Alternate History 4: UEFA Champions League

The tournament formerly known as the European Cup used to be limited to only one team per country. Prior to the mid-90s, it actually was a competition for champions only (imagine that), along with the title holders. 1997-98 was the first tournament to include teams that didn't win their domestic championships, and Manchester United was the first team to win who wouldn't have qualified under the old standard. What if the old rules had remained in effect? Who would've won in each season from 1998 until today? Find out after the jump. Read more »

Alternate History 3: NBA & Pro/Rel

I've already examined the NFL and NHL, so now it's time for professional basketball. What if the NBA had implemented a system of promotion and relegation? There was no obvious point to start like with the NFL and NHL, so I settled on the 1967-68 season. That's when the league was expanded to 12 team, the same starting number I used for the NHL, and it also means that all three of these posts started right around the same time. Read more »

Alternate History 2: NHL & Pro/Rel

Last week, I looked at what would've happened if the NFL had promotion and relegation. Today, I look at the NHL using the same rules. Like the NFL, there's a clear point in which implementing it would've made sense. That's the 1967-68 expansion which saw the size of the league double, from the long-standing six teams to twelve. The league even put all six teams in a different division, and most were much weaker for many years. Details after the jump. Read more »

Alternate History: If the NFL had Promotion & Relegation

The year is 1970. The Kansas City Chiefs have just defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV, evening the score at two wins each for the NFL and the AFL. It's now time for the merger between the two leagues to take place. But instead of the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers jumping to the new American Football Conference and making one 26 team league, the owners instead decide to take a cue from European soccer and institute pro/rel in a major American sport for the first time. It's decided that the 10 AFL teams will be joined by the three worst NFL teams from 1969: the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Saint Louis Cardinals. Together, they would from a second division, the NFL-2. Meanwhile, the playoffs and Super Bowl would continue to settle the NFL league champion, but now there was drama at the bottom of the standings as well. Thus, a new era began for professional football. How did everything turn out? Many, many details after the jump. Read more »