When my buddy and radio co-host (‘Hardcore Speculation’ Tuesday nights, 8-9pm … shameless plug is now over) Dave Golokhov wrote his list of the top ten worst sports franchises I couldn’t wait to see where he stuck the New York Knicks. Well to my surprise/horror the team that Isiah destroyed was no where to be seen. So instead of writing something different and original I decided to come out with the correct list of the Ten Worst Franchises in Pro Sports.

Please feel free to write in and agree with me.


#10 Colorado Rockies
Ten Year Record: 731 Wins - 869 Losses

The Facts:
-All right I know I may get killed for this but really last season the team caught lightening in a bottle. But remember they managed to get out of the National League. That’s the equivalent of winning employee of the month … as the night manager for Arby’s.
-2007 was the first time Colorado made the playoffs in the last 10 years.
-Only one other winning season. (82-80 in 2000)
-Little known fact: Buddy Bell has managed two of the teams on this list, the Rockies and the Royals. With a career coaching record of 519 – 724 I think it’s a safe bet he ain’t .500 anytime soon. Come on Washington Nationals, you know what you have to do!


#9 Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals
Ten Year Record: 700 Wins - 900 Losses

The Facts:
-They were booted/forced out of Montreal, never a highlight reel moment for a franchise.
-It didn’t matter what city they were in, this team has never been able to draw fans over the last ten years.
-They’ve gone to the playoffs the same amount of times as the Royals.
-The team(s) has had 2 winning seasons and both times it was a meager 83-79 record.


#8 Phoenix Coyotes:
Ten Year Record: I think Gary Bettman is adding another column to the win side called extra special wins just to mess with every newspaper standings board.

The Facts:
-Phoenix hasn't made it out of the 1st round the playoffs over the past 10 years.
-The Coyotes haven’t even made the playoffs since 2001, even the Leafs have been to the postseason more than that.
-The only reason there is a team in Phoenix is to give aging hockey players a place to play in their golden years. Mike Gartner, Brett Hull, Jeremy Roenick and Sean Burke all chose the Coyotes as the perfect retirement destination.


#7 Chicago Bulls
Ten Year Record: 289 Wins - 499 Losses

The Facts:
-Yes they have had some success over the past four seasons but they could have been so much better. Remember this is the same team that refused to make a deal for Kobe or Pau Gasol last year because they did not want to part with Luol Deng. How has that worked out for them? I'm sure Kobe couldn't have helped this team in the East!
-They got rid of Tyson Chandler and elected to take on the dead weight contract and just plain dead weight known as Ben Wallace.
-More Bad Karma: This past off season Luol Deng and Ben Gordon both turned down long term contracts worth $50 million and both wilted under the pressure of the impending Kobe Bryant trade.
-Yes they made three trips to the playoffs but they got beyond the first round only once.
-Ten years ago marked the first year of Jordan's final retirement from the Bulls. I think some people forget just how bad those early Post-Jordan teams were. From 1999 to 2003 they averaged 60 losses. Read that sentence again ... 60 losses was the average!


#6 Florida Panthers
Ten Year Record: This league has gone from ties to overtime losses to Shoot-Out losses to ... well quite frankly I have no real idea how the standings in the NHL works so I refuse to add it up. Trust me it ain't a pretty record.

The Facts:
-Florida managed to make the playoffs only once in the past ten years. This isn't major league baseball, doesn't everyone qualify for the playoffs in the NHL?
-When you trade Roberto Luongo for Todd Bertuzzi you are bound to make this list.
-There are almost no panthers left in Florida due to urban expansion. There is more Jazz in Utah than panthers in Florida
-The only positive for Florida in the past ten years was the individual brilliance of Pavel Bure.
-The most fight we have seen out of this team was Mike Keenan vs. GM Rick Dudley.


#5 Kansas City Royals:
Ten Year Record: 650 Wins - 950 Losses

The Facts:
-Really do I need to say anything else? How do you lose 300 more games then you win over a ten year span?
-The only reason they aren’t #2 on the list is the higher degree of difficulty of making the playoffs in baseball and the lack of a salary cap doesn’t normally allow teams like the Royals to compete on a consistent basis.
-The team has one winning season (83-79 in 2003) but followed that up by going 62-100 the following year.
-In a five year stretch they lost a 100 or more games.
-Ten years, 5 managers.
-Maybe the dumbest thing this team ever did was refuse to go to the National League in 1997 as part of MLB’s expansion/re-location plans.


