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This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Chicago White SoxOverall: 96 Title track: T35 Ownership: 103 Coaching: 122 Players: 90 Fan relations: 116 Affordability: 27 Stadium experience:?91 Bang for the buck: 78 Change from last year: -11This spring, a baseball team in Chicago steamrolled through April and early May, winning at a .697 clip through game No. 33 on the backs of a gleaming sub-3.00 team ERA and a .300-plus OBP. And that team was not the Cubs! OK, it was. But it was also the White Sox, who played like world-beaters for the first five weeks of the season, only to let the world dole out beatings at their expense for the final 21. The Sox finished the year under .500 for the fourth straight time, then said goodbye to Robin Ventura, their all-time best third baseman-turned-beleaguered manager. It was ... not a winning formula in the AL Central (11 games out of the wild card) or the Ultimate Standings. The Sox rank No. 96 overall, the teams lowest ranking since 2004.Whats goodThe expiration date on the White Soxs 2005 World Series-engendered goodwill still looms far off, at least according to Chicagos T35 showing in title track. (When your team lands in the postseason nine times since 1901, a long shelf life makes a sad kind of sense.) Besides championship runs, the Sox logged just one top-50 grade, in affordability. An average White Sox ticket ran fans $29.55, compared to their crosstown rivals $51.33. If you cant beat the Cubs on the field, beat them off of it!Whats badVentura spent a decade on the South Side, where he collected five Gold Gloves and an All-Star berth from 1989-1998. But his success as a player in pinstripes did not translate to success as a skipper in pinstripes. In five seasons at the helm, Ventura won only 46 percent of his games, and this year -- with the organization expected to finally contend for the playoffs after a seven-year absence -- he fell short again, as his team finished 16? games behind the AL Central-leading Indians. Ventura chose to not return to the White Sox, and as a parting gift, the fans gave him a No. 122 ranking in coaching, dead last among all four sports.Whats newWho do the White Sox want to be? Which direction do they want to pursue? Do they go win-now mode and buffer their stable of stars with some high-priced free agents? Or do they burn the house down, offload Chris Sale and Jose Quintana and turn their focus to the farm? Owner Jerry Reinsdorf, at the helm since 1981, doesnt seem to know, and the fans confidence in him has plummeted in turn. Chicago dropped 38 spots in ownership since last year, and Reinsdorfs wishy-washy handling of Venturas departure this fall -- the Sox said theyd bring the manager back next season if he wanted to return -- wont do much to endear him to a restless fan base.Next: New York Yankees | Full rankings Adidas Falcon Mujer Baratas . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Adidas Ultra Boost 19 Baratas . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. http://www.baratasnmd.com/ . 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. Adidas Ultra Boost España . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Adidas NMD R1 Hombre Baratas . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Its a fact: The sharp money has been on the Cleveland Browns all season.Every week, its the same thing, Ed Salmons, assistant manager at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, said Sunday afternoon. Well write a limit bet [on the Browns] by a wiseguy right at the gun.It may be time to question the wisdom of the wiseguys.Cleveland fell to 0-13 on the season with Sundays 23-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns are now a league-worst 2-11 against the spread. The 2008?Detroit Lions, the only team to go 0-16 in a season, went 7-9 ATS during their winless campaign. No team has covered the spread in fewer than three games in a season in the past 20 years.Its hard to be that bad and not cover, Salmons said of the Browns. Because the spreads get so inflated, its really hard not to cover.The Browns are managing to pull it off, and the betting public has rejoiced. Who is playing Cleveland has become a free bingo spot on parlay cards, bookmakers said.On Sunday at William Hills Nevada sportsbook, 85 percent of the money bet on Cincinnati-Cleveland was on the favored Bengals. It doesnt seem to matter what number we hang, the public is going to fade them, a Caesars sportsbook manager said. Honestly, I cant blame them.Action was lopsided toward Cincinnati around Las Vegas. Yet, as kickoff approached, the line began shrinking.Earlier in the week, the Browns grew to as much as 6-point underdogs. On Sunday morning, the line dipped to 4.5, after the routine late sharp action showed up on Cleveland, right before kickoff.We actually won money on the spread on that game, because of the sharp action that was on the Browns, Jason Simbal, vice president for Las Vegas sportsbook operator CG Technology, said. But obviously all the parlays accumulating had Cincinnati.The Westgate took a $10,000 limit bet from a professional player on the Browns +4.5 right before kickoff Sunday. Still, the public money on the Bengals outweighed the amount on Cleveland, leaving the Westgate rooting against the Browns alongside professional bettors.These guys are professionals. They are playing numbers, Sallmons said.ddddddddddddYou want to gamble against the public, but at some point youd like to see a team cover.William Hill is offering odds on whether the Browns will finish 0-16. Yes is currently a -240 favorite.At William Hills 108 Nevada sportsbooks, 93 percent of the bets and 55 percent of the total dollars wagered are on Yes. The book took a $5,400 bet on the No at -900 on Oct. 20. If the Browns win a game, the bet would net $600.The Browns are the only team in the NFL this season to have been an underdog in every game. The SuperBook has installed Cleveland as a 10-point underdog at Buffalo this week.Giants help salvage Sunday for Vegas booksSeveral Las Vegas sportsbooks were down heading into the Sunday night game between the Dallas Cowboys and home underdog New York Giants. The Westgate and South Point sportsbooks said they were in practically no-win situations. Six favorites covered in the early nine-game slate, and the Green Bay Packers, a popular home-underdog pick with bettors, rolled past the Seattle Seahawks in one of the bigger afternoon losses for MGMs sportsbook.The early results left the MGM with a big decision brewing on the NFC East primetime showdown between the Cowboys and Giants. An hour and a half before kickoff, six times as much money had been bet on Dallas as had been bet on New York. If we get Giants, we hold onto the money, Jay Rood, MGM vice president of race and sports, said. If we dont, its going to be pretty much a wash.The Westgate was in a more precarious position heading into the night game, after losing big decisions with the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams in the afternoon.If its Dallas and over, we can lose a ton, SuperBook assistant manager Ed Salmons said. If its Giants and over, we still lose. And if its Giants and under, we win literally next to nothing on the game. So its like you can lose a lot or win hardly anything.The Giants won 10-7 in a low-scoring game that stayed under the total. ' ' '