THE MAGAZINE EDITOR'S BLOG: CHAD JOHNSON TOOK MY JOB!

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Gary Belsky's got nothing on Ocho Cinco.

We hosted our second annual Revenge of the Jocks party last week in LA at the X Bar (Hyatt Regency Century Plaza). And by we I mean Chad Johnson, our guest editor for the issue, and Rick Reilly, our new back-page columnist. They were the official co-hosts. Reilly was, as usual, funny and friendly and happy to talk to his many fans. Johnson was, as usual, funny and smart and happy to talk to me. We swapped editor-in-chief war stories (he also wonders why no one uses spell-check!) and I really enjoyed hanging with him. I think he enjoyed hanging with Amerie more. She was the headlining performer, and she delivered.

(If you click through after the jump, we have a video of said party.)

But the best thing about the party for me was all the surprise celeb and jock drop-ins, including jazz vocalist Sara Leib (one of my favorite singers), Browns veteran Willie McGinest (one of my favorite linebackers) and Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Khloe Kardashian (one of my favorite Kardashian sisters). Like a lot of party-goers, McGinest volunteered to join our next athletes-take-over-The-Magazine issue. He also said we better hurry, since he's planning to make this upcoming NFL season his last. Too bad. McGinest has always been a class act. Speaking of which, when Chad Johnson had the stage at our party he gave a big shout-out to his wide receiving partner on the Bengals, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, saying he wouldn't be who he was if Houshmandzadeh wasn't where he was. Like I said, class act.

Now on to my list of THE 27 BEST SPORTS IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, ACCORDING TO ME. It's a sparkly ranking, though much less important than another list I keep: SONGS THAT EXPLAIN THEMSELVES (Top 4: "Now You Has Jazz," "The Name Game (The Banana Song)", "The Hokey Pokey," "Cha Cha Slide"). Anyway, here's this week's update, for DJ Casper:

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

1. MLB (National League)¹
2. NFL²
3. Golf ³
4. NASCAR (Sprint Cup)⁴
5. Soccer (global)
6. Tennis (Men's)
7. NASCAR (Craftsman Truck Series)
8. MLB (American League)
9. Poker (WSOP)
10. Wheelchair basketball
11. Tennis (women's)
12. Cricket
13. Swimming (U.S. Olympic trials)
14. Rowing (singles)
15. Open-wheel racing (IndyCar)
16. Skateboard (street)
17. Mixed Martial Arts
18. Arena Football
19. Fullbore target shooting⁵
20. NHL
21. Jukendo⁶
22. Lawn bowling
23. Skateboard (vert)
24. College Football
25. Thoroughbred racing⁷
26. Yoga
27. WNBA⁸

1. My Cardinals continue to surprise—and keep pace with the Cubs—but what do you expect of the most successful franchise in Major League Baseball? And Cards fans are not that worried about the Cubbies, given the historical record of the two franchises.

2. Early June is when I usually realize for the first time that NFL training camps are just weeks away. This June was no exception. And once again I can't help but note that the NFL is unrivaled when it comes to dominating the sports calendar. In this country, anyway. Soccer pretty much always has some cup or another being contested.

3. I've got U.S. Open fever. Also known as golf major fever. Also known as Gary needs to get a life.

4. You know who's good? Kyle Busch. (You're welcome.)

5. Because guns don't kill people—people who don't use guns solely for sport kill people.

6. A form of fencing in Japan. In the traditional martial art, very long bayonets are used. In comps, very long sticks. Either way, it's cool.

7. Yeah, that worked out really well.

8. Candace Parker is good, just not good enough to keep the WNBA in the news every day.

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