Ask Sports Sturm: NBA Playoff Wins

I heard a statistic the other day that I could not believe.  And, if you are wired as I am wired, you have to know more.  It went something like this:

Tim Duncan has more playoff wins than 20 other NBA franchises.

Wow.  That is enough information to read, re-read, ponder, and repeat.

Of course, I am not made to simply read something and move on.  I want to know the answers to a number of questions.  The fact that you read my blogs might indicate you would be interested in these questions, too.

So let's do it.

1) - How many Playoff Wins does he have?

He has 130 wins as of right this moment.  This number could change as early as this evening, but through 1 win in the 2013 NBA Finals, he has broken the 130 barrier - something that has been done (by my calculations) only 7 times in NBA History.

2) - And 130 playoff wins is more than 20 of the 30 NBA Franchises have won?

Exactly.  The Charlotte Bobcats have 0 and a few other teams have fewer than 20 (all expansion teams) Minnesota (17), Toronto (11), and Memphis (18).  Several other teams come in under 60 playoff wins - like the Hornets, Clippers, Magic, and Nets.  The 60-80 all-time playoff win club includes: the Nuggets (61), Cavaliers (70), Washington (77), and Kings (80).  Then, a trio fall under 100 in a group that includes Indiana (99), Portland (97), and your Dallas Mavericks who have registered 86 all-time playoff wins.

The Miami Heat won their 100th playoff game on Sunday night in Game 2 of the Finals, Then, Milwaukee has 104, Golden State 110, Utah 114, and Houston 118.  And that rounds up the 20 franchises that have fewer playoff wins than Tim Duncan himself.

3) - So who is he still chasing?  Who are the Top 10 and can he catch any of them?

Perhaps a few more.  He could tie the Phoenix Suns (133) in these finals.  Oklahoma City/Seattle is at 136, and Atlanta (believe it or not) holds at 140.  Those are the few in range.  The Top 7 would seem highly unlikely.  Chicago is at 177.  He will never catch San Antonio (for obvious reasons) at 183.  The Knicks (186) and Detroit (189) are in the Top 5.  And then the 3 that are above all others and a large distance from the field and each other:  #3 all-time is Philadelphia (217), #2 all-time is Boston (344) and the #1 all-time franchise for playoff victories are those Los Angeles Lakers with an absurd 440 playoff wins.

4) - He surely is #1 for playoff wins as a player, right?

Negative.  Not even as an active player.  Most might guess that Kobe Bryant is above him - and he is at 135.  But, not even Kobe is #1.  That total would actually go to Derek Fisher with 151 career playoff wins.  He was next to Kobe Bryant for all those Lakers wins and then he added on an additional bunch in the last 2 years with the Thunder to put up a total that Duncan will have a hard time reaching.

Those 2, Duncan, and Tony Parker (104) are the only active players over 100, but Manu Ginobili can get there tonight as he sits at 99.  LeBron is at 85, with Ray Allen at 84, and Dwyane Wade at 79 - tied with Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd.  In case you wonder, Dirk Nowitzki sits at 64, which is actually fewer playoff wins than Kendrick Perkins (64) and 2 more than Lamar Odom (62).

5) - What about all-time?

This is a difficult statistic to pin down, as the NBA records are still not where they need to be.  It takes hours to comb through box scores and somehow the basketball world treats things that are pre-1980 as more cumbersome than baseball handles pre World War 1 records.  So, what you are about to see is what I could do in 1 morning with a legal pad and coffee.  Also, we should let the young ones know that while it takes 16 wins to win the NBA title, it was 15 in the 1980s, 12 in the 1970s, and 8 in the 1960s.  Therefore, Bill Russell - with all 11 of his NBA titles - has only 108 playoff wins.  11 titles now days would require 176 playoff wins alone.

But, with the playoff format as it is, the #1 playoff victory man by my calculations is Robert Horry with 155.  Then, Kareem Abdul Jabbar at 154.  Interestingly enough, he would have had 155 if he did not miss the final game of the 1980 Finals (the game where a rookie Magic Johnson played center in his place).  Then Fisher, Scott Pippen 137, Kobe, Magic Johnson at 131, Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Danny Ainge 126, and Michael Jordan at 119 round out the top 10.  At least according to my morning legal pad.

So, Duncan is 7th, and could tie Magic Johnson for 6th tonight.

There.  One simple stat and the next thing you know, you know more than you wanted to know about it, right?

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And now, a little something about Chester Marcol and me.

This following trip down memory lane and how sports has changed for me since I was a boy has nothing to do with the Dallas sports scene at all.

I have been a sports junkie my entire life.  The short explanation is that I was born this way, with the slightly longer explanation being that my parents closely monitored the media intake of their children for various religious reasons and therefore unknowingly pushed me into sports.  That was because their idea to limit the amount of television we consumed at an early age did not include sports.  But it did include nearly everything else.  As early as I can recall, the television had a massive set of restrictions on it, but none of those included watching men play games in uniforms as they represented certain arbitrary geographical locations that they may or may not have any regard for beyond a paycheck twice a month.

This loophole in the restrictions over the magic box had this young boy, even as early as 5 or 6 years old, looking forward to games that might be on television.  Like I said, I have no idea which came first here, the chicken or the egg.  Was the sports interesting to me or was it simply something moving on that screen?  If, for instance, the loophole in my household rules was cooking shows, might I have turned into a chef or restaurant critic?  I don't know.

Regardless, as I sit here at 40 years old, I only know the world through a lens of sports.  I follow closely a number of leagues in a number of sports on a number of continents.  There is almost no mens sport that I don't follow at some level.  On weekends, I will often watch 3 games in a day in 3 different sports.  And it doesn't even seem weird to me.

Part of this only existence I have ever known is to document as much of it as possible.  That explains my enjoyment of writing on blogs like this, but it also explains the contents of my closets at my house.  In one, you will find sports-pages from things I have found to be relevant at one point of my life.  In another, a sports card collection that is huge, but has gone largely untouched since about 1990.  As a kid growing up, I was once sure that I would never grow tired of collecting and sorting cards, but then again, I am sure most kids feel that way about things they do and how they might feel about them in the future.

But, then, there are about 12 boxes that my wife hates that have been with us since we were married in 1995.  These boxes have been moved from place to place as our lives have progressed, and she knows that battling me on this is simply a bridge too far.  It is my video tape collection.  Hundreds of VHS tapes that captured every sporting event I could think of from 1986 (the year of my family's first VCR) until my transition to recordable DVDs in about 2005.  Incidentally, I still have the problem - not as bad as it used to be, but I still have it - of keeping events that I deem worthy and saving them for reviewing down the road.  This re-watching of old sporting events is seldom ever executed as my schedule is very full these days, but I still do it.  I keep them all.  I am a sports hoarder.

In recent years, I have become a bit more educated in the ability for modern technology to both save the VHS tapes from age and deterioration and also to fit hundreds of hours of video onto a simple external hard drive that would allow your digitized files to last for a long time until another technological creation renders that idea antiquated.  By simply digitizing your tapes, you can now move them around your computers with ease and take the tapes to the trash.  If nothing else, you can rest easy that the 1988 NCAA Final Four is preserved for future generations that won't watch it either and also you can free up the guest room closet so that your mother in law can hang her clothes when she stays with the family.

Digitizing happens in real time, so if you have 500 tapes and they each hold 6 hours of sports, you can imagine how long it might take to go the entire journey, but I chip away at a pace of about 1 tape a day.  Hit record on the computer, play on the VCR (I actually had to find a new VCR) and walk away for a while.  But, slowly the the pile of tapes to be converted shrinks as the pile of tapes to be disposed grows.

It is a lot of stuff.  Every single NBA Finals from 1987 until 1998.  All of the Final Fours in that span.  Every Green Bay Packers win from 1986 until the present day.  College football.  Super Bowls.  Drafts.  Hockey games going back all the way to Lake Placid.  And on and on and on.  Heck, since moving to Dallas and covering the Cowboys, I have a Cowboys video library that could rival many with games going all the way back to the 1960s.

Oh yes, I am beyond arguing whether this makes me sick.  I know it does.  And yet, I continue looking for games that I don't have.

One of my favorite things to do is to retrace the steps of the games I have attended in my childhood.  To find video tapes of the games I have been at is something I will often do with likeminded sports nerds online.  We all need hobbies, right?  Some people keep ticket stubs, well I want a 3 hour video file of the game I was at that meant something to me.

Anyway, I said all of that to bring this up.  Recently, I acquired a game on video that I converted last night onto my hard-drive.  The reason it is noteworthy to me is that it represents my very first sports memory of a play "I would never forget".

I have no idea how our memories work and I don't know why our memory decides to earmark certain moments with "do not delete".  I know I had watched sports for several years before this moment happened and I also know that I could recall things all the way back to 1977 when I was 5.

But, in 1980 - September 7th, 1980, in particular - was the first time I lost my mind on a sports moment.  It was a moment that my mind engraved and was referenced 100 times with my friends the rest of our childhood.  You have to remember: back then, we didn't have recording devices on our televisions.  We certainly didn't have a way to see these moments again - and I didn't have cable until I went to college in 1990.  If you missed the game, you watched the news that day.  If it was just a regular game, you may never see it again.  So when a collector I knew sent me a copy of this game, I was very excited that the 8-year old version of me would now be able to watch what his memory had preserved for over 30 years.

My house was not filled with Packers' fanatics.  I think my dad was fine with them, but like most things at the time, I pretty much remember his loathing of them more than his actual enjoyment of their product.  Perhaps he hoped for a return of the Lombardi-era dominance, but it seemed like a fall past-time to complain about how utterly awful they were.  And they really were.

There are tons of pictures of me as a child wearing Packers gear.  Really young pictures where a boy has no ability to pick his own clothing.  So somehow, without fanatics for parents, they still steered me to a team that was lousy my entire childhood.  From the year I was born (1972) until my senior year in high school, they never won more than 8 games in a season.  Think about that.  During the same span, the Cowboys won 10 games or more on 10 different occasions.  We stunk. And I didn't care, because I had this weird unconditional love for them.

