Greatness: A sports collaborative timeline

[Colonel Zoidberg]

What are the odds the Sox are saved? And also, are the Bulls being pilled in with the Sox?

The Bulls are the only game in town. Moving them, especially with the biggest star in the sport on their team, is completely ASB.

As for the Sox, I’d say 50-50 and the South Side will fight like hell for a replacement if they do get moved. Shit, there are people on Chicago’s South Side who still aren’t over having the Cardinals move - they’ll fight tooth and nail for the Sox.

 

[OldNavy1988]

OOC: Karmanos was kicking around moving the Whalers to Columbus as well, so with Hartford’s arena situation, the Whalers’ days in Hartford are almost certainly numbered. Evidently Nashville was also a possibility as well.

OOC: I’m in favor, but I will personally veto the name Ohio Glory.

And lest we forget, the Devils were almost bound for Nashville until they won their first Cup in '95.

 

[Looper]

February 25th, 1990: The NFL Offices are held pretty much under lockdown. A crowd of 100,000 protests the fact that the NFL awarded a franchise to Charlotte instead of Jacksonville. They stay outside the offices for 8 hours before police break it up.

 

[London Eye 62]

February 25th, 1990: The NFL Offices are held pretty much under lockdown. A crowd of 100,000 protests the fact that the NFL awarded a franchise to Charlotte instead of Jacksonville. They stay outside the offices for 8 hours before police break it up.

DUVALL is not happy

 

[WB18]

February 25th, 1990: The NFL Offices are held pretty much under lockdown. A crowd of 100,000 protests the fact that the NFL awarded a franchise to Charlotte instead of Jacksonville. They stay outside the offices for 8 hours before police break it up.

Didn’t know Jacksonville fans were THAT passionate about their team. Maybe the city can get a WLAF as a bit of a consolation.

 

[Looper]

It's more of the surrounding area with Jacksonville, not just Duvall

 

[London Eye 62]

February 27th, 1990: The White Sox organization announces that in their season opener (April 9, 1990, vs Milwaukee), they will honor Jerry Reinsdorf by "retiring" his number. They also announce that they will wear honorary "Jerry" patches on their uniforms for the duration of the season.

 

[Looper]

Didn’t know Jacksonville fans were THAT passionate about their team. Maybe the city can get a WLAF as a bit of a consolation.

It depends, if the NFL caves, then they could be seen as weak, and this behavior may continue. But if they condemn the actions, then Jacksonville will probably not get a team for at least 15 years, if at all

 

[Looper]

February 28th, 1990: The Cubs, despite being crosstown rivals, announce they will have a moment of silence before their season opener VS Philadelphia on April 10th

March 1st, 1990: Sean Elliott, who sustained massive injuries from Michael Jordan, is revealed to have a massive concussion and a broken cheek bone. In the Jordan Appeal hearing, this news is revealed, and Jordan seems to be fighting a losing battle now. However, fans don't seem to care, and chants of "Fire Bettmann" ring throughout Chicago and other stadiums.

 

[OldNavy1988]

February 24, 1990:
"Jacksonville will never be part of the NFL if the crowds do not disperse," Paul Tagliabue told ESPN.

 

[WB18]

March 2, 1990: David Dixion has enterned the hunt for the White Sox, looking to bring the MLB to New Orleans.

March 3, 1990: Jacksonville fans continue to hold the NFL offices under siege. Paul Tagliabue has been issued death threats by fans and constistenlty says Jacksonville will never have an NFL team as long the riots continue. Also, WWF chairman Vince McMahon is in the hunt for an CFL franchise in the USA.

 

[OldNavy1988]

March 4, 1990
PHOENIX (AP) - During a league meeting, the World League's acting commissioner Tex Schramm says the first three are in.

London, England, Los Angeles, California and Orlando, Florida have each been awarded the first franchises in the league.

European Division
London Monarchs; Owned by Virgin Sports

North American East
Orlando Thunder; Owned by Raj Bhathal

North American West
Los Angeles Avengers; Owned by C. David Baker

"Nine franchises are still up for grabs, and those will be granted in the coming days," Schramm said during the meetings.

