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In 2016, the NBA rankings show just how important winning is to a fanbase. The Cavs, up 97 spots from two years ago, come in at second to the list -- behind only those perennial winners in San Antonio. The Raptors, Pistons and Hornets, too, made some of 2016s biggest jumps after unexpected success this season. Meanwhile, on the other end, theres, well...the Knicks. The Suns. The Kings. Fanbases who are tired of paying a lot to win a little. A Cavs-esque jump might be impossible for those teams (unless LeBron James is looking to move?), but who knows what can happen with a title?1. San Antonio Spurs (2 overall)The San Antonio Spurs inched down a spot to No. 2 in the Ultimate Standings after capturing a franchise-record 67 victories, which included an impressive 40-1 record at home. Not much kept them from a third-straight standings win -- after all, theyre the best in sports in ownership, coaching and players -- but perhaps a disappointing Western Conference defeat to the Thunder had something to do with it. -- Michael C. Wright READ MORE2. Cleveland Cavaliers (13 overall)The Cavaliers broke their citys 50-plus year championship curse to rise in the rankings to ... No. 13?! There always has to be something unlucky about Cleveland, doesnt there? Triskaidekaphobia aside, LeBron James & Co.s epic comeback against the Golden State Warriors to capture the Larry OBrien Trophy rightfully has this group up 31 spots in our standings, knocking on the door for consideration as a top-10 franchise in sports. -- Dave McMenamin READ MORE3. Memphis Grizzlies (14 overall)Let Memphis-born legend Ric Flair sum up this past season for Grizz fans: WOOOOO!!! Despite a deluge of trades and injuries, Memphis, against all odds, still managed to snag their sixth straight playoff appearance. That same charmed existence continued in our standings. The Grizzlies once again stayed close to the top by tag-teaming an affordable product with a roster that just refuses to quit. -- Morty Ain READ MORE4. Dallas Mavericks (24 overall)The Mavericks havent managed to get out of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs since they won the 2011 NBA title, but Mark Cubans franchise continues to fare well in these standings. Only the Spurs, Cavaliers and Grizzlies rank higher among NBA teams. -- Tim MacMahon READ MORE5. Oklahoma City Thunder (25 overall)The Thunder have spent the past eight years in Oklahoma City establishing themselves as a model small market operation and building a consistent winner that has competed for championships for the past half-decade. Then everything blew up on July 4, and that left the Thunder to face a future without their biggest star. -- Royce Young READ MORE6. Charlotte Hornets (27 overall)The buzz is officially back. In the second season since they reclaimed their bug-eyed identity from New Orleans, the Hornets finished with the highest win total (48) since pro basketball returned to Charlotte more than a decade ago. Their playoff run lasted but one round, but the future remains bright, and the teams jump of 56 spots from last year was the second-largest in sports. -- Justin Verrier READ MORE7. Boston Celtics (28 overall)Under the guidance of coach Brad Stevens, the Celtics continue to trend upward, both on the court and in the Ultimate Standings. On the strength of their roster and fan relations showings, Boston leaped 29 spots in this years poll. -- Chris Forsberg READ MORE8. Atlanta Hawks (30 overall)Coach Mike Budenholzer, a Gregg Popovich disciple, has remade Atlanta on the court. Now the Hawks new ownership group, led by Anthony Ressler and including Grant Hill, is attempting to rebrand the franchise off the floor. Poor attendance and organizational unrest have been staples, but with an arena renovation set in the center of the citys downtown renaissance, the Hawks are hoping to maintain all-around excellence. You know, just like the Spurs. -- Anthony Olivieri READ MORE9. Detroit Pistons (31 overall) It took a while (try seven years,) but Detroit finally revved up its engines in the playoffs. If you want to know what a hungry fan base looks like, just take a gander at the Pistons 53-spot pole vault from last year. This team is armed with the NBAs Next Big Thing and one of the leagues youngest nuclei, and you get the sense that fans know their journey is just getting started. -- Morty Ain READ MORE10. Golden State Warriors (33 overall)The Golden State Warriors lost a 3-1 lead in the Finals and have fallen down in our rankings. How, oh how, will they ever console themselves? Something tells us theyll find a way. -- Ethan Sherwood Strauss READ MORE11. Indiana Pacers (36 overall)The Pacers enter their 50th anniversary season with a lot to celebrate. Paul George is back to staking his claim as one of the NBAs top five players, with