Cities' Most Hated Hometown Sports Figures

*Most of these are fairly recent, so don't get offended.

Seattle - Howard Schultz

Schultz is the man who sold the SuperSonics to Clay Bennett in Oklahoma City, where you know they became the Thunder. Seattle fans can only imagine what could have been. After purchasing the Sonics in 2001, Schultz had the beloved Gary Payton traded away after a feud. He got into a negotiating battle with Rashard Lewis (who was actually good back then), and soon after requested public funding for a new arena. When the city wouldn't give public funding, he became irate and threatened to sell or move the team, and sell the team he did. Clay Bennett is also one of Seattle's most hated figures, as in 2006 he said he wanted to keep the franchise in Seattle. Now head of the NBA's relocation committee, he could help make amends one day if he helps land a new team.


San Diego - Ryan Leaf

Being arguably the biggest bust in NFL history will do that do a guy.  On draft day, he proclaimed, "I'm looking forward to a 15-year career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl and a parade through downtown San Diego." Not so fast big guy. The player who went before him, Peyton Manning, would live that dream, with the parade of course being through Indy instead. San Diego still hasn't gotten theirs.


Cleveland - LeBron James

Although they'd take him back in a heartbeat.


Chicago - Steve Bartman

Poor guy. I'm sure you know the story. I still find it ridiculous how Chicago continues to blame one foul ball for their entire 103-year World Series drought. When the incident happened, the Cubs were up 3-0 in the game. The eight runs allowed in that inning were not Bartman's doing. Nonetheless, Bartman eclipses the likes of a fallen Sammy Sosa, Carlos Zambrano, David Terrell, and others.


Boston - Bobby Valentine

Boston is in love with their Red Sox. And even though he whined a bit at the end, they are in love with Kevin Youkilis. They didn't appreciate how Bobby V threw him under the bus, or half of his other players so far as well. Boston is impatient with the Red Sox as a whole right now, but Valentine was never around for any of the success that made many of the players so beloved. He is a symbol of failure in the city.


New York - Alex Rodriguez

I'm sure we could go back in time and find someone more hated than A-Rod in New York, but the bottom line is people simply don't like the guy. Ask any Yankees fan: they love Jeter, love Mo, love Cano and Swisher and the rest of the bunch, but can't stand A-Rod. The contract and admitted steroid use don't help his case. Or the fact that he's only had one halfway decent postseason, 2009. And as the next six years go by and he continues to put up mediocre seasons like this one while eating up 30 million a year, it's not going to get any prettier.


Philadelphia - Terrell Owens

Being a diehard Eagles fan, I don't want to say anything about this. We really don't like J.D. Drew or Scott Rolen, either - Drew because he was drafted number one overall by the Phillies in 1997 and refused to sign and re-entered the draft the next year, and Rolen because he demanded to be traded away.


Miami - No one because they have like two legitimate sports fans.


St. Louis - Albert Pujols

Many still love him, but most can't forgive him. Illinois' most beloved athlete for a decade chose to leave a better fan base and just as good of a chance to win another World Series because the Cardinals couldn't offer him as much money as the Angels could. I'm sure the Cardinals' faithful delighted in his April swoon, and are happy his 10-year contract isn't crippling their franchise.


Washington - Albert Haynesworth

Probably the worst free agent signing in NFL history. An All-Pro in 2007 and 2008, Haynesworth was highly coveted heading into free agency. The Redskins, notorious for overpaying players, made their worst move yet, snatching Haynesworth for seven years, $100 million. All downhill from there. Haynesworth had an endless list of fighting teammates, a stomping incident, and exhibited all-around poor play. His ineffectiveness can be partially attributed to the fact that he didn't feel like getting into anything close to playing shape for the '09 season. 


Pittsburgh - Barry Bonds

Terry Bradhaw's backup Cliff Stoudt is also despised in the Burgh, but Barry Bonds is the undisputed number one. First of all, everyone outside of San Francisco hates Bonds. Who likes a cheater? But it's personal in Pittsburgh, because after failing to advance the Bucs to the World Series in his seven years there, he left for more money in San Francisco (which is the only city in the U.S. where he'd be welcomed today).

2012 MLB Predictions at the Break

American League MVP: Josh Hamilton. His incredible power numbers will be able to fend off rookie phenom Mike Trout, who will probably have a few of these awards by the time his career is done.

