Cross-Sport Champion: Hubs 13-18
I know my pursuit of the Cross-Sport Champion Hub is silly, but it’s fun for me, and honestly, we could use some fun. So go on a little ride with me.
Imagine this thing exists (for the new ones: I’m grouping off the teams in the four major pro sports into hubs — ideally home cities, but that’s not always doable — and deciding who was the best across the most recent four completed seasons), and imagine we are ending it with the football playoffs. So the Raptors and Blues and whoever else got their hubs out to a big start, then the Nationals and Astros came in and switched things around.
Now we’re heading late into the football season. Sure, the football teams want the Lombardi Trophy more than anything else. It would be silly to pretend otherwise. But say the Buccaneers know they’re eliminated from playoff contention, but that a win or two in their last three games would, when combined with the Rays, Magic, and Lightning, give them a real shot at the Cross-Sport Championship. You couldn’t see Stephen A and Max getting like two full hours out of that? I think it would be an amazing addition to our sports cycle. (In fact, I wouldn’t even structure it to end with football season. It already gets the publicity. And the end of baseball season overlaps with the other sports. So this should end with the NBA/NHL playoffs. But I digress. You get the point.)
Today I get to Hubs 13-18 in the countdown of best performances over the last season. We’ve got a couple of conference finalists in here … and also some real bad teams.
(Keep up on the whole series — the Intro, Hubs 25-30, and Hubs 19-24.)
T18. Logan Lucky (Carolina combined result: 0.522)
Carolina Panthers: 5-11
Cincinnati Reds: 75-87
Charlotte Hornets: 39-43
Carolina Hurricanes: 46-36
Bonus awarded: 0.04 for Hurricanes’ third-round playoff loss
Not much remarkable here. The Panthers and Reds might both be better in their next seasons, but that would be offset by the Hornets falling way off in the shortened season. For now, it’s just a ho-hum group of subpar teams.
17. The Shining (Denver combined result: 0.537)
Denver Broncos: 7-9
Colorado Rockies: 71-91
Denver Nuggets: 54-28
Colorado Avalanche: 38-44
Bonus awarded: 0.02 for Nuggets’ second-round playoff loss; 0.02 for Avalanche’s second-round playoff loss
The imbalance in schedules between baseball and football is funny; 7-9 is a marginally disappointing football season, but 71-91 (for all intents and purposes the same thing) is a quasi-disastrous baseball season. They both do about the same amount of work here, though, and the Broncos and Rockies are just pulling down the Nuggets, while the Avalanche offset their middling regular season with a playoff series victory to help their numbers.
16. Fifty Shades of Grey (Seattle combined result: 0.548)
Seattle Seahawks: 11-5
Seattle Mariners: 68-94
Portland Trail Blazers: 53-29
Vancouver Canucks: 35-47
Bonus awarded: 0.02 for Seahawks’ second-round playoff loss; 0.04 for Trail Blazers’ third-round playoff loss
It feels like forever ago now, but you might recall that the Mariners started last season 13-2 before deciding that was the end of the season, we’ll go home, thanks. Take that little stretch out and the Seattle hub’s combined result would drop a fairly massive 17 points, a big number considering we’re dealing with a denominator in the 350 range. Considering how good the Seahawks and Blazers were, they just need to look at the Mariners and shake their heads.
15. The Sixth Sense (Philadelphia combined result: 0.550)
Philadelphia Eagles: 9-7
Philadelphia Phillies: 81-81
Philadelphia 76ers: 51-31
Philadelphia Flyers: 37-45
Bonus awarded: 0.01 for Eagles’ playoff appearance; 0.02 for 76ers’ second-round playoff loss
The Eagles were (frustratingly) extremely average last year. The Phillies were as average as they could be. The Flyers were a bit below average, but only a bit. And then the 76ers, who really should be one of the best teams in the NBA, continue to hover frustratingly just below that threshold. They’re definitely good, but they should be carrying this hub to at least the second tier, and instead it’s still stuck here in the third.
14. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Los Angeles 1 combined result: 0.555)
Los Angeles Rams: 9-7
Los Angeles Dodgers: 106-56
Los Angeles Lakers: 37-45
Los Angeles Kings: 31-51
Bonus awarded: 0.02 for Dodgers’ second-round playoff loss
The Rams are a year removed from being one of the best teams in the NFL. The Lakers were one of the best teams in the NBA this year. The Dodgers have been excellent for a while, and might have been an all-time team in 2020 if things had worked out better. The Kings … well, they haven’t been very good in a while now (did you know they’ve existed since 1967 and have exactly one division title in that time?), but if you could pick and choose from the recent years of the Los Angeles hub, you could really have something.
T12. Trouble with the Curve (Atlanta combined result: 0.556)
Atlanta Falcons: 7-9
Atlanta Braves: 97-65
Atlanta Hawks: 29-53
Winnipeg Jets: 47-35
Bonus awarded: 0.02 for Braves’ second-round playoff loss; 0.01 for Jets’ playoff appearance
The Falcons started last year 1-7, limping into their Week 9 bye having started Matt Schaub in a game and outscored by 83 points. You would be forgiven for having checked out on the Falcons season at that point. Except … they went 6-2 the rest of the way, including wins over the Saints and 49ers, and actually ended the season a respectable 7-9. That, combined with big seasons from the Braves and Atlanta-transplant Jets, and the (sorry it’s such a bad movie) Trouble with the Curve hub actually had a fair showing last year.