Anyway, back to Week 1 of 1980.  This year would turn out another 5-10-1 season by the time it ended, but for some reason, everyone was really looking forward to 1980.  Perhaps because our QB, Lynn Dickey, was returning after another broken leg, everyone felt like maybe they could accomplish something under head coach Bart Starr.  Well, they were wrong.  Starr coached the Packers for 8 years, and they were all bad seasons.  They wasted James Lofton's prime and never came close to getting anywhere except in the 1982 strike shortened year.  The entire NFL was a farce that year, playing just 9 games, and the Packers did make the farcical playoffs that year, which would be the only playoff appearance of my life before Brett Favre came along and put them in in 1993.

This Week 1 game in 1980 was against the Chicago Bears and their slightly-less ridiculous run of form between George Halas retiring in 1967 and Mike Ditka being hired in 1982.  Mike Phipps and Dickey squared off in a match-up of Quarterbacks that resulted in 4 interceptions and 0 touchdowns on the day.

Lambeau Field was filled with optimistic fans who had no reason for optimism as a poorly played game of football lasted all afternoon.  The game went into overtime and this is where my memory takes over. I believe I was watching the game for most of the day, but as the game went late, my mom made me go with her to the store (as 8 year olds often must do).

My memory clearly can recall listening to the following play on the radio.  In fact, somehow, I know exactly where I was when this play happened.  Let me prove it below:

We were driving north at precisely this moment when Chester Marcol, the Green Bay kicker, scored an unlikely overtime touchdown after his blocked field goal attempt flew right back into his arms.

I have no idea what mom needed at the store that couldn't wait until the Bears-Packers game was over, but she couldn't wait.  I remember lining up for a field goal in overtime and waiting for Jim Irwin to call the play on the Packers Radio Network with Max McGee.  Honestly, I don't think the call was able to convey to little me what was happening, and hopefully, you will understand why on the the video below.  It was truly a wild play and really amazing that a kicker in glasses could run that far without being tackled.



It is funny to look at a moment that your memory held tight but that you can't totally recall precisely.

Marcol actually seemed to have decent wheels around the corner and then was mobbed in a stadium that went out of its mind.

The Packers would ride the momentum of this amazing moment and lose their next 3 games and have another disastrous season.  They would lose to this same Bears team in December at Soldiers Field by the score of 61-7.  That game also has significance in my life, because that was the game where I called the Sportsline (900-976-1313) that ran those score update commercials to basically see if they would have the score updated even though I was watching the game.  I called a total of 11 times during the game and when the phone bill arrived I found out that my parents would notice the $0.99 charge that each call billed, explaining why they thought you should get your parent's permission before calling.

Anyway, if someone would ever ask what is your first happy Packers memory, it would surely be this play.  And now, even though the quality is far from HD, I have the entire game on my external hard drive for future non-viewing (there is no way I would sit through that 3 hours of awful football with that awful picture).

But, it was fun to see the play that my memory has held on to all over again.  A similar play - say the Tony Romo hold in Seattle in 2006 - has played a billion times on tv since it happened.  But, in 1980, you either saw it live or you didn't see it.  Especially if your team was 5-10-1 that year.

I didn't care then and Chester still has a place in my heart all of these years later.

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Worst Years EVER

This post is a bit of an update on something we talked about in this space about 5 years ago (granted, this space has changed title sponsors about 3 times since then - Thanks, Fox Sports Southwest for their continued employment).

I have always had the theory that cities like ours, as opposed to the "one-horse towns" do not experience prolonged depression and mourning when our teams fail...we just move on to the next one. The Mavs make us sad? Its' Rangers season! The Rangers are fading? Hello, Cowboys Camp! And so on, and so on...

Conversely, in San Antonio, for instance, when the Spurs fail, it is time for Spurs off-season mourning. That is a totally different way of sports way of life. Much like the way the folks in England live life with their soccer teams.  They care about one team and one team only.  The victories are higher, but the failures - of which there are many - are much more profoundly painful.

Admirable in some ways, maddening in others. Anyway, here is Trey's question.

Bob,

With the Mavs struggling coming down the stretch I started thinking about all the major Dallas sports teams missing the playoffs in the same year. Obviously we are used to seeing this from the Rangers and the Mavs had that awful stretch in the 90’s but I couldn’t find a year where this has happened since the Stars came to town in ’93. However, I’ll admit my research was quick and not that thorough. Also, with the way the sports calendar wraps around from year to year I kinda got tired-head looking at it. I was wondering if you had any better insight on this in your sports brain...

Sincerely,

Trey

Could 2013 be the worst year in the history of this 4-sport town?

This kind of reminds me of a book I once enjoyed, True Believers by Joe Queenan, where he claimed sports was one big shell-game of hope.  They put enough franchises in each city that invariably, one will capture our imagination and keep us locked into the industry while the others are allowed to exist until they figure something out.  We are never able to walk away because while 3 screw around, one is always bound to be at least good enough to keep us.

Anyway, below is what my newest chart looks like dating back to 1994, the first year we were officially a 4-horse town:

Year	Cowboys	Stars	Mavericks	Rangers
1994	NFC Champ	2nd Round	Missed	NO PLAYOFFS
1995	NFL Champions	1st Round	Missed	Missed
1996	2nd Round	Missed	Missed	1st Round
1997	Missed	1st Round	Missed	Missed
1998	1st Round	3rd Round	Missed	1st Round
1999	1st Round	NHL Champions	Missed	1st Round
2000	Missed	Lost in Finals	Missed	Missed
2001	Missed	2nd Round	2nd Round	Missed
2002	Missed	Missed	2nd Round	Missed
2003	1st Round	2nd Round	3rd Round	Missed
2004	Missed	1st Round	1st Round	Missed
2005	Missed	NO SEASON	2nd Round	Missed
2006	1st Round	1st Round	Lost in Finals	Missed
2007	1st Round	1st Round	1st Round	Missed
2008	Missed	3rd Round	1st Round	Missed
2009	2nd Round	Missed	2nd Round	Missed
2010	Missed	Missed	1st Round	Lost in W Series
2011	Missed	Missed	NBA Champions	Lost in W Series
2012	Missed	Missed	1st Round	Wildcard
2013
Totals	9 of 19	13 of 18	12 of 19	6 of 18

After accounting for each year, and changing the math to not penalize the Stars and Rangers for each sport canceling its championship one year, here are the findings.

On a sport by sport basis, we can see that the Stars are going through their worst run in Dallas by a mile.  So much so that after playing their first 15 years with 13 playoff berths, they are now on the verge of going 5 straight unless they can get in this spring.  That is still doable.

The Mavericks are 2nd, after digging a huge hole in the 1990s, they haven't missed since Dave Campo's 1st year in office.

The Cowboys are the Cowboys, and now having gone 3 seasons without the playoffs are technically in the exact same place they were after the 3 missed seasons with Campo.  That hurts.

And the Rangers have hit 3 playoffs in a row (although 2012 is a bit of a wildcard technicality - in any other year before 2012, that is not the playoffs.  But, with the "expanded Wildcard format" we must concede that what used to be a play-in game is now a play-off games) and try to keep their good fortune going this season.

So, no years where all 4 teams missed the playoffs, but some less than stellar years were mixed in, including 3 years where 3 of the 4 teams missed. They are below with painful videos provided by youtube:

1997 - A year in which the Cowboys, Mavericks, and Rangers all missed. This was a particularly rare performance from the Cowboys who made the playoffs every other year from 1991 to 1999. The Rangers missed for the only year between 1996-1999. The Mavericks never went once in the 1990's, and the Stars, who were the only team to make the playoffs, were kicked out promptly on the Todd Marchant goal in Game 7's overtime. Below, find the painful evidence.



2000 - This year is tough to call a "down" year, given that the Stars were in the Stanley Cup Finals (Stinking Jason Arnott). But, the Mavs were in year 1 of the Cuban experiment (Best remembered as the Dennis Rodman year, even if he only did play 12 memorable games). The Cowboys were in year 1 of the Campo era, and the Rangers traded Juan Gonzalez after the 1999 playoff year and dropped 24 games in the standings. Below, find the quietest moment in Reunion Arena hockey history (provided the Marchant goal above wasn't):



2002 - This year saw the Stars with a rare playoff miss (Goodbye, Ken Hitchcock); A somewhat ordinary Cowboys playoff miss (Goodbye, Dave Campo); and, another miss of the playoffs by the Rangers (Hello, Jerry Narron. Goodbye, Jerry Narron). But, the new darling of the metro-plex, those Dallas Mavericks were in. After sweeping the Timberwolves, despite Chauncey Billups and Kevin Garnett doing well, the Mavs hit the buzzsaw that was the Sacramento Kings. The Mavs split in No-Cal in the first two games, before losing both games in Dallas and then dropping Game 5 back at Arco to fall to the Kings, 4 games to 1. You may recall that 2002 was the year the Kings seemed to have the best team in the league (they had the best record), but dropped a very hotly contested 7 game war with the Lakers in the Western Finals. If you can handle the upset stomach, below see the Game 4 winner from Mike Bibby as he put the Mavs to the sword:



2005 - This year, the rather non-descript Rangers put 4 all-stars in the mid-summer classic but finished under .500 yet again, the Cowboys lost 4 of 6 on the way in and missed the playoffs in Drew Bledsoe's 1 full year under center, and the NHL decided the best way to fix their sport was to basically try to murder it in cold blood.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks had a crazy 2005 season, which started the summer before by letting Steve Nash get away.  This brought in young Devin Harris and Jason Terry to try to sort out the point guard situation that never was fully sorted.  To make matters crazier, they opened with the Houston Rockets in the playoffs and quickly lost both games 1 and 2 at home.  Then, they stormed back with a giant win in Game 7 by blowing out the Rockets by 40, 116-76.  From there, they were reunited with Nash in the 2nd round of the playoffs and gutted in Game 6 by Nash and friends in Dallas.  This game is known for many moments, most of which can be seen below:



So, in 19 years, only 4 have had happened where only 1 team went to the post-season.  Of those, 2000 was a Stanley Cup Finals and 2002 and 2005 at least had a series win for the one team to get through.

That leaves 1997 as the year to beat for worst year ever in DFW's 4-team era.

