You know, I didn't want to include David Beckham on this list. He wasn't on my original Top 10, but when I circulated the first draft of my list around the office, four different people asked me, "What about Beckham?"

Well... what about him? I mean, what did he actually do? He signed an MLS-record $250-million contract in January to join the Los Angeles Galaxy. He made his Galaxy debut on August 9 and scored his only goal in his first start on August 15. Two weeks later, he sprained his knee and missed the rest of the MLS season.

With those paltry results, how can I possibly justify including Beckham on this list? Well, like it or not, David Beckham's arrival on these shores has raised him to a unique level of sports celebrity where he's as famous for his pop star wife and friendship with TomKat Cruise as he his for his contributions to North American soccer. In fact, I bet you can find people who know who he is but don't know what sport he plays.

Theoretically, Beckham is supposed to finally make soccer popular in the United States. The jury is still out on whether or not he will succeed on that front. As my soccer-crazed colleague is quick to point out, first-year MLS team Toronto FC finished third in the league with an average attendance of 20,130. Who was first in attendance? The LA Galaxy, of course, with an average of 24,252.

So his short-term impact is obvious. Who would have imagined you could sell soccer in California? The cynics say that the effect will be short-lived and the novelty of "Beckham in America" will wear off.
 
Then again, we still talk about Paris Hilton, don't we? And that's David Beckham - the Paris Hilton of sports. OK, that's not entirely fair. Beckham has one legitimate talent, right?

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Previously:  The 5 Hole's #10 sports figure of 2007, Bill Belichick