They can drive us crazy, but as fans we love to root against villians

According to the American Film Institute, the top 5 movie villains of all time are Hanibal Lector, Norman Bates, Darth Vader, the Wicked Witch of the West and good ol' Nurse Rached from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.”

When it comes to the modern era of sports, it's hard to find those kind of villains … or any true villains at all, what with free agency and players bopping from team to team.

Where have you gone Dino Ciccarelli?

But with LeBron James and the surging Miami Heat coming to town Saturday and Chris Pronger and the Philadelphia Flyers visiting the UC the following week, what a perfect time to share our sports list of top villains (one for each team) Chicago fans love to cheer against … and we begin with the King himself.

LeBron James

Basketball fans across the country gathered around their electronic devices, some of which were television sets, last July to watch James announce “The Decision.”

It was edge-of-your-seat time for basketball fans from New Jersey to Los Angeles (Clippers, that is). Around here, Bulls fans were wondering if he'd choose Chicago and join forces with star guard Derrick Rose and form what in theory would be an instant title contender.

And then the hourlong show started and James and host Jim Gray started talking.

And soon we didn't care about his final destination quite as much thanks to exchanges like this:

Gray: “Are you still a nail biter?”

James: “I have a little bit. Not of late.”

Riveting.

Sure he teased Bulls fans for months in the free agent process, but James can't be classified a villain because he chose the Heat over the Bulls. Nah, the Bulls are doing pretty well without him, thank you.

But what really gets us is having lost an hour of our lives watching that dreadful show and having to think about that debacle every time we see a highlight of LBJ.

For that he is a true villain.

Honorable mention: Kevin Garnett

Chris Pronger

He mocked, intimidated and generally messed with everyone ... and that was just on media day before the Stanley Cup Finals.

On the ice in the Finals, the Philadelphia defenseman was a beast — physically and mentally. He went toe-to-toe with guys like Dustin Byfuglien and Ben Eager, he jawed with anyone in the vicinity and he offended some by taking the puck at the end of a game.

Overall, he was just a pain in the you-know-what.

After the Hawks won the Cup, forward Adam Burish was asked what he thought about Pronger, and the outspoken University of Wisconsin product didn't mince words.

“I think Chris Pronger is the biggest idiot in the league,” Burish said, “I can't stand the guy one bit.”

If anyone was ever tailor-made for a villain role it's Pronger, who has missed a number of games recently with an ankle injury, but has been back on the ice skating and might just be in the lineup against the Hawks for Sunday's nationally televised game.

Prepare to boo.

Honorable mention: Commissioner Gary Bettman

Milton Bradley

In one of the most questionable moves of his tenure, general manager Jim Hendry convinced himself that the oft-troubled outfielder would be the perfect remedy for what ailed the Cubs.

Uh, not so much.

In what Sports Illustrated called the worst free agent signing of 2009, Hendry inked Bradley for $30 million over three years. Bradley lasted less than one season with the Cubs.

In his first at bat as a Cub in Wrigley Field, Bradley was tossed for arguing a called third strike ... it went downhill from there.

An interview with the Daily Herald in September in which Bradley was critical of all things Cubs was the last straw. He was suspended for the rest of the season and eventually traded to the Mariners for Carlos Silva.

“I bear the responsibility for that not working out,” Hendry said. “Obviously, in this case, it did not work out how we planned, which was also the reason I sent Milton home. [That's] not going to be tolerated, to treat our fans, teammates and members of the media the way he did.

“It's just time to put it behind us and move forward.”

Honorable mention: Tony LaRussa, LaTroy Hawkins

Brett Favre

Just for the fact that during his tenure with the Packers the Bears went through 8,567 quarterbacks — including Rusty Lisch — qualifies Favre as a villain.

He's worn two NFL jerseys since he left the Packers, but Favre was the guy Bears fans loved to root against, although you have to admit he was kind of a fun villain and he sure spiced up the rivalry with our neighbors to the North.

Depending on which way the winds blow this offseason regarding retirement from the Vikings, Favre was/is 22-12 against the Bears with a 12-5 mark at Soldier Field.

Some other numbers courtesy of Yahoo:

• His 25 career touchdown passes at Soldier Field are the most in any opposing teams' stadium.

• His longest pass play from scrimmage was against the Bears with a 99-yard touchdown pass to Robert Brooks on Sept. 11, 1995.

• His all-time record for completions (36) and yards (402) was at Soldier Field on Dec. 5, 1993.

Favre may not be the prototypical villain, but he sure is/was fun to cheer against.

Honorable mention: Soldier Field sod

Torii Hunter

Was it good old-fashioned baseball or unnecessary roughness?

Either way, Minnesota's Torii Hunter left a mark … on White Sox fans and catcher Jamie Burke back in 2004 when he crashed into Burke on a play at the plate while trying to score on a sacrifice fly.

Burke would go to the hospital with a sore jaw and Sox fans had themselves an instant villain in Hunter.

They weren't the only ones.

“Every time I saw it on television I got madder and madder,” Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle said. “It's one of our guys. Like Ozzie (Guillen) said, it's part of the game and he expects our guys to play the same way. And I know Torii, and he's a good guy. But the angle he went at it and the ball wasn't there yet... It's kind of frustrating when you look at it.”

Hunter, who also frustrated Sox fans many times with spectacular plays in the outfield, pleaded innocence.

“I wasn't trying to hurt him. I was just playing the game like you should play the game,” Hunter said. “I'm not a dirty player. I just go out and have fun and play the game. That's it.”

When Hunter came to the on-deck circle in the ninth of that same game, some fans let him have it.

And 6½ years later some still do. The pain was relived in 2007 when he turned down an offer to play for the White Sox.

Maybe it's time to find another villain, but Bobby Jenks isn't quite ready to fill the void just yet.

Honorable mention: Twitter