Another year, another 365 days of non-stop yelling at each other for a living. Well, at least that's my living. Sportstalk radio. What a scam, huh? OK, so technically, I didn't work all 365 days. And it wasn't all yelling. But 2002 was chock full of the absurd, hilarious, and simply unbelievable.

So in the sports media tradition of running with the herd (I mean, hasn't everybody done a year-end column?), I offer up my personal year-end compendium, in the wildly popular "Top-3 Categorical" format.

Stop snickering and listen. Who else this year forfeited millions of dollars on a principle? Who else was willing to endure personal ridicule to stand on principle? Who else refused to do the easy and convenient thing, in order to stand on principle? Who else was willing to suffer the loss of certain friendships within his own ranks, to stand on principle?

Had Hootie been like any other public sports figure, then he would have cut and run from what he believed in as soon as Martha Burk came calling. People call that selling out. Hootie ain't no sell out. We're talking one phone call to Sandra Day O'Connor, and the year long he-said, she-said would have never happened. He could go back to making millions from TV sponsors tomorrow, and stop being Jay Leno's nightly punch line.

In a world when too many people stand for nothing, or cower when facing the stormtroopers of political correctness, Hootie Johnson sticks out like a modern John Wayne. Hootie has taken the hard road, but the right one. Private clubs have the absolute right to determine their own members. Period. To cave on this essential right, just so Martha Burk has one more notch on her cranky Web site, is unthinkable now.

Burk has said that Hootie and the boys are "legally in the right, but morally wrong." Huh? How many things do you know that are legal, but immoral? Porn, I suppose. Maybe alcohol or cigarettes. To me, if something is legal in the freest most open country on earth, then it by definition has its own moral authority.

To Hootie, and standing on principle. My man of the year.

And now, to the fun stuff.

3. Carolina Panthers. Steve Smith puts a teammate in the hospital with a film-room sucker punch/ Lamar Smith gets a DUI at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Chris Terry is accused of throwing his wife against a wall. One bad year? Perhaps with any other team, but not the Panthers who still have the gut-churning Rae Carruth and Fred Lane tragedies in their history.

2. Portland Trailblazers. Damon Blunt-amire and Rash-weed Wallace co-star in "Up In Smoke IV." Ruben Patterson back at it again assaulting his wife. Fights on the court and off. Fun time in Rip City.

1. The BCS. Meet cartel-commish Mike Tranghese (also in charge of, ahem, "waste management" in the Big East) and his dedicated "made guys" in the other Big 6 football conferences. Talk about "good earners!" The BCS will rake in an estimated $87 million this year alone on a raft of meaningless exhibition games. What a scam! Not since Tony Soprano flipped those slum houses on Freeland-Eisen Avenue has organized crime made such a killing. And like the mob who has juries, politicians, police, and unions in their back pockets, the BCS holds all the cards. But hey, it's not personal, just bidness.

3. Nolan Richardson v. University of Arkansas. Nolan taunts University into buying out his contract. They call his bluff. Hire Stan Heath, another African American coach. Nolan sues claiming he was discriminated against because of race. Facts and logic have already been dismissed from the case.

2. Michael Croteau sues the New Brunswick amateur hockey association demanding his son Stephen be awarded the MVP. Said his son was so distraught at the slight, he didn't want to play hockey anymore. A case tailor made for Jackie Chiles.

1. Hyashi v. Popov. One Barry Bonds HR ball, millions of dollars, a dozen lawyers and almost a year wasted for a judge to say: "Um, sell it and split the cash."

