THE MAGAZINE EDITOR'S BLOG: WHO NEEDS A HUG?

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A hug from D'Brickashaw could kill a lesser man.

On Friday The Magazine hosted its annual NFL Draft Party at Touch in Manhattan. It was sponsored by Heineken, Under Armour and Muscle Milk, but only one figured directly in my evening's festive and generous vibe. (Seriously, you put one Under Armour jersey on me and I say every nice thing in my head.) I had two especially meaningful encounters, both ending in embraces. Unfortunately, both huggers weighed upwards of 300 pounds.

Hug No. 1: Late in the evening, Elena Bergeron, our crack college hoops reporter, told me that the guy behind me on the dance floor was D'Brickashaw Ferguson. When I said, "Are you sure?" Elena yelled, "Hey, Ferguson," causing the the Jets offensive lineman to turn around. I introduced myself and asked if he remembered a call before the 2006 draft, telling him that he was NOT going to be on our cover as expected, owing to some breaking news development. He said "Yeah, they knocked me off for Barry Bonds," at which point I said "they" was "us," telling him that I was the one who called him to deliver the news. Two years ago I thought he was a class act, saying he understood despite the fact that he'd given us a whole day for the shoot. On Friday night I liked him even more. I apologized again and he responded with "It's all good" before giving me a big hug. That's when I promised to give him serious consideration for a cover this year, which might have been the Under Armour talking.

Hug No. 1: Next Elena introduced me to Glenn Dorsey. Last fall, senior writer Bruce Feldman argued persuasively in The Magazine that the huge (and hugely talented) LSU lineman deserved a look in the Heisman race. And I think Dorsey might have won had we not photographed him eating a cake shaped like the statue. Anyway, on Friday night Glenn said those pics were his favorites, then asked if we'd ever put him on our cover. I said if he started the season really strong there was a shot we'd do it this fall. That's when he decided to hug me. And that's when I decided to stop wearing Under Armour at work parties. Or maybe it was the Muscle Milk. In any event, Dorsey was picked by the Chiefs, so let's hope he starts the season really, really (really) strong.

Now on to my list of THE 27 BEST SPORTS IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, ACCORDING TO ME. It's a quirky ranking, but much less important than another list I keep: TEAM NAMES USED MORE THAN ONCE IN MAJOR U.S. PRO SPORTS IF YOU COUNT ARENA FOOTBALL AND MLS AS MAJOR U.S PRO SPORTS (Cardinals, Giants, Kings, Panthers, Predators, Rangers and Wizards). Anyway, here's this week's update, for the Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Suns:

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

1. NFL
2. Tennis (Women's)¹
3. MLB²
4. NBA
5. NHL
6. Open wheel racing (IndyCar)³
7. Ultimate Frisbee
8. Cricket
9. College Football
10. Gaelic Football
11. Arena Football
12. Sailing
13. Badminton
14. Rowing (eights)
15. Football tennis⁴
16. Wheelchair hockey
17. Aussie Rules/Rugby League Football
18. Water Polo
19. Biathlon⁵
20. BMX
21. Rugby Union
22. Tennis (Men's)⁶
23. NASCAR (Sprint Cup)
24. Bowling (PBA)⁷
25. Yoga
26. Soccer
27. WNBA

1. I had breakfast last week with Maria Sharapova, at the Four Seasons hotel in NYC. I just wanted to write that. It's true, too, but technically it was me and a handful of other magazine editors, invited by TAG Heuer, the Swiss company whose watches Maria wears. I'd never met her before, and I thought she was smart and candid. When you ask her questions, she gives what seem to be honest answers. (One example: She said she wasn't sure if she'd want her hypothetical daughter to be set on the professional sports track as early as she was, but said she understood why her parents chose that route for her given their economic situation and her obvious gifts.) She's also really tall, and has a good sense of humor. As The Magazine editor I get invited to these kinds of functions periodically, and the temptation is to be skeptical because they are arranged by advertisers. But I always remind myself that if I didn't have this job and someone asked if I wanted to have breakfast with Maria Sharapova, I would say yes in a second. Plus, the TAG Heuer people were cool and weren't pushing their product. I'm glad I went.

2. Is there anything better than a baseball season where the Cardinals and Cubs are both contending? Tell me you're not looking forward to their series this weekend!

3. You can make a case that Danica Patrick's win in the Indy Japan 300 was one of the most impressive achievements in sports in general so far this year, and in women's sports ever. Same sports, same equipment, same field of play—and she beat every other driver in the race, all of whom happened to be men. Good for her.

4. Soccer + tennis + volleyball = Who needs Twister?

5. Because guns don't kill people—people who don't use guns solely for sport kill people. (But seriously: Skiing and rifles? That's just weird.)

6. Am I the only person wondering who kidnapped Roger Federer and when are they going to return him and take away that guy pretending to be Roger Federer?

7. I miss women's professional bowling (the PWBA folded in 2003) and I'm not embarrassed to admit it. Well, I'm a little embarrassed. But Kelly Kulick rocks.

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