My 2006 College Football Blogger Awards

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Joel from Rocky Top Talk demands I be heard. So be it. Let all receive this warning: Brian and Orson will dominate my ballot.

Awards for Blogs

The Dr. Z Award

FOR: Cogent, interesting analysis.

CRITERIA: Emphasis placed on statistical manipulation, well researched pieces that reveal something new, and/or solid argumentative pieces that function as the authoritative last word on a subject.

This one’s easy: mgoblog’s Brian Cook. Do I even need to justify it, with features like Unverified Voracity and Upon Further Review and the Recruiting Board, all of which I read simply for the pure pleasure in massive amounts of information and well written prose interacting in a way that makes me envious Brian’s not a USC fan? Oh, wait.

The Trev Alberts Quits To Do Construction Award

FOR: comic relief; overall hilarity.

CRITERIA: The funniest college football blog.

While most would pick Every Day Should be Saturday without even thinking, I had a tough one on this. Orson’s style is pure comedy with maaaybe a minor dash of football analysis. Brian of mgoblog is high on analysis, but he has also caused snorting, giggling and laughing from me in doses not legal in an office environment. Luckily, I no longer work in an office. After some deliberation though this pick has to go to Orson. No other man could possibly compare Sylvester Croom to Unicron.

The Sports Fans Don’t Cry Award

FOR: The blog that has suffered through its chosen team’s dismal season with the most dignity.

CRITERIA: Continued engagement in the face of crippling, misery-inducing defeat. A stiff-upper lip and sane reaction to everything crumbling to dust.

A hard pick as I must admit to generally sticking to EDSBS and mgoblog on a daily basis, thus guiltily ignoring much of the college football blogging angst out there. Still, it’s hard not to go with Roll ‘Bama Roll. As much as it might seem that the woes of Alabama are created by Alabama fans themselves, this was a tough year for the Tide. Cackle if you have a perma-tent outside Jordan-Hare; otherwise, merely chuckle to self politely. This is also a pay-it-forward award for the amazing headlines and stories we’re gonna get out of Saban and a ravenous conference full of dangerously angry fans fearful of competent coaches at schools other than theirs, so thanks ‘Bama.

The Keith Jackson Circa 1995 Award

FOR: The blog with the most consistently expressive and excellent writing.

CRITERIA: Mechanical competency, yes, but the ability to turn a devastatingly funny phrase or write something compelling is probably more important. This isn’t an award for copy editing; it’s an award for kickin’ prose.

Ugh. Another toss up betwixt EDSBS and mgoblog. Winner: mgoblog. See my later pick for best post of the year.

The Brady Quinn Award

FOR: The prettiest blog, the best layout and design.

CRITERIA: An aesthetic appeal, whether from a stylish banner, a pleasing layout, or an eye-catching incorporation of blog technology.

I’ll go ahead and make this award name ironic by picking Trojan Wire: from the sweet rollover semi-depth chart that gives news on each offensive and defensive position to the drool inspiring interactive schedule in the menu bar to everything overflowing with cardinal and gold, Trojan Wire is oh so pretty. And updated. With original content. Call me a homer, but that’s my pick.

The New Blog on the Block Award

FOR: The best new college football blog.

CRITERIA: Must have launched sometime after last year’s national championship game. Transitioning to a new blog or affiliating with a network mid-stream doesn’t count.

Again, a homerish pick but whatever: Conquest Chronicles. There’s an active community there and the back and forth with Bruins Nation was both beautiful and, mainly, ugly.

The LOL, MSM Award

FOR: The blog best keeping tabs on the man and calling out all of the injustices in the college football world.

CRITERIA: Consistently ahead-of-the-curve on controversial issues in college football.

Not really adhering to the criteria here, but oh well. Fire Mark May makes me crack up no matter when I’m reading it, and that’s probably because there is a low grade ooze and smog permeating the site. Source? Pure cynicism and disdain for so much transformed into delightfully mean-spirited prose. Coming from Trev Alberts’ dome. Not even a question for me.

The Best Community Interaction Award

FOR: The blog with the best community interaction.

CRITERIA: A regular solicitation of input from readers and utilization of reader-produced content.

mgoblog. Just check out a single game thread and you’ll see why.

Awards for Posts

The Tyrone Prothro And His Amazing Catch Award

FOR: The finest individual post of the college football year.

CRITERIA: Best post for whatever reason.

