One sublect 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 BLEEP-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.

  The NFL has operated far too long with the current type of Collective Bargaining Agreement. The most obvious problems involve guaranteed contracts and ridiculous rookie contracts. These two issues will be at the forefront of the next contract as negotiations at a snail pace toward 2011 as well as revenue sharing between players and owners.

  As it stands now NFL owners can pull out of the present collective bargaining agreement with the players on November 8, and it appears that the owners are heading in that direction. If the owners pull out of the CBA, there is no salary cap the final year of the agreement (which is in 2010). If the players pull out, players would only receive free agency after six years of service — not four. In 2010 the NFL could operate without a cap. But that would not remain for long. Teams looking for one year success could reap big rewards if they target that year for a run. It would be a big year for one year contracts and the best teams would have the advantage because they would already have the incentive for veteran players looking to win a Super Bowl.

  The first obstacle is a must for NFL players. Get guaranteed contracts. It is amazing in a league that has the highest revenue and has the highest risk of injury that there are not guaranteed contracts. What the owners may want in place to cover the expenses is two more regular season games. They would likely change two preseason games into regular season games. Every other sport has guaranteed contracts why doesn’t the NFL?

  The second change is another glaring need in the NFL. A rookie salary cap like the NBA has. The guaranteed money to top tier rookies has been insane for a number of years now but has taken an even bigger jump over the last four years. Teams with high draft picks are already bad teams, they don’t need to pay top dollar to players that have not even played yet. If a player is a bust it cripples teams for many years. Matt Millen is an easy target for this issue.

Some other needs in this deal are better pension plans with health insurance for former players. How can a league discard the players that made the league what it is today.

According to a story from ESPN.com there is a lot more to what the owners want as well-"Beneath the surface of this increasingly rancorous dispute is the bargain the players and the owners made in March 2006, an agreement that provided significant increases for players in salaries and bonuses. Instead of 55.5 percent of NFL revenues, the players now are entitled to 60 percent. The salary cap has jumped from $85.5 million per team in 2005 to an expected $123 million per team in 2009, an increase of 43 percent.

Although the owners agreed to those increases, they are not happy about their decision. A number of owners claim their profits have dropped from 10 percent each year to only 4 percent since the 2006 bargain was struck." - Lester Munson ESPN.com

Also of note from the ESPN.com article from Lester Munson: "Upshaw and others involved in NFL labor issues expect the owners to announce that the players will be locked out of training camps, putting the 2011 season in jeopardy. An NFL lockout would come six years after the National Hockey League locked out its players, which killed the 2005-06 NHL season.

The NFL's union, according to Upshaw, will counter with decertification, which means it will give up its role as the official labor organization of NFL players and become a trade association.

"How can they lock us out if we are not a union?" Upshaw said.

Jeffrey Kessler, a union attorney who was a leader of the court fight that led to the 1993 restructuring of the NFL, added: "If you lock out players who do not have a union, it is an antitrust violation."

The battle will lead to the same kind of litigation that began after the players' unsuccessful strike in 1987 and led to the 1993 settlement that allowed owners and players alike to prosper for 15 years. It will be a high-stakes struggle, as the players will seek to duplicate their triumphs in the early '90s with demands for triple damages and injunctions."

This does not look like it will be pretty if this is already starting. With all the egos involved the only real losers will be the fans who are treated to court room drama, lawyer speak, and replacement players. There really isn’t anything like Billionaires arguing with Millionaires!  It doesn't look good but there is still hope that this can be taken care of before doomsday in the NFL.  This may come down to the final hour.  There are a lot of layers to this and one can only hope that they will make sense of all this and get the new deal done.

 

Every pundant with a computer, google, and watched the NFL draft  has given their grades to NFL teams for last weekends drafts.  We all know you can't judge a book by it's cover, it is the same with the draft.  It is comical to me to see that many in the Detroit Media and many fans give the Detroit Lions and Matt Millen a C+ and even as high as a B+ for their draft.

  Some of the comments I have read are that the Lions seem to have filled so many holes in their roster.  Another is that the Lions finally drafted players that want to play football.  If that has been the problem than why did it take eight years to figure out?  I think anyone learns on the job faster than that.  I think I could learn knee surgery faster than Millen learned how to draft and he hasn't really even done that yet either.  The thing is, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE SO MANY HOLES IN THE ROSTER IF MATT MILLEN WOULDN'T  HAVE CREATED SO MANY HOLES IN THE LIONS ROSTER IN THE FIRST PLACE!

  Another thing I found ironic was that Matt Millen, the guy who had to get rid of as many of Bobby Ross' players when he came in, drafted one.  Bobby Ross was the coach that first brought S Caleb Campbell into Army football.  Now there is actually people critical of Campbell's patriotism for heading to the NFL instead of Iraq?  Are you kidding me?  This is a great PR move for the Army and a great recruiting tool. 

