Chicks just don’t seem to dig the long ball like they used to.  How else to explain the seeming disregard for A-Rod's soon-to-be entrance into the all-exclusive 600 home run club.  And can we really be blamed?  The fact is, we did care, we really really cared, and we were all dooped.  Taken for a ride by the elusive hand of performance enhancers.   If these milestones are to be at all restored, America needs a masher to believe in again.  Someone to take some of the tarnish off of the four-bagger, to resurrect what was once our most beloved sports achievement.  Truth is, we may never have another truly suspicion-free ballplayer to hit 600, or even 500 for that matter.  But if you’re, like me, grasping at someone to believe in, these ten might not be such terrible options to get behind.  (Note: Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome will most likely be the next up with 575 and 554, respectively.  However, having both come up through the heart of the steroids-era, their prospects for much fanfare are likely to be minimal.) 

1. Albert Pujols (Age 30) 388 home runs to date   
2. Miguel Cabrera (Age 27) 233 home runs to date   
3. Prince Fielder (Age 26) 183 home runs to date   
4. Ryan Howard (Age 30) 244 home runs to date   
5. Adam Dunn (Age 30) 338 home runs to date   
6. Mark Teixeira (Age 30) 260 home runs to date   
7. David Wright (Age 27) 155 home runs to date   
8. Adrian Gonzalez (Age 28) 157 home runs to date     
9. Justin Morneau (Age 29) 181 home runs to date   
10. Ryan Braun (Age 26) 118 home runs to date   

1. James Bond --22 films by 6 Bonds with no end in sight.
2. Star Wars
3. Lord of the Rings
4. The Godfather
5. Indiana Jones
6. Rocky--The series that taught roman numerals to a generation.
7. Harry Potter -- Highest grossing series of all time at $5.4 billion.
8. Terminator
9. The Clint Eastwood Dollars Trilogy--The third installment of "The Man With No Name," The Good, the Bad and the Ugly might be the greatest western ever made.
10. Die Hard
11. The Bourne Trilogy--An untitled fourth film is in the works.  My vote: The Bourne Illtrocity
12. The Hannibal Lector Movies
13. Matrix
14. Spiderman--$2.5 billion grossed so far with #4 slated for 2011 and a Venom spinoff in 2012.
15. Batman (The Shumacher-Keaton Series)
16. Superman
17. X-Men --5 more films have all been given the greenlight, including Deadpool and Magneto spin-offs.
18. Star Trek--The JJ Abrams installment (11th overall) was a huge success, and 2 more are in the works.
19. Alien
20. Back to the Future
21. Lethal Weapon
22. Shrek--$2.1 billion grossed with 3 more in the works.
23. Pirates of the Carribean--One decent movie and two stinkers.  Still, you can't argue with $2.7 billion grossed.
24. Dirty Harry
25. Cheech and Chong
26. Naked Gun--OJ's second greatest acting job.
27. National Lampoon's Vacation
28. Austin Powers
29. Friday the 13th-- 12 films and counting...
30. Beverly Hills Cop
31. Jurassic Park
32. Nightmare on Elm St
33. Halloween-- 10 films and counting...
34. Ocean's Trilogy--The modern day rat-pack earned over a billion on this trio.
35. Scream
36. Saw
37. Jaws
38. Mad Max
39. Robocop
40. Karate Kid
41. The Exorcist
42. Major League--Would be much higher if not for the putrid Back to the Minors installment.
43. Rush Hour--Rush Hour 4 sounds like a go.
44. Child's Play --A "darker and scarier" remake of the original 1988 Child's Play is supposed to be in the works.
45. Blade
46. The Mummy
47. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles--Another TMNT is reported to be likely.
48. Poltergeist
49. Mighty Ducks
50. Rambo

Rejoice baseball fans, for another Midsummer Classic is upon us.  Or don’t.  But considering that the NFL, NBA, and NHL are all dormant, Lebron has found his new home, and soccer is off the American public consciousness for another four years, what other choice do you really have?  Baseball, we’re officially all ears.

