The Sporting News annual top sports city list is out...

[Puddy]

 

To hell with Newt.

 

 

 

Motown is the town for sports in 2007

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Posted: August 1, 2007

 

 

 

Say this about your sports teams, Detroit: They reflect the show-up-for-work-every-day-and-punch-the-clock roots of your city. And in a Best Sports City year in which championship cities' "sportfolios" had gaps, Detroit's regular-season efforts and thisclose success in the playoffs pushed it to the top of our annual rankings, even sans title of any kind.

 

 

Visit Detroit these days and you'll see that this is a baseball city out of hibernation and filling Comerica Park. The Pistons and WNBA's Shock put a spring in a hoops fan's step. Yes, it's still Hockeytown, same as it was when Detroit was our Best Sports City in 1998. Yet on an unseasonably warm Saturday in April, with the Wings facing the Flames in the playoffs at The Joe, you were as likely to see an old English "D" on a cap in downtown Detroit (the Tigers were playing the White Sox) as you were a winged wheel on a red sweater.

 

Past No. 1s in the Best Sports City rankings

 

2006 Chicago

2005 Boston

2004 Boston

2003 Anaheim-Los Angeles

2002 Boston

2001 New York

2000 St. Louis

1999 New York

1998 Detroit

1997 Denver

1995 Denver

1994 Cleveland

1993 Chicago

 

This is a city immersed in its teams, living and dying with them -- mostly living, but there's even a hint of optimism about . . . the Lions?

 

So, pop the World Series bubbly, St. Lou.

 

Celebrate your Super season, Indy.

 

Drink from the Cup, Anaheim.

 

Parade an NBA title down the river, San Antonio.

 

You each deserve rich notice, same as Gainesville's historic collegiate double dip. But, if we're to believe the car ads, then life is as much about the journey as it is the destination, and Motown's sports scene was a trip these past 12 months. Three teams -- the Red Wings, Tigers and Pistons -- finished no worse than fourth-best in the workaday world of regular-season standings in their respective leagues.

 

In fact, even with the 3-13 Lions skewing the percentage, Detroit's major professional sports teams in their most recently completed full season won at a .588 clip. How's that for packin' your lunch every day?

 

Quotable

 

"I've been saying for years that Detroit is the 'Best Sports City' in America and now it's official. Our world-class venues, talented teams, dedicated fans and vibrant night life have set a national standard for what it takes to be an exciting sports town. I'm confident we will defend our title with the spirit of a champion."

--City of Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick's, on Detroit's selection as SN's Best Sports City

 

How we arrive at our rankings

 

We take a 12-month snapshot, roughly July to July, of each city's sports, putting a heavy premium on regular-season won-lost records (from the most recently completed season); playoff berths, bowl appearances and tournament bids; championships; applicable power ratings; quality of competition; overall fan fervor as measured in part by attendance as percentage of venue capacity; abundance of teams, though we reward quality over quantity; stadium and arena quality; ticket availability and prices; franchise ownership; and marquee appeal of athletes.

 

Note: There was no Best Sports City in 1996, as the rating system was being expanded and refined.

 

The Mighty 99

 

1. Detroit + Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti

2. New York

3. Dallas-Fort Worth

4. Chicago + Evanston

5. Los Angeles

6. Boston

7. Denver + Boulder

8. Phoenix + Tempe

9. Philadelphia

10. Minneapolis-St. Paul

11. Houston

12. Gainesville, Fla.

13. Anaheim

14. Atlanta

15. Miami

16. Nashville

17. Oakland + Berkeley

18. San Diego

19. Indianapolis

20. St. Louis

21. Pittsburgh

22. Salt Lake City + Provo

23. Louisville, Ky.

24. Washington, D.C.

25. San Jose + Palo Alto, Santa Clara

26. Baton Rouge, La.

27. Toronto

28. Seattle

29. Cleveland

30. Cincinnati

31. San Antonio

32. Tampa-St. Petersburg

33. Baltimore

34. Buffalo

35. New Orleans

36. Knoxville, Tenn.

37. Charlotte

38. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.

