Updating the Power Rankings of "Who is the most likely to win a championship soon"
1. Detroit Redwings
They could win the Stanley Cup as early as later this season, but injuries among the Goalies makes it not likely. Their front office leadership will ensure that they will continue to win the Championship every few years.
2. Michigan State Basketball
This team is not going to get it done, but I have the sense that they are providing the leadership for a team that could get it done in the next few years.
3. Detroit Tigers
They are proving they can make more intelligent roster moves than unintelligent ones. The bigger hump is to actually make the playoffs than to advance and win them. There should be a DQ if the Twins continue to make the playoffs and lose before the Series.
4. Detroit Lions
I think the Lions used to hold the bottom spot in my rankings. So why the dramatic change? The new front office appears to know what they are doing, which is a dramatic change. The NFL is a league of parity, so why shouldn't we be a part of that? The NFC Championship game demonstrates that the NFC North was a good division this year, so our 6-10 record despite significant injuries seems even more impressive.
5. Michigan State Hockey
While they have won the second most recent championship, the MSU Hockey program now seems stagnant. They have struggled to make the NCAA tournament, which I think should be a regular expectation. I was not a Rick Comley fan until they won it all and the lack of sustained success has drained some of that credibility.
6. Michigan State Football
You would think that winning a share of the Big 10 title would earn a higher ranking, but the lack of OSU on the schedule and the horrible performance against Alabama diminishes the aura of that title. My lack of confidence in their ability to win the BCS is more due to the competitiveness of the division and the disparity between the elite 10 programs and everyone else. With Nebraska joining the conference and a likely Michigan resurgence on the horizon, MSU's chances to sustain Big 10 Championships are narrow.
7. Detroit Pistons
The franchise, hindered by their impending sale, is headed nowhere. They need to implode the team and rebuild around young talent. The talent in the NBA is currently concentrated among 4-5 teams, so I think the next 10 NBA championships or so will be shared exclusively among that group.
5 comments:
I think I agree with these rankings. But it just feels...wrong...saying that the Lions have a better chance to win a championship than anyone.
This MSU basketball team COULD STILL GET IT DONE. If ever there was a year to be semi-crappy and still win, this is it. Even last year, when we got placed with Kansas, OSU, Georgetown, etc. in a bracket, we still managed to survive (granted we didn't have to play those teams...). It seemed bleak last year, it's seems bleak this year, but hold out hope!!! There's plenty of time.
I would move MSU hockey above the Lions and Tigers. Although you are right they are "stagnant", it's easier to become a contender in hockey than in MLB or the NFL. A couple good recruiting classes, some motivation, and boom, back on top.
I would also move MSU football to last, even below the Pistons. Until college football changes their playoff system, playing for a National Championship is a pipe dream for us. Even if we went undefeated this year, we'd be on the outside looking in. Not only do you have be undefeated, but you have to have these unspoken "style" points. We will never routinely beat teams by 20-30 points like the big boys.
The Pistons, on the other hand, could turn things around in about ten years.
I agree that the Pistons could turn things around in 10 years. They're kind of in the same mold of the 1994-1995 Pistons, so they may be on pace to win the 2021 championship.
I think that within the next ten years, college football will have something resembling a playoff system. The expansion of the Big 10 made it more competitive and more difficult to win, but it also made it easier for the single winner to be put into the title game.
With the shape the two teams are currently in, it is just too difficult to say that the Pistons are closer to winning a title.
So let's say the Piston's are contending for a title in 2021.
Do you think, and I hope you're right if you are, MSU will be a part of the National Championship picture (assuming the playoff system is revised) by 2021?
I think that the MSU Football program is closer to winning the championship than the Pistons. They (co)won their conference this year while the P's are currently the 7th worst team in the NBA. If you consider the parity in college football, it is possible for a program to rise quickly. In the final 2003 rankings, neither Auburn nor Oregon appeared (Auburn ranked the equivalent of 30th and Oregon ranked worse). Seven of those Top 10 didn't appear in this year's final Top 25. (USC, Miami, Michigan, Georgia, Iowa, Washington State, Miami of Ohio).
So yes, I think that MSU is closer to a championship than the Pistons.
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