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.

 

This time of year Hockey could change its name to Goalie. Playoff success is generally predicated on a teams goalie play through out the playoffs. Goalie play with a healthy dose of shut down defense is the key to almost every Stanley Cup winner. Pretty much every team in the playoffs this year has a goalie that is capable of leading their team to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Lets look at each series and take an educated guess on which teams can emerge into round two.

 

Eastern Conference

1. Montreal Canadiens vs 8. Boston Bruins- Montreal one of the world premier hockey cities is juiced for the first round this year as the Habs have a number one seed. Montreal should sweep this series as they did the season series 8-0. Boston may get one win in this series but with as many injuries as they have had this season and right now, it just isn’t their time.

Montreal Sweep 4-0

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs 7. Ottawa Senators - Ottawa started as one of the leagues best. But the last three months have been unkind in Ottawa. Pittsburgh has so much offense and Sidney Crosby may just be healthy. Ottawa ousted the Penguins in just five games last spring. That plays big in a team motivation to seek revenge.

Penguins in 5 4-1

3. Washington Capitals vs 6. Philadelphia Flyers- Both teams finished the season strong and both have top notch goalies. The Capitals boast an attack lead by scoring sensation Alexander Ovechkin and back him up with solid goaltending from trade deadline pick up Christabol Huet. Philly on the other hand finished the season 7-1-1 and have Martin Biron who will be a factor in net for the flyers. However I feel the Capitals have too much momentum going into the playoffs and will win a very tough series.

Washington 4-3

4. New Jersey Devils 5. New York Rangers. New York dominated to season series winning the first seven of eight. Both have strong goalies but the Rangers have the match ups that are going to stifle a Devils team that has made too many lateral moves with their roster over the last two years. It takes more than Martin Broduer to win a series, or does it?

New York 4-2

Western Conference-

1. Detroit Red Wings vs 8. Nashville Predators- The Wings get lucky having a first round series without west coast travel. The Wings being in the Eastern time zone often have series travel issues this time of year. Nashville is yet to win a playoff series and they are due. However they aren’t going to get this one. The series may get stretched to six games due to the massive injury list the Wings have but they have the best goalie tandem in the league. They will start Dominik Hasek and have back up Chris Osgood who actually lead the league in GAA percentage and started the All-Star game this season.

Detroit 4-2

2. San Jose Sharks and 7. Calgary Flames- This series may be a little tight than most have anticipated.The Sharks have been one of the leagues hottest teams but Calgary is one of the hardest working teams. Here is where the multiple over time games will come in . Both teams goalies are among the leagues best. The goalie match up of Nabokov and Kiprusoff shoudl carry this series at least 6 gams.

San Jose 4-2

3.Minnesota Wild vs 6. Colorado Avalanche- Minnesota is facing a very different Colorado team with the addition of many former players they acquired late in the season. Colorado needs to show that they are the Avalanche of old and not and Old Avalanche team. Minnesota may have enough to get to round two but I don’t see it happening. The only way the Wild move on is if the defense they have dominated with can hold up with a revamped Colorado team.

Colorado 4-2

4. Anaheim Ducks vs 5. Dallas Stars. Dallas just lost leader and defensemen Zubov and deadline acquisition Brad Richards finished very mediocre. Anaheim is the defending Stanley Cup Champs and they are for a reason. They boast four top tier defenseman and know what it takes to win a cup. They also have a very solid goalie in Jean-Sebastian Giguere.

Anaheim in five 4-1

This is it for round one. What do you think will happen? I think I made my case but series aren’t played on paper/blogs. If you are a NHL fan this is the best time of year. Every goal is huge.

Outdoor hockey is not only fun to watch but it is great for the NHL. It is rumored now that the last game in Yankee Stadium next year may be a hockey game involving the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Rangers.

Yankees fans will not and do not want this to happen. The house that Ruth built should not be taken down by Gary Bettman. Yankee fans may have a major outcry, but realize that this happens to all stadiums. The last event is not usually the typical home team game. Most of the time last events at stadiums are concerts. Tiger Stadium in Detroit had its last event as a Snoop Dog concert before Super Bowl 40.

