Of the four major pro sports Hockey, Baseball, Football, Basketball in the United States and Canada only eight teams actually have a color as part of the mascot. Soccer was not included because it is lower than bowling and poker on the sports food chain in America. Simply looking at the four sports and the 122 pro sports teams there is one thing obvious, if you are a team of color you better have "red" in the name.
Teams with the name "red" include the Redskins, Red Wings, Red Sox, and Reds. These teams comprise 50% of the list known as the "A list". The Browns, White Sox, and Blue Jays represent the other 50% of the list known as the "B list".
The Red teams have a combined 27 Championships between them. The Red Wings have won 11 Stanley Cups, the Red Sox have won 6 World Series, the Reds have won 5 World Series, and the Redskins have won 5 Super Bowls. This is why they are the "A list".
The other #### teams have only 12 combined Championships. That is why they are on the "B list". They are not new franchises either. These teams have been around a long time. In fact every team of color has been around a long time. The newest team on the list is the Toronto Blue Jays whose franchise began in 1977 which is relatively young in comparison to the other teams on the list.
Teams of color are old school. You will probably never see another team name including a color as part of the name. But if your city gets one, they better make the name have "Red" in it!
The entire list of most championships by pro teams of color:
Red Wings 11
Red Sox 6
Reds 5
Redskins 5
Browns 4
White soxs 3
Blackhawks 3
Blue Jays 2
The Breakdown:
4 teams were from MLB
Zero teams were from the NBA
Chicago has 2 teams on the list
2 teams with Indian names on the list and 2 about colors of Sox.
2 teams of color left off the list the St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets have never won a Championship.
Of all teams "Blue" only a combined 2 Championships
One subject that many, including myself, have done for so long is give top ten lists of pretty much everything under the sun. Sports fans really like to make these lists. But what many readers don’t realize, unfortunately, is that 99% of top ten lists are nothing more than an opinion. Some of the writers don't realize it either though.
Some of the more popular lists I have done would include the top ten baseball players of all time, top ten hottest WNBA players, and the big one, the top ten most overrated sports moments which I wrote earlier this year.
A marketing firm compiled data and fan feedback from all 122 pro sports franchises. With this list it is based on many items. This list is not my list. This list was done by two companies as well.
The list is called the "Ultimate Standings" by Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon and Markitecture INC. The list was published in the May issue of ESPN the Magazine.
The data used to figure all this out was put together with these factors included. Most of these factors included: Ownership, Coaching, Players, Fan Relations, Affordability Stadium Experience, and ####-for-the-Buck.
So who are the Top Ten Franchises and who are the Bottom Feeders? Here are the lists.
Top Ten Sports Franchises:
10. Arizona Diamondbacks
9. Jacksonville Jaguars
8. Detroit Pistons
7.Detroit Tigers
6.Los Angeles Angels
5. Anaheim Ducks
4. Green Bay Packers
3.New Orleans Hornets
2. San Antonio Spurs
1. Indianapolis Colts
The Bottom Feeders:
113. Memphis Grizzlies
114. Baltimore Orioles
115. Cincinnati Bengals
116. Seattle Supersonics
117. Oakland Raiders
118. Minnesota Timberwolves
119. Atlanta Falcons
120. Detroit Lions
121. Toronto Maple Leafs
122. New York Knicks
Notables and other numbers:
The city of Detroit had three teams in the top 12 and one in the bottom. The Detroit Red Wings came in at 12th.
No New York team ranked higher than the Giants at number 48. New York has seven pro sports franchises which is more than any other city.
The New England Patriots were ranked as the 11th best franchise.
The Chicago Cubs were ranked 95th. I guess without any living fans from the last World Series it is hard to rank higher. The Cubs have only won two World Series’ and they were back-toback in 1907-08.
The number 100 team is the New Jersey Nets.
The Indiana Pacers just missed the Bottom Feeder list at number 112
In MLB the Boston Red Sox ranked 89th while the New York Yankees ranked 65th. The Tampa Bay Rays ranked 75th while the Toronto Blue Jays ranked 67th and the Baltimore Orioles were ranked 114th. The AL East is not a good franchise division apparently.
Surprises on the list were the Milwaukee Brewers who were 13th and the St. Louis Blues were 14th.
What I did was put my email address over to the right. I wrote that you can send me a question about your team and I will answer it. well a lot more took me up on it that I thought would.
Lets get right into it,, Also if you have a sports related question and are looking for a non biased opinion shoot me an email to Here we go starting out in Arizona:
Do you think the Arizona Cardinals will make the playoffs finally thin 2008?
Jaun - Phoenix
RG: It may be yet another year. The recent signing of Clark Haggans is a step in the right direction. They need Matt Leinert to really turn out tp be the QB they want him to be and what they need him to be. He can be special.
Do you think Justin Verlander can throw another no hitter this year?
Brent - Livonia, Michigan
RG: maybe not this year but he has the best stuff in the AL. He could later in his career but in back-to back years is asking a ton out of a very young pitcher.
Do you think Matt Millen will get fired after this season?
Rick, Florida
RG: No, I think he will have to resign after 15 years or so. All I want to know is how do I get a job working for the Lions front office. I would feel very secure. Actually former Lions head coach Daryll Rogers once said after a game in which the Lions had lost eight straight said "What does a guy have to do to get fired around here!
Can the Dodgers make the playoffs?
Julio, LA
RG -hey can if they make a move early in the season. They have some weaknesses at SS 3b and you never know if you can get over 100 games with Nomar. I am going to say no and by double digits. This is Sand Diego's year out west as well as Colorado coming off a World Series loss.
What can hockey do to connect the players and fans better? Sandy - Minnesota
Sandy well one thing most people don't know is also something that goes on in baseball. With so many foreign players that are in each league they don't all speak very good English. Some say it is too embarrassing and scary talking on American television being afraid to sound ignorant or say something stupid.
Give it time, the lockout wasn't that long ago and it took a HR chase on Steroids to get baseball back four years after the strike.
Do the Tigers have the best line-up ever?
