What's hot, not for the week
By Dan Shanoff
Page 2 columnist

Is Michael Vick the most exciting thing to happen to pro football since Gale Sayers? Probably. Faithful followers of this list have been sporting No. 7 Falcons jerseys since the day he came into the NFL. He's as hot as any athlete of the last ... fill in your own number of years, depending on your comfortableness with hyperbole.

But what else does Vick need to ascend to true superstardom? An MVP? A Super Bowl ring? Maybe, but here's a checklist of what the kid and his handlers need to assume top-billing in sports culture:

  • Silhouette logo: (Note: Big question -- Running or passing?)
  • Signature football-shoe line: (Note: When's that renegotiation?)
  • Casual-shoe line: (Note: Since no one wears football cleats off the field)
  • Fashion-wear tie-in: (Note: Including "Vick" brand jerseys, headbands, velour sweatsuits and hoodies)
  • Cover-boy status on video-game packaging: (Note: Bye-bye, Marshall Faulk)
  • Movie cameos: (Note: Currently penning treatment for "Like Vick")
  • Music CD: (Note: Vick's Virginia roots shared with current music god Pharrell Williams)
  • Model/actress girlfriend(s): (Note: Tyra may not be up for those conjugal visits)

    Since Vick's bandwagon is getting awfully crowded, check out what else is hot (and passé) this week. Good seats still available:

    What's Hot, What's Not this week
    Category Hot Not
    NFL game of the year Bucs vs. Vick Bucs vs. Pack
    Who runs Rams show? Kurt Warner's wife Mike Martz
    BCS guarantee
    Iowa not a lock yet

    Underestimating Notre Dame
    NBA rookie worth paying to see Dajuan Wagner Nik Skitishvili
    Laker-haters They're so mediocre right now! Hold judgement until June
    Hot free-agent commodity
    Tom Glavine

    Jim "Off the Market" Thome
    Heisman front-runner Carson Palmer (regional solidarity) One of the Miami guys (regional vote-splitting)
    College hoops necessity
    Senior steadiness

    Freshman flash
    How to save folding college swim team Auction team financing on eBay Whine about unfairness
    Augusta legend Tom Wyman Hootie Johnson
    Martha Burk's talking point
    "It's a PGA thing."

    "It's a Tiger thing."
    Ted Leonsis' biggest problem Deflated Caps AOL strategy
    Yao endorsement bonanza Selling coffee to the Chinese Selling, uh, tea to the Chinese
    Spurrier's concern A decent kicker A decent QB
    Bowl
    GMAC (Ragone vs. Leftwich)

    New Orleans (North Texas vs, C-USA 4/5)
    Pro bowling's "300 game" epidemic Makes sports more intesting Analagous to baseball juicing
    NFL concern
    Excessive violence in video games

    Excessive violence on field
    Golf story of the year, 2003 Suzy Whaley wins Greater Hartford Open St. Andrew's changes sand trap at 17!
    Sneaker/hip-hop impresario Jay-Z Master P
    Webber 'fessed up Mayce Chris
    Tiered ticket pricing How 'bout money back if team loses? Pay less to see Mets lose to the crappy teams
    College coaching commodity
    Dennis Franchione

    R.C. Slocum
    College football must-watch game Miami-Virginia Tech Army-Navy, regrettably
    San Jose Sharks Ron Wilson, teacher Darryl Sutter, "Tank-er"
    Underappreciated
    Herman Moore

    Tim Brown
    "After-futher-review" quickest college hoops PG
    Dee Brown, Illinois

    Raymond Felton, UNC
    Holiday-weekend flick
    "Adaptation"

    "Eight Crazy Nights"

    Dan Shanoff is a columnist for Page 2. His "What's Hot, What's Not" trend-spotting list appears Thursdays. Got inside scoop on an up-and-coming trend? Want to declare something passé? Send this glimpse of your hipness to hotnotlist@yahoo.com.





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