The Pointless Realignment Outpost

[nuordr]

I still think the SEC will go after Virginia Tech & N.C. State plus the Big Ten wants to further expand it's eastern footprint not just with Penn State, Maryland & Rutgers but possibly Virginia & Georgia Tech as well. It won't be for awhile though. Big Ten would love to have that Atlanta market and the SEC would love to have a foothold in North Carolina and Virginia. This has to do with TV mostly. The Big Ten and SEC networks.

I don't see that happening for a few years, but I would LOVE to have Virginia Tech in the SEC. I am not interested in NC State, but I would prefer them over Duke, Wake of UNC,

[Muggens]

-

[neo_prankster]

Once again, another pointless spring football alignment concept. Once again, using the original WLAF as my model.

Option 1

European: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Frankfurt, London, 5th team (either Scotland or Rhein)

North American East: Montreal, New York, Ohio, Orlando, Virginia

North American Central: Birmingham, Chicago, Memphis, Oklahoma City, San Antonio

North American West: Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Portland

Option 2

European: see option 1

North American East: see option 1

North American Central: Birmingham, Mexico City, Memphis, Oklahoma City, San Antonio

North American West: Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Bay Area (either Sacramento or San Jose)

Option 3

European: see option 1

North American East: see option 1

North American Central: Birmingham, Chicago, Memphis, Mexico City, San Antonio

North American West: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento, Albuquerque

Option 4

European: see option 1

North American East: see option 1

North American Central: Birmingham, Chicago, Memphis, Oklahoma City, San Antonio

North American West: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Portland, Sacramento

Option 5

European: see option 1

North American East: see option 1

North American Central: Birmingham, San Antonio, Mexico City, 4th and 5th teams (between Omaha, Memphis, Louisville, Chicago, Oklahoma City and Shreveport)

North American West: Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento

[jlog3000]

How about the CFL try the US experiment again? But with a little twist:

CFL Canadian Conference:

West: B.C., Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg; Saskatoon (expansion)

East: Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto; Nova Scotia (expansion), Quebec City (expansion)

CFL United States Conference (all expansions):

West: Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Shreveport

East: Orlando, Birmingham, Chicago, Memphis, New York/New Jersey, Baltimore

Each team will face 5 division foes twice, plus facing 2 teams of other 3 divisions for every 3 years (and on a home-and-home basis for every 6 years).

Your thoughts?

[neo_prankster]

How about the CFL try the US experiment again? But with a little twist:CFL Canadian Conference:West: B.C., Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg; Saskatoon (expansion)East: Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto; Nova Scotia (expansion), Quebec City (expansion)CFL United States Conference (all expansions):West: Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Antonio, ShreveportEast: Orlando, Birmingham, Chicago, Memphis, New York/New Jersey, BaltimoreEach team will face 5 division foes twice, plus facing 2 teams of other 3 divisions for every 3 years (and on a home-and-home basis for every 6 years).Your thoughts?

Pretty good alignment, here's an article I found on this same subject...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1685288-cfl-usa-how-to-make-it-work-this-time-and-15-places-where-it-could

[Daily Horoscope]

The Professional Arena Soccer League & Major Indoor Soccer League merged today to form the Major Arena Soccer League (Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report). The new league will have 24 teams.

The MISL teams played 20 games each last season. The PASL teams played 16 games.
The MISL teams played in a single table of 7 teams (3x + 2). The PASL teams played in 3 divisions of 6-7 teams.
MISL teams were less geographically diverse than PASL.

The questions for the MASL will be, which Southern U.S. teams will join the Mexican clubs in the same division (Tulsa played in a division with the Mexican teams last year, but if they were to stay with those teams in a new division, they would be "Team #7" - the seventh team north from the Mexican border - which would assume that the new divisional alignment would be 8 teams in 3 conferences, Wichita would also join the "Mexican division" and be separated from Missouri (Comets), and that the 6-team group of Pacific coast teams would need add 2 more teams, from the Midwest.

So, my prediction is this: 2 conferences of 4 divisions of 6 teams each. Each team plays 16 games: divisional opponents twice (Home and Away) and 6 games against conference opponents (3 Home, 3 Away), the 3 away games could be played in one or two weeks on a road-trip.