The real reason the Rangers and Red Wings should not play at Yankee Stadium is because the place isn’t big enough. Pittsburgh and Buffalo sold out Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo earlier this season. If they can sell it out that Detroit/New York would need a football field as well. Have the game at the Meadowlands!

Actually the best idea for the NHL to have an outdoor game would be to have a Red Wings game in Ann Arbor at the Big House Michigan Stadium. The Wings could score a gate of nearly 120,000 fans! Mo Cheese could dance in front of the entire hockey world in this internationally televised event!  Mo Cheese is the Red Wings most famous fan and one of the most well known in all of sports.

They already pulled off an outdoor game for college hockey in Michigan that sold out.  Michigan and Michigan State played an outdoor game at Spartan Stadium.  It was a perfect storm for a quick sell out.  Two home teams basically because both are located so closely to each other and are already rivals in every sport. 

 

Darren McCarty is making his way back into the NHL. The former Wing and most recently Calgary Flame forward had been injured and out of hockey. Finally back healthy McCarty played in the IHL a team co-owned by Red Wings center Kris Draper, McCarty's former Grind Line linemate.
He signed with the Flint Generals.

In Flint it sparked attendance and sold out games. The Generals have a good team but have not drawn very good crowds all season, until McCarty arrived.

Then he got a minor league pro tryout with the Grand Rapids Griffins, the minor league affiliate of the Red Wings.

GM Ken Holland told Anshar Khan on Mlive.com "there are three options to signing McCarty: Put him on the NHL roster immediately and keep him there, send him back to Grand Rapids on a two-week conditioning stint, or sign him and send him to the Griffins indefinitely. In order to send him to the minors, he would need to clear waivers, unless it's just for a two-week conditioning stint.

"The intention is to eventually get him up here," Holland said. "In my mind, he's not ready to be put on an NHL roster. I don't think Darren is quite there, conditioning-wise. He's got to lose some weight."

Fans in Detroit will go crazy if he gets brought in. He was a fan favorite for 11 years in Hockeytown and would give the Wings a spark.

  Every sport has its die hard fan base.  Yes even the NHL.  If you don't live in a state you can play outdoor hockey or Canada you may not believe that.  That is also another argument in my long line of arguments that the NHL should only be in those area I just mentioned.

I was bumping around youtube for a video I saw on another website of an NHL fan caught on the big screen.  It was on Break.com. 

I have put all three videos up against each other in a poll on FANIQ.com.  You can vote here if you are a member, or sign up here.  FANIQ.com is a website that tracks your predictions and opinions on sports topics and games.  Of coarse it if free as well.

I wanted to post the videos here on this blog but apparently Fox sports doesn't have the ability to use embeded objects.  Just click the links below that will get you to the videos on Youtube.com and Break.com

So here is the quetion I pose to you.  In each video you be the judge.  Is is a die hard NHL fan or just another Jacka$$?

Video #1-  an NHL fan gives it all he has to help out his team.  You be the judge.


Video#2-  a fan gets caught on the big screen for his big moment


Video #3- I call this one poetic justice and you will see why. 


Video number three to me is the best because the player doesnt let him off the hook, even after he scores.

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

7:37-7:40 commercials

7:40-7:42 sports update

7:42-7:46 commercials

7:46-7:56 sports talk and one or two callers

7:56 start the cycle over

for hosts for callers for callers

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-  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.

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!

Pavel Datsyuk is having his best season this year and has stepped up big time in the absence of teammate and linemate Henrik Zetterberg.  Pavel could have become a free-agent this off season but Red WingsGeneral manager Ken Holland decided to get it done now.  He got it done by inking Datsyuk to a seven-year, $46.9 million contract.

Having inked Datsyuk they also clinched the Central Division in Chicago last night.  They lost in a shoot out but still gained the point needed to clinch.  They were without Dominik Hasek, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Zetterberg. The wings also lost newly acquired and fresh off a back injury Todd Bertuzzi to a strained neck injury when he collided with Chris Osgood in the games first period.

Maybe next year the Nashville Predators will win the division but they still have a lot to learn over the long marathon of a full regular season.  They could have won the division this year but were dominated by the Wings.  The two are likely to meet in the playoffs this season where it really counts.