his horrific injury now a distant memory. This offseason, team brass orchestrated one of the leagues most impressive roster overhauls by snagging Jeff Teague, Al Jefferson and Thaddeus Young. But according to these rankings -- the Pacers are down 23 spots -- Indy backers werent digging all of Larry Birds moves. -- Morty Ain READ MORE12. Utah Jazz (43 overall)Utah must have liked improving by 28 spots from last years franchise rankings. This year, however, was a reminder of how far the Jazz have to go: They finished third in the Northwest Division, missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year and fell three spots in these rankings. -- Sean Morrison READ MORE 13. Portland Trail Blazers (46 overall)Portlands first year without LaMarcus Aldridge went better than expected. Led by the dynamic backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, the Blazers made the playoffs and even won a game against the Warriors in the conference semifinals (no easy feat!). They also landed in the NBAs top 10 in average attendance for the ninth straight season. The young Blazers are hoping for a fourth straight playoff appearance this season, but this one wont be a surprise. -- Anthony Olivieri READ MORE14. Toronto Raptors (52 overall)The Raptors are coming off their finest season in franchise history. They won a franchise-record 56 games during the regular season, advanced past the first round for the first time in 15 years and reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time ever. What do they do for an encore? Jump another 42 spots in these standings -- and reach the top half for the first time since 2008. -- Mike Mazzeo READ MORE15. Miami Heat (53 overall)This Heat season isnt just the official end of the short-lived, high-intensity Big Three era. Its a whole new world. Dwyane Wade, who immediately made Miami relevant again and won three titles in 13 years, is gone. He was Miamis Kobe Bryant (without the final Kobe contract that wouldve kept him in Miami). Now this team is in the dreaded rebuilding mode, one of Rileys least favorite terms, but theres a lot of young potential on board. -- Israel Gutierrez READ MORE16. New Orleans Pelicans (66 overall)It was all good just a year ago. The Pelicans jumped 41 spots in these rankings after their first winning season in the Anthony Davis era, and that 45-win season seemed to foretell great things for the team and its leading man. Alas, an encore with more starting lineups (42) than wins (30) pushed the Pels back to the bottom half. -- Justin Verrier READ MORE17. Orlando Magic (65 overall)Oh, what a difference a half-decade makes. Way back in 2011, the Magic were perennial playoff-makers (six straight appearances in all, starting in the 2006-07 season), coached by Stan Van Gundy and ranked a lofty 16th overall in these very Ultimate Standings. Five years, four postseason-less campaigns and four head coaches later? Theyre mired in the muck of mediocrity, a disheartening 49 spots lower (No. 65 overall), with no top-50 rankings to their name, besides affordability and stadium experience. Where, oh where, has the magic gone? -- Hallie Grossman READ MORE 18. LA Clippers (69 overall)Was it just a dream? The halo surrounding Steve Ballmers acquisition in 2014 seems to have worn off. After the Clippers enjoyed an all-time high ranking last year (No. 42), L.A. has slid in almost every category, as an ill-conceived branding update foreshadowed a season of injury, disappointment and yet another early playoff exit. -- Andrew Han READ MORE 19. Milwaukee Bucks (72 overall)Last year, it all seemed to be going well for the Bucks after an impressive, 55-spot jump in these standings. But just when we thought it was headed for the top half, the team slipped back into old habits and dropped seven spots from last year. Under head coach Jason Kidd, the teams future remains cloudy, but the leadership on the team will have to step up if the Bucks want to compete against the best NBA franchises. -- Charlotte Gibson READ MORE20. Minnesota Timberwolves (79 overall)Its hard to imagine a worse 27-year start for a franchise. Eight playoff appearances with seven first-round exits; 14 seasons with 30 or fewer wins; 11 coaches; 20 lottery picks, with 10 top-five picks; Kevin McHale and David Kahn; signing decent players to unwarranted, illegal, long-term deals on napkins ... and signing inept players to legal, long-term deals on regular paper. For the better part of the past three decades, to cheer for the Wolves has been to chuckle at -- or disregard -- top-to-bottom, franchise-wide dysfunction. Until now! For the first time in franchise history, theres a new, non-provincial country club in town -- and more young talent on this roster than at any time in the teams history. -- Ross Marrinson READ MORE21. Houston Rockets (80 overall)At the beginning of last