Abraham moves up, Pavlik next?

Germany's Arthur Abraham moved up eight spots with a win over overmatched Elvin Ayala.

He has a June 7 bout scheduled with an unnamed opponent. He is on record saying he wants to fight Kelly Pavlik, which would be a mega bout for the summer and be a major step up in opponents. His top victories so far are over a then undefeated Edison Miranda in September 2006 and Howard Eastman in July 2005.

Here is the new No. 85 through No. 100 list in boxing's all-time top 100.

85. Fabrice Tiozzo, 1988-06, France, 47.309
86. Wilfredo Benitez, 1973-90, Puerto Rico, 47.300
87. Jorge Arce, 1996-07, Mexico, 47.260
88. Arthur Abraham, 2003-08, Germany, 47.214
89. Freddie Welsh, 1905-22, United Kingdom, 47.195
90. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 47.071
91. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932
92. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-07, Thailand, 46.792
93. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.763
94. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.653
95. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542
96. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.395
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.395
99. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371
100. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 46.333

Pacquiao still a ways from top 100

Although many people consider Phillippines fighter Manny Pacquiao one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters today he still remains a ways from my all-time top 100.

After his thrilling but controversial win of Juan Manuel Marquez last night he sits at No. 134. Just behind Michael Nunn and just ahead of Fernando Montiel.

That will change as time goes on. He already owns wins over three future Hall of Fame fighters in Marquez, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. As those fighters are inducted, the point totals he recieved for beating them will more than double.

Another point is that although Pacuiao has already been in 24 title fights, 15 of those were for minor or stepping stone titles. Now that he has one of the four major belts back he should begin wracking up points.

At only age 29, unless Pacquiao's lifestyle catches up to him, he has 12 to 15 more fights to possibly climb into the top 50.

No movement after 12 Hours of Sebring

Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Emmanuel Collard combined to win the 12 Hours of Sebring for Penske Racing.

It was the first Sebring for Bernhard and he added it to his 2003 win at the 24 Hours of Daytona. For Dumas, it was his first major win of any kind although he has finished in the top 10 at the 24 Hours of LeMans twice.

Collard is the most accomplished of the trio. Collard won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2005 and has been a top 10 finisher at LeMans four times dating back to 1996, including a second-place showing in 2005.

Still, Collard's overall score puts him at 209th overall.

Thailand flyweight drops a spot in busy weekend

There were major championship fights at both ends of the boxing spectrum this weekend but little change in my all-time top 100 boxer ranking.

Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand failed to get his WBC flyweight title back Saturday night, fighting Daisuke Naito of Japan to a draw.

Wonjongkam fell to 63-3-1 and is 2-1-1 against Naito. The draw caused Wonjongkam to fall one spot in my ranking to No. 92, trailing Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, the former IBF minimum weight champion, also of Thailand. Vorapin and Wonjonkam are the No. 2 and No. 3 highest ranked Thai fighters in history. Khaosai Galaxy is the all-time best at No. 31.

Here's the new No. 91-100 ranking.

Rank, fighter, years, country, points
90. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932
91. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-07, Thailand, 46.792
92. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.763
93. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.653
94. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542
95. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
96. Arthur Abraham, 2003-07, Germany, 46.436
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.395
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.395
99. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371
100. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom, 46.333

Also this weekend, David Haye knocked off Enzo Maccarinelli in the second round to add the WBO cruiserweight title to his WBA and WBC titles. He picked up valuable "unified title" points by picking up three of the top four belts and moved into the top 150 at No. 149. It may take him a bit to threaten the top 100 though. He's apparently moving up to heavyweight. I'll be interesting to see if he can add enough muscle to stand in with the 230-plussers today.

Speaking of heavyweights, Samuel Peter, the Nigerian Nightmare, TKO'd Oleg Maskaev to take one of the top belts away from an Eastern European. Peter is No. 2 on my list of the three heavyweight title holders at No. 130 all-time. Ruslan Chageav, while Wladimir Klitschko is No. 116.

Klitschko's recent win against Sultan Ibragimov clears things up a bit but Chageav apparently is going to fight Nikolay Valuev in a rematch, while Vitali Klitschko may get first crack at Peter.

Where Haye plays in, who knows. It'd be an actual event if Peter for Wladimir Klitschko again, but that will have to wait.

Greatest pro basketball pickup teams

Let's say you were going to have a 5-on-5 tournament, best player at each position. Which NBA or ABA team would be able to put together the best team?

It's not a question of best franchise. Then you'd have to talk titles and of course it'd be centered around Boston and the Lakers. It's the question of which team has had the best players at each position over the course of professional basketball.

Each year I do a pro basketball ranking. To come up with the best team I simply gave franchises -- and I use this term loosely -- points by position. I have Kareem as the greatest center so the Lakers get 30 points (the scoring is a 1 to 30 scale) as well as the Milwaukee Bucks.

Now, some teams have bounced from city to city. I doubt a L.A. Laker fan really considers George Mikan an L.A. player. Just like Sacramento fans don't consider Tiny Archibald -- a Kansas City King -- to be one of theirs.

So for this ranking, you'll see some teams that no longer exist.

In all, 37 different teams scored.

