I'll be honest, unless a guy has reached Beckham-esque levels of hottness, I typically don't go in for blondes.

That said, U.S. Olympic Alpine Skier Ted Ligety is seriously adorable. And, having seen him interviewed this morning, I'm fairly comfortable saying these photos don't really do him justice.

With the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics taking place tonight, we would be remiss if we failed to point out the Top Ten Hottest U.S. Olympians competing over the next two weeks. We think of it as our way of contributing to the Olympic Spirit by making each and every sport a little more interesting.

Laissez les jeux commencer!

Hollie, this one is for you:

I'll be the first to admit that I like my guys a little bit older, but I can see the allure here. Especially in that I-would-have-really-been-into-him-at-16-if-he-was-the-hot-foreign-exchange-student.

Help me out here, Chickadees.

Hot or Not?

Helllooooooo, chickadees. It's been a few days since we've talked. Whlie I hated to leave you alone with nary a hottie in sight for near a week, I can assure you it was for a good reason. A VERY good reason.

Specifically, I was performing top secret research for a lemondrop.com article, wherein I was tasked with seeking out ten of the best backsides in the NFL.

No, really. And people pay me for this stuff.

A huge "thank you" to Melissa for the strategically-taken photo of Peanut Tillman's greatest asset. Follow her on Twitter @melissarakes.

Tomorrow, I'll be back with more of Chicago's hottest athletes. As always, your input/suggestions/helping weeding out the hotties are highly appreciated. T here are far too many hot athletes in this town, and a girl has only so much time.

Help!

When the Cubs first signed Xavier Nady, I was a little "meh" about him in the looks department (and in the baseball department). But the more I look at him, the more I think I might have been wrong.

You know what that means, chickadees: Time for a poll!

In order to aid you in your decision, I've tried to provide a fair represenation of both "hot" and "not" photos in the gallery below. Remember, voting is not only your right, it's your duty.

When it comes to Reed Johnson, I get why some girls don't dig him. After all, a bald guy with a small rodent stuck to his face much of the baseball season isn't exactly what you'd call "classically handsome."

However.

If you've ever had the chance to see Reed up close, you know that his body is unbelievable. And he has really beautiful eyes. And a super-cute smile.

So today, as the Cubs signed the far-less-attractive Xavier Nady to the 4th outfielder position, it's with a heavy heart that DH says "goodbye" to Reed Johnson. The dugout just got a little less hot.

(Sings: "It's so hhaaaaaaaaaaaaard, to say goodbyyyyyyyyyyyye, to yesterday--AAAAAIIIYYYYYEEEEEEEE!")

So Saturday I'm flipping through the channels, looking for something sportsy to watch, when I happened upon ESPN Classic showing a 1983 game between the Royals and the Yankees,  otherwise know as "The George Brett Pine Tar Game."

While I'm always up for a good freak out from George Brett, what intrigued me far more about the game was the fact that the Cubs' very own Lou Piniell was playing.

You wouldn't know it now, but Lou used to be seriously dishy back in his younger days. Check him out:

As part of DH's on-going public service project aimed at exposing the women of America to the hottness of international soccer, it's time for our weekly episode of Better Know A Foreign Hottie.

Chickadees, Iker. Iker, Chickadees.

Iker plays for Spain's National Team and for the La Liga club Real Madrid. You'll be able to catch a lot of him in action when the World Cup kicks off in the summer of 2010.

He's also probably the best goalie in the world.

Rumors circulating at this year's Cubs Convention was that we have a prospective hottie in Cubs first-round pick Brett Jackson.

Can anyone confirm?

There's been a lot of talk this off-season about the Cubs needing both another outfielder and some help at the middle-infield position. I have the perfect solution.

Meet Garrett Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He plays the OF AND first base (hello, Derrek Lee isn't getting any younger) AND, most importantly, he would go along way towards making up for the absence of Rich Harden and Neal Cotts. I'm sure you'll see what I mean after you peruse the gallery below. Plus, given Pittsburgh's history of giving the Cubs really good players for really terrible ones, we should be able to get him for . . . oh, say, Mike Fontenot and a deep dish pizza.

Jim Hendry, make it so.

As those who read my Cubs blog know, I'm not the biggest Ryan Theriot fan in the world. This has much more to do with the way he plays baseball and the way he always manages to get his mug in front of a camera or microphone than they way he looks. But still, there it is. Even so I will admit to lingering desire to see him dressed up as a pirate or musketeer--he just looks like one, dontcha think?

However, I am not unaware that he has a large contingent of female admirers out there. With that in mind, today's DH is Ryan Theriot.

Sometimes, I'm so in awe of myself for the gift I'm about to give you that I can't believe I don't charge for access to this site.

As part of my on-going campaign to introduce poor, deprived American women to the big pile of awesome that is international soccer players, as well as give all of you a reason to really, REALLY want to watch this summer's World Cup, meet Lucas Neill.

He is Australian (and captain of the Australian National Men's Soccer Team).

He plays for Everton (that's an English Premier League Team), which means you can catch him many a Saturday morning on Fox Soccer Channel.

He is very fighty and competitive and very much the kind of guy who would headbutt your old boyfriend in the face and break his nose. And I LOVE that about him.

I'm going to stop talking now and let you enjoy the scenery.

