TOP TEN- 10-30-06

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

1. St. Louis Cardinals- So they only won 83 regular season games. So their World Series win over Detroit was one of the least-watched finales in history. So the Cards live in America’s most dangerous city. At least they had a bomb parade!
2. Chicago Bears- They’re winning ugly (unforgettable victory over Arizona) and they’re winning pretty (41 first-half pts vs 49ers). They’re win over Miami this coming weekend might offer a lil’ of both.
3. Ohio State- Every week Troy Smith is looking like some ridiculous semblance of Michael Vick and Vince Young. Illinois and Northwestern are the QB’s final dress rehearsals before the showdown with #4 on this list.
4. Michigan- Ball State and Indiana are the only potential stumbling blocks –if you wanna call them that- to one of the most-anticipated regular-season football games in decades.
5. West Virginia- So much has been said about the OSU/Michigan game that this Saturday’s West Virginia/Louisville clash has gone mostly undetected. Winner gets on EVERYONE’s radar.
6. Indianapolis Colts- Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne are an unbelievable trio. We’ll see just how good they are after they’ve tackled the threesome of New England, Dallas and Philly over the next month.
7. Miami Heat- The NBA season tips off this week with these defending champs taking on the East’s new beast, the Ben Wallace-led Chicago Bulls.
8. Buffalo Sabres- These Stanley Cup runner-ups (10-0-1) seem to be all about finishing what they couldn’t last year.
9. Atlanta Thrashers- The Ice Birds’ 8-1-3 start is the best in the franchise’s history. Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa are certainly the best two players in franchise history.
10. Atlanta Falcons- Michael Vick, the passer. Has a nice ring to it? Always has. Just folks are finally taking the time to notice.

Almost Made The Cut: Anaheim Mighty Ducks (8-0-3), Florida Gators b-ball (unanimous preseason #1), MLB free agents Alfonso Soriano, Jason Schmidt, Nomar Garciaparra and Frank Thomas (show me the money!)

Three WORST: Bowling Green (lost to Temple, ending its 20-game losing streak), Arizona Cardinals (bye week couldn’t come soon enough for 1-7 stinker), Detroit Tigers (let down millions, including NS, on the biggest stage)