TOP 10 PEOPLE THAT I AM THANKFUL FOR AS A SPORTS BLOGGER

by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool

In the spirit of the holiday, I'd like to give thanks to the following people who have made all of our jobs much easier this year.

10. The Kidds. An NBA superstar going through a brutal public divorce, with his soon to be ex showing up in the front row to berate him in public, and mutual allegations of physical abuse? Pure blogger gold, especially given that your traditional sports media didn't report what was actually said. And given Jason's past history in Dallas, a charming reminder that NBA millionaires can get involved with purely insane women, just like the rest of us.

9. Roger Clemens. From the on-again off-again money-again constant retirements to the suspiciously non-surprising hamstring injuries to the hopeless whore cell phone ads, he's the gift that keeps on giving. And cashing checks. With the Rocket, everybody gets paid. (Everybody being, well, the Rocket.)

8. Kobe Bryant. Combined trade requests, relentless ball-hogging, maniacal focus and the sense that he was just reaping what he sowed for railroading Shaq out of LA into a fantastic year for bloggers. Still young enough, and of course still in LA, to continue to deliver strong value.

7. Alex Rodriguez. How much is an MVP in pinstripes worth? Solid gold for bloggers, and an across-the-board threat with production, playoff frustration, a strip bar dalliance, a World Series interrupting contract manipulation move, and the most infamous agent in sports. Like Kobe, will be on this list for many years to come.

6. Bill Simmons. As the mouth jobber for the Boston Dominants on the World Wide Lemur, the only writer on this list has done more than anyone to demonstrate how rooting for a team can make you stark raving insane and/or insufferable, and to provoke the same from his audience. Seriously, when is the last time you ever heard of a sports writer having a bounty?

5. Mike Tyson. Not one of Iron Mike's better years, but I've got to give it to him for the full lifetime of work. After going through the drive-through lane of the LAPD Jail, you have to think that Iron Mike is going to have more to give us, and soon.

4. OJ. Made us all feel young again this year, really. Having audiotape this time around really did show that the Juice is getting sloppy in his old age, though. It's like there was incontrovertible evidence or something.

3. Michael Vick. Simply owned the summer dead months with his startling and unprecedented flameout, and was only edged for the top spot by his frankly surprising refusal to continue digging a bigger hole for himself with the plea bargaining. You were so close, Mr. Mexico -- just a fugitive flight away. But I guess he just didn't want it enough, really...

2. Barry Bonds. You can say he's a polarizing force, but a this point, it's looking like just one pole. It's hard to imagine that he can beat the feds long enough to keep being good blog grist, but it's not like he's got a sense of shame or anything.

1. Isiah Thomas. It was a tough call, but you have to give it up for Zeke, who made up for the shortcoming of not actually being an active athlete by delivering more where it counted. From his sexual harassment to his constant tormenting of the Knicks fan base, to the various looks good on paper deals that cause hopeless teams on the court... he's given us so much. And if the recent reports out of New York, along with the completely gutless 25-point home loss tonight against the Warriors, are any indication, he won't be on this list again next year...

Finally, I'd like to thank all of the blogs, big and small, that have given the Carnival some link and traffic love. On a personal level, I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of traffic support for the Lists, and the management and I really do appreciate it. Have a good holiday, and travel safe.