Switching things up from last year, and listening to suggestions, KOTH VI is North America vs. The World. There are three former KOTH champions in the mix this year. For the returning players, I admit that I included some of the familiar faces because of free time and personal issues so it made it easier for me to include them. Besides, they are still KOTH worthy.

Here are the seeds and brackets for King of the Hardwood VI:

CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL KING OF THE HARDWOOD WEBSITE:

Americas - North
1. David Wright - Baseball
2. Brady Quinn - Football
3. Evan Longoria - Baseball
4. Andy Roddick - Tennis
5. Rick DiPietro - Hockey
6. Robby Ginepri - Tennis
7. Wes Welker - Football
8. Tom Brady - Football
9. Jason Varitek - Baseball
10. Sidney Crosby - Hockey
11. Mike & Bob Bryan - Tennis
12. Adam Van Koeverden - Kayak
13. Michael Phelps - Swimming
14. Georges St-Pierre - UFC
15. Kellen Winslow - Football
16. Kasey Kahne - NASCAR

Americas - South
1. Jeremy Bloom - Freestyle Skiing
2. Joe Mauer - Baseball
3. Alexandre Despatie - Diving
4. Brad Ausmus - Baseball
5. Chris Long - Football
6. Matt Ryan - Football
7. Colt Brennan - Football
8. Conor Jackson - Baseball
9. Jonathan Horton - Gymnastics
10. Sean Avery - Hockey
11. Reggie Bush - Football
12. Jacoby Ellsbury - Baseball
13. Ryan Lochte - Swimming
14. Kelly Slater - Surfing
15. Oguchi Onyewu - Soccer
16. Stan McQuay - Bodybuilder

World - North
1. Ben Cohen - Rugby
2. David Williams - Rugby
3. David Shillington - Rugby
4. Kenrick Monk - Swimming
5. Casper Landerweerd - Water Polo
6. Linus Thornblad - Javelin
7. Novak Djokokvic - Tennis
8. Iker Casillas - Soccer
9. Andrew Howe - Track & Field
10. Jose Maria Manzanares - Bullfighting
11. Kristian Kjelling - Handball
12. Nemanja Vidic - Soccer
13. Andreas Thorkildsen - Track & Field
14. David Cal Figueroa - Canoe
15. Ben Ainsley - Sailing
16. Aslanbek Khustov - Wrestling

World - South
1. Nick Youngquest - Rugby
2. Michael Sullivan - Rugby
3. Kayne Lawton - Rugby
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - Soccer
5. Fabian Hambuechen - Gymnastics
6. Yoann Gourcuff - Soccer
7. Matthew Mitcham - Diving
8. Robert Kronberg - Track
9. Mimi Kraus - Handball
10. Bjorn Barrefors - Track
11. Adam Scott - Golf
12. Cesc Fabregas - Soccer
13. Theo Bos - Cycling
14. Peter Reed - Rowing
15. Stanislas Wawrinka - Tennis
16. Mehandra Singh Dhoni - Cricket


Here is the link to the Brackets:

King of the Hardwood VI - The Brackets

Voting starts on Wednesday.

Awesome MDG!

I can't wait to start voting!

Thanks in advance for all your HARD work

Ye gods be praised! The ruggers have an edge!

Kayne Lawton:


Michael Sullivan:


And, my favorite, David Williams:


He's a god amongst men!

How is Rafael Nadal NOT on your list?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I put a start date of tomorrow for Americas North Round 1, however, you are able to vote today. So VOTING IS NOW OPEN! Voting for Americas - North round 1 is Friday at 11:59pm.

VOTE HERE

My Votes are In...

Brady Quinn (it was a tough decision)

Sidney Crosby

Georges St. Pierre (tough only that Evan Longoria is ubber hawt, but GSP is my fav)

Mike & Bob

Andy Roddick

Adam Van Koeverden

Tom Brady

David Wright

I had to give it to Kelln Winslow. That Booty!!! But Brady Quinn has lost a lot of cool points with me. The whole fight outside the gay bar, etc. And his face does look like a horse.

Why no butt shots or infamous happy trail shots of Andy Roddick?

Looks like the closest match will be between DiPietro vs. Van Koeverden. Sidney Crosby was leading for the first 70 or so votes but Wes Welker has come on strong in surpassing him.

And in the battle of the New England states, "doughy" Tom Brady is leading the Bear, Jason Varitek.

Poor Michael Phelps. All those gold medals are not helping him prevent Andy Roddick from whooping his ass.

I am 5-5 at the moment

As a reminder, you can also go to the bracketmaker site and make your predictions.

Darn it. For some reason, I thought David Cal was Canadian so I put him in Americas - South bracket. He is, in fact, from Spain (was their flag bearer in the Olympics) so he is in the wrong bracket. I will replace him with someone else. Luckily, Americas South voting is not until next week.

Go Wes Welker!!! It is so hard to pick between such hot guys! I had a real problem trying to decide over David Wright and Kasey Kahne--two of my personal favorites!!