3. Jeff Kent claimed to have injured himself washing his truck.

2. George O'Leary claimed to have, well, he claimed a lot of things.

1. Chris Webber saying: "Money, what money?" to a grand jury.

3. South Korea gets to the Final Four in the World Cup. OK, so here's how it goes when you are the host country. The "Red Devils" beat Italy in a controversy marked game that saw South Korea get a penalty kick (they missed) and an 11-10 man advantage for most of the second half and OT after Totti got tossed for the Azzuri. The Italians were so crimped after this one, the guy who scored the winning goal for Korea (Ahn Jung Hwan) was kicked off of Perugia in Italy's Serie A league. Perugia president Luciano Gaucci snipped "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian soccer." In the next game, Spain had not one but two goals disallowed by the ref, en route to a penalty kick loss that send the Red Devil faithful into delirium. Memo to self: never play South Korea in South Korea. In anything. Period. Just ask Roy Jones Jr.

2. Lakers beat the Kings in Game 6. Here are the simple numbers, and we are done debating this, so please hit delete on that email. Lakers had a 27-9 fourth quarter FT advantage. Kobe broke Bibby's nose with an elbow and there was no call. Scott Pollard fouled out in 11 minutes flat. Your witness.

1. Olympic Figure Skating. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse than Tonya and her hit-men, turns out the sport's biggest even was as pre-ordained as the Rock v. Triple H.

3. Rich Beem stares down Tiger Woods at the PGA. For once, somebody stood up to Tiger and didn't flinch. Had anybody but a nobody like Beem done this, the golf press would have waxed poetic about somebody rising to the challenge. Instead, it was written as a fluke, which it emphatically was not. Beem played like a monster that Sunday, bombing drives, and sinking putts. Beem reached the 597 yard 11th in two, and drained a 10 footer for eagle that brought the house down with Tiger just a 2 holes ahead. When Woods saw the scoreboard standing over a 30 footer for birdie on 13, he saw Beem had eagled. Deflated, he bogeyed the next two holes before a furious birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie finish that came up just short. For once, somebody got inside Tiger's head knocked him on his heels. Classic championship golf.

2. Philp Price (world ranking #119) beats Phil Mickelson (world ranking #2) at the Ryder Cup. Another piece of hot-lead for the Mickelson haters to fire at lefty until he wins a big one.

1. CBS, the PGA Tour, and Tiger Woods all fail to break ranks with Hootie and Augusta. No doubt Martha Burk figured Augusta was a "soft target" in the PC war. She was wrong.

3. Indiana University. After canning Bobby Knight because he scolded a student in the hallway who was baiting him, IU won't suspend Mike Davis for embarrassing himself, the school, and the game of basketball by running onto the court like a banshee during a game last week to argue a foul call. Add to this the fact that holier-than-thou school President Myles Brand (the soon to be new NCAA boss) went on and on about how important IU's reputation was in light of the need to fire Knight. All the while, a full scale porno shoot was being conducted under Brand's nose at one of the dormitories. Nice.

2. Bill Parcells. Last winter, after jilting the Bucs at the altar at the last minute, Tuna said "that's it, I'm done with coaching. You won't hear my name associated with any rumors ever again." Yeah. Uh huh.

1. Allen Iverson. It's just practice, man! Now the guy wants to get on the Olympic Team, which needs (more than anything) about 2 months of good practice to come together and adapt to international rules so we can avoid another embarrassment like last summer. AI's shocked that his name isn't mentioned very often. Gee, wonder why?

3. Manute on ice. ‘Nuff said.

2. Bobby Jo Williams Ferrell, finally dropping her "un-freeze Teddy" lawsuit when a judge agrees to distribute some $640,000 of the splinter's estate immediately, instead of years down the road as stipulated.

1. Dan Snyder markets the Redskins 70th Anniversary season. 70th? That's an anniversary? Gee, I can't wait until the 71st, 72nd, 73rd, and 74th anniversary seasons, as well! Can we get new home jerseys every year, uncle Danny?

3.Tod McCullough v. Shaq

2. Marty Morningwheg winning the coin flip, and choosing the wind, not the ball.

1. Bud Selig deciding All-Star Game should end in a tie.

3. An "outdoor" Super Bowl in NY/DC.

2. Pat Summerall announcing NFL games on Fox.

1. Tony Kornheiser's hair sweep.