2013, though, should not be underestimated.  The Mavs look lost, the Stars are borderline, the Rangers appear to have taken a step back, and the Cowboys are anyone's guess.

Could this be the first year everyone is out?  At this moment, it remains a story worth tracking for sure.

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NFL Franchise Rankings, Version 12.0

The 12th annual Sturm NFL Franchise Rankings are ready for your viewing pleasure. I have tabulated the latest figures after the 2012 Playoffs and Super Bowl 47.  As we close the book on another NFL season, we do it the way we have been doing it since 2001.

It is fun for killing time at work, at dinner, or in the dorm rooms.

Who exactly can claim to be the best franchise in the modern era?  Is it the Cowboys?  The Steelers?  Or the 49ers?  And who is really better if a Seahawks fan and Falcons fan square off?  How about a Jets fan and a Browns fan?  And who should be more outraged at their franchises incompetence over the last 47 years, the Cardinals or the Lions?

How did this project ever begin?

To recap, twelve years ago, a good listener of the radio show asked me to rank the franchises from #32 to #1 based on their accomplishments during the Super Bowl era.

So I did. I wanted it to be objective, not subjective. I wanted it to be a formula and you would just enter the numbers and it would spit out the rankings with no favoritism or prejudice. So, I have been doing this since every year since 2001, on the week following the Super Bowl. Since then, it has been imitated a time or two , but I don’t mind. It is pretty obvious idea for any sports nerd with time on hand to come up with.

Here is how it works. Each Franchise gets 1 point for each season it makes the playoffs. Then, if it reaches the Conference Championship Game it gets a total of 3 points. If it makes the Super Bowl it gets 5, and if it wins the Super Bowl it wins the maximum total of points in a given year of 11. It used to be 10 for the Super Bowl, but I have adjusted it because I didn’t like the idea that 2 Super Bowl losses equaled a Super Bowl win. So, Now 11 points for a win and 5 for a loss in the Super Bowl.

I have been asked why no points are given for wins in the Wildcard round, but I decided that would not make sense with the idea that the playoffs have expanded over the years and there is no way to equalize a smaller field to a larger one. Also, a Wildcard win is not that big a deal anymore with 6 teams in the playoffs, so unless you reach the Conference Title game, no additional points beyond the 1 for making the post-season.

I also have been asked how come I don’t go by average points per season (since many teams have joined the league since Super Bowl 1. My answer is simple: I don’t want to penalize teams who have been in the league all of the years. If you go by average points per year rather than total points, it is possible that the Baltimore Ravens would be #1 soon if they win another Super Bowl next year. And it is fair to note how great Baltimore has done compared to teams around them in the rankings. No chance I would believe that premise, given that they didn’t exist prior to 1996. But, if a team has been established since the season of Super Bowl 1 (1966), it is notated.

Just add up the points for all the years, and that is the entire formula. (By the way, if you disagree with the point totals for each accomplishment, you will find that just about any reasonable formula spits out about the same results.  Try me, pick your own point values.)

Otherwise, I break ties based on the team with more Super Bowl wins, then Super Bowl losses, then Championship Game wins, then playoff berths, and finally average points per year.

There are no ties. I will settle it somehow.

We have added "average pts per year" in the last 2 versions - so that we may determine results based on years in the league. 24 of the 32 teams have been here the entire span of the 47 years of Super Bowl football, but this metric will help put the other 8 teams: Saints '67, Bengals '68, Seahawks '76, Buccaneers '76, Jaguars '95, Panthers '95, Ravens '96, and Texans '02. Also, the Browns missed 96-98, so they only have 44 seasons to work with.

Here are the Final Rankings through Super Bowl 47:


Teams #1-#10
=========================================

#1 - Pittsburgh Steelers (Last year, #1)

In 2011, it finally happened. When Super Bowl 30 was completed, the Cowboys were at 101 and the Steelers were at 68 points. Well, since then, the Steelers have been the model of excellence for anyone not in New England, and the Cowboys have been, well, the Cowboys. Therefore, based on the tie breaking system, the Steelers took over as the current heavyweight leader in the Super Bowl era. The first time in years that the Cowboys have not held this post.  2012 did not change this at all as both teams missed the playoffs.

Total Points: 108
Total Playoff Years: 72C, 73, 74S, 75S, 76C, 77, 78S, 79S, 82, 83, 84C, 89, 92, 93, 94C, 95SL, 96, 97C, 01C, 02, 04C, 05S, 07, 08S, 10SL, 11

P: 26
4: 7
2: 2
1: 6

Average: 2.3 points per season

Pittsburgh holds the tiebreaker over Dallas because of Lombardi Trophies, 6-5.

#2 - Dallas Cowboys (Last Year, #2)

Dallas has the most playoff appearances, the most Final 4s, and are tied with Pittsburgh for the most Super Bowl appearances. However, since 1996, they have a performance level that actually trails the Jacksonville Jaguars and is certainly a team that is getting by on reputation and history. They are far removed from where they once stood, and yet, they still can claim to have as many or more points than any other franchise. They were a dominant, dominant franchise for 30 years.  So much so, that according to these numbers, the Cowboys had 101 points through the first 30 Super Bowls and just 7 points in the last 17.  That equates to 3.3 points per season for the first 30 years and 0.4 per year in the 17 years since.  Yikes.

Total Points: 108
Total Playoff Years: 66C, 67C, 68, 69, 70SL, 71S, 72C, 73C, 75SL, 76, 77S, 78SL, 79, 80C, 81C, 82C, 83, 85, 91, 92S, 93S, 94C, 95S, 96, 98, 99, 03, 06, 07, 09

P: 30
4: 8
2: 3
1: 5

Average: 2.3 points per season


#3 - San Francisco 49ers (#3)

The 49ers were poised to get another Super Bowl this season, but they hit the wall in the final game.  Even if they had won this Super Bowl 47, it would not have caught Dallas and Pittsburgh for the top pairing, but it would have put them a season away.  Nevertheless, they certainly solidify their spot further in the top 3 and look prepared to continue to do more winning moving forward.

Total Points: 93
Total Playoff Years: 70C, 71C, 72, 81S, 83C, 84S, 85, 86, 87, 88S, 89S, 90C, 92C, 93C, 94S, 95, 96, 97C, 98, 01, 02, 11C, 12SL

P: 22
4: 8
2: 1
1: 5

Average: 1.98 points per season


#4 - Oakland Raiders (#4)

Now, having missed the playoffs every season since their last Super Bowl in SB 37, 11 long years ago, they reside easily in the Top 5, but have been a dormant franchise themselves for a while now. But, looking at the rest of their history, they remain one of the strongest franchises of the Super Bowl era.

Total Points: 77
Total Playoff Years: 67SL, 68C, 69C, 70C, 72, 73C, 74C, 75C, 76S, 77C, 80S, 82, 83S, 84, 85, 90C, 91, 93, 00C, 01, 02SL

P: 21
4: 9
2: 2
1: 3

Average: 1.64 points per season

#5 - New England Patriots (#6)

The gold standard of this millennium, the Patriots have been the Giants victim twice, or they would be right on top of the Raiders . However, given that they have gained 52 points since 2001, they are still the franchise that has been on the move the most. And overall, they have now been to 7 Super Bowls, which trails just 2 other franchises.  This year, their AFC Championship Game put them 5th, passing Green Bay in the process.

Total Points: 69
Total Playoff Years: 76, 78, 82, 85SL, 86, 94, 96SL, 97, 98, 01S, 03S, 04S, 05, 06C, 07SL, 09, 10, 11SL, 12C

P: 17
4: 2
2: 4
1: 3

Average: 1.47 points per season


#6 - Green Bay Packers (#5)

Another year of high expectations, but a stall out in the divisional round, puts them down to 6th as the Patriots passed them.  Of course, their older fans will remind the crowd that their 13 Championships overall might dispute football history starting in 1966. Nevertheless, in the Super Bowl era, they had a substantial break between Bart Starr and Brett Favre where nothing got accomplished.

Total Points: 67
Total Playoff Years: 66S, 67S, 72, 82, 93, 94, 95C, 96S, 97SL, 98, 01, 02, 03, 04, 07C, 09, 10S, 11, 12

P: 19
4: 2
2: 1
1: 4

Average: 1.43 points per season

#7 - New York Giants (#7)

The Giants, despite their rich history, are a team with a shocking few number of playoff years. Yet, when they do actually get in, they seem to do some pretty special things. 5 Super Bowls in just 14 playoffs years is outstanding.  In 2012, though, they missed the playoffs and were caught at 59 points by Denver - yet still hold the tiebreaker with 4 Super Bowl victories.

Total Points: 59
Total Playoff Years: 81, 84, 85, 86S, 89, 90S, 93, 97, 00SL, 02, 05, 06, 07S, 08, 11S

P: 14
4: 0
2: 1
1: 4

Average: 1.25 points per season

New York holds advantage over Denver based on Lombardi Trophies, 4-2

# 8 - Denver Broncos (#8)

Peyton Manning had them dreaming of a higher finish in 2012, but they did manage to blow the #1 seed and left the year disappointed. Still, soundly in the Top 10 franchises after going the first 12 years of the Super Bowl era before they made their initial playoff entrance.

Total Points: 59
Total Playoff Years: 77SL, 78, 79, 83, 84, 86SL, 87SL, 89SL, 91C, 93, 96, 97S, 98S, 00, 03, 04, 05C, 11

P: 19
4: 2
2: 4
1: 2

Average: 1.25 points per season


#9 - Miami Dolphins (#9)

Nothing new to report in Miami.  Another proud franchise with a strong history, but they have certainly allowed that to be about all they have to fall back on this last decade. No consistent QB play and a carousel of coaches have put the Dolphins on the outside looking in since Dan Marino's prime. The drought continues for the Dolphins.

Total Points: 58
Total Playoff Years: 70, 71SL, 72S, 73S, 74, 78, 79, 81, 82SL, 83, 84SL, 85C, 90, 92C, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 08

P: 22
4: 2
2: 3
1: 2

Average: 1.23 points per season

#10 - Washington Redskins (#9)

It is highly possible - Robert Griffin's knee willing - that the Redskins are at the start of an era that is headed in the right direction.  We shall see about that, but if nothing else, they found themselves in the playoffs with a divisional win and a feeling that things were going to start happening.  Still in the Top 10, but its been 20 years since the Redskins were a Super Bowl possibility.