Americas North is now over. No upsets.

David Wright - Baseball d. Kasey Kahne - NASCAR
58.8% - 41.2%

Tom Brady - Football d. Jason Varitek - Baseball
63.7% - 36.3%

Rick DiPietro - Hockey d. Adam VanKoeverden - Kayak
53.4% - 46.6%

Andy Roddick - Tennis d. Michael Phelps - Swimming
82.8% - 17.2%

Robby Ginepri - Tennis d. Mike & Bob Bryan - Tennis
68.7% - 31.3%

Evan Longoria - Baseball d. Georges St-Pierre - UFC
74.2% - 25.8%

Wes Welker - Football d. Sidney Crosby - Hockey
58.9% - 41.1%

Brady Quinn - Football d. Kellen Winslow - Football
75.2% - 24.8%

World North division voting begins on Monday.

The pictures are up if you want to view the men before voting begins on Monday.

King of the Hardwood Official Site

I think this is going to be one is one of the toughest brackets. I'm still up in the air on a lot of the match-ups.

Brackets

World - North
1. Ben Cohen - Rugby
2. David Williams - Rugby
3. David Shillington - Rugby
4. Kenrick Monk - Swimming
5. Casper Landerweerd - Water Polo
6. Linus Thornblad - Javelin
7. Novak Djokokvic - Tennis
8. Iker Casillas - Soccer
9. Andrew Howe - Track & Field
10. Jose Maria Manzanares - Bullfighting
11. Kristian Kjelling - Handball
12. Nemanja Vidic - Soccer
13. Andreas Thorkildsen - Track & Field
14. David Cal Figueroa - Canoe
15. Ben Ainsley - Sailing
16. Aslanbek Khustov - Wrestling

Reminder! Voting is now open for the World North bracket!

I am glad Andrew Howe is in the running. He is such a beautiful man. Iker Casillas is so pretty, too. I am quite the fan of the David Williams shower photo.

It looks like one match-up will go down to the wire tomorrow. At one point today, they were tied.

51.4%
Novak Djokovic - Tennis

48.6%
Jose Maria Manzanares - Bull Fighting


The next region up is Americas South starting Thursday. There has been a little change to the competitors in this bracket.

FINAL RESULTS: WORLD NORTH:


Ben Cohen def. Aslanbek Khustov
90.3% - 9.7%

Iker Casillas def. Andrew Howe
68.0% - 31.1%

Casper Landerweerd def. Nemanja Vidic
80.6% - 19.4%

Andreas Thorkildsen def. Kenrick Monk
52.4& - 47.6%

David Shillington def. David Cal
63% - 37%

Novak Djokovic def. Jose Maria Manzanares
54% - 46%

David Williams def. Ben Ainslie
79.7% - 20.3%

Brackets

Voting for Americas South Bracket is now OPEN!

Americas - South Contenders:

1. Jeremy Bloom - Freestyle Skiing
2. Joe Mauer - Baseball
3. Alexandre Despatie - Diving
4. Brad Ausmus - Baseball
5. Chris Long - Football
6. Matt Ryan - Football
7. Colt Brennan - Football
8. Conor Jackson - Baseball
9. Jonathan Horton - Gymnastics
10. Sean Avery - Hockey
11. Reggie Bush - Football
12. Jacoby Ellsbury - Baseball
13. Ryan Lochte - Swimming
14. Kelly Slater - Surfing
15. Oguchi Onyewu - Soccer
16. Stan McQuay - Bodybuilder

VOTE HERE!

Awwww I'm sad that GSP lost

Woah. We have a major upset brewing. Ryan Lochte has jumped out to an early 15 point lead over former KOTH champ Brad Ausmus. 57.5% - 42.5%.

And in the closest match so far, Jacoby Ellsbury is clinging to a 51.1% - 48.9% lead over rookie Chris Long.

And how the hell is Reggie Bush losing to Matt Ryan 58% - 42%?

Voting is open until Saturday.

Oh, I think we all know the answer to that one.

THis is one case where Bush was the sexy option!

To me it shouldn't even be a close vote ....

Chris Long has taken a slight lead over Jacoby Ellsbury 51% - 48%

Ryan Lochte continues to Brad Ausmus 54.1% - 45.9%. What's interesting about this match-up is that Brad is basically winning Canada and splitting the USA while Ryan is taking the rest of the world.

There is an amazing battle going on in the Americas South.

I don't know if there is dialidol at work or if there is stuffing of the ballot, or just a plain old shoot-out, but Brad Ausmus actually caught and passed Ryan Lochte today. And as of this minute, they are back to being tied.

In the other heated battle, Chris Long continues to edge out Jacoby Ellsbury, 51.6% - 48.4%.

Voting ends Saturday at 11pm Eastern time.

Under 4 hours left to vote and the Ausmus/Lochte battle continues. Lochte just popped a shot inside the 3 point line and has taken a two vote lead. 202-200.

