Most Spoiled and Tortured Sports Towns

By Kalen Patrick

Real fans only know what it's really like when things are good and when things are bad. Real fans will stick by their teams through thick and thin no matter what. But which cities have it the best and which cities have it the hardest? Lets take a closer look....

Most Spoiled
Boston. My aim is to keep it in the recent years, Boston have celebrated a World Championship in all 4 major sports in recent years. The Bruins won just a matter of weeks ago, the Celtics won in 2008, the Red Sox in 2007 and 2004, the Patriots have won 3 Superbowls this decade. Not only this, but the Celtics have been to numerous Finals, Patriots were in a Superbowl a few years ago. All of the Boston teams are always in the playoff discussion and most are legitimate championship contenders. Honestly, if you are a fan in the Boston/New England area, you have absolutely nothing to complain about and just relish these times because they won't always be this good.

Most Tortured
Cleveland. It has to be Cleveland right? Lebron leaves the Cavs, the Browns are well the Browns, the Indians gave the city some hope but have crashed all the way back down to reality, and since Lebron left the Cavs only had the 2nd worst record, tied a record for most consecutive losses and had the 1st and 4th overall picks in one of the weakest drafts in recent memory.
While the teams do have some glimmer of hope, doesn't it just seem like they are cursed? The Browns are in a division with 2 of the best run franchises in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The Cavs have a serious inability to attract any kind of talent and the Indians are the definition of mediocre. How things could have been different if the Cavs traded for Amare Stoudemire and not a 40 year old Shaq.

NBA - What Next?

While the NBA is not my strongest sport, I do wanna touch on it now and again. The Finals are approaching and I for one am very excited for it. However, with this post I want to take a look in to the future of the NBA and make predictions and give my views on what I expect to happen. Lets start from the bottom and work our way up. 

You can't get much lower than the Cleveland Cavaliers and as everyone knows, last summer Lebron James left Cleveland for South Beach and surprise surprise the Cavs end up with an awful record. Well Lady Luck (or David Stern) has come to the Cavs help and gave them the 1st and 4th overall pick. While this draft is not that strong, this is a good place to start building for the future. According to sources the Cavaliers are attempting to make a trade to hold the #2 pick as well, here is the link: Possible Trade . Despite this draft being considered weak, the Cavs would be able to acquire the far and away top 2 prospects in Point Guard Kyrie Irving and Forward Derrick Williams. This would be a great building block for the future. 

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert finally had a reason to smile at the outcome of the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery

It is difficult for the Cavs to attract free agent talent, but I'm thinking if they throw enough money at either Marc Gasol or Nene, one of them may bite. Another option, is Greg Oden, the oft injured Center for the Trail Blazers. Trading for Oden would be a gamble for sure, but it's one that if it pays off (and I know its probably a long shot) could be huge for the Cavs going forward. I'm thinking even with Irving and Williams, and a possible addition at Center, that relying on 2 rookies will require a steep learning curve. Maybe the Cavs get another high pick next year, add another quality player and are back in playoff contention. 

Who can seriously challenge the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference going forward? It's gonna come down to Chicago or New York, while Boston have maybe a 1 or 2 year window for being a highly competitive team. 

Chicago is the best competition for Miami, one thing which became painfully obvious in their recent playoff series was how much they needed another scorer at the SG position. Lucky for the Bulls there are going to be quite a few options for them, including guys like Jason Richardson and Aaron Afflalo. Personally I like Afflalo, as he provides the better defense, which is stressed by the Tom Thibedeau coached Bulls. I think the player that would fit them perfectly however would be Monta Ellis. If they can swing a trade to get Monta from the Warriors, they would be impossible to defend. Also while Monta's defense isn't great, Rose is big enough to take on the opponents SG, while Ellis can take on the smaller PG. By adding another scorer, along with their talented big men (Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson and Asik), that would be Miami's biggest competition.

                      Which team will be the Kryptonite to Miami's Supermen? 

The New York Knicks are a team which will have to be respected going forward. When you have 2 superstar players (Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire) your team is gonna be in good shape. The Knicks seem on a mission to do whatever it takes to become a championship caliber team. There are already rumors of Chris Paul landing in New York eventually. A team that has the best pure PG in Paul, a top scorer in Carmelo and an excellent post presence in Stoudemire will be a tough out for anyone and even for the likes of the Heat. 

The Boston Celtics cannot be discounted even at their age, just when you think they are done they always seem to bounce back. Obviously they will have Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett anchoring the team, however one thing which held them back this postseason was their big men. You have to assume they are gonna do better than Jermaine O'Neal, Shaq and Nenad Krstic at Center.

The other notable teams in the East like the Magic and the Hawks will provide some competition but won't really pose much of a realistic threat to the Heat in my opinion.

What I will be watching tomorrow:

MLB - San Francisco Giants (Matt Cain) vs Milwaukee Brewers (Gallardo)