    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.

Life on the road for me as a wrestler throughout my life has been a great one.  My trips were almost always weekenders.  I loved traveling from city to city and state to state to test my skills and meet new competition.  My type of wrestling in not what you see on T.V. at all.  I was a freestyle wrestler.  The kind you or your buddy was in high school.  I started my adventure at seven years old, a 52 pound grapler, ready learn how to be a wrestler.  If you were a young wrestler in the midwest from 1981 to 1992, wrestled in extra tournaments, I may have twisted your head off or broke your will to compete, I am sorry, yeah right.  Now I spend my time as an adult as an instructor for a wrestling camp hosted by the U.S. Olympic coach Steve Fraser. That is a lot of time away from home but it is a great experience.  Sometime life on the road is great because you get to go away for a while and do what you love to do. 

If life on the road still sounded sweet to you, think about the fact that most athletes don't even live in the city they play.  Remember it is a business.  You don't know if you are going to finish your career with anyone.  So they will get a condo or rent a house and still live where ever they always have.  Look at Roger Clemens.  He lived this way his whole career.  His family in the Houston area and him playing in Boston, New York, and even worse........TORONTO!  When all your toys are at home and you live on the road, what is so great about that?

Hey this is just another way to look at something you may have never thought about.  I didnt even hit on hockey parents life on the road either.

The trade deadline had it all yesterday.  Players were dealt, prospects and draft picks as well.  It is never fair to really say who winners and losers are for sometimes five to seven years.  Especially with as many draft picks and prospects were dealt yesterday.  The moves that were made are all to help organizations (canadian translation organ-eye-zation) wins the Stanley Cup this year or in ten years.

One team did what they have a history for and they are my first loser of the pack.  I left Nashville of the list of winners because they didn't add anyone after Foresberg.  Peter Foresberg has not played like the Peter Foresberg of Colorada since he was in Colorado.  The Predators are a fast team that didn't seem to prepare for  a marathon as the Detroit Red Wings have now tied the for the second best overall record in the NHL, just one point behind Eastern Conference leading Buffalo.


First winner is  the New York Islanders.  They get a franchise player in Ryan Smyth from Edmonton. but give up essentially three first round picks to get him.  The trick now is to sign him to a long term deal like Edmonton would not.  If they cannot convice Ryan to stay, they will have problems.

The second winner is San Jose.  They traded for Bill Guerin.  He may actually be the best overall forward right now in the NHL.  The Blues were eliminated basically from the playoffs and needed to look at the future.  San Jose may now have the best power play going into the playoffs.

The Third winner is Detroit.  They brought in struggling winger Kyle Calder traded from Philadelphia back to Chicago enroute to a trade to Detroit.  Calder came off the bench to score approxiamtley 6 seconds into his Red Wing career.  The Wings also brought in Todd Bertuzzi from Florida who has been out almost all season with back surgery.  Bert is almost ready to go though. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins got tougher, a lot tougher.  They convinced tough guy, veteran, goal scoring, playoff tested Gary Roberts to waive his no trade clause and also brought in the leagues best fighter Georges Larauque to protect possibly the leagues best player in Sidney Crosby.  These moves may be bigger than all of the above, but don't forget, goaltending wins out and they have a lot riding on Fluery to prove he has more than a great regular season in him, and he has that chance this year.  The Pens may not win it all this year but these are the steps to get there.  The playoff experience will be great for this young team.

Other teams that were close were Atlanta for bringing in Keith Tkachuk not Pascal Dupuis.  Atlanta is ready to make a playoff run adding to their improved line up.  Nashville did bring in Foresberg but that is all.  Five years ago that would have been huge.  But the question remains in Nashville is, will the Preds get the Peter Foresberg of old, or just and old Peter Foresberg? 

Teams that lost were not as clear because of the prospects and future picks acquired are moves made for the future  However I can say that with out a doubt the Edmonton Oilers are losers, clearly.  The irony of Mark Messier night?  Honoring a hero and sending another away, adding in Wayne Gretzky had his coyotes in town was too much for me.  The day they traded the franchise in Ryan Smyth, they celebrate Mark Messier and celebrate with another of their big trades made when they sent Gretzky to L.A. in 1998.  Smyth is often dubbed Captain Canada because he has represented his country on the ice so many times at the world Championship tournament.  He also won gold with Team Canada at the 2002 Olympics.

