Man U leapfrogs Barcelona to No. 1

I blew it. I totally dropped the ball. I missed out on an exclusive one-on-one with Beckham, just like T.J. Simers. But unlike the lovable Los Angeles Times sourpuss, I didn't get dissed by Goldenballs. I was too busy talking to Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and a trio of Cubans to give Becks any time. Huh?

Of course, we're not talking about a certain (current? former?) L.A. Galaxy midfielder, but of former University of Georgia star Gordon Beckham, a Chicago White Sox prospect who's currently in Spring Training in Glendale, Ariz. That's where I've been for the past week, where the closest I got to the Beautiful Game was daily drives past the University of Phoenix Stadium, the site of the U.S.' 2-0 victory (what else?) over Mexico in a friendly two years ago.

We're back in Rankingsville, and there's a big shakeup at the top. You probably know what's coming...

Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through March 4.

World Soccer Power Rankings