season, expectations were high for the Rockets players and fans, after the team made the Western Conference finals in 2015. But an 0-3 start and the firing of coach Kevin McHale 11 games into the season led to a downward spiral. In the end, the off-court drama between James Harden and Dwight Howard got more play than the on-court product. The Rockets were a mess the entire season, and they dropped 45 spots in these standings. -- Calvin Watkins READ MORE22. Washington Wizards (93 overall)A notable increase in prices, major drop-off in performance and lack of talent acquisition dropped the Wizards 30 spots in this years rankings. Improvements might be on the way, but right now, the Wizards are trending downward -- even in their best areas. -- Sean Morrison READ MORE23. Chicago Bulls (97 overall)The Bulls were one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA last season, given the expectations they had coming into the year, so their slide in the overall standings (down 31 spots, near the triple digits) should come as no surprise. Bulls management believed this team could be a title contender, but a combination of injuries and disappointing play was too much for new coach Fred Hoiberg to overcome in a rocky first season. -- Nick Friedell READ MORE 24. Denver Nuggets (101 overall)In 2013, George Karl was let go by the Nuggets after 57 wins and an NBA Coach of the Year award. Denver has not won more than 36 games in the three seasons since. Gone are Ty Lawson and Andre Iguodala, staples under Karl. Long gone is Carmelo Anthony, who was traded during the 2010-11 campaign after six first-round playoff exits in seven full seasons in the Mile High City. Man, even the first round sounds pretty good right about now, doesnt it? -- Anthony Olivieri READ MORE 25. Philadelphia 76ers (102 overall)HBut ... they trusted the process?! Third time wasnt the charm for Sam Hinkie, Philadelphias ill-fated general manager, who, after three seasons spent hoarding draft assets (and losses), resigned from his post in a blaze of 13-page-memo glory in April. As it turns out, 15 wins a season does not a happy front office -- or fan base -- make. Oh, sure, 76ers fans sent their beleaguered GM off on a wave of Thank you, Hinkie! chants after the team landed the No. 1 overall draft pick. But even the glow of Ben Simmons wasnt enough to rescue the Sixers from the Ultimate Standings gutter, where they ranked sub-90 one, two, three, four, five, SIX times. Team of the year! --Hallie Grossman READ MORE 26. Los Angeles Lakers (109 overall)Coming off their worst season in franchise history and after missing the playoffs three straight seasons, is it any wonder the rebuilding Lakers continue their Ultimate Standings slide? The (somewhat) bright side: Kobe Bryant and Byron Scott are out, which gives Luke Walton and the Lakers kids a chance to start anew. -- Baxter Holmes READ MORE 27. Brooklyn Nets (110 overall)Just how bad are things in Brooklyn? The Nets are preaching progress this season -- not wins. Hey, at least new GM Sean Marks and first-year coach Kenny Atkinson are being realistic about the uphill battle the franchise faces on the heels of a 21-61 finish in 2015-16. -- Mike Mazzeo READ MORE28. Sacramento Kings (113 overall)The Kings have not been to the playoffs since 2006, when now-VP of player personnel Peja Stojakovic was still a player. Since Rick Adelman was let go after a playoff loss that year, Sacramento has gone through eight head coaches; the ninth, Dave Joerger, will be on the sideline this season. The lack of stability has permeated the franchise, even more so since Vivek Ranadive bought a majority share in the club in 2013. The Kings have a lack of direction -- except, that is, in our rankings, in which theyve headed to the bottom. -- Anthony Olivieri READ MORE29. New York Knicks (114 overall)Voters in the 2016 Ultimate Standings dont appear to have much faith in Phil Jackson, whose Knicks remain in the bottom 10 of all teams. New York did move up seven spots this year, after a 32-win campaign in 2015-16, Jacksons second full season as team president, but itll take a lot more Ws than that to make up for those ticket prices. -- Ian Begley READ MORE30. Phoenix Suns (120 overall)The Suns fell 13 spots on our list and now are the lowest-ranked team in the NBA. This squad ranks 100th or worse in all but one category: affordability. In that, it is ranked No. 98. Thats ... encouraging? The roster isnt good, and ownership is worse. Put it this way: The Suns havent made the playoffs since a surprise trip to the conference finals in 2010, Alvin Gentrys first season. Gentry is gone, and Phoenix is on its third head coach since. Ouch. -- Anthony Olivieri READ MORETytus Howard Texans Jersey . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. Kahale Warring Texans Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. http://www.officialhoustontexanspro.com/Donta-foreman-texans-jersey/ . