Greatest Sports Cities

I am extremely bored and love lists- so what better thing to do right than to create my own personal list of the greatest cities according to the professional sports teams. The major basis for my qualifications:

1) Mainly based off of the teams professional baseball, football, basketball, and hockey teams. Sometimes I will consider the college level as well- especially for basketball and football.
2) Did the teams win the championship? Make it to the playoffs?
3) For hockey and basketball- based off the current season happening now. For college basketball and football and professional football- based off of the last season played. For professional baseball, since the current season is so young, based off a combination of the 2008 season and the expectations and current standings of the 2009 season
4) Recent off season moves are taken into account.

10) Houston
Although the Texans still stink- they are doing very well for a franchise that's only about like 5 years old and didn't end up last in the division and wasn't under .500. The Astros also stink but still won 88 games last year. But the main reasons Houston has a a spot on this list is because the Rockets won a playoff round and are doing very well against the Lakers.

9) Detroit
Yes, the Lions were the only franchise to go 0-16- but that's an awesome feat people were rooting for and they also overhauled their system and got awesome draft picks like Georgia QB Matthew Stafford. Yes, the Pistons were swept in the playoffs and were the elite of the NBA for the past five years or so, but hey, at least they MADE the playoffs. Yes the Tigers ended up being last in the AL Central behind the fucking Royals, but they're in first right now and projected by BP to win the division. But the main reason Detroit is here because the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup last year and I see no reason why they can't do it again. Plus, the Final Four was played in Detroit and Michigan State went to that- that's close enough. Right?

8) Miami
The Dolphins went from winning one game in 2007 to 11 in 2008. They won their division and ended up forcing the perennial powerhouse Patriots (who DID win 11 games) out of the playoffs. The Heat had a great year this year winning the 5th seed in the East and G Dwayne Wade some MVP votes. The Marlins- while technically not Miami, but really close and soon WILL be the Miami Marlins- had a good year last year being in playoff contention for most of the year and this year got off to a great start with a damn fine rotation and some big name hitters. However, the Miami Hurricans have been terrible in the college ranks- in both sports.

7)Atlanta
The Falcons went to having one of the most fucked up sports franchises after their star QB- Michael Vick- tarnished the sports world by getting arrested on dog fighting charges and had their head coach left for the college ranks after 13 games to winning 11 games and making the playoffs. Matt Ryan doesn't hurt either. The Hawks may have just gotten destroyed by LeBron in four games but they did win the 4th seed in the NBA playoffs and did win a series. The Braves did end up 4th in their division last year behind the Marlins, Mets, and Phillies, but their team looks good this year with the addition of Javy Vazquez, Derek Lowe, and a damn fine defense. Although the NHL franchise sucked this year- but whatevs.

6) North Carolina
Yes, obviously North Carolina is NOT a city but a state, but seriously, look at all the teams that play in NC- they have Carolina as their city so I'm saying North Carolina as my choice for #6 (and yes I do realize Carolina is for both North AND South Carolina. you know what whatever, just let me speak). The North Carolina Tar Heels won the NCAA bracket this year and helped myself and Obama win their respective brackets as well. The Carolina Panthers ended up being the #2 overall seed in the NFC- although the did lose to the Cardinals in the first round. And the Carolina Hurricanes did end up going to the playoffs, won a playoff round, and are looking extremely well against the #1 seeded Bruins.

5) Chicago
The White Sox, Cubs, Bulls, and Blackhawks all made the playoffs last/this year. The only team that didn't was the Bears. But they were one game away from doing so and just added fucking Jay Cutler. The White Sox and Cubs did both get bounced in the first round last year- but hey, winning the division is still winning the division. And the Cubs will probably do so again this year despite the freak out of their fans right now. The Bulls got the first pick in last years draft- Derek Rose- and played one of the greatest post season series in recent memory- although yes they did lose in Game 7. But the most impressive sports franchise in Chi-Town has been the Blackhawks. They are officially in the Westen Conference Finals(anyone else think it's kind of funny that a Chicago team is in the WESTERN conference?)

4) Los Angeles
The Dodgers, Angels, and Lakers all made the playoffs. While the Clippers and their NHL franchise, the Kings, sucked hardcore, the reason I put LA (begrudgingly) ahead of Chicago was because the teams, for the most part were better than the Chicago teams. The Lakers were one game away from having the best record in the NBA this year and went to the Championship series the year before. The Dodgers beat the Cubs in the first round of the playoffs and the Angels were the only team last year to win 100+ games(wait a second for DME and TBO to scream "LUCK" loudly into computer screen). While for some odd season LA doesn't have a football franchise, they still do have the powerhouse of USC to root for.

3. Pittsburgh
The one thing that hurts this city are the Pirates. If they didn't suck SOOOO bad then I would move Pittsburgh to #2. Pitt had a #1 seed and played extremely well in March. The Penguins right now won a playoffs series and just tied Washington to make it 3-3. They also went to the Stanley Cup the year before. Oh yeah- those pesky Steelers won ANOTHER freaken Superbowl.

2) Philadelphia
The MLB WS champs were the Phillies who ended up having the 5th best overall record last year and still look pretty good this year. The 76ers won the 6th overall seed during the very end of the season- beating out Chicago who could have easily gotten it. The Flyers had a damn good year as well finishing 5th overall in the Eastern Conference of the NHL. The Eagles also did extremely well in the playoffs winning two games to make it to the NFC Championship (if only they won it like Football Outsider and myself had predicted they would!) "Experts" also said they had one of the best drafts this year

1) Boston
If Bill Simmons miraculously read this blog- not only would that be AWESOME- but he'd be pretty happy right now. The Bruins ended up being the #1 overall seed and are not out yet. Boston University won the NCAA hockey tournament (although no one really cares about that...). The Boston Red Sox forced the Rays into a Game 7 in the ALCS and will probably win the division this year. The Boston Celtics won it all last year and will probably face LeBron in the Conference Finals. The only Boston team to not make the playoffs were the Patriots- even though the ONLY won 11 games. Boston is the cream of the crop and have been for the past year or two.

Cities I didn't put on:

New York- The Knicks, Yankees, Mets, Jets, and Islanders didn't make it to the playoffs. The Rangers and Giants both did but got bounced in the first round. I also still say that neither the Mets nor the Yankees go this year. Very close call and one can probably make a great case for them to beat out Houston or Detroit but my bias and the fact that they have so many teams that had potential and missed out/the Knicks were really really bad makes me put them at "#11"

Cleveland- Probably will win it all this year or at minimum beat out Boston/Orlando to make it in the NBA. But the fact that the Browns and Indians are the bottom of the barrel forced Cleveland out

St Louis- Blues made it to the playoffs and the Cardinals are doing awesome right now but the fact that these are their only two major teams makes me question them. Also similar to Tampa Bay that only has the Rays, Bucs (who missed the playoffs), and Lightning (who sucked this year)

Dallas- The Mavs won a playoffs round and were the lower seed but that's it for the city. The Cowboys had, on paper, one of the best teams and missed the playoffs. The Stars (NHL) also did terrible.

Minnesota- (don't make me use my North Carolina logic again). The Vikings won their division and the Twins essentially got unlucky that the Sox beat them in the 163rd game. But the fact remains that they didn't make the playoffs. Plus the Wild (NHL)and the Timberwolves (NBA) sucked hard core.