FALCON POINTS
IF the NBA and NHL come back, here is a proposal for a World Cup-style tourney to determine the champs
Apr 30, 2020, 6:53 am
FALCON POINTS
Let's face it; we probably aren't getting sports back any time soon. Baseball has no shortage of plans, including this intriguing one, and football still has some time. The NBA and NHL might simply just be screwed at this stage.
But there might be a way to at least crown a champion in each league by doing something somewhat radical. Why not a World Cup/Olympic style single elimination tournament in each? If the leagues worked together, the elimination rounds could be on separate days, so fans would have almost two full weeks of sports. Obviously there would be no fans, but the TV numbers would be huge. The single elimination (after a round robin first round) would make every game meaningful. It would appeal to the NBA's desire to have some kind of in-season tournament, only this time it would be there to determine a champion. For the NHL, it would create in some interest in a sport that is desperate for it.
HOW IT WOULD WORK
First, this is purely speculation. I realize there is almost no way this could work. but for the sake of having a little fun, In our format, there would be four, five-team World Cup style "pods." You would start with the 16 teams currently in the playoffs and add the next two in each conference to get to 20. Each "pod" would feature a four-game round robin, with seedings for the elimination rounds based on the results.
From there, you play a 16-team, single elimination tournament. Each round would have a day off in between, where the other league would play its games.
Each round of games would take place in one venue.
HOW THE NBA WOULD LOOK
You could not really match pods by current seedings, because you would want things as geographically close as possible, so that the first round matchups could be played in one place. Based on the standings when the season ended, your pods would look something like this:
WEST A (Staples Center)
Lakers
Clippers
Utah
Portland
Denver
WEST B (American Airlines Center, Dallas)
Oklahoma City
Houston
Dallas
Memphis
New Orleans (wins tiebreaker over Sacramento based on head to head)
One team in each pod would be eliminated. The second round single elimination would feature:
WA1 vs. WB4
WA2 vs. WB 3
WB2 vs. WA3
WB1 vs. WA4
Ideally, all the remaining rounds would be at one venue, likely Staples Center, although California law might require Dallas to be the site. It really doesn't matter where, as long as they are all in the same place.
You would play down to one team, which would face the East champ, which would go through the same process. Here is how the East would look:
EAST A (TD Garden, Boston)
Toronto
Boston
Philadelphia
Brooklyn
Washington
EAST B (Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee)
Milwaukee
Indiana
Miami
Orlando
Charlotte
The knockout round would be as follows, ideally one spot, perhaps Madison Square Garden? Again, no fans, so it really doesn't matter:
EA1 vs. EB4
EA2 vs. EB 3
EB2 vs. EA3
EB1 vs. EA4
Is it fair that some of these pods feature more good teams than others? Not really, but keep in mind everyone advances except for one team, and the first round is for seeding. Obviously the West A and East A groups are tougher, but that happens in the World Cup all the time. This way, you keep the conference model, and your one-game championship features the West champ vs. the East champ.
HOW THE NHL WOULD LOOK
Keep in mind, exact same format, sticking primarily to the divisions:
EAST A (BB&T Center, Florida) (Insert your, Panthers are the perfect host for no fans because joke here)
Boston
Tampa
Toronto
Florida
Carolina
EAST B (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia)
Washington
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Columbus
NY Islanders
Knockout round:
EA1 vs. EB4
EA2 vs. EB 3
EB2 vs. EA3
EB1 vs. EA4
WEST A (Pepsi Center, Colorado)
St. Louis
Colorado
Dallas
Winnipeg
Nashville
WEST B (T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas_
Las Vegas
Edmonton
Calgary
Vancouver
Arizona
Knockout round:
WA1 vs. WB4
WA2 vs. WB 3
WB2 vs. WA3
WB1 vs. WA4
In both leagues, the 1-4 winners face the 2-3 winners, then the semifinals, then the finals. Vegas would be the perfect host stadium.
One you are into the elimination rounds, imagine the intensity of those games. Sure, you could ride a hot goalie all the way to a championship. But that has happened in the Olympics as well. Is it perfect? No. Is anything these days? But if it makes sense from a health perspective, it might be a nice way to crown a 2020 champ NCAA tourney/World Cup style, give us a little taste of sports and not mess up scheduling for the 2021 season. Plus, from a selfish standpoint, it gives us something to watch (and bet on). Practice time would not be a huge issue, because you use a week to get in shape and then the round robin is also used somewhat as practice.
Would the champions be comparable to winners of four seven-game series? No, and in a perfect world, that's what we would get. But if you haven't noticed, this is pretty far from a perfect world.
Anyway, it will never happen, but it is always fun to speculate. Besides, what else is there to do right now?
The Texans defense came through once again on Sunday, as they were able to hold the Dolphins to just twelve points, helping to secure a 20-12 win for Houston.
Sunday's victory, paired with a Colts loss, also clinched another division title for Houston, which guarantees they'll host a home playoff game. This is significant because Houston has played much better at home, and given some of the NFL's best quarterbacks fits.
However, the offense just hasn't clicked consistently this year, for a variety of reasons.
With all this in mind, how far can this defense take the Texans?
Be sure to watch the video above as the crew from ESPN Houston's Gallant and George weigh in.