Total Points: 57
Total Playoff Years: 71, 72SL, 73, 74, 76, 82S, 83SL, 84, 86C, 87S, 90, 91S, 92, 99, 05, 07, 12

P: 17
4: 1
2: 2
1: 3

Average: 1.21 points per season

TEAMS #11-#20
=======================================

#11 - Indianapolis/Baltimore Colts (#11)

Some teams have plenty of luck and the Colts must be feeling that after bidding Peyton Manning farewell only to draft a rookie QB who promptly takes them to the playoffs as a rookie.  That is a very, rare feat and one that seems to have them positioned for great accomplishments moving forward as well.  It was one and done, but they certainly like their odds moving forward with Andrew Luck.

Total Points: 55
Total Playoff Years: 68SL, 70S, 71C, 75, 76, 77, 87, 95C, 96, 99, 00, 02, 03C, 04, 05, 06S, 07, 08, 09SL, 10, 12

P: 21
4: 3
2: 2
1: 2

Average: 1.17 points per season

#12 - Minnesota Vikings (#12 last year)

Every team above the Vikings on this list has not only won a Super Bowl, but they have won at least two Super Bowls. So, for the Vikings to be so close to those teams despite never winning one, surely speaks to their excellence for so many years. 27 playoff entries is more than anyone in the league aside from the Steelers or Cowboys. They just have never won a gold medal. Nor, as it turns out, have they ever had the lead in any of their 4 Super Bowls. Truly cursed.  But, to make the playoffs in 2012 was a wonderful surprise and one they hope to continue to build upon.

Total Points: 53
Total Playoff Years: 68, 69SL, 70, 71, 73SL, 74SL, 75, 76SL, 77C, 78, 80, 82, 87C, 88, 89, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98C, 99, 00C, 04, 08, 09C, 12

P: 27
4: 5
2: 4
1: 0

Average: 1.12 points per season


#13 - St Louis/Los Angeles Rams (#13)

The Rams, out of the playoffs now for almost a decade, are another team that has been pretty quiet during the last several seasons since the days of Kurt Warner and the greatest show on turf. But, in the 1970s, they had a run of 4 years out of 5 where their seasons ended in the NFC Championship game, usually, at the hands of the Cowboys.

Total Points: 51
Total Playoff Years: 67, 69, 73, 74C, 75C, 76C, 77, 78C, 79SL, 80, 83, 84, 85C, 86, 88, 89C, 99S, 00, 01SL, 03, 04

P: 21
4: 6
2: 2
1: 1

Average: 1.08 points per season


#14 - Philadelphia Eagles (#14 last season)

Like the Colts, a mainstay in the playoffs for nearly the entire decade, but have now missed the last two years. Another team that has often been a resident of the post season, without ever winning the big prize. This is a fact that is not lost on its rivals.

Total Points: 35
Total Playoff Years: 78, 79, 80SL, 81, 88, 89, 90, 92, 95, 96, 00, 01C, 02C, 03C, 04SL, 06, 08C, 09, 10

P: 19
4: 4
2: 2
1: 0

Average: 0.75 points per season

#15 - Chicago Bears (#15)

Like Green Bay, the Bears would like to use championships that preceded the Super Bowl era, but in the 47 years of the modern era, the Bears have not been able to string together any prolonged success. In fact, with the exception of those great teams in the 1980's, it has often been a series of good seasons that are not followed with any manner of success in the next year. Like 2010's NFC Championship Game followed by 2011 and 2012 in which they missed the playoffs altogether.

Total Points: 34
Total Playoff Years: 77, 79, 84C, 85S, 86, 87, 88C, 90, 91, 94, 01, 05, 06SL, 10C

P: 13
4: 3
2: 1
1: 1

Average: 0.72 points per season

Chicago holds the tiebreaker over Buffalo because of Lombardi Trophies, 1-0.

#16 - Buffalo Bills (#16)

The Bills obviously had their crack at NFL immortality during their 4 year stretch of the 1990s when they ran into NFC East buzz-saws. Since then, they have not sniffed much of anything, with their last moments in the playoffs still being the "Music City Miracle" in Nashville. That was a long, long time ago.  It has now been 13 years since they made the playoffs - the longest drought in the NFL by a very healthy margin.

Total Points: 34
Total Playoff Years: 66C, 74, 80, 81, 88C, 89, 90SL, 91SL, 92SL, 93SL, 95, 96, 98, 99

P: 14
4: 2
2: 4
1: 0

Average: 0.23 points per season


#17 – Baltimore Ravens (#22)

Established 1996 - (The NFL ruled that all old records stay in Cleveland with the Browns.)

The big mover in 2012 was the Baltimore Ravens who have absolutely been dominant in the last 5 years with 3 seasons in the Final 4 and now a Lombardi Trophy to boot.  They jumped from #22 to #17 and in 17 years have beaten teams who have been around from Super Bowl 1.  There is no doubting their excellence since their inception and this year gives them 2 Super Bowl titles.

Total Points: 33
Total Playoff Years: 00S, 01, 03, 06, 08C, 09, 10, 11C, 12S

P: 7
4: 2
2: 0
1: 2

Average: 1.94 - 17 years


#18 - New York Jets (#17 last season)

The only team in the league that has approached the Cowboys level of media coverage for little substance in recent years missed the playoffs again after leading Sportscenter all year. After two AFC Championship Games in a row, the Jets were unable to join the postseason in the last 2. Despite that, Rex Ryan has been able to accomplish more in his 4 seasons than the 40 years prior to that going back to Namath's Super Bowl 3.

Total Points: 32
Total Playoff Years: 68S, 69, 81, 82C, 85, 86, 91, 98C, 01, 02, 04, 06, 09C, 10C

P: 13
4: 4
2: 0
1: 1

Average: 0.68 points per season

#19 - Kansas City Chiefs (#18)

The Chiefs played in 2 of the first 4 Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl 4. However, since 1970, the Chiefs have only been to one AFC Championship Game in 1993. Other than that, it has been a series of one-and-outs and plenty of years with no playoffs whatsoever.  And since they are picking 1st in the draft, it would seem that they are rather far away from changing things, too.

Total Points: 31
Total Playoff Years: 66SL, 68, 69S, 71, 86, 90, 91, 92, 93C, 94, 95, 97, 03, 06, 10

P: 15
4: 1
2: 1
1: 1

Average: 0.66 points per season

#20 - Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers (#19)

The Titans remain at #19 after another year of missing the post-season. With some reasonable years of success in Houston and one Super Bowl loss in Nashville, the Oilers remain in the Top 20 for now.  Barely.

Total Points: 30
Total Playoff Years: 67C, 69, 78C, 79C, 80, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 99SL, 00, 02C, 03, 07, 08

P: 18
4: 4
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.64 points per season

Teams 21-30
==================================


#21 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (#20)

Established 1976

Surely, at this point, the Buccaneers realize that being in a hurry to chase Jon Gruden out of there was mistaken, right? Regardless, a team that hit its prime in the late 90s and rode it to a Super Bowl Championship in 2002, has returned to its place among the also-rans in the NFC. They now have a 5 year streak going with no playoffs and will attempt to get that turned around with a new coaching staff.

Total Points: 24
Total Playoff Years: 79C, 81, 82, 97, 99C, 00, 01, 02S, 05, 07

P: 10
4: 2
2: 0
1: 1

Average: 0.65 - 37 seasons

Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker over Cleveland because of Lombardi Trophies, 1-0.


#22 - Cleveland Browns (#21)

No season 1996-1998

The post-relocation Cleveland Browns has been absolutely pathetic. One playoff appearance in the 14 seasons since being a new expansion team and really no real signs of having turned the direction of the franchise around. But, let's not act like they were winning a ton before they lost the Browns to Baltimore. They severely need a revival amongst their franchise to give those loyal fans something to smile about in Cleveland.

Total Points: 24
Total Playoff Years: 67, 68C, 69C, 71, 72, 80, 82, 85, 86C, 87C, 88, 89C, 94, 02

P: 14
4: 5
2: 0
1: 0

Average: 0.55 in 44 seasons

#23 - San Diego Chargers (#23)

Wow - another year of expectations without even a playoff berth for the Chargers.  Certainly, more was expected from this franchise given their level of QB play they have had for almost 3 decades. But, to this point, they have flirted with some real good teams and even made one Super Bowl, but San Diego still chases its one dream season that may or may not await them down the road.

Total Points: 22
Total Playoff Years: 79, 80C, 81C, 82, 92, 94SL, 95, 04, 06, 07C, 08, 09

P: 12
4: 3
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.47

#24 – New Orleans Saints (#24)

Established 1967

A shocking omission to the playoffs in 2012, thanks to Bounty Gate.  The Saints are living their glory days right now in the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era, and have won a Super Bowl and flirted with others in the last several years. This once pathetic franchise has raised its accomplishment level several notches and has worked its way out of the basement of franchises in the NFL in quick fashion.

Total Points: 21
Total Playoff Years: 87, 90, 91, 92, 00, 06C, 09S, 10, 11

P: 9
4: 1
2: 0
1: 1

Average: 0.46 in 46 seasons


#25 – Atlanta Falcons (#27)

This is in fact, the glory days of the Atlanta Falcons.  Surely, they are disappointed with the way that 2012 finished by losing a championship game on home turf in which they had a substantial lead.  But, any Falcons fan knows that before 2010, the franchise had never made the playoffs in consecutive years.  Now, they have made the tournament 3 straight years.  Not only that, but they now win with great routine and are a bet to keep winning - they have also passed the Bengals and the Seahawks on this list for 2012.

Total Points: 20
Total Playoff Years: 78, 80, 82, 91, 95, 98SL, 02, 04C, 08, 10, 11, 12C

P: 11
4: 2
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.43


#26 - Cincinnati Bengals (#25)

Established 1968

The Bengals have 2 different Super Bowl losses to great San Francisco teams in the 1980s. Beyond that, they have never been able to put together consecutive seasons of playoff football until they just did it in 2011 and 2012 with a young group of players including Andy Dalton. Time will tell as Mike Brown running the franchise still has many thinking that long-term success will not happen with him at the helm, but they have actually built a nice foundation.