Theresa, Michigan
RG- they may have the best ever but only if the produce like it. They have a lot of guys who hit well above .300 and just playing the averages it has been said they could score over 1000 runs this year. Having the best line up ever remains to be seen.
Will Cleveland win the A.L. Central in 2008?
Max, Ohio
RG- No I don't think so. They have a great team but thety may not have enough to beat out Detroit. Also don't forget Chicago is better this year as well.
Hey knucklehead send me an email and I will post it. I have a few more I will be posting later but the are the latest:
With new team and contract Miguel Cabrera will enter into the 2008 season a made man. For the first time in his career Cabrera will have protection in the line up. The Tigers have potentially the most potent line up ever when you consider the balance in average and power top to bottom. Now he has money in the bank and has a line up that should allow him to get more good pitches than ever. In 2007 Cabrera hit .320 with 34 Hrs and 119 RBI being protected in the line up by Hanley Ramirez.
Look at the Tigers one through nine. Lead off with one of the games best young stars in Curtis Granderson who in 2007 hit .302 with 23 Hrs and 74 RBI. Granderson also 38 doubles and 23 triples which led MLB. Throw in 26 stolen bases as well.
After Granderson you have the best second baseman in baseball. Placido Polanco in 2007 hit .341 had 9 HR 67 RBI and only 30 strikeouts for the entire season! Polanco also was perfect in 2007 committing zero errors.
Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez hitting before, around, or after Cabrera followed by Carlos Guillen who hit .296 last year is a switch hitter and also had 21 Hrs and 102 RBI. Don’t forget Magglio hit 28 Hrs and hit .363 with 139 RBI.
You also can not forget the Tigers addition at shortstop Edgar Renteria. The Tigers brought him in because they had to move Carlos Guillen to first base because of his kness. This should help Guillen play in more games this year also. Renteria however is not a slouch either. Renteria hit .332 last year with 12 Hrs and 57 RBI in Atlanta.
So with new contract in hand baseball’s best player under 25 becomes the 4th highest paid player in MLB. One other factor in Cabrera getting the deal was showing up to spring training trim and much more fit than expected. It showed right away that he was excited to be in Dewtroit. Dontrelle Willis speaks often on how high Cabrera's sports IQ is. He says that Cabrera really understands and loves the game of baseball more than most other players do.
I am trying a new site for baseball this year. I am going to use ESPN.com as a 2nd league this year. I am currently thinking of doing the same for football as well. I have used almost every site for fantasy sports and figured out one thing. I like it simple.
I have also become less critical of GMs in sports as well. I always like to hear someone ripping a teams GM, mean while they can't even make the playoffs with a team of known players they drafted as opposed to the real sport GMs who also have to draft several rookies.
It was hard to get it down to just two team in each sport. I know one year I had so many fantasy football teams I had no idea who was in and out or just for and against me. So I forced myself down to a maximum of two teams in baseball and football. Trust me it was hard.
Anyway if you would like to join my ESPN head-to-head league that drafts on March 28th, a Friday night, at 10 pmclick here. If you have any problems email me at bob260505@yahoo.com and I will send you the direct invite from ESPN.
This week I am going to post answers to the emails I have recieved over the last month or so. Over to the right and just above this paragraph I have my email address. Send me sports questions or questions about your teams if you would like an opinion posted. The email must include at least your first name and city you are from.
example from Trevin:
Are you looking forward to the Olympics this year?
Trevin Jansen Four Oaks North Carolina
Yes Trevin I am in the lower percentage of people who really gets into both the winter and summer Olympics. It is going to be interesting to see what happens in China this summer!
This season in MLB there is one new rule that is making at least one coach upset. The new "Mike Coolbaugh" rule that all basepath coaches must wear helmets when they're on the field has been set. Dodgers third-base coach Larry Bowa it against it.
Mike Coolbaugh was killed while coaching first base for Colorado's Double-A Tulsa affiliate last July 22. In a game at Arkansas, Coolbaugh was hit below the ear and knocked unconscious by a line drive. Coolbaugh was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died. He was 35. In 2008 a new rule makes it mandatory for all coaches on the base paths to wear helmets.
Dodgers 3rd sack coach said in a story on MLB.com "That's not for me," said Bowa, a former player and manager in the Major Leagues in his first year with the Dodgers. "My question is, how can I be in the league 40 years and the league says who wears a helmet and who doesn't? One guy got killed and I'm sorry it happened. But bats break and they can be a deadly weapon. Do something about bats.
"Umpires get hit with line drives. I've probably seen 50 of them get hit. If coaches have to wear helmets, umpires should. I'll sign a waiver. And there should be a grandfather clause. These are very cumbersome. They talk about delay of game, and when the helmet falls off, you'll have to stop the game. It should be an option. I know I'm talking for a lot of guys who won't say anything. I'll write a check for 162 games if I have to not wear it."
I am not surprised the new rule had a complaint against it. I am sure many more coaches didn't like it either. The chances of getting hit and killed by a ball are so small that there isn't another case in the 120 plus year history of MLB.
Bowa has actually worn a helmet in the spring but he may just take a little more getting used to it than others. It could be something much worse to have to deal with at your job like many other Americans are dealing with right now, not having one!
Begin Rant- Larry suck it up and forget about it. Hockey players got used to it real quick and it was a good thing they did. What he should be upset about is having to wear a full blown uniform with hat and cleats! How about to add to the coaches looking so much like players they give the base coaches gloves to look like foul 1st and 3rd baseman! I don't think putting on a batting helmet is going to hurt you!
Maybe I am completely off base here (pun intended). Maybe the NFL should make the coaches wear shoulder pads ,cleats, and helmets. NFL coaches have more of a chance getting hit by someone or something that could severly hurt them than any other coach. Maybe the NBA should have the coaches wear shorts and tank tops as well!
If you are a member at FANIQ.com than I have a poll in which you can vote on this topic. FANIQ members can vote here. If you would like to sign up you can sign up here.
10. Ray Bourque won the Stanley Cup.........In Colorado. This was a media thing to promote hockey wasn’t it? Maybe I am biased because I am in Hockeytown. Although I was happy for Joe Sakic. But for Bourque to win a cup anywhere but Boston was very empty in feeling.
