Who's nowest now?

As ESPN wraps up it's summer-long, sure-to-be Pulitzer Prize-winning "Who's more now?" special, WEEKEND decided to come up with an equally arbitrary breakdown for the best in entertainment. Our factors to determine greatness were similar to the brilliant sports guys in Bristol. We analyzed hype, commerical appeal, sales and "what have you done for me lately." Sure, we know Lil' Wayne is the best rapper around, spitting out sick mix-tapes faster than professional sports can pump out villains this summer. We told you "Knocked Up" would be the sleeper hit movie of the summer (until "Super Bad" drops) and yes, we're sure HBO Sunday nights are the best thing on TV when our "Planet Earth" DVDs aren't spinning. Thanks to "Entourage" making a mid-season rally and two shows we're addicted to (The twisted, surfing drama "John From Cinicnnati" and two singing New Zealanders capturing our hearts on "Flight of the Conchords.") But do any of them have laser, rocket arms or have cool nicknames like King and Tiger? Not so much. These aren't necessarily the best movies, products and epic battles of the summer, but they are indisputably now. Join us as we take you through a bracket of eight to determine the nowest of the now.\nRound 1\nHarry Potter vs. Movie Trilogies\nDid you dress up in a ridiculous costume, plug your ears and avoid internet spoilers like the plague all weekend so you could have an unadultered "Spiderman 3" experience? Didn't think so. How bout for the last Potter book? If you're like most of us, you put life on hold for one weekend to see how Harry ended up. It was a big year for trilogies, with Emo Spidey and Pirates bringing in over $300 million each, but Potter had us reading again. \nHarry Potter Advances\nWhite Stripes vs. The Police\n"Icky Thump" takes the cake as song and album of the year, but the real story was The Police becoming a touring giant again. The White Stripes have made better albums before and will again, but this may be one last hurrah for a band that had been forgotten except for "Roxanne" drinking games.\nThe Police Advance\niPhone vs. Facebook\nHey there, zombie -- we both know you infected 35 chumps and your BFF threw sheep at you while you graffiti'd their wall, but how did you find out? On your iPhone, of course. It'll cost you a month's rent and the internet sucks unless you're on a wireless network, but it's the new big boy toy on the block. You better be the first to have it (obvi). Not convinced? Two words, two syllables: YouTube. \nThe iPhone advances\nSimpsons vs. Transformers\nAfter 18 years of build-up, "The Simpsons Movie's" expectaions were higher than Otto Man and, thank Jebus, it delivered. "Transformers" made bank and it should have fun toys, but it's all about marketablility, baby. 7-Eleven's going Kwik-E was the promotion of the summer.\nSimpsons advance\nRound 2\nHarry Potter vs. The Police\nThe Police are pretty great and we're happy to see classic rock band reunite, but we left their show an hour early to get in line for The Flaming Lips. And they're old. Harry Potter is alive and the suspense of the summer was, how will the story end? "The Deathly Hollows" is the fastest-selling book of all time, with 8.3 million sold in the U.S. in the first 24 hours alone. Harry Potter cast a spell on the world and ended in a way that most fans are calling "the only way it could have ended." Even the new movie was extraordinarily well recieved. This one's no contest. \nHarry Potter Advances\niPhone vs. Simpsons\nThe Simpsons are pretty "now." I mean, the movie did just pull in $72 million in its first weekend, but you can download the Simpsons movie, watch it on your iPhone, put the soundtrack on there and the only thing to interrupt would be your Simpsons ringtone. Hello, it's the Naught's.\nThe iPhone is still just a toy for that friend of yours whose dad buys them whatever they want, but once you get past your jealousy, you know you want one. It pretty much does everything but your taxes.\niPhone advances\nFinal Round\nHarry Potter vs. iPhone\nIt comes down to technology vs. classics. A battle as old as motorcycle vs. horse. The iPhone is the future of portable electronics with an all-in-one package that can do anything. The iPhone came out, like, a month ago, which makes it so not now. That's probably why Peyton lost in the semifinals of "Who's More Now." His superbowl win was, like, last semester. Old news. As badly as we wanted to give this to the iPhone, nothing compares to poring over the pages of a moving book. That's right, Harry Potter and friends have won! And won is now backwards. So it wins again. Now.