January Media Power Rankings

1. Brad Daugherty, ESPN Nascar analyst: While John "Hot Rod" Williams clearly owns the better name for a racing analyst (at least among former Cavalier big men), Daugherty is the broadcaster to watch when the green flag drops on ESPN's live coverage next month. By virtue of his assignment, he becomes the most visible African-American media member in the sport's history. When SI interviewed him last month for a Q&A, he stated his desire to bring more people of color to racing. "I don't know any other way to have an impact on the sport other than getting out and being a voice, and speaking to some of the issues that are there," said Daugherty, a former Craftsman Truck Series team owner. "I'd like to open some eyes. Will it happen? I don't know. Am I going to try to make it happen? Heck, yeah. Without a question."

2. Dan Steinberg, Washington Post, DC Sports Bog: It's a brave new (and terrific) world when one of the nation's august newspapers features up-to-date news on the latest " Kwame Brown Sucks" Web site. Steinberg is self-effacing, eminently readable, and keeps the sucking up to Tony Kornheiser at a manageable level. If newspapers want to engage young readers, this is a nice example.

3. Carson Palmer, Bengals quarterback: When it comes to the definition of candid, I usually rely on the wisdom of actress Natasha Henstridge, who famously said, "I might sound very candid but I think my comfort with nudity definitely plays an important role in getting me my roles." After Palmer's interview with Bengals.com on the latest Bengal arrest, I think I've found a new avatar of forthrightness. "It has to stop," Palmer said. "If it doesn't stop, we're not going to have any fans left and I don't blame them. It's ridiculous. We can't get through a month without getting a guy arrested. It happens on another team and they're shocked and surprised to hear about it. With us, you hear about it and it doesn't surprise you and you just shake your head and say, 'Another one.'" Memo to television executives: Hire this man 30 seconds after he retires.

4. Charles Davis, NFL Network: Here's the list of people who had a better college bowl season than Davis: Ian Johnson and Chrissy Popadics, Urban Meyer, Chris Peterson and JaMarcus Russell. Working as a two-game contract employee for Fox, Davis shined in his role as an analyst on the Boise State-Oklahoma game and the BCS national championship. Hopefully, he's assured himself of another run next January.

5. Benny Parsons, Hall of Famer: The affable Parsons, a longtime broadcaster for NBC, TNT and ESPN, passed away following complications from lung cancer earlier this month. He was 65. Those of us who got a chance to interview him were always left with a smile and a story to pass on.

6. Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, Arena Football League announcers: I don't believe ESPN assigned Greenberg and Golic to call AFL games merely to draw publicity for ESPN Radio. Of course, I don't believe there was gambling going on at Rick's Cafe in Casablanca either. I'm actually looking forward to this pairing because there's no middle ground here: It's either a master stroke of programming or a disaster that should be directed by Dino Delaurentis. But congrats to the suits at ESPN. I've now written more words on Arena Football than I have in the last 90 days.

7. Christopher Sullivan, Fox Soccer Channel: Normally, when I want a dose of a broadcaster kissing the butt of a league commissioner, I tune into Chris Berman at the NFL Draft. Not anymore. During FSC's coverage of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention, a fawning Sullivan told MLS Commissioner Don Garber what a fantastic job he was doing. This came at the start of the interview. Colleague Max Bretos sung a similar love ballad at the conclusion, including prompting the audience to let Garber "hear it, for a job well done." (Thankfully, none of FSC's anchors starting singing For He's A Jolly Good Fellow.) No one is expecting FSC to be Frontline but neither should it act as the L.A. Chamber of Commerce. Understandably, FSC wants to be an advocate for soccer in the U.S. But a little independence please, guys.

8. Sean Salisbury, ESPN analyst: The blogosphere has chronicled the on and off-air activities of Salisbury with the zeal Arnold Schwarzenegger tracked Linda Hamilton in the first Terminator. During an NFL Live broadcast earlier this week, as heard via this audio link, Salisbury used what sounded very close to the word "jew" when discussing the Colts' comeback against the Patriots. "We'll nip, we'll tuck, we'll go, we'll crunch, we'll (unclear word here), we'll do it all. And he nickel-and-dimed it and Peyton made the play when it mattered all through the second half." An ESPN spokesperson told SI.com that "the only statement we have is that it was not a slur." Salisbury also addressed the matter on his Chicago radio show -- he denied he made any slur -- and reiterated his comments in an interview with the Chicago Tribune's Ed Sherman. "I said crunch and chew," Salisbury told the Tribune. "I don't know where a Jewish comment would have any place in talking about a quarterback driving down the field. If a blogger heard what he wanted to hear, there's nothing I could do about that. But I didn't say anything remotely close." While Salisbury is admittedly overbearing at times, I'll give him the benefit of doubt here.

9. Stephon Marbury, Fox Sports Net talk-show host: On a list of people in popular culture who I envision as a talk-show host, Marbury would rank just ahead of, well, Bill Belichick. The good news if the Knick guard pulls off even a couple of minutes of interesting and likeable television (Stars on Stars debuts March 9), he'll exceed expectations. A free piece of advice for the show's producers: book Larry Brown

10. The NFL Today, CBS: I've always admired Boomer Esiason for his candor. He answers questions, speaks his mind and has developed into a very good broadcaster. He's also part of a pregame show that has improved over the past 12 months. Which is why it was disappointing when The NFL Today crew opted not to ask Shawne Merriman a direct question about his steroid suspension when the Chargers linebacker appeared as a halftime guest during the Patriots-Jets broadcast on Jan. 7. A number of sports media writers were critical of the omission. On a conference call two weeks ago, Esiason was asked by SI.com if the criticism was fair.