I wonder just how many of these people have ever served our country themselves?  Funny how I have only heard 100% support for Campbell from other military brats.  It is like people who rip on the President of the United States but don't even vote.

  For the first time in years the Lions are going to go defense first in the NFL draft.  The last time they did they drafted LB Ernie Sims.  It has worked out well so far.  This year it appears that Florida DE Derrick Harvey will be the Lions pick at no. 15.  If Harvey is drafted before the Lions pick, Tennessee LB Jerrod Mayo will be the pick.

  The Lions have signed veterans at CB and S in Brian Kelly and Dwight Smith.  They also traded for Cleveland CB Leigh Bodden.  The Lions biggest defensive needs are at DE and LB.  The Lions need a DE opposite of DeWayne White.  White played very well when he wasn't hurt and made a lot of big plays in 2007.  The Lions need a DE opposite of White to help him out, something Kalimbust Edwards never could do.

  If both Harvey and Mayo and drafted before the Lions get to pick at 15, then it may be one of two RBs.  The Lions released Kevin Jones in the off season so they will be looking at a RB anyway.  The plan may be to wait until the 2nd or 3rd round for a RB.  If the Lions are forced to draft a RB in the first round it will be either Oregon's Jonathan Stewart or Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall.  Mendenhall had a freakish 9 yards per rush last year.

  Next up on Matt Millen's to do list is logic!  The logic that every "football guy" has.  "You win games in the trenches"  Something the Lions have not done since Matt Millen has taken over.  Matt Millen has not drafted an offensive lineman in the first two rounds of any draft since 2001!  That year he drafted LT Jeff Backus and C Dominic Raiola and both have been starters since 2001.  Logic tells me that lineman drafted after the first two rounds is not Millen's expertise and he should refrain from doing it again.

Since the 2002 draft the Lions only have two starters from their 1st and 2nd round picks.  Six of the 12 picks aren't even on the team any more and two aren't even in the league at all!  This is just since 2002.  Two starters from 6 drafts.

Those in the know in football and in most sports know the real deal is that you free agency is used to cover mistakes you have made in the draft.  Well the Lions have made so many mistakes in the draft that the salary cap wouldn't even really allow them to do that.

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.

Here is the report from the AP:  By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports Writer Tigers and Cabrera agree to $152.3 million, 8-year deal

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.

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.

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A man attending a game in a rainbow afro wig and holds a sign that says John 3:16. Also known as "Rainbow Man," the born-again Rollen Stewart and his John 3:16 signs were fixtures at major events in the 1970s and 80s. Mostly behind the uprights in football games.

He brought his sign to the World Series, Super Bowl, Olympics, and World Cup. He was outside Buckingham Palace when Di & Charles wed; he went to see the Pope in Alaska. But he was known as more religious fanatic than sports fan.

In Detroit one sign has become just the same but on a smaller yet growing scale. In Detroit there is the "Fire Millen" sign. If it is seen at Ford Field it is taken and usually taken to the exits. I heard a person say the other day they they have had fourteen Fire Millen signs taken away at Ford Field in Detroit.

But recently it has been popping up all around the country. Some are Motowners on the road at a sporting event and try to get it on Tv and succeed. It is fully endorsed by me to anyone who wants to take a sign to a sporting event and is not sure what to put on it, write Fire Millen on it. You are sure to get some laughs and you will be helping a suffering Lions fan somewhere.

Coming soon I will share with you the most recognizable Lions fan. He is known as the Pilgrim. He is to Lions fan what The Big Dawg & the Bone lady from Cleveland, the Hoggetts from Washington, Spike & Raider Ron from Oakland.

 

  Back to back Mannings winning the Super Bowl is unbelievable.  No one real thought that the Giants could pull off the Super Bowl.  Most didn't even think they could beat the Cowboys let alone the Packers and Patriots as well.

  The Giants defense beat QBs Romo, Favre, and Brady to finish off a tremendous road record and rode it all the way to winning the Super Bowl.

  Eli followed his brothers footsteps by winning the Super Bowl MVP as well.  Now for Eli the pressure is off.  The BLEEP that was put on his back because he was a Manning in New York, was taken away yesterday in Arizona.

It had been 17 years already since the Giants last won the Super Bowl with the "big Tuna" so I was happy for the city of New York and the Giants organization.  I always like to see a new team win a Championship every once in a while.  Although the end of the game was kind of weird.

What a great finish to the Super Bowl and very fitting of Eli to win it late in the fourth quarter.  I think I have always looked at him as a fourth quarter QB.  Not all that special in quarters 1-3 but when it matters and many times on the road he has come through.  The polar opposite of Lions QB John Kitna.