The Hab nots is what Montreal has become.  They traded away a defenseman two days earlier and stand in the number seven spot in the playoffs in the east tied with the Islanders.  They are still in a strong position to play for the Stanley Cup and decided maybe they shouldn't be.  They made no moves other than subtraction.

The Maple Loafs did it again!  They brought back Yanic Perrault for his third stint in Toronto.  He did have 19 goals for Phoenix this season so far and the Loafs do get Mike Peca back soon so maybe they are going to be just fine.  maybe they can have the respect of being called the Leafs again come playoff time.  Yanic said of his return to Toronto "It feels like Groundhog Day, "I wake up and I'm back in Toronto.  He also said "It's great . . . the fans have always been great."

It is nice to see the trade deadline hasn't lost its luster but had more shine since the salary cap. More players were moved yesterday than any in trades past.  It is also amusing to see the same basic results in standing before and after the cap. Many thought the Wings would falter but had the best overall record by far last season and only one point behind the Sabres for the Presidents Trophy. Some thought this would keep teams like New York from plucking great players from teams, having a huge payroll, and never making the playoffs.....wrong. It all came out who the have and have nots are when it comes to front office supremacy.

 

Is there a team that comes to mind whenever you think of a certain sport.  I know I have a few teams that I think may be the "center" of the league.  I wouldn't say that each league has one team the world rotates around though.  This relation of team with league/sport could even come from the way the team is covered on Sportscenter.  I know that when I think about Hockey, the Detroit Red Wings are the team that comes to mind.  They have also been known to fill a lot of road arenas as well with Red sweaters.  Kind of like the Cowboys are to the NFL, right?

Right now the debate is ongoing on who sports fans consider "America's Teams" for each sport, or if they even have one.  I have to say I am a little surprised at how the voting is going.  If you are a member of FanIQ.com you can vote here.  If you haven't joined that site you can sign up here.  It is free and a lot of fun. 


Once the polling is complete I am going to write all about it like I do when we vote on top ten athletes lists.  A team will be considered "America's Team" if they have an equal or greater approval rating than the President of the United States.  This will have accuracy rating of +/- 5%.  Right now all you have to think about are "America's Teams, who are they"?

Looks like Canada may have a new team in the future.  Not realy but with the new salary cap it could have kept teams in Canada and avoided stories like this.  According to the Tennesean.com's Bryan Mullen the city of Nashville may have to buy $2 Million worth of tickets next year.  The Predators have been such a great team this year and they still aren't selling tickets.  You can read the whole story here. You can also see the sad pictures of how empty an arena they have when they have such a great team.  Isn't the team at fault as well?  Why have they not marketed this team better?  How about giving tickets to every radio station in town once a week for the whole season?

  Here are the highlights: 

If the Nashville Predators don't boost paid attendance by one-fourth for the rest of the NHL season, owner Craig Leipold will be able to ask for about $2 million in help from the city and lay groundwork for a possible departure.

Under the team's 30-year lease, average paid attendance has to reach 14,000 a game for this year or Leipold can declare next year his pivotal "cure" season — a designation that among other things would let the club ask Metro government to buy thousands of tickets to prop up sales with taxpayer money.

It also would set the stage for the Predators to consider moving to another city at the end of next season, although they would have to pay an $18 million exit fee.

Entering this week, the Predators were averaging 12,766 in paid attendance, with 15 regular season games remaining, including tonight's game against the Los Angeles Kings, according to ticket statements obtained by The Tennessean.

The Predators must draw 16,080 paid fans a game for the rest of the regular season to reach the minimum number called for in the team's contract with Metro. The club has managed to put that many fans in the seats only four times all year through Thursday's game against Toronto.

This is what the NHL gets for taking teams from Canada where the love of Hockey is greater than anywhere else.  They never protected the teams in the cities of Canada against the American dollar.  I don't think I have seen more mistakes combined by every other pro sports league in the world as the NHL has over the last 10 years.