39. Columbus

40. Madison, Wis.

41. Ottawa

42. San Francisco

43. Kansas City

44. Orlando

45. Oklahoma City + Norman

46. Vancouver

47. Milwaukee

48. Jacksonville

49. Calgary

50. South Bend, Ind.

51. Green Bay

52. Sacramento

53. Memphis

54. Montreal

55. Edmonton

56. Portland

57. Austin, Texas

58. Morgantown, W.Va.

59. Boise, Idaho

60. Tallahassee, Fla.

61. Fayetteville, Ark.

62. Lexington, Ky.

63. Blacksburg, Va.

64. Athens, Ga.

65. Auburn, Ala.

66. Eugene, Ore.

67. College Station, Texas

68. College Park, Md.

69. Winston-Salem, N.C.

70. Piscataway, N.J.

71. Tucson, Ariz.

72. Clemson, S.C.

73. West Lafayette, Ind.

74. Pullman, Wash.

75. Lawrence, Kan.

76. Lubbock, Texas

77. Honolulu

78. Columbia, S.C.

79. Lincoln, Neb.

80. Reno, Nev.

81. Tulsa, Okla.

82. Stillwater, Okla.

83. State College, Pa.

84. East Lansing, Mich.

85. Tuscaloosa, Ala.

86. Corvallis, Ore.

87. Charlottesville, Va.

88. Columbia, Mo.

89. Bloomington, Ind.

90. Iowa City, Iowa

91. Manhattan, Kan.

92. Syracuse, N.Y.

93. Oxford, Miss.

94. Storrs, Conn.

95. Las Vegas

96. Hattiesburg, Miss.

97. Colorado Springs, Colo.

98. Starkville, Miss.

99. Birmingham, Ala.

 

Best of the rest

 

100. Champaign, Ill.

101. Kalamazoo, Mich.

102. Waco, Texas

103. Laramie, Wyo.

104. Carbondale, Ill.

105. Athens, Ohio

106. Akron, Ohio

107. Albuquerque, N.M.

108. Mount Pleasant, Mich.

109. Fresno, Calif.

110. Omaha, Neb.

111. Fort Collins, Colo.

112. Annapolis, Md.

113. Spokane, Wash.

114. Las Cruces, N.M.

115. Ames, Iowa

116. Toledo, Ohio

117. Oxford, Ohio

118. Kent, Ohio

119. Davidson, N.C.

120. Murfreesboro, Tenn.

121. Troy, Ala.

122. El Paso, Texas

123. Corpus Christi, Texas

124. Wichita, Kan.

125. Worcester, Mass.

126. Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

127. Dayton, Ohio

128. Huntington, W.V.

129. Logan, Utah

130. Denton, Texas

131. Des Moines, Iowa

132. Albany, N.Y.

133. Greenville, N.C.

134. De Kalb, Ill.

135. Muncie, Ind.

136. Jonesboro, Ark.

137. Niagara, N.Y.

138. Ogden, Utah

139. Richmond, Ky.

140. Monroe, La.

141. Norfolk, Va.

142. Bowling Green, Ohio

143. Dover, Del.

144. Pocatello, Idaho

145. West Point, N.Y.

146. Ruston, La.

147. Lafayette, La.

148. Jackson, Miss.

149. Moscow, Idaho

150. Chattanooga, Tenn.

[dmarc117]

canada finally wins one

[alexgaddis]

14. Atlanta

 

 

[broncosn05]

7 nice.

[Big John]

14. Atlanta

I was going there too.

[TimC]

The Lions will win at least 3 games this year. Mark it down.

[Ill Nuts]

How did Philly get on that list? They manage to chase every good athlete out of town. Mcnabb will be the next to flee in terror from the bald-headed, zit-infested shoulders of the Philly populace.