You would think ESPN the Magazine's 2015 Ultimate Standings couldn't come out at a worse time for a couple of Detroit's sports franchises.
But fortunately for, say, the Tigers and Lions, the fan polling that decides much of the standings was conducted before the Tigers threw in the towel at baseball's trade deadline and way before the Lions started 0-5.
So three Detroit teams actually improved in this year's ranking of the 122 teams in North America's four major sports leagues, and the Tigers only slipped nine spots, to No. 46.
The Red Wings are Detroit's highest-ranked team, at No.