Here is my prediction for the 2016 season of Major League Soccer.
East
1. Columbus
2. New York Red Bulls
3. DC United
4. New England
5. Orlando
6. Montreal
7. Toronto
8. New York City FC
9. Philadelphia
10. Chicago
West
1. FC Dallas
2. Portland
3. Vancouver
4. Los Angeles
5. Seattle
6. Real Salt Lake
7. Sporting Kansas City
8. Houston
9. San Jose
10. Colorado
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Raiders in Las Vegas and other options for Mike Davis
Las Vegas is not the place you would go during Lent...that much is certain. And that is the reason none of the major professional sports leagues have been willing to locate a team there. Las Vegas is still one of the fastest growing metro areas in the United States, and is now the largest such area in the US without a major sports franchise.
In spite of this, and the fact that a stadium could be built there without any public funds, do not expect the NFL to go there willingly. They say, whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, however, it is much different when you live there. And it is all exacerbated when you have young men who are making good money for the first time in their lives and don't know what to do with their extra time.
Eight of the top 15 employers in Las Vegas are involved in the gambling industry. However, that is not all that is in Sin City. It is also the western hub for Southwest Airlines, the second largest airline in the United States. Wal Mart, Target and Home Depot have distribution centers there. Health Care, like many cities in the southwest, is large because the mild climate and low cost of living is attractive to retirees. But the percentage of people who work in the gaming industry is very high, and many people feel without others visiting the city to gamble, there wouldn't be much there at all.
But that is not really the reason behind the lack of support in going to Lav Vegas. The real question is this, will athletes be able to keep out of trouble if we put a team there? In this day and age, could this still be a reason to continue to shun Las Vegas. After all, athletes in trouble makes headlines regularly.
Commercial casinos are now legal in 17 states. 12 of these 17 states are currently the home to NFL franchises. However, in most of these states, gaming casinos are not right next door to the NFL stadiums. In Colorado, for example, casinos can be found in old mining towns and on the reservation, not right across the street from Investco Field at Mile High, and really, now where near Denver. Most states that have commercial gaming restrict the territory, making them destination sites. The NFL allows its players to gamble, but limits what activities they can do. Outside of former Colt Art Schliester and former 49ers Owner Eddie DeBartalo, Jr, the NFL has been relatively free of gambling controversies.
It is hard to say if gambling would be a problem if an NFL team came to Las Vegas. But the temptation would certainly be there. But there are other temptations in Sin City. Prostitution is legal, and Nevada is the only state where it is. All of this could lead to greater problems with domestic violence, which is something that the NFL needs less of.
However, what Las Vegas needs is a more diversified economy. When the overall economy of the US is suffering, Las Vegas suffers as well, especially now that there are options for most Americans to gamble closer to home. An NFL franchise, or an NBA, MLB, NHL or MLS franchise would help legitimize the city and attract more non-gaming business to the city. Las Vegas needs this more than anything else right now. Las Vegas would also be a great place to hold the Super Bowl, as there are plenty of hotels around town.
There are probably other options for the Raiders if they are unable to build a stadium in Oakland. They could share the Rams new facility. There are other proposed stadiums in the Los Angeles area that could work for the Raiders. If the Chargers abandon San Diego, the Raiders could locate there. They could build in the Central Valley, in either Sacramento or Fresno. There are also a half dozen other cities around the country that the Raiders could move to, like Portland, Salt Lake, San Antonio, Birmingham, or Southern Virginia. There is even room for a third franchise in the New York area, perhaps one that actually has a stadium in one of the Five Burroughs. Finally, they could locate north of the border in either Vancouver or Toronto. And for that matter, could even move to Mexico City, Monterrey or Guadalajara.
However, let me pitch one final idea. Let's move the Warriors out of Oakland after this season. There is a new area going up in San Francisco for the Warriors, let's move them to the SAP Center in San Jose, home of the NHL's Sharks. Then immediately after the NBA season is finished (and for the Warriors, it looks like it will be early June this year) raise the Oracle Arena and begin construction on a new stadium for the Raiders. Once the Raiders are able to move out of O.co, then the stadium can be permanently remodeled as a baseball only facility for the Athletics.
However, what makes sense rarely happens and it will be fun to see how this all plays out.