No. 37 -- New Orleans Jazz, 5 points from Pistol Pete Maravich.
No. 36 -- Charlotte Hornets, 14 points from Alonzo Mourning.
No. 35 -- Kansas City Kings, 15 points from Tiny Archibald.
No. 33 (tie) -- Toronto Raptors, 20 points from Vince Carter.
No. 33 (tie) -- Buffalo Braves, 20 points from Bob McAdoo.
No. 32 -- Cleveland Cavaliers, 9 points from Brad Daugherty, 11 points from LeBron James and one point for World B. Free.
No. 31 -- Minneapolis Lakers, 23 points for George Mikan.
No. 30 -- Sacramento Kings, 20 points for Chris Webber, four points for Mitch Richmond.
No. 29 -- Syracuse nationals, 26 points for Dolph Schayes.
No. 28 -- Atlanta Hawks, 21 points for Dominique Wilkins and six points from Lou Hudson.
No. 27 -- Minnesota Timberwolves, 28 points from Kevin Garnett.
No. 26 -- Los Angeles Clippers, 14 points for Elton Brand and 15 points for Terry Cummings.
No. 25 -- Miami Heat, 14 points for Alonzo Mourning and 20 for Tim Hardaway.
No. 24 -- Portland Trailblazers, 13 points for Maurice Lucas, 26 points for Clyde Drexler. This does seem low but Bill Walton didn't play long enough. Terry Porter wasn't a highly enough ranked point guard.
No. 23 -- Dallas Mavericks, 22 for Dirk Nowitzki and 21 for Steve Nash.
No. 22 -- Washington Bullets/Wizards, 12 for Wes Unseld, 25 for Elvin Hayes and 11 for Earl Monroe.
No. 21 -- Cincinnati Royals, going way back, 19 points for Jerry Lucas and 30 for Oscar Robertson.
No. 20 -- Orlando Magic, 26 points for Shaquille O'Neal and 25 points for Tracey McGrady.
No. 19 -- Philadelphia Warriors, 29 points for Wilt Chamberlain and 23 for Paul Arizan.
No. 18 -- Houston Rockets, 28 points for Hakeem Olajuwon, 25 points for Tracey McGrady.
No. 17 -- Kentucky Colonels, 22 points for Artis Gilmore, 21 for Dan Issell and 12 for Lou Dampier.
No. 16 -- Indiana Pacers, 17 points for Mel Daniels, 23 points for George McGinness and 16 for Reggie Miller.
No. 15 -- St. Louis Hawks, 27 points for Bob Petit, 18 for Cliff Hagan and 14 for Lenny Wilkens.
No. 14 -- San Francisco/Golden State Warriors, 13 points for Nate Thurmond, 27 points for Rick Barry, four for Mitch Richmond and 20 for Tim Hardaway.
No. 13 -- Seattle Supersonics, 16 points for Spencer Haywood, eight for Tom Chambers, 18 for Ray Allen and 26 for Gary Payton.
No. 12 -- Utah Jazz, 29 points for Karl Malone, 12 for Adrian Dantley and 27 for John Stockton.
No. 11 -- Denver Rockets/Nuggets, 11 for Dikembe Mutombo, 21 for Issel, 20 for Alex English and 17 for David Thompson.

Here is the top 10:
No. 10 -- Detroit Pistons, 18 for Bob Lanier, 10 for Dennis Rodman, 19 for Grant Hill, two for Joe Dumars and 23 for Isaiah Thomas.
No. 9 -- New York/New Jersey Nets, 30 for Julius Erving, 20 for Vince Carter and 25 for Jason Kidd.
No. 8 -- New York Knicks, 21 for Patrick Ewing, 15 for Dave DeBusschere, nine for Bernard King, 11 for Earl Monroe and 22 for Walt Frazier.
No. 7 -- San Antonio Spurs, 25 for David Robinson, 30 for Tim Duncan and 27 for George Gervin.
No. 6 -- Phoenix Suns, 24 for Charles Barkley, 25 for Connie Hawkins, 21 for Walter Davis and 21 for Steve Nash.
No. 5 -- Milwaukee Bucks, 30 for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 16 for Bobby Dandridge, 19 for Sydney Moncrief and 30 for Oscar Robertson.
No. 4 -- Chicago Bulls, 22 for Artis Gilmore, 10 for Dennis Rodman, 16 for Scottie Pippen, 30 for Michael Jordan and 10 for Norm Van Lier.
No. 3 -- Los Angeles Lakers, 30 for Abdul-Jabbar, 28 for Elgin Baylor, 29 for Jerry West and 29 for Magic Johnson. The problem here is no great power forwards in the franchise's history and Karl Malone doesn't count here.
No. 2 -- Boston Celtics, 27 for Bill Russell, 18 for Kevin McHale, 29 for Larry Bird, 24 for Bill Sharman and 28 for Bob Cousy.

Leaving ...

No. 1 -- Philadelphia 76ers, even though the Sixers have just two NBA titles, they have had star power throughout the decades. Here's the starting five: Chamberlain (29), Barkley (24), Erving (30), Hal Greer (23) and Allen Iverson (24).

Try starting a bar discussion by saying the best five 76ers would beat the best Celtics or Lakers and see how that goes.

Bute knocks Joppy from boxing's top 100

Lucien Bute defeated three-time middleweight champion William Joppy last night in his second title defense of the IBF Super Middleweight title.

The knockout loss sent Joppy -- now 39-5-1 -- tumbling from the top 100. Bute -- 22-0 with 18 knockouts -- is No. 137.

Also, Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, who came out of retirement last year, has added a string of knockouts over little known fighters. It's been enough to climb back into the top 100.

Here's the new No. 90 through 100.

Rank, fighter, years, country
90. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea
91. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand
92. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-08, Thailand
93. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S.
94. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S.
95. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany
96. Arthur Abraham, 2003-07, Germany
97. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina
98. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S.
99. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S.
100. Jimmy Wilde, 1910-23, United Kingdom