Hey kids. Now that the Super Bowl is over, it's time for the real game to begin. It's time to start a thread to get people thinking about King of the Hardwood V which is tentatively slated to start in March during March Madness.

There are a lot more threads the Hot Jock thread for me to research this year. That's good. I have started a good list of potential participants for this year's competition and so far, it's looking like the contenders are going to be hotter than ever. The NFL representatives are going to be tough to choose and the Aussies may make a strong showing.

The only rule. The player must be a pro athlete unless there is no major professional league in their sport (ex. gymnastics, figure skating, water polo, etc...). There may be one or two exceptions if a case can be made that this player will be a pro athlete. For example, Colt Brennan. He's still not a pro, but we all know he is pretty much a guaranteed draft pick. So, I MAY make him competition eligible.

The poll option hasn't changed form last year so I have to work that out with the moderators like I did last year.

You DO NOT have to post your nominations in this thread because I will be looking at the Hot NFL players, Hot Baseball player, etc...threads.

Can Sean Lamont defend his crown? Will his full monty shot propel him to another title? It's an Olympic year, so you may see some potential Olympians in the competition.

Kings of the Hardwood past:

2002: KOTH I : Jeremy Bloom
2003: KOTH II: Jeremy Bloom
2004: No Tournament
2005: KOTH III: Brad Ausmus
2006: KOTH IV: Sean Lamont
2007: KOTH V: ???

Look for the brackets in March.

Let's get it on.

Koji, Koji, Koji!!!!

I cheer for Koji Murofushi every year. There are so many many cute pictures of him on his website.

http://www.kojimurofushi.net/en/gallery/070630/index.html

And of course, my lovely Reggie Bush.

it is HIS year

I think Riley Skinner's late entry might prove quite persuasive to the Outsports voting public

That would break up a team. He can't win without HIS support

Does that mean that Tim Tebow would be eligible?

If not, I nominate Ben Cohen.

Tebow is still in school and won't be drafted this year. So he won't be eligible for KOTH this year. (I'm not so sure Brennan will be drafted either, at least not very early -- they say his stock dropped based on Senior Bowl practices and the game itself. But that's another story. )

nude athletes should not be allowed.

unfair advantage.

I ask this Gomets, if a man looks good in his sports uniform--but even better nekkid--how is that an advantage? ...Unless of course he's an athlete that's been doping w/ steroids and we know what happens when you have too much of that! Then it would become a disadvantage.

Those with nude photos seem to automatically get more votes. I think it's an unfair advantage too, to be honest.

So what should we be voting on? Face? Eyes? Lips? Eyebrows? Nose? Hands? Shoes they wear?

Yo,

To answer some questions and some of my opinions:

I love Koji as well. He is just beautiful.

We shall see if David Wight can pull off a victory. He needs to show skin!

Speaking of showing skin, Riley "Show Me Te Skin" Skinner is not eligible since he's still a college football player.

Jose Reyes is on the list, but may/may not make the final cut.

As far as I know, Tebow is returning to school so he's not eligible.

Brennan will be eligible, but even if he does make the list, he might not make the cut since the football field is always the toughest to crack. I have alloted 12 - 16 spots for football players.

Hey, if an athlete is willing to pose nude, then more kudos to him. Any other player is free to pose nude/not. So I don't limit my entries based on nude/non-nude shots. However, you will have to search for yourself for any frontal shots. I won't include those in the "For your consideration" pictures! Ass, yes. Pee Pee no.

You can vote on whatever criteria you want. I vote for who has the longest fingers. Kidding. You are free to campaign for your favorite. Sometimes a little campaigning (and photos) can swing a vote.

This year, I have created a blog for the King of the Hardwood. I may hold a qualifying tournament on the blog since I have a lot of athletes. If I do, look for the posts here. It's sort of like going to a caucus to vote.

King of the Hardwood: The Wood blog

Oh and one more thing, I made myself a logo!

David Wright and Jose Reyes should do another GQ spread- this time lounging around in the most revealing swim suits....

