quad City/St. Louis Steamwheelers (Feel like the team would've moved to a larger market, i.e. St. Louis, once the Rams skipped town and the league continued to grow)

Tulsa Oilers (Almost went OKC but Tulsa felt like it fit the smaller-market vibe of the AFL a bit better)

 

Pacific Division

Arizona Rattlers

Colorado Crush

Las Vegas NightHawks

Los Angeles Avengers

San Jose SaberCats

Spokane Shock

Utah Blaze

 

This alignment looks epic. But imagine if the ARENA would add 4 more teams, then they would do like in the NFL (each conference has 4 pods of 4 teams each, but keeps the divisions for some standpoint purposes (meaning each having 2 of 8 teams)). Those teams should be the Pittsburgh Power in the East Conf. North Division; the Washington Valor or the Baltimore Brigade in the East Conf. South Division; the Kansas City Brigade/Command or the Austin Wranglers in the West Conf. Midwest Division; and the Portland Steel in the West Conf. Pacific Division. Therefore, the following divisions would go as follows:

 

1) Eastern Conference

 

1.1.) Northern Division

 

1.1.1.) Northeast Section

 

* Albany
* Massachusetts
* New York
* Philadelphia

 

1.1.2.) Mideast Section

 

* Cleveland
* Columbus
* Detroit
* Pittsburgh

 

1.2.) Southern Division

 

1.2.1.) Mid-South Section

 

* Carolina
* Georgia
* Nashville
* Washington D.C. or Baltimore

 

1.2.2.) Southeast Section

 

* Jacksonville
* New Orleans
* Orlando
* Tampa Bay

 

2.) Western Conference

 

2.1.) Midwest Division

 

2.1.1.) Great Lakes Section

 

* Chicago
* Grand Rapdis
* Green Bay
* Quad Cities

 

2.1.2.) Plains Section

 

* Dallas
* Iowa
* Kansas City or Austin
* Tulsa

 

2.2.) Pacific Division

 

2.2.1.) Northwest Section

 

* Colorado
* Portland
* Spokane
* Utah

 

2.2.2.) Southwest Section

 

* Arizona
* Las Vegas
* Los Angeles
* San Jose

 

Your thoughts guys?

[Magnus]

If I may be so bold...https://postimg.cc/hfgGsWBV

[McCall]

8 hours ago, Magnus said:

If I may be so bold...https://postimg.cc/hfgGsWBV

While I agree both Columbus (or Canton) and even Raleigh, NC are on my list of potential sites, San Diego should be the next one up. Now that may be as simple as relocating the Vipers (under a different name), but either way, I think Raleigh would be a little down the list, while Columbia, SC/South Carolina in general are not even on the list. The XFL, and USFL to that effect, are more or less, trying to establish a major league Spring League. Now I interpret that as "major league markets" without an NFL team, i.e., St. Louis and San Antonio... and hopefully soon, San Diego. South Carolina is nowhere near that realm. Just because a city has a college stadium, doesn't mean the market itself lends to professional football. Birmingham has a long history of Spring Football even though they're not likely to ever get an NFL team, so they've kinda proven themselves to be an exception to the rules. But SC has no track record of this and I don't think the XFL would try and test a very unproven market this early in their existence while still trying to full establish themselves.

[nelroy78]

On 1/22/2023 at 7:45 AM, jlog3000 said:

same with Carolina with the other Southeast teams.

Carolina is only 4 hours from Atlanta. I consider them more Southeast.

[BrySmalls]

On 2/9/2023 at 5:41 PM, jlog3000 said:

 

This alignment looks epic. But imagine if the ARENA would add 4 more teams, then they would do like in the NFL (each conference has 4 pods of 4 teams each, but keeps the divisions for some standpoint purposes (meaning each having 2 of 8 teams)). Those teams should be the Pittsburgh Power in the East Conf. North Division; the Washington Valor or the Baltimore Brigade in the East Conf. South Division; the Kansas City Brigade/Command or the Austin Wranglers in the West Conf. Midwest Division; and the Portland Steel in the West Conf. Pacific Division. Therefore, the following divisions would go as follows:

 

1) Eastern Conference

 