9. Army vs. Navy every year. Maybe if someone put a highlight or three together before the week of the game the rest of the nation would know a little bit about the actual game. If it is going to be a national TV game how about a little lead in on it.
8. The Pro Bowl from Hawaii is the most anticlimactic sporting events of the year. Most players that played in the Super Bowl get sudden injuries and don’t play in it. Every player on the field just wants to enjoy the off-season with out being injured. Let them do it by not even playing the game and just name the Pro Bowlers like they do in college as the All-Americans.
7. Any Mike Tyson fight ever. He made millions per minute with some of the "joke-of-the-day" type fights with nobodies like Peter McNeely and 90 second fights against Leon Spinx. For the money per pay-per-view Tyson should have had to fight at least four fighters in a row with a minimum of 3 full rounds fought. That wasn’t a problem late in his career. Going to jail was very detrimental to his career.
6. Billy Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a battle of the sexes match in 1973 in tennis. The match was held in front of a record audience at the Houston Astrodome. Had Bobby Riggs been a top ranked player in at least the top 10,000 in the world the match would have been ok. Billy Jean King was the best woman tennis player in the world. Bobby Riggs was just the hype machine used to promote tennis. Tennis just happens to be one of the few sports and really the only womens sport that compete with the male counterpart in revenue.
5. Roger Bannister breaking the four minute mile in 1954 is a moment ranked in the top ten as a great sports moment. If this happened in 2008 this would be the next doping scandal of the next 3-4 years. Guilty or innocent, too many athletes have lied and been caught to get treated fairly and individually in media today. Regarding Bannister it is just running really fast, lets not make this more than it was.
4. BCS Title Game every year just feels hollow. Letting people who don’t play football decide who will, is just wrong. Let the teams play it out in a small playoff of 8 teams. Let them settle it on the field. Divisions 2 and 3 NCAA football have playoffs. Have they ever looked at the money the college basketball March Madness tournament rakes in each year? It is Billions with a capital B! What do you think that would be in football? That’s right Kajillions with a capital K!
3. The Indianapolis 500 race is the only open wheel race most sports fans even hear about during the racing season. With all the hype the race gets ever year, can you name last years winner? What about 2006?
2. The Heisman Trophy Award and ceremony. It is getting out of hand. Way too much is being made of the award. How many of these great college football players have ever done anything after winning the award. They are very few and far between. Besides, almost half of the time many think that the wrong player won. Why not put all the awards on one show from college football.
1.The Daytona 500 is called the Super Bowl of Nascar, only it is at the beginning of the season? Not even close! They have more than one race at the track every year as well. The night race at mid-season is better esthetically. The cars look way better at night. Does the Daytona 500 get you more points for the Nextel Cup Series? Does it win the Championship in the first week of the season? How many teams are in it again? Well it seams it is nothing at all and actually the opposite of the Super Bowl! It may be the most exciting race of the year because it is opening weekend. It is my favorite track and the only one I have ever been on and in the pit area. However it is not the Super Bowl of anything.
Of coarse, that is the question! It has happened so many times recently that someone gets on T.V. and adamantly denied something. It has also been the exact opposite every time! Someone goes on T.V. and points their finger, screams, or cries and it turns out to be a complete fallacy.
So when Roger Clemens goes on 60 Minutes and says he didn’t inject steroids or HGH, I think he did. No one has any credibility or "an inch or respect" (Roger Clemens) because all the credibility was used up by prior allegations on American Icons that got on many cameras and lied right to our T.V. screen.
I remember where I was when President Bill Clinton came into that press conference and started it off by saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman Miss Lewinsky" as he tapped his pointing hand on the press table. Well we all know what happened there. He did have sexual relations with that woman Miss Lewinsky! If you do not believe #### sex is a sexual relation than ask your wife/girlfriend or both if she would care if you got #### sex from someone else. Or better yet. Would you care if she gave #### sex because it isn’t a sexual relation?
I don’t remember where I was when Marion Jones said she had not violated and anti-doping rules. "They" have been after her for so many years that when they finally figured out that she really had, I didn’t care anymore. However, she was stripped of all medals years later. Many say the price of success is paid in advance. But in Jones’ case her past took her to the top and dropped her right back off.
Barry Bonds said for so many years that he didn’t do steroids. People would always say "look at his head". It is huge! That is from steroids! Actually that is not from steroids. That is what happens as you get older. My head has grown almost ½ inch since my first fitted Tigers hat back in 1991. Look around you. Older people have bigger heads. Look at T.V. star George Lopez. He says it all the time that he has a really big head and he does. It is also why you occasionally see much older people that have oversized facial features.
Barry Bonds always said he had just taken flack seed oil "the cream" "the clear" I don’t know. He has a Federal Grand Jury indictment against him for perjury on this and Tiger outfielder Gary Sheffield said that he and Bonds had shot steroids into their butts. As it turns out he is just another person lying to all of our faces.
Michael Vick is sitting in prison right now over dogfighting after he had to tell the truth. Too bad he didn’t start with it. He may not have a suspension when he gets out of prison. He may have even garnered a much shorter sentence.
Now Roger Clemens says he only injected B-12 and lidocaine I don’t believe him. I also took a one week coarse on Neurolinguistic programming about ten years ago. Neurolinguistic programming is the study of the neurological processes underlying the development and use of language. Or how to tell if people are telling the truth, lying, or just making stuff up.
He does so much reflecting the blame on other people to start off. He is aggressive as well which says to me that he can’t be caught so don’t even try. Then he releases this weird cell phone conversation he just had with Brian McNamee? McNamee, questioned by federal prosecutors, told them last year he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Prosecutors had him repeat those charges to Mitchell. Since the report was issued, Clemens has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegations.Also invovled in this was Andy Pettitte. He has admitted McNamee injected him twice with HGH. Pettitte coming clean has really had no heat at all from this.
So the question is To Believe or Not to Believe. I do not believe Roger Clemens. I really don’t care that he did it. After all he was pitching to hitters that were juicing as well. In fact players at all positions and ages were doing it.
