Worst Losers in Sports??

Surfing the web yesterday I noticed a link to the worst losers in all of sports. While I feel the teams on the list were accurate I definitely disagree with their rankings. Here are the top 5:

5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4) Houston Texans
3) Charlotte Bobcats
2) LA Clippers
1) Tampa Bay Rays.

It is clear to see that each of these franchises have had their fair share of losing. I would make a few changes to the rankings:

5) Houston Texans- They've only been around for a few years and are in a tough division. The team seems to be improving as they went 9-7 last year and have one of the top passing attacks in the NFL.

4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Yeah the team has a Super Bowl win this decade, but there are also a number of losing seasons mixed in. After going 3-13 last season, this team reminds me of the Buccaneers right before they drafted Warren Sapp. I think it will be 3 or 4 years until they make an impact in their division.

3) Tampa Bay Rays- They are in the same division as the Yankees and Sox, which brings on a lot of losing. A significantly smaller budget has affected the team in free agency, but their farm system has been full of good prospects and the organization drafts well (Evan Longoria, David Price). I think this team can only get better as the years go on.

2) LA Clippers- They play in the same arena as arguably the most popular franchise in the sport. They draft horribly (Michael Olawakandi), and no one wants to coach for them. This team deserves to be number 2 because there is no sense of urgency to want to win from the front office.

1) Charlotte Bobcats- No they are not the team with the lowest winning percentage in sports, but since joining the NBA the team has only made the playoffs once (last season). They have an excellent coach in Larry Brown who can coach guys up, but I am not sold on their new owner Michael Jordan and his ability to build a franchise. He's drafted Kwame Brown (An all time bust), Raymond Felton (serviceable PG), Sean May, Adam Morrison, Brandon Wright. Once North Carolina has a star player eligible to be drafted, be worried if you're a Bobcats fan, Jordan may snatch him up and bypass a more polished player.

So there's my top 5. What do you think? Leave me a comment I'd love to hear feedback.

Lakers Suns Game 5

This series has been great from a fans perspective. Games 1 and 2 in LA showed the Lakers playing at their best. Games 3 and 4 were tough for the Lakers as the home crowd for the Suns and the improved play of Amare Stoudamire have evened the series up. Tonight's game will be pivotal in taking a commanding lead in the series. I predict the Lakers will win tonight but it will not be a blowout like the first two games. Lakers 113-104.

No Super Bowl in NY

The Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event each year. Hundreds of millions of people tune in from around the world to watch the game and see the new commercials. This year the league has approved the New York and New Jersey areas to host Super Bowl XLII (48) in 2014. While fans are excited about this opportunity for New York City and its surrounding areas, playing the game in bad weather will have a negative impact on the ability of the players. A number of recent Super Bowls have been poorly played games in excellent weather conditions where weather was not a factor. However hosting the game in a city that is known for snow and heavy rain in the month of February can make the experience bad for the fans watching the game live, the media visiting the city to report on the game, and the fans at home watching it on television. There have been a number of memorable contests affected by weather throughout the National Football League’s history.
Games such as the “Ice Bowl” are widely regarded as one of the most influential bad weather games. The “Ice Bowl” was played in 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys for the NFL Championship. The game was played at -13* F which is still the coldest game in league history. Fans had to endure the brutal conditions, while league officials and members of the local band had materials frozen to their lips. It is highly unlikely that conditions for Super Bowl XLII will be this extreme, but playing the game in a blizzard or a torrential downpour is a possibility.
The Super Bowl is supposed to be played in a neutral site determined to keep either team from having an advantage. How will fans and the league react if a cold weather team such as the Philadelphia Eagles plays a team from warm weather such as the Miami Dolphins in heavy snow? The conditions will highly favor the Eagles and can turn the game into a sloppy mistake filled mess, or an uneventful contest resulting in a 13-6 Philadelphia win. Keeping the most important game of in a warm weather neutral site is the best option for the league because it will benefit consumers, fans, and the league as a whole.