The 2007 ArmchairGM Fifty -- 1 through 10

#1 and #2: Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada

The co-authors of Game of Shadows were brought in front of a grand jury, and the government demanded that the reporters divulge their source in the Barry Bonds/BALCO scandal, in which previous grand jury testimony was revealed.

They refused.

On September 21, 2006, the duo was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and only avoided jail time when an attorney, Troy Ellerman, revealed himself to leaking the information.

To this day, Williams and Fainaru-Wada have been pushing the government and questioning its motives in the never-ending steroid investigation. Williams told RealGM: "We always thought there was a disconnect between the government's interest in steroid use. There's no question that the people who put the case [against BALCO] together bent over backwards to protect the users of the drugs, first they condoned their use of illegal drugs, then they excised all of their names from the court filings. It goes on to this day -- this attempt to protect these wealthy athletes," and Fainaru-Wada echoed these statements.

But more importantly, the pair have been among the leaders in standing up for a reporter's privilege, taking a sports story and applying it to civil rights at large.

#3: Ramogi Huma

Imagine graduating from college with $6,000 in credit card debt. Not too hard to picture.

Imagine, though, that your racked up that debt in order to pay for things like phone bills and travel to and from your parents. And that the reason you had to charge that to a credit card is simply this: if you were to get a job to pay for those bills, you'd have lost your scholarship.

Crazy? That's Huma's story. A linebacker at UCLA in the 1990s, Huma received the same scholarship many football players received -- and it wasn't enough to cover incidentals. He lobbied the NCAA for more scholarship money, and was rebuffed. So he assembled the College Athletes Coalition and, after finding the appropriate plaintiffs, filed a federal anti-trust lawsuit.

As the judge in the case observed:

Division I-A football players, the form of scholarships, get 12 percent of the revenue their programs generate, according to data submitted by the plaintiffs. Basketball players get 5.9 percent. These percentages are "extremely low when compared with the professional sports markets that Division I athletes may eventually enter.

The case is still before the court.

#4: David Beckham

Already the posterchild for European soccer, David Beckham's influence is now quantifiable: $50 million.

In January, Beckham joined the Los Angeles Galaxy, inking a 5-year deal which will pay him a base salary of $10 million. But with endorsements and profit-sharing, Beckham could earn up to $50 million a year. Phillip Anschutz, whose Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) owns the Galaxy, is betting that a star of Beckham's proportions can transform the Galaxy -- who play in a city without an American football team -- into one of the city's foremost attractions. (AEG also owns the Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo, so the spillover effect to the rest of Major League Soccer is only to Anschutz' benefit.)

Whether he can make soccer -- er, football... uh... whatever -- a force in the American sports world remains to be seen. But with a potential for a $50m payday, rest assured "Bend it like Beckham" will enter the American parlance.

#5: Jessica Long

The 15-year-old paralympic swimmer, Jessica Long, is the first paralympic athlete to win the AAU James E. Sullivan Award. This prestigious award has been presented annually since 1930 and recognizes the best amateur athlete in the United States. Long, who produced 18 world record-breaking performances in 2006, was selected from a field of 15 finalists, including swimming superstar Michael Phelps, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, speedskater Apolo Ohno and figure skater Sasha Cohen.

Long was born in Siberia and adopted from a Russian orphanage at the age of 13 months by an American couple. Due to deformities, her legs were amputated below the knee when she was 18 months old. Long enjoyed many different sports during her childhood with prostheses, but found swimming to be her strength. Since hitting the water, Long has set and re-set a multitude of paralympic swimming records. In addition to establishing herself as a role model and mentor for kids with physical disabilities, her recent Sullivan Award win reaches a great milestone for paralympic swimming and paralympic sports.

#6: Barry Bonds

755.

The cream.

The clear.

The best of his generation -- by far.

The best example of PEDs gone unchecked -- by far.

The object of our ire.

The object of our awe.

And you can't help to wonder: Is this just the beginning?

#7: Tom Konchalski

The Editor of High School Basketball Insider is the authority as to whether a prep star will get a college basketball scholarship with a big-time program. Insider's reach expands to over 200 schools, the vast majority of them being D-I programs. The newsletter is, truly, a make-or-break deal for the thousands of college-bound high school basketball players hoping to hone their roundball skills and make a run at March Madness.

Oh, and experience? Konchalski has been doing this since 1964, and solo since 1980.

#8: Dean Karnazes

Dean Karnazes can't throw a splitter or kick a field goal. He can't hit a three-pointer or hit a header into goal. All he can do is run.

And run.

And run.

And run.

And... well, that list would have to go on forever. The ultimate "ultramarathoner", Karnazes made headlines in September when he began a quest: 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. That adds to his other will-bending acheivements -- 226 miles without stopping (over 8 and a half marathons); a run across Death Valley in 120 degree heat; and a 1,300 mile run from New York to St. Louis.

#9: Daisuke Matsuzaka

Without appearing in the Majors, he was an icon.

Before stepping off a plane in Boston, he was a hero.

Having never thrown a pitch as for the Red Sox, he -- and his non-existant gyroball -- were the stuff of legends.

He's Dice-K.

Simulaneously showing everything that's great about Japanese baseball and everything wrong with it, Matsuzaka unreasonably high posting bid was only surpassed by the amount of hype that surrounded him and everything he did. His early struggles aside, Dice-K is the epitome of instant superstar, outpacing his countrymates Ichiro and Hideki Matsui.

#10: Pat Summitt

In becoming the winningest coach in NCAA Division I basketball history, Summitt entrenched women's basketball as a legitimate sport. Although Women's basketball is practically overlooked (minus the whole Imus bit,) she is a name and a fact that people identify with. Oh, and she and her Vols won yet another title.

That's #7.

Summitt's impact is also shown via a neat little trivia ditty: She is the only person to have two courts used by NCAA Division I basketball teams named in her honor: "Pat Head Summitt Court" at the University of Tennessee-Martin, and "The Summitt" at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Oh, and she's in the Basketball Hall of Fame.