ESPN.com - Page 2's Power Poll

ESPN.com: Page 2

Monday, April 22, 2002
Page 2's Power Poll

Page 2 staff

Page 2's Power Poll dares to rate the teams that are currently wielding the most power in the entire sports universe.

Each week, our poll will rank the 10 teams at the top of the power heap -- and the five teams that have lost the most power in the past week. And, by the way, Page 2 uses its own definition for a "team" -- any group of two or more bonded together for the common purpose.

Our Momentum Meter also predicts the direction these teams will be heading in future weeks (see the bottom of the page for a full explanation).

If you've got anything to say about our Top 10 or our Bottom 5, click here to comment -- or forever hold your peace.

TEAM	PAGE 2 SAYS	MO' METER


1. NFL	If there was any doubt as to the identity of America's Sport, consider this: There was more interest this weekend in the NFL draft than real games in America's so-called National Pastime, and playoff games in the NBA and NHL.

2. Seattle Mariners	Damn fine team, maybe even better than last year's 116-game winner. Best record in the game (16-4), despite the injury to Edgar Martinez. Great bullpen. Great fielding, which never slumps. Clutch, too. Unfortunately, no one on the East Coast seems to notice.

3. Legend that is Randy Johnson	The guy gets better with age, which is pretty scary. This year, at age 38, Johnson is 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA, and he leads the majors with 51 strikeouts in only 39 innings after striking out 17 Rockies on Sunday. Kids, can you say, "Another Cy Young award"?

4. Los Angeles Lakers	Workmanlike dismantling of annual playoff patsies from Portland in Game 1 suggests a threepeat, especially given David Robinson's bad back and the fact other top contenders (Sacramento and Dallas) are going to struggle in the half-court game that wins in the playoffs. Yes, we know, it's only one game, but who's going to stop Shaq in crunch time?

5. Pittsburgh Pirates	OK, how many of you predicted that, almost a month into the season, the Pirates would have the best record in the National League (12-5)? If you did, e-mail us. Page 2 is looking for a new broker. (Though we can't ever see them this high in the poll again in our lifetime.)

6. Vancouver Canucks	Boy, did they ever put the fear of God into the mighty Red Wings by sweeping the first two on the road against everybody's Stanley Cup favorite.

7. Boston fans	The Red Sox have the second-best record in baseball (12-4); the Celtics won their first playoff game in seven years; the Bruins are a Stanley Cup contender; and, lest we forget, the Patriots won the Super Bowl (and picked up what is likely to be a high first-round draft pick for next year from the woeful Bills in a deal for Drew Bledsoe). Maybe God is a New Englander.

8. Contraction teams	Les Expos (11-8) are first in the NL East after winning three straight over the Mets, and Minnesota (13-6) is first in the AL Central after sweeping the much-overrated Indians. As we've said many times on Page 2, Bud Selig is a baseball genius.

9. Legend in his own mind that is Jerry Jones	After several laughable drafts (anybody remember Quincy Carter?), Jones orchestrated a complicated mix of bluffs, deft maneuvers and brilliant horse-trading in what many consider the best draft of any team in this year's extravaganza. Of course, the 'Boys almost blew their pick in the first round by taking too long to complete a trade with the Chiefs, but who are we to nitpick?

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Racing Team	The second-generation master of the superspeedways captured his third of four races with carburetor restrictor plates, when he won the crash-marred Aaron's 499.

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Mavericks, Lance Berkman, Harlan's Holiday, Justin Leonard, "The Scorpion King," Sheryl Crow

TEAM	PAGE 2 SAYS	MO' METER

5. Texas Rangers	The best player in the game, plus one of the best offenses in the game, plus one of the highest payrolls in the game equals ... the second-worst record in the game? A-Rod was right -- it's not about the money.


4. San Antonio Spurs	Pesky Sonics, who now have home-court advantage, might spare Spurs their annual humiliation of being swept by the Lakers.

3. Washington Redskins	With one of the worst collections of QBs ever seen in the NFL, Steve Spurrier has his work cut out for him.

2. Detroit Tigers	Page 2 is going to make this as clear as possible: They stink.

1. Milwaukee Bucks	You could make an arguable case that the Bucks authored the most improbable collapse in the history of any sport. In order for them not to make the playoffs in the woeful NBA East this year, three things had to happen: The Raptors had to win 12 of their final 14 games without Vince Carter, the underachieving Pacers had to sweep their final four games ... and the Bucks had to win less than 30 percent of their games over the final quarter of the season, including losing their final game by 34 points to a Pistons squad that had absolutely nothing to play for. A true sports miracle in reverse!

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Men's college hoops, Florida baseball, Golden State Warriors, Tampa Bay Bucs, Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, New York Islanders, Robert Blake, "Ally McBeal," "Van Wilder"

Mo' Meter explained:	No mo'; holding	Climbing the charts	Peaked; all downhill