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Houston Texans Jerseys . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Andre Johnson Texans Jersey . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.Maybe Id had a bad week (I had). Maybe I was hungover. Maybe Im emotionally fragile (no maybe about it). Or maybe it was simply this colourless corner of Londons greenbelt getting under my skin. Whatever. Out there at the crease, it felt more like I was kicking around the fag-end spillover of a provincial nightclub than a cricket match on a sunlit Saturday. And I felt it.We were winning the game. I was a few not-out. It wasnt especially tense - they hadnt got enough, and their failure to do so had left a sour taste in the air. Throughout the course of tea, their No. 4 whinged on loudly about his dismissal, which had clearly carried to second slip (I was at first). But this is second XI cricket, where a neutral umpire is a rare treat, and so theres a vacuum. And, in effect, this bloke was filling it with slurs about an oppo players probity. But thats OK, right? Because its all part of the game.Wed had a little wobble, so I was trying to bat my age and see us home. When they saw I was on the block, they crowded me. The skipper, some portly defeat in a tattered cap, announced he was getting right under his nose. And then it started. The yob cacophony.I know I should brush it off. Just a bit of banter. Come on fella, its just a laugh! And look, when the games over its a different story! Alls well that ends… with a limp handshake and a swift half before buggering off.Hes gotta be the most boring man in Essex! was the only line in amongst the standard rubbish vaguely worthy of a smile (not least for its dramatic irony), so I offered one. Because its only a game, right? And yet, as I studiously prodded the pitch between overs, I couldnt help thinking that the scavenging around the joke by the rest of his team for the next half an hour had rather undermined the bravura precision with which it was delivered in the first place.And that was my problem: I couldnt help thinking. Finally, with just a few needed: Six or gay, mate! Six or gay! A few balls later, I drove a boundary. Two to win. Next ball I ran down the pitch and skewed it straight to cover. They went berserk. Oooooooh, said mid-off as he skipped past me. Can I have your number?I didnt give it to him.A few weeks later, in the same league, our opening batsman - an old-fashioned walker - played and missed at a young bowler, whose appeal was turned down by the onfield umpire, who himself had been batting just an hour ago. The bowler gave the usual histrionics - head in hands, turf-kicking, chuntering - and went back to his mark. Very next ball, big nick, and our man walks off. The bowler turns to the umpire and spews a volley of abuse. Our umpire, not unreasonably, tells him where to stick it. It then takes five men - including two of ours, both of whom ran on to the pitch - to restrain the bowler, whod lost it completely, from kicking off there and then. Their captain was full of apologies, but the bowler, even at the end of play, remained unrepentant. In his eyes, it was all fair game.****Ive played cricket for most of my life. I love its spirit and I believe in it. Im not about to pretend that its all cress sandwiches, ice and a slice, and clapping the batsman for managing to walk to the wicket. Most teams round our way have got a couple of bigmouths who can turn the whitest air blue, and spend large portions of their Saturday afternoons seeking to do precisely that. I know ours does. Hell, even my workplace does. You know the sort - the bantz-merchants, team geezers, the chieftains of chirp. Its sometimes delivered with a smile but not always, and who cares if it hits the spot or not? The sole point is to create tension, turn the atmosphere uglier, unsettle the opponent and win the day.These are austere times for sports participation. Its a battle out there - for central funding, schools commitment and next-generation engagement. In this regard, cricket is no different.Yet in other regards… The game still means something. And how many sports can truly lay claim to that? So what about the kids who retreat from this great idea because the edges are too sharp? Or the veterans, fed up with being insulted all afternoon on their only day off? The umpires, walking off halfway through an innings and heading straight for their car, their old off-white robes of once-unimpeachable authority fluttering in the wind, as happened in our league this season? And what of the sideline pundits - invariably parents - whove never made a single mistake in their lives, vocally refusing to accept the scandalous notion that others have, and do?Second XI club cricket seems to