The Enquirer sports department's look at who rated — good and bad — this week in sports:

TOP FIVE         1. Mike Brown. Wow, the Bengals boss wasn't kidding. He kept the clamps on the purse and got significantly under the salary cap just in time for arguably the greatest NFL free agent class in history. That means he can offer some talented vets more money than anyone else. Let the turnaround begin.         2. Mark McGwire. He's certainly not playing for free — an average of $15 million per is a pretty good chunk of change. But he says all the right things and seems genuinely grateful for what he has.         3. Conference tournaments. It's Championship Week, and for hoops junkies, the Ohio Valley Conference title game never looked better.         4. Marty and Joe on Reds radio. Sure, Marty spends half the game worrying about the weather and Nux botches names so badly the players don't recognize 'em. But it sure seemed warmer with the “Cold beer here!” calls in the background.         5. XU, UC and UK men's basketball teams. Let's face it. We're spoiled. If you can't enjoy this “off year” then you weren't around for the really bad times.

BOTTOM FIVE         1. Mike Brown. Who are we kidding? You really think he's going to spend, aw, what, $125 million? We'll believe it when we see it.         2. World Cup soccer qualifying tournament. Let's get this straight. The main strategy the U.S. men's team had against Mexico this past week in Columbus was hoping it would be cold? Nice sport.         3. Sports Illustrated cover jinx. Geez. Poor Nomar has an injury before the mailman can get the latest issue in the mailbox.         4. Brian Goldberg. By all accounts, Ken Griffey Jr.'s agent is a heckuva nice guy and an upstanding member of the community. But his hitting the airwaves for spin control every time Junior's involved in some issue or another is getting a little old. Junior's a man. Let him speak for himself.         5. Rod Strickland. He's about all you need to know about the NBA. Wizards give him huge contract, he's basically indifferent on the court, has at least three brushes with the law, and then the team has to pay him several million dollars to leave. Not bad enough? The playoff teams are fighting over him. Nice.

Sports Stories

Best and worst of week in sports Bowling Green 67, Miami 51 MAC tournament schedule Miami women win tourney opener MAC women tournament schedule NKU women ousted from conference tourney Ruiz beats Holyfield in 12-round decision Cincinnatian Austin defends IBF title Cyclones 4, Orlando 0 Mighty Ducks 4, Providence 4 Waltrip used Jarrett's example Meeting with Earnhardt impressed Carroll Stuff 106, Sioux Falls 91 Six local wrestlers win state titles Ohio state wrestling results Columbus gymnast tops state meet Boys basketball coverage Girls basketball coverage Henderson, Boone Co. give championship performance Purcell beats odds, McNicholas St. Ursula turns rankings to rubble Badin 39, Purcell Marian 29 Beavercreek 50, Fairfield 40 Bishop Brossart 73, Campbell Co. 61 Calvary Christian 48, Dixie Heights 47 Chaminade-Julienne 57, Oak Hills 53 Highlands 63, Newport Central Catholic 53 Jackson Center 53, Cin. Country Day 41 Mason 37, Centerville 19 McNicholas 54, Roger Bacon 39 Mother of Mercy 59, Greenville 47 Roger Bacon wins sectional title Scott County 78, Walton-Verona 57 West Liberty Salem 38, Mariemont 35 Wyoming 57, Felicity 34

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Catching Up With: Ken Riley
Bearcats win 6th straight C-USA title
C-USA tourney up for grabs
Conference USA tournament schedule
Conference USA women's tournament schedule
UC women make tourney semifinals
XU aims to end 5-game drought at UD
Prosser takes pressure off Muskies
Atlantic 10 tournament schedule
Xavier women win A-10 opener
Atlantic 10 women's tournament schedule
Larkin, Reese spell double-trouble
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Reyes' starts suit Boone
Game report: Reds 7, Pirates 5
Five Questions With: Randy Marsh