Total Points: 19
Total Playoff Years: 70, 73, 75, 81SL, 82, 88SL, 90, 05, 09, 11, 12

P: 11
4: 0
2: 2
1: 0

Average: 0.41 - 45 seasons


#27 - Seattle Seahawks (#26)

Established 1976

After a fantastic 2012, Seattle has worked its way to the playoffs 7 times in the last 10. Still chasing its first Super Bowl title, the Seahawks have at least climbed out of the bottom of the league into the mid-20s.  The Seahawks have built a young, physical squad and look ready to keep building.

Total Points: 18
Total Playoff Years: 83C, 84, 87, 88, 99, 03, 04, 05SL, 06, 07, 10, 12

P: 12
4: 1
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.49 - 37 seasons


#28 - Carolina Panthers (#28)

Established 1995

Another year of hoping Cam Newton takes them where they hope to go, but another year of waiting til next year.  So close to winning Super Bowl 38, the Panthers have only made the playoffs 4 times, but the Final 4 in 3 of those 4 runs. They don't get there often, but when they do, they make it count.

Total Points: 12
Total Playoff Years: 96C, 03SL, 05C, 08

P: 4
4: 2
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.66 - 18 seasons

Carolina holds the tiebreaker over Detroit because of Super Bowl Appearances, 1-0 .

#29 - Detroit Lions (#29)

As we approach the bottom of our list, we always shake our heads at the Detroit Lions as a team that has seemed to always find the worst possible scenario on their seasons.  If you believe that winning is cyclical, you might argue that the Detroit Lions are on a 60 year cycle.  They appeared to be ready to win for years when they made the playoffs in 2011, but went back to their underachieving ways in 2012.

Total Points: 12
Total Playoff Years: 70, 82, 83, 91C, 93, 94, 95, 97, 99, 11

P: 10
4: 1
2: 0
1: 0

Average: 0.25

#30 – Arizona/St Louis Cardinals (#30)

The Cardinals, formerly of St Louis, also used Kurt Warner to usher in a brief revival of their franchise (like the Rams). But, it was short-lived, as was the Kevin Kolb era and now they seek the next guy to try and get them out of the bottom handful of teams in this study. To be ranked 30th and only above two expansion franchises speaks to the futility of this team that has had many horrid seasons in its long history.

Total Points: 10
Total Playoff Years: 74, 75, 82, 98, 08SL, 09

P: 6
4: 0
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.21

Arizona holds tie-breaker over Jacksonville due to Super Bowl appearances, 1-0.

#31 – Jacksonville Jaguars (#31)

Established 1995

Jacksonville certainly showed their fans how easy football was when they took off from expansion and went to the playoffs in 4 of their first 5 years with Tom Coughlin and Mark Brunell getting the Jaguars to two AFC Championship Games. Since then, not much of anything has happened for them and the stadium has a real difficult time finding capacity crowds.

Total Points: 10
Total Playoff Years: 96C, 97, 98, 99C, 05, 07

P: 6
4: 2
2: 0
1: 0

Average: 0.55 per season - 18 seasons

#32 – Houston Texans (32)

Established 2002

Finally, in last place, but at least now on the scoreboard in the last two years, are the Houston Texans. They made their first playoff appearance of their history in 2011 and then backed it up with another, and will need many good seasons to pull out of 32nd place (short of a Super Bowl victory). That being said, they are now on the scoreboard and are feeling good about their future - with 2 playoff victories in 2 years.

Total Points: 2
Total Playoff Years: 11, 12

P: 2
4: 0
2: 0
1: 0

Average: 0.18 - 11 seasons

Explanation of Years:
Just the year means they made the playoffs (1 point). Year followed by “C” means they lost in the Conference Championship Game (3 points), Year followed by “SL” means they lost the Super Bowl (5 points), and Year followed by “S” means they won the Super Bowl (11 points).

Version 11.0

Version 10.0

Version 9.0

Version 8.0

Version 7.0 …

Version 6.0 …

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Worst Player Acquisition Contest

If you are going to write a blog, sometimes you have to stop down your draft preparations to address a fabulous topic that was made specifically for sports talk radio and blogs like this one.

With that in mind... Friday on our radio show, we started discussing the stay of Lamar Odom in DFW. It started on a confusing day in December when the move was announced, and much like the acquisitions of Delonte West and Vince Carter, were treated as items of news that both startled and had some actually thinking that the losses of Tyson Chandler and JJ Barea might not be so bad after all. It ended about 100 days later, with Odom - sent away from the team in humiliating fashion - going through the airport in a Lakers shirt - one of the great "flipping of the bird" moments that any of us could remember.

It was all so absurd, because Odom could be a remarkably dangerous player - assuming his heart was in it. And it was clear that his heart never was in it. He was one of the few professional athletes of modern history that was unable to adjust to leaving one franchise for another in terms of internal happiness. Most players treat trades and player movement as "no big deal" because the money stays the same and it seems most of them feel they are employed by the league, not the franchise. They play in the NBA or NFL or NHL. Which city they are transferred to hardly bothers them for too long. They are still in the league. Not Odom. He operated under the premise that his heart was broken. And now his reputation may forever be broken, too. At least in North Texas, where I would imagine his future reception will rival that of any player that has rolled through town since Kiki Vandeweghe. He didn't want anything to do with this city or franchise, despite Mark Cuban and the franchise rolling out the red carpet constantly for Lamar and his wife. It just didn't work.

So, the question on the show developed into the following: What is the worst acquisition decision by each of the local teams since our show started in 1998? With all due respect to the Harold Baines trade, we wanted to keep it to years where we were present and could feel the effects of such a move. So, let's look at the 4 local teams to see where Lamar sits:

Dallas Stars: When you look at the Stars, they actually have an interesting little list. And both moments of regret happened with Brett Hull's name in the story. First, after the 2001 season, the Stars decided not to activate Hull's $7 million option and instead allowed him to become a free agent where he would sign with Detroit and instantly become one of their Stanley Cup heroes the next summer. But, when the Stars did not keep Hull, they tried to get Jeremy Roenick or John LeClair. And when that failed, they had a ton of money and nowhere to go. So they dumped the ton on Pierre Turgeon (5 years/$25.5 million) and Donald Audette (4 years/$12 million) in the opening days of free agency in July 2001. Turgeon never fit here, but he was a hand in a glove compared to Audette, who signed for 4 years, but received a healthy scratch within the first few games. Audette's role got worse and worse to a point where the Stars were all too happy to trade him just 6 weeks into his new 4 year deal. Turgeon would take a few years to be bought-out, but his stop in Dallas seems like a waste of major amounts of cash. And the GM and Coach who presided over the summer of 2001? Bob Gainey and Ken Hitchcock were not around for the summer of 2002.

But, what takes the cake was the signing of Sean Avery, just 2 months after the Stars went all the way to the Western Conference Finals in 2008. Hull - now the GM in Dallas, who used to allow young Avery to live with him in Detroit, signed the controversial pest to a 4 year/$15.5m deal. It was one of the few times in my life where I have seen players on the team astonished and annoyed at what their bosses just did and not seem interested in really ever giving the move a chance. Avery was a loner from Day 1 (a spot that suited him just fine, it seemed) and the team began to fracture immediately. By December 2, Avery had embarrassed the squad one last time in Calgary, and the run of 23 games in Dallas was over. The Stars may still be trying to recover, Hull's career in personnel seemed irreparably damaged, and Avery continued down that Avery spiral. It was Odom-like in many regards.

Texas Rangers: January 16, 2002, the Rangers decided to go get an ace for their rotation. It was never easy to do so, because at the time, good pitchers did not desire to come to Texas. So, when the moment presented itself, the Rangers pounced - even if Park wasn't an ace, did not have the mentality to do so, was vastly over-paid, and was a product of pitching at cavernous Dodger Stadium. 5 years/$65 million for a player that people knew was likely a failed bit about a week into it. In fact, he took the loss in his first start on April 1, 2002, and then went away and did not take the hill again until May 12. He would never win 10 games as a Ranger in 4 seasons and was finally sent away for Phil Nevin in which the Rangers supplied the Padres with big bucks to take Park. Why? Because Chan Ho would make $16m in his final season of his pact, 2006. By that time, the Rangers are ready to dump $60m more on Kevin Millwood to try to be that ace, but his 16 wins in his first year here completely lapped the Park era in 1 season. He might not have been worth the full $60m, but he was darn solid compared to the other candidates.

Sure, there would be others who rolled through town; The colorful names that did not require a big investment - John Rocker, Hideki Irabu, Ken Caminiti - and some might even say Alex Rodriguez and his 10 year/$250 million deal. But, I think most of us would think that is silly, since A-Rod had 3 of the most prolific seasons in MLB history while he was here and seemed to earn every penny on three lousy baseball teams. All in all, it would appear the John Hart era was particularly awful when it comes to personnel decisions. But, it doesn't seem like anything comes too close to Chan Ho.

Dallas Mavericks: Let's not act like Odom was the first time the Mavericks had something blow up on them. Nothing quite like Odom, but certainly, when you consider the entire Cuban run, there were high hopes/little delivery starting with the pre-Cuban Shawn Bradley investment, Juwan Howard, Raef Lafrentz, and Erick Dampier. Combined, you will find hundreds of millions invested with very small delivery. That doesn't include Antoine Walker or the Michael Finley contracts that the Mavericks paid out totaling $144 million dollars (nice player, but $144 million?). Finley's deals were so bad that when they wanted to bid him farewell, they still owed him $51 million. Who says Cuban hasn't written a lot of checks and that Donnie Nelson has a perfect record along the way?

As far as the Odom category of just not wanting to play, Tariq Abdul Wahad and Doug Christie have both had very odd and short tenures with the team, but to compare either to Odom and his trojan horse routine here in the last 4 months would be insulting on pretty much every level.

