I thought that I would start a thread to get people thinking about King of the Hardwood IV which starts in March during March Madness.

Thanks to a couple of threads in the Hot Jock Talk, I have started a good list of nominees for this year's competition. I was planning on retiring people, but I said screw it, lets open this baby up. So, players who were going to be retired this year, are still eligible to compete. And people who were retired MAY return (ex. David Beckham).

The only rule. The player must be a pro athlete. There may be one or two exceptions if a case can be made that this player will be a pro athlete. For example, Brady Quinn. He's still not a pro, but we all know he is a guaranteed draft pick. So, I MAY make him competition eligible.

The other item of business is the poll option on the board. In the old board, I was able to run the entire early regional match-ups (asking eight questions) in one poll. On this new board, the poll option limits me to only 4 questions with a max. of 10 choices. So, until I reach the Elite Eight, I have to decide how to run the early rounds. If I do 4 questions, it's going to take two days to run a region unlike one in years past.

Until I come up with a solution, be aware that the competition could look a little different. For ex. The first round question pitting #1 & #16 may also inclde #7 & #8 and you would have to choose two to advance. The top two would move on to the next round. Or, I could have the top 8 seeds have a bye. Or I could...
I just have to work it out. Any suggestions are welcome.

I also need nominees for all sports except baseball. The Hot Baseball player thread & the previous board hot players thread was really helpful as I have 14 players to make the approximately 8 slots that are available to baseball players.

Here's my tentative breakdown of available bids. In the end, some sports may have more, some less but I am trying to limit each sport to a maximum of 8 spots.

Baseball - 8
Football- 8
Soccer - 8
Tennis - 8
Basketball - 4
Rugby - 4
Hockey - 4
Golf - 4
Swimming/Diving - 4
Miscellaneous (All other sports) - 12

So, let the nominees begin. And if you are going to nominate someone, please post a link to his picture!

MDG!

I was wondering if you could do us a favor and list some of the athletes that:
1) Have already won and are out of consideration?
2) Have made the Final Four in previous years?
3) Athletes that have been in every year but not performed well...so that might be why they are excluded?
4) and whatever else you think some of us veterans and KOTH virgins might need to know?

An idea: Could we vote in one favorite college athlete? Sort of like how Christian Laettner was included on the Dream Team?

1. Jeremy Bloom won in 2003 - 2005. There was no competition in 2004.

2. I can't remember the Final Four in 2003, but the final was Jeremy Bloom vs. Eric Crouch.

2005: Final: Jeremy Bloom def Michael Owen 58-45
Final Four: Jeremy Bloom def. Brad Ausmus 62-53
Michael Owen def. Joey Harrington 59-56

2006: Final: Brad Ausmus def. David Carr 148-78
Final Four: Brad Ausmus def. Frederic Michalak 113-104
David Carr def. Jeremy Bloom 115-102

3. These guys were going to be retired this year but since I'm not retiring anyone this year, some may make the competition again:

Javy Lopez, Tom Brady, Ben Cohen, Jan Michael Gambill, Pat Burell, Barry Zito, Mike Alstott, Landon Donovan, Jason Taylor, Wally Szczerbiak, Frederick Michalak, Andy Roddick, Kyle Boller.


And I'm not opening it to college athlete because there would be too many guys to choose from.

I would like to nominate Dallas Cowboy Tony Romo.



He is the most sexiest guy to come along this past year.

How about 8 Regions instead of 4? (taking a cue from Survivor)

1. America - West
2. Latin America
3. America - East
4. Asia
5. America - North
6. Canada
7. America - South
8. Europe

I'm glad you're doing this again MGD and I can't wait for your Cha-Cha's! I'm done with frikken football!

Hmm. Good idea Maddog. I'll think about it, but more than likely, it will be in the familiar format. If the Asian athlete can't advance on his own, then I don't really want a bracket which will guarantee a minority in the later rounds. But I will think about it.


As for the Cha Cha...I am leaning more towards not doing one this year.

[quote name='Maddog' date='Jan 15 2007, 12:47 AM' post='315132']
How about 8 Regions instead of 4? (taking a cue from Survivor)

2. Latin America....YUMMY!!!
[quote]

Be ready for the storm of protests.

You could always make the 8 regions non-descript;

1. North
2. Northwest
3. East
4. Mid-East
5. South
6. Southeast
7. West
8. Mid-West

Or some such thing...

You don't think that Koji Murofushi has that power? What a hottie. I hope that he makes it again on the brackets. And thanks for not retiring the lovely Jason Taylor and the bootielicious Javy Lopez.

Would you base this on where the athlete was born or where their team (if in a team sport) is located? This complicates things.

I forget, was anyone already retired? If so, what was the criteria used for retiring athletes? I have a suggestion -- of those already retired, or listed as possible retirees, why not have a separate competition and allow two or three of them to join the main field? Sort of like the NCAA 64-65 "play-in" game.

Brady Quinn and other current college athletes should have to wait until they become pros, even if they're guaranteed draft picks.