Roger Clemens is still a first ballot Hall of Fame player based on his career, including 1998, 2000, and 2001. He has been dominant his entire career and is one of the few 300 game winners all-time. He has six 20 + winning seasons along with a span from 1997 to 2005 with 13 or more wins. His best season was way back in 1986. His first breakout season. It was his third year in the league. The Rocket was 24-4 with a 2.48 ERA. He also had 238 strikeouts that year as well.
When looking back at the year of 2007 there are so many memories and big storiesin sports. It is unbelievable how many huge stories there were. What is being attempted here is three lists. Three lists that are putting all these stories front and center once again.
Some will spark fond memories, some not so much. Some stories we had this year were and still are very painful to many people but great to many others. Some of these stories were so unbelievable that we had to check several sources just to believe they were true. Unfortunately there were many deaths as well.
It was yet another great year in sports. Here are the top 10 stories for the Good the Bad and the Ugly.
Top Ten Good from 2007-
10. U.S. wins team World Championships for Greco Roman Wrestling in Baku, Azerbaijan. This was the first time the U.S. has ever won this as a team. Maybe if this victory didn’t take place in Azerbaijan you would have heard about this one.
9. David Beckham signs with the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS. The MLS is so far off the map that many Americans didn’t know that there was still an MLS for him to sign in.
8. Jimmie Johnson wins Nascar’s Nextel Cup for second season in a row! Johnson beat out Jeff Gordon who also had an amazing year.
7. Big Boston deals. The Celtics became a relevant team agin in 2007 by acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics went from worst to first and are now legitimate contenders not only in the NBA’s Eastern Conference but for a NBA Championship.
6. Rockies Roll to the World Series. The Rockies won 21 of 22 in a remarkable run to the World Series. Unfortunately they had an 8 day lay off that may have cooled the teams momentum as the were beat by the Red Sox.
5. Boise State goes undefeated and beat Oklahoma on two incredible plays to win. Boise State was the underdog in the Fiesta Bowl and won in overtime 43-42 in one of the best football games ever. It capped off an undefeated season.
4. Florida’s big year. After winning the NCAA basketball Championship and football Championship the football team had the Heisman trophy winner. Tim Tebow won the trophy as an underclassman and is poised to be the second two-time winner if all goes well in 2008. Tebow had 51 total touchdowns (29 passing, 22 rushing) as only a sophomore!
3. The Spurs won the NBA Championship and the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup. These were two under the radar type Championships for different reasons. The Spurs won with defense and overall team play headed by possibly the best overall player in the league in Tim Duncan. The Ducks won in similar fashion but since bowling gets higher ratings than hockey most people didn’t even see the Ducks play on their amazing run.
2. Indianapolis wins the Super Bowl and Peyton Manning gets off the snide. Manning who was riddled with big game losses through college and pro football. But not in 2007. Manning led the Colts past the Patriots and then the Bears.
1. Appalachian State beats Michigan at the Big House in the biggest upset in college football history. By beating the number five ranked Wolverines Appalachian State won their 3rd straight Division 1 National Championship.
Top Ten Bad from 2007-
10. West Virginia coaches bolt for Michigan. West Virginia lost three coaches overall. Gone to Michigan are the women’s soccer coach, men’s head basketball coach, and most recently the head football coach. I think it is time for Michigan and West Virginia to start playing every year.
9. Marion Jones doping scandal. Marion Jones was included in the Balco steroids scandal this year which in turn wiped out all the Olympic gold medals and Olympic records. This story has been in the making for years but was confirmed this year.
8. Kevin Everett’s spinal injury in week one of the NFL season was a very scary one. Some players on the field didn’t think he would live, let alone walk again.
7. Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of five employees at his ranch in Venezuela. The ranch hands were using the family’s pool without permission so Urbina decided to pour gas on them and attempted to light them on fire.
6. Joe Kennedy’s death. Kennedy died mysteriously the day before being a best man in a wedding. He last pitched for Toronto but was better known for his days in Oakland. He was the father of a 1 year old son.
5. Cardinals lose another pitcher in a tragic death. First it was Pitcher Daryl Kile in 2002 and then Josh Hancock, a relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, had died in an automobile accident. Josh was intoxicated and hit a tow truck on the highway.
4. Darrent Williams death after a New Years eve party was shocking to many as he was hit in a limo that was leaving a party. This all happened just hours after the team was eliminated from the playoffs.
3. Sean Taylor’s death was another tragedy in the NFL this season as he was gunned down in his own home in Miami. Taylor was recently elected to the Pro Bowl and is mourned by many as he was a man who had just decided to turn his life around in recent years. He was an impact player in the NFL and becoming an impact citizen in life.
2. Michal Vick’s dog fighting scandal was alomost as big as it got in sports stories for 2007. The Vick scandal rocked two communities and also headed the demise of the Atlanta Falcons organization. The Falcons have used four Qbs and also had head coach Bobby Petrino bolt for Arkansas. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail and could face more time in Virginia for the same case.
1. Chris Benoit was the most shocking story of the year. The WWE Superstar had recently lost best friend and fellow WWE Superstar Eddie Guerrero the year before. This year he killed his son, his wife, and then himself in a span of two days at his home in Georgia. The story had more twists and turns than any story in many years.
Top Ten Ugly from 2007-
10. The Miami Dolphins (1-14 at the time this was written) having their worst season ever and threatened to go winless in the same season the undefeated record set by the 72' Dolphins is threatened by New England.
9. The Chicago Bears went all the way to the Super Bowl in 2007 but ended up having to rely on Wrecks Grossman in the Big Game. Everything that got the Bears to the Super Bowl was absent from the Super Bowl. They got there with special teams, defense, and key turnovers. Three things they couldn’t manage to get in a rain soaked Super Bowl. Since the big game they have slid all the way into last place in the NFC Central getting swept by the Detroit Lions of all teams.
8. Travis Henry had a drug problem. It manifested into a positive test that was appealed and over ruled which not only kept him in football this season it also revealed his child support payments to his 9 children with 9 women. Better known as "baby mamas". Two more and he has an entire football squad, if they played both ways!
