mebody, he says, after handing cards to several children -- and t

Putting Indiana in the top spot last week didnt exactly work out well -- not after Tom Creans team went down the road to IPFW and lost, 24 hours after being elevated to No. 1 in the Power Rankings.Power Rankings are compiled primarily by what has happened on the court, and Indiana, as of last week, had the most impressive victory of any top-25 team, a win over Kansas in Hawaii. Now the Hoosiers have the most unimpressive loss, which is why they have fallen out of the top 10.Its a tough call among three teams for the top spot. Kentucky is blowing teams out, albeit against lesser competition (the Wildcats tough portion of the nonconference slate begins in December). Villanova has the most impressive victory of the three, at Purdue. North Carolina won the Maui Invitational with wins over Chaminade, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin.The two surprises -- and a pair of newcomers -- are South Carolina and Butler. Frank Martins Gamecocks knocked off Michigan and Syracuse, while Chris Holtmann and the Bulldogs took down Arizona in Las Vegas.1. Kentucky Wildcats Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 2?The competition hasnt been great, but UK has been routing teams. In fact, the Wildcats have won their first six games by at least 21 points. Its just the third time in school history that has happened. The past two wins -- over Cleveland State and UT Martin -- have come without Isaiah Briscoe (back injury).2. Villanova Wildcats Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 3Jay Wrights team has won its past three without Phil Booth, who is dealing with a left knee injury. Wright said Booth wont play Tuesday against Penn, the start of Big Five play, but is hopeful he will return against St. Joes on Dec. 3.3.?North Carolina Tar Heels Record: 7-0 Last weeks ranking: 7?The Tar Heels pounded Chaminade, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin to win the Maui Invitational, which bodes well for UNC fans. The past two times Roy Williams has claimed the event, the Tar Heels have won the national title -- in 2005 and 2009.4. Kansas Jayhawks Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: 4 Bill Self sent a message to his starting big men, Carlton Bragg and Landen Lucas, following wins over UAB and Georgia. He went with a four-guard lineup in a rout of UNC Asheville, inserting big man Udoka Azubuike for Lucas and guard Lagerald Vick for Bragg. The duo combined for 32 points and 12 boards.5. Duke Blue Devils Record: 6-1 Last weeks ranking: 5 Were seven games into Dukes season, and weve yet to see the frosh trio of Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden. But it was irrelevant in routs of William & Mary and Appalachian State.6. Xavier Musketeers Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 8The Musketeers had never played Northern Iowa before and wound up playing them twice in one week. The first was a win in the title game of the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando, and the latest was a resounding 64-42 victory at the Cintas Center. Chris Mack is starting to get much-needed depth with the return of versatile forward Kaiser Gates.7. Gonzaga Bulldogs Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 9Sophomore guard Josh Perkins shined for the Zags in their run to the championship of the Advocare Invitational. Perkins had 18 in the win over Florida and was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in the victory over Iowa State.8. Baylor Bears Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 12Scott Drew just finished beating Louisvilles Rick Pitino, Michigan States Tom Izzo and VCUs Will Wade to win the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Add a victory over Oregon, and the Bears have as impressive a résumé thus far as any team in the country.9. Louisville Cardinals Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: 6Pitinos team blew a 22-point lead against Baylor in the championship game at the Battle 4 Atlantis and wound up losing to the Bears. The Cardinals starting perimeter trio of Donovan Mitchell, Quentin Snider and Deng Adel is 20-of-90 (32 percent) from 3 thus far.10. Creighton Bluejays Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 10 Greg McDermotts team is the only one that has shot at least 50 percent in every game this season. Talented redshirt freshman Justin Patton leads the way, having made 31 of 40 shots from the field for a 78 percent clip.11. UCLA Bruins Record: 7-0 Last weeks ranking: 17Freshman Lonzo Ball is the best passer in the country, but its still Bryce Alford who takes the big shot, as shown when he delivered the dagger in a win over Texas A&M to claim the Wooden Legacy on Sunday night.12. Indiana Hoosiers Record: 4-1 Last weeks ranking: 1Tom Creans team got dropped by a Summit League team. Indiana had OG Anunoby for only 13 minutes due to illness, but thats