def topports(sort_by='records', limit=10, date=None, return_format=None):
    uri = '/'.join(['topports', sort_by, str(limit)])
    if date:
        try:
            uri = '/'.join([uri, date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d")])
        except AttributeError:
            uri = '/'.join([uri, date])
    return _get(uri, return_format)