Sports thread...What If's
- Thread starter grusse
- Start date
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thx badger for ur kinda,sorta,somewhat,semi-accurate version of events.
I was curious so went to wikipedia.dunno how to cut&paste but according to wiki...Skalbania was losing $40K a game with Indy.
He offered Wayne the choice of Wpg or Ed.on the advice of his agent Wayne chose Ed
Skalbania then put Gretzky,Eddie Mio&Peter Driscoll on a private jet, dest. unknown.Whilst airborne,Skalbania offered to play backgammon
with Jets owner,Micheal Gobuty.If Gobuty wins,he gets Gretzky,if Skalbania wins he gets a share of the Jets(presumably Gretzky would be a Jet)
Gobuty turned down the offer and Skalbania sold the 3 to Pocklington for $850K,of which $700K was actually paid,so you got the price right at least.
There was no mention of a poker game between Skalbania&Pocklington.
Your version is more exciting for sure.
You are no doubt, a fine raconteur,who follows the time-honoured credo.."never let facts get in the way of a good story"
thx again for contributing.
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2 What ifs:
1. What if Scott Norwood made that 40 Yard Field Goal attempt in Super Bowl 25 which was the first of 4 straight trip to the big show that the Buffalo Bills would make and lose all 4 ?
2. What if Bill Buckner picked up that weak ground ball down the 1st base line in the 1986 World Series in Game 6 and the Red Sox actually won the World Series?
1. What if Scott Norwood made that 40 Yard Field Goal attempt in Super Bowl 25 which was the first of 4 straight trip to the big show that the Buffalo Bills would make and lose all 4 ?
2. What if Bill Buckner picked up that weak ground ball down the 1st base line in the 1986 World Series in Game 6 and the Red Sox actually won the World Series?
Buffalo fans are probably still agonizing over "wide right".
not sur if it's true but I think I read somewhere that Norwood opened a strip club&named it "Wide Right" in Buffalo?I doubt its true cuz it'd get burned to the ground.
re Buckner....his knees were hurting,probably should've been replaced in the late innings(hindsight I know)
it sometimes get forgotten(not saying by,satinguy) that the Bosox still had a Game 7 the next day&couldn't get it done.
similarly,after l'affaire Bartman,the Cubs had a Game 7&I think both they&the Bosox blew 3-run leads in those Game 7's?
in the 1986 ALCS the then-Anaheim Angels were one out(maybe one strike?) away from the World Series when Donnie Moore served up the 3-run homer
to Dave Henderson.
Angels tied it in bottom of 9th,but lost in extra innings,then lost game 6&7 in Fenway to Buckner's Bosox.
so,all those teams had a chance to recover&didn't.
the Bills got to 3 more Super Bowls but never got as close to winning as that 1st time.
Still, 4 S.B. appearances in a row is impressive,to me at least.before you can lose a championship game you gotta get there.
You have a keen sense of baseball history grusse.
Glad you mentioned Donnie Moore, he eventually committed suicide over that series and likely that homerun to Henderson. I am a Sox fan and recall that Series like it was yesterday. The Red Sox were dead in the water and mounted an incredible comeback only to have the tables turned on them by the Mets. The Baseball Gods can be a cruel bunch at times. You make a good point about redemption, the Buckner ground ball only tied the game and yes Boston had a chance in Game 7. I blame John Macnamara the Manager and Calvin Schiraldi the reliever who blew a few in that series but Buckner was the one fitted for horns.
I have a good freind who is a Bills fan, while i am a Giants fan and we have debated this topic since that game over 2 decades ago. He is convinced if Norwood makes that kick it would have changed the Bills fate in at least 1 of the other 3 SuperBowls. I remind him the Bills only had the ball for 19 minutes of that game and never really deserved to win it. As you said 4 trips in 4 years to the SuperBowl is more than impressive and something Bills fans should relish but the sting of losing all 4 likely outweigh any positive for the fans.
I don't know if I have a keen sense of baseball history,satinguy,but i DO have a keen sense of the kick-in-the-nuts feeling when
s..t/karma whatever happens to a team I'm cheering for,lol..
I like to see losing streaks/curses end, so,while not a member of Red Sox Nation, I was excited back in '86 to see the tv
crews setting up in Boston's clubhouse.I think Bruce Hurst had been named Series MVP, and then.....s..t happened.
I've been to Wrigley both before and after THAT game.Also been to the original Billy Goat Tavern featured in the lore,amazing place,
like going back in time.
