Promotion And Relegation In North America, But Not In The MLS

Nate DiMeo fires a shot across the National Hockey League's bow: adopt a soccer style promotion and relegation system. According to DiMeo, copying the EPL is the way to go:

You're not just rooting for your own favorite club and watching what happens at the top of the league. You're also watching teams duke it out at the bottom as they fight for survival. Plus, it means that there aren't perennial basement dwellers. Team owners have to keep investing in their team if they want to stay in the spotlight (and stay where the money is).

Now, I know that every sports bar in North America has a guy with a Wayne Rooney shirt prattling on about the greatness of relegation, and how baseball would be better if the Colorado Springs Sky Sox got their shot at the top. That guy is drunk. Don't listen to him. The other major sports are doing just fine as they are. They're raking in the big TV money and nearly all of the franchises have stable roots in their respective communities. The same cannot be said for you, dear hockey. You need promotion and relegation to survive.

It sure would be a hoot if the NHL promoted and relegated before the MLS.

My Plan To Save Hockey [Slate]

-ac