Which Pro Sports league is the most competitively balanced?

[Deberg_1990]

NFL
MLB
NBA
MLS
NHL

IMO, No to MLB....too many haves and have nots.
NO to NBA, same problem.....Does anyone really think the Bucks or Timberwolves have a shot at the title over a team like the Lakers?

Admittedly, i dont know much about the MLS and NHL competitive balance.

Your opinion? Discuss.....

[DaKCMan AP]

NFL

[BlackHelicopters]

NASCAR

[DaKCMan AP]

NASCAR

He said Pro "Sports" League.

[oldandslow]

Unfortunately competitive balance is just a term for mediocrity. Look at the AFC right now...whole lotta bad football.

Lots of those games are becoming unwatchable.

NBA is rising due to star power. MLB is what it always has been. Football, on the other hand, is waning just a bit due to the lack of a really good team to love/hate. The NFL was a better product with 9'ers or Steelers or Cowboys or Pats being really good.

[Grim]

Colorado Cricket League.
You NEVER hear ANYBODY complaining about that league not being competitively balanced. They know how to run a competitively balanced pro sports league.

[KC_Lee]

In order;

NFL
NHL
MLS
NBA
MLB

[Deberg_1990]

NBA is rising due to star power.

Your kidding right? Theres only about 4 teams with a realistic shot at winning the title.

[RealSNR]

NO to NBA, same problem.....Does anyone really think the Bucks or Timberwolves have a shot at the title over a team like the Lakers?

No, but they sure have white power!

Although I'm not sure about the Wolves until Kevin Love gets back from injury.

God, I hate my basketball team.

[RealSNR]

MLS and NHL seem to be the most competitively balanced. I just barely glance at the standings of the NHL every now and then. It seems like every year a team that sucked is now good. Sure, there are the teams like Detroit, Washington, etc that seem to be good every year, but there will be successful franchises in ALL sports.

[RUSH]

NHL with NFL being close behind.

NBA is too star driven.

Hard for some teams to compete with no salary cap in MLB.

Don't know a thing about the MLS.

[RealSNR]

I also think the NFL's strong tilt towards the passing game in recent years is breaking down the parody factor that the league prided itself on in the late 90s/early 2000s. The teams with franchise QBs will quite often win all the championships. It's no different than NBA teams who get lucky with the #1 overall pick in the right year. If you have the star, you have a team.

It's not as bad as the NBA, no, but it's just become that much harder to win big games a variety of different ways. Teams who don't have the option to pick a franchise QB (if you finish 7-9 every year and never get the right QB pick) can no longer build on tough defense with formidable running games. The kinds of teams that do that and are very good are... the Texans and 49ers? Baltimore, I guess. That's about it.

[BlackHelicopters]

He said Pro "Sports" League.

Then the 44 got sideways into the 23, and the 56 slid and got loose, next thing I knew i was into the wall. I would like to thank my sponsors though.

[BlackHelicopters]

He said Pro "Sports" League.

Gotta work on my sarcasm level. Sorry to all.

[Predarat]

MLB is easily the worst, the NFL seems to be the best.

[ChiefMojo]

MLB is by far the worst! The NFL and NHL are very good with parity. The NBA is to star driven at this point... different than MLB in the sense the players themselves dictate where they play together at. In the MLB, the most $$$ talks.

[|Zach|]

I would say the NFL, NHL, and MLS are pretty balanced.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

I would say the NFL, NHL, and MLS are pretty balanced.

Not really sure on the NHL (don't follow), but the NFL and MLS definitely.

[tk13]

The funny thing about this is that MLB is clearly set up to have the least competitive balance, but if you look at the actual results on the field they absolutely have as much parity as the other leagues, if not moreso. Pretty much every team not named the Pirates or Royals has had some stretch of success in the last decade or so, and a solid variety of teams have made the Series. If you actually pay attention to the NFL, the Pats, Steelers or Colts have been the AFC winner for the last 9 years. And if you go back a quarter century, add the Broncos and Bills and those 5 teams have gone to something like 21 of the last 26 Super Bowls. The other 11 AFC teams have five. The only other conference with less parity might be the West in the NBA.
Posted via Mobile Device

[KC_Connection]

It's the NFL and NHL at the top.

Toronto definitely sucks in all of them, though (if you include the Bills).

[Frazod]

The only two I give a shit about are the NFL and MLB. MLB certainly isn't. The NFL would be if officiating wasn't so obviously biased toward big market/big money teams.

[Bump]

NFL
NHL
NBA
MLB

[tk13]

Forgot about the Blue Jays. They might be on that list too. I think otherwise every other MLB team has made the playoffs in the last decade or so. Maybe the Mariners? But even they're barely a decade removed from one of the best baseball regular seasons in modern history. Plus there are less teams making the playoffs in baseball. People don't really pay attention, they just assume.
Posted via Mobile Device

[mcaj22]

even though the NBA is star driven half the fucking league makes the playoffs.

teams that are .500 can be an 8 seed. So in terms of like that kind of success the NBA has it. In terms of winning an actual title the NBA is shared by like 4 teams.

