Pro Sports "Conferences"?

[89Hen]

Was thinking about pro divisions and conferences and was wondering if it were possible to put cities together for all sports like colleges are in conferences. It's probably not as neccessary for rivalries as it is in college, but I think it could be fun. I'm working on the breakdown.... NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB... Anybody willing to try? xeyebrowx

[FCS Preview]

Only if you totally mess up baseball and football as they are currently situated...

[walliver]

Was thinking about pro divisions and conferences and was wondering if it were possible to put cities together for all sports like colleges are in conferences. It's probably not as neccessary for rivalries as it is in college, but I think it could be fun. I'm working on the breakdown.... NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB... Anybody willing to try? xeyebrowx


There are a lot of one teams towns with only one top level sports team (Jacksonville, Raleigh-Durham, Green Bay, plus half the NBA).

Overall, I don't think that pro rivalries are always geographic. In football, for example Giants-Cowboys is probably a bigger game than Giants-Jets. Oakland-KC is a bigger game than Oakland-SF. Regionalizing professional sports would break up a lot of rivalries.

[89Hen]

Only if you totally mess up baseball and football as they are currently situated...


There are a lot of one teams towns with only one top level sports team (Jacksonville, Raleigh-Durham, Green Bay, plus half the NBA).

Overall, I don't think that pro rivalries are always geographic. In football, for example Giants-Cowboys is probably a bigger game than Giants-Jets. Oakland-KC is a bigger game than Oakland-SF. Regionalizing professional sports would break up a lot of rivalries.
This is just for fun, but almost all the divisions and conferences in all major sports have been screwed with at some point. For the one team towns, they would be like the associate members we have now in some of the conferences. Not all divisions in all sports would have the same number of teams.

[89Hen]

In football, for example Giants-Cowboys is probably a bigger game than Giants-Jets. Oakland-KC is a bigger game than Oakland-SF.
Because they are in the same division and same conference. The Giants and Jets only meet once every three years whereas the Giants meet the Cowboys twice a year.

[CollegeSportsInfo]

I think it's tough to put in cities for all sports since there is never a lock that a team will remain in a city.


While it's certainly not a realignment topic that is as big as college conferences on my site, there are alot of people who come up with some strong suggestions for some minor changes in MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA.

I feel that geographic rivalries should always be the key ones. When teams are strong in a given league, the quality of teams transcends simple geographical rivalries. And example can be the birth of the Patriots and Colts rivalry in the NFL. But when teams are stuggling, geography is key. If the Steelers and Browns were both rock bottom, that rivalry would still exist.

As for one simple realignment change I wanted to see is in the NFL. I think that when envisioning the future of the league, it does mean letting go of some present day formats in order to strengthen the future.

I hate seeing a Midwest team like Indianapolis in the AFC south, while Miami, the furthest team south in the AFC is in a division with 3 Northeastern teams. A simple swap of Baltimore, Indianapolis and Miami would resolve that.

AFC E: NE, Buf, NYJ, Balt
AFC N: Clev, Cin, Ind, Pit
AFC S: Mia, Jax, Ten, Hou


In the NFC, Dallas is the team I would like to see moved, swapped with Carolina.

NFC E: NYG, Phi, Was, Car
NFC S: TB, Atl, NOr, Dal

[tribe_pride]

I think it's tough to put in cities for all sports since there is never a lock that a team will remain in a city.


While it's certainly not a realignment topic that is as big as college conferences on my site, there are alot of people who come up with some strong suggestions for some minor changes in MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA.

I feel that geographic rivalries should always be the key ones. When teams are strong in a given league, the quality of teams transcends simple geographical rivalries. And example can be the birth of the Patriots and Colts rivalry in the NFL. But when teams are stuggling, geography is key. If the Steelers and Browns were both rock bottom, that rivalry would still exist.

As for one simple realignment change I wanted to see is in the NFL. I think that when envisioning the future of the league, it does mean letting go of some present day formats in order to strengthen the future.

