WHAT KEPT THE BLOGOSPHERE BUZZING IN 2007?

by Ed Valentine, Valentine's Views On Sports

Here is a look back at some of the events that shaped the sports blogosphere in 2007.

• Pretty much any 'Who Would You Do?' contest. Various sites have held those in regards to sideline reporters, tennis stars, golf stars, and wives or girlfriends of athletes. A site run by women even did a Hot Sports Bloggers contest. Yuck! At this point, these are entertaining, but old hat.

• The Allison Stokke uproar. The blogosphere was on fire after With Leather turned 18-year-old high school pole vaulter Allison Stokke into an Internet sensation with a sexy picture and some lewd remarks. Six months later I still get a smattering of hits to my personal site, Valentine's Views, looking for Stokke stories.

• Colin Cowdungherd vs. The Big Lead. Cowherd directed his listeners to attack The Big Lead and try to crash its servers, which they did, following some commentary Cowdungherd didn't like. Cowdungherd has become the sports blogosphere's favorite whipping boy. At least he's good for something!

• Steroids in baseball. Arguments abound everywhere on the Internet about Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and everyone else connected to the performance-enhancing drug scandal in baseball. This topic will give bloggers fodder to write and argue about for years to come.

• Alex Rodriguez stories. Anyone who writes consistently knows that some days you just have nothing new, nothing fresh. Thank God for A-Rod on those days. Whether he was hitting home runs, hitting on women who weren't his wife, wishing he could hit his agent or hitting up the Yankees for insane wads of cash, there was always something to write about this ever-so sensitive superstar.

• The New York Knicks. The Knicks desperately need to fire coach/GM Isiah Thomas and get rid of the very strange Stephon Marbury. If you blog heavily about New York sports, though, as I do, you hope James Dolan keeps these guys forever. Like A-Rod, there is pretty much something to write about one or both of these idiots every day.

• Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Love 'em or hate 'em, the Patriots always give you something to talk about. Whether it was Spygate, songs immortalizing their coach as 'Belicheat,' questions about running up the score on undermanned opponents or just admiration for how good they are the Patriots have been a hot topic all year. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that Tom Brady is impregnating supermodels at an alarming rate.

• Michael Vick and PacMan Jones. Law-breaking superstars will always get the blogosphere fired up, and these were the two favorite targets during the past year.