If memory serves Moore's suicide was in summer,'89.I believe domestic violence was involved plus mental health issues
and no doubt THAT pitch didn't help his tortured state of mind.
Even if Norwood had made the kick,the next 3 S.B. opponents were Washington&Dallas(twice)so I think they'd've been one&done,but
Bills fans might argue the point.
the Vikings in the 70's&Broncos in the 80's both had 3 S.B. appearances in 4 seasons and many call them chokers cuz they both went 0-3.
Can't see it myself....I think getting there that often is pretty damn good.
s..t/karma whatever happens to a team I'm cheering for,lol..
I like to see losing streaks/curses end, so,while not a member of Red Sox Nation, I was excited back in '86 to see the tv
crews setting up in Boston's clubhouse.I think Bruce Hurst had been named Series MVP, and then.....s..t happened.
I've been to Wrigley both before and after THAT game.Also been to the original Billy Goat Tavern featured in the lore,amazing place,
like going back in time.
If memory serves Moore's suicide was in summer,'89.I believe domestic violence was involved plus mental health issues
and no doubt THAT pitch didn't help his tortured state of mind.
Even if Norwood had made the kick,the next 3 S.B. opponents were Washington&Dallas(twice)so I think they'd've been one&done,but
Bills fans might argue the point.
the Vikings in the 70's&Broncos in the 80's both had 3 S.B. appearances in 4 seasons and many call them chokers cuz they both went 0-3.
Can't see it myself....I think getting there that often is pretty damn good.
What if Kevin Glenn hadn't gotten hurt in the East Final in 2007, leaving the Bombers with an untested nobody for the biggest game of the year? We would have fucked up Saskatchetoon bad in that Grey Cup....
What if Canucks former head coach Tom Watt had gotten his head out of his ass and played Cam Neely more instead of trading him for Barry Pederson and some draft picks?
Still on the topic of Neely, what if he had driven Ulf Samuelsson's head into his chest with an elbow rather than getting a cheap knee hit put on him by the dirty Swedish prick?
Still on the topic of Neely, what if he had driven Ulf Samuelsson's head into his chest with an elbow rather than getting a cheap knee hit put on him by the dirty Swedish prick?
on the side of existentialism
what if…sports did not exist?
would we be more productive?
as an avid sports fan, I'd hate to find out
how many hours I've spent watching all sorts
of sporting events.
I wonder what the avg is (hrs/weekly) for the PERB demographic?
I'm sure it will be pretty high and it's no wonder wives and girlfriends
get irate. it's just a thought, nothing more.
what if…sports did not exist?
would we be more productive?
as an avid sports fan, I'd hate to find out
how many hours I've spent watching all sorts
of sporting events.
I wonder what the avg is (hrs/weekly) for the PERB demographic?
I'm sure it will be pretty high and it's no wonder wives and girlfriends
get irate. it's just a thought, nothing more.
Then we'd be selling tickets to more seal clubbing and bull fighting then we are now. Humanity, (and mostly men), seems like they have this innate desire to see conflict and aggression in some form. Without an outlet like sports we would probably find it in even sicker fashion.
True enough about the GM, but trading an unproven prospect like Neely just because he hasn't been given a chance to perform enough is like trading Adam Oates from Detroit to St. Louis for Bernie Federko. Just gotta give your head a shake. No wonder them 'Nucks don't have a cup yet.
Come on John, that's got to be one of the worst trade in NHL history no matter how you spin it...:nod: The only consolation is that Boston never won a cup with Neely.
You know, my brother-in-law is a fierce 'Nucks fan as well. And for the last 3 years he has been riding my ass about how my Flames are doing. And I indulge him. I let him go on and on about how much better his team is, and why they will win someday. But eventually enough is enough, and I have to look at him and say one simple thing...
Put your Cup up or shut up.
Thank God for '89.
during the Flames' 1989 Cup run,they beat Vancouver,L.A,Chicago&Montreal.
In 1986 I don't think Edmonton looked past them,cuz in those years,tho' the Oil almost always beat Cal,
the games were always tough,as in the 7 game series Ed won in 1984.
the Smith-Fuhr fiasco came early in 3rd period of Game 7.I've always felt Fuhr s/b held responsible as well as Smith.
in peewee goalies are taught to play against the post nearest the puck&watch the f....g play.
Fuhr is about 3' away from the post,not watching Smith with the puck.cpl yrs ago he admitted as much,
never said squat when Smith could've used some help.