And remember, Jeremy Bloom isn't a skiier any more. He's a football player. Well, he was until he was put on injured reserve way back in training camp...

Beckham was retired. And He Who Shall Not Be Named was retired. This year was the year you would have seen a slew of retirees. They were going to be retired after 3 consecutive years in the competition. And if you recall, year 1 was also open to actors and models.

I am scanning the other threads regarding hot jocks for names. What I really need are more athletes that we may not have heard about.

John King, in my book, Koji would be final four, but he has yet to advance past the second round in two KOTH competitions.

I'm not going to do it by country/ethnicity but you are more than welcome to nominate athletes from other countries!

Can I ask what the winners will get out of this? Maybe, we could send them a plaque, or something?

Winners get the title. I was going to make a plaque but I never did. Cyd did get an interview with Jeremy Bloom when he won in 2005, but they did not get an interview with 2006 winner Brad Ausmus.

Still have not decided on how the competition will run this year. Maddog had a good idea with 8 regions.

Any nominees for the sports other than football, baseball, basketball, soccer and tennis? Figure Skaters? Johnny Weir (kidding)...how about Stephane Lambiel or Evan Lysacek? John Zimmerman was in a few years ago, but he's no longer a competitive skater so he's not eligible.

I could also use more nominees from Hockey (besides Jose Theodore & Sydney Crosby) and Golf.

And I still have that list from 2 years ago of "Hot Bowlers" from Gaga4Gaby!

Nomination for Soccer--Taylor Twellman. Here are some links:

http://www.chicagolandsoccernews.com/image...taylor_1906.jpg
http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/mediacente...string=twellman
http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/mediacente...string=twellman

If you have that list, why even have a KOTH in 2007. Those men have everything you'd ever need!

Go on and retire Jan-Michael Gambill from this years competition, I say. He's a non-factor in the tennis world. I can't remember the last time I heard anything about him playing a match. Perhaps replace him with new Canadian cutie, Frank Dancevic:







OR one of my personal faves, Jose Acasuso of Argentina:




(Lucky Trophy!)

Let's try team handball.

Norwegian star Kristian Kjelling (I think he now plays for a Spanish pro team)

Kjelling again

Action shot


And how about polo?:

He may be the best player in the world now (and I Argentines!):

Argentine polo star Adolfo Cambiaso

With his favorite pony

Obligatory action shot

Argentines are so damn good looking. If there were an Argentine Bowler, we'd be set for life.

How about Justin Smith of the Cincinatti Bengals for football?

or Matt Hughes from MMA/UFC?

Those are the only guys I can think of at the moment other than the usual suspects

-Kevin

I'd like to nominate Randy Johnson, John McEnroe and Jim Furyk.

Mmmm... Wouldn't mind waltzing with him either, and listening to the sweet nothings he'd whisper into my ear!

You can definitely count on one vote from across the pond!

Professional Badminton Player Peter Rasmussen (stick around for the short shorts )

Georges St. Pierre

http://www.combatultime.com/images/tko19/gsp10.jpg
http://www.knucklepit.com/_tgeorges%20st%20pierre41.jpg
http://www.sherdog.com/news/picture_galler...00&my_page=
http://www.sherdog.com/news/picture_galler...00&my_page=

...Tell me he won't be a front runner in the "other/misc" category.

Here you go!

Rubén Favero



Where will you two be registering?

Michigan State Spartan quarterback Drew Stanton at the Senior Bowl

May not do much in the NFL, but oh what a nice window treatment for the TV screen.

Williams & Sonoma; Crate & Barrell; Bed, Bath, & Beyond. The gays like stores that come with an ampersand.

Forth & Towne?

Forth & Towne says, "Chic comes from your heart, not your head." Wise advice for any fashion-conscious newlywed.

LOL....love the new avatar. So are you changing your name to Gaga4Ruby?

Nope. I'm a modern girl. Gaga4Gaby-Ruby.

Here's a hockey nomination...

Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators




Damn guitar
Damn golf club

Can "cooking" be considered a sport? Have you ever seen them running around? They do more in the kitchen than a bowler or billiards player. If we can consider it a sport, I'd like to nomiate Sam Talbot (from Top Chef). I couldn't find any links to good pictures.

Of course he isn't eligible but he's soooo hot.

No. Let's never speak of this again.

I think I submitted their names last year, and I'll do so again: Simon Gagne and Peter Forsberg of the Philadelphia Flyers.

David Wright because of his cute smile

Only if eating can!

I saw this in the Telegraph and naturally thought of MDB's King of the Hardwood: He's blond, beautiful, with a body to die for – so why does the rugby superstar fail to inspire women to tackle him, asks Judith Woods

What a ringing endorsement!



Of course, for purposes of this competition, does dullness matter?

Is Jonny really the "Most Shaggable Man in Britain"? I thought that was Austin Powers.