7. Marty Schottenheimer was fired after leading the Chargers to a 14-2 season. That is unheard of in football. It didn’t look good as the Chargers started slowly under new coach Norv Turner. The Chargers did turn it around and won the AFC West this season.
6. Cleveland and the state of Ohio were denied in many sports in 2007. Ohio State lost in the college basketball and football championships, both to Florida, the Cavaliers lost in the NBA Finals to the Spurs, and the Indians lost to the Red Sox in the ALCS. I guess it could be worse, all those teams could be terrible. This does not mention the great season the Browns are having either. They should make the playoffs but I think most fans in Ohio are not expecting them to go to the Super Bowl. Although the mind of a Browns fan is a sick an twisted place!
5. Pacman Jones was suspended for the entire 2007 season for all the arrests he had in a one year period. There was a point where sports highlights shows didn’t ever show him in a uniform, it was usually county jail orange. He then signed up with TNA Wrestling. What a fitting move.
4. Imus fired for remarks towards Rutgers womens basketball. Imus initially was given a two-week suspension for calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team "nappy-headed ####" which was way out of line. Most of those girls aren’t "####"! They are too ugly for that. Actually there aren’t a whole lot of good looking college athletes in any sport. The Comments were backed up by comedian D.L. Hughley which in turn sparked the debates even further. Somehow I don’t think these girls have not been called worse in person. But they are college girls and it wasn’t fair to them. It didn’t help that the comments came from one of the worst radio hosts who is so ugly that if his ugliness was represented by bricks he would be the Great Wall of China.
3. Barry Bonds broke the all-time home run record this year and then was indicted by a federal grand jury for perjury all in the same year. It was rather strange though how the indictments didn’t come down until after the season was over.
2. The NBA ref scandal with Tim Donaghy. NBA referee Tim Donaghy allegedly bet on NBA games, including contests that he officiated. Could NBA playoff games have been compromised? What does this betting scandal do to the credibility of NBA games? It all seamed so obvious when looking back at some of the glaring calls he made. The problem is, many have thought this in the past already with the way some games are called in such a lopsided fashion. This only put more fuel on the fire.
1. The Mitchell report. Only Bud Selig would spend $40 Million to find out what he and every breathing person in America already knew. Many players did steroids in baseball. The report only named 90 players after a 20 month investigation. Why didn’t they spend 1/100th of that and implant a solid steroids testing policy more like the Olympics use or the Tour De France! Besides it was steroids that brought the game back in 1998 after the lockout.
Receiving a vote for every category of the lists were the New England Patriots. They pulled off a trade to get Randy Moss for only a forth round pick, lost their first round pick in 2008 to "Spygate" and coach Belichick was fined an additional $500,000! The Patriots were then labeled as cheaters for many other incidents as well as some from 2006. All this and the Patriots are still undefeated at 14-0 at the time this was written and hold possibly the 5th overall pick in a trade from San Francisco(4-10).
Lets talk about irony in sports. I am not talking about irony like Sheryl Crow did either. Her type is rain on your wedding day. That isn’t ironic, that is a sign! That means run! Besides, a wise man once said " a man doesn’t realize what true happiness is until he gets married, unfortunately by then it is too late!
Sports irony happens all the time. Sometimes it can be more of poetic justice than irony.
The Motor City/State- It’s ironic in Michigan, the auto capitol of the world, the head football coach of the football team had a last name of Carr, then tried to replace him with a coach named Les Miles!
The Cashman- It’s ironic that the New York Yankees, the "Evil Empire", MLB’s richest franchise, has a GM with the last name of Cashman. Brian Cashman is the GM with the highest payroll in all of sports! Cashman has signed players to their highest contracts to come to New York. Although, if the Yankees are such a great organization, why do they have to pay so much more for players than other teams do? In 2007 the Yankees had 5 of the top 10 paid player salaries and had the top three in Giambi, Rodriguez, and Jeter.
The Magic Johnson- It’s ironic that a handsome, successful, charismatic, basketball player with a great rack of chicklets for a smile named "Magic Johnson" would get HIV? It would be like a guy named #### Hertz or a woman named Sharon Cox getting it. Too bad he didn’t cover his "Magic Johnson" before he contracted HIV. He helped raise awareness for the disease, unfortunately he had to have it to do it. I guess the cure for AIDS is money because he has had HIV for 16 years now. OK, so maybe it would be more ironic if this happened to a guy named Jimmy Hatt instead, but someone had to point it out.
New York, New York, Buffalo- It’s ironic that there are three teams in the NFL that represent the state of New York but only one of them actually plays in the state of New York. The two teams bearing the state and or city name of New York play in New Jersey at the Meadowlands and the Buffalo Bills actually play in Buffalo, New York.
Saturday’s Balls- Isn’t it ironic that Peyton Manning is constantly licking his hands to get a better grip on balls but does it before and after each snap. Maybe Jeff Saturday just has something special going on down there.....or those are the balls he is trying to get a better grip on. Maybe that isn’t ironic, just nasty, sorry for that.
College Lighting- In October of 2006 a college football game featuring the Kent State University "Golden Flashes" was temporarily delayed by lightning.
Gruden’s Grudge Match- In 2002 the head coach of the Oakland Raiders John Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay for a ton of draft picks. Owner Al Davis felt the move was great because he felt that Gruden could not win the "Big One". Ironically in his first year as the Bucs head coach he won the Super Bowl against who?....................the Raiders
Do’s and don’ts for both callers and hosts. Sports talk radio is one of the most popular ways for fans to talk and listen about sports these days, well besides the internet. It gives "Joe Fan" a chance to sound off on what they think about their favorite teams and upcoming games. I have come up with some things that need to be addressed for this format to grow or keep growing.
Do’s
First one, bring "it"when you call. Have a point, make it, and hang up.
Speak up! Act like you mean what you say and know what you are talking about. This goes back to number one also.
Don’ts
Don’t be such a tough guy. Sports talk is just that.......talk. It is all subjective, so don’t get offended when someone doesn’t agree with your opinion. This goes for hosts as well.
Don’t just call a radio station just to hear your own voice on the radio. You do nothing but slow down an already commercially plagued program. And turn down your radio before you go on too!
