And the Nominees Are . . .

Yesterday I told you about my picks for Best Analysis and the Job Award in this year's edition of the College Football Blogger Awards. But there are a raft of other awards to hand out, and the deadline for nominations is fast approaching. So without further ado, here are my picks for:

Best MSM Blog: This award goes to the best blog by a "mainstream media" type. Of course, during 2007 this distinction got blurrier and blurrier all the time, what with Kyle being interviewed by major television networks, Orson writing/reporting for The Sporting News, and in truly surreal fashion, Will Leitch of Deadspin appearing on ESPN with that irrepressible hipster Scott Van Pelt. And don't even get me started on the number of bloggers who appear regularly on tailgate shows, call-in shows and as guest columnists.

So while there's still a distinction left to be observed, I want to nominate Columbus Ledger-Enquirer writer David Ching, proprietor of the Georgia Bulldog Blog for Best MSM Blog. I know, it's a homer move. But I'm a homer, and like Dana Jacobsen, I don't believe this one little slip means I have a problem. But I digress. David is an Auburn grad, a fact which I'm willing to look past so long as he keeps feeding me the quotes that get left out of his Ledger-Enquirer writing. I would argue that the thing that traditonally separated the "bloggers" from the "media" was access. A press pass is a heckuva thing. Whereas bloggers can speculate ad nauseum about why Coach Richt chooses to go for it on 4th and 3, David can actually ask him. And he does.

David also spends long hours transcribing the full text of post-practice and post-game interview sessions which include quotes that may or may not get used by other mainstream journalists. In this regard, the Georgia Bulldog Blog gets about as close as you can to actually standing there with a tape recorder during a post-practice presser. If I want inciteful Bulldog analysis, I'll read Kyle's efforts on this site, or go over to the Georgia Sports Blog, or head over to Get The Picture. If I want hilarious commentary, I'll go over to Hey Jenny Slater. What I want from an MSM blog is the straight dish that I can't get without media credentials or extremely sensitive surveillance equipment. David provides that to Bulldog Nation, and I salute him for it.

Funniest Blog: I think this one should be renamed "The Orson Swindle Super Bowl of Hilarity" because the rest of us bloggers are really just chasing along in Orson's bucket-hat clad and jorted wake. And since he won last year, I can't nominate him again. Instead, I would offer up last year's runner up, Hey Jenny Slater, authored by Doug Gillett. Even though I've been reading faithfully for at least 2 years, I'm still not sure if Doug is a football blogger with a political fetish or a political blogger with a football fetish. And frankly I don't care. Other bloggers try to be funny. They design entire satirical posts and agonize over a single witty line. I know because I am one of them. As any standup comedian will tell you, being funny is really hard work.

But Doug makes it look effortless. Whether being blocked by a meth addict, bringing you the five funniest unintentional innuendos of the college football season, comparing the presidential hopefuls to college football teams, or dabbling in Scientology, Doug seems to find funny with the nonchalance other people reserve for finding crumpled dollar bills on the sidewalk. That takes talent.

Again, remember that you have until Sunday to nominate your favorites. And remember that Bloggers can't nominate their own work, so if you want one of your favorite blogs to win, you need to nominate them. Not that this is a hint or anything. Have a great weekend, and go 'Dawgs!