TOP TEN- 8-14-06

Everybody has a Top 10. NS is no different. But rather than focus just on college football or Major League Baseball, we’ve decided to throw every sport –team tennis, cricket, NFL Europe- into the same pool and simply fish out the best athletes/teams each Monday. Let the debating commence…

1. Kimberly Kim- Just 14, “Kim Squared” becomes the youngest U.S. Women’s Amateur champ ever!
2. New York Mets- Their 15-game lead over second-place Philly is wider than two division’s first-to-last place differential.
3. Chicago White Sox- The Detroit Tigers insist White Sox players stole signs this past weekend. Umm, guys, from looking at the Sox’s sweep, it appears y’all have more important things to worry about.
4. New York Yankees- The Angels exposed a few weaknesses over the weekend, but Derek Jeter (.341 batting average!) and Co. will be ready for the BoSox on Thursday.
5. Detroit Tigers- Pudge Rodriguez’ ejection on Sunday may indicate some tension in the Tigers’ locker room. It doesn’t help matters that the Motown Miracles begin the week in Boston.
6. Connecticut Sun- A lot of folk think do-everything Sun guard Katie Douglas is the WNBA MVP. Those who don’t might change their votes once the playoffs begin this week.
7. Boston Red Sox- Talk about an important week: The Sox host ML-leading Detroit (Aug. 14-16) and AL East-leading New York (Aug. 18-20).
8. L.A. Dodgers- Winners of 14 of their last 15, the red-hot Dodgers have not only taken over the cutthroat NL West, but they may have killed rivals San Diego and San Francisco in the process. (For more on the Blue, scroll down)
9. Oakland- This California club gets arguably the least amount of attention, yet they’re –Since 2001, they’re a Major League-best 110-41 in August- arguably doing the best job of them all.
10. U.S. Basketball- Forget the men’s dominance. (Though it’s hard to overlook Carmelo Anthony right now). The attention needs to be on the women’s Under-20 team down in Mexico City. They smashed the Bahamas and Brazil by a combined score of 210-77 over the weekend.

Almost Made The Cut: Roger Federer (won 54^th consecutive match), Junior Seau (retiring after 16 seasons in NFL), Travis Hafner (Cleveland DH has six grand slams)

Three WORST: Bahamian women’s basketball (lost 114-23 to U.S.), Baltimore Orioles (2-8 over last 10), Maurice Clarett (damn…)