You Say Goodbye, I Say Goodbye

Here are probably the final ever Alliance of American Football Power Rankings . . .

 

#8 Atlanta Legends (2-6-0, -125, LW:  8)

#7 Memphis Express (2-6-0, -42, LW:  7)

#6 San Diego Fleet (3-5-0, -8, LW:  6)

#5 San Antonio Commanders (3-5-0, -3, LW:  5)

#4 Arizona Hot Shots (5-3-0, +42, LW:  4)

#3 Salt Lake Stallions (5-3-0, +4, LW:  2)

#2 Birmingham Iron (5-3-0, +32, LW:  3)

#1 Orlando Apollos (7-1-0, +100, LW:  1)

 

Now, I’m not going to pretend that I watched any of this league – I didn’t.  But I will tell you what I do know/have been told:

 

  1. I know that their website sucks
  2. I heard that their TV ratings have stayed solid
  3. I know that the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes invested a lot of money and basically took over the league
  4. It sounds like he’s done investing

 

Since the American Football League successfully merged with their National counterpart we have had:

 

  1. The World Football League (1974-75)
  2. United States Football League (1983-85)
  3. The Professional Spring Football League (was supposed to start in 1992)
  4. The World League of American Football (1991-1992)
  5. The reboot of the World League of American Football which became NFL Europe in 1998 (1995-2006)
  6. The XFL, Part I (2001)
  7. The Alliance of American Football (2019)

 

To be honest, I forgot that NFL Europe was around that long.  But when you have to leave the country entirely even with NFL backing and still fail that should be a sign.  Charles P. Pierce once described football as heroin – you’ll go broke playing it, but you can’t resist.  Thomas Dundon has decided to get out before he’s hooked.

 

Football leagues are the most expensive ones to finance.  Between the roster sizes, the insurance, the equipment, etc, you’re deep into the hole before you’ve even blown one of those whistles you just bought.  The other issue is the league sizes.

 

Look at the Big Four landscape in 1957:

 

Total teams:  42

Total teams west of the Mississippi River:  2

Total teams in Texas, California, and Florida combined:  0

 

By 1959 there were still only 12 teams in the NFL.  When Lamar Hunt wanted to join, he found out there were several guys in growing cities – cities that had no major pro sports – that wanted in.  His league survived because he was wealthy (Someone told Lamar Hunt’s father that Lamar had lost a million dollars his first year.  His dad replied “at that rate he’s only got 125 years left to live.”) and because they were in cities like Dallas and Houston and San Diego.  These were growing cities at a time when pro football was still growing in popularity.  At the same time baseball had teams moving west for greener pastures and both leagues saw shortcomings and found expansion as a means to capitalize on the ever growing television market.  The ABA made a poor man’s attempt to copy the AFL (literally) and as a result the NBA expanded to several markets to stave off their competition.  Even by the late 60’s the very provincial NHL figured out it was time to grow.

 

Now?  The major markets are covered.  You really think Cowboys fans are looking forward to the new XFL team in Dallas?  Does anyone really see Birmingham as a rapidly growing city who will embrace pro football over Auburn/Alabama?  The XFL will have a better chance in Seattle if they were the XBL.

 

The Alliance of American Football was, just like their predecessors, destined to fail.  Regardless of ideas, how well thought out the plan is, or how much people in this country worship football, the fact remains that it is one of many sports and as football games get longer many realize that sports like basketball, hockey, lacrosse, and soccer all take less time and are interesting.  And basketball and hockey can be enjoyed indoors while many football games are still stuck out in the cold.

 

The sports dynamic is changing.  Thirty-five years ago there was room for spring football.  Now, not so much.  What that means for the future, I don’t know.  But they should really focus on making the fall game better, not the spring.

 

Now the next to last for this season NHL Power Rankings . . .

 

#31 Buffalo Sabres (31-39-10, -54, LW:  31)

#30 Los Angeles Kings (29-41-9, -63, LW:  27)

#29 Ottawa Senators (28-45-6, -56, LW:  28)

#28 New Jersey Devils (30-40-10, -52, LW:  29)

#27 New York Rangers (31-35-13, -42, LW:  30)

#26 Edmonton Oilers (34-36-9, -39, LW:  20)

#25 Chicago Blackhawks (34-33-12, -25, LW:  22)

#24 Vancouver Canucks (34-35-10, -29, LW:  25)

#23 Philadelphia Flyers (37-34-8, -28, LW:  18)

#22 Anaheim Ducks (33-37-10, -57, LW:  23)

#21 Minnesota Wild (36-34-9, -24, LW:  21)

#20 Florida Panthers (36-32-12, -11, LW:  24)

#19 Detroit Red Wings (32-38-10, -41, LW:  26)

#18 Arizona Coyotes (38-33-8, -9, LW:  19)

#17 Colorado Avalanche (36-29-14, +12, LW:  17)

#16 San Jose Sharks (44-26-9, +26, LW:  16)

#15 Dallas Stars (41-31-7, +6, LW:  15)

#14 Vegas Golden Knights (43-30-7, +25, LW:  12)

#13 Carolina Hurricanes (44-29-7, +19, LW:  11)

#12 Pittsburgh Penguins (43-26-11, +30, LW:  6)

#11 Winnipeg Jets (46-29-4, +31, LW:  4)

#10 New York Islanders (46-27-7, +28, LW:  14)

#9 Toronto Maple Leafs (46-27-7, +38, LW:  8)

#8 Montreal Canadiens (43-29-8, +13, LW:  9)

#7 Nashville Predators (45-29-6, +22, LW:  10)

#6 St. Louis Blues (43-28-8, +20, LW:  7)

#5 Columbus Blue Jackets (45-31-4, +21, LW:  13)

#4 Washington Capitals (47-25-8, +31, LW:  5)

#3 Boston Bruins (48-23-9, +44, LW:  3)

#2 Calgary Flames (50-23-7, +66, LW:  2)

#1 Tampa Bay Lightning (60-16-4, +98, LW:  1)

 

It’s three teams for two spots in the East.  Columbus had a golden opportunity slip away from them on Tuesday night, as a win would have all but sewn up a spot in the playoffs.  Instead the Canes, Jackets, and Habs are all within one point of each other.  This should be a fun couple of days before the real fun begins!!

