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Page 2's Power Poll
Page 2 staff

Every week, the Power Rankings on ESPN.com's NFL, NBA, NHL and baseball pages rate the best teams in each of the individual pro sports. But nobody has had the gumption to rate the teams that are currently wielding the most power in the entire sports universe.

Until now. Each week, Page 2's Power Poll will rate the 10 teams at the top of the power heap -- and the five teams that have lost the most power in the past week. And, by the way, Page 2 uses its own definition for a "team" -- any group of two or more bonded together for the common good.

Our Momentum Meter also predicts the direction these teams will be heading in future weeks (see the bottom of the page for a full explanation).

If you've got anything to say about our Top 10 or our Bottom 5,click here to comment -- or forever hold your peace. We'll run the best comments next week on Page 2.

TEAM	PAGE 2 SAYS	MO' METER

1. North Carolina men's hoops	Stayed atop polls by beating Maryland for 18th straight win. Smiles in Chapel Hill and Heels' ACC lead widened when Duke fell at Virginia.


2. Philadelphia 76ers	Embarrassed Lakers, even without Ratliff and Geiger. A-I odds-on to win MVP for league's best team.


3. New York Yankees	Locked up Jeter, about to sign Rivera. Pitchers and catchers started reporting Wednesday. Yanks clinch AL East on April 2.


4. All golfers not named Tiger Woods	Food poisoning couldn't stop Phil Mickelson from winning Buick. What was a mere Tiger supposed to do?


5. Old-school dunkers	Rookie Desmond Mason beat no-name field in pathetic dunk contest. Where have you gone, Dr. J? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.


6. Notre Dame women's hoops	Still unbeaten, top-ranked Irish are holding foes to 55 points per game.


7. St. Louis Blues	Black-and-blue Blues keep losing star players -- Demitra joins MacInnis and Pronger -- but they still beat Avs in OT and tied Stars back-to-back on road.


8. Dodge racing team	Talk about Dodge different. In its first year back in NASCAR since 1983, Dodge wins Daytona pole with Bill Elliott and takes three of top seven spots.


9. Seattle Slew and his fillies	Our favorite Valentine's stud still sprightly and virile at 27 (that's about 81 in human years).


10. San Antonio Spurs	With their customary calm class, Spurs have won nine of their last 10.


ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Pittsburgh Penguins, City of Vancouver, Chicago Bulls, O.J.'s legal team

TEAM		PAGE 2 SAYS	MO' METER

5. David Stern and NBA's reputation		Commish spends All-Star weekend battling media about league's image, ends up with good game nobody watches, then sees his global domination plan start to fizzle with upcoming move of Grizz.


4. U.S. Davis Cup team		Switzerland? Switzerland!? @#?&! Switzerland!?


3. Kansas men's basketball		"It wasn't like we beat Duke or North Carolina. It was only Kansas," said Baylor's Terry Black after Bears stunned Jayhawks. Wilt and Phog must be turning over in their graves.


2. Atlanta Hawks		Being first team in 17 games to lose to Bulls is bad. Doing it for second time this season is embarassing.


1. Toronto Blue Jays		Somehow a 240-pound pitcher disappeared, and Toronto was left with nothing to show for it.


ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Grizzlies' future city (beware if you live in San Diego, New Orleans, Louisville or Anaheim), Macho Uno's connections, NBC's too-long XFL broadcasts, SFX

Mo' Meter explained:	No mo'; holding	Still climbing the charts	Peaked; all downhill

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	ALSO SEE: Page 2's Power Poll: Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 2001 Page 2 readers sound off

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