In spite of this, and the fact that a stadium could be built there without any public funds, do not expect the NFL to go there willingly. They say, whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, however, it is much different when you live there. And it is all exacerbated when you have young men who are making good money for the first time in their lives and don't know what to do with their extra time.
Eight of the top 15 employers in Las Vegas are involved in the gambling industry. However, that is not all that is in Sin City. It is also the western hub for Southwest Airlines, the second largest airline in the United States. Wal Mart, Target and Home Depot have distribution centers there. Health Care, like many cities in the southwest, is large because the mild climate and low cost of living is attractive to retirees. But the percentage of people who work in the gaming industry is very high, and many people feel without others visiting the city to gamble, there wouldn't be much there at all.
But that is not really the reason behind the lack of support in going to Lav Vegas. The real question is this, will athletes be able to keep out of trouble if we put a team there? In this day and age, could this still be a reason to continue to shun Las Vegas. After all, athletes in trouble makes headlines regularly.
Commercial casinos are now legal in 17 states. 12 of these 17 states are currently the home to NFL franchises. However, in most of these states, gaming casinos are not right next door to the NFL stadiums. In Colorado, for example, casinos can be found in old mining towns and on the reservation, not right across the street from Investco Field at Mile High, and really, now where near Denver. Most states that have commercial gaming restrict the territory, making them destination sites. The NFL allows its players to gamble, but limits what activities they can do. Outside of former Colt Art Schliester and former 49ers Owner Eddie DeBartalo, Jr, the NFL has been relatively free of gambling controversies.
It is hard to say if gambling would be a problem if an NFL team came to Las Vegas. But the temptation would certainly be there. But there are other temptations in Sin City. Prostitution is legal, and Nevada is the only state where it is. All of this could lead to greater problems with domestic violence, which is something that the NFL needs less of.
However, what Las Vegas needs is a more diversified economy. When the overall economy of the US is suffering, Las Vegas suffers as well, especially now that there are options for most Americans to gamble closer to home. An NFL franchise, or an NBA, MLB, NHL or MLS franchise would help legitimize the city and attract more non-gaming business to the city. Las Vegas needs this more than anything else right now. Las Vegas would also be a great place to hold the Super Bowl, as there are plenty of hotels around town.
There are probably other options for the Raiders if they are unable to build a stadium in Oakland. They could share the Rams new facility. There are other proposed stadiums in the Los Angeles area that could work for the Raiders. If the Chargers abandon San Diego, the Raiders could locate there. They could build in the Central Valley, in either Sacramento or Fresno. There are also a half dozen other cities around the country that the Raiders could move to, like Portland, Salt Lake, San Antonio, Birmingham, or Southern Virginia. There is even room for a third franchise in the New York area, perhaps one that actually has a stadium in one of the Five Burroughs. Finally, they could locate north of the border in either Vancouver or Toronto. And for that matter, could even move to Mexico City, Monterrey or Guadalajara.
However, let me pitch one final idea. Let's move the Warriors out of Oakland after this season. There is a new area going up in San Francisco for the Warriors, let's move them to the SAP Center in San Jose, home of the NHL's Sharks. Then immediately after the NBA season is finished (and for the Warriors, it looks like it will be early June this year) raise the Oracle Arena and begin construction on a new stadium for the Raiders. Once the Raiders are able to move out of O.co, then the stadium can be permanently remodeled as a baseball only facility for the Athletics.
However, what makes sense rarely happens and it will be fun to see how this all plays out.
Idaho kicked out of Sun Belt Conference
As announced by the Sun Belt Conference last week, Idaho as a football-only member has been summarily dismissed. 2017 will be the last season the Vandals will compete in the Sun Belt Conference for football. There are not a lot of options left for Idaho, and most of this was their own doing. The same was announced for New Mexico State.
There were probably two reasons why the Sun Belt Conference made this move. First, it was to trim expenses. It would be better if Moscow, Idaho was located near a major hub airport, but they are not. Getting from Monroe, Louisiana to Moscow isn't cheap, and involves two or three airplane changes. Getting to the rest of the Sun Belt can easily be done by bus, which is a cheaper option. The other reason is the that Vandals have not been competitive since joining the Sun Belt. And in the current world of College Sports, the Sun Belt needs every member to excel and become competitive.
