The Sports Bobo

Some sports figures clown it up week after week after week, drawing attention to themselves in every way imaginable.

Here is our weekly ranking, as of Sept. 28:

1) TERRELL OWENS: The Bills receiver hasn’t been busy on the field, due to Buffalo’s offensive scheme. And, oddly, he got none of the blame when the Bills fired their offensive coordinator right before the season. But off the field he has been a blur of activity. He served up his personal life for a TV reality show. He posed nude for the advertisement promoting that show. He jumped on the Vick bandwagon, demanding his immediate reinstatement. And he unveiled his new breakfast cereal, T.O.’s Honey Nut Toasted Oats. And he whined about quarterback Trent Edwards not throwing the ball downfield enough. That didn’t take long. He is still firing shots at Tony Romo. He used Twitter to accuse Rodney Harrison of steroid abuse. So far he has refrained for ripping Bills quarterback Trent Edwards for letting his 185-game catches streak end, but he can only hold out for so long.

2) REX RYAN: The New York Jets coach goaded the New England Patriots for a week. He even recorded a phone message for season ticket holders, urging them to be hostile against Tom Brady and the Pats. This was an audacious move, for sure. Players like safety Kerry Rhodes chimed in. And then the Jets followed through by leading his team to a stirring victory in the Meadowlands. The players went all in to make this happen. Then Ryan thanked the fans for their effort.

Of course, some fans got a little carried away while maintaining the home field edge.

And here is the best part: His Jets keep winning, with rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez continuing his Joe Namath imitation.

3) BRUCE PEARL: The Tennessee basketball coach dusted off some KKK humor during one of his too-glib chats. “I’ve got guys from Chicago, Detroit … I’m talking about the ‘hood! And I’ve got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood.” Good one!

4) HERSCHEL WALKER: The former NFL running back is just the latest athlete to enter the Mixed Martial Arts realm. Something tells us this will end badly. He probably shouldn’t talk smack to the titans of that industry.

5) EVANDER HOLYFIELD: He is out of money, so he will do anything for dough. For instance, he has just signed to fight an unnamed foe in South Korea as part of the international campaign against global warming. “I guess I’m lean and green,” he said. “I’m pretty much going to do all I can to fight against global warming.”

6) MILTON BRADLEY: Baseball’s leading hothead got sent home for the rest of the season. Cubs general manager Jim Hendry finally had enough of his nonsense and suspended him for the rest of the season. Given the level of dysfunction on the North Siders, playing his way off the roster took some extra effort — the only extra effort he showed all season.

7) CHAD OCHOCINCO: The theatrical Bengal threatened to Twitter during games, in defiance of NFL rules. When the league shot that down, he decided to stage a contest to find a substitute Tweeter to provide his in-game updates.  On one of his recent Tweets, he asked to be called “The Black Mexican” on XBox Live. Then he got into a Twitter with ESPN nimwit Skip Bayless. Then he filled the role of emergency placekicker in a preseason game, doing his job with aplomb. Then he suggested he could beat WBC welterweight champ Andre Berto in the boxing ring. Then he whined about losing his Twitter privileges in a segment of “Hard Knocks” on HBO. Then he followed through on his threat to take a Lambeau Leap.

Interestingly, not all Packers fans were excited to see Chad up in the stands. Go figure.

BRETT FAVRE: Hey, look, the living legend just led the Vikings to a last-second victory over the 49ers. Just like old times.

9) COWBOYS STADIUM: This $1.2 billion stadium made a memorable debut, with the massive “Jerrytron” overhead scoreboard coming into play on punts. As it turns out, it is pretty easy to hit — but owner Jerry Jones has no plans to raise it. This stadium is as big as Jones’ ego and, like Jerry, it is flawed. Where can you really put 35,000 standing-room only fans. Also, the NFL will have to look into this. The Cowboys celebrated the largeness of this by losing a last-second game to the arch-rival Giants. Something tells us that drawing 100,000-plus fans into this monster won’t be easy when the ‘Boys take a fall. And with Jerry making football decisions, the ‘Boys will fall.

10) MICHAEL VICK: He finally made his regular season debut . . . and was used as a decoy while somebody named Kevin Kolb quarterbacked the Eagles. He did a decent job during his preseason outings and he has done an even better job during his chit-chats with reporters. He handled his first visit to greater New York with aplomb, going so far as to praise the Jets fans for their famous passion. Now, with Donovan McNabb hurting with cracked ribs, his role could increase.