Western Conference

Pacific Division

Tacoma Stars
Turlock Express

Ontario Fury

Las Vegas Legends

San Diego Sockers

Mexico Toros

Southwest Division

Dallas Sidekicks

Texas Strikers

Saltillo Rancho Seco

Hidalgo La Fiera

Monterrey Flash

Brownsville Barracudas

Eastern Conference

Northeast Division

Rochester Lancers

Syracuse Silver Knights

Harrisburg Heat

Baltimore Blast

Detroit Waza

Cincinnati Saints

Midwest Division

Milwaukee Wave

Chicago Mustangs

St. Louis Ambush

Missouri Comets

Wichita B-52s

Tulsa Revolution

*The only problem with this alignment is that Tulsa (Eastern/Midwest) is separated from Dallas (Western/Southern). Am I missing some way to put Tulsa and Dallas in the same division, without putting Syracuse and Saltillo in the same division?

MASL wikipedia

[jlog3000]

How about the CFL try the US experiment again? But with a little twist:

CFL Canadian Conference:

West: B.C., Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg; Saskatoon (expansion)

East: Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto; Nova Scotia (expansion), Quebec City (expansion)

CFL United States Conference (all expansions):

West: Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Shreveport

East: Orlando, Birmingham, Chicago, Memphis, New York/New Jersey, Baltimore

Each team will face 5 division foes twice, plus facing 2 teams of other 3 divisions for every 3 years (and on a home-and-home basis for every 6 years).

Your thoughts?

Pretty good alignment, here's an article I found on this same subject...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1685288-cfl-usa-how-to-make-it-work-this-time-and-15-places-where-it-could

Thanks neo. I just simply added the defunct CFL franchises mixed with most of the defunct XFL franchises (Keep in mind that Las Vegas, Birmingham and Memphis had franchises on both leagues, so they are the 'shared' ones). And I'll go check out the link you've posted.

[neo_prankster]

Here's a 32 team CFL...

Northern Conference:

Capitol: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Hamilton

Century: Columbus, New York, Hartford, Quebec City

Central: Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Milwaukee, Chicago

Coastal: BC, Calgary, Edmonton, Portland

Southern Conference:

Capitol: Virginia, Baltimore, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham

Central: Birmingham, Memphis, Louisville, Shreveport

Century: Omaha, Utah, Oklahoma City, San Antonio,

Coastal: Los Angeles, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Albuquerque

And a 32 team WLAF/USFL

Version 1:

Eastern Conference

Capitol: Amsterdam, Dublin, London, Scotland

Century: Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris, Rhein

Central: Ohio, Virginia, Tampa Bay, Orlando

Coastal: Boston, New York, Montreal, Philadelphia

Western Conference

Capitol: Mexico City, San Antonio, Houston, Oklahoma

Century: Chicago, Birmingham, Memphis, Louisville

Central: Utah, Omaha, Albuquerque, Denver

Coastal: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento

Version 2

World American Football Conference

Metro: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Frankfurt, London

Atlantic: Montreal, New York, Ohio, Orlando

Central: Houston, Mexico City, Oklahoma, San Antonio

Pacific: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento

United States Football Conference

Atlantic: Boston, Philadelphia, Virginia, Louisville

Southern: Birmingham, Memphis, Shreveport, Tampa Bay

Central: Chicago, Omaha, Milwaukee, Michigan

Pacific: Anaheim, New Mexico, San Jose, Utah

[wdm1219inpenna]

MLB - Swap Arizona and Houston. I can't wrap myself around Houston being an A.L. team. Milwaukee to the NL back in 1998 I could buy, as the Braves were there.

By swapping Arizona & Houston, you'd have the following "natural" interleague rivals...

Texas Rangers - Houston Astros

Los Angeles Angels - Los Angeles Dodgers

Oakland Athletics - San Francisco Giants

Seattle Mariners - Colorado Rockies

Arizona Diamondbacks - San Diego Padres

The D'Backs are only 17 years old, the Astros 50+. Plus it would have been awesome having the Astros back in the NL West with their longtime rivals the Padres, Giants and especially the Dodgers. I still remember that 1980 NL West Division Series!

