No game for us tonight; rangers clinging to a lead over LAA as i write this.

The previous 10 have included:

Baseball: Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals

Basketball: Philadelphia 76ers

Football: New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers

The next 10 made me think pretty hard about where they should land-- they divided fairly easily into 3 groupings, but within those subgroups it was agonizingly difficult to figure out the right order. I'll try to defend my choice, but would gladly listen to counterarguments.

#10 LOS ANGELES DODGERS

they'd be higher if their best team hadn't been in the mid 60s. But why LA and not St. Louis??

1. In the 1960s the Dodgers won 3 pennants, 2 world championships, and lost a 3 game playoff in 1962 for the NL pennant. the Cardinals by contrast won 3 pennants and 2 world championships but that was it. And as great as Gibson and co. were, there is something that lingers in the mind and the spirit about Koufax, Drysdale and the great Dodger teams;
2. In the 70s and 80s, the Dodgers won 5 pennants, 2 world championships, and 2 more divisional titles. The cardinals won nothing in the 1970s, and then 3 pennants and 1 world championship in the 1980s. This was a clear edge for LA.

Ever since they cleared a Latino neighborhood to build a new ballpark on a hill overlooking downtown LA, the dodgers have been a team noted for its pitching. Sandy Koufax stands above all the rest, but we should not forget that the rest includes HOFer Don Drysdale, the first pitcher to throw more than 50 innings in a row without allowing a run; HOFer Don Sutton, who scuffed and cut and who knows what else to the ball on his way to 300 wins; the charismatic Fernando Valenzuela, who captivated a nation in his 2nd season with his "eyes to the sky" delivery and great screwball. Who can forget Fernando pitching on guts alone to win a key WS game vs. the Yankees in 1981. Other great lefthanders such as Tommy John (and it was after the surgery named after him that his career got a 2nd win in LA and then NY) and Jerry Ruess occupied the Chavez Ravine mound. And then of course the other Dodger who had a scoreless streak over 50 innings and in fact broke Drysdale's record, our vanquisher from 1988, Orel Hershiser.

But for all that pitching, we shouldn't lose sight of the great position players who have worn Dodger blue.

At catcher: piazza, preceded by Scioscia; preceded by Yeager; preceded by Roseboro;

First Base: Steve Garvey

Second Base: Gilliam, Lopes, Sax;

ShortStop: maury Wills and Bill Russell;

Third Base: Ron "the Penguin" Cey

Outfielders such as Willie Davis, Tommy Davis, Dusty Baker, Rick Monday, Kirk Gibson and Reggie Smith

Not one is in the Hall of Fame and only Piazza will ultimately get that ticket, but these were hard-nosed, winning ballplayers.

Dodger memories:

1. My first game was at the coliseum-- wally Moon hit a ball over the short porch in left field, but I have no memory of it;
2. Koufax' perfect game, and his great leg kick and stride as he blew another fastball or sent another backbreaking, kneebuckling curve homeward;
3. Drysdale's controversy-- when he hit Dick dietz of the Giants with the basesloaded but saw his scoreless streak improve as the umpired ruled that Dietz didn;t get out of the way (sound familiar??)
4. The horrible Marichal-Roseboro confrontation;
5. Koufax skipping a start in the 1965 World Series vs. the Twins due to Yom Kippur, then winning the 7th game on just 2 days rest;
6. willie davis misplaying 3 separate balls in Game One of the 1966 Series, instigating an Oriole sweep;
7. Maury Wills failing to get traction as a baserunner at Candelstick park in the 1962 3 game playoff, as the Giants' groundskeepers created a virtual lake near first base by watering the dirt so much;
8. The Dodgers being intimidated by NY in the 1977-78 Series, letting the situation and reggie Jackson get the best of them. In 1981, they had a different attitude in beating the Yankees after Rick Monday's dramatic lennant-winning HR vs. Montreal.
9. Did anything interesting happen in the 1988 World Series-- "I can't believe what I just saw".

My most painful baseball memory-- yes, even more than Jeter/Giambi or the many disappointments from 2000-03-- was at the hands of teh dreaded Dodgers. The 1977 Philadelphia Phillies were headed for the WS and a date with the Yankess. They had split the first two games of the NLCS in LA, then returned to Philadelphia and watched as Dodger Burt Hooton lost his cool and walked in a couple of early runs. the lead held, and as the very dependable Philadelphia bullpen mowed down Dodger after Dodger, one couldn't blamed for drifting to thoughts of Steve Carlton on the hill for the clincher in game Four.

And then the Dodgers' trotted 41 year old pinchhitter Vic Davallilo to the plate with 2 outs and no one on vs. Phils' closer gene Garber. And davalillo dragged a bunt past Garber for a hit. Up stepped 39 year old pinchhitter extraordinaire Manny Mota who lifted a hard liner to left. With a collective gasp every Philly fan realized at once that Greg "The Bull" Luzinski was still out there-- manager Danny Ozark had somehow forgotten to pull the Bull for a defensive replacement, as was the custom. This was worse than Billy Buck, as Luzinski spun around in confusion, drifting back to the wall, gloving Mota's hit for an instant then watching it bounce off and against the wall, and when the play had ended davalillo had scored and Mota stood on 3rd abse after a wild throw back to the infield.

Whereupon Davy Lopes bounced a hard grounder to third, and HOFer and perennial Gold Glover Mike Schmidt saw it bounce of the heel of his glove, over to shortstop Larry Bowa whose hurried but strong throw to first was deemed to have arrived just a split second late. Lopes stole second, Bill Russell knocked him in and before the horror the Doders had a 2 run lead, a 2 to 1 lead in games, and their best pitcher, Tommy John, set to try to close it out the next night. Which he did-- over Carlton-- in a driving rain.

FRANCHISE PLAYER:  Koufax, of course

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: Hate to say it, but "I couldn;t beleive what i just saw, either". Gibson's home run, after he staggered to the plate, and given the quality of the pitcher whose backdoorslider he crushed, is one of the great moments in WS history.

SOMETHING YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN:

Tommy LaSorda-- and how have I forgotten him up until this point?- was a lefthanded pitcher in the Dodger organization struggling to make the roster in 1955, which would be, of course, the year dem Bums finally broke the Yankee stranglehold over them. LaSorda was sent back to the minors and ultimately to the Kansas City A's because a bonus baby who was very wild and not a big part of the team's plans had to fill a major league slot.

His name: Sandy Koufax, of course.