National League MVP: Andrew McCutchen. Joey Votto has gotten on base more, but Cutch has done everything else more effectively thus far. Even if the power numbers stack up similarly at the end, McCutchen's 25-30 steals and stellar centerfield play will give him the edge over the first baseman. The deciding factor might end up being which team makes the playoffs.

American League Cy Young: Jered Weaver. The popular pick is Justin Verlander, and while he leads Weaver in most pitching statistical categories, Weaver's ERA is 62 points lower (1.96). Pitchers starting off this hot have a tendency to stumble down the stretch (Weaver's ERA on August 5 of last season was 1.78. He finished at 2.41), but I think he'll be able to learn from last year. Another dark horse candidate is 23-year-old Chris Sale, who has posted a 2.19 ERA to go along with a 0.95 WHIP and 98 Ks in 102.2 innings.

National League Cy Young: R.A. Dickey. Even if Johnny Cueto and James McDonald (I have absolutely no clue how they weren't all-stars by the way) finish with slightly better statistics, Dickey will take the award if he keeps pitching as he is. The fact that he is a 37-year-old knuckleballer with a heartwarming story will appeal to voters. I have a feeling that Cueto and McDonald, at 26 and 27 years old respectively, will be in the Cy conversation for years to come.

American League Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout. Yu Darvish or anyone else won't come close.

National League Rookie of the Year: Bryce Harper. I don't know if he'll deserve it, but he'll win nonetheless. There were about 25 guys that should have made the all-star game before he did, but his hype wins out. He's not outhitting the Reds' Todd Frazier, a guy whom many of you probably don't know who he is. Wade Miley, the owner of a 9-5 record and 3.04 ERA, could make things interesting of he keeps things up.

AL East winner: New York Yankees. No one's catching them.

AL Central winner: Chicago White Sox. Youk is coming alive, they've found a diamond in the rough in Jose Quintana, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios are rejuvenated, and Paul Konerko is still hitting the lights out. Robin Ventura's crew should be able to pull off the improbable and hold off Verlander, Prince and the Tigers for the division crown.

AL West winner: Texas Rangers. This division is all but assured of having two playoff teams, as the Angels will probably take a wild card if they can't bounce the Rangers from first place. Texas looks October-ready in July.

AL Wild Cards: Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers. I'm pretty much positive the Angels are going to grab one, but the second spot is up in the air. It's pretty much in between the second-place Central team (White Sox or Tigers) and the Tampa Bay Rays. Detroit looks like they are coming together while the Rays are barely getting by. I think this is the year when the Rays' lack of cash will bite them as they await Evan Longoria's return.

NL East winner: Washington Nationals. I know they had a great core coming in, but still, who would have thought that the Washington Nationals would have the best record in the NL at the break? That's like saying "The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl!" from a few years back. Maybe the Nats would compete for a wild card, sure, but not this.

NL Central winner: St. Louis Cardinals. They have the most talent in the division, and it's all but certain the Pirates will fade at least a little bit. As far as the Reds go, if they want to win the division, they are going to need Drew Stubbs (.215/.286/.367) to come alive. It's certainly possible this division is the first in baseball history to have three playoff teams.

NL West winner: San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers are free fallin'. Even Matt Kemp's return won't be able to save them at this point. Despite Tim Lincecum's terribleness, San Fran will take advantage and win the division.

NL Wild Cards: Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves. This will be baseball's most intense race. Atlanta is a shoo-in, and Pittsburgh is, well, a gut pick. I want it to happen. The Mets' lack of talent will get to them and they will fade, but the Reds, Cardinals, and Bucs will duke it out until the finish.

Trying to Make Sense of the Sixers' Offseason Moves

Nick Young's a ball hog and proud of it.

Prior to the start of last season, the Philadelphia 76ers had a definite direction. With Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala present on the roster, the team would try to develop its young players, and hopefully advance out of the first round in the playoffs. The end result of the 2011-2012 season was regarded as satisfactory: a Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference semis, an improvement to a five-game first-round exit the year before.

The 2012 offseason was, or is, supposed to be the next step in the team becoming a contender. Except, with the Atlantic division strengthening around them, the Sixers really haven't improved their roster much at all.

