The only problem with none of the division series going five games is there are two dead days before any baseball. The National League Championship Series starts Friday night.

It might be appropriate, or maybe it’s sadistic, to bring up an article on ESPN.com right now. It was written before this season but they are posting it again.

It lists the most miserable fan bases in pro sports, from all four major sports. And like everything else in sports, it’s based on analytical number crunching. The criteria is a bit far-fetched but no more inexact than, say, the WAR stat, which, as everyone knows, stands for Worthless Ass Research.

They developed a five-point rating scale, unscientific as it is. Points are based on:

1: Recency of your last championship. If it’s over 25 years since your team last won, it’s as if it hasn’t won.

2: Playoff berths. You can’t win a championship if you don’t make the playoffs. So if your team is constantly in but doesn’t win, you score more misery points.

3: Playoff wins. As they say, seeing your team go one-and-done year after year is more painful than if it never made it at all. Dallas-area sports fans know that too well.

4: Heartbreaks. Think being one strike away. Twice.

5: Your rival: The more your rival wins, the higher your misery score.

Of course, you know where this is leading. All roads to misery run through Arlington, Texas.

Out of 123 total teams in MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA, with 123 being the most content fans (that being New England Patriots afficiandos), fans of the Texas Rangers are the 27th most miserable fan base, right behind the Miami Marlins, who have won two World Series but have chosen to persecute their fans for that. Unlike the Rangers who are punishing their fans for not having experienced a single World Series victory.

The number-one most miserable fan base in all of sports is the Sacramento Kings. The most miserable in baseball, coming in at number two overall, are San Diego Padres fans.

The Milwaukee Brewers are sixth but this was written before the season started.

The White Sox are at number seven overall. We think we have it bad with the Rangers, the White Sox were one of the original sixteen teams in all of baseball. They have played 115 seasons. They have been to the post season just nine times, once going  38 seasons between playoff appearances. They did win it all three times, though, as recently as 2005 (the other two in 1906 and 1917). Nine playoff appearances in 115 years. Three Worlds Championships. All in all, I would much rather be a Rangers fan.

Cincinnati Reds fans are eighth most miserable in all of sports. Seattle Mariners, 17. Colorado Rockies, 18. Baltimore Orioles, 23. Then the Marlins and the Rangers.

According to the misery ranking, Rangers are the ninth most miserable MLB team to follow. With no relief in site.

Misery loves company. Thanks for coming here every day.

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NO GAMES TONIGHT.