While the game doesn’t lend itself to individual stardom that say the NBA does, there are certain players from every generation that just exude all-star through and through.  The list of players who have been named to fifteen or more All-Star games is one of the most exclusive in all of sports, more so than the 3000 hit club, the 500 home run club, or the perfect game club.  While the election process is by no means an exact science, to be an All-Star year in and year out for that long takes more than just raw talent, more than just being the best player at your position in your league.  It’s a blend of consistency and durability combined with popularity and iconicism.  Playing in a big market like New York or Boston doesn’t hurt your chances either.  These players are institutions of the game.  The question is, is it getting harder to be that larger than life superstar in the currently constituted major leagues?  For one, the league has gotten progressively larger, making one’s ability to stick out and lock down all-star spots far more difficult.  It's been nine years since a player with fifteen or more all-star games to his credit played in the big leagues(Ripken and Gwynn).  Still, on the day of George Steinbrenner's passing, three of his beloved Yankees will inch closer to that illusive benchmark.  A look at the 15+ club, and at which current players have hopes of one day joining those ranks.

MLB Players with 15+ All-Star Games To Their Credit
Hank Aaron 1954-1976   (25)
Willie Mays 1951-1973   (24)
Stan Musial 1941-1963   (24)
Mickey Mantle 1951-1968   (20) 
Cal Ripken 1981-2001   (19)
Ted Williams 1939-1960   (19) 
Rod Carew 1967-1985   (18)
Carl Yastrzemski 1961-1983   (18)  
Yogi Berra 1946-1965   (18) 
Al Kaline 1953-1974   (18)
Brooks Robinson 1955-1977   (18)
Pete Rose 1963-1986   (17)
Warren Spahn 1942-1965  (17)
Tony Gwynn 1982-2001   (15)
Ozzie Smith 1978-1996   (15)
Roberto Clemente 1955-1972 (15)
Nellie Fox 1947-1965 (15)

Next in Line?:
Alex Rodriguez 1994-2010  (13)
Derek Jeter 1995-2010   (11)
Mariano Rivera  1995-2010 (11)
Ichiro Suzuki 2001-2010   (10)
Albert Pujols 2001-2010   (9)   

Notes: Vlad earned his ninth all-star bid this year but is not included on this list because another six bids at his age is almost unimaginable.  Manny Ramirez has twelve, but being rightly snubbed from this years squad in all likelihood spells the end of his reign. Also, for clarity's sake, the first all-star game was not played until 1933, so you won't see the likes of Babe Ruth or Cy Young in this club.

Whether you’re a soccer fan or not, it's been hard not to get swept up in the hoopla of World Cup fervour.  There’s just something undeniably profound about taking part in something that directly connects you with the vast majority of the rest of the world.  In this respect, watching a World Cup soccer match is an experience unparalleled in the sports world; it's almost like you’re watching not just a game but world history right before your eyes.  You can’t help but feel just a little bit more worldly upon hearing those vuvuzelas buzz.  With that in mind, and of course conceding that soccer inhabits a plane all to itself, I decided to take a look at the “worldliness” of our other big sports.

Some notes before we get started: For the record, we're not going to even go into Olympic-style sports.  These are only the big ones.  No one wants to read an article about biathlon.  There's something to be said for rugby and cricket, but because no one in America knows squat about these realms, I won't bother trying to teach myself about them in the next ten minutes. It's also not lost on me that for the Big Four, these are American-based leagues.  Inherent ethnocentricity aside, it shouldn't be lost on you that everyone knows that these are where the best of the world come to play, so save the comments.

Soccer: 208 nations boast a FIFA-recognized soccer team and 76 have participated in a World Cup. Still, this is not to say that all nations were created equal (at least on soccer terms). 11 countries have reached a World Cup finals, and seven have taken home the ultimate prize.  Going into South Africa, there were really about eight to ten teams that one could have reasonably predicted with any degree of sanity winning the cup. But because one only needs a ball and some flat earth to take part in "the beautiful game," soccer's reach is unlike anything else.

