Greatness: A sports collaborative timeline
October 24, 1991: The surprising San Jose Sharks and Seattle Devils sit first and second in the Smythe division; the Sharks defeat the defending champion Blackhawks in a 3-2 overtime thriller while the Devils - still in the midst of a team naming contest - crush the Canucks 5-1.
Would have been a better storyline to have the World Series be McGwire and the Bucs vs Bonilla and the A's.
I was about to make the new name Metropolitans because that would prevent them from having a lame Metropolitan Division.
Then I remembered we already ended that idiot Bettman's career.
Also, the alignment for the NHL
WALES CONFERENCE
Patrick Division
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals
(Tampa Bay Lightning, coming 1993)
Adams Division
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres (moved to Patrick for 1992-93 only)
Hartford Whalers
Montreal Canadiens
Quebec Nordiques
Toronto Maple Leafs
(Ottawa Senators, coming 1992)
CAMPBELL CONFERENCE
Norris Division
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
Minnesota North Stars
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
(Milwaukee Admirals, coming 1992)
(Dallas Name TBD, coming 1993)
Smythe Division
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Devils (name change coming 1992)
Vancouver Canucks
WALES CONFERENCE
Patrick Division
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals
(Tampa Bay Lightning, coming 1993)
Adams Division
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres (moved to Patrick for 1992-93 only)
Hartford Whalers
Montreal Canadiens
Quebec Nordiques
Toronto Maple Leafs
(Ottawa Senators, coming 1992)
CAMPBELL CONFERENCE
Norris Division
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
Minnesota North Stars
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
(Milwaukee Admirals, coming 1992)
(Dallas Name TBD, coming 1993)
Smythe Division
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Devils (name change coming 1992)
Vancouver Canucks
October 23, 1991: Bip Roberts hits a walk off, 2 run double to give the Padres a 7-6 10 inning win to move one win away from a championship.
October 25, 1991: Behind 7 innings of shutout ball from Andy Benes and a Tony Gwynn three run shot in the 5th that gave them the lead for good, the San Diego Padres win their first ever World Series, winning game 6 over the Oakland A’s by the score of 7-3.
Also, the MLB will have new divisions for 1993
AL East
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
AL Central
Cleveland Indians (possible name change coming)
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
AL West
California Angels
Denver Zephyrs
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
NL East
Atlanta Braves
Montreal Expos
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Tampa Bay Stingrays
NL Central
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
NL West
Arizona Giants
Los Angeles Dodgers
Sacramento TBD (name coming soon)
San Diego Padres
October 25, 1991: Behind 7 innings of shutout ball from Andy Benes and a Tony Gwynn three run shot in the 5th that gave them the lead for good, the San Diego Padres win their first ever World Series, winning game 6 over the Oakland A’s by the score of 7-3.
Also, the MLB will have new divisions for 1993
AL East
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
AL Central
Cleveland Indians (possible name change coming)
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
AL West
California Angels
Denver Zephyrs
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
NL East
Atlanta Braves
Montreal Expos
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Tampa Bay Stingrays
NL Central
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
NL West
Arizona Giants
Los Angeles Dodgers
Sacramento TBD (name coming soon)
San Diego Padres
Makes sense except for one little wrinkle - the Rangers pissed and moaned about being in the West because all their opponents were two hours behind them. It’s less of an issue OTL with the Astros switching leagues, but they would probably ask to go to the Central where they play in the same time as the Royals, Brewers and Twins. (The Tigers would probably go to the East as OTL before the 1998 expansion.)
Okay, Texas can go to the Central and I always thought Cleveland would be better off in the East than Detroit since it is farther east geographically.
October 26, 1991: In his home debut as a Seattle SuperSonic, Michael Jordan scores 51 points and Gary Payton chips in 36 points as the Sonics crush the Denver Nuggets 116-91.
October 27, 1991: Mario Lemieux scores a hat-trick as the Penguins survive a late Islanders comeback 5-4 at Nassau Coliseum. Also, Jeremy Roenick scores two goals as Ed Belfour shutouts the Oilers in a 3-0 Blackhawks win at Chicago Stadium.
October 27, 1991: Mario Lemieux scores a hat-trick as the Penguins survive a late Islanders comeback 5-4 at Nassau Coliseum. Also, Jeremy Roenick scores two goals as Ed Belfour shutouts the Oilers in a 3-0 Blackhawks win at Chicago Stadium.
As far as I know, we can hang onto the division names and never go into that weird six-division alignment.
Incidentally, anyone have any ideas for NHL commissioner once it’s time to pick? I was thinking Brian Burke, both because he knows his shit and because making him commish might avert his kid’s death.
College Football
November 2, 1991: (1) Illinois slaps Wisconsin, 49-21, (23) Iowa blows a 17 point lead to (12) Ohio State 35-31, (21) Indiana beats Minnesota 56-41, (3) Georgia Tech blows out Duke 77-14, (9) Baylor falls to (10) Arkansas 30-21, (25) Iowa State puts up oodles of points on Missouri, 66-31, and (2) Tennessee wallops in-state rivals Memphis 56-17.
Big Soccer signing, Prolific Hockey Performance
November 7, 1991: English Soccer giants Liverpool sign 15 year-old Brazilian youngster Ronaldo from Brazilian club Sao Cristovao.
November 8, 1991: Joe Sakic scores six goals, yes, six, in a game against an awful Toronto Maple Leafs team, as the Whalers win 10-0.
November 8, 1991: Joe Sakic scores six goals, yes, six, in a game against an awful Toronto Maple Leafs team, as the Whalers win 10-0.
Are we planning on saving the Whalers? This probably affects expansion beyond 26 and if we plan to keep the original four-division format.
November 10, 1991: Defending champion Miami wins a shootout with the Bills as Dan Marino throws five TDs against Jim Kelly’s four; a late drive by the Bills comes up short and the Dolphins win 42-37. The Dolphins lead the AFC East at 8-2, the Oilers lead the AFC Central at 7-3, and the Raiders are riding a nine-game win streak atop the AFC West at 9-1. In the NFC, Washington is atop the East at 8-2, the Lions lead the Central at 7-3, and the 49ers are tied at 8-2 with the Saints.
That can work. I was planning on a Nordiques-to-Columbus scenario so we may need more expansion sooner rather than later for Denver and Atlanta (plus places like Nashville and maybe Houston as well.