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Sports What-Ifs


Thomas Bugg

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There's already the awesome what-if's thread in the Pro Wrestling section, so let's do one for sports, as there are a plethora of possibilities that could be opened up if one or two things happen differently in sports history. 

 

I've been watching "The Complete History Of The Philadelphia Eagles" DVD set as of late, so I'm gonna start off with a few what-if's for the Birds.

 

1) What if Steve Van Buren never made it to the stadium in the 1948 NFL title game in the snow?

2) What if the Eagles front office never reneged on the deal that would've had Norm Van Brocklin replace Buck Shaw as the head coach after the 1960 season? Would it have led to.....

3) What if the Eagles intentionally tanked the last games of the horrible 1968 season, and they actually brought in OJ Simpson?

4) What if Joe Pisarcik actually connected the handoff to Larry Czonka?

5) What if Dick Vermiel never stepped down? Would the Eagles have continued to have losing seasons?

6) What if Tom Landry had never been a dickhead and ran up the score against Buddy's scab replacements in 1987? Hell, what if there WAS no 1987 strike?

7) What if there were a clear sky on that fateful afternoon in Chicago in 1988? Would the Eagles have still lost to the Bears?

8) What if Norman Bramen never fired Buddy?

9) What if Braman broke the bank to keep Seth Joyner, Reggie White and others? 

10) What if Norman Braman had.....AH FUCK NORMAN BRAMAN!!! Say what you will about Lurie, but we've had a lot of great years under him.

11) What if Randall never got injured in 1991? Would the Eagles have made the playoffs that year? I mean, they had one of the top 5 defenses of all time that season.

 

12) What if, after the Eagles stopped the Cowboys the first time on 4th and 1 but had the play waived by the officials, Barry Switzer decided to punt rather that going for it again? Would Rodney Peete still have put the Eagles in position for the winning field goal?

 

13) What if Terrell Owens had not acted like a bitch in 2005? Would the Eagles have did better than 6-10? Yes, I know that the Eagles were pretty much the walking wounded after the second half of the season, with McNabb getting banged up and us having to suffer through *deep breath* MIKE MCMAHON!!!. But I still think it was the one thing that sent the season on a one-way ticket down the shitter.

 

14) What if Lito Sheppard never picked off Drew Bledsoe and ran it back 107 yards for the score in 2006? Would the defense still have stopped the Cowboys from scoring?

 

15) What if Desean Jackson didn't clown around and drop the football before getting in the end zone against the Cowboys on their Monday Night Football showdown? Do the Eagles win the game?

 
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What if Joe Dumars drafted Carmelo instead of Darko?

 

What if Joe Dumars drafted D-Wade instead of Darko?

 

What if Joe Dumars drafted Bosh instead of Darko?

 

Wait a minute- all those names were available in the NBA lottery draft?!? Of course, maybe he would've been a solid center if the Pistons actually gave him more than 5 minutes in a game.

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What if the Tigers hadn't traded John Smoltz? How would the Braves' fortunes have been different?

What if the Lions take Andre Johnson (or Terrell Suggs or Troy Polomalu) instead of Charles Rogers in 2003?

What if the Red Wings completed the Yzerman/Gretzky trade?

What if Selig had balls and overruled Jim Joyce and gave Gallarraga his perfect game? Would the world of baseball have collapsed on itself or would people have cheered Bud for doing the right thing?

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What if Joe Dumars drafted Carmelo instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted D-Wade instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted Bosh instead of Darko?

They all leave for south beach

 

 

Perhaps, but I think, especially with Wade, it would have completely altered the mid '00's NBA.  Miami doesn't win a title if Wade is in Detroit, and the Pistons, bolstered by a Billups/Hamilton/Wade/Wallace/Wallace starting 5 and Prince as 6th man, without Miami to compete with them for the top spot in the East, may very well have won 3 in a row, given that the two years after their title win ended with a game 7 loss in the finals to San Antonio, and a loss in the ECF to Miami.  Plus, they have more firepower for the Cavs and Celtics series the following two years.

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What if Joe Dumars drafted Carmelo instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted D-Wade instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted Bosh instead of Darko?

They all leave for south beach

Perhaps, but I think, especially with Wade, it would have completely altered the mid '00's NBA. Miami doesn't win a title if Wade is in Detroit, and the Pistons, bolstered by a Billups/Hamilton/Wade/Wallace/Wallace starting 5 and Prince as 6th man, without Miami to compete with them for the top spot in the East, may very well have won 3 in a row, given that the two years after their title win ended with a game 7 loss in the finals to San Antonio, and a loss in the ECF to Miami. Plus, they have more firepower for the Cavs and Celtics series the following two years.

But Larry Brown was still the coach so that starting 5 doesn't have Wade in it the first year since Brown didn't play rookies

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7) What if there were a clear sky on that fateful afternoon in Chicago in 1988? Would the Eagles have still lost to the Bears?

11) What if Randall never got injured in 1991? Would the Eagles have made the playoffs that year? I mean, they had one of the top 5 defenses of all time that season.

 

Along with "What if Jerome Brown was a less reckless driver?", these are the big NFL questions of my youth. Fuck fog, Bryce Paup, and utility poles.

