FIXED

[Robert]

FIXED

 

With the October 29, 2014 elimination of the Vancouver Whitecaps from the MLS play-offs, professional Canadian men’s sports clubs have now officially earned the dubious distinction of being the all-time greatest losers in the history of professional team sports.  What is the explanation for this international humiliation?

 

Are professional North American sports leagues fixed?  Questioning the integrity of professional North American sports leagues certainly seems permissible from a Canadian perspective, given the fact that no Canadian club has won a major professional North American sports league, in which American clubs compete, since October 23, 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-6 in the sixth game of the World Series.

 

In the 21 years following that feat, Canadian clubs have inconceivably gone a collective 200 seasons without winning a single championship.  That’s right!  Since that Blue Jay championship back in 1993, Canadian clubs are 0 for 200 in their attempts to secure an NHL, NBA, MLB or MLS championship.  Mercifully, the NFL has thus far rejected the idea of setting up shop in the Toronto market, which otherwise would have surely exacerbated this dreadful statistic.  Never before, in the history of professional sports on Planet Earth has such an atrocious record of futility been witnessed by mankind.

 

Given this state of absolute American dominance, what could possibly account for this gross disparity?  Do Canadian clubs lack the financial resources, the quality of talent or the sound leadership that their counterparts from south of the 49 parallel appear to have been blessed with?  Speculation along these lines strongly contradicts the extreme measures that professional North American sports leagues have taken to ensure level playing fields for all of their clubs.  Entry drafts, salary caps, and in the case of the MLS, a league-controlled payroll structure are just a few of the tools that have been implemented over the years to give these leagues the appearance that their infrastructures have been built on the foundations of equality and fairness for all.  In attempting to achieve an even greater level of parity, the NHL has gone as far as to reward clubs that lose their games after 60 minutes with a point, which seems somewhat ironic coming from a culture that has a strong contempt for games that end in a draw and openly subscribes to the adage that “a tie is like kissing your sister.”

 

Therefore, having gone to such great lengths to create this illusion that all things are equal in professional North American sports leagues, is it not remotely conceivable that these competitively balancing measures were implemented to provide some of the most cunning and unscrupulous sports fixers of our generation with the perfect smokescreen to control the outcomes of these scripts of Canadian futility, which contravene the law of averages beyond incredulous?  In other words, are the North American championships decided on the ice, the courts and the sports fields, or are they merely predetermined outcomes drafted up in the respective league boardrooms with the sole intention of generating the greatest financial returns possible?

 

Obviously, if this assertion is true, then Canadians appear to be quite content accepting their also-ran status, as not the slightest murmur of discontentment has been heard from the nation that takes such great pride in its polite demeanor.  In exchange for their multimillion-dollar contracts, players on Canadian teams are only too willing to perform the roles of the vanquished for which they have been cast, while typical Canadian fans are just beside themselves at having the big shows come to their remote northern communities and gladly continue to shell-out the trillions of dollars spent on season tickets, programs, concessions, parking, merchandise, pay-per-view rights, etc. for the privilege of watching their Canadian MLB, MLS, NBA and NHL teams get beat, year-after-year, by far superior American opponents.  Hockey supporters in the Great White North have even bought into the silent code of understanding that American television ratings would plummet to the point where major networks would seriously consider the cancellation of hockey coverage if two Canadian teams were to meet in the Stanley Cup Final, because the average American sports fan really doesn’t have an appreciation for hockey if American teams aren’t winning championships on a regular basis.  After all, we are talking about a nation that worships the ethos: “Winning isn’t everything.  It’s the only thing.”  Just try, if you can, to imagine the reaction of the American sports-paying public if the tables were reversed with our Southern neighbours owning the all-time worst losing streak in pro sports, ever?  Conversely, I wonder how this winless record has impacted the sense of national identity for Canadians 30 years of age and younger?

 

1993-94 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (1^st round)
2. Quebec Nordiques
3. Ottawa Senators
4. Calgary Flames (1^st round)
5. Toronto Maple Leafs (3^rd round)
6. Vancouver Canucks (finals)
7. Edmonton Oilers
8. Winnipeg Jets

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

1994-95 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Quebec Nordiques (1^st round)
3. Ottawa Senators
4. Calgary Flames (1^st round)
5. Toronto Maple Leafs (1^st round)
6. Vancouver Canucks (2^nd round)
7. Edmonton Oilers
8. Winnipeg Jets

 

MLB:

 

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

1995-96 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (1^st round)
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Calgary Flames (1^st round)
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (1^st round)
5. Vancouver Canucks (1^st round)
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Winnipeg Jets (1^st round)

 

NBA:

1. Vancouver Grizzlies
2. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

1996-97 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (1^st round)
2. Ottawa Senators (1^st round)
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Edmonton Oilers (2^nd round)