There are some options for Idaho, but they are limited. First is to try and join another conference. However, if the Mountain West or Conference USA wanted Idaho, they would already be there. I would put a caveat to that statement. Conference USA probably is a realistic option for New Mexico State, should future realignment cost that conference a member and they (the NMSU Aggies) are a natural rival with UTEP and other C-USA members. However, Idaho is well outside of the C-USA footprint, and don't really have the pull the NMSU has to get in.
Idaho could compete as an independent in football, and didn't exactly have the trouble scheduling games as an independent that people thought they would. NMSU may also compete as an independent with them. There is always BYU to schedule, and perhaps and agreement can be made to bring the Cougars to Moscow. However, this is not a sustainable model, and the only school that really seems committed to long-term independence is Army. Notre Dame has a scheduling agreement with the ACC. BYU is desperately trying to woo the Big 12.
It would not be completely off kilter for Idaho to hold on to the FBS for a couple of years, perhaps until the end of the decade. There are rumblings of more conference realignment and that could benefit the Vandals to where the MWC or C-USA would welcome them.
One other option for Idaho is to attempt to form a new FBS conference along with some of the more successful FCS programs like Montana and North Dakota State. But it seems like these schools would rather be a big fish in a little pond and you may not find enough schools willing to make the jump right now.
However, the best bet for Idaho is to take a standing invitation for returned full membership in the Big Sky Conference. There are several reason why this makes good sense. First, they could drop a couple of non-revenue sports to reduce the cost of the athletic department. They could pay their assistant coaches less. They would not have as many scholarship football athletes. They could resume rivalries against schools that are geographically close like Montana, Eastern Washington and Idaho State. The expenses may drop more dramatically than the revenue. If so, this is the best move.
The senior leaders at Idaho get paid big money to make hard decisions. At Idaho, they have a hard decision to make right now. I don't envy them. Whatever they decide to do, I hope for the best.
There were probably two reasons why the Sun Belt Conference made this move. First, it was to trim expenses. It would be better if Moscow, Idaho was located near a major hub airport, but they are not. Getting from Monroe, Louisiana to Moscow isn't cheap, and involves two or three airplane changes. Getting to the rest of the Sun Belt can easily be done by bus, which is a cheaper option. The other reason is the that Vandals have not been competitive since joining the Sun Belt. And in the current world of College Sports, the Sun Belt needs every member to excel and become competitive.
There are some options for Idaho, but they are limited. First is to try and join another conference. However, if the Mountain West or Conference USA wanted Idaho, they would already be there. I would put a caveat to that statement. Conference USA probably is a realistic option for New Mexico State, should future realignment cost that conference a member and they (the NMSU Aggies) are a natural rival with UTEP and other C-USA members. However, Idaho is well outside of the C-USA footprint, and don't really have the pull the NMSU has to get in.
Idaho could compete as an independent in football, and didn't exactly have the trouble scheduling games as an independent that people thought they would. NMSU may also compete as an independent with them. There is always BYU to schedule, and perhaps and agreement can be made to bring the Cougars to Moscow. However, this is not a sustainable model, and the only school that really seems committed to long-term independence is Army. Notre Dame has a scheduling agreement with the ACC. BYU is desperately trying to woo the Big 12.
It would not be completely off kilter for Idaho to hold on to the FBS for a couple of years, perhaps until the end of the decade. There are rumblings of more conference realignment and that could benefit the Vandals to where the MWC or C-USA would welcome them.
One other option for Idaho is to attempt to form a new FBS conference along with some of the more successful FCS programs like Montana and North Dakota State. But it seems like these schools would rather be a big fish in a little pond and you may not find enough schools willing to make the jump right now.
However, the best bet for Idaho is to take a standing invitation for returned full membership in the Big Sky Conference. There are several reason why this makes good sense. First, they could drop a couple of non-revenue sports to reduce the cost of the athletic department. They could pay their assistant coaches less. They would not have as many scholarship football athletes. They could resume rivalries against schools that are geographically close like Montana, Eastern Washington and Idaho State. The expenses may drop more dramatically than the revenue. If so, this is the best move.
The senior leaders at Idaho get paid big money to make hard decisions. At Idaho, they have a hard decision to make right now. I don't envy them. Whatever they decide to do, I hope for the best.
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