One of the great things about blogs is that you can flagrantly steal other people's ideas, so long as you give them appropriate credit and link to their sites.

I'm going to do that today. One of my favorite blogs is Touching All the Bases, maintained by Chad Finn, a copy editor at The Boston Globe. A couple weeks back, he decided to start churning out his Lists of Five, ranking his most and least favorites in a bunch of topics. They tend to be Boston-centric, since Chad is from New England.

Then another blog I like, known as TLBR copied the concept, with the results just as entertaining.

(*ahem* Of course, I only read these sites at home and would not even think of wasting my employer's precious time clicking on any of these sites during working hours ...)

So now it is my turn. Here's Dave's Lists of Five, and thanks, Chad and TLBR:

Jim Reineking's reason to exist in February.

Five best things about February

5. Shortest month of the year, so at least it ends quick

4. Some of us actually still like the NBA Slam Dunk contest

3. Olympic curling (I don't actually believe this, but I'm throwing this in here for my buddy Jim Reineking, who loves the sport)

2. College hoops heats up

1. Pitcher and catchers report

Five worst things about February

5. Football is over

4. Football is over

3. Football is over

2. Football is over

1. Football is over

You know who doing his thing.

Five things for which I will never be able to forgive the perpetrators

5. Bruins general manager Harry Sinden for never going out and getting another scorer or two to put the Bourque/Neely/Moog-era Bruins over the top

4. Rick Pitino for, well, his entire era with the Celtics

3. Roger Clemens for asking out of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series with a blister

2. John McNamara for not taking you-know-who out for a defensive replacement in the bottom of the 10th inning of the same game

1. Grady Little for not taking out Pedro, and, well, you know the rest

Five reasons why the Dominican Republic is going to win the World Baseball Classic

5. Vladimir Guerrero

4. David Ortiz

3. Pedro Martinez

2. Albert Pujols

1. No A-Rod

Teams that were supposedly going to roll to the Super Bowl the past five years

Super Bowl XXXVI: Peyton Manning's Colts

Super Bowl XXXVII: Peyton Manning's Colts

Super Bowl XXXVIII: Peyton Manning's Colts

Super Bowl XXXIX. Peyton Manning's Colts

Super Bowl XL: Peyton Manning's Colts

Actual Super Bowl winners

XXXVI: Patriots

XXXVII: Buccaneers

XXXVIII: Patriots

XXXIX: Patriots

XL: Steelers

The five most enjoyable Colts meltdowns in recent years

Peyton Manning signals a play, possibly one of the several passes that went to Ty Law.

5. "The most accurate kicker ever" Mike Vanderjagt missing the game-tying field goal to lose to the Patriots on Opening Day 2004

4. Scoring 3 points in the 2005 AFC Divisional playoff game against the Patriots

3. Ty Law serving as Peyton's leading receiver in the 2004 AFC title game

2. Peyton and Co. being unable score the game-winning touchdown with 1st-and-goal from the 2 against the Patriots in 2003 in Indianapolis

1. "The most accurate kicker ever" Mike Vanderjagt hooking the potential game-tying field goal roughly 1,000 yards wide in the 2006 AFC Divisional playoff game against Pittsburgh, moments after Nick Harper was tripped up by a prone Ben Roethlisberger on what should have been a game-winning fumble return.

Teams that were the national media preseason consensus picks to win the World Series the past five years

2005: Yankees

2004: Yankees

2003: Yankees

2002: Yankees

2001: Yankees

Actual World Series winners those years

2005: White Sox

2004: Red Sox

2003: Marlins

2002: Angels

2001: Diamondbacks

Five best things to happen to the Yankees in the past five postseasons:

5. (2003) Losing the World Series at home to the Marlins

4. (2002) One round and out against the Angels, Part 1

3. (2005) One round and out against the Angels, Part 2

2. (2001) Blowing both a 3-2 series lead and a ninth-inning lead in Game 7 of the World Series to Arizona.

1. (2004) The worst choke in the history of sports.

 -- DAVE DOYLE