First I would like to say how much fun this last year has been. I think I speak for all the authors when I say that we really love all of our commenters. Without you guys we probably wouldn’t be here. If we were here, we wouldn’t be trying as hard. I’d also like to thank Dan Shanoff for making all this possible despite the fact that it was in no way his goal.

That said, I was going to make this a top 10. Then I was going to make it like one of those Sportscenter Top 10’s where there are a few related things at the the same spot. Then I came up with this. Enjoy.

20. GatorTrey’s Glorious Victory (December 23, 2008)
This was one of my favorite moments because it is the only one that involves one of our authors rolling around an NBA arena (sorry, O-rena) in a giant plastic ball. At least I sure as hell hope it is.

19. NBA Studs & Duds 1/05 (January 5, 2009)
People are more likely to remember this version of S&D because this was the first time that Paul Pierce ever made the good list. He came in second to Dwight that day and John was happy until Sparty prodded him into a rant. Thanks, boss.

18. An Ode to Bubble Gum (January 6, 2009)
Big D recalls his history of collecting baseball cards and quasi-blames that for his addiction to gambling. I mean, what addiction?

17. Another List (July 15, 2008)
The only post on this list from our blogspot days, this post generated our classic athlete/non-athlete and sport/competition arguments that I’m sure we could do over in the comments again if we wanted to. Michael Phelps = Athlete, Swimming ≠ Sport.

16. Who Should be in H-O-R-S-E at the NBA All Star Game (February 5, 2009)
I wrote this post because I was excited about HORSE and wanted to figure out who would be the best. Mayo and Durant were in my list and did it, but they also used Joe Johnson who I left out because he has no personality. Sure enough, he ended up being the least fun.

15. Happy Hour: Last Call (November 17, 2008) and Lendale Thinks the Lions are “Weak-ass N******!” (November 27, 2008)
Why a random Happy Hour? That’s no random Happy Hour. It was our first Deadspin mention. We got another one 10 days later for a similar occurrence as well.

14. The Case for Contraction (June 24, 2009)
This is the most recent of the ones on the list. Big D wrote a well thought piece on contraction in baseball. Even if you disagreed with your team disappearing, you can agree that baseball would be way more talented. And the draft discussion was great.

13. America Wants Change? Let’s Give ‘em Change. (January 21, 2009)
This post was an Inauguration Day post about everything wrong with sports. Some of these things have actually changed. OK, only replay in baseball.

12. Why Doesn’t the Pro Bowl Matter? (February 6, 2009)
This might have been higher on the list if Mikey had gotten the responses back from all the lazy bloggers he emailed. If I were Mikey, I’d blame them.

11. Boston Magic ?! (May 17, 2009)
This post was due to some inside info from Trey and got itself onto Deadspin. People like pictures. I do admire the campaign by the Magic, but I’m a little surprised they had the guts to pull it off.

10. The Weekend That Was College Football 9/23 (September 23, 2008)
This was the novel that Trey and Miz wrote about going to Tennessee vs. Florida. Credit to SAE for finding it for me.

9. PSA: Welcome to the Public Face of your S & F Authors… (June 16, 2009) and PSA: The Unmasking of Sparty (March 17, 2009)
This post wasn’t that long ago so I’m sure that you all remember it. In case you don’t, you know who we are now. Well, almost all of us.

8. 12 Minutes with Ralph Vacchiano. 60 is too long. (October 20, 2008) and TWTWCFB Interviews ESPN’s Brad Edwards (December 5, 2008) and Dan Wolken Shares Trade Secrets with Sparty & Friends (January 20, 2009) and Mike Griffith Takes Sparty & Friends Even Further Inside (January 22, 2009)
These are people from our unimportant site interviewing people who are from other more important places.

7. Do You Believe in Payback? (September 24, 2008)
This was a post recounting the 100th anniversary of the infamous Merkle bonehead play. Big D called it a “pretty cool post” that included “actual research and everything.” Mikey said that he hoped to write a compelling piece like it for S&F one day. Miz said, “awesome post! and I don’t even like baseball!” With endorsements like that, it must have been good.

6. Deadspin’s New Policy: A Year in the Making (June 3, 2009)
Sparty takes on the Man in this post about the changes in the Deadspin commenting structure. Not really, but he makes a bunch of great points. I must-read for those who did not partake the first time.

5. The Greatest Player Ever: “Slingin’ Sammy” Baugh (1914-2008) (December 18, 2008) and RIP Jeremy Lusk (1984-2009) (February 10, 2009)
Both of these obituaries made their own spots on Deadspin. The Sammy Baugh one was #1 on Ballhype that afternoon. I’m very proud of both of these pieces and read them both again this morning. Two very different people, two very different endings.

4. Sparty & Friends Movieology (March 25, 2009)
This internet-sweeping phenomenon took off strong making its way on to many sports blogs around the time. A giant undertaking filled with voting and fictional characters, this endeavor was riveting and it fun to look through even today.

3. Old Spice Classic: S&F Part IV – Who let the bloggers in? (December 2, 2008)
They let us into a press conference. Yeah, I still can’t believe this happened either.

2. The Next Piece of the “LeBron 011809″ Puzzle Revealed (January 16, 2009)
This post was a heads-up play mixed with a HULU.com screw-up that likely cost All State millions of dollars in advertising. This appeared on like every single NBA website along with our lone ESPN.com appearance (thanks to Henry Abbott at TrueHoop). Not very re-readable, but awesome at the time.

1. Breaking News(?): Tennessee Coaching Search – Volume III: Lane Kiffin Wins (November 26, 2008) and BREAKING NEWS: Sources Confirm, Chris Petersen to Mississippi St (December 5, 2008)
I think we all remember these posts. I call them the precursor and the incident. We were on TV in Idaho, caused a major sports personality to make a public statement, and might have caused him to stay in Boise. Boise fans should thank us. Our in-boxes are open.

Well, that sums up the last year. Here’s to another one that’s even better.

Guyinthecorner is an author here at spartyandfriends.com. He writes the NBA section, X-Games section, and contributes to College Basketball and MLB. He doesn’t watch hockey except when the circumstances are dire. He’s not sure how to rate Michael Phelps on the scale of athletes not only because he doesn’t directly compete against people, but because he is a fish. He doesn’t understand the hate for the 2002 National Champion Maryland Terrapins and wishes everybody would just shut up by now. He is known for having statistical formulas and might be Bill James or Joe Lunardi depending on who you ask. His identity is as hidden as many times over as the number of internet memes he employs in his comments. Some have called him “The Riddler.” He can be reached at gitc@spartyandfriends.com. “GITC” is an acronym for guyinthecorner in case you aren’t that perceptive.

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