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By Jeff Merron
Page 2


Every once in a while, Page 2 goes global – for example, in this, our periodic, unscientific, apples-and-oranges "Power Rankings" of the best teams in the world right now.

The criteria are simple: Are you great now, or have you been recently, or will you be very soon? The Pistons, for example, can't ride on last year's championship fumes, nor can the Red Sox. The Patriots' Super Bowl victory came two months ago -- ancient history.

Let's go:

10. U.S. women's hockey
Take that, Canada! Finally, after eight straight championship game losses to our northern neighbors, the U.S. women beat Canada for the women's hockey world championship. The win on Saturday night came with the Yanks outshooting the Canadians, 3-1, in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 deadlock after a 20-minute overtime period.

Krissy Wendell was the tournament's leading scorer with nine points and received MVP honors. Teammate Angela Ruggiero was named best defender and U.S. netminder Chanda Gunn top goalie.


Peter Mannino stopped 44 shots in leading Denver to the title.

9. Denver Pioneers men's hockey


The Pioneers beat North Dakota 4-1 before 17,155 fans Saturday night in Columbus to win their second straight NCAA hockey title and finish the season with a 32-9-1 record. Among the five Pioneers on the six-man All-Tournament team: frosh goaltending phenom Peter Mannino, who got Most Outstanding Player honors after stopping 85 shots in two Frozen Four games, and 19-year-old freshman Paul Stastny (son of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny), who tallied two goals and one assist in the Pioneers' win.

8. Boston Red Sox
Hey, did you hear? Kevin Brown's on the DL! Which sums up the Yankees' major problems in a nutshell: They're a bunch of old guys. Given, they're a bunch of great old guys -- but Gary Sheffield, Bernie Williams, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada and the Sunshine Home Starting Five are all slowly sunsetting. The Sox have a younger ballclub, one that's still hungry and ambitious and fun. Eighty-six years, then two straight World Series wins? It's gonna happen.

7. Miami Heat
They're winning at home. They're winning on the road. They're dominating the East. They're winning against the West. Shaq and Dwyane Wade mesh like the best English lavender shaving cream on a wet hot badger-hair shaving brush. They're going to the NBA Finals.

6. Chelsea
The English Premiership, Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga -- ask what's the best soccer league in the world, and it's a toughie. But most give the Premiership the edge. And Chelsea sits on top of that league. It has been 50 years since Chelsea won the Premier League title, but the Blues are 11 points ahead of 2004's defending champs, Arsenal, and 14 ahead of the not-so-mighty Man United, with six games to play. Behind the success: Frank Lampard, John Terry, Damien Duff, Claude Makelele and Petr Cech, ranked 2-6 in the league's Actim Index.

5. Oak Hill Academy Warriors
After going undefeated in 2003-04, the top-ranked prep hoops squad in the country just finished a 34-2 season. This is a high school roster? In any case, All-American guard Jamont Gordon (18.9 points, 8 rebounds) is graduating (he hasn't committed to a college yet); McDonald's All-American guard Eric Devendorf has signed with Syracuse; and K.C. Rivers is Clemson-bound. But 6-foot-9 junior forward Kevin Durant (17.8/9.2) will return. And O.J. Mayo, only the second soph in history to be named Ohio's Mr. Basketball (LeBron was the first), might be on his way to Oak Hill for his junior season. But that's just a rumor.

4. Baylor Lady Bears women's basketball
Bob Knight. Dean Smith. Kim Mulkey-Robertson?

Yep. They're the only hoopsters to have won NCAA titles as both player and coach, Mulkey-Robertson being the most recent after leading the upstart Bears to an 84-62 win over Michigan State on Tuesday.

The Bears finished the season 33-3, with a Big 12 title and a 20-game winning streak. Sophia Young was the tourney's Most Outstanding Player, and she was named to the all-tourney team along with fellow Bears Steffanie Blackmon and Emily Niemann. And Mulkey-Robertson? The former star won two titles as a player with Louisiana Tech and was named the coach at Baylor five years ago, taking over a team that had finished last in the Big 12 with a 7-20 record.

And maybe this spells the end of the Tennessee-UConn dual superpower status in women's college hoops. Amen.

3. Arkansas Razorbacks men's track
The Razorbacks won the NCAA indoor title, are ranked No. 1 outdoors and are favored to win the outdoor title, as well. Among the greats on this year's team: soph Wallace Spearmon Jr., named world indoor track athlete of the year by Track and Field News after setting an American indoor 200-meter record of 20.10 last month; world-class sprinter Tyson Gay; Terry Gatson, who ran a blazing 45.29, the third-fastest 400 meters indoors during a season packed with records in the event; James Hatch, one of the best 800/mile runners in the nation; Said Ahmed, who ran a speedy 3:57 mile on an oversized track indoors; and distance runners Jason Sandfort and Adam Perkins.

2. Phoenix Suns
Or the Phoenix Funs. Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire spearhead an offensive attack that averages 110 points a game and tops 120 once a week or so. Feels like 1985, which to us seems like something the NBA could use a little more of. The Suns have already completed one of the greatest turnarounds in NBA history, and a run to a championship could make this a legendary team.

1. North Carolina men's basketball
Sean May, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants. Roy Williams. Sure, there's some luck involved in winning the Big Dance, but dig this: 33-4 against the toughest competition in the country. An early-season win over Kentucky. A 34-point blowout of Maryland. A 22-point win over Georgia Tech. A comeback win over Duke in early March. We could go on, but the win over Illinois -- a great team itself -- puts the 2004-05 edition of the Tar Heels up there with the all-time greats.

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best team in the world (for now).... can't beat that

I wonder who 'most' is.

Jesus, I didn't even have to read this thread to know what was coming.

Jeff Merron is an idiot

Will Chelsea ever go a league season unbeaten? Will they ever win the double? Still haven't reached a Champions League final. We'll see. For the moment, best team my arse.

Where are the Denver Nuggets????

2 months doesnt count, but 2 weeks does...weak

rules are rules peeps... besides, you conservatives don't really strike me as rule breakers

I'm going to write an article for a publication about how the Kamloops Blazers are the best team in the world. So there.

yeah, but did they beat "almighty" illinois?

Nope, but they have beaten the mighty Kelowna Rockets.

'Most' would be most of the people in the world, but that's only because EPL has the widest appeal.

merry xmas

In the playoffs! I think they are the best team in the West right now.

If they get past the first round I will be completly suprised. Not even top 5 IMO.

They've won 23 out of 25 games. They're destroying people, there's no hotter team in the league. If they play a banged up Sonics team in round 1 ( a strong possibility right now), Denver will walk into Round 2.

They are definetly on a hot streak. I forgot about how banged up the Sonics were, so maybe they could win. I think Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas can dispatch them pretty easily. But if they keep up like they have, they will be tough.

SA is the class of the league IMO. They're the favorites.
Dallas or Phoenix vs. Denver would be a hell of a track meet and fun to watch for sure.

I read anywhere that Phoenix Suns make us remember that old Denver Nuggets leaded by Alex English or that Golden State team with the fantastic Hardaway-Ritchmond-Mullin trio... That's enough for me to strongly wish that they win everything!