Worse
WARNING: This post contains content of a graphic nature, including gratuitous errors by third basemen, fumble-itis, behind-the-back passes that inflict violence upon spectators and tripping over one's skates.
There is nothing worse than a team having a losing season and not being competitive at all. Oh, but wait, there really is. There's a team having a losing season and by the grace of the sports gods, still wins the division! Ah, but that means that the remaining teams in the division are many degrees WORSE. Call it competitive balance or overexpansion. I'd call it BS (and not my high school alma mater, Bronx Science). I bet the Philadelphia Phillies were asking themselves how the hell they missed the playoffs and the San Diego Padres clinch the division and a playoff spot. Of course, this does prove to be irrelevant as that team shows their flaws under the lights. It seems to happen much more often in recent memory. It made me think of which divisions in the major sports deserve to be blown up, if only for a season.
Major League Baseball's Thrilling National League West: My, my, my. What big bats you have... sans Barry Lamar Bonds. We know that this season, the Padres clinched the proverbial division title with an 82-80 record. Let’s see how the rest of the standings balanced out: Arizona finished with a 77-85 record behind San Diego. San Francisco actually threatened the Padres at season’s end with a 75-87 record. The real team from Los Angeles, the Dodgers, finished 71-91 and Colorado finished with a Rocky Mountain High record 67-95. Was there too much California sun? Is it truly the travel schedule, having to travel thousands of miles most of the season? Not really. Many thought that the division would come down to San Diego and L.A. The Padres, with the offensive talent and solid pitching, underachieved greatly, but injuries did play a role (Mark Loretta and Khalil Greene missing substantial time). The Dodgers spent more time calming the waters between Jeff Kent and Milton Bradley than shoring up pitching. The Giants couldn’t manufacture runs, let alone go deep without Barry most of the year. The D-Backs flirted with potential then decided to bury themselves in that whirlpool in the outfield. Reminded of the great baseball of the 1995 AL West only without the strike the season prior.
Ye Olde Norris Division: When the NFL realigned in 2000 as the reincarnated Cleveland Browns began play, they must have been thinking that the Norris Division of old would bring back fond memories of that smash-mouth, gritty style of the Fifties. Yet, the NFC North has turned out to be quite possibly the worst division in ALL of American sports. I think if the writers of this blog found a few bodies, we could win this division with a 10-6 record, running the table against the Packers, Vikings, Lions and Bears. Temple University's football squad could win at Lambeau nowadays. It's well chronicled that this division is terrible. Detroit is 2-2, DA Bears are 1-3, the Vikes have managed a 1-3 record and to my personal delight, the Packers are 1-4. Did you know that none of these teams have won a game on the road this season? Take a look at the talent in the division overall. Don’t act like we didn’t see this coming. Besides Brett Favre, and even with Brett Favre, Green Bay is pretty bad. Always an overrated offensive team, no one knows who else to blame besides the defense. Minnesota? HA! Anyone got a deal for a boat big enough for the revamped defense to hide for a while. Where the heck is the offensive explosion in Detroit? The defense isn’t as bad as GB or Minny, but it’s not necessarily helping them out much either. It’s a shame when you have to point out the most talented unit in the division: the Bears front seven. Secondary isn’t too shabby either, but Chicago isn’t going to run the table like the 200 Ravens. Is it mathematically possible for an entire NFL division to finish below .500? Come on, folks, let’s cheer for futility!
Hey, They Still Have the Atlantic Division?: Okay, let me just say this before I discuss the NBA’s Atlantic Division. If you love guard play, this is the best division in the league. Iverson in Philly. Marbury, Crawford and Richardson in NYC. Kidd, Carter and Jefferson in the Swamp. Pierce in Bahston. Yet, last season, Boston won the division title with a 45-37 record, surging after acquiring Antwoine Walker at the trade deadline. Philly finished at 43-39. Jersey finished at 42-40. All three made the playoffs with Toronto and New York (both 33-49) playing for the lottery. It’s been an iffy division for a couple of seasons now, but mostly not of those teams’ doing. As the balance of power begins to shift back to the Eastern Conference, Each team is hoping that their drafting will payoff. Playing younger guys has given these teams new bodies, but at the sacrifice of having a 50-win team each of the last three years (including the last two seasons before realignment). One of the other aspects that make the division look lackluster is that these are large market teams that aren’t performing to large market standards, most notably the Knicks. Do keep in mind that the conferences have shifted their powers much over the last two decades in the NBA. Does the Atlantic pick up some of this steam? Not this season. Only New Jersey and New York look playoff bound in part to moves made (Curry, Richardson to NYC) or not made (Abdur-Rahim doesn’t go to Jersey, but Marc Jackson gives a rebounding body for the Nets’ guard trio).
