I follow NFL and I don't believe I've ever know a team to throw the last game of the season to benefit from a better play off position. You will be aware the NFL introduced inter-divisional games for week 17 of the regular season to counter that very concern, but I believe it was a pro-active move rather than a reactive one. Aside from anything else, NFL is such a physical game you can't go into any tackle at less than 100% or you come off second best every time, and the roster system doesn't allow for you to play an entire team of reserves.
NFL has 16 games a year, each will be ultra competetive, I can see that MLB/NBA has the potential for greater manipulation given the number of regular season games, it's just not something that has ever existed or could ever exist in NFL.
There is an issue this year that the Nets threw the last games of the season so that they could face Toronto rather than Washington/Chicago, can't remember which. As I said, I don't like playoffs, but, it is just a different kind of competition, it just requires a different mindset.
Teams have deliberately lost in the NFL before, look at the Colts a few years ago with their whole "Suck for Luck" thing. it is most common in the NBA though.
Yep - Having said that the Raptors are acting in a very unToronto like fashion this year. They should have folded up a long time ago.
On a par with the most ridiculous accusations I've ever heard. All that Colts season proved is how reliant they had been on one of the greatest QBs to ever play the game, their defence sucked for years and they had no running game because Peyton controlled the offence, he called the plays and in some cases wrote the playbook, so his ability to run the game hid many of the issues that existed. From memory Andrew Luck confirmed he would enter the NFL draft after Stanfords regular season ended, which would have been arouund week 14 of the NFL, so Colts would already have been 0-13, and I'm sure they won their last 2 games that season so had hardly given up and focussed on the #1 pick. Although it would seem tempting, and possibly even sensible, to play for the #1 pick it just never happens...
It was widely believed that Luck would enter the draft, the Dolphins fans started the suck for luck thing, then the Colts fans adopted it. Plus if they had intentions of doing any better, they could have just traded for a decent stop-gap QB whilst they waited to decide on Manning. Instead they went with a retired Kerry Collins and Curtis f*cking Painter
Painter was only a late round pick though wasn't he ? Plus, when they drafted Painter they were firmly entrenched in Peyton so thought they only needed a D class QB, they just didn't bargain for a Peyton injury and because they had the worst running game in football they were never getting anything there, they also had a poor offensive line it's just that Peyton was so good he could release so quickly that weakness was only highlighted when Peyton wasn't there. I alsways said if I wanted any job in NFL it was the Colts offensive co-ordinator, a million bucks a year for carrying out the practice balls !
I've been going to the States for around 15 years, started out by a Christmas trip with wife to New York watching jets/Giants whoever was in town, then I started branching out and been to 7 or 8 NFL stadiums. Fed Ex Field is on the agenda this year...
I've seen the Toronto Blue Jays play the Yankees & the Seattle Mariners at the Rogers Centre in Toronto
Isn't the Rogers Centre where the Bills play a regular season NFL game ? I've never been but I've heard there's a hell of an atmosphere in Toronto for that game, just a shame the Bills are so diabolical. If you want atmosphere get out to Arrowhead for a Chiefs/Raiders game, sheer hatred....