1.1.) Northern Division

 

1.1.1.) Northeast Section

 

* Albany
* Massachusetts
* New York
* Philadelphia

 

1.1.2.) Mideast Section

 

* Cleveland
* Columbus
* Detroit
* Pittsburgh

 

1.2.) Southern Division

 

1.2.1.) Mid-South Section

 

* Carolina
* Georgia
* Nashville
* Washington D.C. or Baltimore

 

1.2.2.) Southeast Section

 

* Jacksonville
* New Orleans
* Orlando
* Tampa Bay

 

2.) Western Conference

 

2.1.) Midwest Division

 

2.1.1.) Great Lakes Section

 

* Chicago
* Grand Rapdis
* Green Bay
* Quad Cities

 

2.1.2.) Plains Section

 

* Dallas
* Iowa
* Kansas City or Austin
* Tulsa

 

2.2.) Pacific Division

 

2.2.1.) Northwest Section

 

* Colorado
* Portland
* Spokane
* Utah

 

2.2.2.) Southwest Section

 

* Arizona
* Las Vegas
* Los Angeles
* San Jose

 

Your thoughts guys?

 

Geographically speaking, the cities in the Mideast Section are actually in the Midwest.

 

Also, the Mid-South Section name is wrong since it is a different part of the U.S. Maybe go with Appalachia or Mid-Atlantic instead? 

[WestCoastBias]

With the A's now going to move to Las Vegas, it seems like a good time to redo the Pacific Coast League. No, I don't think Las Vegas should get to have both a MLB and a Triple-A team (no matter how nice their stadium is) and the Texas teams no longer get affiliates in smaller cities. Triple-A teams should be located in larger secondary cities that are generally considered right below professional level cities (and in some cases these cities do have pro teams in other sports).

 

Albuquerque Isotopes - Rockies

El Paso Chihuahuas  - Padres

Fresno Grizzlies - Dodgers

Oklahoma City 89ers - Rangers

Reno Aces - A's

Sacramento River Cats - Giants

Salt Lake Bees - Angels

San Antonio Missions - Astros

Tacoma Rainiers - Mariners

Tucson Toros - Diamondbacks

 

Possible Expansion

Boise Hawks - Portland MLB

[McCall]

2 hours ago, WestCoastBias said:

With the A's now going to move to Las Vegas, it seems like a good time to redo the Pacific Coast League. No, I don't think Las Vegas should get to have both a MLB and a Triple-A team (no matter how nice their stadium is) and the Texas teams no longer get affiliates in smaller cities. Triple-A teams should be located in larger secondary cities that are generally considered right below professional level cities (and in some cases these cities do have pro teams in other sports).

 

Albuquerque Isotopes - Rockies

El Paso Chihuahuas  - Padres

Fresno Grizzlies - Dodgers

Oklahoma City 89ers - Rangers

Reno Aces - A's

Sacramento River Cats - Giants

Salt Lake Bees - Angels

San Antonio Missions - Astros

Tacoma Rainiers - Mariners

Tucson Toros - Diamondbacks

 

Possible Expansion

Boise Hawks - Portland MLB

It's already been stated that Las Vegas will get to keep the Aviators. Whether they stay Triple-A or not, I don't know. The California League is the only other option. Either way, I think they'd at least change their name to something like the Southern Nevada Aviators, just to avoid confusion. And the trend has been placing Triple-A, and to an extent, Double-A closest to the MLB parent club for closer proximity for call-ups so they're not having to travel so far and can be ready to play sooner.

[WestCoastBias]

20 hours ago, McCall said:

It's already been stated that Las Vegas will get to keep the Aviators. Whether they stay Triple-A or not, I don't know. The California League is the only other option. Either way, I think they'd at least change their name to something like the Southern Nevada Aviators, just to avoid confusion. And the trend has been placing Triple-A, and to an extent, Double-A closest to the MLB parent club for closer proximity for call-ups so they're not having to travel so far and can be ready to play sooner.

 

You can still have Triple-A teams in secondary cities and still be close enough to the parent club. A good example is the Giants and Sacramento River Cats. A bad example is the Dodgers and OKC Dodgers, but even that's still better than Sugar Land Space Cowboys and Round Rock Express. Leave teams in no name suburbs to Single-A and Double-A. 