If MLB expanded to 32 teams - bringing back the Montreal Expos to the NL (And swapping Houston & Arizona), and adding a new A.L. expansion franchise in either Charlotte (Strikers) or Nashville (Knights), I'd do something like this:

EASTERN CONFERENCE - Atlantic & Central Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE - Metro & Pacific Division

*Note - Listing the teams in AL on top and NL on bottom, lined up with "natural" interleague rivals*

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

A.L. - (Atlantic Division) - Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays

N.L. - (Atlantic Division) - Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Expos

A.L. - (Central Division) - Tigers, Indians, Rays, Nashville Knights*

N.L. - (Central Division) - Pirates, Reds, Marlins, Braves

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

A.L. - (Metro Division) - Royals, White Sox, Twins, Rangers

N.L. - (Metro Division) - Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Astros (back in NL where they belong!)

A.L. - (Pacific Division) - Angels, Athletics, Diamondbacks (from NL to AL), Mariners

N.L. - (Pacific Division) - Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Rockies

162 game season. 12 interleague games on a 4 year rotating basis, would bring the novelty of Mets/Yankees, White Sox/Cubs back, rather than it being every year. Better still, I'd have no interleague games!

22 division games x 3 teams = 66 games (11 home & 11 road)

12 games vs other 4 teams in your conference = 48 games (6 home & 6 road)

6 games vs other 8 teams in your league = 48 games (3 home & 3 road)

Only division champions qualify for post-season.

Round 1 - CONFERENCE SERIES

The 2 Eastern Division champs play a best 3 out of 5 to determine the EASTERN CONFERENCE Champ, same for the Western Division.

Round 2 - LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

East vs West winners (akin to 1969-1993) best 4 out of 7.

Round 3 - WORLD SERIES

AL champ vs NL champ - best 4 out of 7.

[Muggens]

I think eventually Adam Silver will convince the owners to realign the NBA back to 4 divisions. Assuming teams don't relocate, Seattle & Vancouver are added as expansion teams for the 2018-2019 season.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

Boston, Brooklyn, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington

Central Division

Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Milwaukee, Minnesota

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Midwest Division

Dallas, Denver, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Utah

Pacific Division

L.A. Clippers, L.A. Lakers, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver

[McCall]

MLB - Swap Arizona and Houston. I can't wrap myself around Houston being an A.L. team. Milwaukee to the NL back in 1998 I could buy, as the Braves were there.

By swapping Arizona & Houston, you'd have the following "natural" interleague rivals...

Texas Rangers - Houston Astros

Los Angeles Angels - Los Angeles Dodgers

Oakland Athletics - San Francisco Giants

Seattle Mariners - Colorado Rockies

Arizona Diamondbacks - San Diego Padres

The D'Backs are only 17 years old, the Astros 50+. Plus it would have been awesome having the Astros back in the NL West with their longtime rivals the Padres, Giants and especially the Dodgers. I still remember that 1980 NL West Division Series!

If MLB expanded to 32 teams - bringing back the Montreal Expos to the NL (And swapping Houston & Arizona), and adding a new A.L. expansion franchise in either Charlotte (Strikers) or Nashville (Knights), I'd do something like this:

EASTERN CONFERENCE - Atlantic & Central Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE - Metro & Pacific Division

*Note - Listing the teams in AL on top and NL on bottom, lined up with "natural" interleague rivals*

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

A.L. - (Atlantic Division) - Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays

N.L. - (Atlantic Division) - Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Expos

A.L. - (Central Division) - Tigers, Indians, Rays, Nashville Knights*

N.L. - (Central Division) - Pirates, Reds, Marlins, Braves

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

A.L. - (Metro Division) - Royals, White Sox, Twins, Rangers

N.L. - (Metro Division) - Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Astros (back in NL where they belong!)

A.L. - (Pacific Division) - Angels, Athletics, Diamondbacks (from NL to AL), Mariners

N.L. - (Pacific Division) - Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Rockies

162 game season. 12 interleague games on a 4 year rotating basis, would bring the novelty of Mets/Yankees, White Sox/Cubs back, rather than it being every year. Better still, I'd have no interleague games!

22 division games x 3 teams = 66 games (11 home & 11 road)

12 games vs other 4 teams in your conference = 48 games (6 home & 6 road)

6 games vs other 8 teams in your league = 48 games (3 home & 3 road)

Only division champions qualify for post-season.

Round 1 - CONFERENCE SERIES

The 2 Eastern Division champs play a best 3 out of 5 to determine the EASTERN CONFERENCE Champ, same for the Western Division.

Round 2 - LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

East vs West winners (akin to 1969-1993) best 4 out of 7.

