The Worst Franchises In Pro Sports Today

[Maxx]

I wouldn't say the Raiders at all. Yeah they suck now, but they were a perenial playoff team a few years ago and have managed to be above average for most of their existence.

In the NFL its the Detroit Lions and its their own fault for not getting rid of Millen and trying someone else. They look like they'll be improving this year though, but I hear that every year.

In terms of management the Titans suck. They handled their cap situation horribly, lost everyone and then drafted Pacman Jones, all while still performing better than the Lions.

Baseball its the Kansas City Royals. Devil Rays get a pass as they actually acquire good young talent, they just don't have the money to pay them and they're in the AL East where the best they could ever hope for is a wild card spot and even that'll never happen.

Hockey its the Blackhawks and recently the Bruins.

Basketball its the Hawks and the T'Wolves IMO, they basically stopped attempting to build a team around KG a few years ago and have been relying completely on him to stay competitive.

[Lowerdeck]

The worst in all American sports is the Chicago Blackhawks. The Bruins are honorable mention, but it's not even on the level of Chicago yet. AHL's Chicago franchise is considered the top team in town, consistently outdraws the big league team. Now that's sad.

For the rest of the sports

NBA - Hawks. Not much to say, they just can't go anywhere. Pretty soon, the Celtics will be worse than the Hawks. Danny Ainge needs to screw up a few more things, get a few more sub .500 seasons. Ainge is totally incompetent and should be fired, he makes Isiah Thomas look genius.

MLB - Baltimore Orioles. Peter Angelos is going to let this team rot into the ground. He's spending like 80-90M a year too, on failures. Joe Girardi won't even manage there, for good reason. There's no motivation to win, there's dozens of games where the visiting team draws more fans to Camden Yards than there are Orioles fans. Pittsburgh can't do much of shit either, but at least they have a couple decent young pitchers coming... who they'll trade to New York for more prospects.

NFL - Detroit. Everyone else already covered this.

[Doc Funky]

They've only been in the league for a few years, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Houston Texans. With absolutely no winning seasons and allowing their quarterback to be the most-sacked QB in the league seemingly every year (setting a record with 76 in 2002), I'd say they even beat out the Lions.

Now, I know the Lions are awful, but if you watch their games (as I'm forced to every week, living in Michigan - Thanks, Fox) they're not that terrible. They usually make a lot of solid plays and generally look like they know what's going on. But every time I watch the Texans (which isn't a lot, I'll admit), I'm just shocked at how terrible they are. They're so uncoordinated that sometimes it seems like they grabbed eleven random guys off the street and marched 'em out onto the field.

[IAceI]

But like you said, they're still very young, they draft pretty well and have some decent players. They have quite a decent defence, but a very poor offensive line. Sort the line and they have a better team.

They're improving quite a bit, so I don't think it's fair to say they're the worst, not yet anyways.

[ACCBiggz]

Houston as mentioned are young. And outside of addressing the line issues (which was aided by Tony Boselli never playing a down) they haven't been terrible. I believe two years ago they had something like 4-6 losses by 7 points or less. They haven't drafted terribly and they have a some nice youngsters.

Detroit on the other hand... It's been one folley after another.

[CDuffy26]

I don't know how anyone has not mentioned my Pittsburgh Pirates, whom haven't had a winning season since 1992. We've made some horrible contract decisions (Derek Bell, Jason Kendall, Raul Mondesi, and Pat Meares), been through 3 different rebuilding programs, and have hired managers that cannot seem to do anything write (Such as batting a leadoff hitter in the 3 hole). I think it has only been recently that we've begun to improve, but we're not going to have a winning season until our owner start caring and start putting money into the team.

[SeanDMan]

I find it hard to condemn baseball teams, purely because the disparity between the rich and the poor is such a large gap. I think in leagues like the NHL, the NBA, and the NFL, teams have a lot less excuses. I don't want to give bad owners a free pass... there are certainly some tightwads who operate to the discredit of their team, but there are also teams that pay out reasonable money to field a competitive team, only to get blown out of the water by an insane billionaire who can afford to give a baseball team a bigger budget them some small nations. Of course, the poor me sob story has been used so long a lot of people have given up on certain teams, and for sure, some teams use it as a crutch to excuse the fact that they really are just too inept to field a winner.