 

NBA:

1. Vancouver Grizzlies
2. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

1997-98 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (2^nd round)
2. Ottawa Senators (2^nd round)
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Edmonton Oilers (2^nd round)

 

NBA:

1. Vancouver Grizzlies
2. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

1998-99 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Ottawa Senators (1^st round)
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (3^rd round)
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Edmonton Oilers (1^st round)

 

NBA:

1. Vancouver Grizzlies
2. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

1999-2000 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Ottawa Senators (1^st round)
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (2^nd round)
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Edmonton Oilers (1^st round)

 

NBA:

1. Vancouver Grizzlies
2. Toronto Raptors (1^st round)

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

2000-2001 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (2^nd round)
5. Vancouver Canucks (1^st round)
6. Edmonton Oilers (1^st round)

 

NBA:

1. Vancouver Grizzlies
2. Toronto Raptors (2^nd round)

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

2001-2002 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (2^nd round)
2. Ottawa Senators (2^nd round)
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (3^rd round)
5. Vancouver Canucks (1^st round)
6. Edmonton Oilers

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors (1^st round)

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

2002-2003 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Ottawa Senators (3^rd round)
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (1^st round)
5. Vancouver Canucks (2^nd round)
6. Edmonton Oilers (1^st round)

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

2003-2004 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (2^nd round)
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Calgary Flames (finals)
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (2^nd round)
5. Vancouver Canucks (1^st round)
6. Edmonton Oilers

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Montreal Expos
2. Toronto Blue Jays

 

2004-2005 Season

 

NHL:              Season cancelled due to NHL lockout.

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

2005-2006 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (1^st round)
2. Ottawa Senators (2^nd round)
3. Calgary Flames (1^st round)
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Edmonton Oilers (finals)

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

2006-2007 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Ottawa Senators (finals)
3. Calgary Flames (1^st round)
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Vancouver Canucks (2^nd round)
6. Edmonton Oilers

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors (1^st round)

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

MLS:

1. Toronto FC

 

2007-2008 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (2^nd round)
2. Ottawa Senators (1^st round)
3. Calgary Flames (1^st round)
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Edmonton Oilers

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors (1^st round)

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

MLS:

1. Toronto FC

 

2008-2009 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (1^st round)
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Calgary Flames (1^st round)
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Vancouver Canucks (2^nd round)
6. Edmonton Oilers

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

MLS:

1. Toronto FC

 

2009-2010 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (3^rd round)
2. Ottawa Senators (1^st round)
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Vancouver Canucks (2^nd round)
6. Edmonton Oilers

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

MLS:

1. Toronto FC

 

2010-2011 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (1^st round)
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Vancouver Canucks (finals)
6. Edmonton Oilers

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

MLS:

1. Toronto FC
2. Vancouver Whitecaps

 

2011-2012 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Ottawa Senators (1^st round)
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs(1^st round)
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Winnipeg Jets

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

MLS:

1. Toronto FC
2. Vancouver Whitecaps (1^st round)
3. Montreal Impact

 

2012-2013 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (1^st round)
2. Ottawa Senators (2^nd round)
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (1^st round)
5. Vancouver Canucks (1^st round)
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Winnipeg Jets

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

MLS:

1. Toronto FC
2. Vancouver Whitecaps
3. Montreal Impact (1^st round)

 

2013-2014 Season

 

NHL:

1. Montreal Canadiens (3^rd round)
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Calgary Flames
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Winnipeg Jets

 

NBA:

1. Toronto Raptors (1^st round)

 

MLB:

1. Toronto Blue Jays

 

MLS:

1. Toronto FC
2. Vancouver Whitecaps (1^st round)
3. Montreal Impact

 

 

In the last 21 years worth of play-offs, the odds of:

 

Canadian teams making the 1^st round are                      74 out of 200 – 37.0%

Canadian teams making the 2^nd round are                     30 out of 200 – 15.0%

Canadian teams making the 3^rd round are                      11 out of 200 – 05.5%

Canadian teams making the finals are                             5 out of 200 – 02.5%

Canadian teams winning championships are                   0 out of 200 – 00.0%

 

 

Number of seasons each Canadian city has gone without winning a championship.

 

Toronto              68 seasons without winning a championship – 34%

Montreal             34 seasons without winning a championship – 17%

Vancouver          30 seasons without winning a championship – 15%

Calgary               20 seasons without winning a championship – 10%

Edmonton          20 seasons without winning a championship – 10%

Ottawa               20 seasons without winning a championship – 10%

Winnipeg            06 seasons without winning a championship – 03%

Quebec City       02 seasons without winning a championship – 01%

[madmonte]

Bro, what are you talking about...we totally won the Grey Cup

[Robert]

As we embark on a New Year, I wonder if Canada's "0h for 200" streak of not winning a major professional North American sports league, in which American clubs compete (and no madmonte the TOILET BOWL, aka the Grey Cup, does not qualify), will be snapped in 2015.  Who will break the greaterst streak of sporting futility EVER?

