6. Pittsburgh Pirates

12 Worst Sports Franchises

No team in sports history has ever been as bad for as long as the Pittsburgh Pirates. For 18 years and counting, the team has basically operated as a farm club for the big boys, crying about the “small market” while giving away all of their stars. And for 18 straight years they’ve had a losing record. No North American franchise has ever done that before. The owners of the team have turned losing into a profitable enterprise, making almost $30 million a year while getting rid of All-Stars in an effort not to pay them. And while a good first half of the season this year was cause for excitement, things have settled back down. A recent 10-game losing streak has them back under .500, staring a 19th straight losing season in the face. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

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12 Worst Franchi... There are numerous franchises that seem to do things right these days. The Philadelphia Phillies, the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Lakers come to mind. Of course, winning doesn’t hurt. But rabid fan bases, great facilities, smart and caring ownership, and likeable players make for popular franchises.

But there is an opposite end of that spectrum. One where the fans have been completely disengaged, the owners will screw a city over for quick buck, the players are jerks and the ballparks are a joke. Let’s look at franchises that either have no interest in their fans, only in making a quick buck, or who try to succeed and fail repeatedly and spectacularly. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photos/Paul Sakuma/Jason Redmond/Kathy Kmonicek)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
12. Baltimore Or... They play in a beautiful ballpark, and are a historic franchise with three World Series wins. But before they moved to Baltimore, they were the St. Louis Browns, and they were the most hapless franchise in baseball. They are rapidly heading back that way, and many people attribute that to owner Peter Angelos. The O’s have been an afterthought in the AL East since the late 1990s, and haven’t had a winning season since 1997. They did hire a good manager this past year (Buck Showalter), and there are rumors that Cal Ripken may be next in line to be the O’s GM. Unlike some of the teams further down this list, things could be looking up in Baltimore. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
11. Oakland Raid... A once great owner has lost his touch in Oakland, and the hapless dismantling of a franchise has been painful to watch. The team hires a new coach roughly every 15 minutes and once proud Raider Nation has stopped caring about the team. The Raiders were 32nd in attendance in 2010. That’s what happens when a team goes 37-91 over an eight-year stretch, makes indefensible draft decisions (JaMarcus Russell with a No. 1 pick, Darius Heyward Bey over Michael Crabtree). To add insult to injury, the team lost their best player Nnamdi Asomugha to free agency this past offseason. This franchise will not get better until Al Davis steps down, but don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
10. Los Angeles ... It has been a spectacular fall from grace. A team that was playing in front of a sold out Dodger Stadium on their way to NLCS appearances in 2008 and 2009, they have quickly been derailed by divorce. Owner Frank McCourt can’t afford to keep top notch players, and has been bickering with Bud Selig while filing for bankruptcy protection. Furthermore, Dodger Stadium has rapidly developed a reputation as a great place to get in a gang fight, a reputation further enhanced by the savage beating of a Giants fan on Opening Day. And the fans are staying away in droves. Things in L.A. are bound to get worse before they get better. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Francis Specker)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
9. New York Mets What a difference five years makes. Five years ago, the Mets took the St. Louis Cardinals to the brink of the NLCS, losing on a Yadier Molina homer in the ninth inning of Game 7. And then it all came tumbling downhill. In 2007, they blew a 7.5 game lead in mid-September. In 2008, they blew a 3.5 game lead to lose the East. Omar Minaya’s firing of Willie Randolph while on a West Coast swing was heavily criticized, and big name free agents Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez both flamed out quickly. Owner Fred Wilpon was ensnared in a ponzi scheme. And no team in baseball has been cursed more by injuries over the past few years. It’s a mess in New York, and with Daniel Murphy and Jose Reyes both going back down with injuries recently, it’s not exactly looking up. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
8. Phoenix Coyot... The NHL, in their infinite wisdom, thought it would be a stroke of genius to move as many teams into warm weather cities as possible. I mean, who in Phoenix doesn’t love ice hockey? Incredibly, the move didn’t work out, and after the team filed for bankruptcy in 2009 the NHL stepped in and now owns the franchise. Ironically, since the NHL took over the team has started winning and has now been to the playoffs two years in a row. The recent success hasn’t seemed to fire up the populace, however. Phoenix was 29th out of 30 teams in attendance this past season.—Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
7. Cincinnati Be... One man is to blame for the disaster that is the Cincinnati Bengals. His name is Mike Brown, and since he took over in 1991, the Bengals have had exactly two winning seasons and have not won a single playoff game. Brown refuses to hire a GM, although he clearly lacks the pedigree to build a winner. Don’t expect things to change soon either. With a rookie QB set to start the season, it looks like the Bengals are beginning a new “rebuilding phase.” In other words, there will be new names and faces, but expect similar results. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
6. Pittsburgh Pi... No team in sports history has ever been as bad for as long as the Pittsburgh Pirates. For 18 years and counting, the team has basically operated as a farm club for the big boys, crying about the “small market” while giving away all of their stars. And for 18 straight years they’ve had a losing record. No North American franchise has ever done that before. The owners of the team have turned losing into a profitable enterprise, making almost $30 million a year while getting rid of All-Stars in an effort not to pay them. And while a good first half of the season this year was cause for excitement, things have settled back down. A recent 10-game losing streak has them back under .500, staring a 19th straight losing season in the face. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
5. Sacramento Ki... Just because the California economy is in desperate trouble and cities are struggling to keep teachers in their schools, don’t go crying to David Stern or the Maloof Brothers. Stern, who already stabbed the city of Seattle in the back by moving that team to Oklahoma City, now wants to assist the Maloof Brothers in pulling the Sacramento Kings out of their hometown and moving them to Anaheim because Sacramento citizens refused to help pay for an arena. The city of Sacramento is trying to find money to keep the team in town, and they will remain in Sacramento at least this season. But after that, who knows? That’s if there is a next season. Boy, isn’t the NBA fan-tastic? —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
4. Washington Re... Has anyone done more to destroy a franchise than Daniel Snyder? At least the Clippers were never good. The Redskins, on the other hand, were one of the most storied franchises in NFL history when Daniel Snyder bought them in 1999. A team once known for being the home of legends like Sammy Baugh, John Riggins and Art Monk has since become known as a place where once great players go to stink. Bruce Smith, Donovan McNabb, Albert Haynesworth, Deion Sanders and Jeremiah Trotter were all given lavish salaries to join the ‘Skins. And all played the worst football of their careers once they put on the burgundy and gold.