The Brooklyn Nets have completely revamped their team and possibly become contenders in the blink of an eye; that is for another column. The Raptors added Kyle Lowry to pair alongside DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani. The Celtics grabbed some big names, Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo, in the draft, but both are NBA question marks. 

So what have the Sixers done?

The draft is where the head-scratching began. With the 15th pick, they selected Moe Harkless out of St. John's, who is a player with potential, but one who simply does not fit on this current roster. The best-case scenario is that he becomes a right-handed version of Thaddeus Young, a player the Sixers have under contract for the next four years. Philly was already overloaded at the small forward position; in addition to Young, Evan Turner and Andre Iguodala, who is still on the roster, also play the position.

What would have made more sense would have been to take a big man with the pick; that is the glaring weakness. The Harkless signing seems to be in hope of trading Iguodala for Pau Gasol or another established big. But with the current roster, Harkless' addition will create a minutes disparity and/or guys playing out of position too often.

The Sixers did eventually take a big man in Arnett Moultrie, with the 27th pick. The problem here, though, is they gave away next year's first rounder to the Miami Heat in order to draft him. Why not just take him at fifteen, or trade down if they knew he'd still be there?

What has transpired after the draft has not been very encouraging either. Thus far the front office has:

Re-signed Lavoy Allen for 2 yrs, $6 million
Re-signed Spencer Hawes for 2 yrs, $13 million
Amnestied Elton Brand, owing him $18 million
Chose not to re-sign Lou Williams, Jodie Meeks, Tony Battie, Sam Young, and Xavier Silas
Signed Nick Young for 1 yr, $6 million

There is one positive. Lavoy Allen's contract is very reasonable; last year he showed his excellent defensive post presence, and he has potential to develop his offensive game. He's a valuable bench player at this stage, but he will have an opportunity to prove himself this season and may see starter's minutes.

And then Spencer Hawes is back. There probably weren't many alternatives, but from a diehard fan's perspective, he is just difficult to watch. Kevin Garnett ran all over him in the playoffs; as a result he lost minutes to Allen. He plays rather soft and is nonathletic. Capable of scoring spurts at times, he earned $13 million, I guess, from two twenty-point performances in the postseason. Hawes is a capable backup, but going into 2012-13 with him in position to start makes fans uncomfortable.

More puzzling than the Harkless and Hawes signings was the decision to amnesty Elton Brand. If you are not familiar, the amnesty clause, new in last year's collective bargaining agreement, allows teams to waive one player's contract from their salary cap figure while still paying the player in actuality. Brand was a hardworking player who gave 110% in every game he played with the Sixers, but his production had not merited his contract. The fact he was amnestied is not especially controversial, but ESPN's John Hollinger explains the problem with the move, as the timing was off:

But let's get back to Philly, who both amnestied Brand and announced they'd be parting ways with Lou Williams on Friday, and then said they reached a one-year deal with Nick Young.

What, exactly, are they going for here? Even after the amnesty, Philly has just $7 million in cap room, which is perhaps enough to put in a bid for the likes of Ersan Ilyasova or Kris Humphries, but if you're going to do that you might as well ride out another year with Brand, right?

Even more puzzling is the timing. If Philly had determined to amnesty Brand a week ago and not bothered with Young or the recent two-year, $13-million deal with Spencer Hawes, the Sixers were looking at max cap space and the chance to lure a top free agent. Not a great chance, perhaps, but a chance.

Now? They're looking at, best-case scenario, signing somebody almost as good as Brand. One wonders if another move is waiting around the corner -- an Andre Iguodala trade, perhaps, or some other move that will allow us to make sense of all this.

There really is no direction to what the front office is doing right now. Meeks, Battie, Sam Young, and Silas can go. Meeks had his moments, Battie is a great veteran presence to the younger guys and will probably be a coach someday, and Young worked harder than anyone, but no one in Philly is going to outcry over these moves. But why Nick Young? He is a ballhog. Plain and simple. In a team that is trying to build around Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, two guys that already don't like to pass much, adding Nick Young won't make the big guys in the game happy.

To try to justify the move: the Sixers needed a pure scorer, and Young gives them that at a much lower price than Lou Williams would have been. The problem with Young is, well, everything except his scoring. And he doesn't score efficiently either: he shot just 40% last season. But he may be able to help the team avoid those six-minute scoring droughts that plagued them in the postseason.

I will do a follow-up post to this later in the offseason when more moves have been made.