Major Sports Alignment and Playoff Qualifying

[Mike in Horseheads]

Good discussion in SB earlier about leagues alignment and playoff Qualifying. What you think?

Edited February 8, 2023 by Mike in Horseheads

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Just now, Mike in Horseheads said:

Good discussion in SB earlier about leagues alignment and playoff Qualifying. What you think?

Conferences

 

[US Egg]

The NFL has the best post season going, don’t see any reason to mess with it.

[Success]

I like how the NBA does it. I'm for that.

 

I'm tired of the AFC East, personally.

 

[The Wiz]

21 minutes ago, I am the egg man said:

The NFL has the best post season going, don’t see any reason to mess with it.

Honestly asking, you prefer bad teams to play because they won their division with a losing record over letting a better team in?

[May Day 10]

I'm tired of the afc east as well.  The nfl alignment as a whole is stale and has been the same for 20+ years.  

[Orlando Tim]

I would love to see College football expand but for the NFL I think it is built pretty well, especially since best record might come simply from playing a lesser schedule. Though a change to 2 teams in each conference getting a bye would be better.

[LeviF]

23 minutes ago, The Wiz said:

Honestly asking, you prefer bad teams to play because they won their division with a losing record over letting a better team in?

Who would you have replaced Tampa and Jacksonville with?

[Buffalo Super Fan]

I voted I am happy the way it is. But the one thing I would like to see that will never happen is the AFC and NFC go away for NFL NFC and AFL AFC. With the AFL referees wearing the red and white stripes for the AFL referees for AFL vs AFL games and black and white stripes for the NFL referee uniforms games. Again the way MLB does NL and AL in my opinion. Go Bills! Let’s Go Buffalo 

[Mikie2times]

7 minutes ago, LeviF said:

Who would you have replaced Tampa and Jacksonville with?

Jacksonville was actually pretty damn good. They closed very strong. I would have rather seen Detroit than Tampa. Detroit is a problem for the NFC long term and I'm thrilled to see it. Campbell has assembled a hell of a coaching roster. They're very aggressive and intelligent in play calling. They have another early draft pick this year. Mentally strong team.

[US Egg]

38 minutes ago, The Wiz said:

Honestly asking, you prefer bad teams to play because they won their division with a losing record over letting a better team in?

If they scrap divisions and no one played an opponent more than once a season I would prefer top winning teams in the playoffs.

 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by I am the egg man

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, Success said:

I like how the NBA does it. I'm for that.

 

I'm tired of the AFC East, personally.

 

 

 

You like the way NBA teams just halfass it all season and how it's so easy to back into playoff spots at the end?    I enjoy the NBA for what it is but their regular season setup sucks.

 

I don't love the NFL divisions........I preferred the 3 division setup to the 4......but fairness dictates 8 four team divisions.

 

And they ultimately do create late season drama that is fairly easy for the league to guesti-schedule into existence............see the Jax/TN and Balt/Cinci matchups at the end of the year.

[Straight Hucklebuck]

I like all the old formats better.

 

NBA Playoffs

- No play in

- Top 8

- First Round was best of 5

 

NFL 

- Top 6

- Top 2 seeds get the bye

- The 7th team just waters everything down 

- OT should just be 10:00 on the clock and you play football. I hate this stupid back and forth rules. 

 

MLB

- Only the 3 Division Winners and 1 Wild Card

NHL

- I don’t pay attention because the Sabres have stunk, but Top 8, nothing fancy. 

 

[The Wiz]

13 minutes ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

I like all the old formats better.

 

NBA Playoffs

- No play in

- Top 8

- First Round was best of 5

 

NFL 

- Top 6

- Top 2 seeds get the bye

- The 7th team just waters everything down 

- OT should just be 10:00 on the clock and you play football. I hate this stupid back and forth rules. 

 

MLB

- Only the 3 Division Winners and 1 Wild Card

NHL

- I don’t pay attention because the Sabres have stunk, but Top 8, nothing fancy. 

 

But with the new NFL format, they get to hang their hat on "who will be the first team to play 20 games?" And then " who will be the first team to play 20 games and win a Superbowl?"

