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THE MAGAZINE EDITOR'S BLOG: O.J. AND A NEW LIST OF THE TOP 27 SPORTS

by Gary Belsky, ESPN The Magazine Editor-in-Chief

Mike Powell/Getty Images

NFL: You've been warned.

Good things happen when you edit a national sports magazine, and I'm not just talking about getting a two-hour weekly radio show on Sirius. (Tuesdays, Noon-2:00 ET!) I'm talking about our show producers, who mock my alleged St. Louis bias, booking a mystery guest described to me simply as a St. Louis sports icon. Which he was: Ottis Jerome Anderson, non-Hall of Fame running back for the St. Louis Cardinals (more on that later).
     The segment went well, once I stopped saying what a big fan I was/am. Amazingly, OJ didn't remember that pickup hoops game I played with him in 1984. I was covering another Cardinals player, a DB named Carl Allen, and I held him to one basket. This was the first implementation of my lean-and-sweat defense, which remains surprisingly effective given my unremarkable hoops skills.
     Most of the interview was devoted to my explaining why Anderson should be in the Hall of Fame, and him agreeing. Seriously, when the guy retired he was 8th on the all-time NFL rushing list AND a Super Bowl MVP. I don't know how that doesn't get a guy into Canton. I promised OJ that I would do my best to help get him in. Starting now: I hereby vow that until OJ Anderson gets into the Pro Football Hall of Fame the NFL will never occupy the top spot on my list of THE 27 BEST SPORTS IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, ACCORDING TO ME.
     Speaking of my list: I caught a lot of flack last week for omitting college hoops. I get it. People like college basketball. And I am a people. But I have very good cause for leaving NCAA Division 1 hoops off my my list. You'll just have to trust me. Or not. This list is, after all, of no greater significance than another list I keep: TOP 10 U.S. STATES WITH THE MOST CITIES THAT PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE THAT STATE HAVE HEARD OF. (California, Texas, and Florida are obvious choices for the first three slots, but Ohio is a surprise No. 4, Illinois a shocking 37th and Wyoming and Rhode Island tied for dead last.) More to the point, we run way more pages on college hoops in The Magazine than we do on Sepak Takraw or Cricket. Because college hoops matters. And yet I can't put it on my list—not at the moment. But here's this week's list update, now with footnotes!

THE 27 BEST SPORTS IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, ACCORDING TO ME

1. MLB1
2. NBA2
3. NFL3
4. NHL4
5. Sepak Takraw (Continental Asia)5
6. Soccer (Europe)
7. Stock-car racing
8. Water polo6
9. Slengjeta7
10. Golf (PGA)8
11. Javelin9
12. Tennis (women's)
13. Open-wheel racing (ex-USA)
14. Horseshoes
15. Snooker10
16. College football11
17. Surfing (ASP)
18. Rugby (sevens)
19. Rowing (eights)
20. Skateboarding
21. Wheelchair tennis
22. MLS
23. BMX
24. Cricket
25. Table Tennis
26. Boxing
27. WNBA

1 Tim Kurkjian came on our Sirius show this week. Just talking to him makes me like baseball a little better. Also, I'm from St. Louis, home of the team with the most World Series titles. (If you don't count the American League. And, really, who does?)

2 Big trade! Bigger trade!! Bigger and bigger trades! Anyway, the prospect of a Celtics-Lakers Finals actually has me excited. And I can't believe I just said that. So let's instead say the prospect of a Kobe-LeBron Finals actually has me excited. Translation: Spurs over Pistons in six.

3 I'm mad about O.J., but not crazy. I couldn't stop watching the Combine. I swear to God I saw what I'm pretty sure were refrigerators running 4.6 40s.

4 Blues + Chance to make the playoffs = Stretch-run fever!

5 I'm more convinced than ever that if they hired AFL commissioner David Baker they could become a Big 4 sport in this country.

6 Nasty, nasty sport played by nasty, nasty athletes who kick the crap out of each other and do all sorts of wicked things below the surface of the water. How can you not love this?

7 Norwegian folk wrestling. And if you're one of those yokels who's always going on about how slengjeta is derivative of Sweden's slangttaja or Iceland's lausa glima, well, you're just gonna have to deal.

8 It's No. 4 when Tiger is playing. And No. 2 when Tiger is contending in a major. Just saying.

9 In our new issue we have a story about Breaux Greer, the best javelin thrower in the U.S. It's a cool sport, gotta say. Also gotta say that he jokes about becoming a porn star and I wouldn't be surprised if he's not joking.

10 I just like how it sounds. Snooker. Way better than billiards or pool. Also, it's pool shark and card sharp, in case you were wondering.

11 Yes, it's an offseason that involves lots of middle aged guys wishing they could call young men as often as they please, but signing day and all the chaos that comes before and after is pretty cool.

Care to tangle about the list or anything else? Email me at: gary.belsky@espn3.com


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