I think the Cleveland Browns are pretty awful. The team floundered in the nineties under bad leadership, then came back and proceeded to be just as awful. They've become a quarterback graveyard and it seems every time they draft someone they turn out to be okay, but nothing special, which is really not good considering they tend to have fairly high draft picks. This perpetual rebuilding cycle is insane given the high rate of good player turnover thanks to the NFL salary cap. If you can't get your act together through five drafts, you have some serious problems.

I think the Chicago Blackhawks, though, are my hands down choice as the worst franchise in sports. They've been mired in a rebuild for about 15 years, and every few years they just jetison all their young NHL players for seemingly no reason. The fact that their ownership is rediculously tight and refuse to even broadcast home games on TV really hurts their fanbase, which used to one of the strongest in the NHL. Both Chicago and Cleveland strike me as a really unfortunate examples of how bad ownership and bad direction is killing what are otherwise proud, storied franchises with fairly large fanbases.

[naiwf]

The Kansas City Royals. Look at their record since winning the 1985 World Series. The number after the win percentage is the place they finished in their division. Doomed to be one of the worst teams in the league until/unless they move.

2007 AL Cent 36-49 (.424) 5

2006 AL Cent 62-100 (.383) 5

2005 AL Cent 56-106 (.346) 5

2004 AL Cent 58-104 (.358) 5

2003 AL Cent 83-79 (.512) 3

2002 AL Cent 62-100 (.383) 4

2001 AL Cent 65-97 (.401) 5

2000 AL Cent 77-85 (.475) 4

1999 AL Cent 64-97 (.398) 4

1998 AL Cent 72-89 (.447) 3

1997 AL Cent 67-94 (.416) 5

1996 AL Cent 75-86 (.466) 5

1995 AL Cent 70-74 (.486) 2

1994 AL Cent 64-51 (.557) 3

1993 AL West 84-78 (.519) 3

1992 AL West 72-90 (.444) 5

1991 AL West 82-80 (.506) 6

1990 AL West 75-86 (.466) 6

1989 AL West 92-70 (.568) 2

1988 AL West 84-77 (.522) 3

1987 AL West 83-79 (.512) 2

1986 AL West 76-86 (.469) 3

Dishonorable mention to the Washington Nationals (MLB), Oakland Raiders (NFL), Atlanta Hawks (NBA) and NY Islanders (NHL). The Knicks would have made this list before the Randolph/Dickau/Jones for Frye/Francis swap.

[OGpistolpete]

Every team based in Cleveland.

Cleveland Browns.

Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cleveland Indians.

We always fall short...

It might not be that we are bad, it's just that we have been known to fall short in the end.

Edited July 6, 2007 by SKA

[VerbalPuke]

Let's not delude ourselves into thinking that Lions are a solid team. This is in response to Doc Funky, I also watch every game (not forced either, I love them) and the Lions do make solid plays. Unfortunately for every solid play they make, there is another four or five bonehead plays that cost them the game. There are always inane coaching decisions, no matter who is on the sideline be it Clark, Fontes, Ross, Morningwheg, Marriucci, and even Marinelli.

There is no possible way to sugar coat a record of 24-72 since Millen took over. Sure, they had some competitive teams with Barry Sanders, but that amounted to one playoff win. And while I'm at it, that is one playoff win since the 1950s.

And do you want to talk about a franchise that has had some fucked up luck over the years? We've had a WR die on the field in the 70s, two fifths of a solid offensive line wiped out in a months span (Eric Andolzak was hit by a truck on his front lawn and killed, and Mike Utley was paralyzed the season before I believe), we had an absolutely stud in the making LB in Reggie Brown fall to the same injury as Mike Utley, and it seems as if the team is plagued by injuries year after year.

The worst part is that ownership don't seem to show much interest in the team. William Clay Ford Sr. is basically a reanimated corpse posing as an owner, sitting back and watching Millen run the team into the ground. Why should he care? The Detroit Lions fans sell out Ford Field every fucking week, so there is no shortage of income despite the atrocious product people are subjected to.

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot about our defensive line coach getting picked up by the cops for driving around Detroit intoxicated...and naked.

