By Mike Ball
Cincinnati Enquirer

Thumbs up

1. Ken Griffey Jr. Three swings, three home runs. On the day Phil Nevin, who rejected a trade to the Reds, separated his shoulder.

2. Ernie Els. Hey, why take on Tiger? Play around the globe and pocket some serious cash.

3. Four-year players in college. David West, Lenny Stokes and Keith Bogans. Good ones.

4. Cricket World Cup. It's a rivalry when you worry about nuclear weapons (India and Pakistan).

5. The global game. The NBA is filled with Eastern Europeans. The Expos' starting rotation has pitchers from the Dominican Republic (Bartolo Colon), Puerto Rico (Javier Vasquez), Venezuela (Tony Armas Jr.), Japan (Tomo Ohka) and La Salle High School (Zach Day).

6. Tim Duncan and David Robinson. The Spurs are 42-18, and we're tired of NBA players and their rap sheets.

7. Roy Jones Jr. Does he remind anyone else of Aaron Pryor?

8. Tiger. Must be nice to be able to turn down a $2.6 million appearance fee.

9. Coach K. Said his fans are spoiled. Hear that, UC students who didn't use all your tickets for the home finale?

10. John Chaney. Because we love the man.

Thumbs down

1. Duke-North Carolina. The Tar Heels are so bad it's kinda sad.

2. The Lexington talk show caller who actually said, "If the Wildcats win another national title, we'll be stuck with Tubby." Yup, suffered through 16-0.

3. St. Bonaventure. Wait, this item blows. I quit.

4. XU bashers. Just because they play in the Atlantic 10 doesn't mean they can't make a deep postseason run.

5. Chadd Moore and Armein Kirkland. Where have these two guys been?

6. The Bengals. God bless Marvin Lewis. Wrote a letter to season-ticket holders suggesting the team isn't all that far away. Hey, they bought tickets, they watched last season.

7. Alice Cooper. Owns part of a Busch racing team, prompting the legendary Richard Petty to say, "Who's she?"

8. Gas prices. Hmmm. Bet LeBron James has to save his milk money to fill up that Hummer.

9. Kinder, gentler Lou Piniella. Took him three weeks into spring training to unleash an expletive-deleted tirade. Wait 'til the games count.

10. The NCAA. Sure, it consists of the member schools. But it's time to start punishing people, not institutions.