Alternate 90's Scenarios

90's Scenarios

1. Redd Foxx doesn't die in 1991, allowing the TV show THE ROYAL FAMILY to last longer.

2. Miraculously, Chris Farley doesn't die of a drug overdose on that fateful night in 1997. He realizes that he needs help, and he takes the steps to get it. That opens up the door for more movies with him and David Spade. I read somewhere that, before Chris died, they planned to have him and Spade star in a movie about Chris's SNL motivational speaker character, Matt "van down by the river" Foley.

3. In 1993, the Magic draft Chris Webber, but they hold on to him instead, not trading him to the Warriors for Penny Hardaway. Then, they take a flyer on PG Nick Van Exel at the end of the first round. With Shaq and Webber, they end up winning a few rings, and Shaq doesn't go to the Lakers in 1996 after signing a long-term deal to stay in Orlando.

4. In 1990, the Red Sox decide to hold on to Jeff Bagwell, and don't trade him to Houston for P Larry Andersen.
 
-The Gulf War ends with Saddam Hussein getting disposed and tried for war crimes against Kuwait.

-Alexandre Daigle doesn't become a bust and eventually becomes one of the best NHLers for the next fifteen years. Would this make the Ottawa Senators a bigger threat? Also have Patrik Stefan and Pat Falloon pan out to be great players as well.
Also on that note, the NHL allows the San Jose Sharks to pick first in the 1991 draft, in which they pick Eric Lindros. They keep Link Gaetz, goon extrodinaire, around to protect their young star. Gaetz becomes something of an anti-hero, racking up penalty minutes rapidly, noted for his epic bouts and outrageous off and on-ice behavior. Something of a Brian Bosworth but more successful. This draws casual fans to the game, to see this crazed goon. Eventually his demons get to him, and by the end of the decade he's out of the league, already the alltime leader in penalty minutes. By 2009, he becomes more of a folk hero, a player who played "old time hockey" in a time of the instigator penalty.

-The Minnesota North Stars move to Anaheim instead of Dallas (rumor has it that they intended to relocate to Anaheim, who at the time were building/about to build the Pond. Apparently there was plans by the NHL to have a team in Anaheim already, so the idea was promptly nixed. Having the Stars play in Southern California makes hockey considerably more popular there, especially with a consistently strong team. It may also mean that the Kings are pressured into being competitive, as they fear they may lose fans and money to the much stronger team in nearby Orange County)

-Peter Karamanos' demands of having a new arena are met, and the Hartford Whalers remain in Connecticut.

-John Candy doesn't die of a heart attack, and lives on to continue to do more films and comedies. Personally, I think he was starting to aim towards more serious films, and I could see him have a similar situation to that of Jim Carrey, a comedic actor who acts in a serious role, does it really well, wins tons of awards for it, but never get nominated for an Oscar for whatever reason. See, The Truman Show and Man on the Moon, AND Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for Carrey. All were at least nomination worthy, but never even got him NOMINATED. :mad:

As for Farley surviving, he becomes the voice of Shrek, which they initially intended him to do. I think Farley would have a similar, if not identical, career to that of Adam Sandler (they even have the constant sidekick, Sandler has Rob Schneider, Farley has David Spade.) In fact, the films in which Farley and Sandler team up together would do gangbusters at the box office.

If Titanic pans, I don't think it would ruin the careers of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio avoids the Tiger Beat crowd perhaps and gets into serious films quicker, but that's about it. Winslet was obviously talented, at worse I could see her going to do more theatre work in England or focus on indie films. Eventually they'd be back to do big movies, they're far too talented to just fizzle away.

-Sega and Atari actually thrive in the marketplace with the success of the Sega Dreamcast and Atari Jaguar. This creates the big four of gaming, Nintendo, Sony, Sega, and Atari.
 
Santa Fe Railway and the Burlington Northern Railroad never merge. Both lines stay independent.

Southern Pacific Railroad stays independent.

St. Louis Southwestern Railway stays independent.

Northwestern Pacific Railroad stays independent.

Illinois Central Railroad stays independent.

Delaware and Hudson Railway stays independent.

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad stays independent.

