ESPN.com - The Readers' List:<br>Greatest sports wives

ESPN.com: Page 2

Thursday, September 6, 2001
Updated: September 13, 3:05 AM ET
The Readers' List:
Greatest sports wives

From the Page 2 mailbag

On Monday, Page 2 ran its list of the greatest sports wives in history. We asked for your take, and you filled our mailbag with plenty of choices.

	OUR TOP 10
	Here's how the Page 2 staff ranked the greatest sports wives in history: 1. Halle Berry 2. Marilyn Monroe 3. Vanessa Williams 4. Angie Harmon 5. Patti McGuire 6. Brooke Shields 7. Bridgette Wilson 8. Carol Alt 9. Steffi Graf 10. Victoria Beckham Honorable mentions: Jane Russell, Robin Givens, Chris Evert, Tatum O'Neal

After going through more than 600 letters, we've listed a rundown of the Top 10 vote-getters, along with some of the best letters about each wife. Check out the list, then be sure to cast your vote in the poll at left to crown the greatest sports wife of all-time.

1. Janet Jones -- Wayne Gretzky's wife
(138 letters)
How can you leave off Janet Jones-Gretzky?

She embodies "greatness!" Wayne and Janet are practically Canadian royalty. Yes, she might have had something to do with Gretz leaving the Oilers for Los Angeles, but do you blame Wayne for wanting to spend more time next to Janet on the beach? I didn't think so.
Colman Collins
Chicago


	Wayne Gretzky gets a kiss from Janet Jones after his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

As far as sports wives go, "The Great One," Wayne Gretzky, sure has a "great one" in actress Janet Jones.

Sure, her credits read like a train wreck: "Flamingo Kid," "Beastmaster," "Chorus Line," "Police Academy 5," and "Staying Alive," but she is one fine-looking woman!
Dave Valenzuela
Buffalo, N.Y.

For me, this is when Wayne truly became The Great One. Have you seen The Flamingo Kid? She also showed she is perfect hockey wife by taking a plexiglass hit and staying on her feet.
Sam
Alexandria, Va.

Because she saved The Great One from the ineptitude of the Canadian economic system that is crushing the sport.
Pete
Washington, D.C.

2. Amy Mickelson -- Phil Mickelson's wife
(50 letters)
The conversation should start and end there. Since Phil has become the best-known professional athlete from Phoenix, she's basically been the First Lady. During the 1997 Ryder Cup, we kept hoping the BBC footage would continue to show her instead of the pathetic golf that was being played by the U.S. squad.

Did you see the way Arnold Palmer fawned over her while giving her a Rolex when Phil won the Bay Hill a couple of years ago?

Earl Woods is right. The difference between Tiger and Phil? Gotta be Amy.
Tom
Phoenix

I always love seeing Lefty in contention, because the cameras are bound to show some shots of his wife when he's on 18.
Matt Streit
Minneapolis

I'm a huge Phil Mickelson fan and I hate seeing him come so close and never win a major. But whenever they show his wife hugging him after he came up short yet again I tend to feel less sorry for him.
David Shucosky
Kingston, Pa.

3. Marilyn Monroe -- Joe DiMaggio's ex-wife
(28 letters)


	Few famous couples can match the combined celebrity of Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe.

All the other sports wives are celebrities in their own rights, but none of them are known by their first name only. In addition, while they can share many juicy tidbits with their spouses about items in their spheres, none of them ventures into as far-ranging spheres as Marilyn.

Oh, to have the lowdown on all the top politicos. Now that's power.
Gregg Greene
Eugene, Ore.

Marilyn Monroe. Hands down. No contest. No one else even comes close.

Like sports at its finest, she was the standard to which we all aspired. Larger than life and the girl next door in the same breath. We cheered her rise and mourned her demise. All the while we remained completely captivated.

Presidents, athletes, playwrights, we were all entranced. Yet somehow she still remains as elusive as a 56-game hitting streak.
Stephen Vomhof
Bloomington, Minn.

4. Tawny Kitaen -- Chuck Finley's wife
(27 letters)
How could you watch her in the movie "Bachelor Party" (with multi-Oscar winner Tom Hanks) and in music videos for Whitesnake and not put her in the Top 10?
R.J. Chavez
Cleveland

Anyone who's ever seen the movie "The Perils of Gwendolyn" would understand.

Dan Patrick once asked Jim Thome in an interview if Chuck ever brought her around the clubhouse, and Jim answered without hesitation "not with the guys in our clubhouse." That has to count for something.
Dan Parker
Columbus, Ohio

Remember the girl crawling on the hood of a car in a Whitesnake video ... yeah, her!!! She must have a thing for mullets!?
Eric Shurson
Rochester, Minn.

5. Elsa Benitez -- Rony Seikaly's wife
(26 letters)


	Elsa Benitez, a k a Mrs. Rony Seikaly, landed one of the most coveted shots in modeling -- the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue.

Although Rony Seikaly never achieved basketball greatness, his teammates undoubtedly envied his position. Being married to the cover girl for the 2001 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue must have taken away practice time on court.
Matt
Cypress, Calif.

How the heck can you have one of these lists without mentioning Elsa Benitez, one of the most beautiful women in the world, and that's not just for sports wives.

She was on the cover of SI swimsuit edition, for crying out loud. Not putting her on the list or even in the honorable mentions is a travesty. Did I mention she is married to Rony Seikaly? That could go on the list of biggest sports mysteries of all time.
Adam Coppinger
Lexington, Ky.


	David Justice's divorce of Halle Berry justifies Red Sox fans' hatred of the Yankees.

6. Halle Berry -- David Justice's ex-wife
(25 letters)
Halle Berry, hands down.

This woman is just stunningly gorgeous from head to toe and is a pretty darn good actress to boot. She's also a sweetheart, which makes you wonder how Dave Justice could be such a jerk to her. He'd have an excuse if Randy Johnson ever beaned him in the head with a fastball, but they were in different leagues at the time.

What a fool!
Nick West
Arlington, Va.

One Word: Goddess!

Did you see "Swordfish"?

As a Red Sox fan, having a man on the Yankees who divorces someone as beautiful as that gives me even more reason to hate them.
Deshawn Harrison
New York


	Bridgette Wilson will never be counted as one of Pete Sampras' unforced errors.

7. Bridgette Wilson -- Pete Sampras' wife
(14 letters)
Sampras has at least 25 unforced errors per match because of her being in the stands.
Patrick Mauney
Fredericksburg, Va.

8. Carmen Electra -- Dennis Rodman's ex-wife
(13 letters)
The only person who made people look away from Dennis Rodman. For a few weeks at least.
Gary
Aurora, Colo.

9. Vanessa Williams -- Rick Fox's wife
(nine letters)
Without a doubt, Vanessa Williams.

She has classic beauty combined with style and grace. I expect that if we had a picture of Helen of Troy she would look very much like Vanessa Williams. Plus she is an OK actress, a great singer and she looks fantastic after what, four kids? Rick Fox is da man.
Rick Byrne
Richmond, Va.

10. Steffi Graf (eight letters)
Although they haven't officially tied the knot yet, my choice is the soon-to-be Mrs.Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf. How many wives can practically guarantee their husbands that their offspring will be future millionaires? I read that their unborn kid is already getting offered millions to appear in future tournaments! Talk about getting a good return on your investment.
Marie Brown
Baltimore

Honorable mention:
Angie Harmon, Victoria Beckham, Jody Mientkiewicz, Robin Givens, Janet Elway, Jennifer Montana, Carol Alt, Patti McGuire, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Candace Cameron (Valeri Bure), Brooke Gordon (Jeff)