After the competition began two months ago, thousands of entrants were whittled down to 16 finalists who were judged on weekly assignments, and in the end Brandon Vogel defeated Brian Moore (MooreSports) to claim the crown.
Voting for final week 1. HiPlainsDrifter -- Avg rating this week: 4.10 2. MooreSports -- 3.16
Brandon now joins the winner of NGSI, Ty Hildenbrandt, in becoming a contributing writer to FOXSports.com.
Here are the pieces that HiPlainsDrifter wrote throughout the final rounds that helped win him the competition:
Congratulations to both Brandon and Brian, and all 16 finalists, for making it as far as they did, and thanks to everyone who entered and voted throughout the competition.
And it appears very likely that this competition will continue in the future, so please stay tuned.
Congratulations, Brandon, you did a terrific job and I wish you much luck as the NGS II winner. Good luck with your move, too! Congrats again, do the NGS II crowd proud.
Congrats to both of you on a job well done. It was too close to call for me. Both of you are great writers, but unfortunately only one could win the title of "Next Great Sportswriter". Job well done HiPlains on earning that distinction.
As far as I'm concerned I won, this is a total rip job. My posts especially for the last 2 assignments were uniformly brilliant, and incredibly witty why the judges chose to ignore my talent for...wait a minute, I was eliminated after the second week, boy this is embarrassing, um, OK then, congratulations to Brandon on his well deserved victory, and to Brian Moore on a race well run.
To all the other finalists as well as NGS2 entrants it was a great experience and I'm already injecting my laptop with HGH and PED's for NGS3...
I think the judges deserve applause and thanks for all they did, though their lead and first paragraph here is extremely weak, they did rebound nicely by mentioning Brandon...My final score for them this week is 2.71.
Sorry but we have to say goodbye to them.
Congrats Drifter and Moore for representing this contest and this community with integrity and skilled craftmanship. If other bloggers do not learn to be better writers through your examples, heres hoping they at least learn to operate in this genre with the same class and decorum you both have demonstrated. Best of luck to both of you.
Going into this thing the 2 finalists seemed like the cream of the crop. Many had them as major threats to go all the way and they did not disappoint. Mega-props to both of them for incredible writing.
Internet access is fleeting right now mid-move, but I want to thank everyone for the support and well wishes. When my mom made the call, my Uhaul nearly went off the road.
And hearty congratulations to Bri Moore. I'm glad this contest didn't go a week longer, Bri, because you continually outdid yourself with each assignment. Your future is bright.
As for now, it's back to the boxes. (Luckily I'll have Pedro v. Red Sox on the radio to keep me going.) Sorry this is so short, but things should be back to normal by Friday, so look for a more thorough response then.
congrats HiPlains, aka Brandon, if that is your real name. i can't believe i backed a loser, moore, you disappointed me, and i'm ashamed to call myself a moore-on. lol
so, Brandon, when is the supersized party you're throwing for all of us who allowed you to win? i'm free until mid-july, but i'm only coming if belle, broncogirl, and other lady bloggers are invited and planning to attend. plus, the party must be within 300 miles of where i live....not that i'm making any demands or anything.
joking aside, congrats, good luck, and dont be a stranger...well, any stranger than a blogger already is.
Congrats, Bri and Brandon . You both are huge talents and definitely winners in my book. With a winner like Brandon, I can honestly say that I was honored to be his peer, albeit briefly, as a fellow finalist.
I don't want to speak for Brandon, who's in the middle of a major move (which I know a little bit about after last weekend), but I'm sure he'd echo my sentiments and thank everyone for voting and offering their thoughts over the course of the contest. Also wanted to offer congratulations to the other Finalists on a fine job. It was a blast.
I'd like to point out Brian Moore cheated his way to 2nd place and said all sorts of nasty things to me in emails about all the other NGS2 finalists, especially Brandon, the emails will be featured in my scathing expose "Stuff I Made Up About Brian Moore" which should make the DaVinci Code look like utter fiction.
Outside of good writing, the question that must be answered is HOW? HOW DID HPD WIN THE CONTEST WITHOUT HGH? COWBELL!!! Read his second post in the contest, the truth lies within...
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Darnell BYU-TCU column 1/11 PDF | Print | E-mail
----------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ----------
Daily Herald
So Trent Plaisted and Keena Young combined for four points and four fouls in the first half against TCU on Wednesday -- and BYU led by 23.
Only at home.
Only at home can BYU freshman Jonathan Tavernari (who came into the game shooting 27 percent from the 3-point line) hit his first six shots from beyond the arc. It was like he was back in Vegas playing for Bishop Gorman against Palo Verde.
Only at home can your leading scorers (Plaisted and Young) combine for just 12 points and still enjoy a 24-point victory.
Only at home can you give up 18 offensive boards and win in a blowout. BYU is 2-0 in Mountain West Conference play, winning both games at home by an average of 23 points.
"It's been a while since we've started conference play with two home games," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "We've had a nice little homestand. Now we have to go out on the road and put it together."
It's not supposed to be this easy.
And it won't be, especially when BYU still has road trips to Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, San Diego, Albuquerque, Laramie, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
BYU's first two MWC opponents -- San Diego State and TCU -- decided to "monster" (early double team) Plaisted and Young.
Both teams lost big.
The problem with doubling Plaisted and Young is that other players are stepping up and hitting shots. On Wednesday it was Tavernari (6-of-7 on 3-pointers), Austi
Peter Schrager Peter Schrager is a regular contributor to FOXSports.com and author of the popular "Wednesday Buffet" in the FOX Funhouse. He was also one of the judges in the first Next Great Sportswriter competition.
Tom Seeley Tom Seeley is the managing editor of FOXSports.com and was also a judge in the first Next Great Sportswriter competition.
Dime Magazine Dime Magazine is a complete celebration of the game of basketball and its culture, from the playground asphalt to the NBA hardwood to life off the court.
