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Most hopeless pro franchises

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Mark2010, Apr 27, 2011.

  1. Hank_Scorpio

    Hank_Scorpio Active Member

    Good point, Bubbs. They and the Raiders may have supplanted the Lions. Although I still wouldn't put the Lions high, just not the worst.
     
  2. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    In the NBA, it's the Clips followed by the Bobcats. Ownership has been pitiful throughout the short history of the latter and trading Gerald Wallace for magic beans and a used Gatorade cooler did nothing to show that Michael Jordan is committed to anything other than his ego.

    MLB? Pirates and Royals. One thing to be fiscally responsible, another to be cheap. These two are the latter.

    NFL: Cardinals, Browns. Sure, the Cards got to a Super Bowl recently and fell again just as fast. This version of the Browns is pretty similar to the Charlotte Bobcats: Never relevant, never makes the right moves to get better players and look, um, interesting in orange. Honorable mention to the Lions over the last 50 years, but at least the franchise did some big things until 1957. [/Bronxcheer] Bengals of last 20 years probably belong here, but success in early- and mid-'80s save Mike Brown from further embarrassment - barely.

    NHL? Coyotes and Thrashers/Panthers. Former has strong players and underrated coach, but no one shows up and ownership situation could sink a good thing in least in terms of roster and coaches. Shame. Thrashers and Panthers can't maintain anything positive - mediocrity would be an achievement with the organization - and respective cities barely acknowledge teams' existence.

    The positive? The right ownership transaction can change everything. See: Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Red Sox for recent history.
     
  3. Hank_Scorpio

    Hank_Scorpio Active Member

    Not sure I'd put the Coyotes in there. Maybe because of the ownership issues, but their play on the ice isn't bad as they have made playoffs in recent years.
     
  4. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    The Coyotes are pretty good on the ice and not at all befitting of a team in the thread category. But ownership issues, coupled with a questionable location and shaky attendance, won't help. And if they haven't already signed Ilya Bryzgalov given his play of late, that's an ominous sign. Who else won't the organization be able to sign? Where will any money come from given their situation with ownership and ticket sales?
     
  5. Hank_Scorpio

    Hank_Scorpio Active Member

    Bryzgalov is not signed. They may be able to re-sign him financially (or not), but he has said he doesn't want to move to Winnipeg, if they end up getting moved there.
     
  6. crimsonace

    crimsonace Well-Known Member

    The Coyotes, only because they're probably moving.

    NHL: Islanders, Panthers.
    NBA: Clippers (despite recent successes)
    NFL: Lions
    MLB: Pirates, Royals (they don't even try)
     
  7. CarltonBanks

    CarltonBanks New Member

    The Cavs will have MASSIVE cap room in two years, have stockpiled draft picks and have a $13 mill trade exception they have to use by the end of July...they are nowhere near as bad as the Timberwolves as far as the future is concerned.
     
  8. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    How bad are the Clippers? Their "golden era" was in Buffalo in the 70s when they went to the conference SEMIS three years in a row and lost all three.
     
  9. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    As of today, the Clippers' future looks brighter than the Nets, Raptors or Warriors.
     
  10. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    The fact that the Cardinals GOT to a Super Bowl as recently as three years ago proves the point that they are NOT hopeless. Need the right players (Warner, Fitzgerald, Dansby, etc.) and a little bit of luck. Some franchises will find a way to screw that up.

    I will agree with MizzouGrad and put the Lions on equal footing with the Raiders and Browns. How do you manage to have the No. 1 overall pick in the entire NFL draft and wind up with ... JaMarcus Russell? Or Tim Couch? Or go through six head coaches in less than a decade?

    Some teams, like the Toronto Blue Jays, are sort of screwed because of the division they are stuck in and the economics of the sport. But they can at least realistically aspire to go .500, which is more than the Pirates and Royals can claim.

    The Cleveland Cavaliers were the worst team in the NBA in the early 2000s and drafted LeBron James. While they didn't win a championship, they did get to the Finals once and had the best regular-season record twice in a 7-year span. The Nets and Raptors don't have much to show for their top draft picks.
     
  11. ColdCat

    ColdCat Well-Known Member

    The Panthers belong in a class of their own in the NHL. I think that team could be contracted and no one would notice.
    I like to think that the Lions have at least something going for them with Suh and Stafford, but knowing that team, they'll find a way to screw it up. Even so, Stafford might be the best Lions QB in my lifetime, but then that list includes Ty Detmer, Joey Harrington, Dan Orlovsky, Rodney Pete, Andre Ware, Scott Mitchell and Gary Danielson so that's not saying much.
     
  12. The Toronto Blue Jays for sure, and I'm thinking I might put the Arizona Cardinals in there too, since they even managed to make getting to a Super Bowl an embarrassment.

    That's half my sports teams right there. Well, that sucks.
     
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