#4 Detroit Lions
Ten Year Record: 53 Wins - 107 Losses

The Facts:
-How does Matt Millen still have a job? He is one sexual assault case and bankrupting the Arena League from being the NFL's version of Isiah Thomas.
-How do you lose twice as many games as you win in the NFL? The league has a salary cap, the Lions drafted high every year and got to play the easiest of schedules. The entire league is based on parity. They practically make it impossible to lose on such a level, yet somehow they manage to do it, year after year.
-The inept coaching train: After Bobby Ross resigns during the 2000 season the team is left in the less then capable hands of Gary Moeller. This is followed by Marty Mornhinwig who was over matched and finally Steve Marrucci whose career record just got destroyed during his short tenure. If I’m Rod Marinelli I wouldn’t invest in the Detroit real estate market. Just a thought.
-A quick note to anyone who says you don't need a top flight QB to win in this league ... Here are the quarterbacks who started the majority of Lions games over the past 10 years: Charlie Batch, Mike McMahon, Joey Harrington and Jon "10 wins" Kitna.
-Only one winning season in the past ten years.
-Only one trip to the playoffs and that ended in a 28-13 loss to Washington.
-Ten years ago marked the final season for the greatest running back not named Jim Brown or Sweetness ... Barry Sanders. Only Michael Vick ever came close to the level of excitement Sanders brought to the field.


#3 Arizona Cardinals
Ten Year Record: 58 Wins - 102 Losses

The Facts:
-Forget just these past ten years; the Cardinals have only been to the playoffs once since the mid 1940's. So if you are keeping score at home; Arizona has been to the playoffs once since the original Axis of Evil, the Nazi's, were trying to take over Europe.
-How sad is it when the most memorable moment of this franchise over the past ten years is Dennis Green freaking out after losing to the Bears on Monday Night Football.
-'Dancing With the Stars' contestant, Emmitt Smith, finished his career here. Just a sad note in NFL history.
-Memorable 1st round picks: Buckle up for this one!
Andre Wadsworth (Injuries and a lengthy contract holdout destroyed his career)
David Boston (One great year, now fighting for a starting spot with the Argonauts)
L.J. Shelton (Bad)
Thomas Jones (Stunk with the Cards great with the Bears)
Leonard Davis (Again stunk with the Cards now is a good player with the Cowboys)
Wendell Bryant (Holy Lord was he bad!)
Calvin Pace (No longer with the team)


#2 Cincinnati Bengals
Ten Year Record: 61 Wins - 99 Losses

The Facts:
-In the last ten years Cincinnati has had only one winning season, 2005. Of course they got killed at home in the playoffs to the hated Steelers and lost Carson Palmer to injury in that same game.
-Not since the mid 1990 Dallas Cowboys has one team had so many criminals on their roster. The only difference was Dallas' criminal were, you know, good.
-You know it has been a bad decade when Marvin Lewis is the best coach the Bengals has had over the past 10 years. I think we are all in agreement that only the good people of FEMA would have done a worse job than Bruce Coslet and Dick LeBeau did as head coaches in Cincinnati.
-Memorable 1st round picks: Akili Smith, Peter Warrick and David Pollock.


#1 New York Knicks
Ten Year Record: 343 Wins - 445 Losses

The Facts:
-The easiest choice to make of the ten teams. How could this team not be #1. They’re the ‘Godfather’ of sports failure.
-Isiah Thomas destroyed this team and hurt the entire league with his mismanagement of the team, his off court issues and generally his smarmy presence. I know that as a Knicks fan it will be a long time before all the wounds are healed.
-The trade for Eddy Curry meant for Brandon Roy and Joakim Noah on the team.
-Here are some of my favourite salaries (Yes I know I missed several glaring ones)
Quentin Richardson ... 2008 Salary: $8.1 Million
Jerome James …2008 Salary: $5.8 million
Jared Jefferies … 2008 Salary: $5.6 million
Shandon Anderson made $6.1 million in 2002.
Howard Eisley, yes the Howard Eisley, made $5.3 million in 2002.
-Hard to believe that it was ten years ago that Camby, Houston and Sprewell took this team to the finals.

You want to respond to this article? Access the Canoe Passport and leave us your comments..