By Mike Ball
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Top five

1. Elder. We know how difficult it was for the purple guys to give up a home game at The Pit. But given the situation - the OHSAA declared that visiting teams, in this case St.Xavier, should get half the tickets for playoff games - the Elder brass did the right thing for its fans by moving the game to Nippert Stadium. Besides, local fans need every opportunity they can get to see quality football.

2. UC basketball. It's a credit to Bob Huggins' program that his Bearcats are picked to win their division in Conference USA and are ranked 20th in the USA Today coaches poll despite a host of newcomers.

3. The Bengals. Halloween has come and gone. Ohio State has 10 victories. We have a round of high school football playoffs under our belts. The malls are gearing up for Christmas. And our Bengals, God bless 'em, are seeking - make that guaranteeing - their first victory of the season. Beautiful.

4. The season-ending PGA Tour Championship. After a season that began Jan.3, it's time, at last, for the offseason. Except, of course, for the Hyundai Team Matches (Nov.16), the Franklin Templeton Shootout (Nov.21), the PGA Grand Slam of Golf (Nov.26), the Skins Game (Nov.30), the Williams World Challenge (Dec.5) and the WGC-EMC World Cup (Dec.12). In other words, the silly season.

5. Nux. We knew the Ol' Left-hander had another 222 games in him.

Bottom five

1. The NBA. When did this become The League That Couldn't Shoot Straight? Remember when scores used to be 120-117 and not 82-77?

2. What goes around comes around, college football division. Didn't you used to be Florida State, Tennessee, Nebraska, Penn State and Florida?

3. Ohio State. Here's a deal. Stop having football players arrested, and we'll stop mentioning it.

4. The Yankees. Seems Mr. Free Spender Steinbrenner is calling for fiscal responsibility and might have to trade catcher Jorge Posada because he's the only star who doesn't have a no-trade clause. Here's hoping the new labor agreement hits him hard. (If any team takes Raul Mondesi or Sterling Hitchcock or Rondell White and their ridiculous contracts off the Yankees' hands, then they deserve what they get).

5. The Reds. The Expos exercised their $6 million option on ace Bartolo Colon last week. A bargain to be sure, despite the fact he was too expensive for the Reds last summer. All Colon did last season was go 20-9 with a 2.93 ERA for the Indians and Expos. He's 85-49 in his career. And, oh yeah, he's 29.

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