Yes, there is hockey and soccer and the like here, but since this audience doesn’t care so much for the strange objects, I’ll leave it be. It’s funny, some would look at realignment and blame that for the poor divisions. Some say expansion. Maybe it’s just plain bad luck. Just to say, outside of the States, there are solutions for poor play. In the English Premier League, the worst teams happen to be demoted into the Second Division and have to earn their stripes in a way. Could we adopt a system like that here? Probably not. We are waaaaaaaaaay too knowledgeable of the business to let that happen. Television networks would love for something to keep competitive teams on the screen, but they only hype a handful of teams in each league as is, even when the teams are highly overrated and underachieving. Add to the fact that public dollars fund the stadiums, owners fund the players, yadda yadda yadda… the public may not take in this European idea. We shall see.
Say What?!?!: Though not much attention won't be paid to it, I am saddened by the passing of Atlanta Hawks C Jason Collier. Here in New York, for those who remembered that there are teams other than the Yankees, questions are being flooded to the Knicks' front office about the recent acqusition of F/C Eddy Curry as he has an irregular heartbeat and enlarged heart. Curry's condition, subsequent omission from the Bulls' roster for the rest of '04-'05 and his departure from Chicago have been well documented. Now in both cities, there is a slight pause in the wake of Collier's passing as there are some fears of another Hank Gathers situation. While this has been debated by a few of us and completely understandable concern, it's hard to forget that this has been happening quite more often in sports in recent years. Thomas Herriman passed away just months ago of his own heart condition. Add some lesser publicized deaths of collegiate, amateur and high school athletes, the fear is all the same. Are these deaths as a resut of regiment? Size? Stress? Collier's passing just might remind folks that because athletes are in greater physical condition than the everyday Joe, Jane and Jaquon, it does not mean that they cannot befall the same manner as us. As the NBA family comes together for a moment in time, fans can only hope that this bad luck streak the Hawks franchise seems to have can at least be shaken somehow for this upcoming season.
There is nothing worse than a team having a losing season and not being competitive at all. Oh, but wait, there really is. There's a team having a losing season and by the grace of the sports gods, still wins the division! Ah, but that means that the remaining teams in the division are many degrees WORSE. Call it competitive balance or overexpansion. I'd call it BS (and not my high school alma mater, Bronx Science). I bet the Philadelphia Phillies were asking themselves how the hell they missed the playoffs and the San Diego Padres clinch the division and a playoff spot. Of course, this does prove to be irrelevant as that team shows their flaws under the lights. It seems to happen much more often in recent memory. It made me think of which divisions in the major sports deserve to be blown up, if only for a season.
Major League Baseball's Thrilling National League West: My, my, my. What big bats you have... sans Barry Lamar Bonds. We know that this season, the Padres clinched the proverbial division title with an 82-80 record. Let’s see how the rest of the standings balanced out: Arizona finished with a 77-85 record behind San Diego. San Francisco actually threatened the Padres at season’s end with a 75-87 record. The real team from Los Angeles, the Dodgers, finished 71-91 and Colorado finished with a Rocky Mountain High record 67-95. Was there too much California sun? Is it truly the travel schedule, having to travel thousands of miles most of the season? Not really. Many thought that the division would come down to San Diego and L.A. The Padres, with the offensive talent and solid pitching, underachieved greatly, but injuries did play a role (Mark Loretta and Khalil Greene missing substantial time). The Dodgers spent more time calming the waters between Jeff Kent and Milton Bradley than shoring up pitching. The Giants couldn’t manufacture runs, let alone go deep without Barry most of the year. The D-Backs flirted with potential then decided to bury themselves in that whirlpool in the outfield. Reminded of the great baseball of the 1995 AL West only without the strike the season prior.