no excuse for losing to the Mastadons, even in Fort Wayne.13. Saint Marys Gaels Record: 5-0 Last weeks ranking: 11The Jock Landale show continues. The junior Australian was 18-of-21 from the field in a pair of wins over UAB and San Jose State.14. Purdue Boilermakers Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: 14 The Boilermakers made 37 of 75 (49 percent) 3s the past three games -- wins over Utah State, Auburn and NJIT. Sophomore big man Caleb Swanigan has four straight double-doubles, tied for the most in a row since Glenn Big Dog Robinson back in 1993-94.15. Virginia Cavaliers Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 15 The Cavaliers defense has been ridiculous thus far, allowing an average of 41.3 points through the first six games. Senior guard London Perrantes was the MVP of the Emerald Coast Classic after wins over Iowa and Providence.16. South Carolina Gamecocks Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: NRThe Gamecocks posted back-to-back wins over top-25 teams for the first time since 2008-09 by beating Michigan and Syracuse. South Carolina held Michigan to 46 points and Syracuse to 50.17. Florida Gators Record: 6-1 Last weeks ranking: 19?The Gators were just 2-of-19 from 3 in the loss to Gonzaga. They are shooting a putrid 29 percent from beyond the arc this season.18. Butler Bulldogs Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: NRThis is the third straight year the Bulldogs have knocked off a top-10 team. It was North Carolina in 2014 in the Bahamas, Purdue last season in the Crossroads Classic and, this time, Arizona to win the Las Vegas Invitational.19. Wisconsin Badgers Record: 5-2 Last weeks ranking: 21The two losses have come at Creighton and in Maui against a top-five North Carolina team. In the two setbacks, the duo of Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes is 7-of-34 from beyond the arc.20. Rhode Island Rams Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: 23Hassan Martin is heating up, with a career-high 31 against Belmont, but E.C. Matthews has cooled off lately after a sizzling start. Matthews, who missed nearly all of the past season with a torn ACL, has averaged just 7.5 points per game the past two contests after making 72 percent of his shots through the first three games.21. USC Trojans Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 25The Trojans were picked seventh in the Pac-12 preseason poll -- and depth could be an issue. For now, Andy Enfields team is healthy and talented.22. Iowa State Cyclones Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: NRThe Cyclones came back from an 18-point deficit against Gonzaga and had a chance to win the game, but were unable to get a shot off on the final possession. Deonte Burton is a tough mismatch. He finished with a career-high 29 points in the loss.23. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: NRIts the third-best start in the Mike Brey era for the Irish, and guys such as?Matt Farrell and Matt Ryan have made sure the Irish, who lost Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste off last years team, havent missed a beat.24. San Diego State Aztecs Record: 3-1 Last weeks ranking: NRBoth Malik Pope and Max Hoetzel made their season debuts in the win over Cal after missing the first three games, including the loss at Gonzaga. The pair combined for 25 points and a dozen boards.25. Oklahoma State Cowboys Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: NRSure, the Cowboys got blasted by UNC, but the Tar Heels are a top-five team. Jawun Evans is arguably the best guard in the country, and Oklahoma State has knocked off UConn and Georgetown.Dropped out: Syracuse Orange, Arizona Wildcats, Oregon Ducks, Michigan Wolverines, West Virginia Mountaineers, Seton Hall PiratesFake Vapormax 2020 . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Cheap Vapormax 3 . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-2019-clearance.html . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Cheap Vapormax Flyknit China . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Cheap Off White Vapormax . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif.One of the best things about being a season-ticket holder is getting to know the people who work at Wrigley Field. If you sit in the same seats, year after year, you build relationships with security workers, ushers and vendors. Folks who get jobs at Wrigley Field tend to keep them.Now that the Cubs are back in the postseason, I look forward to discussing the playoffs with two Wrigley workers in particular.If youre headed up to Section 416, the odds are good that you will run into my favorite beer vendor at her stand on the mezzanine level at the top of Aisle 211. She stands out not just for the quick and efficient way she does her job, serving up cold ones and changing empty kegs in five seconds flat. Because of her, Cubs fans who come to watch the major leaguers at Wrigley