What if the NBA & NHL were aligned & more like MLB & the NFL?

[Aquehonga]

I like the sports of basketball & hockey fine. Videogames based on them are cool & fun. But..........

But......I grew up with no big exposure to pro-basketball &/or pro-hockey.

You could say I, like many, most, was raised in the *“faith” & *“religion” of MLB & the NFL.

*Terms used metaphorically

As a HS Junior, when I first saw how the NHL & NBA are aligned I was disappointed, to say the least. Then when I saw that basically every team makes the post-season (if you want to call it that), I was like

Seemed to me like an accomplishment NOT to make the “playoffs” in the NHL & NBA

I know greenbacks are the motive behind the NBA & NHL's 2nd Seasons (their “post-seasons”), but even so, I mean come on

What if the NHL & NBA were aligned like the NFL & MLB are?
Suppose the NBA & NHL had post-seasons modeled on the NFL's?

Despite becoming “used” to how the NBA & NHL are aligned & developing a tolerance for their idea of the “playoffs”, they still irk me.

Guess it shows the strength & influence of MLB & the NFL

Anyone else here like me with a downlook upon the NBA & NHL for how they're aligned & do things?

To me, MLB & the NFL are logical, orderly places where resistance is futile & victory is life

To me, the NHL & NBA seemed “rife with chaos” & in dire need of assimilation into the MLB/NFL “collective”, & have “order imposed on them”

Maybe its just me with this view of NBA/NHL structure

NEXT TOPIC: Ironic one in light of this thread How MLB, i.m.o, betrayed it's “loyalty to the Founders”

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think one works for one, the other works for the other. Baseball has had a historical resistance to the playoffs in its entirety (their 162 game schedule should be enough to determine who wins the pennant), so, for them, a limited playoff makes sense (the current format works well to reduce the number of teams, but still make it more than just a divisional match). Football, to me, is all about rivalries, so the emphasis being on divisions is important. Also, the season is so brutal that the playoffs need to be short (otherwise, I think they would expand to 8 teams as well).

Basketball and Hockey have weakened division rivalries (especially since the move to 3 divisions). They don't let every team into the playoffs, just about half, but they allow them to play it out in a way that lets the best team clearly win (it's a lot less about upsets than football is).

 

[hamudm]

First of all, I honestly believe hockey requires a great dear more overall athleticism than either Football or Baseball. Not to downplay the training those guys go through, but if you've seen the brutal regimine that hockey players go through, then you'll see what I'm saying (i.e. Sidney Crosby is built like a frikin tank!).

Having said that, believe that football is rife with chaos! This rosebowl/superbowl nonsense doesn't make any sense to me, i.e. they're not entirely merit-based. Shouldn't the best teams that have earned their right to play for the Stanley Cup actually play for it?? On top of that, not ALL of the teams make the playoffs... Only the top 8 teams from the Western/Eastern Conferences make the playoffs: a right which they've earned. This is 16 teams out of 30; these teams compare in a round-robin eliminiation.

How does this not make sense?

I never understood the alliegance to football that Americans have. Until recently, morbidly obese men could play the game! I appreciate the strategic portion of the game and nowadays the players are certainly in much better shape. But it's not the game that keeps you in shape, it's the training! Conversly, even if you don't train for hockey but play drop-in a couple of times a week (sans beer of course!) you'll definitely be in good shape!

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think you're oddly combining college and pro-football (Division I-A) into one playoff structure that makes no sense. NFL football has a playoff system just like hockey, only with 6 teams single elimination, rather than 8 (and 4 division winners and 2 wild cards, rather than 3 division winners and 5 more or less wild card teams).

As for athleticism and training, depending on the position, football certainly requires it just as much as hockey if not more. Players also take more of a beating day in and day out than hockey (sure, hockey does too, but it's usually just a slam on a wall and can be avoided if you're good). There's a reason why one season is 82 games long with a playoffs that lasts 28 games (I think, give or take) while the other lasts 16 games and has a playoffs that lasts a max of 4 games.

 

[hamudm]

^I think it's more of a supply/demand issue. I doubt you could sell out a 100,000 person stadium 82 times per year while maintaining the same level of anticipation for each game!

Having said that, I am not downplaying the athleticism of ALL football players. Many of them are great athletes. But being a hockey player myself, I know that it certainly can't be easy to play an 82 game hockey season at the level the NHL is at today.

As for my lack of understanding r.e. the Superbowl's selection process, I stand corrected

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Well, I think you just confused the college system (the one with a million and a half different bowl games) with the pro system (with just one). The college system is pretty arbitrary, but it's a situation you can't go by team records because, with hundreds of teams, they play different strengths of schedules so a team could play all easy teams, go undefeated, but wouldn't be the best team in college football.