from Dave Hodge of TSN,

Lord knows, no further ammunition is necessary if you want to criticize the Toronto Maple Leafs. So thumbs down to those who are using ESPN's ranking of North American pro sports franchises to dump all over the Leafs because of their last-place standing, worse than all 121 others considered.

Yes, the Leafs have high ticket prices, but the worst sports franchise is one that has cheap tickets and can't sell them. Yes, the Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967, but they won a few before that. The worst sports franchise has never won anything and has very few fans.

The Leafs might have more than they deserve, but they are a popular team nonetheless. They play in an arena that's pretty quiet on many nights, but it's a nice building. The Leafs' uniforms are classy and come with no ridiculous "third" versions. Mike Babcock preferred the Leafs to Detroit, Lou Lamoriello chose to leave New Jersey and Brendan Shanahan departed an important job with the NHL. Okay, all for lots of money. The Leafs have lots of money. The worst teams go broke.

I began a broadcasting career in the Toronto market in 1968, the year after the Leafs' last Stanley Cup win. So I have spent close to 50 years "ripping" the Leafs, as some would put it. But I have never thought I was talking about the worst franchise in professional sports. I should have taken my own earlier advice and ignored the ESPN insult as if it were written by Harold Reynolds.

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