The What-If Thread

[gingerbreadmann]

What if the Red Sox didn't win the World Series in 2004 and 2007?

Boston fans would still be unpleasable pessimists instead of cocky, frontrunning douchebags.

So you are a bizarro-world Red Sox fan, I take it?

[Lights Out]

BTW I wasn't talking about anyone on here, I was talking about the Tommy from Quinzee types. I hope we can all agree that those douchebags are the most annoying fans in sports.

[knnhrvy16]

I think the ultimate one for me is, what if Lou Gehrig didn't come down with ALS? I for one, think he would have (or at least gotten close to) broke numerous offensive records.

I guess along those same lines, what if Roy Campanella doesn't get in that 1957 car crash? Or at least, what if he walks away from it with minor injuries or none at all? He probably wouldve had a couple of good years left. He turned 40 in 1961, so he very well may have been able to play 2-3 more years up to that point, or longer if he really wanted to. Maybe he'd have won his fourth NL MVP somewhere down the road.

And one last one, what if WWII didn't happen? so many players' careers were interrupted by the war, that alot of numbers could have been different if the war never happened. Bob Feller could have won 300 games. Ted Williams could have hit 600 HR's and 3,000 hits. Gil Hodges could have accumulated enough hits early in his career to retire with 2,000+, possibly enough to get him into the Hall of Fame (which I think he should be in anyways, but that's a different story for a different day). The war really affected baseball in that regard.

[Saintsfan]

Am I wrong in thinking that Campanella had retired before his accident because he didn't want to relocate? Or am I completely mis remembering that?

[aci]

Am I wrong in thinking that Campanella had retired before his accident because he didn't want to relocate? Or am I completely mis remembering that?

I don't think anyone knows... he never really got the chance to decide, I don't think.

[Guest]

BTW I wasn't talking about anyone on here, I was talking about the Tommy from Quinzee types. I hope we can all agree that those douchebags are the most annoying fans in sports.

If I can go off-topic here for a moment, KSK is without a doubt one of the best blogs on the internet today.

Here's my what-if: what if George Steinbrenner had never gotten into baseball?

[Fifty8_Black O]

What if the Bobcats picked one slot before they actually did in their first two NBA drafts? They would've had Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.

One out of two would've been nice.

[Jahgee]

What if Trent Green never got injured in 1999?

[rams80]

What if Trent Green never got injured in 1999?

Rams win NFC West at something like 10-6 or 11-5, still win a stupidly weak NFC, and lose in Super Bowl to Tennessee in a reasonably convincing manner.

[knnhrvy16]

Am I wrong in thinking that Campanella had retired before his accident because he didn't want to relocate? Or am I completely mis remembering that?

He may have, I've never heard anything concrete regarding it, though. At the time, his home was in New York so there definetely could be truth to it. I don't think he ever publicly announced anything, though. He may have been leaning towards retirement, but as aci said, the accident pretty much set his future in course before he had the chance to act on it.

[dfwabel]

What if Fred Brown did not hand the ball to James Worthy and/or Chris Webber did not call time out?

Dean Smith may have had 11 Final Four appearances and zero titles.

[Mongoose]

What if Michael Vick had never gotten into dogfighting?

Matt Ryan would not be drafted by the Falcons and would go to some other team. If the Eagles had still traded Mcnabb then they would be a different team right now with Kolb at QB instead of Vick.

[Jahgee]

What If Michael Jordan Had Been Traded to the Clippers for the 1st and 6th overall picks?

[Lights Out]

I guess it's the homer in me speaking, but Jordan still would have won a couple rings. He'd have a supporting cast of Loy Vaught, Ron Harper, Danny Manning, Benoit Benjamin, etc. Not better than the supporting cast he had in the mid-to-late '90s by any stretch, but decent nonetheless. He probably wouldn't have the consensus best-ever reputation he has now, but on the plus side, we would never again have to hear lazy analysts and sportswriters drag out the done-to-death "same old Clippers" angle.