OK, here are my Hardwood Nominees for Soccer. These are alternatives to the usual hardwood hotties David Beckham, Michael Owen, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Freddie Ljungberg.

1) Fabio Cannavaro (ITA) - 2006 World Footballer of the Year, Defender - Real Madrid, Spain
FC01
FC02
FC03

2) Carlos Bocanegra (USA) - US MNT Defender - Fulham, England
CB01
CB02
CB03

3) Jay DeMerit (USA) Defender - Watford, England
JDM01
JDM02
JDM03

4) Frank Lampard (ENG) Midfielder - Chelsea, England
FL01
FL02
FL03

5) Cesc Fabregas (ESP) Midfielder - Arsenal, England
CF01
CF02
CF03

6) Fernando Torres (ESP) Forward - Atlético Madrid, Spain
FT01
FT02
FT03
FT04

7) Alexander Frei (SUI) Forward - Borussia Dortmund, Germany
AF01
AF02
AF03
AF04

If ever there was a butt that could get you into the KOTH quarterfinals, I'd say that's it!

Fabio looks familiar- are you sure he hasn't been in one of those Euro gay porn videos?

Wow! I second the motion for all of them.

Boy, are you right. I like the way that it is greased up at the top. Alright!

Alexander Frei is very cute

I hope I'm not too late to throw in some nominations...

Camilo Villegas (Golf)

Sidney Crosby (NHL)

Ricardo Quaresma (Soccer)

Andrea Bargnani (NBA)

Georges St. Pierre (UFC)

Anton Apolo Ohno (Speed Skating)

Jeff Buttle (Figure Skating)

I know some should already be on there *cough* Crosby *cough* but yea...some of my thoughts haha

After much consideration, here are the official brackets for the 2007 King of the Hardwood competition.

Of note:

About 28 guys are familiar faces.

Nobody was retired. I did not include Joey Harrington or Frederic Michalak this year.

David Beckham has come out of retirement after a 3 year absence.

Ben Cohen was almost out, but I saw a new picture of him and I had to put him back. I needed more fur in the competition!

I did include Brady Quinn.

Watch out for the Aussies! The #4 seeds across the regions are from Down Under, either form the AFL or The aussie/NewZealand Pro Rugby league.

There are two sets of brothers. The Mannings make their tournament debut, and the Rugby playing Lamont Brothers make their debut.

Brad Ausmus is the defending champion.

I plan on starting the tournament tomorrow in a separate thread. I'll start with the East region. I'm behind one week, so I may do a East & Mideast region tomorrow with the tourney ending on Tuesday night. I'll post more details in the tourney thread. The polling feature is different than on the old board and I am working with the admins to include a poll end date. I don't really know what the poll will look like, but I guess we will find out tomorrow!

Ok. Here are the brackets:

Seed East
1 Joe Mauer
2 Michael Owen
3 Alexander Despatie
4 Brodie Holland
5 Paul Terek
6 Alex Smith
7 James Blake
8 Sidney Crosby
9 Huston Street
10 Yoann Gourkuff
11 Reggie Bush
12 Sean Lamont
13 Luis Figo
14 Roland Schwarzl
15 Jose Acasuso
16 Camillo Villegas

Seed South
1 Brad Ausmus
2 David Carr
3 Barry Zito
4 Nick Youngquest
5 Adam Vinatieri
6 Tony Romo
7 Marat Safin
8 David Beckham
9 JJ Redick
10 Koji Murofushi
11 Jason Varitek
12 Rory Lamont
13 LaDanian Tomlinson
14 Frank Lampard
15 Rafael Nadal
16 Vince Carter

Seed Midwest
1 Jeremy Bloom
2 Andy Roddick
3 Marcus Rogan
4 Michael Witt
5 David Wright
6 Cristiano Ronaldo
7 Javy Lopez
8 Tommy Haas
9 Albert Pujols
10 Chris Paul
11 Gavin Henson
12 Lukas Podolski
13 Frank Dancevic
14 Mike Lowell
15 Eli Manning
16 Robert Griffith

Seed West
1 Brady Quinn
2 Tom Brady
3 Ben Cohen
4 Brad Miller
5 Jason Taylor
6 Pat Burrell
7 Robby Ginepri
8 Ryk Neethling
9 Will Demps
10 Emeka Okafor
11 Dan Carter
12 Alexander Frei
13 Andrew Ference
14 Carlos Bocanegra
15 Peyton Manning
16 Dahntay Jones

Here's the link to the brackets along with photos:

2007 King of the Hardwood Brackets

Hey, MDG
That last picture you have under Seed West #14 Carlos Bocanegra is actually Fabio Cannavaro.
I'm glad you considered my suggestions but I would have traded them all for Fabio to be included.

Thanks, Simontexas! I switched the photos.

Where are the brackets for the South and West?



Here's the link to the brackets along with photos:

2007 King of the Hardwood Brackets
[/quote]
The list of people looks good. Some new faces I don't remember seeing in the past. Did I miss it or are there not UFC people in the competition?