Chicago and North Western Transportation Company stays independent.

Conrail doesn't it bought and split up by NS and CSX.
 
The Oilers never move to Tennessee...

Michael Jordan's foot injury never heals properly (I believe this happened in the late 80’s) and he never becomes the force he would be in the NBA.
Conversely, MJ stays retired.
Magic never gets HIV and keeps on playing.
Larry Bird stays healthy and is able to prolong his career. In addition Len Bias never overdoses and dies, becoming the next big thing for Boston Basketball
Steroids never takes off the with early Okaland Athletics thus spreading to the rest of the league. No early A’s world series titles, no home run race in 98, vastly different record books, Clemen’s career ends in Toronto.
Also, the Houston Astros don’t blow the 98 playoffs
Arkansas doesn’t leave the SWC and the SWC never collapses.
Spurrier doesn’t leave Florida for Washington
 
Duncan

1. The Celtics win the 97 Draft Lottery, and take Tim Duncan #1 overall.

2. The Pacers upset the Bulls in Game 7 of the 1998 East Finals.

3. Here is another take on the Walker trade. Before I said something about how they don't trade Walker until the spring of 1990. In this other alternate scenario, the Cowboys still trade him in Oct. 1989, but to Cleveland. They accept the Browns' offer that they had in OTL of two #1's, three #2's, and a player(for argument's sake, let's say, uh, WR Reggie Langhorne), and don't listen to Minnesota. However, the Browns didn't have a 90 #1 pick, and Dallas didn't have their own after drafting Steve Walsh in the 89 Supp draft, so they don't get Emmitt.
 
-No "heart attack" story on Roseanne. As a result, Doctor Who made for TV movie earns close second in ratings for the night. Fox greenlights future series (Made with BBC, of course).
-Boris Yeltsin decides he doesn't want to resign.
-The Bush administration decides not to approve the idea of "Cap and trade" to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.
 
The Galileo main antenna never fails (perhaps because the people prepping it for launch go, "Gee, this thing's been sitting in a warehouse for years! Maybe we should check it over?") so all the originally planned data series could be returned. It would be glorious.

Mars Observer doesn't blow up 3 days out from orbital insertion. That hurt Mars science; they're still flying instruments that were on that thing.

CRAF doesn't get defunded in favor of Cassini (and Cassini doesn't get scratched either; of the two, Cassini is my favorite because CRAF is substitutable with other cheaper later spacecraft, but it's hell trying to get an outer-system probe out). It would do a lot of interesting science which still hasn't been fully replicated.

Bush Sr. actually bothers pushing SEI, or NASA doesn't make such a botched job of it, especially of selling it. $750 billion price tag? Lethal (never mind the size of the Defense budget, or that that is over a thirty-year timeframe...)

Can you tell my title isn't a joke...?
 
More Scenarios

1. The Timberwolves win the 1992 NBA Draft Lottery, and take Shaquille O'Neal.

2. UNLV pulls out a close win over Duke in the 1991 Final Four, and beats Kansas to repeat as National Champs.

3. David Treadwell hits a short FG in a 1990 Week 4 game at Buffalo to give Denver a 24-9 lead in the fourth quarter(Here is the significance: In OTL, the Bills blocked that kick, took it back for a TD, and it started the 77 seconds of fury. They went on to win that game, they won the next week with a fourth quarter comeback against the Raiders, and then they beat the Jets with a last-second Kelly TD pass the next week to start 5-1. If they don't win those games, a team with weak chemistry may have imploded, and we don't see the Bills in four straight Super Bowls).
 
1. Buffalo wins three consecutive Super Bowls. Marv Levy is the coach of the decade

2. Britain backs a plan to remove Mugabe from power once farms begin to be "reclaimed" by warvets and murders of land owners gets significant news coverage. China protests and supports Mugabe. Britain declines to allow Hong Kong to revert back to mainland rule.

3. The Supreme Court reverses it's views on the RICO statute, crippling government cases against Gotti and other key organized crime figures, slowing or reducing the effect had on the Mafia in the US.