Dallas Cowboys: I imagine that Jerry Jones enjoys going last for once, as he receives far and away the most criticism of any GM for his track record. No one is saying he doesn't deserve it, but hopefully this list shows that he is not alone. It is difficult to get these moves right and it you are going to screw up, it likely is better to do it with the Stars where most media folks aren't keeping track.

But, the Cowboys are center stage, and the moves are plentiful to pick apart. There are countless draft day debacles that haunt this team, but they don't quite rate high enough for this debate. Nor, do speculative moves like the Drew Henson deal or the Chad Hutchinson deal where the Cowboys were hunting for their next QB and he showed them that he wasn't it. As we go down the list, there are many failures along the way, but I think you could boil things down to just WR moves if you want to question the last 15 years or so. After Michael Irvin's career ended in Philadelphia, the Cowboys have consistently gotten into more trouble with the WR spot than anywhere else.

Joey Galloway's trade of February 12, 2000 was one that still makes locals shake their heads. The Cowboys sent their 2000 and 2001 first rounders to Seattle for Galloway and then paid him 7 years/$42 million to make him happy. He was 29 years old and lasted about 3 quarters before blowing out his ACL in his first game. By the time he returned, Troy Aikman had been retired by Lavar Arrington, and Galloway would spend the final 3 seasons with Quincy Carter, Clint Stoerner, Anthony Wright, Chad Hutchinson, and Ryan Leaf throwing him ducks. He would ultimately be traded for Keyshawn Johnson in March of 2004 and go on to be productive again in Tampa Bay for several more years. But, his time in Dallas was very, very forgettable.

Then, there is Roy Williams, the WR from Texas. On October 14, 2008, the Cowboys traded basically their 2009 draft; a 1st, 3rd, and 6th to get Roy Williams out of Detroit. On the same day, they slapped a giant 5 year/$45 million deal on him, making him exceedingly overpaid. In 10 games that season, he totaled 19 catches for 198 yards - about what you might hope a great game would be for a guy you just paid $45 million. But, from the day he arrived, the excuses were everywhere. Romo was hurt. Romo didn't like him. Roy wasn't being put in a proper spot. And on and on it went. In 2009, he went up for a pass in Week 4 in Denver and was knocked silly by Broncos LB DJ Williams. This made a space for Miles Austin who took the spot and then caught 10 passes for 250 yards the next week and has held the position down ever since. But, to Roy apologists, that was the bad luck that destroyed his stay here - even though he missed only one game with the injury and played in the other 15 that season - totaling just 38 catches for 596 yards. His 2010 was another forgettable, excuse-laden season which was his last in Dallas, 37 catches for 537 yards, and the Cowboys were out a bunch of picks, money, and Roy was off to Chicago. There is no question that this move is at the top of the Cowboys list. With Galloway and Williams, we wouldn't even suggest Terrell Owens signing is in this class.

So, argue amongst yourself if Sean Avery is worse than Lamar Odom. Or if Chan Ho Park is worse than Roy Williams. Lamar is the freshest in our memories, but Avery did not want to be here either like everyone on the list besides Lamar had a long deal that soaked millions out of the owners. Williams and Park were likely miscast as superstars who just weren't. Paying a player to be a superstar doesn't make him a superstar.

I would say it is a fun debate, but it actually induces headaches of the highest order.

But, it is a trip down "nightmare memory lane". Putting a team together is never as easy as it looks. All 4 teams have demonstrated that loud and clear. And history tells us that the next bad move is right around the corner for one of them.

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NFL Franchise Rankings, Version 11.0

Today is the day that I have settled your work-place debate with your buddies.

What you are about to read is a labor of love and perhaps insanity. Read on if you are brave enough and love never-ending debates about football.

The 11th annual Sturm NFL Franchise Rankings are ready for your viewing pleasure. I have tabulated the latest figures after the 2011 Playoffs and Super Bowl 46.

Why do I do this?

To recap, eleven years ago, a good listener of the radio show asked me to rank the franchises from #32 to #1 based on their accomplishments during the Super Bowl era.

So I did. I wanted it to be objective, not subjective. I wanted it to be a formula and you would just enter the numbers and it would spit out the rankings with no favoritism or prejudice. So, I have been doing this since every year since 2001, on the week following the Super Bowl. Since then, it has been imitated a time or two , but I don’t mind. It is pretty obvious idea for any sports nerd with time on hand to come up with.

Here is how it works. Each Franchise gets 1 point for each season it makes the playoffs. Then, if it reaches the Conference Championship Game it gets a total of 3 points. If it makes the Super Bowl it gets 5, and if it wins the Super Bowl it wins the maximum total of points in a given year of 11. It used to be 10 for the Super Bowl, but I have adjusted it because I didn’t like the idea that 2 Super Bowl losses equaled a Super Bowl win. So, Now 11 points for a win and 5 for a loss in the Super Bowl.

I have been asked why no points are given for wins in the Wildcard round, but I decided that would not make sense with the idea that the playoffs have expanded over the years and there is no way to equalize a smaller field to a larger one. Also, a Wildcard win is not that big a deal anymore with 6 teams in the playoffs, so unless you reach the Conference Title game, no additional points beyond the 1 for making the post-season.

I also have been asked how come I don’t go by average points per season (since many teams have joined the league since Super Bowl 1. My answer is simple: I don’t want to penalize teams who have been in the league all of the years. If you go by average points per year rather than total points, it is possible that the Baltimore Ravens would have been #1 if they had won the Super Bowl this year. No chance I would believe that premise, given that they didn’t exist prior to 1996. But, if a team has been established since the season of Super Bowl 1 (1966), it is notated.

Just add up the points for all the years, and that is the entire formula. (By the way, if you disagree with the point totals for each accomplishment, you will find that just about any reasonable formula spits out about the same results.)

Otherwise, I break ties based on the team with more Super Bowl wins, then Super Bowl losses, then Championship Game wins, then playoff berths, and finally average points per year. There are no ties. I will settle it somehow.

We have added "average pts per year" - so that we may determine results based on years in the league. 24 of the 32 teams have been here the entire span of the 46 years of Super Bowl football, but this metric will help put the other 8 teams: Saints '67, Bengals '68, Seahawks '76, Buccaneers '76, Jaguars '95, Panthers '95, Ravens '96, and Texans '02. Also, the Browns missed 96-98, so they only have 43 seasons to work with.

Here are the Final Rankings through Super Bowl 46 - And for the first time since we started this, the Dallas Cowboys are no longer on top.


Teams #1-#10
=========================================

#1 - Pittburgh Steelers (Last year, #2)

It has finally happened. When Super Bowl 30 was completed, the Cowboys were at 101 and the Steelers were at 68 points. Well, since then, the Steelers have been the model of excellence for anyone not in New England, and the Cowboys have been, well, the Cowboys. Therefore, based on the tie breaking system, the Steelers take over as the current heavyweight leader in the Super Bowl era. The first time in years that the Cowboys have not held this post.

Total Points: 108
Total Playoff Years: 72C, 73, 74S, 75S, 76C, 77, 78S, 79S, 82, 83, 84C, 89, 92, 93, 94C, 95SL, 96, 97C, 01C, 02, 04C, 05S, 07, 08S, 10SL, 11

P: 26
4: 7
2: 2
1: 6

Average: 2.34 points per season

Pittsburgh holds the tiebreaker over Dallas because of Lombardi Trophies, 6-5.

#2 - Dallas Cowboys (Last Year, #1)

Dallas has the most playoff appearances, the most Final 4s, and are tied with Pittsburgh for the most Super Bowl appearances. However, since 1996, they have a performance level that actually trails the Jacksonville Jaguars and is certainly a team that is getting by on reputation and history. They are far removed from where they once stood, and yet, they still can claim to have as many or more points than any other franchise. They were a dominant, dominant franchise for 30 years.

Total Points: 108
Total Playoff Years: 66C, 67C, 68, 69, 70SL, 71S, 72C, 73C, 75SL, 76, 77S, 78SL, 79, 80C, 81C, 82C, 83, 85, 91, 92S, 93S, 94C, 95S, 96, 98, 99, 03, 06, 07, 09

P: 30
4: 8
2: 3
1: 5

Average: 2.34 points per season


#3 - San Francisco 49ers (#3)

The 49ers finally found their way back into the playoff mix this season after taking nearly a decade off from the tournament all together. A trip to the final 4 will restore some pride in San Francisco, and the 49ers have reason to believe they will be in the mix again next season. Clearly the 3rd best franchise in the last 46 years.

Total Points: 88
Total Playoff Years: 70C, 71C, 72, 81S, 83C, 84S, 85, 86, 87, 88S, 89S, 90C, 92C, 93C, 94S, 95, 96, 97C, 98, 01, 02, 11C

P: 22
4: 8
2: 0
1: 5

Average: 1.91 points per season


#4 - Oakland Raiders (#4)

Now, having missed the playoffs every season since their last Super Bowl in SB 37, they reside easily in the Top 5, but have been a dormant franchise themselves for a while now. But, looking at the rest of their history, they remain one of the strongest franchises of the Super Bowl era.

Total Points: 77
Total Playoff Years: 67SL, 68C, 69C, 70C, 72, 73C, 74C, 75C, 76S, 77C, 80S, 82, 83S, 84, 85, 90C, 91, 93, 00C, 01, 02SL

P: 21
4: 9
2: 2
1: 3

Average: 1.67 points per season

#5 - Green Bay Packers (#5)

They certainly had higher hopes for 2011, but their 2010 production put them into the Top 5, where they hold a slight tie break lead over the Patriots. Of course, their older fans will remind the crowd that their 13 Championships overall might dispute football history starting in 1966. Nevertheless, in the Super Bowl era, they had a substantial break between Bart Starr and Brett Favre where nothing got accomplished.

Total Points: 66
Total Playoff Years: 66S, 67S, 72, 82, 93, 94, 95C, 96S, 97SL, 98, 01, 02, 03, 04, 07C, 09, 10S, 11

P: 18
4: 2
2: 1
1: 4

Average: 1.43 points per season

Green Bay holds the tiebreaker over New England because of Lombardi Trophies, 4-3.

#6 - New England Patriots (#6)

The gold standard of this millennium, the Patriots have been the Giants victim twice, or they would be right on top of the Raiders and past the Packers. However, given that they have gained 49 points since 2001, they are still the franchise that has been on the move the most. And overall, they have now been to 7 Super Bowls, which trails just 2 other franchises.