I think that Wes Welker would have to make the cut for football players since he almost won the MVP at this years Super Bowl.

Nice logo! And I'm the first one to leave a comment on the blog. Woo-hoo!

Thanks! And please do forward me some Hockey players. They are seriously lacking in representation.

I'm testing out the polling feature so go & vote for the hottest coach!.

Ben Cohen will get some points for his Outsports interview.

I also agree that no nudity should be allowed -- kind of an unfair advantage!

I'm not so sure this question should have been asked "A fun question: Imagine for a second that you were gay. Which player (current or former) would you ask out on a date and why?"

I know you'd rather see nominations in the other threads, but I'll post mine on here if that's alright with you... if you absolutely want me to post them in the other threads, just PM me and I'll do it...

CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE (CFL)

Jesse Lumsden (RB) - Hamilton TigerCats
Brock Ralph (WR) - Hamilton TigerCats

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE (NHL)

Ray Emery (G) - Ottawa Senators
Antoine Vermette © - Ottawa Senators
Jason Spezza © - Ottawa Senators
Sidney Crosby © - Pittsburgh Penguins

OTHER SPORTS

Brad Gushue - Canadian Curler / Olympic Gold Medalist
Jeremy Wotherspoon - Canadian Speedskater
Jeff Buttle - Canadian Figure Skater
Lewis Hamilton - F1 Driver
Ricardo Quaresma - Portuguese Soccer Player
Rafael Nadal - Tennis Player
Cristiano Ronaldo - Portuguese Soccer Player
Alexandre Despatie - Canadian Diver
Georges St. Pierre - Canadian UFC Fighter
Tito Ortiz - UFC Fighter
Camillo Villegas - PGA Golfer

Nope, that's fine.

Actually, a lot of those guys are already on my list. I'm sorry but that Tito Ortiz picture kind of scared me!

And is this the year that we finally get a curler on the list? There was another Canadian curler that came close two years ago, but I can't remember his name.

And I know Gaga4Gaby is just wishing, hoping, praying for a Professional Bowler to finally make the tournament! Perhaps Michael Fagan?

Maybe it's a result of all those rugby calendars, or maybe it's the sign of the times, but I have noticed a lot more athletes posing with very little clothing! It's going to make the tournament tough. I have a list that is overflowing with potential candidates. And what's not surprising is that it seems like the American athletes are the ones where it is very difficult to find even shirtless pictures. And forget about antless pics. Perhaps this year's winner will be a modest winner where they are practically Victorian with their photos and are all covered up.

With so many athletes this year, I will probably have different qualifying tournaments where you get to choose your top candidates and the top 4/8/12/16 (depending on the sport) advance to the KOTH tournament in March.

You can still go & vote on my test poll on the hot coaches. On the poll, you can vote for multiple candidates and you can change your vote, up to the poll closes, if you change your mind!

KOTH

Unless the photos are taken at picnics.



I like this idea. Like the conference tournaments in the NCAA. How soon will you do this? I don't want to compile a hockey list when it's too late.

Get it to me pretty quick, if possible. The list so far has over 100 men. I want to start qualifying rounds wihtin the next week or two.

Okay, here are some hockey players. The top 3 are among my favorites. The others I included for a variety of reasons, including diversity, and because I found a shirtless pic.

Scottie Upshall, Philadelphia
http://images.comcast-spectacor.com/flyers.../bios/19626.JPG
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/Jes...z/Upshall_2.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/iMr...7-13-360003.jpg

Simon Gagne, Philadelphia.
http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/materials/image...simon_gagne.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l40/orangemofo/sgagne.jpg
http://www.njsportspromotions.com/autopres...mon%20Gagne.jpg

Justin Williams, Carolina
http://www.geocities.com/zdenek15/jw.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/zdenek15/williams.jpg

--------

Chris Pronger, Anaheim
http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/materials/image...ris_pronger.jpg
http://images.usatoday.com/sports/photos/tim/15pair1.jpg
http://www.scott-o-rama.com/Coppermine/alb...os_pronger2.jpg
http://communities.canada.com/edmontonjour...95/316x453.aspx