But still there is a enough cities with 5 role players that make the playoffs every year.

In the NFL you literally need a really good QB or really good defense to even have a chance at a good season/playoffs. If you dont have that, you suck

[Bearcat]

IMO, the competitive balance in the NFL = mediocrity. It's improving since there are several good, young QBs, but I've seen a lot of brutal football being played in the past few years.

I think the NHL has the best competitive balance. Like the NFL, there's a fine line between winning and losing, but the NHL is deeper in terms of quality. There are only a handful of teams I don't really care to watch. Some NHL fans say the parity is just mediocrity, but I watched a lot of great hockey last season.

[Frazod]

even though the NBA is star driven half the fucking league makes the playoffs.

teams that are .500 can be an 8 seed. So in terms of like that kind of success the NBA has it. In terms of winning an actual title the NBA is shared by like 4 teams.

But still there is a enough cities with 5 role players that make the playoffs every year.

In the NFL you literally need a really good QB or really good defense to even have a chance at a good season/playoffs. If you dont have that, you suck

If you're in a weak division, you can make the playoffs with a crappy QB/suspect defense (see Kansas City Chiefs, 2010) but you won't last long (see Kansas City Chiefs, 2010).

[Deberg_1990]

The funny thing about this is that MLB is clearly set up to have the least competitive balance, but if you look at the actual results on the field they absolutely have as much parity as the other leagues, if not moreso. Pretty much every team not named the Pirates or Royals has had some stretch of success in the last decade or so, and a solid variety of teams have made the Series. If you actually pay attention to the NFL, the Pats, Steelers or Colts have been the AFC winner for the last 9 years. And if you go back a quarter century, add the Broncos and Bills and those 5 teams have gone to something like 21 of the last 26 Super Bowls. The other 11 AFC teams have five. The only other conference with less parity might be the West in the NBA.
Posted via Mobile Device

Damn you for always bringing facts into a discussion! : )

[PunkinDrublic]

WNBA. Each team has equal access to the amount of oat and hay to pay the players.

[Bearcat]

even though the NBA is star driven half the ****ing league makes the playoffs.

teams that are .500 can be an 8 seed. So in terms of like that kind of success the NBA has it. In terms of winning an actual title the NBA is shared by like 4 teams.

But still there is a enough cities with 5 role players that make the playoffs every year.

In the NFL you literally need a really good QB or really good defense to even have a chance at a good season/playoffs. If you dont have that, you suck

It's pretty much the same in the NHL... in both leagues, you can make the playoffs and even advance one round without a good quarterback/goalie, but after that point if you aren't really good at that position you have to be exceptional somewhere else.

[|Zach|]

Not really sure on the NHL (don't follow), but the NFL and MLS definitely.

I don't either but it always seems like different players are in the mix when I am curious about post season.

I could be off.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

He said Pro "Sports" League.

THIS

[Pasta Little Brioni]

NFL by a mile

[dj56dt58]

The funny thing about this is that MLB is clearly set up to have the least competitive balance, but if you look at the actual results on the field they absolutely have as much parity as the other leagues, if not moreso. Pretty much every team not named the Pirates or Royals has had some stretch of success in the last decade or so, and a solid variety of teams have made the Series. If you actually pay attention to the NFL, the Pats, Steelers or Colts have been the AFC winner for the last 9 years. And if you go back a quarter century, add the Broncos and Bills and those 5 teams have gone to something like 21 of the last 26 Super Bowls. The other 11 AFC teams have five. The only other conference with less parity might be the West in the NBA.
Posted via Mobile Device

THIS

[ChiefsCountry]

Actually MLB is pretty damn competitive across the board. Trouble with NBA and basketball in general is compared to other team sports - one player makes a huge difference. Generally the team with the best player is going to win. NFL has more people fooled into believing its competitive but in reality its not due to the quarterback position. The teams with the best ones win Super Bowls period. MLB's main rap is mainly due to the New York Yankees.

[whoman69]

NBA is by far the worst. You have some teams who will be competitive only as long as they can find one diamond in the draft but they cannot surround that guy with talent. Its too much of a star driven league. If more teams could follow the Pacers' example, but even the Pacers don't have enought to go over the top.

MLB at least has different teams in the playoffs. NFL at least offers the most promising path from rags to riches. They still have teams that have horrible front offices. You can't balance ineptitude.

[kcxiv]

Your kidding right? Theres only about 4 teams with a realistic shot at winning the title.

To be fair, even if there is 4 really elite team, there is alot of star power and there is players on other teams that are really freaking good.

Realistically though, in any sport there is only a handfull of teams that are expected to make it to the end.


Football is on a decline right now because of the damn new deal they struck. There is a whole lot of bad football because teams cant really practice right now. So everything is a fucking crapshoot.

Alot of teams just arent prepared.

[DaneMcCloud]

MLB is the most competitively balanced league and the NFL is, by far, the uncompetitively balanced league.

I follow the NBA and it agree that one guy can change a team's fortunes but I don't follow the others.