Best What Might Have Been (Diamond Division): The Reds played over their heads all season last year and headed into the final weekend alone in first place. On Oct. 1 - the day majority ownership of the team transferred from Marge Schott to Carl Lindner - the weekend slide began. By Sunday, the Astros had captured the division and the Mets, who'd been dead and buried the week before, won to force the Reds to beat Milwaukee to gain a playoff for the wild card position. The afternoon Reds-Brewers game was delayed by rain and didn't start until almost 10 that night. The Reds won, then hustled back home for the playoff game against the Mets (getting back to town around 4 a.m.). They finally ran out of gas and were shut out by Al Leiter and his New York teammates.

Best What Might Have Been (Hoops Division): UC was headed for college basketball's promised land as the 1999-2000 season wound down. A tough home loss to Temple was followed by one of the program's best nights, a comeback win at DePaul in which Kenyon Martin seemed to go 1 against 5 every time down the floor and carried the Bearcats on his back. But when he broke his ankle in UC's conference tournament game against St. Louis, the team's dependence on Martin was exposed. They lost the game, seemed to regroup for the NCAA Tournament (where they got a No. 2 seed) but ultimately couldn't run with the big boys without their leader. UC fans will debate for many years "what might have been" with this team.

Best Irony: Despite having a down season while UC was flying high at No. 1, Xavier basketball fans have the last laugh. The Muskies beat UC earlier in the season and ended up playing longer in the postseason (the NIT) than the Bearcats.

Best Trade: That Griffey deal was pretty OK for the Reds. But their earlier trade for Dante Bichette was a close second choice. The Reds are going to have an incredible offensive lineup this season thanks to GM Jim Bowden.

Best Moment for Pete Rose: Even though he was beaming on the field when introduced as part of baseball's All-Century Team at the All-Star Game, Rose's best moment actually was the ambush interview by Jim Gray. How else could Pete have gotten more people on his side as he seeks reinstatement than by the sympathy showered on him after the interview? It was quite a trick, but he managed to have people feeling sorry for him - which surely will help his reinstatement quest. Major League Baseball, after all, is nothing but a whore for public support.

Best Underappreciated Athlete: Jeff Blake, who led the Bengals through thick and thin and really thin. Blake lost his starting QB job when Boomer came back to town. Then he lost the job again when Neil O'Donnell was brought in in 1998. He again was demoted in favor of rookie Akili Smith in 1999. Finally, after slogging through some bad years in stripes, Blake got out of town as quickly as possible and signed with the New Orleans Saints. Here's hoping he can bring some Shake & Blake to the Big Easy.

Best Athlete Period: UC's Kenyon Martin, who came out of nowhere this season to establish himself as college basketball's Player of the Year. He worked his ass off to improve and came back for his senior year to win a championship - and the fact that his broken ankle kept him from doing so only elevates Martin to mythic hero status. UC fans and sports fans in general will miss Martin when he leaves Cincinnati for the NBA. And if he doesn't become a star in the pros, it'll be a tragedy.

Best Game: UC's amazing football win over Wisconsin on Sept. 18. Coming off a loss to Division 1-AA Troy State, the Bearcats shouldn't have had any hope to beat No. 9 Wisconsin, the defending Rose Bowl and Big Ten champs. But they did, 17-12, producing the unique sight of UC fans storming the Nippert Stadium field to tear down the goalposts. Looking back, the win is even more stunning, considering Wisconsin didn't lose another game, won the Big Ten and Rose Bowl once again and had its running back, Ron Dayne, win the Heisman Trophy.

Best Chance for a Good Seat at a Local Sporting Event: A Cincinnati Stuff game. The city's IBL team has been the best in the league all season, but you can still saunter in and pretty much have your pick of the best seats in the Firstar Center. It might not be like watching UC rip through its season, but seeing former area college heroes like Lenny Brown and Wayne Turner still at the top of their games definitely deserves to have at least as many people as a high school game draws.

Best New Tradition: The River Front Classic & Jamboree on Sept. 17-18. Featuring two traditional black colleges, Howard and Bethune-Cookman, the weekend included luncheons, band competitions and a pretty exciting game at Cinergy Field, won by Howard 31-27. The event returns this fall (Sept. 8-11) with another intriguing game (Tennessee State vs. North Carolina A&T) and expanded activities, including an education summit and an African-American health care conference.