hold a specific antipathy towards a good, fair game, says Jamie Mann, captain of the twos at Walton-on-Thames CC. All-too-common suspect club umpires, egotistical middle-aged men and testosterone-filled blokes who hhavent become the cricketers they had hoped to be, all help push that line where behaviour becomes hostile and unnecessary more often than most would like.ddddddddddddYou wouldnt think the question Any chance hell use the bat? would lead to the offer of substituting leather and willow for fisticuffs in the car park, but it happens, and it happens a lot.Just as neutral umpires help keep the peace, so their absence leaves a hole. The lower down the levels, the fewer paid-for umpires, and that brings its own problems. But Nick Cousins, senior executive officer at the ECBs Association of Cricket Officials (ACO), is concerned that the higher levels are being affected too. Subjectively, I think there are two negatives. One is players who would in the past have come into umpiring now saying, I dont want any of that, thank you very much. I dont want to be abused on a Saturday afternoon. And the second one, where undoubtedly existing umpires walk away from the game, certainly at Premier League and top-level recreational cricket, because they no longer enjoy their afternoons.Steve Vear, chairman of the Southern Premier League Disciplinary Committee, agrees. Sometimes what umpires are expected to put up with, in terms of poor player behaviour, can get too much. He says that educating players is the key to protecting crickets distinctive reputation. We had one example of an ex-pro, who didnt know swearing on the field of play was actually cited as illegal in the leagues code of conduct. The younger generation are often less adept at expressing their disappointment towards an umpires decision in alternative ways than to get themselves in trouble by showing dissent.If we try and pretend that the attitudes of players have not changed, then I think were deluding ourselves, says Cousins. I tend to get a bit defensive because I think its not just a problem for cricket or cricket officials. Its more of a societal issue where youre no longer conditioned to do as youre told by teachers, police, anybody in authority, including officials.And then you add into that the quite brilliant methodologies by which we can now check decisions on the big screens in major games, and you put that together and you have a rather pungent mix, which means that if an umpire gives you out on a Saturday afternoon, you dont just put your bat under your arm and walk off anymore. You give them a stare, or if you think youve hit it you point your bat at them.So is the game becoming a little less attractive for the way some of its players and watchers choose to conduct themselves? Last year there were five games abandoned because there was fighting on the field of play. Now, on the one hand you can say thats five games from many thousands. On the other, you can say its five more than we had five years ago. The idea that youd have a game abandoned because of fighting was once unheard of. And in each of those games the umpires cant do anything. Theyve got no onfield authority to send people off. Thats why we at the ACO fully support and endorse the MCCs proposal to give the onfield umpire full authority to actually deal with this behaviour.The MCCs proposals would give umpires the power to send players off for stepping out of line. We may lament the times we live in, writes Scyld Berry in the Telegraph, and the erosion of respect for authority in society as a whole. But the MCC, as guardian of the games spirit and laws, has to do something to arrest the quantifiable increases in physical violence on the field. There are obvious procedural problems here. What would have happened in our game, say, if our non-independent umpire had attempted to send off the very bowler who was giving him verbals? And should he, as a stand-in doing his 10-over stint, even be allowed to do so? As ever, the captains must show the way. The hope is that having a deterrent in place would safeguard against it kicking off at all. Im a 22-year-old skipper, says Mann, and I play cricket with my mates. But if one of my lads is completely out of order on the field, then Id happily send him off. The integrity of the game is far more important than potentially losing out on a pint from a teammate on a Saturday night.Crickets always reflected the times. I get that. Its unrealistic to hope that the game be an island. But those stolen Saturdays spent running after cricket balls and praying for an early finish are precious, and perhaps more precious than ever. One reason for crickets enduring grandeur lies in the steaming piles of grimness off the field. So lets not be reminded of it until Monday morning at least.Thed of it until Monday morning at least.This a