 

Because "ohhhh, ahhhhh" storyline 

[chongli]

24 minutes ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

I like all the old formats better.

 

NBA Playoffs

- No play in

- Top 8

- First Round was best of 5

 

NFL 

- Top 6

- Top 2 seeds get the bye

- The 7th team just waters everything down 

- OT should just be 10:00 on the clock and you play football. I hate this stupid back and forth rules. 

 

MLB

- Only the 3 Division Winners and 1 Wild Card

NHL

- I don’t pay attention because the Sabres have stunk, but Top 8, nothing fancy. 

 

 

I remember when only 5 teams per conference qualified for the NFL playoffs (3 division winners and 2 wild cards). A division title meant an automatic bye (but not necessarily a home game).

 

Also remember the old NBA mini-series (best of 3) in the first round.

 

In MLB, there was once only 2 division winners per league qualifying for the playoffs and no inter-league play. 20-game-win pitchers were more common. Some teams had two.

 

How things have changed.

 

As for the NHL, I liked it when there was the Adams Division, Patrick Division, Norris Division, and Smythe Division. And Prince of Wales and Clarence Campbell Conferences. Why did they have to ruin a good thing?

 

[Side note: a good mnemonic I used to remember the conferences was the Edmonton Oilers had the same name as the Houston Oilers, who had Earl Campbell. Thus, Edmonton was in the Campbell Conference.]

Edited February 8, 2023 by chongli

[reddogblitz]

There are too many teams in the NFL playoffs now.  Do we really need 9-8 WC teams in the playoffs?  As it turned out the top 2 seeds are in the SB.  Too many teams in.

 

A one game playoff round in baseball is absurd.  Too many teams there too.

 

As for the NBA, their playoffs remind me of an old Tank McNamara cartoon. NBA was proposing a new playoff format. All teams make it and the top 2 CBA teams.  Too many teams there too.

 

I don't know about hockey cuz I don't do hockey.

 

Playoffs should be just the good teams without spares.

[Doc Brown]

I like the way the schedule is set up for the most part but I'd just make two simple changes.

-Division winner gets playoff spot but seeds are decided by overall record.  Bucs would've been seventh seed this year and Cowboys would've been forth seed.

-No International games.  I hate losing a home game.  Plus, it's an insult to our ancestors who had to fight those redcoats.

[GETTOTHE50]

i preferred the 12 team playoff bracket as compared to the 14 team.

[Chicken Boo]

2 hours ago, The Wiz said:

Honestly asking, you prefer bad teams to play because they won their division with a losing record over letting a better team in?

 

With there now being 7 slots, every team that deserves to be in the playoffs is getting in.  

[Doc Brown]

24 minutes ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

i preferred the 12 team playoff bracket as compared to the 14 team.

I'd be all for going back to 12 if they reduced the divisions to two or three in each conference.  You'd have years where a 7-9 or 8-8 team made the playoffs over a 10-6 or 11-5 team.

3 hours ago, The Wiz said:

Honestly asking, you prefer bad teams to play because they won their division with a losing record over letting a better team in?

What's the point of winning your division then?

[Jrb1979]

12 hours ago, I am the egg man said:

The NHL has the best post season going, don’t see any reason to mess with it.

FIFY. 

[teef]

1 minute ago, Jrb1979 said:

FIFY. 

settle down.

[I'm Spartacus]

Wouldn't mind some new blood in the NFL divisions. "Rust Belt" division.

Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, (Cincinnati or Jets?).

[BuffaloRebound]

I’ve always hated 4 team divisions.  Creates perverse scenarios where a 7-9 division winner hosted a playoff game against a 12-4 wild card team.  The NFL schedule is un- balanced enough especially with uneven amounts of home and road games now.  Do away with divisions, play everyone in your conference plus 2 NFC teams every year.  Top 8 in each conference make playoffs.  Nobody gets a bye.  

[Virgil]

I'm going to do the most American thing ever.  I'm going to complain without giving a solution.

