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The next Plutos?

12
Vote

by user Alex Holowczak

On the day that Pluto was demoted from the heavenly bodies of our Solar System, I wondered what professional sports franchises could (if not, should) succombe to the same fate, and be "relegated" from their "Major" status.

These teams generally stink, and in most cases, even the fans are beginning to hate them, leaving thousands of empty seats at taxpayers expense. These teams should quit whilst they're not as far behind as it seems they are going to sink. Oh, and a couple of name digs.

  • Detroit Lions - Perennial underachievers, in a rebuilding period for seemingly it's entire history, you get the feeling the Lions are sadly a team that may never get there.
  • San Francisco 49ers - The 80s were so long ago...
  • Kansas City Royals - Read the game report for their game v Cleveland. That sums up their entire season. Doomed forever?
  • Philadelphia 76ers - With Philly's baron streak, they deserve to have one of their teams "relegated". I don't know many NBA teams, so the 76ers get the nod.
  • New York Knicks - The team that no-one in New York agrees with and everyone thinks is sinking into the ground.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins - If in doubt, draft a centre - their draft policy for the last three years. One has to be the next Lemieux! Contendors for Number 1 picks every year.
  • Pittsburgh Pirates - Ever since I've started watching baseball, I can't remember them not being bottom of their division.
  • Washington Nationals - The relocation from Montreal honeymoon is officially over.
  • Red Bull New York (A MLS team) - The worst team name I have ever seen. It ought not to sound like it was sponsored, even if it is. What's wrong with "New York Bulls"? Even "New York Red Bulls" souns better.
  • Buffalo Bills - Again a name issue - Bill didn't do anything to any Buffalo as there were none. They were bison, but the people there couldn't tell the difference. Oops! Oh, and if you can't win a Super Bowl in four consecutive years, you never will.

The above need to learn from past mistakes, and who knows, maybe they can win in a few years. Until then the fans have to suffer at the prospect (if not hope) of better pastures around the corner. In the past though, franchises have ignored these ideas, and made mistakes over and over again.

"The real lesson of history is that the lessons of history are quickly forgotten.

A quote from a newspaper article that seems to ring true with these teams.


