Finding attributes in a list

[Marcus Goldfish]

> class Player(object):
>    def __init__(self, **kw): self.__dict__.update(kw)
>    def __repr__(self): return '<Player %s>'%getattr(self, 'name', '(anonymous)')
>
> import operator
> [p.name for p in sorted(players, key=operator.attrgetter('attacking'), reverse=True)]

Just happened to read this thread and wanted to say this is a neat
little example-- thank you!  I have a couple of followup questions.

   (1) Is there a performance penalty for using key=operator.attrgetter()?
   (2) The Player class looks like a nice model for a data table when one
        wants to sort by arbitrary column.  Would you agree?
   (3) Suppose one wished to construct a player list from a collection of
        attribute lists, e.g.,

                names = ['bob', 'sam', 'linda']
                attack = [7, 5, 8]
                defense = [6, 8, 6]
                # construct players list here

       Can you recommend an efficient way to construct the player list?

Thanks!
Marcus