Also by the way, you didn’t have "Thunder" to be stolen!!!!! Has there ever been a caller in talk radio history that had so many great points and was such a strong caller that the host and all the listeners thought "WOW that guy had thunder!"
Radio hosts, here is your list. Stick to it or at least give it a shot if you plan on sticking around.
Do’s
Have an opinion an get ready to accept arguments for each one of them. Just because you host a show does not mean you are an expert. If you were you would be an executive for an organization on some level.
Let each caller make their point. You get the other three to four hours of show time let the caller get their two minutes in. Besides, as long as you keep some people on hold you should even have an option to talk over them.
Don’ts
Don’t recap the show after each commercial break, we know what is going on, we have been listening.
Why is everyone so negative? It is just sports. It really will not have any impact on your life what so ever if you team wins or loses. Trust me. I have had almost every team in Michigan win a championship of some kind and it hasn't changed my life one bit!
Chill out on the commercial breaks!!! Quality over quantity! What you need to do is charge more money for less air time! I change the channel if there are too many commercial breaks. One show that does this just has less breaks but the breaks are really long. But at least I know when they come back, they may go for 20-25 minutes! If I think you aren’t coming back for 4-6 minutes I wont either. I may not even come back to your show because I found another one with less commercials. Some shows have almost an equal ratio of commercial to actual show time. Seriously.
We really do NOT need sports updates every 20 minutes, especially at 3 a.m. All this does is cut off the program from any thoughts and adds yet two more commercial breaks for the same exact things we just heard.
The new format for many radio programs has become something like this example:
6:56 commercials lead to sports update at 7:00
7:00-7:02 sports update with sponsor mention
7:02-7:06 commercials
7:06-7:11 talk about what is coming up on the show
7:12-7:15 commercials
7:15-7:20 recap what will be talked about/start a subject
7:20-7:22 commercials
7:22 sports update
7:24-7:28 back to commercials
7:28-7:37 talking sports for longest period of the hour
You have heard it for years. The Cowboys are America's team. You may have even heard the Yankees were America's team in baseball. I wanted to find out what America thinks about this. One factor I used to determine this is that the team could qualify in its particular sport if they have an equal or greater approval rating than the President of the United States. According to Pollreporting.com the president's approval rating is right around 30%.
One thing needed to determine this was a lot of input from fans all across America. I was able to gather over 700 responses to put this list together. Most sports actually have what would be considered America's team. Some sports were close but didn't have enough support. Whether you like it or not America has spoken and here are their teams.
NFL- Lets start with the most talked about and most obvious team. In the NFL the Dallas Cowboys wear the crown of being America's team. It has been said for years but with a 30% vote for, it was confirmed. Only one other team even registered a number higher than 3% and that was the New England Patriots with 17%.
MLB- Hereis another team that really was no surprise. In MLB the New York Yankees were anointed America's team with 33% of the vote. I thought maybe the Chicago Cubs might have a shot in this category but this one wasn't even close. The Yankees winning ways have given so many fans a reason to keep watching. They are a franchise that has been capable of putting together back-to-back Championships in almost every era.
The Yankees like the Cowboys have a love hate relationship with America. Fans either love them or hate them. There is always one or the other with these two storied franchises.
Now when you think of other sports they may not be as obvious but they are completely legitimate. Who do you think of as America's teams in College football and basketball? What about NHL and NBA? Upon further review it is the usual suspects. The teams we always see on nationally televised games because they get the best ratings.
NHL- Currently the NHL has fallen almost completely off the sports map in most cities. The NHL has its team though. That team is none other than the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings received the highest percentage of any team throughout the entire poll. The Wings garnered 37% of the vote to be crowed America's hockey team. The Wings were the team of the 90's and were able to put together Three Stanley Cups under "the Captain" Steve Yzerman. They also play in "HockeyTown" which may help too.
NBA- well in the NBA this was a little bit of a surprise. It was a huge 50% vote in this lopsided win that there is actually NO America's team in the NBA. The only team that even registered a double digit number was the Los Angeles Lakers with 27% of the vote. The Pistons were the only other team to get mentioned with 9% of the vote. So in the NBA there is actually no team but we know who gets the most ratings when they are on TV. That is why the NBA needs a Laker/Piston finals in 2008!
College sports the BIG 2-
College Football- You know America's college football team isn't going to be a team from the Big Ten or the SEC. You also know it isn't a team from the Pac 10 or the Big 12 right? It is the team with its own network. This was a no brainer. Notre Dame is America's college football team with 37% of the vote. This wasn't close at all with no other team getting more than Michigan's 9% total. Notre Dame has every game as a Nationally televised game. NBC is called the Notre Dame Network, if the games aren't on NBC they are on ABC.
College Basketball- This was somewhat of a surprise to me because I thought this team would be most hated. That is also why so many of the other America's teams are thought of this way. Duke Basketball is America's team in a landslide. No other team even registered more than 5% of the vote.
If you didn't know, now yo know. America claims a team for almost every sport. It isn't just the Cowboys either. Now when you see these teams on TV next time you will know why they are on, because they are America's Teams, Like it or Not!
Ivan Rodriguez is in the last year of his four year contract. There is a club option for next season. The Tigers may just utilize that option due to not having a clear cut replacement. Pudge is also closing in on some milestones as well. If he can sustain regular play, in two more seasons he will set the all time games caught record surpassing Carlton Fisk’s record of 2.226 games. He is also in reach of something no catcher has ever done, have 3,000 hits for a career. He would likely have to play four to five more seasons to do that though. The other question would be, Is he going to catch for four to five more seasons?
Pudge has had some great offensive and defensive years. He is a career .304 hitter and he is quick out of the gate this season hitting .381 with two home runs including a three-run game winner in Kansas City. He is also a 13 time All-Star. Rodriguez topped all major league catchers by throwing out 45.7 percent of base-runners attempting to steal 21 of 46, led all American League catchers with a .998 fielding percentage, his two errors were the fewest by any league catcher with a minimum of 100 games caught during the season. And was named the best defensive catcher in the American League by Baseball America.