Baseball: Baseball, the so-called American Pastime, is of course filled with Central American superstars but the list really doesn't get much far beyond the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama and Cuba. Then you've got Japan, a handful of mediocre Chinese and Korean athletes, and of course, Canada.

Football: Football is even less worldly.  Outside of Somoa, which can barely be classified as "international,"  and Canada (dido), the only countries that can claim 4+ current NFL'ers are Germany, Nigeria, England and Jamaica.  And believe me when I say that the stars are few and far between here.  Of the 253 men in the Hall of Fame, only seven originated in a country not called the United States.  Still, Commish Goodell sees dollar signs abroad, and is intent on expanding the NFL's sphere of influence into as many new markets as possible.

Basketball: If there is one American export that is truly gaining traction in recent years, the NBA is it.  The '09-'10 season included 83 international players from 36 countries, up from 36 international players from 24 countries and territories in '99-'00.  However, there are maybe five certifiable stars at most if we're counting Nash from Canada and Duncan from the Virgin Islands.  Outside of the US, France can count the most NBA'ers among its ranks with ten, but can we really call this a legit basketball country when the closest thing to a star they can boast of is Tony Parker?  (And can we all just stop and marvel at what has happened to the American-born, white hoopster?  We went from Bird and McHale to ....Brad Miller?  Wow.)

Hockey: Hockey is Canada, Russia, Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia, Sweden, and the Yanks, with over half the league of Canadian decent.

Golf: Golf remains an American-dominated sport, though its share of the top 100 has nearly been cut in half from 56 in 1999 to 32 ten years later.  There are four Americans and four British currently sitting among the top 10.

Tennis: Gone are the days of Sampras and Connors, McEnroe, Agassi and his ponytail wig.  In men's tennis today, there are the Swiss and the Spaniard, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and then there is everybody else.  Since 2004, the two have combined to capture a dominating 23 out of a possible 27 majors.  Still, despite the dominance at the top by what amounts to 2 countries, there were a whopping 15 countries represented among the top 20 ranked tennis players entering this past Wimbledon.  (America can only boast #6, Andy Roddick, among those twenty.)  Nineteen countries in the Open era (1968-present) have revelled in a countryman winning a major.

It feels like I’ve barely recovered from the hangover of the game 7, and here comes the NBA draft, beckoning me for another round.  And as difficult as it is to get down, perhaps a bit of the hair of the dog that bit me is exactly when I need right now.  Because what is the NBA draft if not hope for a better tomorrow?  Washington knows it.  Philadelphia knows it.  New Jersey and their bazillion dollar owner know it. 

There are few sure things in the world of sports, even less so when those things are teenagers (see: Kwame Brown).  Call me crazy, but 2010 feels a little more assured.  Between John Wall, Evan Turner, and Derrick Favors, its seems as if the league will be gaining some truly special talent this time around. 