The next yr,when the Oil won the cup,1st guy capt.Gretzky handed it to was Steve Smith.class act was #99.
definition of the Calgary brassiere...only has one cup.
In 1986 I don't think Edmonton looked past them,cuz in those years,tho' the Oil almost always beat Cal,
the games were always tough,as in the 7 game series Ed won in 1984.
the Smith-Fuhr fiasco came early in 3rd period of Game 7.I've always felt Fuhr s/b held responsible as well as Smith.
in peewee goalies are taught to play against the post nearest the puck&watch the f....g play.
Fuhr is about 3' away from the post,not watching Smith with the puck.cpl yrs ago he admitted as much,
never said squat when Smith could've used some help.
The next yr,when the Oil won the cup,1st guy capt.Gretzky handed it to was Steve Smith.class act was #99.
definition of the Calgary brassiere...only has one cup.
My favorite is the Lindros for Forsberg & the 5 other players.... what a bum steer HE was....
1) Mud wrestling **skivvies optional** Got to go with InTheBum.
2) The 10 yard dash to the fridge LAG by a country mile, too much practice with dine and dash.
3) Chin ups ( first to be able to complete 5 within the 1 hour time limit) LAG has the (double) chin advantage.
4) Belly Flop Competition huny for sure, years of living in his mother's basement will make him the favorite.
5) Beer chugging Got to go with InTheBum again, don't know why...
2) The 10 yard dash to the fridge LAG by a country mile, too much practice with dine and dash.
3) Chin ups ( first to be able to complete 5 within the 1 hour time limit) LAG has the (double) chin advantage.
4) Belly Flop Competition huny for sure, years of living in his mother's basement will make him the favorite.
5) Beer chugging Got to go with InTheBum again, don't know why...
Ahem...Put your cup up, or shut up.
Must suck being to the finals three times and never winning it at least once...
DarkRaven will relate to this one......
what if....SOMEBODY,either a Flame or a ref or linesman had seen the "phantom goal" in Game 6 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final.
it was at least cpl min before it was shown as a replay&too late to do anything.
it may very well have cost Calgary the Cup.
I can remember how this city embraced the Flames during that run.similar thing happened with the Oilers 2 yrs later,&Ottawa
the yr after that.
I've been told by friends in Montreal,Toronto&Winnipeg that such affection was NOT bestowed upon the Canucks in 2011.
the perception seemed to be that the 'Nucks were whiners&diversand not as lovable a team to cheer for.
what if....SOMEBODY,either a Flame or a ref or linesman had seen the "phantom goal" in Game 6 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final.
it was at least cpl min before it was shown as a replay&too late to do anything.
it may very well have cost Calgary the Cup.
I can remember how this city embraced the Flames during that run.similar thing happened with the Oilers 2 yrs later,&Ottawa
the yr after that.
I've been told by friends in Montreal,Toronto&Winnipeg that such affection was NOT bestowed upon the Canucks in 2011.
the perception seemed to be that the 'Nucks were whiners&diversand not as lovable a team to cheer for.
I know the Nucks had a couple chances to land Gretzky. The last time was in 1996, but it didn't work out and we ended up with Messier instead the year after. =(
In 1990, Pat Quinn drafts Petr Nedved, Shawn Antoski and Jiri Slegr in BC Place, what if he drafts Jaromir Jagr, Keith Tkachuk and Doug Weight instead? I think it's safe to say we would of rolled over the Rangers in 1994 and how many more Cup could we have won? :doh:
In 1990, Pat Quinn drafts Petr Nedved, Shawn Antoski and Jiri Slegr in BC Place, what if he drafts Jaromir Jagr, Keith Tkachuk and Doug Weight instead? I think it's safe to say we would of rolled over the Rangers in 1994 and how many more Cup could we have won? :doh:
before this thread expires I thought of one that I'd guess Canucks' fans would relate to...
what if...Burrows had NOT scored the O/T goal in Game 7 vs Chi?
had the Hawks completed the 0-3 to 4-3 comeback would Vigneault still be their coach?
would player changes have been made?
I remember wondering this right after Burrows scored the goal,I think there was a huge sigh of relief
across the city.
This thread is probly done,it was better than I'd hoped thx for all the participation.
what if...Burrows had NOT scored the O/T goal in Game 7 vs Chi?
had the Hawks completed the 0-3 to 4-3 comeback would Vigneault still be their coach?
would player changes have been made?
I remember wondering this right after Burrows scored the goal,I think there was a huge sigh of relief
across the city.
This thread is probly done,it was better than I'd hoped thx for all the participation.