11) SERENA WILLIAMS: Sure, that foot fault call at the U.S. Open was bogus. Some righteous indignati was order. But this profane outburst was conduct unbecoming a lady. She should face severe sanctions as a result. He apologies got better as time went along, but she never showed proper contrition.

12) SHAWNE MERRIMAN: He burst into the rankings after getting arrested for an alleged tiff with reality TV star Tila Tequila. Naturally he has proclaimed his innocence, but any time a NFL star ends up on TMZ he will climb into the Bobo’s Constant Silliness Poll.  Even if the police take a pass on the case. We’ve loved that this incident spurred an unfortunate Twitter war. And some of the Internet reports on the incident were over the top. Why would he bother with this woman? Here is why:

13)  ERIN ANDREWS: First the ESPN TV personality fell victim to that unfortunate peephole video incident, which led to global viewing of her nudity. Her bosses at the World Wide Leader went after media outlets sensationalizing the incident at Erin’s expense. This created even more coverage. Then Andrews suffered a second privacy violation when her profanity-laced 911 call got wide Internet play as well. When she spotted a couple of stalker types hanging around her house, she freaked out. Then some glamour shots are hitting the newstand to rev up Our National Testosterone Level  even more. Timing is everything. Then she decided to speak to Oprah about this debacle, which is no way to let this whole thing die.

14) JEREMY MAYFIELD: The NASCAR driver is fighting his positive test for meth abuse, but it’s not going well. His stepmother, Lisa Mayfield, claimed she witnessed him using the drug on many occasions. He fired back with this gem: “She’s basically a whore. She shot and killed my dad,” Lisa has sued Jeremy. Jeremy and NASCAR are embroiled in litigation.

Then, to get this story back in the news, she got busted for trespassing by going to the Mayfield home and attempting to confront him. As you can see from her mug shot, she was not in tip top shape. Police arrested her on a variety of charges, including some outstanding arrest assault warrants. To pile on, Jeremy proceeded with a wrongful death lawsuit. Something tells us family will not iron things out over a nice meal at Applebee’s.

15) ROGER CLEMENS: He got back in the news again, briefly, when his defamation suit against former trainer Brian McNamee finally got tossed. The next stop for The Rocket: Federal court. The Feds would very much like to prosecute him on charges that he lied to Congress.

16) PLAXICO BURRESS: He drew headlines for starting his prison sentence. Against all odds, the other inmates gave him a rough ride during his first night behind bars.

17) RICK PITINO: Egads. Pitino thought it would be a good idea to hold a news conference berate the media for its breathless coverage of his extortion beef with Karen Sypher. The 24/7 coverage of his marital infidelity — and subsequent scandal — has worn out the Louisville basketball coach. A lot of men would have resigned their post and gone under cover, but Pitino’s ego precludes that from happening.

18) TOM THE CABLE GUY : The Raiders head coach is denying that he assaulted assistant coach Randy Hanson earlier this month. But Hanson did go to the hospital, so the NFL is pressing the issue and the local police are looking into it as well. Also, Raiders are still consulting him. This was just one more peculiar episode for the one of the most dysfunctional sports operations in the world. This may explain why Richard Seymour has been in no hurry to report to the Raiders after the Patriots traded him there for Oakland’s first-round pick in 2011.

19) SHAQUILLE O’NEAL: By all accounts, his made-for-TV home run derby with Albert Pujols proved he is NOT a natural in baseball. Former Suns teammate Steve Nash has accused him of stealing the “Shaq Vs.” idea from him, but O’Neal shrugged off the controversy. “He’s the Canadian Aaron Spelling, and I’m the black Spielberg,” O’Neal quipped. When he predictably lost his volleyball challenge, he followed through on his pledge to wear a pink Speedo on the beach. The resulting scene may have burned holes in the retinas of those witnessing it live.

20) LEBRON JAMES: Look out, Hollywood, LeBron James is coming. He will star in his own basketball-themed movie. Based on his acting work in his sneaker commercials, this actually has a chance.

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Manny Ramirez,  Neal Huntington, Steve Spurrier, Cubs fans,  Omar Minaya, Greg McMakin, Lance Armstrong.