Final 2010 World Cup Results

1. Spain (H): Key Players: Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Cesc Fabregas, Iker Casillas, Gerard Pique, David Silva, Carles Puyol Final Result: World Cup Champions
2. Netherlands (E):  Key Players: Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben Final Result: Second Place
3. Germany (D):  Key Players: Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm Final Result: Third Place
4. Uruguay (A): Key Players: Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez. Final Result: Fourth Place
5. Brazil (G): Key Players: Kaka, Luis Fabiano, Dani Alves, Maicon, Julio Cesar, Lucio Final Result: Quarterfinals
6. Argentina (B): Key Players: Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Javier Mascherano Final Result: Quarterfinals
7. Ghana (D): Key Players: Kevin Prince-Boateng  Final Result: Quarterfinals
8. Paraguay (F): Key Players: Nelson Haedo Valdez Final Result: Quarterfinals
9. Portugal (G): Key Players: Christiano Ronaldo Final Result: Round of 16
10. England (C):  Key Players: Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole  Final Result: Round of 16
11. USA (C): Key Players: Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey Final Result: Round of 16
12. Mexico (A): Key Players: Giovani Dos Santos, Rafael Marquez  Final Result: Round of 16
13. South Korea (B): Key Players: Park Ji-Sung Final Result: Round of 16
14. Japan (E): Key Players: Yasuhito Endo Final Result: Round of 16
15. Chile (H): Key Players: Alexis Sanchez Final Result: Round of 16
16. Slovakia (F): Key Players: Marek Hamsik Final Result: Round of 16
17. Italy (F):  Key Players: Andrea Pirlo, Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele De Rossi Final Result: Group Stage
18. France (A):  Key Players: Franck Riberi, Thierry Henry, Patrice Evra, Karim Benzema, Yoann Gourcuff Final Result: Group Stage
19. Switzerland (H): Key Players: Alexander Frei Final Result: Group Stage
20. Australia (D): Key Players: Lucas Neill Final Result: Group Stage
21. Serbia (D): Key Players: Nemanja Vidic Final Result: Group Stage
22. Ivory Coast (G): Key Players: Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure Final Result: Group Stage
23. Denmark (E): Key Players: Nicklas Bendtner Final Result: Group Stage
24. Slovenia (C): Key Players: Milivoje Novakovic Final Result: Group Stage
25. Greece (B): Key Players: Vasilis Torosidis Final Result: Group Stage
26. Hondurus (H): Key Players: Wilson Palacios Final Result: Group Stage
27. Nigeria (B): Key Players: Nwankwo Kanu Final Result: Group Stage
28. Cameroon (E): Key Players: Samuel Eto'o Final Result: Group Stage
29. South Africa (A): Key Players: Siphiwe Tshabalala Final Result: Group Stage
30. Algeria (C): Key Players: Madjid Bougherra Final Result: Group Stage
31. New Zealand (F): Key Players: Ryan Nelsen Final Result: Group Stage
32. North Korea (G): Key Players: Hong Young-Jo Final Result: Group Stage

         With the advent of the digitial music revolution, your favorite tunes are now more accessible than ever.  However, as with every great advancement, there are bound to be certain things that get left behind.  With the ipod, it can be argued, came the demise of the album.  Now that fans can pick and choose which songs they want to download off a new release, there is less and less of a need to create that cohesive, quality from top-to-bottom album.   
         Perhaps even more apparent is the antiquation of the album cover.  Back in the day (not that I was actually alive for most of this but...) a record was something to behold.  Often, it was just as much art on the outside as was contained within the grooves of the vinyl.  While there are certainly a couple groups out there still keeping it real with the album art, for the most part this is a lost craft--a casualty of the digital revolution.  Even if one were to argue that the quality of album art has remained high, with the majority of consumers purchasing their music digitally, it seems impossible that any one cover could gain enough exposure necessary to be deemed iconic.
         What makes album cover art iconic?  Well for starters, it is instantly recognizable.  The image it displays symbolizes the band itself, or, moreover, music in general.  It is simple, yet profound--worthy of being displayed on the back of a bumper, or framed in one's living room.  Of course, art is going to speak to every person differently, and I am not here to tell you what art was most visually stunning or held the most meaning.  Rather, these are the ten most iconic album covers of all time.  Comments welcome....

1. Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon-In March of 1973 Dark Side of the Moon was released.  741 weeks later, it remained on the Billboard charts, longer than any other album in history. With an estimated 45 million units sold, Dark Side may be the greatest album ever (without a doubt in my humble opinion...)  Exploring issues of ageing, greed, war, and the mental illness that was inspired by Syd Barret's LSD-fueled descent into madness, the album was one of the first concept albums to ever hit record stores.  The landmark prism design was inspired by a photograph that longtime Floyd designer Strom Thorgerson had seen during a brainstorming session with colleague Aubrey Powell. Meeting Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design, the prism also harkened to the band's famous stage lighting.  It has since come to epitomize the word "iconic."
2. The Beatles- Abbey Road- On the morning of August 8, 1969, photographer Iain Macmillan was given ten minutes take a photo of the fab four crossing Abbey Road for the band's next album cover.  Little did he know that that negative would go on to become perhaps the most iconic group shot in all of music.  A couple points of interest:
   --Paul McCartney is bare-footed and out of step with the other three, later providing fuel for the "Paul is dead" urban legend in late '69.
   --The man standing on the pavement in the background is Paul Cole, an American tourist unaware he had been photographed until he saw the album cover months later. 
   --The Abbey Road cover is the only Beatles album cover of their original UK albums to have neither the group's name nor an album title visible.
3. Queen- Queen II- It's hard to believe now, but when Queen II dropped in '74, critics were less than impressed.  Record Mirror wrote: "This is it, the dregs of glam rock. Weak and over-produced, if this band are our brightest hope for the future, then we are committing rock and roll suicide."  The reveiwer for Melody Maker expressed similiar sentiments, writing: "It's reputed Queen have enjoyed some success in the States, it's currently in the balance whether they'll really break through here. If they do, then I'll have to eat my hat or something. Maybe Queen try too hard, there's no depth of sound or feeling."  So how'd that hat end up going down, hotshot?
4. The Grateful Dead- Steal Your Face- To be clear, this is not a list of great albums (though all but this one are admittedly classics).  If it were, this selection would be nowhere near the top 10, not even if this was a list of Grateful Dead albums.  Widely considered to be the Dead's worst live album, the record was dubbed "Steal Your Money" by unhappy fans.  However, the image adorning its cover would go on to grace a billion bumper stickers and t-shirts, becoming almost synonymous with the hippie culture at large.  Designed by Owsley Stanley and artist Bob Thomas.
5. The Velvet Underground- Simple. Artful. Iconic.  Designed by close friend Andy Warhol, the origial record sleeve featured a yellow banana with “Peel slowly and see” printed near a perforated tab. Those who did remove the banana skin found a peeled, pink banana beneath.
6. The Beatles- Sgt Peppers- The Grammy Award-winning album packaging was art-directed by Robert Fraser, designed by Peter Blake and his wife Jann Haworth, and photographed by Michael Cooper. The collage depicts more than 70 famous people, including writers, musicians, film stars and several Indian gurus. The final grouping includes Marlene Dietrich, Carl Jung, W.C. Fields, Diana Dors, Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe, Aldous Huxley, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sigmund Freud, Aleister Crowley, Edgar Allan Poe, Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde, William S. Burroughs, Marlon Brando, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and comedian Lenny Bruce. Also included was the image of the original Beatles bass player, the late Stuart Sutcliffe. Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus Christ were requested by Lennon, but ultimately they were left out, even though a cutout of Hitler was in fact made.  The final bill for the cover was £2,868 (equivalent to $72,460 today), which was roughly 100 times the average cost for an album cover in those days. 
   
7. Nirvana- Nevermind- Kurt Cobain conceived the idea for this cover while watching a television show on water births with drummer David Grohl. Cobain mentioned it to Geffen's art director Robert Fisher, who found some stock footage of underwater births that were then deemed too graphic for the record company. Instead Fisher sent a photographer to a pool to take pictures of a three-month-old infant named Spencer Elden, the son of the photographer's friend Rick Elden. Geffen prepared an alternate cover without the penis but relented when Cobain made it clear that the only compromise he would accept was a sticker covering the penis that would say, "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile."
8. Bob Marley- Catch A Fire- Perhaps it's a tad ironic that the lucky 20,000 to first get their hands on this 1973 vinyl release received an album that was in fact missing this landmark Bob headshot.  These folks instead received their record encased in a Zippo lighter sleave.  The sleeve opened at a side hinge to reveal the record within, an assembly operation that required hand-manufacture.  Not surprisingly, the Zippo idea was deemed too expensive to mass-produce and subsequent pressings featured the Ester Anderson portrait you see here.
9. Jimi Hendrix- Axis: Bold a Love- For all the accolades this famous cover has received, Jimi Hendrix was actually a little disappointed with the finished product. Although he appreciated the symbolic design, he mentioned in an interview that it would have been more appropriate if the cover art showcased his American "Indian" heritage. The British Track records art department had independently chosen to use the current fad for all things Indian to create the cover, and thus the album's cover has a photographed copy of a cheap, mass produced religious poster of the Hindu devotional painting known as Viraat Purushan-Vishnuroopam showing the different forms of Vishnu with a small, superimposed painting of the Experience by Roger Law blended in.
10. The Rolling Stones- Sticky Fingers- Andy Warhol appears yet again in the top ten with his work here for the Stones' Sticky Fingers.  The original record cover featured a working zipper that opened to reveal a man in cotton briefs.  The cover, a photo of Joe Dallesandro's crotch clad in tight blue jeans, was assumed by many fans to be an image of Mick Jagger. However, the people actually involved with the photo shoot claim that Warhol had several different men photographed (Jagger was not among them) and never revealed which shots he used.  The album also features the first usage of the "Tongue and Lip Design" designed by John Pasche.

