Mastodawn

I'm bored let's do a #sports what if #QuestionOfTheDay

I'm reading up on Len Bias (2nd overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft and often compared to Michael Jordan for his athleticism and mid range jumpshot) and his untimely death a few days after being drafted by the Celtics and he's one of the big basketball what if questions.

So my question to you is what's YOUR big sports what if question and what do YOU think happens if it played out differently? One caveat (to make it interesting), it has to be for a team/nation you root for.

#NBA #basketball #hockey #baseball #soccer #MLB #NHL #NFL #football #rugby #tennis #golf #NRL #AFL #FIFA #premiersoccer #F1 #NCAA #WNBA #PWHL #Olympics #cricket

Ami Angelwings Jul 7, 2025

I realized that the one I'm obsessed about has nothing to do with a team I follow so I'll break my own rules: 'what if Gretzky never gets traded to LA, does Jimmy Carson become the greatest American born hockey player and a superstar in LA?'

Nobody remembers who Gretzky was sold for but Jimmy Carson was a burgeoning superstar in LA, in his second season when he was only 19, he scored 55 goals 52 assists and 107 points, the highest point total for a 19 year old ever behind... Wayne Gretzky

He had 100 points in his first year with Edmonton but Gretzky had 168 in Los Angeles. Carson was always compared to Gretzky in Edmonton & the pressure broke him.

Had he stayed in LA playing with Luc Robitaille, I would be so curious to know that timeline & if he would keep developing into a superstar.

Ami Angelwings Jul 7, 2025

For one I do care about, what if everybody on the Raptors had just been a LITTLE more patient in the early years. Damon Stoudamire doesn't leave after 2 years, Marcus Camby isn't traded after 2 years, even without Tracy McGrady staying, Vince Carter, Marcus Camby, and Damon Stoudamire would be an amazing young core to build around, and you'd have Doug Christie as a lockdown wing playing with Carter or off the bench

Alternatively, if Damon makes the Raptors too good to draft Carter, then it's Damon, Camby, and McGrady (& whoever they draft in the Carter draft which was deep, Dirk was picked 9, could you imagine Dirk with those 3???) & maybe McGrady doesn't leave out of familial jealousy and wanting to be #1

Ami Angelwings Jul 7, 2025

This one is much more of a stretch but what if the Grizzlies hung on two more years in Vancouver AND won the first overall pick in the draft and got Yao Ming? With the Chinese population in Vancouver and the proximity to China and the Pacific, they probably make enough to stay in Vancouver

Ami Angelwings Jul 8, 2025

#QuestionOfTheDay and also #MicroFiction challenge.

Pick an alternate timeline in a hobby you care about that interests you. It has to be at least somewhat plausible with a point of divergence you can describe (e.g. what if Paramount had gone ahead with Star Trek Phase 2, what if Nintendo kept Sony and made the SNES CD, what if Kerry Frasier called the high stick on Gretzky in 93, etc)

Write a short 1-2 paragraph (you can do longer if want) teaser blurb framed as commentary or retrospective from that timeline that 1) describes the point of divergence and why it changed and b) hints at what's different.

(e.g. "Leafs fans will never forget that night and neither would Kerry Frasier...)

#sports #television #tv #anime #VideoGames #music #film #movies #ttrpg #ccgs #manga #books #comics

Manic Emo Dream Ghoul Jul 8, 2025

@ami_angelwings The ending of Madoka was controversial, I personally liked it as I felt the entire 11 episodes was paving way to this. All magical girls who lived long enough become witches, in turn the witches lived long enough eventually devour Kyuubey and become the singularity with Kyuubey. And if Kyuubey lived for long enough, they become standstill nothing. The entropy can be slowed to the point of nearly not observable, but it's still the end point of everything, and Madoka existed to the final standstill.

The rumour was that because there's a high risk of a predicated natural disaster, there was a plan b of ending that was Madoka saving the world with a technical glitch. I get why, but I felt that would be a lot more controversial as that ending just felt like it came out of nowhere where the first 11 episodes never needed to exist.

Ami Angelwings Jul 8, 2025

@BigShellEvent good one

Adriano Jul 7, 2025

@ami_angelwings I still think that if Higuaín had scored and Argentina had won the 2014 football World Cup none of this* would have happened.

*all of this.

Ami Angelwings Jul 7, 2025

@adriano a better timeline ;-;

Adriano Jul 7, 2025

@ami_angelwings to be a bit more in depth, that would have been the crowning moment for Messi in his prime, a decade earlier. The win, and the psychological* push, would probably have also meant a copa América win instead of a loss against Chile.

* but then again the largest problem of that team was psychological.

Matt May Jul 7, 2025

@ami_angelwings Sticking with Boston: How many World Series do they win by keeping Babe Ruth AND does he peak at more than 60 HR in a season?

The Sox suck for the entire duration he's a Yankee, with precisely 0 winning seasons in 15 years. In a vacuum, he doesn't make them pennant winners. BUT one of those Yankee WS teams had 11 ex-Red Sox, so with financially stable ownership, 4-5 WS would have been possible.

Fenway's got a short porch in RF but NY's is built for him. Maybe ~53 HR max.

四 Jul 7, 2025

@ami_angelwings One small one is if Forsberg never got injured all the time and had a longer career.

I mean he’s one out of three with a double triple gold (World Championship, Olympics, and Stanley Cup) so it’s not like he never got a change to do something. I’m just curious if he could have gone further.

(I have a long list of music what ifs, very long.)

Ami Angelwings Jul 7, 2025

@yon that entire generation of lost superstars due to injury and Scott Stevens: Lindros, Kariya, Forsberg... only Jagr came through unscathed

四 Sep 3, 2025

@ami_angelwings Gretzky played 20 seasons as well. Really helps the stats. Not that it implies he wasn’t good, because he was, more that if he had played only one season no matter how good it wouldn’t have made an impact.

Also those that got badly injured or killed directly after their career. They won’t show up in studios etc and it lessens the impact too. Like Schumacher and his terrible skiing accident.

socks Jul 7, 2025

@ami_angelwings "What if Barry Bonds had played without a baseball bat?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwMfT2cZGHg

What if Barry Bonds had played without a baseball bat? | Chart Party

YouTube

socks Jul 7, 2025

@ami_angelwings More serious entry - what would've happened if Barry Bonds steered clear of BALCO? I think he would've made it to the Hall of Fame, but I'm not sure he'd be remembered as widely, and maybe even less fondly. He didn't play ball with the straight-edged charm of Ken Griffey Jr, or the showmanship of Willie Mays. He built his career on being the best, and for a few years he met his competition on even footing and stomped them all.

Sometimes I worry he was right - eventually his memory will fade, and only his numbers on Retrosheet will remain.

jdm2 🇵🇷Jul 10, 2025

@ami_angelwings Old one, Mark Cuban not letting Steve Nash go. Dirk and Nash on their primes together growing old? When they’re both MVP candidates? That would’ve been amazing.

And the more recent one… a certain trade to the Lakers for a bag of peanuts

Ami Angelwings Jul 10, 2025

@Jdm2 would Nash have reached his full potential though if he didn't go to the 7 seconds or less Suns with D'Antoni?

It would also be interesting to see how Amar'e Stoudamire is thought about in that TL without Nash turning him into a superstar

jdm2 🇵🇷Sep 3, 2025

@ami_angelwings if Dirk made a role player like JJ Barea look Nash-like playing the pick and roll, I would bet Nash would’ve lived up to his potential.

Pretty sure they would’ve stepped on each other’s toes when it comes to the MVP award. But they could’ve been contenders still.