Thomas Bugg Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 I got one- what if Major League Baseball had the current playoff format back in the 80's? How many good teams that missed the playoffs during that time would make it to the World Series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuetsar Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 What if the NFL wasn't a non-profit and didn't have a protected monopoly status? What if the NHL wasn't a non-profit? What if the PGA wasn't a non-profit? What if the NBA wasn't a non-profit? What if billionaire "non-profit" team owners built their own goddamn stadiums without bleeding the surrounding communities dry? I see you left Major League Baseball out of that equation. The team owners there wrote the fucking book on being thieves. THEY have the antitrust exemption, so MLB owners don't need that bullshit, they stuff they have is much more potent and rare, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bustronaut Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 MLB gave up their non-profit status because someone didn't want their salary info public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Bugg Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 The Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA title in 1988. Now I know that Larry Brown bolted for the NBA afterwards and Danny Manning was a senior that went to the NBA and got his career killed by being picked up by the Clippers, but otherwise the core of the team was together. What if the Jayhawks hadn't had NCAA sanctions put the kibosh on them being in the tournament the next year? Would they have made a deep run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 The Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA title in 1988. Now I know that Larry Brown bolted for the NBA afterwards and Danny Manning was a senior that went to the NBA and got his career killed by being picked up by the Clippers, but otherwise the core of the team was together. What if the Jayhawks hadn't had NCAA sanctions put the kibosh on them being in the tournament the next year? Would they have made a deep run? I would say probably not. KU had good guards in Kevin Pritchard and Milt Newton, but didn't have enough interior preference or defense. They probably make the tourney but get bounced in the second round. What if Hinrich's shot goes in and KU wins the title in 2003? Does Roy still leave for UNC, and if not who cleans up Matt Doherty's mess? Without the KU job Self probably goes to Oklahoma State when Sutton leaves, is he as successful there as he has been at KU? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Bugg Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 The Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA title in 1988. Now I know that Larry Brown bolted for the NBA afterwards and Danny Manning was a senior that went to the NBA and got his career killed by being picked up by the Clippers, but otherwise the core of the team was together. What if the Jayhawks hadn't had NCAA sanctions put the kibosh on them being in the tournament the next year? Would they have made a deep run? I would say probably not. KU had good guards in Kevin Pritchard and Milt Newton, but didn't have enough interior preference or defense. They probably make the tourney but get bounced in the second round. What if Hinrich's shot goes in and KU wins the title in 2003? Does Roy still leave for UNC, and if not who cleans up Matt Doherty's mess? Without the KU job Self probably goes to Oklahoma State when Sutton leaves, is he as successful there as he has been at KU? I think Self is successful wherever he goes, but I doubt he duplicates the success he's had with KU. As for Roy, even if Hinrich's shot went through (painful memory, by the way) I think he was headed to the Tar Heels anyway as he would've left on top and he wanted to restore the program back to Dean Smith standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Hattrick Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 What if Bill Buckner caught that damn ball? Would the Mets still gone on to win the World Series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Now that I think about it...the biggest what if in sports history may be "what if Len Bias never did that line of coke?" Do people still pretend this was the one time he did coke? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muhammedboehm Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Now that I think about it...the biggest what if in sports history may be "what if Len Bias never did that line of coke?"Do people still pretend this was the one time he did coke? I read that more as the line that killed him not his first line. What's to say if he had slept in that day and didn't do his last line till later that he would have died Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 What if Butler's bank shot goes in against Duke? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I'll get to the obvious one in a minute, but first... What if Jay Williams never gets in that motorcycle wreck? Does he wind up leading a rebuilt Bulls squad to deep playoff runs? What if Michael Jordan never walked away/was forced out for two years? Do the Bulls complete the fabled 8-peat? And the biggie for me: Forget Moises Alou and the catch, but what if Alex Gonzalez doesn't boot a soft hit ball to him? Better yet, what if Dusty Baker pulls Mark Prior instead of chewing on a toothpick and clutching onto his cross hanging from his neck? I think the clear answer is that the Cubs probably make it to the World Series, but ultimately lose because a team capable of that kind of collapse probably isn't winning it all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 What if the team doctor's sign off on the Tyson Chandler to OKC trade back in 2009? Do we get the Thunder instead of Dallas in the 2011 finals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Bugg Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Butler's bank shot goes in against Duke? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Bugg Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Butler's bank shot goes in against Duke? That one shot prevented the biggest upset in tourney final history. As opposed to next year, when a 6 year old with polio could shoot better than Butler against UConn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Kobe is willing to play for whoever drafts him? What if Magic doesn't get HIV? What if Kobe doesn't get charged with rape? What if Tyson doesn't get convicted of rape? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muhammedboehm Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Kobe is willing to play for whoever drafts him? The Bobcats never come to be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonL21 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Butler's bank shot goes in against Duke? That one shot prevented the biggest upset in tourney final history. As opposed to next year, when a 6 year old with polio could shoot better than Butler against UConn! That was the worst title game I've ever seen. The Women's final, between Notre Dame and Texas A&M, the next night was light years better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Here's a twist on an old favorite: what if Portland drafted Barkley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirFozzie Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Len Bias realized "Hey, I'm going to make millions of dollars and play with the greatest team (Boston Homer alert) of all time.. maybe I shouldn't do drugs?" Actually, that's the ultimate what-if. '85-'86 Celtics vs '95-96 Bulls. Best of Seven. I think whoever gets the home game seven wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Bugg Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Butler's bank shot goes in against Duke? That one shot prevented the biggest upset in tourney final history. As opposed to next year, when a 6 year old with polio could shoot better than Butler against UConn! That was the worst title game I've ever seen. The Women's final, between Notre Dame and Texas A&M, the next night was light years better. You could say it was the college basketball equivalent of Super Bowl V, but at least in that game SOMEBODY was scoring points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdA Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Len Bias realized "Hey, I'm going to make millions of dollars and play with the greatest team (Boston Homer alert) of all time.. maybe I shouldn't do drugs?" Actually, that's the ultimate what-if. '85-'86 Celtics vs '95-96 Bulls. Best of Seven. I think whoever gets the home game seven wins. Boy, this Len Bias is the greatest of all time meme in this thread is head scratching. I don't doubt he was great (maybe), but the NBA has had many great college players who failed. So howzaboot this - Bias doesn't die, but instead signs a mega contract with the Celtics and Danny Manning's himself as a rookie or goes the way of most of the NC State players and snorts himself out of being a star. Does that wreck the Celtics even quicker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdA Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Bill Buckner caught that damn ball? Would the Mets still gone on to win the World Series? Buckner and/or Schiraldi wouldn't get to the bag in time to catch Mookie at first. Man, people need to lay the fuck off Buckner. String up Schiraldi and Stanley for not being able to get anyone out, already. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Austin Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Tyson doesn't get convicted of rape? This one I'll always wonder about because I know he was still heading towards a showdown with Holyfield, Holyfield was on the rise at the time and there was already talk of a coming fight with Tyson around the time of the trial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdA Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Oh and howaboot - the Vikings don't lose their heads and make the Herschel Walker trade? Obviously, Dallas can't rebuild as quickly. Do the Bills win a Super Bowl over a fading 49ers team? Does Buddy Ryan get a playoff win? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 What if Len Bias realized "Hey, I'm going to make millions of dollars and play with the greatest team (Boston Homer alert) of all time.. maybe I shouldn't do drugs?" Actually, that's the ultimate what-if. '85-'86 Celtics vs '95-96 Bulls. Best of Seven. I think whoever gets the home game seven wins. Boy, this Len Bias is the greatest of all time meme in this thread is head scratching. I don't doubt he was great (maybe), but the NBA has had many great college players who failed. So howzaboot this - Bias doesn't die, but instead signs a mega contract with the Celtics and Danny Manning's himself as a rookie or goes the way of most of the NC State players and snorts himself out of being a star. Does that wreck the Celtics even quicker? Um, but he DID die. And that's the what if factor. Which seems obvious. We don't know, and never will. It can take many directions, and none are wrong. Not sure what your point is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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