Total Points: 66
Total Playoff Years: 76, 78, 82, 85SL, 86, 94, 96SL, 97, 98, 01S, 03S, 04S, 05, 06C, 07SL, 09, 10, 11SL

P: 17
4: 1
2: 4
1: 3

Average: 1.43 points per season

#7 - New York Giants (#13)

The Giants, despite their rich history, are a team with a shocking few number of playoff years. Yet, when they do actually get in, they seem to do some pretty special things. 5 Super Bowls in just 14 playoffs years is outstanding, and 11 more points this season pushed them past 6 more franchises into the Top 7. To the victors go the spoils.

Total Points: 59
Total Playoff Years: 81, 84, 85, 86S, 89, 90S, 93, 97, 00SL, 02, 05, 06, 07S, 08, 11S

P: 14
4: 0
2: 1
1: 4

Average: 1.28 points per season

# 8 - Denver Broncos (#9)

By virtue of the Tim Tebow run of 2011, the Broncos now push past the Miami Dolphins. The Broncos ended a 6 year playoff drought with their berth and win over Pittsburgh, but their future is anyone's guess. Still, soundly in the Top 10 franchises after going the first 12 years of the Super Bowl era before they made their initial playoff entrance.

Total Points: 58
Total Playoff Years: 77SL, 78, 79, 83, 84, 86SL, 87SL, 89SL, 91C, 93, 96, 97S, 98S, 00, 03, 04, 05C, 11

P: 18
4: 2
2: 4
1: 2

Average: 1.26 points per season

Denver holds the tiebreaker over Miami because of Super Bowl appearances, 6-5.

#9 - Miami Dolphins (#8)

Another proud franchise with a strong history, but they have certainly allowed that to be about all they have to fall back on this last decade. No consistent QB play and a carousel of coaches have put the Dolphins on the outside looking in since Dan Marino's prime. The drought continues for the Dolphins.

Total Points: 58
Total Playoff Years: 70, 71SL, 72S, 73S, 74, 78, 79, 81, 82SL, 83, 84SL, 85C, 90, 92C, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 08

P: 22
4: 2
2: 3
1: 2

Average: 1.26 points per season

#10 - Washington Redskins (#9)

Speaking of strong histories and long droughts, the Redskins have not accomplished much of anything since Joe Gibbs' first tenure with the Redskins when he led the team to three Super Bowl championships with 3 different quarterbacks. But, since then, including Gibbs getting back into the mix, there has been a whole lot of nothing. Still in the Top 10, but its been 20 years since the Redskins were a Super Bowl possibility.

Total Points: 56
Total Playoff Years: 71, 72SL, 73, 74, 76, 82S, 83SL, 84, 86C, 87S, 90, 91S, 92, 99, 05, 07

P: 16
4: 1
2: 2
1: 3

Average: 1.22 points per season

TEAMS #11-#20
=======================================

#11 - Indianapolis/Baltimore Colts (#10)

Peyton Manning and the Colts have certainly accumulated points in just about every season since his arrival, but not enough Super Bowls to satisfy expectations. Then, he is lost for the year, and the Colts franchise vanishes from the playoff mix. Just looking at the year by year production should be enough to show the Colts they are crazy to tell him goodbye, but $28 million is a fair way to make decisions.

Total Points: 54
Total Playoff Years: 68SL, 70S, 71C, 75, 76, 77, 87, 95C, 96, 99, 00, 02, 03C, 04, 05, 06S, 07, 08, 09SL, 10

P: 20
4: 3
2: 2
1: 2

Average: 1.17 points per season

#12 - Minnesota Vikings (#11 last year)

Every team above the Vikings on this list has not only won a Super Bowl, but they have won at least two Super Bowls. So, for the Vikings to be so close to those teams despite never winning one, surely speaks to their excellence for so many years. 26 playoff entries is more than anyone in the league aside from the Steelers or Cowboys. They just have never won a gold medal. Nor, as it turns out, have they ever had the lead in any of their 4 Super Bowls. Truly cursed.

Total Points: 52
Total Playoff Years: 68, 69SL, 70, 71, 73SL, 74SL, 75, 76SL, 77C, 78, 80, 82, 87C, 88, 89, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98C, 99, 00C, 04, 08, 09C

P: 26
4: 5
2: 4
1: 0

Average: 1.13 points per season


#13 - St Louis/Los Angeles Rams (#12)

The Rams are another team that has been pretty quiet during the last several seasons since the days of Kurt Warner and the greatest show on turf. But, in the 1970s, they had a run of 4 years out of 5 where their seasons ended in the NFC Championship game, usually, at the hands of the Cowboys.

Total Points: 51
Total Playoff Years: 67, 69, 73, 74C, 75C, 76C, 77, 78C, 79SL, 80, 83, 84, 85C, 86, 88, 89C, 99S, 00, 01SL, 03, 04

P: 21
4: 6
2: 2
1: 1

Average: 1.10 points per season


#14 - Philadelphia Eagles (#14 last season)

Like the Colts, a mainstay in the playoffs for nearly the entire decade, but missing the 2011 playoffs. Another team that has often been a resident of the post season, without ever winning the big prize. This is a fact that is not lost on its rivals.

Total Points: 35
Total Playoff Years: 78, 79, 80SL, 81, 88, 89, 90, 92, 95, 96, 00, 01C, 02C, 03C, 04SL, 06, 08C, 09, 10

P: 19
4: 4
2: 2
1: 0

Average: 0.76 points per season

#15 - Chicago Bears (#15)

Like Green Bay, the Bears would like to use championships that preceded the Super Bowl era, but in the 46 years of the modern era, the Bears have not been able to string together any prolonged success. In fact, with the exception of those great teams in the 1980's, it has often been a series of good seasons that are not followed with any manner of success in the next year. Like 2010's NFC Championship Game followed by 2011 in which they missed the playoffs altogether.

Total Points: 34
Total Playoff Years: 77, 79, 84C, 85S, 86, 87, 88C, 90, 91, 94, 01, 05, 06SL, 10C

P: 13
4: 3
2: 1
1: 1

Average: 0.73 points per season

Chicago holds the tiebreaker over Buffalo because of Lombardi Trophies, 1-0.

#16 - Buffalo Bills (#16)

The Bills obviously had their crack at NFL immortality during their 4 year stretch of the 1990s when they ran into NFC East buzz-saws. Since then, they have not sniffed much of anything, with their last moments in the playoffs still being the "Music City Miracle" in Nashville. That was a long, long time ago.

Total Points: 34
Total Playoff Years: 66C, 74, 80, 81, 88C, 89, 90SL, 91SL, 92SL, 93SL, 95, 96, 98, 99

P: 14
4: 2
2: 4
1: 0

Average: 0.73 points per season

#17 - New York Jets (#17 last season)

After two AFC Championship Games in a row, the Jets were unable to join the postseason this year. Despite that, Rex Ryan has been able to accomplish more in his 3 seasons than the 40 years prior to that going back to Namath's Super Bowl 3.

Total Points: 32
Total Playoff Years: 68S, 69, 81, 82C, 85, 86, 91, 98C, 01, 02, 04, 06, 09C, 10C

P: 13
4: 4
2: 0
1: 1

Average: 0.69 points per season

#18 - Kansas City Chiefs (#18)

The Chiefs played in 2 of the first 4 Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl 4. However, since 1970, the Chiefs have only been to one AFC Championship Game in 1993. Other than that, it has been a series of one-and-outs and plenty of years with no playoffs whatsoever.

Total Points: 31
Total Playoff Years: 66SL, 68, 69S, 71, 86, 90, 91, 92, 93C, 94, 95, 97, 03, 06, 10

P: 15
4: 1
2: 1
1: 1

Average: 0.67 points per season

#19 - Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers (#19)

The Titans remain at #19 after another year of missing the post-season. With some reasonable years of success in Houston and one Super Bowl loss in Nashville, the Oilers remain safely in the Top 20 for now.

Total Points: 30
Total Playoff Years: 67C, 69, 78C, 79C, 80, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 99SL, 00, 02C, 03, 07, 08

P: 18
4: 4
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.65 points per season

#20 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (#20)

Established 1976

Surely, at this point, the Buccaneers realize that being in a hurry to chase Jon Gruden out of there was mistaken, right? Regardless, a team that hit its prime in the late 90s and rode it to a Super Bowl Championship in 2002, has returned to its place among the also-rans in the NFC. They now have a 4 year streak going with no playoffs and will attempt to get that turned around with a new coaching staff.

Total Points: 24
Total Playoff Years: 79C, 81, 82, 97, 99C, 00, 01, 02S, 05, 07

P: 10
4: 2
2: 0
1: 1

Average: 0.66

Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker over Cleveland because of Lombardi Trophies, 1-0.

Teams 21-30
==================================

#21 - Cleveland Browns (#21)

No season 1996-1998

The post-relocation Cleveland Browns has been absolutely pathetic. One playoff appearance in the 13 seasons since being a new expansion team and really no real signs of having turned the direction of the franchise around. But, let's not act like they were winning a ton before they lost the Browns to Baltimore. They severely need a revival amongst their franchise to give those loyal fans something to smile about in Cleveland.

Total Points: 24
Total Playoff Years: 67, 68C, 69C, 71, 72, 80, 82, 85, 86C, 87C, 88, 89C, 94, 02

P: 14
4: 5
2: 0
1: 0

Average: 0.56

#22 – Baltimore Ravens (#24)

Established 1996 - (The NFL ruled that all old records stay in Cleveland with the Browns.)

Speaking of the Browns, in the NFL settlement, Cleveland was able to keep its history. Therefore, the Ravens were born a new franchise in 1996, and since then they have actually put together a rather impressive run. 22 points since 1996 is quite admirable, including 2 Championship Game appearances in the last 4 seasons. That is enough to put them right on the heels of the Cleveland franchise that has existed for decades.

Total Points: 22
Total Playoff Years: 00S, 01, 03, 06, 08C, 09, 10, 11C

P: 7
4: 2
2: 0
1: 1

Average: 1.37

Baltimore holds the tiebreaker over San Diego because of Lombardi Trophies, 1-0.