Meanwhile, Snyder has alienated almost every fan in D.C., jacking up prices as the team got worse, suing season ticket holders who couldn’t fulfill their commitments after the economy tanked and filing a lawsuit against a D.C. paper that had the nerve to write negative things about him. The good news for Snyder is that the Redskins are one of the most valuable franchises in sports on paper. The bad news is that they are a joke in the NFL, they are rapidly losing fans and Snyder’s legacy will be that he took a proud franchise and ran it directly into the ground. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
3. Detroit Lions They’ve won one playoff game since 1957. One! Since Eisenhower was President. This is the franchise that thought that Matt Millen was such a great GM he deserved a contract extension. The one that was such a loser that Barry Sanders retired early so he could stop losing. It is a franchise that has a record of 33-121 (.273) in the past 10 seasons. They’ve recently had some success in the draft, however, picking Matthew Stafford and Ndamukong Suh, so there is a certain amount of cautious optimism in Detroit. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
2. Los Angeles C... It is remarkable how terrible this franchise is, and it all starts with their owner. Donald Sterling has been accused of racism by former Clipper executive Elgin Baylor, sued by the Department of Justice for discriminating against Koreans at apartments he rents and has been sued numerous times for sexual harassment. In 2006, he pledged to create a center for the homeless in East L.A., but since buying the property, he has done nothing. In 2004, assistant coach Kim Hughes was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Sterling refused to help pay for his treatment, which was not covered by Hughes’ insurance. (Several Clippers players chipped in to pay for the procedure.)

Furthermore, the Clippers’ drafting record has been laugh-out-loud pathetic. They used a No. 1 overall pick on Michael Olowakandi, a No. 2 pick on Danny Ferry, a No. 3 pick on Darius Miles and a No. 4 pick on Shaun Livingston. Perhaps that’s why the franchise has won exactly one playoff series since 1976, and why they’ve missed the playoffs entirely in 31 of the past 35 years. Or maybe it’s just karma. —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
1. Washington Ge... This is a team that has lost every single game it’s played since 1971. Every. One. Night after painful night, they are dunked on, have basketballs dribbled off their heads and have their shorts pulled down to their ankles. And the worst part about it is they play the same team every night! You’d think eventually they’d wisen up to the Globetrotters tricks and offensive sets, but it never seems to happen. They bring in the wrong players, their current coach has never won a single game, and they are doused with seltzer water almost every single night. They are an embarrassment to sport, and one has to think that, after 40 straight years of losing, they need to bring in someone with some fresh ideas and a lot of money to turn this thing around. Daniel Snyder, perhaps? —Johnny Goodtimes (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
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