1. The tandem of JOHN SCHUERHOLZ and BOBBY COX. The players, even the pitchers, come and go. And yet the Braves keep on winning division titles, year after year after year. The only logical explanation is the constant: the tandem of Schuerholz in the front office and Cox in the dugout.

2. MIKE VICK. The young Falcons quarterback is the most exciting player in the NFL, the most exciting player in Atlanta sports and the overriding reason a franchise with a lousy past seems to have a limitless future.

3. ARTHUR BLANK. The second-year Falcons owner has invested a lot of money -- and even more passion -- in trying to make the team as good as he can as fast as he can, on and off the field.

4. STAN KASTEN. After years of presiding over three of Atlanta's four big-league franchises, his workload will be reduced as likely buyer David McDavid takes over two of them. Kasten's best work has been as Braves president, working closely with Schuerholz on most major (read: costly) matters over the years.

5. JOHN SMOLTZ. He has made the ninth inning the best part of a Braves game. And he deserves cheers for taking less money (and even giving up his coveted role as a starting pitcher) to stay here.

6. The tandem of DANY HEATLEY and ILYA KOVALCHUK. The Thrashers are uniquely blessed to have "two diamonds to work with," as their coach puts it, in the young and very gifted Heatley and Kovalchuk.

7. TERRY MCGUIRK. CEO of Turner Sports Teams, he is the highest corporate executive in the AOL Time Warner empire with direct oversight of the company's teams.

8. DAN REEVES. His power in the Falcons organization has been diluted since Blank bought the team, but the job of NFL head coach is big enough for anyone.

9. DAVE BRAINE. The Georgia Tech athletics director has hired new football and basketball coaches (Chan Gailey and Paul Hewitt) and lately has been under fire, mostly because of the lousy end to Gailey's first season.

10. BOB HARTLEY. As soon as Hartley was hired as Thrashers coach, the team's future (not to mention its present) started looking a lot better.

-- Tim Tucker