Ye Olde Norris Division: When the NFL realigned in 2000 as the reincarnated Cleveland Browns began play, they must have been thinking that the Norris Division of old would bring back fond memories of that smash-mouth, gritty style of the Fifties. Yet, the NFC North has turned out to be quite possibly the worst division in ALL of American sports. I think if the writers of this blog found a few bodies, we could win this division with a 10-6 record, running the table against the Packers, Vikings, Lions and Bears. Temple University's football squad could win at Lambeau nowadays. It's well chronicled that this division is terrible. Detroit is 2-2, DA Bears are 1-3, the Vikes have managed a 1-3 record and to my personal delight, the Packers are 1-4. Did you know that none of these teams have won a game on the road this season? Take a look at the talent in the division overall. Don’t act like we didn’t see this coming. Besides Brett Favre, and even with Brett Favre, Green Bay is pretty bad. Always an overrated offensive team, no one knows who else to blame besides the defense. Minnesota? HA! Anyone got a deal for a boat big enough for the revamped defense to hide for a while. Where the heck is the offensive explosion in Detroit? The defense isn’t as bad as GB or Minny, but it’s not necessarily helping them out much either. It’s a shame when you have to point out the most talented unit in the division: the Bears front seven. Secondary isn’t too shabby either, but Chicago isn’t going to run the table like the 200 Ravens. Is it mathematically possible for an entire NFL division to finish below .500? Come on, folks, let’s cheer for futility!
Hey, They Still Have the Atlantic Division?: Okay, let me just say this before I discuss the NBA’s Atlantic Division. If you love guard play, this is the best division in the league. Iverson in Philly. Marbury, Crawford and Richardson in NYC. Kidd, Carter and Jefferson in the Swamp. Pierce in Bahston. Yet, last season, Boston won the division title with a 45-37 record, surging after acquiring Antwoine Walker at the trade deadline. Philly finished at 43-39. Jersey finished at 42-40. All three made the playoffs with Toronto and New York (both 33-49) playing for the lottery. It’s been an iffy division for a couple of seasons now, but mostly not of those teams’ doing. As the balance of power begins to shift back to the Eastern Conference, Each team is hoping that their drafting will payoff. Playing younger guys has given these teams new bodies, but at the sacrifice of having a 50-win team each of the last three years (including the last two seasons before realignment). One of the other aspects that make the division look lackluster is that these are large market teams that aren’t performing to large market standards, most notably the Knicks. Do keep in mind that the conferences have shifted their powers much over the last two decades in the NBA. Does the Atlantic pick up some of this steam? Not this season. Only New Jersey and New York look playoff bound in part to moves made (Curry, Richardson to NYC) or not made (Abdur-Rahim doesn’t go to Jersey, but Marc Jackson gives a rebounding body for the Nets’ guard trio).
Yes, there is hockey and soccer and the like here, but since this audience doesn’t care so much for the strange objects, I’ll leave it be. It’s funny, some would look at realignment and blame that for the poor divisions. Some say expansion. Maybe it’s just plain bad luck. Just to say, outside of the States, there are solutions for poor play. In the English Premier League, the worst teams happen to be demoted into the Second Division and have to earn their stripes in a way. Could we adopt a system like that here? Probably not. We are waaaaaaaaaay too knowledgeable of the business to let that happen. Television networks would love for something to keep competitive teams on the screen, but they only hype a handful of teams in each league as is, even when the teams are highly overrated and underachieving. Add to the fact that public dollars fund the stadiums, owners fund the players, yadda yadda yadda… the public may not take in this European idea. We shall see.
Say What?!?!: Though not much attention won't be paid to it, I am saddened by the passing of Atlanta Hawks C Jason Collier. Here in New York, for those who remembered that there are teams other than the Yankees, questions are being flooded to the Knicks' front office about the recent acqusition of F/C Eddy Curry as he has an irregular heartbeat and enlarged heart. Curry's condition, subsequent omission from the Bulls' roster for the rest of '04-'05 and his departure from Chicago have been well documented. Now in both cities, there is a slight pause in the wake of Collier's passing as there are some fears of another Hank Gathers situation. While this has been debated by a few of us and completely understandable concern, it's hard to forget that this has been happening quite more often in sports in recent years. Thomas Herriman passed away just months ago of his own heart condition. Add some lesser publicized deaths of collegiate, amateur and high school athletes, the fear is all the same. Are these deaths as a resut of regiment? Size? Stress? Collier's passing just might remind folks that because athletes are in greater physical condition than the everyday Joe, Jane and Jaquon, it does not mean that they cannot befall the same manner as us. As the NBA family comes together for a moment in time, fans can only hope that this bad luck streak the Hawks franchise seems to have can at least be shaken somehow for this upcoming season.
posted by Jason Clinkscales @ 1:29 PM
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