By Mike Ball
Cincinnati Enquirer

Thumbs up

1. Riley. One of the official staff pups came out of the first round of the NCAA pool in the lead, with 28 out of 32!

2. Great American Ball Park. Truly, a palace of the fans.

3. John Smoltz. Stud starter, stud reliever. And he beat Anika Sorenstam during a round of golf with Tiger Woods.

3. Roy Jones Jr. Looks like he's hooking up with Evander Holyfield in the fall. Poor Evander.

4. Jack and Arnie. It was still cool to see them in the same tournament again. Now for Tiger-Els.

5. Baseball Tonight. The music cranks up and we're one of Pavlov's dogs.

6. Bud Selig. He made the right call not sending the Mariners and Athletics to Japan. Problem is, opening day shouldn't have been over there in the first place.

7. Ron Hunter. The former Miami player and IUPUI coach showed why the first two days of the NCAA tourney are the best.

8. NASCAR. Last week's race won the weekend TV ratings for a fourth straight week.

9. Perkins Roofing/TPS. The two-time Metro Softball major champ won a USSSA invitational in Las Vegas and qualified for the worlds.

10. Morten Andersen. He re-signed with Kansas City for his 22nd season. Wants to kick 'til he's 50!

Thumbs down

1. Tyronn Lue, NBA knucklehead No. 1. He equated the Wizards' fight for a playoff berth to the war in Iraq.

2. Ricky Davis, NBA knucklehead No. 2. The Cavalier actually missed a shot at the wrong basket in an attempt to get a rebound to record a triple-double.

3. Expanded NFL playoffs. Let's hope the owners vote the proposal down. This isn't the NHL.

4. The Basketball Hall of Fame. It actually asked for LeBron James' jersey. Before the season was over!

5. Martha Burk. Nice of her to tone down her protests during the war.

6. Skip Prosser bashers. Sure, you were mad he left Xavier. But it seems he can win big games after all.

7. My bracket sheet.

8. The NHL. Is the regular season over yet?

9. Shaq. Why does he have to rip Mike Bibby being added to the Olympic team?

10. Daniel Snyder. The Redskins owner is making Steinbrenner look cheap.