[McCall]

21 minutes ago, WestCoastBias said:

 

You can still have Triple-A teams in secondary cities and still be close enough to the parent club. A good example is the Giants and Sacramento River Cats. A bad example is the Dodgers and OKC Dodgers, but even that's still better than Sugar Land Space Cowboys and Round Rock Express. Leave teams in no name suburbs to Single-A and Double-A. 

Triple-A and Double-A are the levels that most often get direct calls to the majors during the season. Having them closer to the parent club's home market/stadium makes it easier and faster for the players to be available in a game. THAT'S why teams like the Braves moved theirs to Gwinnet and why they brought St. Paul and Sugar Land into MiLB. If you put the ideal geographical layout of the different levels in relation to the parent club, Triple-A would be the closest, followed by Double-A, then High-A, Low-A and then rookie (which is at Spring Training facilities).

 

And as I mentioned, it's already been said the Aviators are NOT gonna be forced out of Sumerlin.

[BrySmalls]

On 4/4/2023 at 10:54 PM, Magnus said:

If I may be so bold...https://postimg.cc/hfgGsWBV

 

On 4/5/2023 at 7:23 AM, McCall said:

While I agree both Columbus (or Canton) and even Raleigh, NC are on my list of potential sites, San Diego should be the next one up. Now that may be as simple as relocating the Vipers (under a different name), but either way, I think Raleigh would be a little down the list, while Columbia, SC/South Carolina in general are not even on the list. The XFL, and USFL to that effect, are more or less, trying to establish a major league Spring League. Now I interpret that as "major league markets" without an NFL team, i.e., St. Louis and San Antonio... and hopefully soon, San Diego. South Carolina is nowhere near that realm. Just because a city has a college stadium, doesn't mean the market itself lends to professional football. Birmingham has a long history of Spring Football even though they're not likely to ever get an NFL team, so they've kinda proven themselves to be an exception to the rules. But SC has no track record of this and I don't think the XFL would try and test a very unproven market this early in their existence while still trying to full establish themselves.

 

 

McCall, looks like you're onto something regarding San Diego.

There is rumor of possible expansion in 2025 if XFL is still around. From the article
 

Quote

Mark Perry of XFL News Hub opined that the XFL could look to expand in 2025 if things trend up. Perry listed Nashville, Portland, San Jose, Charlotte, Oklahoma City and San Diego as potential expansion destinations:

“With the XFL 2023 regular season ending in two weeks, the league’s fans are excited about spring football’s future. Alt-Football fans love to talk about expansion. It is almost a lock that in 2024, we will see the same eight XFL teams in the exact locations as we are in 2023. 2025 however, could be a different story. Currently, teams like the Defenders, Vipers, and Guardians are already putting out notifications for season ticket packages for the 2024 season. The league marketing had a late start to promote the 2023 XFL season. But that won’t be the case in 2024, as staffing is ready to go. That is why team-wise, the league will be status quo for 2024. The main storyline for the 2024 season will be if the XFL can build on their numbers (TV Ratings, Attendance) in season two. If those metrics improve, we could see changes in 2025, including adding new teams.”

 

[gosioux76]

8 minutes ago, BrySmalls said:

There is rumor of possible expansion in 2025 if XFL is still around. From the article

 

I wouldn't call this a rumor. The article you linked says "potential locations revealed," but when you dig into it, it's nothing more than an XFL blogger speculating on possibilities, no differently than we do on here. 

[SCMODS]

Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia & Virginia Tech get out of the Grant of Rights with a massive payoff and bolt for the SEC. The new 24 school monster conference says sayonara to the NCAA:

 

EAST

Clemson 

Florida 

Florida State 

Georgia

Miami

South Carolina

 

NORTH

Duke

Kentucky

North Carolina 

N.C. State 

Virginia 

Virginia Tech 

 

SOUTH

Alabama 

Auburn

Ole Miss 

Mississippi State 

Tennessee 

Vanderbilt 

 

WEST

Arkansas 

LSU

Missouri

Oklahoma 

Texas

Texas A&M