He just does it all and has for his entire career. He was also named the 1999 American League MVP. It may be safe to that when Pudge reaches some of the milestones what do you think? Is Pudge Approaching Best All Time?
Rumors involving the Tigers trading before the trade deadline are going to be abundant this year. Some will have some merit as well. It is no secret that Dave Dombrowski the Tigers General Manager is not afraid to pull the trigger if the right player becomes available.
The latest involvement with the Tigers is regarding two San Fransisco Giants. One homer every series means Bonds not only would have broken the record in June but also would likely be leading the majors at the All-Star break with 28. You'd have the Yankees, Angels and Tigers tripping over each other to plug him in at DH for a run at the title. All have the type of young talent that could immediately brighten the Giants' future. The Giants may also be looking to deal Matt Morris who is in the last year of his contract. About 10 more games like Thursday's and the playoff-experienced right-hander might be the No. 1 available arm at the deadline. In the final year of his contract, he'd be the ideal rent-a-pitcher down the stretch. It depends on the health of Kenny Rogers who could be back by July.
As the weather is getting warmer across the country and grass is getting greener, baseball gets closer. I get excited when baseball starts because that also means that the long Michigan winter is over........for the most part.
One thing I have always talked about is going on a stadium tour and wanting to see every stadium in MLB and the NFL. But my main focus has been on a stadium tour for MLB because you can hit so many stadiums, if timed correctly, in a very short period of time.
In my personal situation I am from Michigan and could easily hit Jacob's Field in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore's Camden Yard, Boston's Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium and back through to both sides of Chicago! Even breaking these up into mini trips would be great.
I would also want to hit all the California teams as well. Dodger Stadium, Whatever the Giants call their field now, Oakland, try to figure out where the Angels actually play, and San Diego's cool new place.
Something like this would have to be chronicled the entire way. I would have to write a book about it with a ton of stadium pictures. On this page are two that I took at Comerica Park in Detroit the last time I was able to be on the field before a game.
One often wonders how many people have done such stadium tours for any sport. I am sure there have been a lot. It is one of my dreams I would like to do in my life.
We have entertainers come through our cities along with pro and college athletes. Most people will think only about how much money someone is making for delivering to us entertainment for our money. What most people never think about is life on the road. What good does having all the money in the world if you have to keep working harder and harder at what you do? So many end up having all the things in life money can buy, but none of the things it can't.
Let me give you an example of a few types of life on the road. One is the rock band life on the road. Life on the road as a rock star more realistically is the everyday grind of travel. Have you ever been stuck in an airport? Think about being stranded 20 times in a year or more. The road traveled between cities can be rough too. Rock bands don't usually get the best drivers for the tour bus. Think about how hard it would be to find a bus driver to drive a party bus from city to city for six weeks, away from their family, and free of full-time employment before departure. At least you party every night and get to trash hotel rooms city to city! But anyway who cares about rock bands anyway, this is a sports blog!!
Different sports have diffrent types of road trips. Baseball may be the hardest. You start off the season with 5 weeks on the road in Florida or Arizona for spring training. Some teams when they do get back home and get ready for the season they start the season ON THE ROAD! Baseball also has series when they play someone. You may end up with a road trip of over a week at a time as a regular occurance.
Football may have the best. They only play once a week and when they do go on the road, it is only for two days. They are home a minimum five days of the week. Hockey and basketball have similar schedules but road trips usually only max out and 5-7 games on the road.
Life on the road as a pro-wrestler is strange as well. For instance WWE Superstar Ric Flair said in his biography that he had wrestled Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat over two thousand times in a five year period, most of which were one hour draws. They were on the road over three hundred days a year and Flair insists he wrestled eight times a week (twice on Saturdays) everyday for two years. In 1975 in a effort to start to cut travel time down Flair had a guy with a small Cesnna airplane that ended up crashing and breaking his back. He is still on the road today because his life has been spent on the road. Life on the road for Flair has been stylin' and profilin'. Adam Copeland spent a lot of time on the road. He said part of his yearly trips through Canada included a two hour drive across a frozen lake to get to the next city. Copeland who is known in WWE as "Edge" has paid his dues like many before him and many after him will do.
Teams with the name "red" include the Redskins, Red Wings, Red Sox, and Reds. These teams comprise 50% of the list known as the "A list". The Browns, White Sox, and Blue Jays represent the other 50% of the list known as the "B list".
The Bottom Feeders: 
119. Atlanta Falcons
Do you think Matt Millen will get fired after this season?
With new team and contract Miguel Cabrera will enter into the 2008 season a made man. For the first time in his career Cabrera will have protection in the line up. The Tigers have potentially the most potent line up ever when you consider the balance in average and power top to bottom. Now he has money in the bank and has a line up that should allow him to get more good pitches than ever. In 2007 Cabrera hit .320 with 34 Hrs and 119 RBI being protected in the line up by Hanley Ramirez.
After Granderson you have the best second baseman in baseball. Placido Polanco in 2007 hit .341 had 9 HR 67 RBI and only 30 strikeouts for the entire season! Polanco also was perfect in 2007 committing zero errors.
Guillen to first base because of his kness. This should help Guillen play in more games this year also. Renteria however is not a slouch either. Renteria hit .332 last year with 12 Hrs and 57 RBI in Atlanta.
This season in MLB there is one new rule that is making at least one coach upset. The new "Mike Coolbaugh" rule that all basepath coaches must wear helmets when they're on the field has been set. Dodgers third-base coach Larry Bowa it against it.
I am not surprised the new rule had a complaint against it. I am sure many more coaches didn't like it either. The chances of getting hit and killed by a ball are so small that there isn't another case in the 120 plus year history of MLB. 
10. Ray Bourque won the Stanley Cup.........In Colorado. This was a media thing to promote hockey wasn’t it? Maybe I am biased because I am in Hockeytown. Although I was happy for Joe Sakic. But for Bourque to win a cup anywhere but Boston was very empty in feeling.
