Best Pro Athlete

In the most mundane of settings -- a sideline interview during a preseason game -- Chiefs running back Priest Holmes managed to make headlines by demanding to "get paid." From almost any other local athlete, such a request would seem uncouth. But Holmes truly deserved the raise for which he so publicly campaigned. For the first time since the early '80s, when George Brett was in his prime, Kansas City has a player who is the absolute best in the game. Holmes would have shattered numerous rushing records last season had he not lost late-season games to a hip injury; shrugging off that mishap after extensive off-season rehab, the once-unheralded free-agent pickup is again dominating the league. Holmes is also a model citizen (he'll never be caught raising hell in Westport) and a refreshingly honest quote machine (which made the "get paid" quip seem more endearing than audacious). And he got his wish with an expanded contract, which means Chiefs fans will get to see football's most riveting runner in the home-team colors for years to come.