can get their beer from another world-class athlete; when shes not tending to thirsty customers at the Friendly Confines, my pal is better known as roller derby star Val Capone.Currently a member of the Chicago Red Hots, and a two-time Ivy King Cup-winner for being champion of Chicagos Windy City Rollers league, Val also coaches the U.S. mens national roller derby team, and is working to get the game into the Olympics.She does all of that while slinging suds not only at Wrigley, but also at the United Center during Bulls and Blackhawks tilts.Val has worked at Wrigley for 11 years, and grew up in Wrigleyville as an ardent Cubs fan, which makes her work personal. I still get chills, she says of arriving at the ballpark on game days, thinking to herself: I work here!Her goal as a vendor is straightforward: For many visiting fans, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and Im here to make it awesome. She loves being part their memory, and if you hang out by her stand for a while, youll see her direct fans seeking a particular beer to a fellow vendor rather than trying to up-sell them on her higher-end brands. Given that vendors work for commission and tips -- You make what you sell, as she puts it -- its clearly not all about her pocketbook.Vals lifetime highlight at Wrigley -- The happiest day of my life, she says -- was singing the seventh-inning stretch with Drew Barrymore in 2009. The movie star was in Chicago to promote her roller-derby film Whip It, which Val consulted on. A picture of that moment can be seen as her twitter avatar (@valcapone). For her, the only thing greater would be a Cubs World Series.With the playoffs still to come, 2016 already has been packed with highlights for Val. The whole season has been an overflowing wealth of awesome, she says. All of it.Val even comes to the games on her off days, as she splits season tickets with a friend. What will happen if the Cubs are still playing at the end of October? Will she work or take her seat?Val will be behind the stick, and her father will have her seat.That, my friends, is family values.Card tricks in the upper deckThen theres Leo, a guest services ambassador -- aka, an usher -- in the upper deck.ddddddddddddriginally from Cleveland and an Indians fan, Leo -- whose real name is Stan Klein, but who goes by Leo while working at Wrigley -- adopted the Cubs as his team after sitting with Bill Veeck in the center-field bleachers in the 80s. Leo bought a beer for the former White Sox owner (and the man who planted the ivy at Wrigley when his father was Cubs GM), and Veeck regaled Leo and other bleacher creatures with insider details about players and the park, bringing Leo into the Cubs fan fold.Leo is a Renaissance man: An actor and artist, he manages Firecat Studios, an art gallery in Bucktown, along with noted Chicago artist, writer, actor (and White Sox fan) Tony Fitzpatrick. Leo also works as an usher at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, pretty much covering all of the citys cultural bases.What sets him apart is a bit of performance art he does before and during every game he works. Beyond just helping people find their seats and gently keeping the aisles clear of loiterers, Leo gives fans of the opposing teams baseball cards featuring their teams players.Why?Its a great way to greet visiting fans, families and patrons, he says, and points out that the Cubs promotional giveaways are all, naturally, aimed at Cubs fans; he wants visitors to feel welcome. It promotes the game and its history as well. Little kids get a card, and their dad recalls that player, and it starts a dialogue about the game and its history. It also introduces modern youngsters to baseball cards themselves, beloved hands-on analog artifacts many have never seen before.While Leo would love to cut a deal with Topps or another card company, that hasnt happened yet; he gets his stock at flea markets and garage sales, and donations from fans. Several other upper-deck ushers have joined him in this project, and he gives away between 200 and 300 cards every game. Some travel agents and school groups even contact him in advance to request a certain number of cards, as his generous gesture has become part of the Wrigley experience for their annual trips to the corner of Clark and Addison.An unexpected gift at an unplanned time is the best thing you can do for somebody, he says, after handing cards to several children -- and their accompanying grown-ups -- wearing Pittsburgh Pirates T-shirts.Leos 2016 highlight? While heading for his bike after one day game, he ran into pitcher Kyle Hendricks, the current MLB ERA leader. Hendricks lives within walking distance of Wrigley, and he and Leo chatted about neighborhood restaurants as they walked down Waveland. Hes just a nice guy, Leo says.The downside to his job? The cold in April and, hopefully, October, he says.But hell take it. I can bear it in October, no problem. ' ' '