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Sports What-Ifs


Thomas Bugg

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I'm pretty sure we've done this on previous iterations of the board because I'm sure my What If has been "what if Wayne isn't traded to the Kings?" but I can't seem to find that post here.

 

So, re-submitting:

 

What if Wayne Gretzky is never traded to the Kings?

 

[More in the sense of the NHL as a whole, less the on-ice fortunes of the Oilers and Kings specifically]

 

Wayne was going somewhere if not LA then New York or Toronto maybe but realistically a better question would be what if Bruce McNall didnt buy the LA Kings.  Since Bruce for all intents and purposes took over the league after the Gretzky deal and was the one that did the expansion to Anaheim and Florida deals and hired Gary Bettman.  

 

 

Yeah Gretzky was always going because Pocklington needed cash. That was the meat of the "trade". That's what's so bizarre about the whole thing. Pocklington and McNall had no legitimate money between them and somehow put this whole thing together.

 

The thing about Toronto is Harold Ballard doesn't die until 1990. Would Pocklington have held off on the sale that long? Like fuck old Harold would have ponied up $15 million in cash while he could still draw breath. There's still that story that came out a few years ago in Peter Pocklington's biography though, that Pocklington and Ballard looked at swapping team ownership at one point, so who fucking knows. I can't even wrap my head around what that could have done to the NHL in the long run and very little of it would have been positive.

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Pocklington is full of shit about switching cities with Ballard.  Ballard loathed Western Canada and the teams that had WHA ties.  He did what he could to try and keep them from joining the NHL.  Ballard was broke but Molsons was pumping money into the Leafs.  Which spawns a couple more what ifs.  What if the WHA doesnt come into being and Ballard doesnt gain total control of the Leafs.  I still think the Leafs would have won a couple of cups in the 70's and could have rivaled the Islanders in the early 80's.  Also what if Anne Murray had managed to buy the Leafs when Ballard went to jail for a bit back in the 70's

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  • 3 weeks later...

i know this is a painful memory, but Gary Anderson in 1998 attempted 41 field goals, including 6 attempts in the playoffs. What if he'd went 41 for 41?

We get one of the great Super Bowls ever, or at least, one of the best hyped games of all time. I'm a huge Jets fan so I was devastated when they lost, but Broncos/Vikings would have been real fun to watch. Certainly better than Broncos/Falcons. If the Vikings won both the NFCCG and the Super Bow, does Elway still retire since he wouldn't have been going out on top? If he does retire, does it hurt his legacy at all that he only won one Super Bowl?

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I seriously doubt Elway would've been Favre-stupid. His whole struggle was just to win one after getting his shit kicked in by the Giants, Skins and Niners defenses, and he finally got it. And the SB win was in the twilight of his career, not in his prime like Favre, which I think would've been the determining factor.

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Speaking of Favre, what if the Vikings beat the Saints in OT and the Vikings win the Super Bowl? Does he retire? Would he be looked at differently? I think people forget how good that Vikings team was. Favre had great chemistry with Sidney Rice and rookie WR Percy Harvin.

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What if Marvin Lewis had been selected as the head coach of the Bucs before the 2002 season rather than Chucky? I'm sure the Bucs would've still kicked ass on defense like they did.

Or what if Coughlin or Mike Mularkey had been selected for Bengals job over Lewis?

In the same vein, after Saban left for Alabama, the Dolphins interviewed Mike Tomlin before they interviewed Cam Cameron and interviewed Rex Ryan before interviewing Tony Sparano.

WHOOPS!

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What if Marvin Lewis had been selected as the head coach of the Bucs before the 2002 season rather than Chucky? I'm sure the Bucs would've still kicked ass on defense like they did.

Or what if Coughlin or Mike Mularkey had been selected for Bengals job over Lewis?

In the same vein, after Saban left for Alabama, the Dolphins interviewed Mike Tomlin before they interviewed Cam Cameron and interviewed Rex Ryan before interviewing Tony Sparano.

WHOOPS!

 

 

Two major fuckups on the Dolphins part!

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What if the Jaguars could beat the Titans in 1999? Do the Jaguars beat the Rams in the Super Bowl? Would going 19-0 save them from having a bad financial year 10 years later?

