Worst Run Franchise in Sports

[dirk diggler]

I am leaning to the La Clippers, with a nod to the Cincinati Bengals, although they might have turned the corner

[JohnnyO]

I would say the Arizona Cardinals are up there and so are the Detroit Lions (but Moose will turn them around)

[octothorp]

My vote would be for the NY Rangers; no team in the history of sports has spent so much to achieve so little.

[moon]

Arizona Cardinals.

No way are the Lions even close to this list. THey have been bad lately but have not had near the futility and stupidity of the Cardinals, Bengals, Clippers etc.

[JiriHrdina]

Bengels are on the right track now though. They have a good young running back, excellent receiving corp and a potential franchise QB in Palmer....and most importantly a very good football guy running the show now.

Cards for me are the true examples of a bad franchise.

[troutman]

This survey (ESPN in 2003) found the Blackhawks to be the worst pro franchise:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportsnatio...chiseRanks#nfl4 (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportsnation/franchiseRanks#nfl4)

Worst 10 Owners (LAC Owner is the worst):

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/owners/010710.html

[calgaryred]

At one time it would be the Toronto Argonauts. Now I would have to pick Los Angeles Clippers. I can't believe Vancouver was given the flack it did when this franchise is the stinker of the league.

[nfotiu]

Is it too unfair to pick on the Expos? They were once a very well run organization, now they aren't drawing any paying fans in 2 different countries.

[Sylvanfan]

The Clippers by a mile. One playoff appearance in like the past 20 years and they consistantly crap the bed on draft day despite having perrenial lottery picks. Theres two reasons why people in LA have Clippers seasons tickets
1.) So they get to see like 2 Laker games a season
2.) They know the clients they're entertaining and bringing to the game will either be so wasted, or are already just that dumb that they won't know it's not a Lakers game.

That team should just move to Anaheim and play out of the Pond, or fold altogether. Granted the pre-Sutter Flames were looking that bad too.

[TPA_TPC]

Take your pick, the Montreal Expos, Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Chicago Blackhawks and L.A. Clippers are all simply horrible. The Expos got a raw deal, they had a good team that could have won the '94 World Series (they were that good) and drew well. The '94 baseball lock-out killed that franchise (note to the NHL).

[Sylvanfan]

Originally posted by TPA_TPC@Aug 11 2004, 09:03 PM
Take your pick, the Montreal Expos, Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Chicago Blackhawks and L.A. Clippers are all simply horrible. The Expos got a raw deal, they had a good team that could have won the '94 World Series (they were that good) and drew well. The '94 baseball lock-out killed that franchise (note to the NHL).
Don't throw stones from a glass house. The Bucs were at the top of that list until about 7 years ago. The difference between Baseball and Hockey is when Baseball had it's strike it was about nothing more than who was greedier. Players were already the highest paid athletes in pro sports and several owners were making money, or in the process of building stadiums that would make them more money (built mostly with tax payer money too I may add). The thing with the NHL is that 20 out of 30 teams are not profitable, and the system needs to be fixed. Sure it might drive away some fans and cost them 10 markets, but the alternative is to fold 20 teams that aren't viable bussinesses if the status quo is kept. The only thing wrong with how the Expos have run things is that they've stayed playing in a bad stadium in a bad market for far too long. Had they moved that franchise to DC around 97 like they should have and kept the same people running the team they'd be alright.

[Resolute 14]

The Devil Rays arent exactly a well run franchise either.

Add the former Edmonton Aviators and the Calgary Stampeders to this list...

[Resolute 14]

Originally posted by nfotiu@Aug 11 2004, 07:42 PM
Is it too unfair to pick on the Expos? They were once a very well run organization, now they aren't drawing any paying fans in 2 different countries.
Given that the Expos are run by MLB itself, they definitely merit mention near the top of the list.

[habernac]

The Clippers and Blackhawks come immediatley to mind

[Sylvanfan]

Right now the Expos are victims of an indescisive ownership group, and poor market. The fact is the Expos on the sports end have a good manager in Frank Robinson, a good GM in Minaya, and until this season were at least competitive on the field. For years the Expo's boasted one of the best scouting staffs in all of baseball. Several former Expos GM's are now with other organizations, and Felipe Alou was nothing short of genius during his tenure as manager. The Expo's also have developed several allstar calibre players. Teams like the 90's Bengals and Clippers can't really make those claims as they've constantly hired dud coaches, and managers, and have failed to develop any good players. Yes MLB is treating the Expos like a joke and deserves criticism for it, but I think it's an unfair insult to those currently working on the sports end of the organization to call them poorly run. Teams like the old Bengals and Clippers have problems throughout the organization the Expos don't.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally posted by calgaryred@Aug 11 2004, 04:10 PM
I can't believe Vancouver was given the flack it did when this franchise is the stinker of the league.
Any team that chooses to use an inbred hick named Bryant Reeves as their franchise player deserves all the flack they get.

[sbailey924]

The Bengals aren't, they were once quite good. Now they are pretty good again. The D-Rays aren't bad this year, and it's still a young franchise.

I'll have to say the San Diego Chargers after today. How can they let Rivers holdout after the mess with Jammer a couple of years ago. I can't say the trade that sent Vick to ATL was bad. Brees has underachieved in my mind, and they still got Tomlinson in the 1st round. They have LT, and that's it. I want them to do good, but geez. And if you try to tell me that they were once good, too....remember, they got throttled in the Super Bowl. Stan Humphries was their QB...STAN HUMPHRIES!!!

[Crazy Flamer]

I don't know if Id put the Blackhawks on this list. Yeah they've sucked the last little while but their stadium in the past was known for being the loudest in the NHL. The Clippers would get my vote. Consitently bad for not just years, but DECADES now...

[Dirty Mr. Clean]

Blackhawks - you can't even watch them on TV when they are on the road the owner doesn't sell the rights.

[number19]

The worst run team of all time is by far the Clippers. But in the last couple years I think that the Stamps management has been laughable, though it's more the owner than anybody else. Hopefully Matt can change a few things.

[troutman]

If we consider the CFL too, you have to look at the futility of the SASK Roughriders.
They have won the Grey Cup TWICE I think in a league that only had 8-9 teams. They have missed the playoffs countless times in a conference where 3 out of 5 teams normally qualify.

That is why Saturday was so annoying. They were predicting victory, running up the score, etc. No class, only 4-5, yet they act like a dynasty. We always hear about how great the fans are, but they are lucky most nights to draw 20,000.

[peter12]

The Canadian Summer Olympic Team