Doug Weight, Anaheim
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/writers/allan_m...dougweight1.jpg
http://www.myqlu.com/images/celebrity/60a1...14e2e35c432.jpg

Sidney Crosby, Pittsurgh
http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/pa...5c3d98-65-1.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a330/Ors...sidcrosbyvf.png
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/7656/sidneycrosby5zl.jpg

Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta
http://www.kiltmen.com/celeb-ilya_kovalchuk1.JPG
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...a_Kovalchuk.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/7/12479024_a65c2a6f1b_m.jpg

Ryan Kesler, Vancouver
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/4136/ryankesler17hf.jpg
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/4319/ryankesler7oq.jpg

Brendan Morrison, Vancouver
http://www.bchl.bc.ca/leagues/1413/graphic...oneducation.jpg
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/8738/br...morrison6ko.jpg

Rick DiPietro, NY Islanders
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/harrycapehor...ckDiPietro.jpeg
http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/4984/rickdipietro14ll.jpg
http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/1716/rickdipietro24bm.jpg

Jose Theodore, Colorado
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/harrycapehor...seTheodore.jpeg
http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/200509...odore_79086.jpg

Kristian Huselius, Calgary
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/images/hockey/nhl/players/2131.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/zdenek15/huselius.jpg

Jarome Iginla, Calgary
http://www.sharkspage.com/jpgs/iginla_warmups.jpg
http://www.christiechorley.com/with%20jarome%20iginla.jpg

Martin Havlat, Chicago
http://www2.ottawasenators.com/_static/ima.../havlat-300.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/2dsvf2

Richard Park, NY Islanders
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/images/hockey/nhl/players/1121.jpg
http://www.aasquared.org/images/P/ChetanPr...7D350YChun.JPEG

Scott Gomez, NY Rangers
http://www.sharkspage.com/jpgs2/scott_gomez.jpg
http://www.breda-en-alles-daaromheen.nl/an...en/image004.jpg

Jonathan Cheechoo, San Jose
http://www.nhlpa.com/Player_Pics/6730.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/34/93954370_0f813ed628.jpg

Mike Grier, San Jose
http://www.nhlpa.com/Player_Pics/2070.jpg
http://www.sharkspage.com/jpgs3/mycup_grier.jpg

Jeremy Roenick, San Jose
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/SanJo...04/h090405A.jpg
http://www.glovetime.com/sitebuilderconten...emy_Roenick.jpg
http://images.comcast-spectacor.com/flyers/story/7603.JPG

Paul Kariya, St. Louis
http://www.nhl.com/image-upload/predators_kariya_pc_tall.jpg
http://netcrashers.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/kariya2.jpg

Jordin Tootoo, Nashville
http://www.naho.ca/images/jordin_tootoo.gif
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2463624320094162052iaVCFa

Thanks Joe!

I have 8 slots open for Hockey.

I am trying something different this year since there are too many hot nominees to narrow down by myself.

I am going to have 8 qualifying rounds with 16 athletes each. The top 8 in each group advance to the KOTH tournament. For the first time, YOU will assist me in deciding the field of 64.

As I mentioned earlier, the qualifying rounds is sort of like going to the Caucuses. You actually have to go to my KOTH site, and take the time to select the candidate(s) you would like to see advance to the tournament. Unlike the tournament, this is not a head to head match-up so you are allowed to vote for multiple candidates and you are allowed to change your votes at any time up to the poll deadline.

I plan to have the first & maybe the second qualifying rounds up next week.

Once the field of 64 is set, the tournament will run in the Hot Jock thread as usual.

KOTH

If it's hockey players you want, it's hockey players you shall get. Here are my nominees:

Mike Knuble

Joe Sakic

Scott Hartnell

Niklas Lidstrom

Mike Modano


And now for basketball:

Juan Carlos Navarro

Mehmet Okur-- the woman next to him is his wife....sorry, guys.


I'll come up with more later....

Modano and Navarro would get my vote.