#23 - San Diego Chargers (#22)

Certainly, more was expected from this franchise given their level of QB play they have had for almost 3 decades. But, to this point, they have flirted with some real good teams and even made one Super Bowl, but San Diego still chases its one dream season that may or may not await them down the road.

Total Points: 22
Total Playoff Years: 79, 80C, 81C, 82, 92, 94SL, 95, 04, 06, 07C, 08, 09

P: 12
4: 3
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.47

#24 – New Orleans Saints (#23)

Established 1967

The Saints are living their glory days right now in the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era, and have won a Super Bowl and flirted with others in the last several years. This once pathetic franchise has raised its accomplishment level several notches and has worked its way out of the basement of franchises in the NFL in quick fashion.

Total Points: 21
Total Playoff Years: 87, 90, 91, 92, 00, 06C, 09S, 10, 11

P: 9
4: 1
2: 0
1: 1

Average: 0.46

#25 - Cincinnati Bengals (#25)

Established 1968

The Bengals have 2 different Super Bowl losses to great San Francisco teams in the 1980s. Beyond that, they have never been able to put together consecutive seasons of playoff football and now look to make that happen in 2012 with a young group of players including Andy Dalton. Time will tell as Mike Brown running the franchise still has many thinking that long-term success will not happen with him at the helm.

Total Points: 18
Total Playoff Years: 70, 73, 75, 81SL, 82, 88SL, 90, 05, 09, 11

P: 10
4: 0
2: 2
1: 0

Average: 0.41

Cincinnati holds tiebreaker over Seattle with 2 Super Bowl appearances to 1.

#26 - Seattle Seahawks (#26)

Established 1976

Seattle's worked its way to the playoffs 6 times in the last 9 years, but missed out in 2011. Still chasing its first Super Bowl title, the Seahawks have at least climbed out of the bottom of the league into the mid-20s.

Total Points: 17
Total Playoff Years: 83C, 84, 87, 88, 99, 03, 04, 05SL, 06, 07, 10

P: 11
4: 1
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.47

Seattle holds the tiebreaker over Atlanta because of average points per year.

#27 – Atlanta Falcons (#27)

This season was a real break-through for the Atlanta franchise. For the first time in Falcons' history, Atlanta has gone to the playoffs 2 years in a row. Hardly a giant accomplishment, but for the Falcons, they can no longer say that it has never happened.

Total Points: 17
Total Playoff Years: 78, 80, 82, 91, 95, 98SL, 02, 04C, 08, 10, 11

P: 11
4: 1
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.37

#28 - Carolina Panthers (#28)

Established 1995

So close to winning Super Bowl 38, the Panthers have only made the playoffs 4 times, but the Final 4 in 3 of those 4 runs. They don't get there often, but when they do, they make it count.

Total Points: 12
Total Playoff Years: 96C, 03SL, 05C, 08

P: 4
4: 2
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.70

Carolina holds the tiebreaker over Detroit because of Super Bowl Appearances, 1-0 .

#29 - Detroit Lions (#29)

Detroit has rejoined the NFL playoffs for the first time since 1999. With a number of young players that appear to be special and still building to their primes, it is highly possible the good times in Detroit are soon to come. We shall see.

Total Points: 12
Total Playoff Years: 70, 82, 83, 91C, 93, 94, 95, 97, 99, 11

P: 10
4: 1
2: 0
1: 0

Average: 0.26

#30 – Arizona/St Louis Cardinals (#30)

The Cardinals, formerly of St Louis, also used Kurt Warner to usher in a brief revival of their franchise (like the Rams). But, it was short-lived, and now the Cardinals look to Kevin Kolb to get them out of the bottom handful of teams in this study. To be ranked 30th and only above two expansion franchises speaks to the futility of this team that has had many horrid seasons in its long history.

Total Points: 10
Total Playoff Years: 74, 75, 82, 98, 08SL, 09

P: 6
4: 0
2: 1
1: 0

Average: 0.22

Arizona holds tie-breaker over Jacksonville due to Super Bowl appearances, 1-0.

#31 – Jacksonville Jaguars (#31)

Established 1995

Jacksonville certainly showed their fans how easy football was when they took off from expansion and went to the playoffs in 4 of their first 5 years with Tom Coughlin and Mark Brunell getting the Jaguars to two AFC Championship Games. Since then, not much of anything has happened for them and the stadium has a real difficult time finding capacity crowds.

Total Points: 10
Total Playoff Years: 96C, 97, 98, 99C, 05, 07

P: 6
4: 2
2: 0
1: 0

Average: 0.58 per season

#32 – Houston Texans (32)

Established 2002

Finally, in last place, but at least now on the scoreboard, are the Houston Texans. They made their first playoff appearance of their history in 2011, and will need many good seasons to pull out of 32nd place (short of a Super Bowl victory). That being said, they are now on the scoreboard and are feeling good about their future.

Total Points: 1
Total Playoff Years: 11

P: 1
4: 0
2: 0
1: 0

Average: 0.10

Explanation of Years:
Just the year means they made the playoffs (1 point). Year followed by “C” means they lost in the Conference Championship Game (3 points), Year followed by “SL” means they lost the Super Bowl (5 points), and Year followed by “S” means they won the Super Bowl (11 points).

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2 Crowns in 1 Castle

The Dallas Mavericks have won the NBA Championship already this summer, and the Texas Rangers are on the verge with just 1 win to go to grab the first World Series in their history. This could put Dallas-Fort Worth into rare company as a sports market that has 2 champions in the 4 major sports in the same calendar year. But, how rare is the feat?

According to research, since World War II, this has happened 11 other times. Rare, but hardly unheard of. Here is a quick trip at the last 66 years in the "Big 4" and those luckiest of cities:

1956 - In October, the New York Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in a Game 7 to secure yet another World Championship in a series that contained Don Larsen's "Perfect Game" in Game 5. 2 months later, the 1956 New York Giants won the NFL Title by drubbing the Chicago Bears, 47-7, at Yankee Stadium.

1969 - Super Bowl III started off 1969 on January 12th, and saw the upstart New York Jets represent the AFL's big demolition of the Baltimore Colts. Later that summer, the Amazing Mets would beat the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series and secure the 2nd World Title of the year for New York City.

1970 - Baltimore would have its revenge as Brooks Robinson would lead the Orioles to their World title in October, and 3 months later, the Colts would defeat the Cowboys in Super Bowl V. This is where we must distinguish the "calendar year" of 1970 to include Super Bowls won in Jan of a year and the football season of that year where the Super Bowl is actually played in the next year. Both should count, but this one is different than most of the others.

1979 - Pittsburgh has actually pulled this double off twice, and has the interesting distinction of winning both the 1979 Super Bowl against the Cowboys, the 1979 World Series as the "We are Family" Pirates defeated Baltimore, and the 1980 Super Bowl (1979 season) against the Rams. For a city the size of Pittsburgh, what an amazing accomplishment.

1986 - The Mets struck again in 1986 against the Red Sox in one of the more celebrated World Series match-ups of our lifetime - thanks to Bill Buckner and the Red Sox meltdown. At the exact same time, the 1986 Giants were on their way to Pasadena for Super Bowl 21 where they would take down the Denver Broncos in January of 1987. Compared to 1969, this demonstrates the unfair advantage New York, Los Angeles, and the "Bay Area" have over most other cities. With multiple entrants in each sport, their odds are significantly increased over Pittsburgh or DFW.

1988 - Our first basketball/baseball double is found in '88 when Kirk Gibson and the Dodgers defeated Oakland with a memorable home run just a few months after the Los Angeles Lakers fought off the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals best remembered for Isiah Thomas limping up the floor with a severe ankle injury that he attempted to play through.

1989 - The very next year, the Oakland A's finally did win their World Series against San Francisco in the famous "Earthquake Series" which had a 12 day lay-off between Games 2 and 3 because of the quake that hit northern California. That quake is noted as the first earthquake ever shown on live television because of the World Series broadcast prior to Game 3. The 1988 San Francisco 49ers won their Super Bowl in January of 1989 against the Bengals and the 1989 49ers won their Super Bowl in January of 1990, and with the Raiders in Los Angeles during that time, it is easy to assume the A's and 49ers shared many fans during that successful time.

2000 - Since nobody in New York City seem to have even the slightest regard for the New Jersey Devils, this one is more of a technicality, but in 2000 the Devils won the Stanley Cup (with the clincher at Reunion Arena in Dallas) and the New York Yankees defeated the crosstown New York Mets in the Fall Classic. That January, the Giants would come very close as well, but lost the Super Bowl handily to the Baltimore Ravens.

2002 - Two years later, the Los Angeles Lakers were completing their "3-Peat" of Shaq and Kobe harmony and down the road in Anaheim the Angels were defeating the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. As you can see, this list is made up of quite a few cities that have 2 baseball teams and 2 basketball teams. And in the case of New York City, 3 hockey teams can increase your odds quite a bit.

2004 - New England win the Super Bowl in Houston against the Carolina Panthers in January of 2004, later that summer, the Red Sox defeat the St Louis Cardinals in the World Series in their first championship since 1918. Then, 3 months later, the Patriots won again in Jacksonville against the Philadelphia Eagles. Much like 1979 in Pittsburgh and 1989 in the Bay Area, 3 titles in 13 months.

2009 - And on the 30th anniversary of Pittsburgh championship year, they did it again. This time the Pittsburgh Steelers started the year with a dramatic Super Bowl victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the final seconds. Then, 5 months later, the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in a Game 7 in Detroit to secure the cities 2nd spot on this list of great distinction.

So, there you have it. The Rangers can put the metroplex on this list with 1 more win. But, what might make DFW the most unique of them all? The idea that none of these cities on this list also hosted a Super Bowl in the same year. But, Cowboys Stadium did in February - even though the Cowboys were nowhere to be found. Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and a World Series in the same city in the same calendar year is something that has never happened. Further, only 1969 would share the distinction with both the Mets and Jets winning their first title in their histories, just like the Mavericks and Rangers would accomplish.

But, it is all contingent on winning 1 more game in St Louis for the Rangers.

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