Round 3 - WORLD SERIES

AL champ vs NL champ - best 4 out of 7.

This is way too complicated. They will never go by "Conferences" instead of "Leagues". Nor ever go by division names like Atlantic or Pacific or the cheesy-as-hell Metro.

Go straight NL/AL with divisions East, West, Central/North/South.

[jlog3000]

MLB - Swap Arizona and Houston. I can't wrap myself around Houston being an A.L. team. Milwaukee to the NL back in 1998 I could buy, as the Braves were there.

By swapping Arizona & Houston, you'd have the following "natural" interleague rivals...

Texas Rangers - Houston Astros

Los Angeles Angels - Los Angeles Dodgers

Oakland Athletics - San Francisco Giants

Seattle Mariners - Colorado Rockies

Arizona Diamondbacks - San Diego Padres

The D'Backs are only 17 years old, the Astros 50+. Plus it would have been awesome having the Astros back in the NL West with their longtime rivals the Padres, Giants and especially the Dodgers. I still remember that 1980 NL West Division Series!

If MLB expanded to 32 teams - bringing back the Montreal Expos to the NL (And swapping Houston & Arizona), and adding a new A.L. expansion franchise in either Charlotte (Strikers) or Nashville (Knights), I'd do something like this:

EASTERN CONFERENCE - Atlantic & Central Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE - Metro & Pacific Division

*Note - Listing the teams in AL on top and NL on bottom, lined up with "natural" interleague rivals*

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

A.L. - (Atlantic Division) - Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays

N.L. - (Atlantic Division) - Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Expos

A.L. - (Central Division) - Tigers, Indians, Rays, Nashville Knights*

N.L. - (Central Division) - Pirates, Reds, Marlins, Braves

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

A.L. - (Metro Division) - Royals, White Sox, Twins, Rangers

N.L. - (Metro Division) - Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Astros (back in NL where they belong!)

A.L. - (Pacific Division) - Angels, Athletics, Diamondbacks (from NL to AL), Mariners

N.L. - (Pacific Division) - Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Rockies

162 game season. 12 interleague games on a 4 year rotating basis, would bring the novelty of Mets/Yankees, White Sox/Cubs back, rather than it being every year. Better still, I'd have no interleague games!

22 division games x 3 teams = 66 games (11 home & 11 road)

12 games vs other 4 teams in your conference = 48 games (6 home & 6 road)

6 games vs other 8 teams in your league = 48 games (3 home & 3 road)

Only division champions qualify for post-season.

Round 1 - CONFERENCE SERIES

The 2 Eastern Division champs play a best 3 out of 5 to determine the EASTERN CONFERENCE Champ, same for the Western Division.

Round 2 - LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

East vs West winners (akin to 1969-1993) best 4 out of 7.

Round 3 - WORLD SERIES

AL champ vs NL champ - best 4 out of 7.

Love the format. Similar to mine. But I prefer the following:

League play; Conference play, Division play: Each team will play with all of their three rival teams within the division 12 times (in 12 total series; 6 home, 6 away) – 18 home, 18 away – for a total of 36 Intra-Conference, Intra-Division games (3 * 12 = 36).

League play; Conference play, Out-of-Division play: Each team will play all four teams from the other section within the same division nine times (in 12 total series; 6 home, 6 away) – 18 home, 18 away – for a total of 36 Inter-Conference, Out-of-Division games (4 * 9 = 36). Home-and-home basis will rotate every two years.

League play; Out-of-Conference play: Each team will play all eight teams of the other division within the same league six times (in 16 total series; 8 home, 8 away) – 24 home, 24 away – for a total of 48 Out-of-Conference games (8 * 6 = 48).

Inter-League play: Each team will play all 16 teams from the other league three times (in 16 total series; 8 home, 8 away) – 24 home, 24 away – for a total of 48 Inter-League games (16 * 3 = 48). Home-and-home basis will rotate every two years.

Total games: 168

I think eventually Adam Silver will convince the owners to realign the NBA back to 4 divisions. Assuming teams don't relocate, Seattle & Vancouver are added as expansion teams for the 2018-2019 season.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

Boston, Brooklyn, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington

Central Division

Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Milwaukee, Minnesota

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Midwest Division

Dallas, Denver, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Utah

Pacific Division

L.A. Clippers, L.A. Lakers, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver

Good format, especially putting Minnesota in the Eastern Conference. For scheduling purposes, it would be as the following:

Conference play; Division play; Each team will play four times – two home, two away – for a total of 28 Intra-Division Intra-Section games (7 * 4 = 28).