You're welcome.

I love Cubs Con. Not so much for the convention itself, but because it seems to mark the end of the long, dark winter and the time of year when we start rolling downhill to Spring Training. Only 35 days until pitchers and catchers report!

As Cubs Con is this weekend, it only seems appropriate to focus on the Cubs hotties this week. Though, God knows, with Rich Harden and Neal Cotts gone, my job just got a lot harder. Thanks for nothing, Jim Hendry.

I'll be honest, I can never decide what I think of Koyie Hill. This is in large part because he never looks as good during Cubs games as he does in photos. Still, there's something to be said for being photogenic, so here we go.

Some guys are hot because of the way they look. Other guys are hot because of their complete bad-assitude and their willingness to hit anyone with a pitch, punch out their doofus manager (seriously), and flatten catchers twice their size.

Today's DH: Ted Lilly.

As I was reminded by a dear friend who lives in Vancouver yesterday, the Winter Olympics are right around the corner! And while the Winter Games will be chock-full of hotties skating around with sticks and checking each other into the boards, there are other sports out there too, Chickadees.

Today's hottie may or may not ski in the Olympics, depending on his mood that day.

The Blackhawks are red hot and smokin', and they're doing pretty well at hockey, too. The most recent Blackhawk to be placed on the DH?

Ben Eager.

This afternoon Canada announced their Men's Olympic Hockey Team, and it is QUITE the babefest.

Hottest Team EVER?

You decide.

As I'm feeling thoroughly uninspired by any of the potential Chicago hotties today, DH is instead going to take the day off while we prepare to unveil our Top Ten Chicago Sports Hotties of The Decade on New Year's Eve (Day).

The list isn't set in stone, so I'm ready and willing, nay, DYING, to hear your nominations, which you should post in the comments below. During this interlude, please enjoy this smoking hot photo of the Cubs' Reed Johnson with a small child:

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say this has been the un-sexiest year for the Chicago Bears since Dick Jauron and Cade McKnown prowled the sidelines. After all, there's nothing hot about losing twice to Green Bay.

But last night, LAST NIGHT you finally came through. Sure, I'm furious to know that you can play that well when you feel like showing up, but, at the same time, I'm still basking in the languid afterglow of watching Brett Favre lose.

So today's Designated Hottie goes to Your 2009 Chicago Bears--including but not limited to. . .

I continue to maintain that it's extremely difficult to find any of the Bears sexy at this particular point in time. Maybe it's the fact that they're all sniping at each other in the press. Maybe it's the fact that they haven't won a game since August. Maybe it's the fact that they're really bad at football.

At any rate, they're facing the evil Minnesota Vikings tonight, so I feel compelled, in my small way, to give them some measure of support.

Chickadees, I give you Jason McKie.

After all, it's not his hottness' fault that his team totally sucks.

Since this is our first Christmas together, Chickadees, I decided I should make a big splash and a great first impression. Besides, I have to make a peace offering to those of you who are upset about Duncan Keith being yesterday's DH. And I have to give you someone to hold you over for two days, as DH will be taking a few days off after Christmas.

So meet my favorite man on the planet (after my gorgeous and sexy husband, of course, who for some reason puts up with me writing a blog about hot men): Michael Owen.

Merry Christmas, Chickadees!

I'll be really honest here, chickadees. I'm not sure I see this one. However, some of you have been clamoring for him. And I promised you a Blackhawk today.

Today's Designated Hottie? Duncan Keith.

I'll be honest, it's difficult to find any of the Bears sexy these days. Same goes for the Bulls. I guess we could ride the Blackhawks train all the way to the last station, but chickadees, Chicago is not the only city in America.

Case in point: Torrey Mitchell

After taking off a long, busy weekend, Designated Hotters is back in the saddle and ready to bring you more of Chicago's Hottest Athletes.

Before we begin, we are sad to annouce that Designated Hottie Adewale Ogunleye has suffered a broken leg and is done for the season. On the one hand, we're sad that we won't see Wale's massive shoulders hulking around the field anymore. On the other, we're happy that he won't be associated with this putrid, putrid Bears team for the rest of this dismal season. Get well soon, Wale!

On to today's Hottie, Randy Wells. Those of you who watched Seinfeld will no doubt remember Jerry's infamous "two-face" girlfriend. In the right lighting, she looked like a super-model. Other times, no so much.

So is my issue with Randy Wells.

What do you think, girls? Randy Wells: Hot or Not Hot?

We should have just called this site "Designated Blackhawk."

Hear me out before you kill me for the headline. I go back and forth between thinking Jonathan Toews is hot and feeling like a pedophile for thinking he's hot. You have to admit, in the right light, he could pass for 15. I draw the line at 17.

But a lot of you have been upset that Jonathan hasn't been featured on DH yet. With that in mind, here you go.

I know that this site is dedicated to Chicago's Hottest Athletes, but I feel I'm doing you all a disservice if I don't at least begin to introduce you to the world of European footy (soccer) players. And, to be honest, I was planning on keeping most of them under wraps until the World Cup begins next summer.

However, I showed Yoann to a few Tweeps yesterday, and I now I feel like a jerk if I don't share him with all of you.

So girls, meet Yoann. You can thank me later.

WARNING: May induce profuse sweating and drooling.