Honorable Mentions:  Allman Brothers- Eat a Peach, Led Zeppelin- IV, Jimi Hendrix- Are You Experienced?, The Who- Who's Next?, Cream- Disraeli Gears, Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here, The Doors- The Doors, Led Zeppelin- I, Santana- Abraxas, The Beatles- Let It Be, Lynyrd Skynyrd- Street Survivors, Peter Frampton- Frampton Comes Alive, The Harder They Come Soundtrack, Parliament- Mothership Connection, Notorious BIG- Ready To Die, Nas- Illmatic, Public Enemy- Nation of Millions. 

The past year might be called the return of the status-quo.  Think about it.  The Yankees finally captured their first title since the turn of the century, the Alabama Crimson Tide climbed back atop the college football universe to tie for the all-time leads for NCAA championships, Duke reassumed its perch atop college hoops, and now the Laker's have bested Boston to remain champs of the NBA.   There’s nothing more polarizing than a team that always seems to win.  So love em or hate em, here are the ten greatest team franchises in sports history. 

1. New York Yankees: In 1920, Babe Ruth joined the New York Yankees. In the 90 years that would follow, the pinstripes would appear in what would feel like almost every other World Series hence, en route to a mind-boggling 27 championships. The Bombers have sent enough brass to Cooperstown that they could open their own wing; 44 players enshrined to date with at least a handful more assuredly on their way. Key 5: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Derek Jeter.
2. Boston Celtics: The Celtics have been piling up hardware ever since Auerbach and Russell began their epic run of 11 championships in 13 years way back when.  Today, the Green Men's 17 championships is tops in the NBA. A ridiculous 33 men with Celtic ties are enshrined in Springfield. Key 5: Bill Russell, Larry Bird, John Havlicek, Bob Cousy, Paul Pierce.
3. Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers: The absuredly inapt name isn't the only thing the Purple and Gold carried over from the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Though they got whipped by #2 for much of the sixties, its hard to argue that since 1980, the Lakers have reigned supreme.  Their 31 finals appearances is just plain stupid nasty, and at 16 championships, it may not be long before their cross-country rivals get overtaken.  Key 5: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Kobe Bryant.
4. Montreal Canadiens: Though the Habs have been looking more like the Hab-nots as of late, history is clearly on their side.  Canada's finest have won an astounding 24 championships, essentially a quarter of all Stanley Cups won throughout history. They've also sent a stupifying 44 members to the Hall of Fame. Key 5: Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Maurice Richard, Patrick Roy.
5. UCLA Bruins Men's Basketball: Behind arguablely the greatest coach that ever lived, UCLA epitomized dominance in the sixties and seventies en route to an overall 11 national championships and 30 conference titles.  After falling out of favor for much of the eighting and nineties, the Bruins seized back their prominance under Ben Howland with 3 consecutive final four appearances from 2006-2008. Key 5: Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, Ed O'Bannon, Sidney Wicks.
6. Brazilian National Soccer Team: In the world of international soccer, Brazil is the gold standard-bar none. Of the 18 World Cups that have been held, Brazil has starred in seven finals, capuring a whopping five Cups. They've also raked in three Confederations Cups and eight Copa America Cups to boot. No surprise they will enter South Africa this year as the number #1 ranked team in the world. Key Five: Pele, Ronaldo, Garrincha, Zico, Rivaldo, Kaka.
