A Sunday sampler of sports

This week's top 10:

10. Just around the corner. Started getting the college football preview magazines last week. Since everyone will most likely be choosing USC as the favorite to repeat, I'm more interested in who is getting picked dead last.

Athlon has Florida International as No. 119 out of 119 Division I-A schools. The Golden Panthers, coached by Don Strock, rank just ahead (behind?) of Idaho, Ball State, Buffalo and George O'Leary's UCF Golden Knights.

9. Amazing Annika. By the end of today we will most likely be halfway home to a true golfing Grand Slam, as Annika Sorenstam is running away with the LPGA Championship.

As good as Tiger Woods was from 2000-2002 when he won the bulk of his majors, Sorenstam is probably playing even better right now in relation to the rest of the LPGA field. There is no one within sight of her.

In 2002 I followed Sorenstam around Columbia Edgewater in Portland during the second round of the Safeway Classic when she shot a course-record 10-under 62. And that was when she missed at least three birdie putts inside 10 feet. Just a phenomenal golfer.

8. The ABCs of ratings. Judging by the amount of time Al Michaels and Hubie Brown spent trying to convince us that Game 1 of the Finals did not suck as bad as we thought, I can only guess that if tonight's Game 2 is just as aesthetically displeasing, the rest of the series will get bumped to ESPN (maybe ESPN2) and reruns of "Desperate Housewives" will air instead.

7. Nut jobs update I. Week 2 of "Sports Kids Moms & Dads" offered little reassurance that Week 1 was as low as this show would go into the depths of child abuse.

Sarah, the 8-year-old cheerleader on the fast track to a Stripper of the Year award based on her "dance routine" from last week, is also on the fast track to burnout. Mom Sharon has this kid on two different cheer squads, in a ballet troupe and in a dance group called Little Wranglers, which she founded and runs.

This girl is getting worked harder than in a Vietnamese sweat shop, and for less money.

This Little Wranglers group includes Sarah's older brother, and the two of them dance together giving everything an Angelina Jolie-like creepiness. Even worse is the outfit Sarah wears for the performance, which has "Whoo" stitched across her butt. She explains it thusly: "This is my booty's name."

Somewhere in there they occasionally find time for class at a private religious school, just for a touch of irony.

6. Inch by inch. By all accounts, it appears as though the NHL and the union are making real progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement to end the lockout. It's only a year late, but hey, what's several hundred million in lost revenue among friends?

5. The worst call ever. Friday night in the NCAA baseball Super Regionals, Cal State Fullerton defeated Arizona State when the third base umpire called a balk on ASU pitcher Zechry Zinicola for failing to come to a complete stop - on an intentional walk.

When you hear TV analysts talk about how officials shouldn't decide the outcome of a game, this is what they're talking about.

4. Nut jobs update II. As bad as Sharon is at overworking her daughter, Kim is the mistress of psychological warfare. Her son is the aspiring figure skater, Bryce, and after two episodes Kim is the new template for Mommie Dearest. She just rides every little mistake of Bryce's into the ground with the snarkiest tone imaginable.

I fully expect to find out by the end of the series that Kim is an expert in how to use a wire coat hanger.

3. Belmont blowout. Afleet Alex proved emphatically he is the best horse in the Triple Crown field, yet he did not win the Triple Crown.

At this point, you have to wonder which will come first - a horse racing or baseball Triple Crown winner.

2. The gentleman's sport. Good to see golf etiquette in full force last weekend. While flipping through the channels on Sunday I stopped for a minute on the Memorial - long enough to see David Toms flipping the bird to a spectator.

Toms was getting ready to putt, then backed off the ball looking annoyed. He sank the putt then pretended to scratch his nose with his middle finger. Turns out a heckler disrupted his concentration, prompting the salute.

My only question is how long before the FCC levels an indecency fine on CBS?

1. Local boy makes good. Bigfork's Bart Andrus, who spends his springs in The Netherlands coaching the NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals won the World Bowl on Saturday, the league's championship game. It's the first title for both Andrus and Amsterdam, though for my money I think you've already won a little lottery if you're getting paid to live in Amsterdam.

Andrew Hinkelman is a sports writer for The Daily Inter Lake. He can be reached at hink@dailyinterlake.com