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There is a marked difference between the most marketable and most marketed athlete, as a recent Sports Business Daily poll of sports business and media executives demonstrated.

Peyton Manning, sports’ commercial overkill king, came in second to Tiger Woods in a survey that asked 65 executives to rank the most marketable current and retired athletes.

Woods dominated the current-athlete rankings, pulling in 45 first-place votes to Manning’s 12. LeBron James (three) and Tom Brady (two) were the only others receiving more than one first-place vote.

Some findings worth noting:

* Basketball sells: Four NBA players ranked in the top 10. James was third, Dwyane Wade fifth, and old foes Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant finished eighth and in a 10th-place tie, respectively.

* Baseball sags: Is the national pastime past its time, or has the steroids scandal scarred the sport irreparably? Derek Jeter (No. 4) was the only baseball player to crack the top 20. The only other baseball players in the top 28 were Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez, who finished in a tie for the last spot with Teemu Selanne, Phil Mickelson, Vince Young and Lance Armstrong -- each with one first-place vote.

* Hockey made the top 10! Amazing but true -- Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby finished in the three-way tie for 10th place with Bryant and Brett Favre.

* Retired or not? Favre also wound up tied for 29th on the retired-athlete list, just behind Roger Clemens, as several voters decided to cover all bases.

Trivia time

Who finished No. 1 on the survey’s list of most marketable retired athletes?

Week 12 Power Rankings

This was the week Kobe set out to catch Shaq ... and LeBron ... and Peyton ... and Tiger....

1. Kobe Bryant: In between 50- and 60-point games, says he never contacted Kevin Durant on behalf of Nike. Says Kobe: “I’ve never seen him.” Same goes for dozens of open Lakers teammates over the years.

2. Chinese hoops fans: Kobe’s jersey is bestseller there.

Beijing! Cha-ching!

3. Durant: A prospect so hot he’s radioactive. Uh-oh. The NBA just fined Briefing for tampering with that last comment.

4. Michael Jordan: Now we know how much a line of praise from MJ is worth. NBA says, “Fifteen grand.”

5. “300”: Hit movie in which Spartans meet a grisly demise. Oh, wait. That was Michigan State’s second-rounder against North Carolina.

6. Ozzie Guillen: White Sox say his invitation to 2025 World Series reunion already got lost in the mail.

7. University of Minnesota: School hires the perfect basketball coach for its fans. Tubby.

8. Cobi Jones: Says he plans to retire after 2007 season. Naysayers were right -- this town isn’t big enough for two Cobis/Kobes.

9. Alex Rodriguez: A-Rod wants contract extension from Yankees. Yankees want postseason extension from A-Rod.

10. Joey Porter: The new Miami Dolphins linebacker is accused of punching a Cincinnati Bengal, says he was just doing his part to restore order within the NFL.

Trivia answer

Michael Jordan, who received 48 first-place votes. Runner-up Cal Ripken Jr. received two.

Lone star state

Judging from early scouting reports, the “Dancing With the Stars” winning streak by former Texas professional athletes will end at one.

So far, Clyde Drexler’s attempt to follow in the footsteps of Emmitt Smith has been anything but a glide. During an appearance on the “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” agent Drew Rosenhaus assessed Drexler’s performance to date: “I think it’s safe to project he’s not going to win.”

And finally

Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Piniella, to the Chicago Tribune, when asked what he sees in pitcher Neal Cotts: “I see he gives up runs every time he pitches.”

mike.penner@latimes.com