If it were up to me every day would be a college football Saturday, Slurpees would be cheaper, and blonde cheerleaders would be more readily available to date. That's not how it goes in life, everything isn't up to me. But if the balance of the universe hinged on my decisions, or at least the NGS II Finalists selections were up to me, this is how everything would play out.

In no particular order, of course.

Sports With More by Mooresports- What more can you say about a blogger who has an avatar of Ron Burgandy? Moore posts comments on other peoples pages and always keeps it friendly which would be something nice to have in the later rounds of the NGS II- especially with all the negativy that is sure to come. One of my all-time favorite Mooresports lines (funny how I say this like I've been reading the blog for decades) comes from his May 10th post titled King George's Crumbling Empire:

"Dynasties crumble. Empires fall. And the luck runs out.
Welcome to baseball for the rest of us, Yankees."

All though he can use pop-culture references to be funny, he doesn't have to be, which is pretty unique in this competition.

Bread and Circusses by Dudski- In terms of comedic value I think dudski is the funniest blogger around. I didn't know much about him until mid-way through the NGS I. Had I known about him sooner, I would have demanded a recount. I think dudski said he wouldn't be participating in the NGS II but that's cool, it's my list and I can put him on there if I want to. If it were up to me I would freeze everyone else out of the competition until dudski got selected as a finalist, just like Jordan froze Zeke out of the Dream Team. Or at least I think that's what happened. The point is... dudski equals good sports humor.

Between the Lines by James Morrisette-Not only is Morrisette sweet at life because he is a Detroit native and serves our country, he also has a pretty good blog. I also remember him being pretty vocal during the last contest, while stearing clear of all the negativity and controversy. That should count for something.

NorcalUnfiltered by Norcalfella- The judges made previous finalists eligible for finalists positions for a reason. Norcalfella and another previous finalist (clears throat really loudly), are that reason. The judges said if a blogger was a finalist once, it doesn't  neccesarily make them a finalist again, giving an impression that there won't be any repeat offenders. If that happens a severe injustice will have occured because Norcal, and the other guy (cough, cough) the other guy, really deserve it. In fact I think Norcal and this other guy have better work the second time around. I mean did you see that one post on the NFL draft that had like 397 billion comments, that's like second only to Peter Schrager's Rose Bowl blog. Plus, Norcal and this other character (clears throat even louder) always keep it clean, and always keep it real on the comment threads. Norcal and this other guy- (okay fine I admit as me, and I admit that was a more shameless plug than the porn stars on the Howard Stern Show, but come on, every wacko is entitled to his opinion).

The NGS Judges Blog by the NGS Judges- Whoops, how did that get there?

Dan's Take by Dan McGowan- This ladies and gentlemen is my sleeper pick. He may only be 19 but that doesn't mean he isn't a good blogger. I seem to remember a certain 20 year old making it pretty deep into the last competition (last shameless plug I swear). Dan's posts are good and he also gets points because he was the first person that I noticed had my blog on the his favorite's list.

      I know there are probably hundreds of other bloggers who worked very hard on their blogs and got overlooked because they didn't add the tagline of "Who Shot Mamba," which by the way was Dick Cheney. There are probably hundreds of others who got overlooked because they came in late, and certainly others that I am straight up oblivious to. So if I forgot you, I'm sorry. Honestly, all of you guys (and gals) rule because in the last six months this site has become the greatest sports blogosphere. No longer do we need blogspot, or Xanga to spread our sports sports next to some crazy english professor writing bleak poetry. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you weren't mentioned on this list it isn't because your a bad writer, it's because I'm a bad reader. Having said that I will leave you with a few honorable mention picks that I think are worth viewing.

Drum Beater by Rivjo.

The Sports Intellectuals blog by The Sports Intellectual - Quite unique, quite funny.

Gerbil Sports Network and Half Baked have also caught my attention.

Okay so even though there are only ten finalists, including the four honorable mention candidates I stick by my decision. Then again these things aren't up to me anyway, and unless you are the judges they aren't up to you either, but what do you think?

Jon Gunnells is on a blogging tear to the point that his fingers are cramping and the keys on his computer are wearing out. Expect no slow down in the coming weeks because he is on a mission. He can be reached at gunnell2@msu.edu