7. Any Mike Tyson fight ever. He made millions per minute with some of the "joke-of-the-day" type fights with nobodies like Peter McNeely and 90 second fights against Leon Spinx. For the money per pay-per-view Tyson should have had to fight at least four fighters in a row with a minimum of 3 full rounds fought. That wasn’t a problem late in his career. Going to jail was very detrimental to his career.
2. The Heisman Trophy Award and ceremony. It is getting out of hand. Way too much is being made of the award. How many of these great college football players have ever done anything after winning the award. They are very few and far between. Besides, almost half of the time many think that the wrong player won. Why not put all the awards on one show from college football.
I remember where I was when President Bill Clinton came into that press conference and started it off by saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman Miss Lewinsky" as he tapped his pointing hand on the press table. Well we all know what happened there. He did have sexual relations with that woman Miss Lewinsky! If you do not believe 
Now Roger Clemens says he only injected B-12 and lidocaine I don’t believe him. I also took a one week coarse on Neurolinguistic programming about ten years ago. Neurolinguistic programming is the study of the neurological processes underlying the development and use of language. Or how to tell if people are telling the truth, lying, or just making stuff up.
7. Big Boston deals. The Celtics became a relevant team agin in 2007 by acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics went from worst to first and are now legitimate contenders not only in the NBA’s Eastern Conference but for a NBA Championship.
1. Appalachian State beats Michigan at the Big House in the biggest upset in college football history. By beating the number five ranked Wolverines Appalachian State won their 3rd straight Division 1 National Championship. 
10. West Virginia coaches bolt for Michigan. West Virginia lost three coaches overall. Gone to Michigan are the women’s soccer coach, men’s head basketball coach, and most recently the head football coach. I think it is time for Michigan and West Virginia to start playing every year.
4. Darrent Williams death after a New Years eve party was shocking to many as he was hit in a limo that was leaving a party. This all happened just hours after the team was eliminated from the playoffs.
9. The Chicago Bears went all the way to the Super Bowl in 2007 but ended up having to rely on Wrecks Grossman in the Big Game. Everything that got the Bears to the Super Bowl was absent from the Super Bowl. They got there with special teams, defense, and key turnovers. Three things they couldn’t manage to get in a rain soaked Super Bowl. Since the big game they have slid all the way into last place in the NFC Central getting swept by the Detroit Lions of all teams.
3. Barry Bonds broke the all-time home run record this year and then was indicted by a federal grand jury for perjury all in the same year. It was rather strange though how the indictments didn’t come down until after the season was over.
The Motor City/State- It’s ironic in Michigan, the auto capitol of the world, the head football coach of the football team had a last name of Carr, then tried to replace him with a coach named Les Miles! 
Saturday’s Balls- Isn’t it ironic that Peyton Manning is constantly licking his hands to get a better grip on balls but does it before and after each snap. Maybe Jeff Saturday just has something special going on down there.....or those are the balls he is trying to get a better grip on. Maybe that isn’t ironic, just nasty, sorry for that.
Don’ts
One thing needed to determine this was a lot of input from fans all across America. I was able to gather over 700 responses to put this list together. Most sports actually have what would be considered America's team. Some sports were close but didn't have enough support. Whether you like it or not America has spoken and here are their teams.
MLB- Here is another team that really was no surprise. In MLB the New York Yankees were anointed America's team with 33% of the vote. I thought maybe the Chicago Cubs might have a shot in this category but this one wasn't even close. The Yankees winning ways have given so many fans a reason to keep watching. They are a franchise that has been capable of putting together back-to-back Championships in almost every era.
NHL- Currently the NHL has fallen almost completely off the sports map in most cities. The NHL has its team though. That team is none other than the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings received the highest percentage of any team throughout the entire poll. The Wings garnered 37% of the vote to be crowed America's hockey team. The Wings were the team of the 90's and were able to put together Three Stanley Cups under "the Captain" Steve Yzerman. They also play in "HockeyTown" which may help too.
College Football- You know America's college football team isn't going to be a team from the Big Ten or the SEC. You also know it isn't a team from the Pac 10 or the Big 12 right? It is the team with its own network. This was a no brainer. Notre Dame is America's college football team with 37% of the vote. This wasn't close at all with no other team getting more than Michigan's 9% total. Notre Dame has every game as a Nationally televised game. NBC is called the Notre Dame Network, if the games aren't on NBC they are on ABC.
Ivan Rodriguez is in the last year of his four year contract. There is a club option for next season. The Tigers may just utilize that option due to not having a clear cut replacement. Pudge is also closing in on some milestones as well. If he can sustain regular play, in two more seasons he will set the all time games caught record surpassing Carlton Fisk’s record of 2.226 games. He is also in reach of something no catcher has ever done, have 3,000 hits for a career. He would likely have to play four to five more seasons to do that though. The other question would be, Is he going to catch for four to five more seasons?
fewest by any league catcher with a minimum of 100 games caught during the season. And was named the best defensive catcher in the American League by Baseball America.
Let me give you an example of a few types of life on the road. One is the rock band life on the road. Life on the road as a rock star more realistically is the everyday grind of travel. Have you ever been stuck in an airport? Think about being stranded 20 times in a year or more. The road traveled between cities can be rough too. Rock bands don't usually get the best drivers for the tour bus. Think about how hard it would be to find a bus driver to drive a party bus from city to city for six weeks, away from their family, and free of full-time employment before departure. At least you party every night and get to trash hotel rooms city to city! But anyway who cares about rock bands anyway, this is a sports blog!!
Life on the road as a pro-wrestler is strange as well. For instance WWE Superstar Ric Flair said in his biography that he had wrestled Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat over two thousand times in a five year period, most of which were one hour draws. They were on the road over three hundred days a year and Flair insists he wrestled eight times a week (twice on Saturdays) everyday for two years. In 1975 in a effort to start to cut travel time down Flair had a guy with a small Cesnna airplane that ended up crashing and breaking his back. He is still on the road today because his life has been spent on the road. Life on the road for Flair has been stylin' and profilin'. Adam Copeland spent a lot of time on the road. He said part of his yearly trips through Canada included a two hour drive across a frozen lake to get to the next city. Copeland who is known in WWE as "Edge" has paid his dues like many before him and many after him will do.