Conference play; Out-of-Division play: Each team will play all eight teams three times for a total of 24 Out-of-Division games (8 * 3 = 24). Home-and-home basis will rotate per every 2 years. For instance: Team A will face Team B-1 in H/A/H on odd numbers, but in A/H/A on even numbers.

Out-of-Conference play: Each team will play all 16 teams twice – one home, one away – for a total of 32 Out-of-Conference games (16 * 2 = 32).

[McCall]

A lot of overcomplication going on so here's my 32-Team MLB:

Expansion: Portland Beavers, Charlotte Knights

League changes: Colorado to AL, Houston back to NL

National League

EAST: Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Miami

NORTH: NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington

CENTRAL: St. Louis, Chicago Cubs, Houston, Milwaukee

WEST: Arizona, LA Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco

American League

EAST: Baltimore, Boston, NY Yankees, Tampa Bay

NORTH: Chicago Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto

CENTRAL: Colorado, Kansas City, Minnesota, Texas

WEST: LA Angels, Oakland, Portland, Seattle

Scheduling:

- Division (vs 3 teams) 18 games/team = 54 games (3/3 home & away vs each team, 1 set in each part of the season; early, middle, late

- 1 Same League Division (4 teams) 9/team = 36 games

- Other 2 League Divisions (8 teams) 6/team = 48 games

- Interleague: 6 games vs 1 Division, 3 home/3 away (4 teams) = 24 games

(If it were up to me there'd probably be no interleague games or a minimal amount, but that's unlikely to ever happen)

Any Interleague and non-division scheduling is on a rotation by year. Another Interleague option would be 3 games/team vs 2 divisions (8 teams total), so that they'd play 2 divisions one year, the other 2 the next, and then back around to a combination of 2 the year after, with the home game teams now away games and vice versa.

Playoffs:

Only division winners, seed 1-4 by record. 1st Round best-of-5, LCS and World Series best-of-7.

[wdm1219inpenna]

1. Two expansion teams, one per league. In the American League the Charlotte Knights, in the National League a new version of the Montreal Expos.

2. The Houston Astros are moved back into the National League.

3. The Arizona Diamondbacks move to the American League.

4. The Expos/Nationals rivalry would be both international as well as similar to the Browns/Ravens type rivalry in the NFL.

5. The Miami Marlins become the Florida Marlins again, with their original logo. The Los Angeles Angels become the Anaheim Angels again.

6. Four 4-team divisions per league. Each group of 8 divided into East and West. and West champions play

7. Atlantic & Central Division winners play the best 3 out of 5 to determine the East Champion, Midwest & Pacific Division winners play the best 3 out of 5 to determine the West Champion.

8. East & West Champions play the best 4 out of 7 to win the League Championship Series.

9. League Champions AL & NL play the best 4 out of 7 in the World Series. In all post-season series, the home team will alternate every year. In Round 1, it will be 2-2-1, then 2-3-2 for the other 2 rounds.

10. No more wild card teams, only division winners qualify for post-season play.

11. No more interleague play. Being without it made MLB unique from the other major sports and should go back to that, especially since the AL has the DH rule and the NL does not.

12. 22 division games vs. the other 3, 12 games vs. the other 4 non-division teams in your own region, and 6 games vs. the remaining 8 teams from the other region in your own league.

[jlog3000]

1. Two expansion teams, one per league. In the American League the Charlotte Knights, in the National League a new version of the Montreal Expos.

2. The Houston Astros are moved back into the National League.

3. The Arizona Diamondbacks move to the American League.

4. The Expos/Nationals rivalry would be both international as well as similar to the Browns/Ravens type rivalry in the NFL.

5. The Miami Marlins become the Florida Marlins again, with their original logo. The Los Angeles Angels become the Anaheim Angels again.

6. Four 4-team divisions per league. Each group of 8 divided into East and West. and West champions play

7. Atlantic & Central Division winners play the best 3 out of 5 to determine the East Champion, Midwest & Pacific Division winners play the best 3 out of 5 to determine the West Champion.

8. East & West Champions play the best 4 out of 7 to win the League Championship Series.

9. League Champions AL & NL play the best 4 out of 7 in the World Series. In all post-season series, the home team will alternate every year. In Round 1, it will be 2-2-1, then 2-3-2 for the other 2 rounds.