[knnhrvy16]

What If Michael Jordan Had Been Traded to the Clippers for the 1st and 6th overall picks?

Then I wouldn't hate the Bulls.

[Don]

Heres my ultimate "What If", and I hate the Penguins more than anybody but

What if Mario never got cancer? That just boggles my mind how good he would have been.

[Jahgee]

Heres my ultimate "What If", and I hate the Penguins more than anybody but

What if Mario never got cancer? That just boggles my mind how good he would have been.

I think that Lemieux would have had 250 Points that one year, and at the end of his career have more goals, assists and points than Gretzky

[charger77]

Heres my ultimate "What If", and I hate the Penguins more than anybody but

What if Mario never got cancer? That just boggles my mind how good he would have been.

I think that Lemieux would have had 250 Points that one year, and at the end of his career have more goals, assists and points than Gretzky

I don't think that especially in the mid to late 1990s he would have been putting up 200+ points a years. However, he would have significantly closed the gap.

He retired with 294 goals less than Gretzky, a gap he difinately improved on, however he was 960 assists behind. Lemieux is one of the best ever, but I think 250 points in a year and making up over 1250 points to pass Gretzky would not have happened.

If healthy (cancer & back) Lemieux would have retired #2 in all time NHL scoring but still a few hundred points behind Gretzky.

BTW when he retired after the 1997 season wasn't it because of his back?

[Don]

Heres my ultimate "What If", and I hate the Penguins more than anybody but

What if Mario never got cancer? That just boggles my mind how good he would have been.

I think that Lemieux would have had 250 Points that one year, and at the end of his career have more goals, assists and points than Gretzky

I don't think that especially in the mid to late 1990s he would have been putting up 200+ points a years. However, he would have significantly closed the gap.

He retired with 294 goals less than Gretzky, a gap he difinately improved on, however he was 960 assists behind. Lemieux is one of the best ever, but I think 250 points in a year and making up over 1250 points to pass Gretzky would not have happened.

BTW when he retired after the 1997 season wasn't it because of his back?

Yes it was. You could throw out all sorts of what ifs with great players plagued by injuries/illness, like Bobby Orr and his knees. To me hes already the greatest defenseman of all time (I also think all around player but thats a different debate), how much more dominant could he have been?

[pmoehrin]

I'm actually thinking of writing a very detailed summary of what could have happened had Terry Bradshaw been beat out by Joe Gilliam for the starting job.

Main things I'll be focusing on is what would have become of both the Steelers, Bradshaw and how Joe Gilliam's arrival would have led to black QB's being more accepted earlier and what the results would have been.

I'll give you a sample of where this would be going and if people like it, I'll write more.

During the 1974 season Bradshaw's off field problems get the best of him forcing him to lose his starting job to no name Joe Gilliam out of Tennessee State. Gilliam leads the young Steelers to their first ever Super Bowl apperance where they fall in a classic battle to the veteran Minnesota Vikings in a very tightly faught game. Gilliam's 2 INT's prove to be the difference in a hard faught 13-10 victory which see Fran Tarkenton led the Vikings to a winning TD on the final drive of the game in what many hail as the greatest Super Bowl ever played.

During that offseason the Steelers actively shop around Terry Bradshaw who demands to be sent to place where he can start and prefers to go to one of the southern NFL teams. The Steelers find a perfect fit for him with the Atlanta Falcons who finished dead last in the '74 season in passing and seeing very little in terms of QB depth for the '75 draft decide to send their second round pick (Ralph Ortega) to the Steelers in exchange for Bradshaw. With the QB position set, it allows for the Falcons to focus on another concern on offense for them. The running game. Because of this the Falcons never select Steve Bartkowski with the first overall pick in the '75 draft and instead take a chance on Jackson State product Walter Payton. In turn Bartkowski winds up falling to the Chicago Bears who also desperately need a QB following the failure of the Bobby Douglass project.