The 1972 Dolphins make it one more year as the only team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl.  Although the 2007 Patriots won 18 in a row they didn't win the only one that really counts.


 

Al Davis is at it again.  He is looking to bring in yet another new coach to the Raiders.  After only one season in Oakland, Raiders owner Al Davis wants Lane Kiffin to resign.  Davis would like to bring in former Cardinals and Vikings head coach Dennis Green.

  In a story from ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen:

"Davis has gone so far as to draft a letter of resignation for Kiffin to sign, a source said. Kiffin has refused to do so but has dared Davis to fire him instead. The letter, the source said, was sent to Kiffin two weeks ago.

Kiffin, who was 4-12 in his first season as coach, has two years remaining on his contract at an estimated $2 million per year.

In the letter sent to Kiffin's legal representatives, Davis stated that only he would have control over his staff and full personnel decisions, sources said. According to a source close to Kiffin, Davis had promised Kiffin when he hired him that he would have more control over staff and personnel matters than recent Raiders coaches. Kiffin was allowed five offensive assistants and to name his own staff when he took the job after the 2006 season."


This would be the fourth head coach in four years for the Raiders and fifth coach in six years.  The secret to success is not instability.  Maybe Al's last face lift was a little to tight and it has since impaired his judgement. 

Kiffin had more than just being a rookie head coach against him last season.  He had no stability in many important positions.  He started three different QBs in McCown, Culpepper, and #1 pick JaMarcus Russell.  He also had three different starting RBs as well in Fargas, Jordan, and Rhodes.  Lets not forget that there was a reason why Oakland had the number one overall pick in the first place.  Kiffeen took over the worst team in the NFL.

Lane Kiffin like many coaches should be given at least one more year.  That way Oakland could bring in Bill Cower, a proven winner and hard nosed coach.  Just what the Raiders need.  Besides with Dennis Green, HE IS WHAT WE THOUGHT HE WAS!  Is this really the task that Dennis Green wants or needs to take on at this point of his life?

  Remember Al Davis is the same man who said John Gruden couldn't win the big game.  After trading Gruden to Tampa Bay Gruden then proiceeded to spank the Raiders in the BIG GAME the very first year.  That should have been his first clue that he has lost his touch.

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 hos" which was way out of line. Most of those girls aren’t "hos"! 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 BLEEP 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

  Well it isn't like the Vikings organization is known as the example of the class of the league.  With all the publicity the "Sexboat Scandal" received in 2005, the organization was forced to rebuild. 

  In 2007 the Vikings don't have another boat scandal, they have another image problem.  The Vikings have lowered the bar again. 

  Last Sunday WR Troy Williamson missed the Vikings win over the Chargers that saw Adrian Peterson break the NFL record for rushing yards (296) in a game and surpass 1,000 yards after only eight games.  Williamson was in South Carolina attending his maternal Grandmother's funeral.

from Twincities.com:

After the death last week of his maternal grandmother, Williamson rejoined the Vikings on Wednesday and participated in practice. But he lamented that he could not spend more time with his family, particularly his brother Carlton, who is still in a coma after a car accident, even after the club withheld his paycheck.

"I don't care if (the Vikings) would have took my pay for the rest of the year, I was going home," Williamson said. "It wouldn't have mattered to me. No matter what (Brad Childress) would have said, if I had to stay up here or not, I would have been at my house (in South Carolina) for that week."

Williamson regretted that he could not spend more time with Carlton after his car accident two months ago. But when his grandmother Celestine, who helped raise him and taught him to cook and drive, died, Williamson said he had to go home.

"I feel like the thing with my brother, I let that slide," Williamson said. "This is something I couldn't put on the back burner. But when this came up, I had to get up out of here."

Williamson declined to comment, when asked if Childress was understanding.

"It's really been hard for me," Williamson said. "I was glad to go home and see my family. It was something that really helped me. I just got to push through the season." 


I guess they don't have Bereavement pay, they have a death tax.  How is it that an organization can do this to someone who has "play" in his job title.  When you play football or any other sport, keeping perspective on life is getting dimmer it seems.  Even our armed forces come back from a real war for something like this.  They don't get docked a weeks pay do they?
 

11/11/07 Change of heart by the Vikings.   Mike OHara of the Detroit News commented in his blog-

" The Minnesota Vikings are reacting to public pressure -- and public embarassment -- by giving back a game check to wide receiver Troy Williamson for missing a game to attend his grandmother's funeral. The Vikings probably were within their rights not to pay a player who did not participate in a game. But that doesn't make it right. As I once heard when I covered horse racing, somebody who'd gotten the shaft said: "That may be correct, but it ain't right." The Vikings need a director of common sense."