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The 10 least powerful people in sports

New manager Bo Porter faces the task of leading an Astros team that could have a historically bad year.

New manager Bo Porter faces the task of leading an Astros team that could have a historically bad year.

Power has been immortalized in movies (Austin Powers), music (Fight The Power) and certainly in prose (Proclaimed Lord Acton: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."). But what of a lack of power? Throughout the week on SI.com and in the pages of Sports Illustrated, the power that runs sports has been highlighted in list form. We've also examined the physical power such as the NFL's 25 greatest power backs of all time. This list, of course, features none of that. Here we celebrate those with a lack of power, despite their lofty titles and positions:

1 Bo Porter, Houston Astros manager: You are a rookie manager for what could be a historically bad team with a front office hell bent to run the team through analytics. Good luck.

2. NCAA investigator: They have no formal role in the legal system and no subpoena power. What they do have of late is a trail of spectacular bad PR after violating many of its own procedures during the University of Miami investigation. If offenders don't outright admit their crimes, NCAA investigators are cooked. Self-reporting is more effective.

3. Chelsea manager: Under impetuous owner/billionaire Roman Abramovich, the Premier League club has had nine managers since 2004. Current interim headman Rafa Benitez lacks backing from the board and support in the dressing room, and his relationship with fans at Stamford Bridge has reached DEFCON 1.

4. Any man who runs the 100m in the Olympics and isn't Usain Bolt: He has six gold medals in sprinting, and will not turn 30 until the final day of the Rio Olympics.

5. UFC Fighters: What do professional football, basketball, baseball and hockey players have that MMA athletes lack? A professional union. Sure, the top UFC fighters earn millions of dollars, but most fighters have no control over who they fight, when they fight, and what they will earn. As for long-term compensation and healthcare, it falls on the fighter or his or her management.

6. Lance Armstrong's public relations team: "Can we interest your publication in a human-interest feature about our client? He's been on Oprah."

7. Boxing fans: Despite paying-through-the nose prices for pay-per-view events, this loyal group never seems to get what it wants. The wait for Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao continues. Perhaps they'll fight on an AARP card.

8. Ryan Mallett, Patriots quarterback: You are backing up Tom Brady, who has guaranteed money through age 40 and is beloved by a region.

9. Garth Snow, Islanders general manager: Snow works for an owner who has been losing millions for years and running his organization on the cheap with a lousy deal on an outdated, 41-year-old arena. Top free agents don't want to play in Long Island for the perennially struggling Isles, so Snow must scavenge for veteran talent to augment the team's young core.

10. Alabama assistant football coach: Nick Saban is the only coach in the SEC -- and one of the few in the nation -- who does not allow his assistants to talk to the media. Of course, power can change in an instant and few football programs better launch assistants into powerful positions elsewhere.