Date

Thu 08/24/06, 8:14 am EST


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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer
1192 days ago
Score 1+-
Love the concept. Deep down inside I wish American Sports would follow the example of the the English Football leagues... the owners of the Royals, Knicks, Pirates, etc. need to be punished for not feilding competitive teams. Then again, the Reds and Tigers would be slugging it out in the 'B league' this year... maybe it's ok as-is...
Permalink | Reply
Manny StilesMajor Leaguer
1192 days ago
Score 1+-
Good to see John Daly is no longer classified as a planet as well...
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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer
1192 days ago
Score 1+-
I agree to an extent. In England, being in the bottom of a League (3 or 4 depending on which one), you get the punishment of relegation, and your team suffers. In the US, for finishing last, you get rewarded with the Number 1 Draft Pick (or are in the lottery for it). It seems to reward failing, which shouldn't be promoted in sport.
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JoshkrossDraft Pick
1192 days ago
Score 1+-
Is there a draft in English Foosball? If so, how do they determine the picks. In American sports it is done that way so that the bad teams might get better (Except when Isiaiaiaiah Thomas trades the picks away).
Permalink
Bleeding GreenVarsity
1192 days ago
Score 3+-
They develop players from youth. More similar to baseball than anything else. Imagine if the NFL owned high school and college teams. Of course they also just buy players fom each other and other leauges.
Permalink
JoshkrossDraft Pick
1192 days ago
Score 1+-
Baseball still has a draft. The problem of having NO draft at all is that it becomes the big money clubs who have the resources to steal the best kids into their programs. Imagine Steinbrenner's spending if there was no draft and just needed to buy the prospects.
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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer
1192 days ago
Score 1+-
Salary cap?
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JoshkrossDraft Pick
1192 days ago
Score 0+-
I just don't see baseball doing that. Without it, it's impossible.
Permalink
BigPPupMajor Leaguer
1192 days ago
Score 3+-
I love the concept of being able to drop teams back down. We have that in American Rugby and its forced teams to compete at a high level on a regular basis. Only problem is, outside of baseball where are you gonna send teams? Detroit Lions in NFL Europe? The Knicks in the D-League?
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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer
1192 days ago
Score 0+-
It wouldn't work for many reasons - 1. The divisions make it harder to classify each team in order. 2. They could be sent to the "minors" elsewhere in the world, but in the US, most minor teams are owned by the major franchises, so that wouldn't work. The draft would also be hard to work out - and would arguably have to be scrapped if it was to work. The vertical system that is used in soccer, e.g. with an academy for each team. Those changes are too radical for it to work. Perhaps the AFC can be the top tier and the NFC can be the bottom tier (or vice versa), and the bottom team in each division goes down. That would keep the alignments fair. You'd have to rename the conferences though. That way, (scrapping intertier play), you could have the elite playing the elite and the non-elite playing the non-elite. Then the reward of the draft would be minimalised - e.g. a Number 1 pick would still mean it takes two years to win the Super Bowl.
Permalink
JoebookRed-Shirting
1192 days ago
Score 5+-
What about the Cubs? 99 years without a title wasn't enough to be demoted?
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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer
1192 days ago
Score 0+-
I didn't know that - I remembered they lost to Florida Marlins in the Playoffs a few years ago? Besides, Baseball streaks are being ended lately with the two Sox winning over the last two years. Perhaps the Cubs are due shortly.
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Anonymous Fanatic #1
1192 days ago
Score 5+-
Er, the Penguins were contenders as recently as 2001 (when they lost in the conference finals) - and they drafted a goalie with the first overall pick a few years back.
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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer
1192 days ago
Score 0+-
But since they picked Marc-Andre Fleury, he has disappointed, and in 2002-2006 they have hardly stood out. They have been bottom or near bottom since.
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JoshkrossDraft Pick
1192 days ago
Score 1+-
I think you'll see them crawl up slowly. They've been bad because of financial issues, not management not trying.
Permalink
ASwaffAll-American
1192 days ago
Score 2+-
The only teams I agree with downgrading are the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia 76ers and Red Bull New York. The other ones have winning pasts, and I'd hate to see that go. Except, of course, the Washington Nationals. I just think we should keep them because two years isn't nearly enough time, and I like baseball in Washington DC.
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Bleeding GreenVarsity
1192 days ago
Score 3+-
Sure, the 76ers dont have a winning past... LOL. Look up names like "Dr J", Moses Malone, and Wilt Chamberlain... The Sixers are one of the most storied franchises in basketball. I'm not really a Sixer fan, but to say they don't have a winning history is crazy. They were in the finals all of a few years ago...
Permalink
I am a cpcpMajor Leaguer
1192 days ago
Score -1+-
The 76ers make a run every now and then. MLB is the league that really needs to get ride of a few teams. My vote is for the Devil Rays, Rockies and the Expos/Nationals (in that order) as they are the teams with the least amount of significant team history.
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JoshkrossDraft Pick
1192 days ago
Score -1+-
The DRays are a slam dunk, and the Exponentials would have been doable before the move. The Rockies have been competitive, if not good, occasionally, and there is support for the team and an organization that has tried.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1192 days ago
Score 5+-
Lets get rid of the teams with the glorious histories, and let some of the newcomers build up some clout. I vote for saying goodbye to the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Giants, A's, Reds, Orioles, Cardinals, Braves, Phillies, and Cubs. Hell, throw in the Pirates too, they have the 6th most Hall of Famers.
Permalink
ASwaffAll-American
1192 days ago
Score 1+-
I know they've won two World Series, but I think we need to do away with the Marlins. There's no fan interest, so there's no chance of them being a regular contender. Every time they put together a winning team, they have to immediately dismantle it and start from scratch again. Florida is too wrapped up in football and basketball to care about baseball, so just take it away. Get rid of the DRays, Marlins and Rockies. You need one more to balance things out. What about the Milwaukee Brewers? They don't have a history, they're not winning, and they don't have a lot of fan interest. How about bumping them?
Permalink
I am a cpcpMajor Leaguer
1192 days ago
Score 0+-
If you get rid of the Marlins, my team would have lost a world series to a crappy team that was only around for 15 years. No thanks :-)
Permalink
I am a cpcpMajor Leaguer
1192 days ago
Score 0+-
Not to mention the fact that I want to see if they can keep up their run of winning the title every 7 years.
Permalink
Bobbyjim45Draft Pick
1192 days ago
Score 0+-
I disagree that this can be done in football. Football teams are constantly in a cycle. If teams like the Cardinals and Bengals can get into the playoffs and win games and classic winners like the Packers, 49ers, Raiders and Rams can be losers, certainly it will happen again for the Bills, Lions and 49ers. In other sports like baseball for example, there aren't as many cycles. Sure the Tigers have risen again, but teams like the Royals and Pirates seem to always be in rebuilding mode while the Sox and Yankees are always winning.
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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer
1192 days ago
Score 0+-
That's down to the salary cap.
Permalink
Bobbyjim45Draft Pick
1192 days ago
Score 0+-
How about the Blackhawks and Bruins? Maybe more so the Blackhawks, but both of them are worthy of a demotion.
Permalink | Reply
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