Hottie Hall of Fame: Bronze Can't Keep Us From Admiring These Retired Athletes' Busts

I remember growing up with certain hot athletes that have retired from the sports they play but who made a huge impact on my young life.

Here is my Hot Athlete Hall of Fame. Congratulations on making it. You can come by my apartment to claim your certificate.

Jennie Finch

I love me some Jennie Finch.

There are some female athletes out there that I'm pretty sure I could take in their respective sports (cougheveryoneintheWNBAcough), but Jennie Finch was never in that category.

You want to talk about a sexy athlete that was also at the very top of her game? You have to put Jennie Finch at the very top.

She was virtually unhittable on the mound, and so beautiful she was pretty much unhit-onable, too.

Michelle Kwan

Michelle Kwan was my first introduction to the world of figure skating. Not that I cared about figure skating at all, but she was pretty.

She can triple sal my chow any day.

Amanda Beard

The beauty of Amanda Beard is that when you see her in a normal situation, you think, "Oh, she's pretty nice looking."

But when you see her in a photo shoot in one of those crazy poses giving you the ol' seductive look, then you go, "Damn, how did I miss that before?"

Then again, any woman looks better in a bikini kneeling on the beach.

Summer Sanders

If you are anywhere near your mid-20s, the name Summer Sanders probably brings up some very fond memories.

The former Olympian did double duty as the co-host of NBA Inside Stuff and Figure It Out. Even though she retired from competing over 10 years ago, she has carved out a part in our hearts to stay.

Anna Kournikova

We owe Anna Kournikova so much.

She wasn't the best tennis player, we know that much. But she started a revolution of hot Russian tennis players swarming the tour.

Maria Sharapova, Daniela Hantuchova, Ana Ivanovic, and any other "ova" out there: We all owe it to Anna Kournikova.

Not to mention that Kournikova was probably the hottest of all of them and was pretty much the reason search engines were invented.

Tara Lipinski

Lipinski was another figure skater that got my motor running as a kid.

This diminutive beauty skated her way into our hearts in 1998 when she became the youngest individual gold medalist in the history of the Winter Olympic Games.

Even though the Winter Olympics is like the Summer Olympics' bum younger brother who crashes on Summer's couch for six months and borrows money constantly, we cared about it briefly because we saw hottie potential in Ms. Lipinski.

I'm glad to see we weren't disappointed.

Gabriela Sabatini

This long-legged, exotic tennis star was really one of the original beauties on the tennis court.

She also was famous for her Saba Tweenie shot where she would hit the ball backwards between her legs, spawning millions of "I'd like a shot between Sabatini's legs" jokes between males everywhere.

Gabrielle Reece

Gabrielle Reece was that rare breed of woman that you were attracted to, but at the same time, kind of scared you.

She was tall, athletic, and you know that if you ever played her in volleyball, she would just spike one down your throat.

Mia Hamm

Here's the conversation I had with my brother, as he's helping me think of who to put on this list.

David: Oh, Mia Hamm!

Me: Mia Hamm?

David: (nodding reminiscently) Dude...Mia Hamm.

I think that's a good enough explanation for why she should be here.

Katarina Witt

Witt was the biggest trailblazer of the list, becoming the first athlete to pose naked for Playboy in 1998.

It was so popular that the issue became only the second Playboy issue ever to sell out.

The thought that someone as successful as an Olympic gold medalist would ever get naked for Playboy really shocked some people, but it opened the door for women to be okay with being great athletes and really hot.

Thank you, Katarina.