 

This is what I DON'T WANT in playoffs:

• No more than 20-25% of the total teams make the playoffs
• No re-seeding after each round (If 6 beats 3, then they earned that positioning)
• Division games cannot be played against each other in the first round (Or, all division teams play each other the final three weeks of the season to determine division winner, and only the division winner advances to the playoffs)
• A bye week for all playoff teams (nothing extra for the 1 seed)
• No neutral site games until the Super Bowl
• All plays reviewable by ref in the sky, but does not stop the play

Edited February 8, 2023 by Virgil

[MJS]

13 hours ago, The Wiz said:

Honestly asking, you prefer bad teams to play because they won their division with a losing record over letting a better team in?

This rarely happens. Usually, it is a cluster of average teams who don't make the playoffs, especially with the added wild card slot for both conferences.

[MJS]

56 minutes ago, Jrb1979 said:

FIFY. 

They let HALF of their teams in. It's a cheapened playoffs. And yet the Sabres still can't manage it...

 

I am still against the extra wild card team in the NFL. Making the playoffs should be a big achievement.

[Gugny]

I'm okay with the current NFL setup, but a change/realignment would not break my heart.  The division winner getting an automatic spot in the post-season is one thing I'd consider changing.  It's like conference tournament winners in NCAA basketball making it into March Madness. Why?  Those 16-seeds are largely garbage.

 

I'd love to see something that could calculate up to the minute strength of schedule throughout the season and adjust seedings/rankings accordingly.  

 

MLB ... too many playoff teams.  Too many teams, period, if you ask me.  The structure of the league isn't high on my list of concerns.

 

Rob Manfred turning the game into a little league atmosphere is a bigger problem, but I won't derail the thread ... not to mention, I get so pissed off when I start talking about it that watching 13-seconds would cheer me up.

[ticketssince61]

One thing I would be strongly in favor of is seeding based on record and not automatically giving a division winner a home game

 

it is ridiculous that 9-8 or 8-9 teams play home games against 12-5 teams

 

 

[corta765]

I have been of the belief for the NFL it should go to just 2 division being the East and West. Merge the East and North divisions as the new East and the South & West as the new West for each conference. It would put a premium on winning the division for home field and give wildcard teams a more fair path to the playoffs so an 8-9 team is not hosting a game. Additionally I would do the schedule where you play your division once (7 games) plus one rotating game against one of your three former division foes (1 games), four of the teams in the West (4 games), four of the opposing conferences team so you would play the foursome of the NFC East or South now it just rotates (4 games), and a cross over game with the other conference as is now (1 game).
 

It would balance things far more where you would play 75% of the conference yearly and play everyone a home and away within 3 years vs now where it can be 3-4 years before you host KC for example.

 

 

[May Day 10]

For MLB, I would shake the whole thing up now they have the universal DH.  Put the cross-town and regional rivals in the same Division:  Mets/Yankees, Orioles/Nationals, Cleveland/Cincinnati, Tampa/Marlins, etc...   I don't mind seeing the current # of teams in.  162 games is a long season, and the more teams with meaningful games for the stretch-run, the better.

 

NHL is trashed.  Not sure what they did with the Divisional alignment, names, and playoff format, but woof.  Go immediately to the 3-2-1-0 points system.  Change out of the current Division-heavy playoff system where you only play some divisional opponents 3 times (while playing an irrelevant team in the other conference 2x).  

I think the NHL could do the 8-Division format the NFL has with 2 conferences.  Play each team in your division 8x, other 3 divisions in conference 3x each, and other conference 1x. 

That would be a 76 game schedule which I think is fine.  If they want those 6 extra games, blend them into the rest of the conference or Division on a rotating basis.  They could also choose to play 2 divisions in the other conference in a home/away, flip-flopping every year with the other 2 divisions.

Division winner makes the playoffs, 4 wild-cards in each conference.  Seeded 1-8 in each conference for round 1.  After Round 1, seed the remaining teams 1-8, regardless of conference, and play it out.  That way, any NHL Final is possible.

 

NBA, Im not sure, I dont follow it close enough, but I think they are doing a good job.  That play-in round concept is neat.