 

A) Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Raptors

C) Toronto Blue Jays

D) Toronto FC

E) Vancouver Canucks

F) Vancouver Whitecaps

G) Montreal Canadians

H) Montreal Impact

I) Ottawa Senators

J) Winnipeg Jets

K) Calgary Flames

L) Edmonton Oilers (have the Oilers already been eliminated?)

M) or will we end up being "0h for 212"

[-Hammer-]

The Hamilton Bulldogs won the Calder Cup in 2008 if you count them. Also the Toronto Rock I think won in 2011.

[Robert]

If I were to rank the top-5 professional team-sports leagues in this part of the world they would be as follows:

 

1) NFL (football)

2) MLB (baseball)

3) NBA (basketball)

4) NHL (ice-hockey)

5) MLS (soccer)

 

You might disagree with the order in which I have ranked these leagues.  That's cool,  However, I don't think that leagues featuring teams like the Hamilton Bulldogs, or the Toronto Rock would knock any of the afore mentioned "Big Boy" leagues out of the top-5 rankings.

[xcalibre]

don't do drugs kids

[Blackdude]

I don't think that MLS has a place with the other 4 leagues, but that's just me.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Everyone knows we are set to win something this year, as I explain below.

 

If you want to look at numbers since 1993, or last 20 years. This is all approximate but close.

 

If it were a pure % with championships split evenly, which of course if silly, it would go like this:

 

CDN NHL teams are between 20-25% of total over that period, meaning we should have 4 Stanley Cups. Considering we hogged them for most of the 20th century this is actually a stat just balancing itself out, statistically we won too many before.

 

NBA with Raptors and a few Grizzlies season are about 1.3 of 30 teams, you should win once very thirty years or a bit less. So we have a decade before having to start worrying.

 

Same with baseball, slightly higher overall % of CDN teams with the Expos having been part of MLB a bit longer of that 20 year period. Once very 25-30 years we should win. We have maybe 7-8 years before worrying.

 

MLS, 3 of 20 teams now but over the last 20 years it works out to less, in fact around 5% of total MLS teams over the last 20 years. Meaning we should be expecting a Cup any minute now.

 

You can't talk about stats since a certain time and simply ignore what happened before that time as if it is not part of the stats. This is why, for example, Liverpool fans can be so damn calm. Or fans of the Habs.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Damn thing about an American team winning the Grey Cup though, that hurts.

[Robert]

On 11/20/2014 at 10:54 AM, Robert said:

FIXED

 

With the October 29, 2014 elimination of the Vancouver Whitecaps from the MLS play-offs, professional Canadian men’s sports clubs have now officially earned the dubious distinction of being the all-time greatest losers in the history of professional team sports.  What is the explanation for this international humiliation?

 

Are professional North American sports leagues fixed?  Questioning the integrity of professional North American sports leagues certainly seems permissible from a Canadian perspective, given the fact that no Canadian club has won a major professional North American sports league, in which American clubs compete, since October 23, 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-6 in the sixth game of the World Series.

 

In the 21 years following that feat, Canadian clubs have inconceivably gone a collective 200 seasons without winning a single championship.  That’s right!  Since that Blue Jay championship back in 1993, Canadian clubs are 0 for 200 in their attempts to secure an NHL, NBA, MLB or MLS championship.  Mercifully, the NFL has thus far rejected the idea of setting up shop in the Toronto market, which otherwise would have surely exacerbated this dreadful statistic.  Never before, in the history of professional sports on Planet Earth has such an atrocious record of futility been witnessed by mankind.

Will Canada's 23-year drought of not having won a major professional North American sports league, in which American clubs compete, finally end on Saturday with a TFC victory in the MLS Cup Final? It has been a collective 235 season's worth of futility since the Toronto Blue Jays last won a championship for Canada on October 23, 1993. Which means if you are under 35 years of age, you probably do not remember a Canadian sports club winning a major championship.

It would be one giant step for soccer to dislodge hockey as Canada's  #1 sport.

Go TFC.

[dyslexic nam]

2 hours ago, Robert said:

Go TFC.

Agreed.

[Kent]

On 08/12/2016 at 3:18 PM, Robert said:

Will Canada's 23-year drought of not having won a major professional North American sports league, in which American clubs compete, finally end on Saturday with a TFC victory in the MLS Cup Final? It has been a collective 235 season's worth of futility since the Toronto Blue Jays last won a championship for Canada on October 23, 1993. Which means if you are under 35 years of age, you probably do not remember a Canadian sports club winning a major championship.