I hate seeing a Midwest team like Indianapolis in the AFC south, while Miami, the furthest team south in the AFC is in a division with 3 Northeastern teams. A simple swap of Baltimore, Indianapolis and Miami would resolve that.

AFC E: NE, Buf, NYJ, Balt
AFC N: Clev, Cin, Ind, Pit
AFC S: Mia, Jax, Ten, Hou


In the NFC, Dallas is the team I would like to see moved, swapped with Carolina.

NFC E: NYG, Phi, Was, Car
NFC S: TB, Atl, NOr, Dal

Wow - You just killed some huge rivalries. At a minimum
Balt-Cle
Mia-NYJ
Dal-NYG
Dal-Was
Dal-Phi? (The whole NFC East seems to be a huge rivalry)

[TheValleyRaider]

The toughest thing, I think, would be how to separate New York. I mean, is that 1 set of teams? 2? Do they get in the same conference? If you split them, which team goes where?

[kardplayer]

The toughest thing, I think, would be how to separate New York. I mean, is that 1 set of teams? 2? Do they get in the same conference? If you split them, which team goes where?

Typically, Giants/Yankees/Rangers go together and Mets/Jets/Islanders go together.

They are all Knick fans though.

For the purposes of this exercise, I'd put the Knicks with the Giants group and the Nets with the Jets group.

[kardplayer]

I'd put them all in the same conference - only baseball has them separated.

You could also create a Nets/Devils combo as a third "team" and just leave the Mets/Jets/Islanders without a hoops squad (this is actually better than what I said originally)

[kardplayer]

New York is actually easier than Chicago since Chicago has only one split while NY has splits in all...

[kardplayer]

OK, I'm taking the bait...

I'm putting Orlando and Tampa together to create a four sport "city" (note: distance = 1 1/2 hours, not great, but only twice as long as Boston/Foxboro, so I'm going with it)

I'm also putting Nashville (Hockey), Memphis (hoops), and Tennessee (football) together and creating a regional "team" for Tennessee. Call it Northeast bias if you want, but see below for more on hockey.

First off, you'd have a Hockey only conference (this actually mirrors the NCAA):
Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal and Columbus - I think this would be a pretty cool conference, and could potentially see the Maple Leafs "splitting" from the rest of their teams to play in this conference. Columbus ruins the "canada cool" of the conference, but its at least northern. Nashville doesn't fit in here (that's why I lumped Tennessee together above)

There are four cities with only basketball, all out west - Utah, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio - they will be blended in with other conferences, as will the Jacksonville Jags (the only football only city). There are no baseball only ones.

[kardplayer]

You can break the country into five reasonable sized conferences:

1. Western (California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington)
2. Southwestern/Midwest (Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Utah)
3. Southeast (Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, DC)
4. Northern Midwest (Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh)
5. Northeast (Boston, NY, Philly, Buffalo, NJ, Toronto)

[kardplayer]

Teams by sport by conference:

Hockey: 6 (5 if you move Columbus along with the other Ohio teams)

Western:

Phoenix is only all sports member
Portland and Sacramento are basketball only
San Diego is baseball/football
Anaheim (incl. Clippers), LA, Oakland, San Fran/San Jose, Seattle are three sports each

Baseball 7
Angels
Dodgers
A's
Giants
Mariners
Padres
D'Backs

Football 5
Raiders
49ers
Seahawks
Chargers
Cardinals

Basketball
Clippers
Lakers
Warriors
Sonics
Suns
Blazers
Kings

Hockey
Ducks
Kings
Sharks
Coyotes

[kardplayer]

Southwestern/Midwest
Dallas and Denver are all sports
San Antonio and Utah are basketball only
Houston (no hockey) St. Louis (no hoops) KC (no hoops or hockey) are partial members

