Column: Let's shake up pro sports

It was announced earlier today that Syracuse and Pitt have accepted invitations to join the ACC, leaving the Big East and inching the NCAA world toward the Super-Conference era. All of this realignment in college got me thinking that some professional sports leagues may be in need of realignment. Are each of the four major American sports the best that they can be right now? Let's find out.

We'll start with the big kid on the block, the NFL. I know that the lockout all summer was big news and it showed that the NFL is probably a little more fragile than most fans would like to admit. That said, with the new revenue sharing agreements in place and all those fun little details of the new collective bargaining agreement, the NFL isn't going to be making any drastic changes anytime soon. Not to mention that it is the most popular franchise in the country, mainly because it strikes a perfect balance between action and advertising, and gives every team in the league a piece.

I know that for some fans, like those of you who are from Buffalo, Carolina, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Seattle (I don't care if you made the playoffs...you were 7-9) and Oakland are probably asking why if the breakdown of cash is so fair does my team suck every year?

The answer is that the league has done everything it can to make the game fair, but the executives and other folks in charge still play a role in what makes your team successful, so as much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, if you're waiting for Oakland to become relevant again, you better hope Al Davis kicks the bucket soon because as long as he's in charge (and getting more senile by the minute) you guys are in trouble.

The point is: The NFL is just fine the way it is.

Call me crazy but I think the NHL is fine the way it is...for the moment. The NHL is slowly gaining momentum in terms of popularity and viewership. People are finally starting to realize how awesome hockey is. I never played hockey growing up and no one in my family was really into it, so as a result I never took much of an interest in it. However once I started following it I realized how great of a sport it is. The game rarely stops for more than a minute, it's incredibly fast paced when it gets going and you realize that these guys are doing everything that other athletes do...and they're doing it while skating. In case you don't really watch or follow, imagine if rugby and lacrosse had a baby and let a nice family from Saskatchewan adopt it.

Despite hockey's greatness, it isn't the most popular sport yet, mainly because of the way the game is broken down. As I said, the actual periods don't stop very much and when they do it's not for very long. Then in between them, there's a 17-minute intermission. What this means is awkward breaks, and, in turn, no big money advertisers. However, what they do have going for them, apart from the signature style of play, is the idea of the Original Six.

They were the first six franchises the existed in the NHL. Between them (the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs) they have won a combined 62 Stanley Cups. While this doesn't really lend itself to my revenue-sharing theory, though I'd hardly call Montreal a big market team, what it does help with is recognition.

Having famously successful franchises is good for the NHL because it adds a very respectable and appealing aspect to the game. Until they start hitting with the big boys in terms of the amount of money they make as a league, they need the Original Six to continue to dominate.

Now for the leagues that do need a little shake up.

The MLB needs an NFL-esque change in terms of the actual alignment of their divisions. Why you ask? Well for starters there are 14 American League teams and 16 National League teams, which statistically gives every American League team a better chance at winning the World Series, or even making the playoffs for that matter.

However that doesn't change the fact that you can make a legitimate argument that three of the top teams in the league all play in the AL East: the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, and the Tampa Bay Rays, and since there's only one Wild Card team who makes the playoffs, one of the best teams in the Major Leagues is always left on the outside looking in, which is no good for the sport.

How should they accomplish this realignment? By creating two new franchises (which would be placed in the American League) and restructuring each league into four divisions, north, south, east, and west, with each consisting of four teams, just like the NFL. That way you keep the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry in the American League east and move the Rays into the new AL South.

Where are these new franchises going to be located? I'm glad you asked. One is going to Nashville. It's a great city and they have shown with their loyalty to the Titans and the Predators that it can be an excellent sports town. They need baseball. The other is going to Vegas. Maybe not the best city for a professional sports team with all of the other attractions in town (like gambling and strippers) but it has the potential to be a huge market.

Here's how the new leagues break down:

AL East AL North AL South AL West

Yankees Twins Royals Angels

Red Sox White Sox Rangers Mariners

Orioles Tigers Rays Athletics

Blue Jays Indians Nashville Vegas Baby

NL East NL North NL South NL West

Phillies Brewers Marlins Dodgers

Mets Cubs Braves Giants

Nationals Cardinals Astros Padres

Pirates Reds Diamondbacks Rockies

In addition, a restructured CBA that includes some sort of revenue-sharing agreement that will keep teams like the Yankees and Red Sox from spending more money than the rest of the league combined. An NFL-style playoff structure with two wild card teams in addition to the four divisional winners, and like in the NFL, the teams with the top two records receive byes in the first round while the others have to duke it out in a best-of-fivce series to advance to the next round.

Is that ever going to happen? No it won't. Bud Selig is a far too unfortunate mix of greedy, stupid and useless to ever set something like this in motion. But I can dream.

Last and well...least is the NBA. The NBA used to be great. However the glory days ended when Michael Jordan signed with the Wizards. We used to be treated to consummate professionals like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson going blow for blow every year and then Michael Jordan arrived on the scene and became the greatest player to ever live. Since then we are subjected a night-by-night shoot-a-thon where no one plays any semblance of defense and professional whiners like LeBron James put up a thousand points every night and still can't win a championship.

The league is currently locked out and showing no signs of changing that status because the players think they are irreplaceable and the owners don't think of anything but their wallets.

In case you couldn't tell I hate the NBA. I hate it more than those GoDaddy.com ads where Danica Patrick mixes her deplorable acting skills with what I can only assume is a series of commercials written and directed by sexually frustrated teenagers. I genuinely don't care if they stay locked out forever and all the professional basketball players in the world are forced to go play in Turkey or Uzbekistan or wherever else they play basketball on this planet.

There you have it, the major sports of America and how they can improve their products. I want what you want, the best games possible all the time and I genuinely believe that these scenarios would help.

Oh wait, I forgot the MLS. Stop signing near-retired former European stars and hope that Juergen Klinsmann absolutely kills it with the national team. That's really it.