Qualifying Round 1 has been posted. Miscellaneous Group 1 contains Swimmers, Divers, Water Polo, Figure Skaters, NBA, Alpine Skiing and Kickboxing.

You have the option of voting for multiple men, and you can change your vote up until the end of voting which is Saturday 2/23 at 11:59am.

Click on the slideshow to see larger pictures.

The top 8 advance to the KOTH tournament.

Go here to Vote Now!

Thanks!


Qualifying Group 1:

Casper Landerweerd - Water Polo
Michael Phelps - Swimming
Danilo Ikodinovic - Water Polo
Markus Rogan - Swimming
Alexandre Despatie - Diving
Joe Bartoch - Swimming
Justin Wilcox - Diving
Kelly Slater - Surfing
Chris Refsnes - Alpine Sking
Evan Lycaczyk - Figure Skating
Brian Joubert - Figure Skating
Chris Paul - Basketball
Emeka Okafor - Basketball
Juan Carlos Navarro - Basketball
Brandon Templeton - Kick Boxing
James Ellison - Motorcycle

I did a blog post, which will definitely boost traffic and votes. The KOTH blog looks terrific and is easy to use and the slideshow is great!

I would really think about ditching the music or having it set to off unless a user wants to hear it: A lot of people might click from work and immediately shut the page down once it starts blaring out. Just my opinion.

Thanks Jim. I de-selected the auto play feature. Man, you are quick!

Be aware that since I can't let the qualifying rounds last eight weeks, round 2 may be up in a few days.

I voted already I was sad to see Jeffrey Buttle didn't make the list *sigh* but at least one hawt Canadian did... VOTE ALEXANDRE DESPATIE!!!

Okafor is at 18 percent.....WTF!!?

And same for Juan Carlos.

Hey MDG,

Does this mean that guys like Jeremy Wotherspoon and Apolo Anton Ohno didn't make the cut?

It is cool, man. I like the slideshow, and I like that you can look right up and see the names of the guys without having to click back on photos to see what they look like.

Danilo...wow. Good-looking guy.

I am quite the fan of Okafor. And Juan Carlos is a cutie.

Kelly Slater is overrated.

Speed Skating is a filler sport so you may/may not see them in the other 3 miscellaneous sports qualifying rounds.

Oh alright, Ohno is in one of the rounds. I haven't looked at Jeremy's pictures so I don't know if he'll make the tournament.

I think I will swap out the Navarro photo with another one. If anyone has a shirtless picture of Chris Paul or Navarro to help their campaign, please post them here and I can swap the photo out!

A coincidence, perhaps, but the 2 guys whose pics I used (Despaite on the home page and Templeton on the blog) are running 1-2. Maybe I am king of the exit polls!

Brandon Templeton - Kick Boxing
James Ellison - Motorcycle

Woof! Hotties for sure!

That kick boxing guy is HOT

I am excited about this tournament! It is fun to vote and root for my favorites (even if they didn't win last year).

Voting is going well in qualifying round 1. Looks like 1- 5 have stettled in. 6 and 7 are close. And it looks like Danilo and Kelly Slater will battle it out for the final slot. There is still 3+ days to vote so there is hope for those on the outside looking in.

The next qualifying round will post tomorrow and it will include the track and field athletes, a boxer, fencer and i think a wrestler (Not pro wrestling).

I don't have a shirtless pic of Juan Carlos, but I have a pic that's better than the one posted. (no offense, Duck!) Vote the Spaniard in! He's hot!

On another note, as a journalism student, would I get to interview him if he wins the tournament, since I nominated him in the first place?

Qualifying Round 2 aka The Finneye Division is now posted! You have until Saturday at 11:59 pm to vote.

You can also still vote for group 1.

Qualifying Round 2 Nominees:

Kerron Clement - Track
Denis Goosens - Pole Vault
Lars Halvard Grimsrud - Track
Jeremy Wariner - Track
Koji Murofushi - Hammer
Tero Pitkamaki - Javelin
Andrew Howe - Long Jump
Pelle Rietveld - Decathlon
Linus Thornblad - High Jump
Maurice Smith - Decathlon
Roman Serble - Decathlon
Felix Sanchez - Track
Amir Khan - Boxing
Peter Joppich - Fencing
Petr Prielozny - Bodybuilding
Kim-Idar Molnes - Wrestling

DO YOUR CIVIC DUTY & VOTE !

