Owners On Thin Ice

By Paulie Knep
Love of Sports Correspondent

Like any business, sports franchises are a reflection of the person at the top, the team owner.

An incompetent or meddlesome owner breeds havoc throughout an organization, typically resulting in dysfunctional management and a lack of production by on the field.

Such troublesome owners frustrate their coaches and scare off players, though it’s the loyal fans who suffer the most, often forced to endure their incompetence for decades.

Here are a few names that make die hard fans cringe.

Owners On The Fringe

10. Jeremy Jacobs, Boston Bruins

Few owners have drawn greater ire from fans over the past few decades than Jacobs. Bostonians are quick to point out that the Bruins haven’t won the Stanley Cup since Jacobs bought the team 34 years ago, the longest drought in team history. Jacobs appears indifferent to winning or losing, as long as his pocket grows fatter. For years, the Bruins were among the most profitable teams in the NHL, yet maintained a minuscule payroll. When attendance began to sag, Jacobs finally pumped some money into the team to satisfy the fans, but the frugal owner didn’t spend wisely and the Bruins haven’t won a playoff series since 1999.

9. Peter Angelos, Baltimore Orioles

When Angelos purchased the Orioles in 1993 they were a franchise rich with tradition that ballplayers wanted to be a part of. Fifteen years later they’ve just concluded their 11th consecutive losing season and free agents only use them as a bargaining chip to increase offers from other teams. He has had to significantly overpay free agents for them to be willing to come to Baltimore. Angelos’s micro-management of every aspect of the organization, including personnel decisions, has turned away talented front office employees. Angelos also ruffled plenty of feathers in the D.C. area by using all of his influence to attempt to keep the Nationals out of the nation’s capitol.

8.Donald Sterling, Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have had just two winning seasons since Sterling purchased the team in 1981 and have been the laughing stock of the league for years. Sterling routinely traded his top players or let them leave via free agency, rather than pay them market value, despite the team being well under the salary cap. In 2003, he finally shelled out the money to sign Elton Brand to the most lucrative contract in team history, but whatever goodwill Sterling built-up with Clippers fans vanished when Brand signed with Philadelphia this summer. Brand supposedly spurred the Clippers due to a rift between his agent David Falk and Sterling.

7. Bill Bidwell, Arizona Cardinals

Bidwill has the unique distinction of being hated by fans in two cities, St. Louis and Phoenix. In his 45 years as owner, the Cardinals have only made the playoffs four times and won just one playoff game. Until a recent collective bargaining agreement raised the NFL’s salary floor, the Cardinals payroll was considerably less than that of other teams. Bidwell was so cheap that he refused to fly in prospects for a workout. However, Cardinals fans have a reason for hope, as Bidwill is slowly transferring control of the team to his son Michael. The family hired no-nonsense coach Ken Whisenhunt last year and even invested money in the team’s practice facility.

6. William Clay Ford, Sr., Detroit Lions

The Lions have won one playoff game since Ford purchased the team in 1964. He appears to be indifferent to the Lions’ plight, unwilling to fire unproductive coaches and general managers and infuriating the team’s fan base in the process. Matt Millen was underqualified for the job of general manager when Ford hired him and the Lions’ owner waited seven years to fire him, despite a league worst 31-84 record and no signs of improvement. In 2006, Ford had fans ejected from Ford Field when they displayed signs and shirts criticizing Millen. Even with Millen out of the picture, Lions fans have little reason for optimism that their team will return to the playoffs any time soon.

5. Bill Wirtz, Chicago Blackhawks

BWirtz owned the Blackhawks for 41 years, until his death last September. He was nicknamed “Dollar Bill” for his stingy reputation and was so despised by Chicago fans that they booed during a memorial tribute to him at last season’s home opener. The team hasn’t won the Stanley Cup in 47 years and fans blamed Wirtz for trading some of the team’s most popular players. His most egregious offense was a refusal to broadcast Blackhawks games on television because he felt it wouldn’t be fair to season-ticket holders. Wirtz’s son Rocky succeeded him as owner and has taken a differnet approach so far. He announced that all games would be televised this season and reached out to some of the Blackhawks’ old-timers. Still, it remains to be seen how far the apple falls from the tree.

4. Atlanta Spirit LLC, Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers

It’s difficult to point a finger at the Hawks’ owners for the dysfunctional state of the franchise because nobody’s quite sure who is running the team. Nine business men came together to buy the Hawks and Thrashers in 2003 and the group implemented a management structure, with the largest shareholder, Steve Belkin, acting as governor. However, when Hawks general manager Billy Knight worked out a trade for Joe Johnson of the Suns in 2005, chaos ensued. Belkin refused to sign off on the deal and initiated a lawsuit for control of the team, which lingered in the courts until he voluntarily sold his stake to the rest of the owners last month. Amidst the confusion, Knight quit and Josh Childress bolted the team for Greece.

3. Al Davis, Oakland Raiders

Davis achieved tremendous success with the Raiders in the 1970’s and 80’s, but in recent years the Raiders have been the worst team in football. He has morphed into George Steinbrenner circa 1988, overpaying for mediocre free agents and destabilizing the franchise by undermining his coaches, interfering with playcalling and reportedly spying on his players. He hired Lane Kiffin prior to the 2007 season, when nobody in the business thought the 31-year-old was ready to be a head coach. Then, for no apparent reason, Davis turned on the boy wonder after one season and went so far as to distribute a negative article about his coach to other members of the media.He finally fired Kiffin this week and went on a 15-minute rant about his former coach which left Kiffin and everybody else who watched embarrassed for him.

2. James Dolan, New York Knicks, Rangers and Liberty

Under Dolan’s tyrannical rule, the Knicks and Rangers have consistently maintained the highest payrolls in their respective leagues, while languishing at the bottom of the standings. Dolan squashes criticism by freezing out the reporters responsible and longtime Knicks announcer Marv Albert went to work for the Nets rather than adhere to his orders for a biased broadcast. When Isiah Thomas did a horrendous job as the Knicks’ general manager, Dolan refused to fire him. Instead, he dismissed coach Larry Brown one season into a five year $25 million contract and made Thomas the coach as well as general manager. Last year, a court awarded former Knicks employee Anucha Browne-Sanders $11.3 million because Dolan fired her when she complained that Thomas sexually harassed her.

1. Mike Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are 97-178 since Mike grabbed the reigns and that’s the least of their problems. Nine Bengals were arrested in 2006. Coach Marvin Lewis has preached discipline and accountability, but Brown undermined his authority by re-signing wide receiver Chris Henry, just months after the Bengals released him following his fifth arrest. If the Bengals had a qualified general manager (Brown handles those duties) and an adequate scouting department they could have avoided drafting players with questionable backgrounds, like Henry. Brown has aggravated his players by including “loyalty clauses” in their contracts, which allows him to deny bonuses to players based upon their public comments about the team.