10. No more wild card teams, only division winners qualify for post-season play.

11. No more interleague play. Being without it made MLB unique from the other major sports and should go back to that, especially since the AL has the DH rule and the NL does not.

12. 22 division games vs. the other 3, 12 games vs. the other 4 non-division teams in your own region, and 6 games vs. the remaining 8 teams from the other region in your own league.

Wow wdm, gotta give credit where credit is due. Maybe your variation is much better than mine. However, I don't like the "no interleague play" rule, despite that I agree with you on a standpoint that has allowed MLB its uniqueness from other pro sports leagues in the U.S. prior to 1997 (when interleague play was introduced). And what a great way to align the divisions/sub-divisions; but if it was in an interleague play standpoint, it almost allows every team to have a natural rivalry (i.e.: N.Y. Mets/N.Y. Yankees; Washington/Baltimore; Houston/Texas; etc.)

About the playoff format, nice format. But if it was me, I would add the wild cards, just for upsets.

[McCall]

A lot of overcomplication going on so here's my 32-Team MLB:

Expansion: Portland Beavers, Charlotte Knights

League changes: Colorado to AL, Houston back to NL

National League

EAST: Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Miami

NORTH: NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington

CENTRAL: St. Louis, Chicago Cubs, Houston, Milwaukee

WEST: Arizona, LA Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco

American League

EAST: Baltimore, Boston, NY Yankees, Tampa Bay

NORTH: Chicago Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto

CENTRAL: Colorado, Kansas City, Minnesota, Texas

WEST: LA Angels, Oakland, Portland, Seattle

Scheduling:

- Division (vs 3 teams) 18 games/team = 54 games (3/3 home & away vs each team, 1 set in each part of the season; early, middle, late

- 1 Same League Division (4 teams) 9/team = 36 games

- Other 2 League Divisions (8 teams) 6/team = 48 games

- Interleague: 6 games vs 1 Division, 3 home/3 away (4 teams) = 24 games

(If it were up to me there'd probably be no interleague games or a minimal amount, but that's unlikely to ever happen)

Any Interleague and non-division scheduling is on a rotation by year. Another Interleague option would be 3 games/team vs 2 divisions (8 teams total), so that they'd play 2 divisions one year, the other 2 the next, and then back around to a combination of 2 the year after, with the home game teams now away games and vice versa.

Playoffs:

Only division winners, seed 1-4 by record. 1st Round best-of-5, LCS and World Series best-of-7.

Here's a couple more ideas, with 2 different sets of expansion teams.

Expansion: Portland Beavers, Montreal Expos

League Changes: Colorado to the AL, Houston back to the NL

National League

EAST: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Miami, Washington

NORTH: Montreal, NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh

CENTRAL: St. Louis, Chicago Cubs, Houston, Milwaukee

WEST: Arizona, LA Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco

American League

EAST: Baltimore, Boston, NY Yankees, Tampa Bay

NORTH: Chicago Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto

CENTRAL: Colorado, Kansas City, Minnesota, Texas

WEST: LA Angels, Oakland, Portland, Seattle

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

And the second (or third) one:

Expansion: Montreal Expos, Charlotte Knights

League Changes: Colorado to the AL (Houston remains in the AL as well. This is the more minimal league change plan.)

National League

EAST: Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Washington

NORTH: Montreal, NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh

CENTRAL: St. Louis, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati, Milwaukee

WEST: Arizona, LA Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco

American League

EAST: Baltimore, Boston, NY Yankees, Tampa Bay

NORTH: Chicago Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto

CENTRAL: Houston, Kansas City, Minnesota, Texas

WEST: Colorado, LA Angels, Oakland, Seattle

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

And one more that features 2 expansion teams (Portland and Montreal), yet no league changes, meaning Colorado stays in the NL and Houston in the AL, which have been the two teams I've been switching. And though I've never been big on Colorado in a division with St. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee, it's basically the only way you can go to 4-team divisions in each league without switching any teams between the two leagues.

National League

EAST: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Miami, Washington

NORTH: Montreal, NY Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh

CENTRAL: St. Louis, Chicago Cubs, Colorado, Milwaukee

WEST: Arizona, LA Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco

American League

EAST: Baltimore, Boston, NY Yankees, Tampa Bay

NORTH: Chicago Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto

CENTRAL: Houston, Kansas City, Minnesota, Texas

WEST: LA Angels, Oakland, Seattle, Portland

Scheduling and Playoffs remain the same as the post above.