Kim-Idar Molnes - Wrestling
Koji Murofushi - Hammer

Are my favs for round 2...

This thread's been making me feel quite light-headed & faint, whew!

I'd watch Fencing for Peter Joppich any day of the week... *growl*!

I need a shirtless photo of Koji Murofushi ASAP! My man is in trouble.

And the nordic contestants are doing really well this year. But watch out for the Aussies and Kiwis in the upcoming rounds.

I bet someone could use the data from this competition to write some sort of research paper.

Voting for Rounds 1 and 2 end on Saturday.

What's wrong with you guys?

The Second Round of voting and the three most beautiful guys on the list are floundering!

I, of course, mean Messrs Sanchez, Howe and Clement!

What have you guys got against "Track?" These fellas are amongst the most beautfiul examples of manhood in the world, let alone Track & Field!

They "shine" amongst some of the very ordinary examples chosen for the list!

C'mon fellow trackjocks, get those voting fingers moving!

Superman UK

Kim-Idar Molnes - Wrestling

Wow...he has a smoking hot body.

Felix Sanchez makes me want to take my teeth out. Damn...that package.

And the lovely Koji is in this round.

Andrew Howe may be next obsession.

Hey John King, it's not looking good for our Koji this year
Our mission for 2008. Get Koji to take off his damn shirt!!!

And I agree. Andrew Howe. Yummmm.

Qualifying Round 3 is now open! You have until Wednesday at 11:59am to vote.

The nominees in this round:

Tom Harley - Australian Football

Adam McPhee - Australian Football

Andrew Walker - Australian Football

Brad Miller - Australian Football

Luke Jericho - Australian Football

Angus Monfries - Australian Football

Eric Fonoimoana - Volleyball

Jose Theodore - Hockey

Ryan Kessler - Hockey

Sidney Crosby - Hockey

Rick DiPietro - Hockey

Sheldon Souray - Hockey

Armin Zoeggeler - Luge

Apolo Ohno - Speed Skating

Ross Coleman - Bull Rider

Jose Maria Mazanares - Bull Fighter

VOTE NOW!

I don't like bull-fighting but I have to say Jose Maria Mazanares is quite handsome.

Justeddie, I couldn't agree more. I love my Spaniards and latinos.

I also like Rick Dipietro's dark hair and features.

Whoa... how is Apolo Ohno in 10th place... dude should be in Top 5... *drools*

Glad to see Sidney Crosby doin alright...

SERIOUSLY PEOPLE>... VOTE OHNO AND CROSBY!!!! Now that's a 3some I'd love to be a part of hahaha

Attention everyone: I hereby order you to vote for the hockey players.

Even though none of my favorites were included....grumble grumble grumble grumble...

Joe who were your favorites?

I'm actually kinda surprised to see Sheldon Souray in this competition... I mean I'm an Oilers fan so I like the guy... but looks wise... meh.

Scottie Upshall, Simon Gagne and Justin Williams.

Interesting choices... I'm glad to see that being from the City of Brotherly Love didn't make you biased in your choices... haha

If it'll make ya feel any better Joe I voted for:

Sidney Crosby - Hockey

Rick DiPietro - Hockey

Sheldon Souray - Hockey

What do you expect? I see the Flyers most often, and though they foolishly traded Justin Williams he's still a favorite. And I could have included more. I'm sort of digging Mike Richards right now.

If I counted right, two hockey players are in the top 8. That's good but we need more. Let's go, people!

I'm surprised you didn't vote for Bob Clarke

One day to go and Apolo Ohno is currently on the outside looking in... come on guys... look at those beautiful eyes and sexy smile... yum!

Ohno lookin cute

Ohno chillin out

Ohno has such a sexy smile

Well,he is a great dancer.

Qualifying Round 4 is now posted! You have until Saturday to vote.

This round features Tennis, Kayak, Cricket, Formula 1, Cycling and Gymnastics. There are no huge surprises in the Tennis nominees as the majority of nominees are familiar faces.

