Who belongs in the style file?
Style in sports. Some have it, but most don't. If you look too hard, you'll miss it even when it's right in front of you. It can't be defined by anything normal or anything absurd. It can't be shaped by Tim Gunn, Tom Ford, Cary Mitchell or Sean Combs. It's beyond aesthetics and accessories, but at the same time style doesn't exist without them. In sports -- especially at a time when all the major sports are going on at one time -- style plays both the forefront and the background. Those that have it know. But it's our job to recognize it.
Style is …
The way CC Sabathia rocks his cap twisted to the right
Joba Chamberlain's and A.J. Burnett's Phiten necklaces
Manny's No. 99
Chauncey Billups getting his No. 1 back
Vlad Guerrero's batting helmet
Baron Davis' "Grizzly Adams"
LT's game shades
Chris Andersen's hair
Steve Nash's one-handed layups
Keyshawn Johnson's fuchsia socks
Anything Mike Tomlin does
Dwight Howard's V-neck sweaters
Ed Reed's and Ray Lewis' beards
Teams that don't wait on the larger governing body or league officials to take action on disciplinary issues
Teams that stand behind their players and coaches but aren't enablers
Athletes who wear their wedding rings
Josh McDaniels' exuberance
Qadry Ismail's glasses
Skip Bayless' player nicknames
Shelden Williams and Candace Parker getting married
Charles Barkley still wearing Nikes during broadcasts
The three parts in the back of Brandon Roy's head
Ron Artest's haircuts
Joe Torre wearing his collar up on his Dodgers jacket like The Fonz
Tiger's walk
Usain Bolt's stride
College football's big three (Tebow, Bradford and McCoy) returning for their senior seasons despite the risk of injury
Andy Pettitte covering his face before every pitch
Deion Sanders' and Michael Irvin's wardrobes
Jack Nicholson wearing a purple Ralph Lauren polo and a red NYY cap to the ALCS at Angel Stadium
The way Ted Ginn Jr. handled his demotion
The way Cedric Benson handled playing against the Bears
The last name Ochocinco
Still pointing to God after a loss
Players getting into arguments with opposing coaches during games
Goalpost dunking
Troy Polamalu's and T.J. Houshmandzadeh's hair
The tat on the lower half of Gilbert Arenas' left leg
The deception of Anderson Silva's strength
Brett Favre's two games against the Packers this year
A.I. getting his cornrows back
Rasheed's blowout
Kurt Busch's gold Dodge
Carmelo and La La holding it down
The Yankees playing Jay-Z's "Empire State Of Mind" during games
The beautiful arrogance of a Rex Ryan postgame news conference … win or lose
Bryce Harper's swing
Melanie Oudin's innocence
Lisa Leslie's exit
Jim Caldwell's inner Tony Dungy
Meb Keflezighi not holding back his emotions after winning the NYC Marathon
Any Alex Ovechkin jersey
Brandon Jennings' "baby" locks
Dhani Jones' bow ties
Rafa Nadal's capri shorts
Dreadlocks hanging out of the back of helmets
Pro athletes who don't allow Twitter to get them into controversy
Reggie Bush and Lamar Odom nabbing Kardashians … (or is that the other way around?)
The NHL's Winter Classic
Bob Knight declining IU's HOF induction (citing his being there would distract from the other six inductees)
Michael Jordan's HOF speech (note: understand the difference between "class" and "style")
Manny Pacquiao saying of Floyd Mayweather Jr.: "I'm sure he doesn't want to fight"
Pedro's curl
Mariano Rivera
Scoop Jackson is a columnist for Page 2.