Bidders for the remaining franchises:
Wayne Huizenga, head of Blockbuster Video; Interested in a team for Amsterdam, citing his Dutch roots
Fred Anderson, Lumber tycoon; Wants a team in Sacramento
Wayne Weaver and John W. Henry; Both want a team in Jacksonville, Florida
James Orthwein, member of the Busch beer family; Wants a team in St. Louis
Stephen M. Ross; Wants a team in New York City
Michael Eisner, Chairman of The Walt Disney Company; Interested in a European franchise, likely Paris where Disney is building a theme park. If Paris is uninterested, look for Eisner to turn to Edinburgh
Josep M. Figueras, Spanish real estate mogul; Wants a team in Barcelona
Fred W. Smith, founder of FedEx; Wants a team in Memphis
Hasso Plattner (OTL current San Jose Sharks owner), co-founder of SAP; Wants a team in Frankfurt am Main
Bart Starr, Bama alum and former Packers quarterback; Wants a team in Birmingham, Alabama
Gavin Maloof, heir to his family's beer distribution fortune; Interested in a team for Las Vegas
Harry Glickman, founder of the Portland Trail Blazers; Interested in a team for Portland, Oregon
Larry H. Miller, owner of the NBA's Utah Jazz; Interested in a team for Salt Lake City
Larry Benson, brother of New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson; Interested in a team for San Antonio, Texas
Frank Corral, former NFL and USFL kicker; Interested in a team for Mexico City
Stan Kroenke, son-in-law of Walmart founder Sam Walton; Interested in owning a team, but has no preferred location

 

[London Eye 62]

People in the bidding for the White Sox:

W. Clement Stone (Wants to keep the team in Chicago)
Jerry Colangelo (Wants to move team to Phoenix)
COMSAT (Wants to move team to Denver)
Frank and Arthur Griffiths (Want to move team to Vancouver)
Bill Marriott (Want to move team to Washington DC)
David Dixon (Wants to move team to New Orleans)

 

[Looper]

March 6th, 1990: After 9 days of the crowd outside the NFL offices dispersing and regathering, the FBI arrives at the NFL Offices to rescue the people inside, including commissioner Paul Tagliabue. They succeed in doing so, and soon thereafter the mob disperses for the final time.

March 7th, 1990: Paul Tagliabue addresses the public in an interview, saying "After the events that have taken place over the last 9 days, I will say to the people who trapped me and hundreds of others in the NFL Offices, you have not succeeded in your goal. The City of Jacksonville, Florida will never get an NFL team as long as I am commissioner of this fine league. I would also like to say thank you to those who prayed for our safety, and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for enabling myself and others to leave the building safe and sound."

 

[Nivek]

Inb4 rams move there

 

[Don Corleone]

January 16th, 1990: Gary Bettmann announces that David Stern will survive, but that Bettmann will have his interim tag removed, and will be permanent commissioner

He can't ruin the NHL? It moved.

Alex Spanos, 66. Construction mogul and owner of the NFL's Chargers. Wants a team in San Diego.

F that.

 

[OldNavy1988]

March 8, 1990
Georgia Frontiere, who was among the many who were trapped in the NFL's league office during recent riots, has announced she is putting the Los Angeles Rams for sale.

March 9, 1990
Dr. Jerry Buss, majority owner of the NBA's Lakers, expresses an interest in purchasing the Rams.

RUMOR: Red McCombs, a San Antonio businessman, is plotting a hostile takeover of the Houston Oilers.

March 10, 1990
Gordon Gund says he wants to buy the Cleveland Browns from Art Modell.

Mike Illitch says he wants to buy the Detroit Lions, but many sports business experts say he will need to reach a compromise with the Ford family.

By the way, who is going to own Charlotte's NFL expansion franchise? Will it be Hornets founder George Shinn? Fast food mogul and ex-Colt Jerry Richardson? Or will it be Felix Sabates, the man who gave us Teddy Ruxpin? The Charlotte Observer promises to reveal the answer when NFL business returns to normal.

 

[Looper]

March 10th, 1990: Harold Hamm, billionaire and oil magnate, expresses interest in buying the White Sox and moving them to Oklahoma City.

 

[Colonel Zoidberg]

March 10, 1990: The National League announces plans to expand to 14 teams, and it has received bids from buyers in several cities - Buffalo, Charlotte, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Sacramento and Tampa have all submitted bids. Notably absent from the list are Denver, Phoenix and DC, all of which are in the running to claim the White Sox.

Also, the Bulls home game against the Pacers is marred by a group of visiting fans throwing trash on the court and hurling insults - including racial slurs - at Bulls fans. The Bulls emerge victorious, and after the game, players, coaches and front office personnel loudly condemn the actions of these fans. All of them are removed, identified, and banned for life from both Bulls and Pacers home games. New NBA commissioner Gary Bettman fails to issue a statement on the matter, leading to outcries beyond Chicago for him to be fired.

 

[Looper]

March 12, 1990: NBA Players Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Sam Mitchell, Lafayette "Fat" Lever, and Shawn Kemp call for Gary Bettmann to be fired when David Stern is healthy enough to return. Bettmann, in the worst PR move in NBA History, suspends them all for 7 games, then dodges questions as to why.