Baseball
Rangers
Rockies
Royals
Astros
Cardinals (bad to split with the Cubs, will need to schedule OOC)

Football
Cowboys (bad to split with NFC East - all rivals, again need strong OOC)
Broncos (this would be a cool rivalry with the Cowboys though, so may make up for it)
Chiefs
Texans
Rams

Basketball
Mavs
Nuggets
Spurs
Rockets
Jazz

Hockey (Prob need agreement with Western to make one big 7 team conference)
Stars
Avalanche
Blues

[kardplayer]

Southeast
Atlanta, Miami, TB/Orlando, Wash are all sports
Tennessee and Carolina are 3 out of 4 (no baseball)
Baltimore and NO are 2 sports
Jacksonville 1 sport

Baseball
Braves
Marlins
D'Rays
Nats
O's
and the Braves begin another 10 year streak of winning the division

Football
Falcons
Dolphins
Bucs
Skins
Ravens
Saints
Panthers
Titans
Jags
Tough tough conference - SEC tough

Basketball
Hawks
Heat
Magic
Wizards
Hornets
Bobcats
Grizzlies

Hockey
Thrashers
Panthers
Lightning
Caps
Hurricane
Predators

[kardplayer]

Northern Midwest
Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota - all sports (chicago has 2 baseball in fact)
Cleveland and Milwaukee/GB have 3 (no hockey)
Pittsburgh has 3 (no hoops)
Cincy/Indy 2 each

Cubs
White Sox (we'll let the Chicago fans figure out which baseball team is part of the city team and which is the associate)
Tigers
Twins
Reds
Indians
Brewers
Pirates

Football
Bears
Lions
Vikings
Packers
Bengals
Colts
Browns
Steelers

Basketball
Bulls
Pistons
T'Wolves
Pacers
Cavs
Bucks

Hockey
Blackhawks
Red Wings
Wild
Penguins

[kardplayer]

Northeast
Boston, NY "A", and Philly are all sports
NY "B" and Toronto are 3 sports
NJ and Buffalo are 2 sports

Baseball
Red Sox
Yankees
Mets
Phillies
Blue Jays

Football
Pats
Giants
Jets
Bills
Eagles

Basketball
Celtics
Knicks
Nets
Sixers
Raptors

Hockey
Bruins
Rangers
Devils
Islanders
Flyers
Maple Leafs

[poly51]

That would work for other sports, but not Baseball. Too much tradition in Baseball. That would mean no more Subway Series, Bay Bridge Series or I-70 Series. I am even hoping for a Freeway Series this year.

[Fresno St. Alum]

Let me re-do the NFL big time and no I wouldn't like it better
Eastern Conference (like the USFL)

Northeast
Buffalo
NY Jets
NY Giants
New England

East
Washington
Philadelphia
Carolina
Baltimore

Southeast
Miami
Jacksonville
Tampa Bay
Atlanta

Central
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
Indianapolis

Western Conference (like the USFL)

Pacific
San Francisco
Oakland
San Diego
Seattle

West
Arizona
Denver
Kansas City
St.Louis

Midwest
Green Bay
Chicago
Minnesota
Detroit

Southcentral
Dallas
Houston
New Orleans
Tennessee

[Fresno St. Alum]

Eastern Playoffs

4)Washington vs 5)NY Giants

3)Jacksonville vs 6)Pittsburgh

1)New England, 2)Indianapolis

Western Conference

4)Arizona vs 5)Seattle

3)San Diego vs 6)Tennessee

1)Dallas, 2)Green Bay


a lot of it looks the same

[813Jag]

OK, I'm taking the bait...

I'm putting Orlando and Tampa together to create a four sport "city" (note: distance = 1 1/2 hours, not great, but only twice as long as Boston/Foxboro, so I'm going with it)

I'm also putting Nashville (Hockey), Memphis (hoops), and Tennessee (football) together and creating a regional "team" for Tennessee. Call it Northeast bias if you want, but see below for more on hockey.

