The following article is part of The Motley Fool's "Stock Madness 2006," based loosely on the annual NCAA College Basketball Tournament, a.k.a. "March Madness." Throughout the competition, our writers and analysts will engage in head-to-head competition. You, dear readers, are the fans and referees -- after you read these exciting duels, your votes will determine who moves on to the next round of play. The writer who survives the tournament will be our champion and most valuable "coach."

But please, make no mistake -- "Stock Madness 2006" is a GAME!

I like my starting five. At point guard, I have eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY). Who else would you rather want handling the ball? The company's got great fancy footwork, and it just loves to pass the ball. Good luck trying to auction something online anywhere else but on eBay. It may be cheaper elsewhere, but you'll get more than you bargained for -- in a bad way -- because eBay's where all the bidders are. And even if you're not swapping goods online, you may still be a user of eBay's other services, such as online financial-transaction enabler PayPal or voice-chat giant Skype. Yes, eBay owns three verbs.

At center, I'll gladly take Disney (NYSE:DIS). The family-entertainment giant runs the world's most popular theme parks, as well as the vastly improved ABC and the untouchable ESPN. It had only two flaws -- it was weak in theatrical animation and consumer products -- but that has changed, now that the company has outsourced the management of its Disney Store chain and looks to complete its no-brainer merger with Pixar (NASDAQ:PIXR).

I've got Sirius (NASDAQ:SIRI) at power forward. The satellite-radio upstart has bullied its way to the paint after signing Howard Stern for the easy score. It's no coincidence that the company signed up more new subscribers this past quarter than rival XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR). I'm a fan of XM, too, especially since Sirius and XM will combine for more than 15 million subscribers by year's end. That's well ahead of the more than 9 million members on board when the year began.

Small forward? That's CNET (NASDAQ:CNET). The content-rich company packs a wallop in its relatively smallish frame. It owns sites including News.com, GameSpot, Webshots, and TechRepublic, all of which serve niche audiences with sticky content that can be lucratively monetized.

That leaves Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) at shooting guard. Oh, I know it seems risky to have a young company heaving the rock from so far away. It's just that I see the opportunities for China's leading search engine in a country with 1.3 billion residents and a booming economy. It may seem as though Baidu is firing the ball from half-court, but it's really a layup when you think about it.

That's my five! I'll take them against Tim's squad any day.

Tim Beyers' rebuttal
Rick's team is ice cold, but my team comes into this contest a winner. That's important because, among stocks, winners usually keep winning, and losers keep losing.

What's more, Rick's first-teamers are elsewhere. XM, his satellite-radio pick for Rule Breakers, isn't playing. And iRobot, another of his selections, is earning profits and burying threes for my team.

Rick's squad has hit nothing but air for months. Meanwhile, Embraer and Taiwan Semiconductor have been paying spectators with market-beating yields. After considering Rick's team, all I can say is: You can do better. Work the ball, get paid, and go with a winner.

CNET, XM, and iRobot are Motley Fool Rule Breakers selections. Pixar and eBay are Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations. Take any of our investing newsletters for a free, 30-day test drive.

Will Rick's team prevail? It's your call. Check out Tim's squad, and then cast your vote.

Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns shares of Disney and Pixar. Fool contributor Tim Beyers owns shares of Oracle. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.