7. Notre Dame Fightin Irish Football: Though the glory days of Notre Dame football are behind us (last championship was 1988), the Fightin' Irish will always hold a special place in college football lore. Notre Dame leads all schools with 48 alumni in the College Football Hall of Fame, and positively churns out NFL talent like no other, having produced nearly 500 NFL draft selections and ten pro football hall of famers (Did someone say Joe Montana?). Though national championships are always a bit murky to conclusively determine pre-BCS (and even post, sadly enough) many credit the school with 13 national championships, good for tying the Tide for tops all-time. Key 5: Joe Montana, Leon Hart, Paul Hornung, Joe Theisman, Alan Page.
8. Alabama Crimson Tide Football: UCLA had John Wooden, Notre Dame had Knute Rockne, and Alabama had one Paul "Bear" Bryant." From '58-'82, Bear took the Tide to six of their thirteen (again, this is up for debate) national championships. Over their 114-year history, Alabama Football has captured 26 conference titles and appeared in more bowl games than any other NCAA school with 57. Perhaps their greatest acheivement was managing to somehow take 113 years before finally producing a Heisman winner. Key 5: Harry Gilmer, Lee Roy Jordan, John Hannah, Ozzie Newsome, Mark Ingram.
9. Soviet National Hockey Team: When most of us think of the Soviet National Ice Hockey Team, one phrase comes to mind, “Do you believe in miracles?!!” Well believe me when I tell you that that win for the Americans was a miracle and then some. From the mid-fifties to the early-nineties (when the communist empire crumbled), Soviet hockey ruled with an iron fist, winning just about everything there was to win for an international hockey team including seven gold medals over nine Olympics and another 19 golds at the World Championships. Key 5: Vladislav Tretiak, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Valeri Kharlamov, Sergei Makarov, Aleksandr Maltsev.
10. Tennessee Lady Vols: Though the UConn women are all the rage today, when it comes to women's college hoops, one school stands above all the rest, Pat Summit's Lady Vols. In the 28 march tournaments that have taken place, the white and orange have appeared in 27 sweet sixteens, an astounding 18 final fours, and have won eight championships. Key 5: Holly Warwick, Bridgette Gordon, Deadra Charles, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings.

                                                                                                          Honorable Mentions:
      USC Trojans Football, UNC Tarheels Women's Soccer, Iowa Hawkeyes Wrestling, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, UCLA Rugby, Duke Blue Devils Basketball, Chicago Bulls, St. Louis Cardinals, Real Madrid, San Francisco 49ers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, UConn Huskies Women's Basketball, USA National Men's Basketball, Juventus, AC Milan, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Kentucky Wildcats, Oklahoma St Cowboys Wrestling, Texas Longhorns Baseball, USC Trojans Baseball.

With roughly one third of the season down and 100 games to go, the 2010 New York Mets are, to quote Dennis Green, “who we thought they were”.  Currently, they are sitting in third place in what has quietly become the most competitive division in baseball.  I want to say I’m disappointed, I want to call them underachievers, but the bottom line is that most Mets fans had lower expectations than Ron Artest’s publicist; anything less than disaster would be acceptable. With that being said, let’s take a look at the ups and downs that have made this season somewhat watchable.