First off, you'd have a Hockey only conference (this actually mirrors the NCAA):
Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal and Columbus - I think this would be a pretty cool conference, and could potentially see the Maple Leafs "splitting" from the rest of their teams to play in this conference. Columbus ruins the "canada cool" of the conference, but its at least northern. Nashville doesn't fit in here (that's why I lumped Tennessee together above)

There are four cities with only basketball, all out west - Utah, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio - they will be blended in with other conferences, as will the Jacksonville Jags (the only football only city). There are no baseball only ones.
Great Job, you could call the Orlando/Tampa Combination Orlampa. xlolx

Let me re-do the NFL big time and no I wouldn't like it better
Eastern Conference (like the USFL)

Northeast
Buffalo
NY Jets
NY Giants
New England

East
Washington
Philadelphia
Carolina
Baltimore

Southeast
Miami
Jacksonville
Tampa Bay
Atlanta

Central
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
Indianapolis

Western Conference (like the USFL)

Pacific
San Francisco
Oakland
San Diego
Seattle

West
Arizona
Denver
Kansas City
St.Louis

Midwest
Green Bay
Chicago
Minnesota
Detroit

Southcentral
Dallas
Houston
New Orleans
Tennessee
Looks like a lot of division titles for Dallas.xthumbsupx

[89Hen]

Wow - You just killed some huge rivalries. At a minimum
Balt-Cle
Mia-NYJ
Dal-NYG
Dal-Was
Dal-Phi? (The whole NFC East seems to be a huge rivalry)
Things change. Teams move. Again, I'm not saying this MUST be done, but Washington - Carolina could become a huge rivalry game. There were a TON of people in NC who were Skins fans prior to the Panthers arriving.

[89Hen]

The toughest thing, I think, would be how to separate New York. I mean, is that 1 set of teams? 2? Do they get in the same conference? If you split them, which team goes where?
I'm not sure they need to be split. The cities with teams in different confernces are spoiled anyway. :p

[89Hen]

Eastern Playoffs

4)Washington vs 5)NY Giants

3)Jacksonville vs 6)Pittsburgh

1)New England, 2)Indianapolis

Western Conference

4)Arizona vs 5)Seattle

3)San Diego vs 6)Tennessee

1)Dallas, 2)Green Bay


a lot of it looks the same
You need byes.

[FCS Preview]

That would work for other sports, but not Baseball. Too much tradition in Baseball. That would mean no more Subway Series, Bay Bridge Series or I-70 Series. I am even hoping for a Freeway Series this year.

And those things happen maybe once in a lifetime. In 46 years there's been ONE Subway Series.

Besides, the cross-town WS are only good for one city. I'd rather see two cities battle it out, than guaranteeing a WS parade for one.

[FCS Preview]

Eastern Playoffs

4)Washington vs 5)NY Giants

3)Jacksonville vs 6)Pittsburgh

1)New England, 2)Indianapolis

Western Conference

4)Arizona vs 5)Seattle

3)San Diego vs 6)Tennessee

1)Dallas, 2)Green Bay


a lot of it looks the same


You need byes.

They're in there. See bolded.

[89Hen]

They're in there. See bolded.
Reading comprehension lacking... I need more xcoffeex :o

[andy7171]

I remember back before the Browns moved to Baltimore, on of the teams Baltimore was courting was the Cardinals. That was before realignment. Making the NFC East Washington, Baltimore, Philly, New York and Dallas.
How great would that have been? There'd be blood in the streets!
xcoolx

Well, even more blood in the streets! :D

[89Hen]

Making the NFC East Washington, Baltimore, Philly, New York and Dallas.
xthumbsupx

[89Hen]

BTW, kinda funny to see people poo-pooing 'natural rivalries' like Mets-Yankees or Jets-Giants when this past fall all we heard was how great the Delaware-DelSt 'natural rivalry' would be. xeyebrowx :p