Here are the contenders for Round 4:

Andy Roddick - Tennis

James Blake - Tennis

Marat Safin - Tennis

Rafael Nadal - Tennis

Tommy Haas - Tennis

Novak Djokovic - Tennis

Dmitry Tursunov - Tennis

Roger Federer - Tennis

Robby Ginepri - Tennis

Adam Van Koeverden - Kayak

Yuvraj Singh - Cricket

Fabian Hambuechen - Gymnastics

Lewis Hamilton - Fomula 1

Theo Bos - Track Cycling

Kevin Pietersen - Cricket

Adam Scott - Golf

Happy to see Rafael Nadal and really happy to see Lewis Hamilton... keep on voting for Hamilton!!!

Just to let you know, I have had trouble voting for rounds 3 and 4.

I would enter in my choices and click vote and get an error message saying

The Webpage cannot be found

Etc Etc

I did get to vote for the 3rd round when I went back a day later. I hope to go back and enter my votes for round 4 sometimes later.

Best,

Drew

I think that Rafael Nadal's ass should be another contestant. I would vote for that three times.

And the lovely James Blake and the cute Lewis Hamilton.

Still is not letting me vote for round 4

UGH

Drew

OK that was last night at 10:44, since then I opened up my never used Netscape browser and used that and now I have voted.........What's up with the IE not wanting me to vote, my settings messed up?

Thanks,

Drew

WHOA!!! *hits the panic alarm*

RAFAEL NADAL IS LOSING PEOPLE!!!! *starts to hyperventalate*

Someone needs to post a pic of Nadal's ass as a reminder.



I've had no problems accessing the site or voting, but I use Firefox, so...

Aloha! Neither sun, the beach, sun, surfers, sun, local cuisine, sun, or my mom's slower than molasses dial-up can prevent me from posting Qualifying Round 5 - The Baseball Players! It's time for the big boys to come out and play. The last four qualifying rounds are: Baseball, Football, Soccer & Rugby.

Like tennis, there are not many surprises in the baseball round. As usual, the Top 8 advance to the KOTH tournament. Voting ends on Wednesday 3/5/08.

The nominees:

Joe Mauer
Jason Varitek
Jose Reyes
David Wright
Alex Rodriguez
Grady Sizemore
Jimmy Rollins
Brad Ausmus
Albert Pujols
Huston Street
Erik Bedard
Curtis Granderson
Jeff Francouer
Mike Lowell
Miguel Batista
Barry Zito

Good luck boys.

Where was Jacoby Ellsbury? Can I add him as a write-in vote?

Qualifying Round 6 - NFL is now posted.

Brett Favre wasn't supposed to announce his "retirement" until after the tournament! I left him in the tourney since I had already uploaded his photo. It will be interesting to see how y'all react to Brady Quinn. David Carr was left out since he was released last week. Although he will probably sign with another team, he didn't make the cut.

Vote!

The nominees:

Adam Archuleta
Brian Urlacher
Mike Vrabel
Jason Taylor
Tony Romo
Joey Harrington
Adrian Peterson
Alex Smith
Wes Welker
Reggie Bush
Brady Quinn
Adam Vinatieri
LaDanian Tomlinson
Tom Brady
Jason Witten
Will Demps
Eli Manning
Braylon Edwards
Brett Favre
Jake Delhomme

Yes, there are 20 guys in this round. I just didn't know where to make the cut so I said the hell with it and went with 20. As usual, only the Top 8 advance to the tournament.

You can also vote for the Baseball players until tomorrow (Wednesday) night.

This one could be good.

VOTE NOW!

I wish I could do a write-in for Kevin Boss. I might be the only one though.

And Joey Harrington was just cut today. Hmmmmm....does a certain Duck have some influence with the Atlanta front office, delaying the cut until after the voting began?

My lips are....sealed.....{slurp}

Wow, at the moment, the Football round is the most competitive round with only 8 votes separating the Top 7. I must admit that I am surprised at how well Jake Delhomme is doing in this round.

What about Patrick Kerney?

Since I'm not a Panthers fan, when I think of Jake Delhomme (which is French for "of the man") I think of this. Well that and his Bojangles commercials. Biscuit justice is served. Show me the chicken.

Braylon Edwards' body is sick.

And I love Reggie Bush. He looks so lovely.

Thanks for adding Will Demps and my all-time favorite: Jason Taylor.