4. Instead of flying in marginal conditions, JFK jr insists on staying home. He is now the Senator Kennedy of New York.
 
Carroll

1. After the 1994 season, the Jets decide to give Pete Carroll another chance instead of bringing in Rich Lombardi, I mean Kotite(It is so easy to get them confused :rolleyes:).

2. Art Modell doesn't turn down the original Gateway Project plan that included a stadium for the Browns, and they stay in Cleveland.

3. In 1993, St. Louis is chosen as the 30th NFL team instead of Jacksonville. As a result, the Stallions use the horse helmet logo that Denver would go on to switch to in 1997(Walter Payton, who was going to be one of the owners, has said this), and Denver doesn't get a new uni design until sometime in the 2000's.
 
1. The Celtics win the 97 Draft Lottery, and take Tim Duncan #1 overall.

He's part of a package deal that sends him to Minnesota. Duncan wants to play for a serious contender, and Boston isn't one. MN sends Joe Smith and Stephon Maubury to Boston in exchange for Tim Duncan. Boston then sends Stephon Maubury to New York in exchange for Latrell Spreewell and a first round, non lottery protected pick.

Knicks: Marbury and 1st Rounder.
Celtics: Joe Smith and Spreewell
Wolves: Garnett and Duncan.


2. The Pacers upset the Bulls in Game 7 of the 1998 East Finals.

They then go on to face the Jazz and lose 6-2 in the NBA finals.

3. Here is another take on the Walker trade. Before I said something about how they don't trade Walker until the spring of 1990. In this other alternate scenario, the Cowboys still trade him in Oct. 1989, but to Cleveland. They accept the Browns' offer that they had in OTL of two #1's, three #2's, and a player(for argument's sake, let's say, uh, WR Reggie Langhorne), and don't listen to Minnesota. However, the Browns didn't have a 90 #1 pick, and Dallas didn't have their own after drafting Steve Walsh in the 89 Supp draft, so they don't get Emmitt.

Dallas and Arizona duke it out for last place in the NFC East in the first 3 years of the 90s. Remember, those Washington and Giant teams were very good during the 90s. The Giants and Washington start showing their age around '93. The Cowboys then win the NFC East in 93.

As for the Vikings, instead of trading for that one great running back who can put the Vikes over the top, they simply draft one in Ricky Watters. With an offense that features Rich Gannon, Cris&Anthony Carter and now Ricky Watters, the Vikes have a competent offense to go with that defense. They have trouble gelling early in the season, going 2-4, but they have a 7 game tear during the middle of the season and go 10-6, winning the NFC wild card.

In wild card weekend, They beat the Saints. They then go on to stun the Washington Football team in the divisional round. The Vikings upset the rival Detroit Lions in shocking fashion. Vikings go on to beat Buffalo in Superbowl 26 in the Metrodome.

Oh, but the halftime show still sucks.


The Browns end up winning the AFC Central a few times but not coming close to going over the top. Eventually, their window closes with the emergence of Pittsburgh in the early 90s. Shcottenheimer gets fired. The Browns stay put because Belicheck pulls them out of the fire in the mid 90s.
 
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He's part of a package deal that sends him to Minnesota. Duncan wants to play for a serious contender, and Boston isn't one. MN sends Joe Smith and Stephon Maubury to Boston in exchange for Tim Duncan. Boston then sends Stephon Maubury to New York in exchange for Latrell Spreewell and a first round, non lottery protected pick.

Knicks: Marbury and 1st Rounder.
Celtics: Joe Smith and Sprewell
Wolves: Garnett and Duncan.
I don't see Duncan wanting to be traded from the Celtics after he was drafted. However, if the Wolves could have gotten rid of Starbury earlier, that would have been great. He was a me-first player. Teams got better when they traded him away. Look at the trade the Nets made when they shipped him to the Suns for Kidd. That put them in the next two NBA Finals.

Jimmy Johnson decides to stay on as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys after the 1993 season, re-signing to a 3 year deal.

Knowing what I know now, I don't see that happening. He was planning on leaving there after 1993. That's why he was talking about the Jaguar position, and that's why that whole blow-up with Jerry Jones may have been an act.

