122 Franchises - NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL. 2015's ESPN Rankings are here Dolphins ranked 92 out of 122. (Story is a bit dated in that it reads like the start of the season). Heat ranked 21 out of 122. Top 10 are: [TABLE="class: inline-table, width: 568"] [TR] [TH="align: left"]RANK[/TH] [TH]GO TO FULL STORY[/TH] [/TR] [TR="class: last hover"] [TD="align: left"]1. San Antonio Spurs[/TD] [TD]Go to Spurs story[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: last"] [TD="align: left"]2. Memphis Grizzlies[/TD] [TD]Go to Grizzlies story[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: last"] [TD="align: left"]3. Tampa Bay Lightning[/TD] [TD]Go to Lightning story[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: last"] [TD="align: left"]4. Anaheim Ducks[/TD] [TD]Go to Ducks story[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: last"] [TD="align: left"]5. Seattle Seahawks[/TD] [TD]Go to Seahawks story[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: last"] [TD="align: left"]6. Green Bay Packers[/TD] [TD]Go to Packers story[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: last"] [TD="align: left"]7. Oklahoma City Thunder[/TD] [TD]Go to Thunder story[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: last"] [TD="align: left"]8. Pittsburgh Pirates[/TD] [TD]Go to Pirates story[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: last"] [TD="align: left"]9. Arizona Diamondbacks[/TD] [TD]Go to Diamondbacks story[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: last"] [TD="align: left"]10. Dallas Stars[/TD] [TD]Go to Stars story[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Miami Dolphins Overall: 92 Title track: T85 Ownership: 83 Coaching: 111 Players: 100 Fan relations: 103 Affordability: 81 Stadium experience: 103 Bang for the buck: 36 Change from last year: +16 Fan relations have been tough for most professional teams in South Florida: Both the Marlins (No. 105) and Dolphins (103) have had their share of issues. It also doesn't help that the Miami Heat (ranked No. 10) have dominated the local sports market for the past several years with LeBron James leading the team to four NBA Finals and two championships. But with James gone, the Heat's grasp on the sports market in Miami is much looser. This opens the door for the Dolphins to improve in fan relations and ticket sales. But it won't happen overnight. This will be a gradual process. [HR][/HR]What's good Finishing with an 8-8 record last season, Miami was ranked No. 36 in bang for the buck (the cost to attend a game is $89.83, with ticket prices down almost 10 percent this year), and affordability landed at 81 (up 13 spots from 2014). It could be higher -- just four NFL teams have lower average ticket prices than the Dolphins. Another high point for Miami? The franchise's overall ranking (92) jumped 16 spots. All of that means that, at least as far as the fans are concerned, the team is headed in the right direction. [HR][/HR]What's bad The Dolphins continue to hope to find their next Don Shula, who coached the team from 1970 to 1995 and is the NFL's all-time winningest coach. Current head coach Joe Philbin isn't awful -- but he hasn't been great either. (He ranks 111th overall -- down four spots from 2014 and third worst in the league.) This is a big Year 4 for Philbin, who entered this season with a 23-25 record, to prove he's the long-term answer at coach. Philbin said he's done a lot of internal scouting to figure out ways he can become a better coach this season and better relate with his players. And, to the fans' relief, he says he's particularly interested in getting the most out of his team late in the year after back-to-back December collapses. [HR][/HR]What's new Dolphins billionaire owner Stephen Ross is willing to spare no expense to make his team successful, which helped him improve 16 spots this year, to 83rd overall. To that end, the Dolphins are in the process of putting approximately $400 million into renovations for Sun Life Stadium -- which also might help improve the No. 103 stadium experience ranking next year. Among those changes are seats closer to the field and a rain canopy that will be installed in 2016 to protect fans from the always-unpredictable South Florida weather. Heat Story: Miami Heat Overall: 21 Title track: T18 Ownership: 7 Coaching: 45 Players: 19 Fan relations: 10 Affordability: 49 Stadium experience: 23 Bang for the buck: 74 Change from last year: +13 Despite last season's hiccup resulting from injuries, and an unexpected trip to the NBA lottery, the Heat maintain legitimate expectations of competing for championships almost every season. Considering Miami's three titles and five Finals trips since 2006, legendary front-office stability and the on-court presence of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, it's easy to see why the Heat are 21st overall -- they actually moved up 13 spots among fans with the departure of LeBron James. [HR][/HR]What's good Team president Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison have worked together for 20 years in Miami -- several generations of the NBA life cycle. With that sort of strength and leadership at the top and Arison's ability to connect with fans on social media, it's no surprise that the Heat are a top-10 team in the ownership rankings. And their track record of success is one major reason the Heat have shown no interest in undertaking a long rebuilding program. Indeed, the Heat hope to be ready to compete right now against LeBron's Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference title after adding Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow to a foundation of Wade, Bosh and Luol Deng. [HR][/HR]What's bad It's no surprise that Miami's fans found those 37 wins last season a little pricey, which left the team 49th in affordability and 74th in bang for the buck. And with Riley and Arison held in such high regard and the Heat's roster believed to be a strong suit, there's increasing pressure on Erik Spoelstra, the NBA's second-longest-tenured coach with a single team. While Coach Spo remains admired, the fact that his ranking is stuck at No. 45 suggests that he could be the scapegoat among fans if the Heat can't deliver postseason success. [HR][/HR]What's new The most dramatic change in Miami -- the sudden departure of LeBron James -- also led to the most counterintuitive result for the Heat in the Ultimate Standings: a 16-spot rise in the players rankings. The rankings measure "effort" and "likability" as much as they do talent, meaning that Heat fans have embraced Wade and his cohorts in the wake of the King's defection. It's the roster's rise that explains why the Heat have reached their highest level in the rankings in 10 years.
Memphis Grizzlies are the 2nd best franchise in sports? Even though they've been decent for a few years I can't think of a more forgettable sports franchise.
I wondered about that, but although they haven't won a title they've been contenders for a good few years, have the cheapest tickets around, and a solid atmosphere, apparently.
From Memphis and been to Grizzlies games. It's cheap relative to other sporting events and the atmosphere is good, especially for the playoffs. I sat in literally the last row against the Spurs one year and it was still incredible. Probably the loudest sporting event I've ever been to. I'm not sure all of this would justify #2. I mean, they can't find a competent SF without vastly overpaying them (Rudy Gay) to save their life. But they're a fun team, kind of the opposite of the Dolphins.
