Jazz ranked 11th-most successful professional sports franchise News Denver Nuggets

Thirty-five years ago today, the Jazz officially became an NBA franchise. Flash forward and ? according to rankings this week from bizjournals.com, the Web site for American Cities Business Journals ? they're the 11th-most successful team at winning and making money in any of the nation's four major professional sports leagues.

Bizjournals used win-loss records, average margin of victory or defeat, playoff results and attendance figures to help analyze the performances in 2008 of all 122 franchises in the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball. The Jazz just missed out on the top 10, edged out by the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. The Boston Celtics were No. 1 overall, followed by the NFL's New York Giants. The Montreal Canadiens were hockey's top team at No. 4 overall, and Boston was MLB's best at No. 5. The rest of the top 10 included the Los Angeles Lakers (No. 3), the Detroit Pistons (No. 7), the NHL's Detroit Red Wings (No. 8) and MLB's Chicago Cubs (No. 9). The Memphis Grizzlies were the lowest-ranked NBA team at No. 120, with the NFL's Detroit Lions (121) and NHL's New York Islanders (122) bringing up the rear. The Jazz were rewarded for, among other things, going 56-26 and reaching the second round of the NBA playoffs in the calendar year. HE WROTE IT: ESPN NBA analyst and ex-Jazz guard Tim Legler wrote on the network's Web site this week that the Jazz, and not Denver or Portland, are the Northwest Division team with the most legitimate shot at beating the defending Western Conference-champion Lakers in this year's playoffs. Wrote Legler, in part: "When the Jazz are healthy, they compete consistently on defense, which is something you have to do against the Lakers, especially. ... I actually think Utah will catch Denver for first place in the Northwest Division and end up with the 3-seed in the West, thereby avoiding a potential rematch with the Lakers until the West finals. "The Nuggets have the components needed to win (over L.A.), but if I had to point to a weakness, it would be that they can be undisciplined with their shot selection. If you are that way with the Lakers, you are going to get run out of the building." BIG ASSIST: Each time Jazz point guard Deron Williams dishes an assist during remaining Jazz home games this season, and including Friday's late-starting game against the Nuggets, $200 will be donated to REACH, a program aiding low-income elderly and disabled Utah residents with paying their gas bills. The charitable fundraiser is a joint effort by Williams, the Jazz and Questar Gas. DOUBLE-TROUBLE: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, when New Orleans point guard Chris Paul scored 27 and dished 15 assists in the Hornets' win over Dallas on Thursday, it marked the ninth time in the last two seasons that Paul has had at least 25 and 15. Going into Friday's games, only Williams and Miami's Dwyane Wade had also done it multiple times ? each doing it just twice. GOOD COMPANY: Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal turned 37 Friday. Also according to Elias, the only four players in NBA history to have scored more points than O'Neal, who had 27,270, heading into the day of their 37th birthday were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (31,527), Wilt Chamberlain (31,419), retired Jazz star Karl Malone (31,041) and Michael Jordan (29,277). ALUMNI UPDATE: DeShawn Stevenson's season-ending surgery Friday to repair a herniated disc was deemed "successful" by the Washington Wizards, who issued a statement saying the ex-Jazz guard "is expected to make a full recovery ... will begin the rehabilitation process in two weeks ... (and) will be able to resume Basketball activity in 3-to-4 months." E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com