 

13) What if Terrell Owens had not acted like a bitch in 2005? Would the Eagles have did better than 6-10? Yes, I know that the Eagles were pretty much the walking wounded after the second half of the season, with McNabb getting banged up and us having to suffer through *deep breath* MIKE MCMAHON!!!. But I still think it was the one thing that sent the season on a one-way ticket down the shitter.

 

That one's a two-way street. McNabb the passive-aggressive martyr and TO the self-aggrandizing attention hog were two prima donnas who were never destined to coexist very long.

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What if Joe Dumars drafted Carmelo instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted D-Wade instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted Bosh instead of Darko?

They all leave for south beach

Perhaps, but I think, especially with Wade, it would have completely altered the mid '00's NBA. Miami doesn't win a title if Wade is in Detroit, and the Pistons, bolstered by a Billups/Hamilton/Wade/Wallace/Wallace starting 5 and Prince as 6th man, without Miami to compete with them for the top spot in the East, may very well have won 3 in a row, given that the two years after their title win ended with a game 7 loss in the finals to San Antonio, and a loss in the ECF to Miami. Plus, they have more firepower for the Cavs and Celtics series the following two years.
But Larry Brown was still the coach so that starting 5 doesn't have Wade in it the first year since Brown didn't play rookies

They won the title that year anyway, though.

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What if Joe Dumars drafted Carmelo instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted D-Wade instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted Bosh instead of Darko?

They all leave for south beach
Perhaps, but I think, especially with Wade, it would have completely altered the mid '00's NBA. Miami doesn't win a title if Wade is in Detroit, and the Pistons, bolstered by a Billups/Hamilton/Wade/Wallace/Wallace starting 5 and Prince as 6th man, without Miami to compete with them for the top spot in the East, may very well have won 3 in a row, given that the two years after their title win ended with a game 7 loss in the finals to San Antonio, and a loss in the ECF to Miami. Plus, they have more firepower for the Cavs and Celtics series the following two years.
But Larry Brown was still the coach so that starting 5 doesn't have Wade in it the first year since Brown didn't play rookies

They won the title that year anyway, though.

 

I think the issue with the "Darko over X" argument is that I am not sure Larry Brown does much different than what he did that season.  He rarely played rookies, and I am not sure how much Bosh or Carmelo end up playing, and they may have been sent out in that Rasheed Wallace trade anyway.  On top of that, who is to say the Pistons still end up winning the 2004 title?  A big portion of that title was won on Tayshaun Prince's defense, and if he isn't there I am not sure they beat the Lakers without him guardng Kobe for the bulk of the series.

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What if Joe Dumars drafted Carmelo instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted D-Wade instead of Darko?

What if Joe Dumars drafted Bosh instead of Darko?

They all leave for south beach
Perhaps, but I think, especially with Wade, it would have completely altered the mid '00's NBA. Miami doesn't win a title if Wade is in Detroit, and the Pistons, bolstered by a Billups/Hamilton/Wade/Wallace/Wallace starting 5 and Prince as 6th man, without Miami to compete with them for the top spot in the East, may very well have won 3 in a row, given that the two years after their title win ended with a game 7 loss in the finals to San Antonio, and a loss in the ECF to Miami. Plus, they have more firepower for the Cavs and Celtics series the following two years.
But Larry Brown was still the coach so that starting 5 doesn't have Wade in it the first year since Brown didn't play rookies

They won the title that year anyway, though.

 

I think the issue with the "Darko over X" argument is that I am not sure Larry Brown does much different than what he did that season.  He rarely played rookies, and I am not sure how much Bosh or Carmelo end up playing, and they may have been sent out in that Rasheed Wallace trade anyway.  On top of that, who is to say the Pistons still end up winning the 2004 title?  A big portion of that title was won on Tayshaun Prince's defense, and if he isn't there I am not sure they beat the Lakers without him guardng Kobe for the bulk of the series.

 

 

Also, didn't Richard Hamilton or somebody hit a few clutch shots that kept the Pistons alive in the playoffs?

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How would the 2000 Blazers be remembered if they held on to game 7 against the Lakers? No real star (though arguments can be made) but they deep as fuck. I guess maybe they are the 2004 Pistons.

 

A lot of NBA what ifs. 

 

What if the Suns don't have key players suspended against San Antonio because of Horry's cheap shot on Nash?

 

What if the refs are more favorable to the Kings in game 6 against the Lakers?  (or Horry doesn't hit that crazy shot earlier in the series or if the Kings don't shit their pants down the stretch of game 7). How is Webber and/or Bibby remembered?

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I refuse to acknowledge the time out question on the grounds that it is still too painful.

 

Given that I relived some painful memories myself after watching the Eagles DVD earlier (2002 NFC Championship....last game at the Vet....RONDE BARBER!!! :'(  ), I can certainly empathize.

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By the way, just so you all know I'm watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, the episode where a time rift occurs and the Enterprise-D fights to alter what would be a fucked-up landmark in time where the Enterprise-C is destroyed by Romulans, hence the inspiration for this thread.

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What if the A-Rod trade from the Rangers to the Red Sox goes through?

 

What is the Rangers opt for Robinson Cano instead of Joaquin Arias from the Yankees in the A-Rod trade?

 

What happens to The Yankee Dynasty and the future of baseball in Seattle if Jack McDowell doesn't blow Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS?

 

What happens if Wayne Huizenga doesn't blow up the 1997 Marlins?

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