10 Biggest Villains on the Miami Sports Scene

LeBron James, Ozzie Guillen, Jeff Fisher, Brandon Marshall and Jeff Ireland are just a few of the villains that take up the scene on South Beach. These athletes and coaches may irk people with their personalities, playing style or past history.

Miami has historically attracted diverse characters when it comes to its sports teams. Of which, not all of them have exactly been fan favorites.

Whether being villains within South Florida or abroad, Miami contains several people who rub people the wrong way.

Miami Marlins: Carlos Zambrano

The loud-mouthed Carlos Zambrano has followed Ozzie Guillen from Chicago to the warmth of Miami. Zambrano has a laundry list of incidents where he fell of his rocker and lost it in the dugout or clubhouse.

The Miami Marlins have made it clear what their intentions are for their ball club by dealing for the out-of-touch pitcher. Miami has decided that with its new logo and stadium that it want to cater to Miami's Hispanic population to drive up attendance.

The question is whether Zambrano can do more good than bad for the Marlins this upcoming season. His short-tempered tantrums and negative persona could be a cancer for a Miami team that looks to be formidable for the 2012 season.

Even the Miami Herald thinks the same thing. The paper called him a "distraction" and said he could turn a clubhouse into an "unpleasant" place to be.

For a team that needs to win games and fill seats to help pay for their new ballpark, Zambrano could be the villain on the Miami Marlins roster in 2012.

Miami Dolphins: Brandon Marshall

The Miami Dolphins signed Brandon Marshall with the hopes that he could be the Pro Bowl wide receiver they've been lacking. Their big name acquisition had a terrible start to the 2011 regular season and quickly irked the Dolphins fanbase with his slow start.

Marshall seemed to drop passes left and right for the Dolphins in the first half of the season. His drops included sure touchdowns and definitely contributed to Miami's 0-7 start to the season.

His brick hands syndrome let the thoughts of another wide receiver bust creep into the minds of the Miami fanbase. However, Marshall did turn it around in the second half.

He ended the season with 81 receptions and 1,214 receiving yards to make amends for his wretched start.

If Marshall can match his production in the second half of 2011 for an entire season, the wide receiver will become an opposing team's nightmare with his athletic, physical receiving style.

Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade

Not all the athletes on this list are villains in Miami. This guy, being one of them.

Dwyane Wade is Miami's favorite son. It's probably safe to say that D-Wade remains Miami's favorite pro athlete despite the addition of his all-star counterparts.

That said, he continues to terrorize opposing players, coaches and teams throughout the NBA.

"Flash" has a silky smooth style about him when slashing to the lane. His ability to finish around the rim, play suffocating defense and game refs into blowing the whistle is what makes Wade so dangerous.

The Miami Heat continue to sell out arenas throughout the country in rock-star-like fashion. D-Wade continues to be one of the focal points of opposing fans' ire.

But if you're in South Florida, you're glad you don't have to face him and that he stayed in Miami.

Miami Dolphins: Jeff Ireland

If you're not sure who Jeff Ireland is or what people in Miami think of the man, that picture should help fill in the dots. Ireland is the Miami Dolphins GM, and Dolphins fans cannot stand him.

The Dolphins have made mistake after mistake choosing the right personnel, coaches and anything else that goes under Ireland's job description.

Ireland has yet to draft or pull the trigger on a trade that would bring in a quarterback the franchise can build around. Instead, he has continued to patch up the position with average (at best) quarterbacks who never get the job done.

Add on to that the Tony Sparano gaffe. I don't think I need to explain that one in great detail.

Now, Ireland will supposedly maintain his position when the Dolphins bring in their next head coach.

This has Miami fans up in arms. With Ireland still intact as the team GM, many fear the big name coaches that Miami desires could be less receptive to the franchise without complete control of football operations.

As far as pro sports goes in Miami, Ireland could easily be enemy No. 1.

Miami Marlins: Hanley Ramirez

Hanley Ramirez has been the butt of some criticism during the offseason for the Miami Marlins. With the franchise picking up shortstop Jose Reyes from the New York Mets, Ramirez had been asked to move to third base. 

Ramirez initially fought the move with his desire to remain at shortstop. Due to his unwillingness to switch positions for the big money acquisition, many throughout baseball figured the disgruntled shortstop would demand to be traded to a team in which he could play his natural position.