The Good
      The biggest surprise so far has been Mike Pelfrey’s stellar performance to start the year. He is 8-1 with a 2.40 ERA in his first 10 starts, not to mention a save to go along with that, and has been more lights out than Shawn Merriman when he was on PED’s. Throw in Johan’s usual brilliance (I know his strikeouts are down but can we get this guy some run support please!) and a great couple of starts by, none other than RA Dickey, and the Mets rotation has been quite the pleasant surprise.
      As far as position players go, I retract my sarcastic comment about buying a Rod Barajas jersey and instead legitimately want to buy one now. His 11 long balls account for nearly 25% of the team’s home runs and puts him at a tie for 7th in the NL. I wonder if he is on steroids? Did I just say that out loud? Uh-oh…moving on.
      Speaking of steroids, am I the only one who sees the parallel between Jose Reyes and Willy Mays-Hays in Major League II? Jose came back from, whatever it was he was out with, looking like he spent the summer at Globo-Gym. Then Jerry Manuel decided to move him to the 3-hole, where Jose, in turn, tried to hit for power, and naturally, struggled. It wasn’t until recently when he went back to his contact/speed game that he began to show signs of his old self. His 14 stolen bases are good for second in the NL and, hopefully, a sign of things to come. 

The Bad
      As much as it pains me to say anything negative about David Wright, he is striking out way too many times for a guy that isn’t hitting that many home runs. With that being said, for anyone else this would be a superb season, but for D-Wright? I set the bar a little bit higher. Along those same lines, Jason Bay is playing well but 3 home runs and 24 RBI is not the type of numbers you want from your cleanup hitter (Side note: RBI stands for runs batted in, there is no need to pluralize it. I hate when these so called ‘experts’ mess that up).
      Some other quick thoughts: I wish Jeff Francoeur could hit as well as he threw the ball. I get more excited than Rosie O’Donnell around a Big Mac when I see a runner try to challenge his arm. When he is at the plate? Not so much. K-Rod has been ok, but nothing compared to what he looked like with the Angels. I get nervous when he only has a one run lead to work with. 

The Ugly
      Oliver Perez, John Maine, Carlos Beltran…

Looking Forward
      Not much has changed since the start of the year. I still expect them to finish 3rd, I still expect them to miss the playoffs, and I hope, hope, hope that Omar Minaya gets fired. 

(Things purposely not mentioned in fear that I might jinx something: Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada, and the Mets ridiculous home record)

Not long ago here at the Dose, I wrote what most folks would call a “slam piece” on Kobe Bryant criticizing the superstar of the Los Angeles Lakers of Los Angeles. I was harsh on Mister Bryant, bumping his planet-sized ego down a few pegs. I attacked his attitude, his personality and that sour look that takes over his face once the going gets tough. Well, the buck stops here. During this installment of the NBA’s post-season, I have seen a different side of Kobe. I have finally learned that Kobe Bryant cares about one thing: bringing home the trophy. That’s it. In the midst of the biggest free-agency period in NBA history, full of speculation and free agent “summits”, Kobe has kept a quiet cool on his quest for another ring. While Lebron, Wade, Bosh and Joe Johnson gather in a private villa with bottle service and half-naked models to discuss where they would like to play next season, Kobe has kept his on eye the ultimate prize. Recently, when asked where he thought where Lebron would end up next season, Kobe replied, “I could give a [expletive].” 

Right on, Kobe. He has bigger fish to fry.  

What ever happened the idea of winning it all? This new generation of players seems lost. They seem more preoccupied with sneaker deals and fame instead of winning rings.  

Kobe is playing with 9 fingers, a bloated knee and god only knows what else. He doesn’t complain or whine about officiating (often), just sucks it up and takes his game to the next level when Lamar Kardashian and Andrew Bynum shrivel up like raisins on a July day. Kobe Bryant keeps his head up, tightens up his defense and plays with a fire that we have not seen since – are you ready? Michael Jordan. That’s right, I just compared Kobe to Michael. Kobe doesn’t seem to care about his public image either. He is hated by most who are not Laker fans, much like the way Jeter is hated by those who are not Yankee fans. That does not seem to matter a lick to Kobe. I am by no means a fan of Bryant, but my respect for the man has reached a new high. So while the free-agent summit gets a room at the Trump to discuss contracts and dream teams, Kobe will be smiling, knowing that he is light-years ahead of these other players, this in terms of maturity, pure talent and most importantly, championships.  

Kobe Bryant is the last of a dying breed.