It would be one giant step for soccer to dislodge hockey as Canada's  #1 sport.

Go TFC.

I remember this thread from when you started it a couple years ago (I was a lurker at that time). I've been wondering what the count is at by now, so thanks for the follow up!

Let's end the drought tomorrow!

[Unnamed Trialist]

I posted our time was up for a win in early 2015.  Hope I was right.

[Robert]

On 12/9/2016 at 0:54 PM, Kent said:

I remember this thread from when you started it a couple years ago (I was a lurker at that time). I've been wondering what the count is at by now, so thanks for the follow up!

Let's end the drought tomorrow!

Glad you finally found your Voyageur-voice. Damn! 236

[Robert]

Fuck hockey! Fuck baseball! Fuck basketball! Fuck "gridiron" football! Yes fuck em all!

It took soccer, Association football, yes good ol' game of footy to end the mother of all mother sporting droughts. Not since October 23, 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-6 in the sixth game of the World Series, had a Canadian team won a  professional North American sports league championship in which American clubs competed, until December 9, 2017, when Toronto FC defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0.

That 24 years, 1 month and 16 days for anyone whose counting. During that time, Canadian clubs, collectively, went 235 seasons without winning a single championship.

Now I wonder: Will it take another quarter-of-a-century before another Canadian team wins a championship?

[Jith12]

19 minutes ago, Robert said:

Fuck hockey! Fuck baseball! Fuck basketball! Fuck "gridiron" football! Yes fuck em all!

It took soccer, Association football, yes good ol' game of footy to end the mother of all mother sporting droughts. Not since October 23, 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-6 in the sixth game of the World Series, had a Canadian team won a  professional North American sports league championship in which American clubs competed, until December 9, 2017, when Toronto FC defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0.

That 24 years, 1 month and 16 days for anyone whose counting. During that time, Canadian clubs, collectively, went 235 seasons without winning a single championship.

Now I wonder: Will it take another quarter-of-a-century before another Canadian team wins a championship?

Hope not. Ideally the next championship is in 319 days when TFC goes back to back. (Or in April if we can get the Champions League)

[jpg75]

6 hours ago, Robert said:

 Not since October 23, 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-6 in the sixth game of the World Series, had a Canadian team won a  professional North American sports league championship in which American clubs competed, until December 9, 2017, when Toronto FC defeated the Seattle Sounders 

Didn't the CFL have American clubs for a number of years back in the 90's?

[Robert]

On 11/20/2014 at 10:54 AM, Robert said:

19 hours ago, jpg75 said:

Didn't the CFL have American clubs for a number of years back in the 90's?

In the 21 years following that feat, Canadian clubs have inconceivably gone a collective 200 seasons without winning a single championship.  That’s right!  Since that Blue Jay championship back in 1993, Canadian clubs are 0 for 200 in their attempts to secure an NHL, NBA, MLB or MLS championship.  Mercifully, the NFL has thus far rejected the idea of setting up shop in the Toronto market, which otherwise would have surely exacerbated this dreadful statistic.

Ahh, yes! Who can forget the Baltimore No Names? Or, playing a competitive league match on the parking-lot of a casino in Vegas. In the opening post of this thread, I referred to the top professional league in North America for each sport. The NHL for hockey, MLB for baseball, the NBA for basketball, and MLS for soccer. I think its been a while since the NFL competed head-to-head with the CFL for the king of the hill rights to play on parking lots. Hey? You brought it up, my friend. 

[jpg75]

1 minute ago, Robert said:

I think its been a while since the NFL competed head-to-head with the CFL for the king of the hill rights to play on parking lots. Hey? You brought it up, my friend. 

Actually you brought that up just now. I only pointed out the inaccuracy in your statement. Canadian clubs have won the Grey Cup with American clubs in the league.

[Robert]

1 hour ago, jpg75 said:

Actually you brought that up just now. I only pointed out the inaccuracy in your statement. Canadian clubs have won the Grey Cup with American clubs in the league.

Okay, just for your meticulous due diligence let's mitigate the Canadian win-less drought from October 23, 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-6 in the sixth game of the World Series, to November 27, 1994, when CANADA'S TEAM, the BC Lions defeated the Baltimore NO NAMES in a 26-23 thriller, to capture the 82nd edition of the Grey Cup, in Vancouver.

That would reduce the drought a far more palatable 23 years and 12 days. Are you happy now?

 

  

[jpg75]

19 minutes ago, Robert said:

That would reduce the drought a far more palatable 23 years and 12 days. Are you happy now?

Sure am. Thank you for correcting your mistake.