Here's an alternate scenario: In secret talks with the Jags in Dec. 1993, he tells them that it is his last year in Dallas because of a fall-out with Jerry Jones, and that he is very interested. As a result, Jacksonville doesn't hire Tom Coughlin in January of 94, and they continue to talk with Johnson in private after the Super Bowl.

Then, on April 2, 1994 (a few days after Johnson's time in Dallas was over), Jimmy signs a four-year deal to become the new coach in Jacksonville.
 
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Some other 1990s changes:
1. George H.W. Bush nominates Edith Jones instead of David Souter to the Supreme Court.
2. George H.W. Bush keeps his "no new taxes" pledge.
3. Bush orders Schwarzkopf to finish the job in 1991
4. Paul Molitor stays in Milwaukee throughout his career.
5. The Brewers draft Garrett Anderson, Ray Durham, and Bret Boone in the 1990 amatuer draft.
6. After Michael Jordan retires, the Bulls trade up and draft Shawn Bradley to join Toni Kukoc and Scottie Pippen.
7. The Chicago Bears draft Bryan Cox in the 4th round of the 1991 draft.
8. Mike Ditka is not fired after the 1992 season.
9. Walter Payton's liver disease is caught early.
10. The Monica Lewinsky scandal breaks in January, 1996.
11. Bob Dole dies prior to the Iowa caucases in 1996.
12. Jeb Bush wins the 1994 Florida gubernatorial election.
13. The Brewers trade Gary Sheffield to the White Sox for Sammy Sosa after the 1991 season.
 
6. After Michael Jordan retires, the Bulls trade up and draft Shawn Bradley to join Toni Kukoc and Scottie Pippen.
One problem: MJ didn't retire until the fall of 93, and the draft happened in June of 93.

Some other assorted 90's scenarios:

1. My So-Called Life starts in the fall of 93 like it was originally supposed to. As a result, it goes three seasons instead of one, and it ends with Angela Chase's graduation from high school.

2. In the fall of 1994, Karl Malone is traded to the Knicks for Charles Oakley and Charlie Ward.

3. In 1995, The Eagles are able to work out a new contract for Mark Brunell, and they acquire him from Green Bay. Also, they don't release a WR by the name of Jimmy Smith.
 
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This scenario is inspired by this article:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-tom-kurvers-trade-one-deal-one-million-repercussions/

The Tom Kurvers trade doesn't happen (he was traded from NJ to Toronto for their 1991 first-round pick), and Eric Lindros is taken first overall by the Maple Leafs in 1991. Pat Falloon is still taken second overall (by the expansion Sharks), and defenseman Scott Neidermayer (A NJ Devil in OTL) is drafted by Quebec with the third pick.
 
Here's one:
In 1996, Congress sends a Defense of Marriage Amendment to the states instead of passing the Defense of Marriage Act. By the end of 1997, 36 states have ratified the amendment, and ratification has become a hot debate in four others...
 
In 1993, the Magic draft Chris Webber, but they hold on to him instead, not trading him to the Warriors for Penny Hardaway. Then, they take a flyer on PG Nick Van Exel at the end of the first round. With Shaq and Webber, they end up winning a few rings, and Shaq doesn't go to the Lakers in 1996 after signing a long-term deal to stay in Orlando.

In light of Thursday night's 30 for 30, here's some different scenarios:

1. Nick Anderson doesn't miss all four FT's in Game one. Magic hold on, defeat the Rockets in five games.

2. The situation with Shaq missing games because of his grandma's death is handled better. Also, the Magic come to their senses and realize how important Shaq is. They don't low-ball him, and they re-sign sign him to a big five-year deal.

3. The Bulls still win in 96 and 97, but in 98, the Magic capitalize on Scottie Pippen's injury to overtake the Bulls for home court and win 65 games. After the Bulls and Pacers stage a war in the ECSF, the Magic beat a worn-out Bull team in five games in the ECF. Then, they go on to win the title over Utah in six games.

4. In the lockout year, the Bulls come back, but Rodman finally gets too much for them to handle, and they don't make it back to the ECF. Orlando repeats, beating the Pacers in the ECF and Spurs in the NBA Finals.
 
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