Prior to the Ohio State-Michigan game, Brian wrote this post. I think the most amazing thing about it was that after reading it I felt, for an instant, exactly as if I were a Wolverine fan. He had forced by means of virulently effective prose my empathy with another college football team. That doesn’t happen unless someone dies or is maimed horribly, and even then it’s just for decorum. (Not true, but it makes me sound bad ass and without a soul.) Let me stress: by virtue of my obsession with USC football it is impossible to empathize with another program. But it happened. Also: Sufjan is good.

The Chris Berman Antimatter Award

FOR: The best contribution to the lingo of our little interniche, be it a nickname, neologism, or catchy phrase used with frequency.

CRITERIA: Spread is important. The ideal candidate has been universally adopted by anyone with cause to use the term.

“Footbaw”: not sure if Orson came up with it (pretty sure he’s been using “footbaw” whenever he does a Bob Davie impersonation… that and a large forehead and a vacant stare) or if it got started with the Coach O song. Not even sure who started the Coach O song. But Chris Vernon turned it into a flash video for YouTube… so I guess it’s him?

The Old Faithful Award

FOR: The best recurring feature of the year.

CRITERIA: The feature should be posted weekly and be generally good and stuff.

mgoblog’s Upon Further Review. Show me anything else even approaching it. Show me.

You can’t.

The That’s Not Really Real Award

FOR: The best photoshop or other counterfeit gag of the year.

CRITERIA: Could be a photoshop, a Motivational Poster, an On Notice Board, or something similar, as long as it elicited more than a mere smile.

I simply do not care if this is from the wrong year:

(Besides: he owns my soul already.)

The You Talkin’ To Me Award

FOR: The best back and forth between rival blogs the week before a rivalry game.

CRITERIA: Must be bi-directional, and both blogs must score points against each other. A unilateral beat-down will not suffice. Should be more in the spirit of fun than wildly abusive.

Have to go with the vicious, partisan and screamingly funny in-that-I’m-not-directly-involved-so-ha-ha-way invective between Conquest Chronicles and Bruins Nation. It was probably helped somewhat by the fact that the two belong to the same sports blog network, and also by the fact that Bruins everywhere wanted so badly to do anything to stop the seven year long shamefest… and then promptly did so. Then they let Florida State score 44 on them. Confusing? Yes. But funny.

Wait. Did I just describe the 13-9 loss to UCLA as funny?

The I’m Just Like You But I Have a Podcast Award

FOR: The best podcast or podcaster of the year.

CRITERIA: Uh, must be audio. And about college football, you know. Note that this is “podcast” in a really broad sense. Parody songs, incoherent ravings about Tyrone Willingham, and whatever else you’ve got are nominate-able. One restriction: it has to be self-generated.

Yeah, not really well versed in this as the only college football podcasts I listen to are Orson’s. So EDSBS it is!

Blogger Championship Series

…it’s just like that other BCS except completely different. We’ll be handing out Best Blog awards for each of the BCS conferences, plus one for mid-major coverage (including all independents other than Notre Dame), and one for more general, national coverage blogs. After long debate we decided to put Notre Dame blogs in with the Big East, as the “non-BCS” category is supposed to be an award for mid-majors, which Notre Dame is certainly not. Since ND shares bowl affiliations with the Big East and plays the rest of their sports there, it seemed the logical choice.

I got nothing to add here. I cut and pasted so I figure I’ll just keep it as is.

The I Wanna Talk About Me Free for All

The I Wanna Talk About Me Free for All is designed primarily to spread the love in case it doesn’t naturally happen some other way and to serve as the season’s Round Up of Round Ups. Each blogger, no matter who they are, must identify their three best posts of the year. I’ll round `em up, and compile the entire thing. If it kills me. And it might.

Ah, well. Hmmm. I’d have to pick some fake news stuff, so…

Meyer demands rock-paper-scissors showdown in lieu of BCS title game [Dec. 19, 2006]
Mark Richt breaks long silence on breasts or ass debate: “I’m definitely an ass man” [June 13, 2006]
Urban Meyer introduces new “leave before Chris Leak gets on the bus” offense [May 31, 2006]

I was really pleased with the first because it reads exactly like a loopy profile piece you’d find in ESPN the Mag. The second one was about as random and lurid as I got and it was pretty funny reading the emails some Georgia fans sent me. The third pick is there because I felt it was my first really complete fake article, whatever that means. Yes, they’re all about the SEC. What can I say? It’s practically a blood tragedy down there.

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Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• The College Football Blog Awards
• Busy Day
• 2007 College Football Blogger Award BEST YOUTUBE
• Gamecocks Named to Preseason Watch Lists

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