First six hottest

You've asked for it. Some have even begged for it. Finally, you get it. Here are the dozen hottest female athletes in the world.

As I said previously, my criteria for "hottness" is based on appearance, athletic success and attitude. This is clearly a matter of opinion. On the "Floor Burns" blog, there's only one opinion that matters.

And, here we go: No. 12 Sheilla.

Sheilla Tavares de Castro is the best volleyball player on the best team in the world - Brazil. Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing in about 140 pounds, Sheilla is one of the quickest leapers in the sport in volleyball. By the way, this is real volleyball, not beach volleyball.

Sheilla, born in 1983, is a wing spiker. She was MVP of the FIVB World Grand Prix in 2006 and 2009.

I've watched her in interviews and she seems quite nice and down to earth. Other than that, I don't know much about her personality. But, based on everything I've seen and heard, she's hot.

No. 11 Federica Pellegrini.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the female version of Michael Phelps. Pellegrini is the most accomplished female swimmer in the world. Born 1988 in Mirano, Italy, she currently holds three world records, three European records and 10 Italian records in 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle.

Pellegrini is a 5-10, 150-pound package of power. She's the first Olympic champion in the history of Italian swimming.

Obviously, she meets the criteria as far as athletic accomplishments. But, I happen to like her attitude as well. She's been involved in alleged love triangles with other swimmers, eventually winning the boyfriend for herself.

I've never heard her speak in English but she appears to be a tad on the confident side.

What can I say, I like cocky chicks. She's the best thing to come out of the water since Flipper. This coolly, confident mermaid knows she's good. She knows she's hot. By golly, who am I to argue with her?

No. 10. Kasia Skowronska: Who? I must admit, I didn't know about these volleyball players and their hottness until the 2008 Olympic Games. I can't tell you how much I got into indoor volleyball, though.

Man, these are some athletic, hot ladies.

Kasia Skowronska is certainly one of the best and finest in the world. Born 1983, she's Poland's big star. She's 6-1, 160 pounds, can jump out of the gym and might be the most powerful hitter in the world.

In fact, she was recognized as the best spiker in the world. She was the FIVB best scorer in 2007.

In the Olympics, she was a one-woman team. With the other team loading up to block her, Poland still went to her and she went up, over and through double teams consistently.

Again, I don't know much about this woman off the court. I think she's married. But, in the short interviews I've seen, she seems pleasant. That's good enough for me.

No. 9. Candace Parker - Finally, an American, you say? Hey, it's not a great time for female athletes in this country. We suck at tennis except for the Williams sisters. We're not the best in golf and, unfortunately, women's basketball isn't considered a sport in the United States.

But, you can't deny Candace Parker. I'm not even a huge fan of hers. I thought her WNBA MVP Award as a rookie was bogus.

It also gets on my nerves how the WNBA shoves her down the fans' throats.

That's not her fault, of course. Neither is the fact that she's so attractive it's silly. She has the face of a model combined with an athletic 6-foot-4, 175-pound body.

Born 1986 in St. Louis, the Illinois native is clearly one of the best female athletes in the world. Some would argue she's the best woman basketball player. I won't go that far but there's no doubt, she's in the discussion for the best player and also hottest player in the world.

Sheldon Williams, you're a lucky man.

No. 8. Caroline Wozniacki - I had to have at least one tennis player on my list. This girl isn't known as one of the sexpots on the WTA scene. She's simply one of the best young players in the world. She's also the only hottie on my list that's still a teenager.

Born 1990, she's a native of Denmark and, I believe, is the first Dane to be ranked in the top 10 in the world.

She's 5-10 and weighs about 128 pounds and plays a defensive, counter-punching brand of tennis.

Currently ranked No. 4 in the world, you probably saw her play in the finals of the U.S. Open last year.

As far as her attitude, she seems a little too, nicey, nicey to me. Her smile is the brightest on the entire tour. A picture of her not smiling would be a big deal.

But, there's room on my list for nice people, especially when they have guts. I watched her win a match despite suffering extreme leg cramps at the end of season tour. She could barely walk to the net and was crying out loud in pain.

But, she won the match.

That's my kind of girl. I predict greatness in her future. Besides, if the only flaw she has is she's too nice, that's pretty hot, too, I guess.

No. 7. Blanka Vlasic - Yeah, you've heard me talk about her before. I can't help it. She fascinates me.

Born 1983, this Croatian sensation is the best high jumper in the world. At 6-foot-4, she looks like she could use a sandwich when you watch her compete. But, her bio says she weighs 165 pounds.

Hey, if you say so. I ain't complaining.

Any woman who can high jump 6-8 is doing something right.

Blanka is ranked 20th all-time in high jumpers and is currently on top of the world. She is the European Athlete of the Year.

I felt bad for her when she couldn't find her long legs in the Olympics and had to settle for silver. The sight of her bawling on her coach's shoulders was hard to watch, especially after she had absolutely dominated the competition before falling short in the biggest event of her life.

I love watching her interview in English. It's not her best language but she speaks it well. She seems to be a very thoughtful person, very gracious.

Obviously, any person who dances and prances as she does after a big performance, has an air of confidence, bordering on cockiness about them. You know how much I like that, too.

So, there's my first six. I'm going to let you digest these six and I'll give you the next six a little later.