I realized recently there are not many leagues with playoff formats I like.
The NHL’s move to a division series and two wild cards makes for big matchups way too early in the process.
The NFL will allow another average team get home field in the wild card matchups.
The CFL should just go to one division so the best teams get home-field advantage. It’s only a nine-team league and the big East vs. West rivalry doesn’t seem as heated anymore.
The NBA has it about right: Teams are well-seeded one through eight; it’s the simplest and more fair way to deal with the playoffs.
And Major League Baseball needs to allow two to four more teams into the postseason while reducing the amount of regular season games.
Drew Remenda is on to something when he says all leagues have to do is model their playoffs after the NCAA’s March Madness. Rank them one through 16 and see what happens.
Better teams will never be penalized for playing in a tougher conference or division, and it increases seeing the best of the best at the end.
Perfect.