Since then, Ramirez has come out saying he will make the move to third base. Maybe with the extra time to put some serious thought into the move allowed Ramirez to see the fruits of such a change.

However, demanding (because that's essentially what they did) that a player move his position for an incoming player does not exactly just leave the mind of a competitive, egocentric athlete.

If things go awry for the Marlins or Ramirez this season, he could end up venting his bottled up frustration in one giant explosion. Ramirez could turn the Miami Marlins into a front-page story for all the wrong reasons this season if he decides enough is enough.

Miami Hurricanes: Nevin Shapiro

I'm pretty sure I don't have to explain this one with too much detail, and I won't.

Nevin Shapiro used his money, toys and substances to befriend countless football players for the University of Miami. His shocking disregard for the program's liability for his actions would turn any Miami Hurricanes fan red.

Shapiro actually thought that a bunch of 18-to-22 and 23-year-old football players were truly his friends. Instead, he quickly found out that a person can be bought, but that does not make them your pal.

The Ponzi scheme that Nevin Shapiro orchestrated collapsed and none of his former buddies came to his rescue while he sat in prison. Shapiro then shared all the illegal violations current and former players committed on his dime in a tell-all interview.

The University of Miami now faces impending repercussions from the NCAA that could see the program lose countless scholarships, huge fines and several other reprimands.

Needless to say, Shapiro will forever be infamous in the lore of Miami sports for his selfish agenda.

Miami Heat: LeBron James

Momma, there's that man again.

LeBron James has been a lightning rod for criticism, angst, praise, argument and much, much more since his move to Miami's American Airlines Arena.

"King James" went through the ringer last season for his move to South Beach, but this season the unanimous villain persona has since been relinquished. James remains one of the NBA's "most hated players" according to fans, but he also has sits as one of the most admired players in the league.

Love him or hate him, every NBA fan has an opinion.

Clearly, people in South Florida and Miami love James. Those poor, miserable Cleveland Cavaliers fans still hate LBJ and probably will continue to let his move rain on their parade for the next decade or two.

In arenas throughout the league, James continues to draw mixed reactions. For some, the 60-minute television special has been forever ingrained in their heads.

Those same people will be the ones booing "King James" in arenas across America as one of their personal basketball villains.

Miami Marlins: Ozzie Guillen

There's no hiding that Miami has strong ties to the Latin and Hispanic communities within and surrounding the city. Hiring Ozzie Guillen as the Florida Marlins helps transition the franchise to their new Miami Marlins name and a new stadium just outside of Little Havana.

Guillen seems to be the ideal coach for the new look Marlins. His fiery managerial style should spark the interest of Miami sports fans throughout the area.

The problem with Guillen is his propensity to take things a little overboard. He won't have to deal with the type of media that spurred him constantly in Chicago. Instead, Guillen will have to get used to a fanbase that only shows up when the franchise fields a winning product.

How Ozzie Guillen handles the different type of fanbase that is Miami remains to be seen.

I do, however, think Guillen should thrive in Miami. With less attention on every move he makes, his managerial style could become a little more relaxed.

Whether Guillen succeeds is not why he made this list.

He simply does not sit well with many baseball fans, managers and league personnel. His spit-from-the-mouth style has rubbed a few people the wrong way over the years, and he'll be given a new platform to continue doing just that in Miami.

Miami Dolphins: Stephen Ross

The Miami Dolphins owner could be enemy No. 1 in Miami if he doesn't handle the team's current coaching situation properly.

To me, it's cut and dry with Stephen Ross.

Hire the right coach and his image can be rejuvenated. Hire the wrong coach and he becomes the target of fed up Dolphins fans.

Miami Dolphins

Clearly, you can see a trend with this slideshow. The Miami Dolphins have been the most incredulous team in Miami during the past 15 years.

This offseason remains a huge transition period for the franchise. It has the chance to lockup a solid, proven head coach that can change the organization's direction and turn them into a contender.

The big question still remains in whether any of the "big name" coaches that owner Stephen Ross is targeting can be convinced that the Dolphins are a franchise worth taking a risk on. After all, most assume they will be seemingly playing for second place.

Bill Parcells showed what the franchise was capable of with the reigns in the right hands. However, with fans wanting a proven winner like Jeff Fisher or Bill Cowher, the Dolphins must deliver one of them.

They fumbled the Jim Harbaugh situation a year ago and cannot afford a repeat.

Justin Sparks is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report @JustinSparks22