FanHouse Heather Mitts

But then again, women's soccer didn't exactly thrive when launch conditions were ideal. With the U.S. national team and players like Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy at the height of their popularity following the 1999 Women's World Cup and 2000 Olympics, the Women's United Soccer Association nevertheless spent itself into oblivion after just three seasons, failing to attract either the large crowds it expected or consistent television viewership.

For the next four years, former Yahoo! executive (and Foudy's former Stanford teammate) Tonya Antonucci worked quietly but diligently to reestablish the women's pro game in the U.S. The result is Women's Professional Soccer, a modest, seven-team outfit whose playoffs begin Saturday outside Washington, D.C.. Antonucci recently chatted at length with Fanhouse about the ups and downs of the league's first season and its future. The conversation is after the jump:

Here's some sad news for male fans of Boston Breakers defender Heather Mitts (who once won the coveted title of ESPN.com's "Hottest Female Athlete"). She's off the market, fellas.

Mitts revealed to the Boston Globe Thursday that Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback A.J. Feeley popped the question to her last Christmas.

Well, the man sitting here typing all this doesn't have a whole lot of credibility left after his pick to win it all made a first round tournament exit like it were a Kansas Jayhawks team in March. Shortly after that, everyone's favorite Playboy poser, Amanda Beard, was eliminated. Which now brings us to the Fab Four that's open to your vote.

Remaining are hotties Maria Sharapova, Jennie Finch, Ashley Force, and Danica Patrick. Gone are the golfers, Natalie Gulbis and Paula Creamer, as well as Karina Petroni, and Heather Mitts.


Sharapova vs. Finch: If this isn't a marquee matchup between two heavyweights in the female sports world, then I don't know what is. Their similarities are endless -- tall, hot, athletic, blond ... it's hard to find anything bad to say about either of them. Sharapova is more in the public eye these days, as she's still doing well in the tennis world -- in between her trips to Chernobyl. Finch has settled in as a married woman, that is, when she's not analyzing fantasy baseball. Since both of them have pretty much run through their competition up until this point, it will be a tough call. If pressed, I'd have to say Sharapova gets the nod for her immediate presence on the sports scene. Now, if I were in a room with the two of them and only had one choice, I'd probably go with Jennie. Should we all be so blessed to have such a "decision" on our hands.