The top five

        1. Baseball history. Sure the All-Star pregame show was a little on the sappy side, but no sport has the history that baseball does. Running out great players from the past — Aaron, Mays, Gibson, Mazeroski, Ozzie, Young, et al — is always great.

        2. The Bengals. They're on a roll. It looks as if they may be able to plug in big 'ol Sam Adams on the defensive line after replacing Darnay Scott with Michael Westbrook. Dare we dream that they could get first-round pick Levi Jones into camp on time?

        3. John McCain. The war hero/senator was on ESPN talking about the issues of the day as well as his love for baseball. When asked if he'd ever consider taking the job of commissioner of baseball, McCain said: “I spent much of my life in prison (POW in Vietnam) getting daily beatings. I don't want to return to that.”

        4. The ESPYs. What a concept. Athletic stars, TV and movie stars . . . aw, never mind. They're just silly.

        5. Tiger Woods. Why wait til next week to congratulate him on his big lead in the British Open.

        The bottom five

        1. Whining fans. Would it have been better had the All-Star game played to a conclusion? Of course. But the fans outcry over the 7-7 tie was a little over the top. Goodness, it's only an exhibition. Because baseball is messed up in so many other ways doesn't make a tie a travesty.

        2. Reds bad luck. This in no way is intended to be a shot at Ken Griffey Jr. But we couldn't help but notice that the night of the All-Star Game Home Run hitting contest, Junior was seen on a SportsCenter highlight in the stands at a WNBA game. Sad, really.

        3. Allen Iverson and Al Unser Jr. Is it really that difficult to be rich and behave yourself. What is wrong with people?

        4. Reebok. The shoe company came out in defense of its client Iverson. The company said that it was disappointed the police were pursuing charges and that the only reason they were was Iverson's celebrity. Nice.

        5. Congress. It's an easy shot, but was it really necessary for our friends in Washington to weigh in on steroid use in baseball and sign a letter urging Major League Baseball to test players? Under, as always, the guise of “protecting our children?” Why do we suspect the letter was more about posturing than principal.

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