 

Now the NBA Power Rankings . . .

 

#30 New York Knicks (15-62, -9.1, LW:  30)

#29 Cleveland Cavaliers (19-59, -9.2, LW:  27)

#28 Phoenix Suns (18-60, -9, LW:  29)

#27 Chicago Bulls (21-57, -8.3, LW:  28)

#26 Atlanta Hawks (28-50, -5.9, LW:  26)

#25 Washington Wizards (32-46, -2.7, LW:  25)

#24 Memphis Grizzlies (31-46, -2.6, LW:  23)

#23 New Orleans Pelicans (32-46, -1.2, LW:  24)

#22 Charlotte Hornets (35-42, -1.7, LW:  18)

#21 Minnesota Timberwolves (34-43, -1.3, LW:  20)

#20 Dallas Mavericks (31-46, -1.2, LW:  22)

#19 Los Angeles Lakers (35-43, -1.7, LW:  21)

#18 Sacramento Kings (38-40, -1, LW:  15)

#17 Brooklyn Nets (39-39, -0.4, LW:  16)

#16 Miami Heat (38-39, 0, LW:  17)

#15 Detroit Pistons (39-38, -0.1, LW:  19)

#14 Orlando Magic (38-40, -0.1, LW:  14)

#13 Oklahoma City Thunder (45-33, +3.2, LW:  12)

#12 San Antonio Spurs (45-33, +1.5, LW:  13)

#11 Indiana Pacers (46-32, +3.7, LW:  11)

#10 Philadelphia 76ers (49-28, +2.9, LW:  8)

#9 Boston Celtics (46-32, +4.3, LW:  10)

#8 Los Angeles Clippers (47-31, +1.6, LW:  9)

#7 Denver Nuggets (51-25, +4.1, LW:  6)

#6 Portland Trail Blazers (49-28, +4, LW:  5)

#5 Houston Rockets (50-28, +3.8, LW:  7)

#4 Utah Jazz (47-30, +5.1, LW:  2)

#3 Golden State Warriors (52-24, +6.2, LW:  4)

#2 Toronto Raptors (55-23, +5.9, LW:  3)

#1 Milwaukee Bucks (58-20, +9.3, LW:  1)

 

The league is void of dominant teams.  Greatness is far more interesting than mediocrity, which is why the league’s TV figures are down.  The playoffs should be great, though, with young teams like Philly and Milwaukee and a very good Toronto team battling in the East, while the Warriors will have their hands full from round one out West.  Golden State is and should still be the odds on favorite, but it will not be as easy as everyone thought it was going to be back in September.

 

Now onto the surprising NLL Power Rankings . . .

 

#11 Vancouver Warriors (4-11, -31, LW:  N/A)

#10 Rochester Knighthawks (3-11, -27, LW:  N/A)

#9 Philadelphia Wings (3-11, -16, LW:  N/A)

#8 Calgary Roughnecks (7-8, -5, LW:  N/A)

#7 New England Black Wolves (7-7, -8, LW:  N/A)

#6 Colorado Mammoth (6-8, +1, LW:  N/A)

#5 Toronto Rock (9-5, 0, LW:  N/A)

#4 Saskatchewan Rush (7-6, +12, LW:  N/A)

#3 San Diego Seals (9-4, +13, LW:  N/A)

#2 Georgia Swarm (11-4, +19, LW:  N/A)

#1 Buffalo Bandits (12-3, +42, LW:  N/A)

 

This league has been around since 1987.  There has been fluctuation, but the league has remained relatively stable.  They started small (only four teams) and have never really gotten too big for their own good.  While other leagues have faded in more popular sports, they remain who they are.  The sport is gaining popularity and may gain more fans, but hopefully they won’t fall prey to their own potential success.

 

And now, NASCAR

 

 

#20 Alex Bowman (LW:  19)

#19 Ryan Newman (LW:  20)

#18 Austin Dillon (LW:  16)

#17 William Byron (LW:  18)

#16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (LW:  12)

#15 Daniel Suarez (LW:  16)

#14 Erik Jones (LW:  14)

#13 Jimmie Johnson (LW:  15)

#12 Clint Bowyer (LW:  13)

#11 Kyle Larson (LW:  10)

#10 Ryan Blaney (LW:  8)

#9 Chase Elliott (LW:  11)

#8 Martin Truex Jr. (LW:  9)

#7 Kurt Busch (LW:  6)

#6 Aric Almirola (LW:  7)

#5 Joey Logano (LW:  5)

#4 Kevin Harvick (LW:  4)

#3 Denny Hamlin (LW:  3)

#2 Brad Keselowski (LW:  2)

#1 Kyle Busch (LW:  1)

 

This sport has had its share of ups and downs, and currently it’s down.  Not exactly sure why, but maybe the new format has something to do with it?  Maybe it has lost its regional touch?  Not sure, but I will tell you, it is exciting, so give it a try.  It’s not like they’re trying to rehatch something we’ve already seen in another form . . .