[Green Demon]

It not so much that the Cleveland teams are the worst it is just that they have terrible luck. The Cavs were one of the top teams in the late 80's and would have surely made the finals if it weren't for the guy name Mike. The problem with the Browns has countiusly been the management so I am not going to dispute that they have done bad but for whatever it is worth for whatever reason, Browns game are the hardest ticket to get out of the three major sports. And with the Indians were very good and in contention throughout most of the 90's and are back to that level again so that one is easily disputed. I look back at the Indians teams such as the 95 team and wonder how the hell they didnt win the World Series or even 97 for that matter, those lineups were amazing. The Cleveland teams have countiusly fell short but I think that is far from being the worst franchises.

[Evil Chase K]

NFL - Detroit and Cleveland. While Detroit's problems stem mostly from being poorly managed. The Browns make moves that seem to be smart, but through either bad luck or just overvaluing the moves they make...still end up sucking.

MLB - The Pittsburgh Pirates. Owners who care about nothing more than making money, a league longest 15 straight losing seasons, and an apathetic fanbase who will still go to games by the tens of thousands as long as they shoot off fireworks or give out bobbleheads.

[Doc Funky]

Oh, I'm not trying to say the Lions are any good, because that's not even remotely true.

But a lot of the things people have said in defense of the Texans can be said about the Lions, too. They have a fairly good defense and (especially last year) tend to lose a lot of ther games by only 7-8 points. And I think they make fairly good moves in the draft and free agency, but it's just that those players don't pan out the way that the Lions (or anyone else) predict that they will.

I guess when I made my last post, I was thinking more of "worst team" (on the field) and not "worst franchise" (on & off). Because as everyone has already said, the apathy of Ford and Millen has to put the Lions on top.

Edited July 7, 2007 by Doc Funky

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

NFL-The Detroit Lions. Puke nailed it, they're a fucking embarassment to this town.

MLB-Tampa Devil Rays. Never have got it right and never will get it right. They play in the middle of nowhere, have a shitty stadium and nobody cares about them.

NHL-Close tie between Boston & Chicago. Terrible ownership.

NBA-LA Clippers

[ACCBiggz]

NFL - Detroit and Cleveland. While Detroit's problems stem mostly from being poorly managed. The Browns make moves that seem to be smart, but through either bad luck or just overvaluing the moves they make...still end up sucking.

[Hajjhowe]

Exactly.

I'm going to nominate the Arizona Cardinals. They are a beacon of horrible play and haven't done anything in... forever. I'm not talking division wins or anything either, they've just sucked badly for the last god knows how long.

Edited July 23, 2007 by Hajjhowe

[jonnycomelately]

Most teams in this discussion are created through miserable management and ownership. As stated before, there is luck problems that plague many a team in professional sports but there are just some that makes you wonder how people can keep their jobs for as long as they have.

With this being said, the NBA has really taken the cake on horribly mismanaged franchises. From Billy Knight and the Hawks, who he took from a playoff team in the late 80's and mid 90's to a laughingstock, to Elgin Baylor and Donald Sterling over in Hollywood with the Clippers (whom I'm surprised haven't been mentioned yet). I think these two are the worst in the NBA because most of the time they don't even give their fans a wrinkle of hope. The Clips have made tiny strides in the past decade but when you are counting getting knocked out the first round as progress then you are still a failure.

In the baseball realm, the real losers here are the Devil Rays, Royals, and Pirates. The D-Rays are promising but have one pitcher on their team with an ERA under 4.00 and that is closer Al Reyes who is as good as gone at the deadline if a team comes calling. The Royals have been drafting 1-3 for the better part of the decade but when you surround these prospects with mediocre veterans and less than stellar pitching then you have a recipe for a garbage baseball team. The Pirates have not been good since Sid Bream rumbled home in 1992 for the Braves. When they've splurged on players its been a guy who made a living off being part of a cool nickname (Killer B Derek Bell) and a leadoff catcher with less pop than Juan Pierre (Jason Kendall) among other crappy deals.

In the NFL, the Lions and Cardinals will never win with the current management they have because they have just prolonged the awful legacies they had before. The Texans are still in the early stages as are the new Browns but both still have much room for improvement.

I can't really bring myself to pick out the worst franchise in pro sports today but it is obvious that there is no shortage of choices.