THE MAGAZINE EDITOR'S BLOG: A VERY SNEAKY EDITION

Oh, well. Aside from seeing friends, the best part of the evening was a running big-screen projection of The Magazine's 270 or so covers. Very cool to see how right we've been (Yao on our cover 18 months before his first NBA game), how wrong we've been (Jake Plummer's Cardinals didn't quite go 19-0 in 1999) and how weird we've been (that's photo editor Jim Surber's mouth freakishly distorted on our 2003 "Smack" cover). Anyway, a good time was had by almost all, at the party and over the past 10 years. (Note to self: Spend whatever is necessary to get Peterson in this year's draft.)

And now it's time to update my list of THE 27 BEST SPORTS IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, ACCORDING TO ME. Speaking of which: A high school kid in New Jersey passed along thanks for my recognizing track as the great sport it sometimes is. Always nice to get a shout-out through someone's aunt, but I'm still perplexed that anyone besides my sisters cares at all about my list. It is, after all, of no greater significance than another ranking I keep: THE 10 BEST BOOKS ABOUT ATHLETIC SHOES. ( The Sneaker Book is No. 1, but that pink shoelace sewn into the spine makes it a little hard to sit on the shelf.) Here's this week's update, for Rhona and Barbara.

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

1. NBA¹
2. Horseball ²
3. MLB
4. Stickball
5. Sepak Takraw (Continental Asia)
6. Soccer (Europe)
7. Nascar
8. College bas ... eball³
9. NFL
10. Golf (PGA)
11. Tennis (women's)⁴
12. Team Handball
13. NHL⁵
14. Horseshoes
15. Wheelchair tennis ⁶
16. College football
17. Thoroughbred racing⁷
18. Harness racing⁸
19. Rowing (eights)
20. Skateboarding
21. Yoga⁹
22. Water Polo
23. MotoGP
24. Cricket
25. Table Tennis
26. Surfing (ASP)
27. WNBA

1 I know I keep saying this, but has there ever been a conference, in any of the Big 3.5 sports, that's been as interesting as the West is?

2 A surprisingly fun mix of horseback riding, hoops and rugby. On second thought, why would I be surprised that this combo is fun?

3 Sorry, it's still not time.

4 Why did women's tennis move up? Because there was no exhibition match between Maria Sharapova and Chris Evert. (Why am I annoyed by Federer vs. Sampras? No idea.)

5 In the Big 3.5 sports. This is the .5.

6 Just watch a match and you'll see what I mean.

7 I was reading about the stud business. Any sport with a stud business is worth elevating.

8 I'm guessing this is another sport with a stud business.

9 I'll explain next week.

In case you forgot, I can be reached at: gary.belsky@espn3.com

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