[wdm1219inpenna]

1. Two expansion teams, one per league. In the American League the Charlotte Knights, in the National League a new version of the Montreal Expos.

2. The Houston Astros are moved back into the National League.

3. The Arizona Diamondbacks move to the American League.

4. The Expos/Nationals rivalry would be both international as well as similar to the Browns/Ravens type rivalry in the NFL.

5. The Miami Marlins become the Florida Marlins again, with their original logo. The Los Angeles Angels become the Anaheim Angels again.

6. Four 4-team divisions per league. Each group of 8 divided into East and West. and West champions play

7. Atlantic & Central Division winners play the best 3 out of 5 to determine the East Champion, Midwest & Pacific Division winners play the best 3 out of 5 to determine the West Champion.

8. East & West Champions play the best 4 out of 7 to win the League Championship Series.

9. League Champions AL & NL play the best 4 out of 7 in the World Series. In all post-season series, the home team will alternate every year. In Round 1, it will be 2-2-1, then 2-3-2 for the other 2 rounds.

10. No more wild card teams, only division winners qualify for post-season play.

11. No more interleague play. Being without it made MLB unique from the other major sports and should go back to that, especially since the AL has the DH rule and the NL does not.

12. 22 division games vs. the other 3, 12 games vs. the other 4 non-division teams in your own region, and 6 games vs. the remaining 8 teams from the other region in your own league.

Wow wdm, gotta give credit where credit is due. Maybe your variation is much better than mine. However, I don't like the "no interleague play" rule, despite that I agree with you on a standpoint that has allowed MLB its uniqueness from other pro sports leagues in the U.S. prior to 1997 (when interleague play was introduced). And what a great way to align the divisions/sub-divisions; but if it was in an interleague play standpoint, it almost allows every team to have a natural rivalry (i.e.: N.Y. Mets/N.Y. Yankees; Washington/Baltimore; Houston/Texas; etc.)

About the playoff format, nice format. But if it was me, I would add the wild cards, just for upsets.

Thanks kindly for the comments, they are greatly appreciated.

The way I did the grid, I tried to co-ordinate the "natural" interleague rival for all 32 teams...

Angels/Dodgers, Diamondbacks/Rockies, Athletics/Giants, Mariners/Padres, White Sox/Cubs, Royals/Cardinals, Twins/Brewers, Rangers/Astros, Knights/Braves, Indians/Reds, Tigers/Pirates, Rays/Marlins, Orioles/Nationals, Red Sox/Phillies, Yankees/Mets and Blue Jays/Expos.

Also, all 32 teams would have an in-league rival....

Yankees/Red Sox, Orioles/Blue Jays, Tigers/Indians, Rays/Knights (Ray Knight could attend!), Royals/Rangers, Twins/White Sox, Angels/Athletics, Mariners/Diamondbacks, Phillies/Mets, Expos/Nationals, Reds/Pirates, Marlins/Braves, Cubs/Cardinals, Brewers/Astros, Dodgers/Giants & finally Rockies/Padres.

[neo_prankster]

The NBA without Donald Sterling

Pacific:

Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles Lakers

Portland Trail Blazers

Sacramento Kings

Seattle Supersonics (formerly Clippers)

Midwest:

Denver Nuggets

Memphis Grizzlies

Milwaukee Bucks

Minnesota Timberwolves

Utah Jazz

Southwest:

Dallas Mavericks

Houston Rockets

Oklahoma City Thunder

Phoenix Suns

San Antonio Spurs

Atlantic:

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Washington Federals*

Central:

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Detroit Pistons

Indiana Pacers

Toronto Raptors

Southeast:

Atlanta Hawks

Charlotte Hornets

Miami Heat

New Orleans Pelicans

Orlando Magic

*Anything other than Wizards

[wdm1219inpenna]

I realize it can't happen, but I always find myself wishing the Milwaukee Bucks could be int he Central along w/the Bulls, Cavs, Pistons & Pacers. I'm not crazy about "Wizards" either. Federals I remember was the USFL team. Also I'm not thrilled w/the Pelicans nickname either....

[Evil G]

Seattle Supersonics (formerly Clippers)