Sports Illustrated says New York is home to some of the best — and worst — owners in sports.
SI.com has ranked the five best and worst owners in each of the major leagues — NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL — with local teams appearing five times.
Among the best:
Giants owners the Mara and Tisch families, No. 3 in the NFL.
Yankees owners the Steinbrenner family, No. 4 in MLB.
Devils owner Jeffrey Vanderbeek, No. 2 in the NHL.
Among the worst:
Knicks owners Cablevision/James Dolan, second worst in the NBA.
Islanders owner Charles Wang, third worst in the NHL.
Not included on either list are the Mets (Wilpon family), Jets (Woody Johnson), Nets (Bruce Ratner) and Rangers (Cablevision/Dolan).
The Yankees were ranked behind No. 1, Red Sox owners John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino.
Of the Yankees, SI.com writes, “Even though it’s been nine years since they last won a World Series, the family’s devotion to improving the team in any way possible is beyond a doubt — no matter the cost. You may not like them, but admit it — you’re envious.”
The Giants are now run by John Mara and Steve Tisch, sons of Wellington Mara and John Tisch.
“The heirs did their fathers proud in continuing the family tradition of class and success, even if they had to make bold moves to do so,” SI.com writes.
The Rooney family, owners of the Steelers, were No. 1, followed by Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Vanderbeek, who bought the Devils in 2000 then left Lehman Brothers to run the team full-time in 2004, got the highest mark among local teams.
“His former firm has collapsed while his team continues to be one of the best-run, most successful in the NHL,” SI.com says.
On the down side, James Dolan is cited for “subterfuging” both the Knicks and Rangers as Cablevision chairman.
“The Knicks have been particularly bad, with eight straight seasons of less than 40 wins and one playoff appearance,” the Web site says. “Most embarrassing was Dolan’s stubborn loyalty to Isiah Thomas.”
Only Clippers owner Donald Sterling was called worse.
Wang recently admitted he regrets buying the Islanders. According to SI, so should their fans.
“His impulsive, management-by-committee style has the team in a perpetual rebuilding mode,” it says.