 

NFL I am torn.  I like the 4 team Divisions, but Im entirely bored with the Jets, Dolphins, and Patriots.  I was fine with 12 teams making it, although I dont hate the idea of 2 additional teams.  I do dislike the current format of only 1 team getting the top seed as well as the bye.  I honestly would think about giving the choice to the #1 seed:  Bye OR top-seed/home field.  

 

 

 

 

[JohnBonhamRocks]

Copying and pasting a note I made recently when thinking about division realignment:

 

AFCN: CIN, CLE, IND, PIT

 

AFCS: HOU, JAX, MIA, TEN

 

AFCW: DEN, KC, LAC, LV

 

AFCE: BAL, BUF, NE, NYJ

 

NFCN: CHI, DET, GB, MIN

 

NFCS: ATL, DAL, NO, TB

 

NFCW: ARI, LAR, SEA, SF

 

NFCE: CAR, PHI, NYG, WAS

 

Not a ton of changes (AFCW, NFCN, & NFCW unchanged), but I think this more accurately reflects the teams’ locations and overall proximity. 

[KDIGGZ]

I'm not interested in divisions because then you end up with teams in the playoffs that shouldn't be. I want to see the top 7 teams, not the top 6 and then the AFC south. I say 2 divisions based on geography (east and west) and top 8 teams make it no matter the division and top 2 teams get bye

[Jauronimo]

5 hours ago, MJS said:

They let HALF of their teams in. It's a cheapened playoffs. And yet the Sabres still can't manage it...

 

I am still against the extra wild card team in the NFL. Making the playoffs should be a big achievement.

Its been 16 teams qualifying in the NHL forever and now there are actually 32 franchises.  7 and 8 seeds actually make some noise in the playoffs.  Ask Toronto how those high seeds have worked out.

 

The NBA has 16 teams qualifying and only 30 franchises.  The low seeded teams have no chance.  NBA is the most predictable major sports league.

[LabattBlue]

5 hours ago, I'm Spartacus said:

Wouldn't mind some new blood in the NFL divisions. "Rust Belt" division.

Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, (Cincinnati or Jets?).

The Bills had their chance but Ralph insisted we stay in a division with Miami.  

[BearNorth]

I like only conferences, no divisions. 

 

 

 

 

[MJS]

25 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Its been 16 teams qualifying in the NHL forever and now there are actually 32 franchises.  7 and 8 seeds actually make some noise in the playoffs.  Ask Toronto how those high seeds have worked out.

 

The NBA has 16 teams qualifying and only 30 franchises.  The low seeded teams have no chance.  NBA is the most predictable major sports league.

Too many teams for me. I don't like that half or more of the league can make the playoffs.

 

I like it when GOOD teams miss the playoffs.

[BullBuchanan]

20 hours ago, The Wiz said:

Honestly asking, you prefer bad teams to play because they won their division with a losing record over letting a better team in?

It happened for the 4th time ever this year. It doesn't need to be a reason to change everything. If the Bucs hadn't made it, the Lions would have gotten in. No one cares, not even Detroit.

[Jauronimo]

43 minutes ago, MJS said:

Too many teams for me. I don't like that half or more of the league can make the playoffs.

 

I like it when GOOD teams miss the playoffs.

I don't know how good teams missing the post season heightens your enjoyment of playoff hockey.  I think intensity and speed of playoff hockey makes it about the best product there is.  Fewer games doesnt sweeten the pot for me.

[The Wiz]

56 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

It happened for the 4th time ever this year. It doesn't need to be a reason to change everything. If the Bucs hadn't made it, the Lions would have gotten in. No one cares, not even Detroit.

Ok so would you prefer a 9-8 team playing as the home team vs a 12-5 team?

 

That's really the point I'm trying to make. If you win your division at 9-8, great good for that team for being in a crappy division.  But I can assure you that every other team that has a better record that has to play road games the rest of the way to the super bowl doesn't like it one bit.

 

Division should matter still.  conference record first and then they can use division record as a tie breaker.