 

I think the Jags defense would've been a lot tougher on the Greatest Show on Turf. Belichick beat them two years later using a defense that was good, but not great, but they stymied the Rams receivers all through the game and bumped them off their routes. The Jags defense in 1999 was one of the best in the league that year, giving up the fewest points in the NFL, and only the Bills, the Ravens and the Buccaneers gave up fewer total yards, plus they were much more physical than the Titans were on defense, so it's not that much of a stretch to think that Jacksonville would've beat the Rams.

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What if the Jaguars could beat the Titans in 1999? Do the Jaguars beat the Rams in the Super Bowl? Would going 19-0 save them from having a bad financial year 10 years later?

The possibility of '99 Jags surpassing The '72 Dolphins as the"GOAT". I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

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What if the Jaguars could beat the Titans in 1999? Do the Jaguars beat the Rams in the Super Bowl? Would going 19-0 save them from having a bad financial year 10 years later?

 

I think the Jags defense would've been a lot tougher on the Greatest Show on Turf. Belichick beat them two years later using a defense that was good, but not great, but they stymied the Rams receivers all through the game and bumped them off their routes. The Jags defense in 1999 was one of the best in the league that year, giving up the fewest points in the NFL, and only the Bills, the Ravens and the Buccaneers gave up fewer total yards, plus they were much more physical than the Titans were on defense, so it's not that much of a stretch to think that Jacksonville would've beat the Rams.

 

Well, the Bills came really close to beating the Titans too. . . .

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  • 2 months later...

After watching America's Game: 2005 Steelers, here's a couple of What If's:

 

1) I already mentioned the What If of Big Ben not making the tackle that sent the Steelers to the AFC title game. But what if Mike Vanderjagt hadn't been such a fuckup when the game was on the line? Not just in this game, but in any point of his tenure with the Colts. How many titles would the Colts have won, or even just more playoff games?

 

2) What if the referees in Super Bowl 40 called a fair game?

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After watching America's Game: 2005 Steelers, here's a couple of What If's:

 

1) I already mentioned the What If of Big Ben not making the tackle that sent the Steelers to the AFC title game. But what if Mike Vanderjagt hadn't been such a fuckup when the game was on the line? Not just in this game, but in any point of his tenure with the Colts. How many titles would the Colts have won, or even just more playoff games?

 

 

At best, they win one more playoff game.  Vanderjagt missed 3 FGs in playoff games for Indy.  One was the aforementioned Pittsburgh game (the possible win).  The other two were a 6-point loss and a 41-0 wipeout.  I suppose it's possible he cost them the 6-pt game by virtue of missing an earlier FG forcing them to go for a TD late but I don't know.  Regardless, they scored just 17.  Can't fault the kicker missing one FG if you score only 17 and he accounted for 9 of the 17.

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What if somebody tackles James Harrison around the 40yd line in Super Bowl XLIII instead of letting him score?

 

The Cardinals defense was kinda middle of the road- in fact they were 28th in the league in points allowed. So I think they would've given up the touchdown or FG anyway.

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What if somebody tackles James Harrison around the 40yd line in Super Bowl XLIII instead of letting him score?

 

The Cardinals defense was kinda middle of the road- in fact they were 28th in the league in points allowed. So I think they would've given up the touchdown or FG anyway.

 

They'd have had time for one play.  Harrison scored with no time left so if he gets tackled at the 40, there's what. a max of 5 seconds left?

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  • 4 months later...

A few more:

What if that Chargers defender never dropped that INT against the Pats? Does Marty finally get that ring?

What if Andrew Golota just kept fighting on the outside against Riddick Bowe rather than starting a fucking riot? Does Golota eventually win a world title? On that same token, what if Bowe treated Golota like a serious threat? Does Bowe actually win the fight rather than being happy to walk out with a DQ win?

And I know this is a recent one(and probably playing Captain Obvious here), but what if Seattle just RAN THE GODDAMN FOOTBALL?!? Wait.....what if they did and the Patriots still stopped them at the 2-yard line?

What if Bill Parcells never had a falling-out with Robert Kraft?

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