We are in overtime in the Brad Ausmus vs. Ryan Lochte match-up. Overtime lasts until 3pm Eastern on Sunday.

The final bracket in Round 1 is now open for voting: World South:

World - South
1. Nick Youngquest - Rugby
2. Michael Sullivan - Rugby
3. Kayne Lawton - Rugby
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - Soccer
5. Fabian Hambuechen - Gymnastics
6. Yoann Gourcuff - Soccer
7. Matthew Mitcham - Diving
8. Robert Kronberg - Track
9. Mimi Kraus - Handball
10. Bjorn Barrefors - Track
11. Adam Scott - Golf
12. Cesc Fabregas - Soccer
13. Theo Bos - Cycling
14. Peter Reed - Rowing
15. Stanislas Wawrinka - Tennis
16. Mehendra Singh Dhoni - Cricket


VOTE HERE


Here is the link to the Brackets:

King of the Hardwood VI - The Brackets

Mariner Duck Guy, one of the pictures for Michael Sullivan is labeled Kayne Lawton. Interesting line-up.

Voting for the Americas Bracket - Round 2 is now open


VOTE HERE

Brackets

Americas - Round 2 Results:

Americas North:
David Wright d. Tom Brady
61.7% - 38.3%

Rick DiPietro d. Andy Roddick
62.4% - 37.6%

Evan Longoria d. Robby Ginepri
61.6% - 38.4%

Wes Welker d. Brady Quinn
56.2% 43.8%

Americas South:
Jeremy Bloom d. Jonathan Horton
63.1% - 36.9%

Brad Ausmus d. Chris Long
50.2% - 49.8%

Alexandre Despatie d. Matt Ryan
71.3% - 28.7%

Colt Brennan d. Joe Mauer
68.8% - 31.2%

Americas - Sweet 16 Match-up:

Americas North Bracket:
David Wright vs. Rick DiPietro
Evan Longoria vs. Wes Welker

Americas South Bracket:
Jeremy Bloom vs. Brad Ausmus
Alexandre Despatie vs. Colt Brennan

Voting for the Sweet 16 begins on Wednesday.

VOTE HERE

Brackets

Voting for round 2 of the World Brackets are now OPEN!


VOTE HERE

Brackets

Voting ends 8pm Eastern on Wednesday.

This is a shocker to me. A pleasant shocker, but a shocker nonetheless.

Three baseball players and a hockey player.

Voting for the Sweet 16 is now OPEN!


VOTE HERE

Brackets

There are some very intriguing match-ups.

Voting ends 8pm Eastern on Saturday.

Only a few hours remain in the Sweet 16 round. It looks like in the World division it will be an all rugby Final Four. In the Americas side, if voting holds, it's going to be baseball vs. football.

Sweet 16 Results:

Americas North:

David Wright d. Rick DiPietro
58.3% - 41.7%

Wes Welker d. Evan Longoria
56% - 44%

Americas South:

Brad Ausmus d. Jeremy Bloom
57.1% - 42.9%

Colt Brennan d. Alexandre Despatie
59.8% - 40.2%

World North:

Ben Cohen d. Casper Landerweerd
65.4% - 34.6%

David Williams d. David Shillington
78.3% - 21.7%

World South:

Nick Youngquest d. Cristiano Ronaldo
74.4% - 25.6%

Kayne Lawton d. Michael Sullivan
60.4% - 39.6%

Elite Eight Match-ups:

David Wright - Baseball vs. Wes Welker - Football

Brad Ausmus - Baseball vs. Colt Brennan - Football

Ben Cohen - Rugby vs. David Williams - Rugby

Nick Youngquest - Rugby vs. Kayne Lawton - Rugby

Voting for the Elite Eight is now OPEN!

Elite Eight Match-ups:

America North: (1) David Wright - Baseball vs. (7) Wes Welker - Football
America South: (4) Brad Ausmus - Baseball vs. (7) Colt Brennan - Football
World North: (1) Ben Cohen - Rugby vs. (2) David Williams - Rugby
World South: (1) Nick Youngquest - Rugby vs. (3) Kayne Lawton - Rugby

VOTE HERE

Brackets

Voting ends 8pm Eastern on Wednesday

I think David Wright is still going through puberty. That oily skin is a turn-off.

how could u vote against this?



welker/wright should be the finals anyway

The Welker/Wright and Ausmus/Brennan match-ups are extremely tight. In both match-ups, the leader is only ahead by one vote.

In the world brackets, after day 1, the leaders are in front by a healthy margin.

VOTE HERE

Brackets

Voting ends 8pm Eastern on Wednesday

Wes Welker and David Wright are still slugging it out with 372 votes and Wright holding on at 50.5% - 49.5%. The two have been flip flopping since voting began.

Brad Ausmus is also clinging to a slight lead over Colt Brennan. Interesting to note that Colt is clearly carrying the Hawai'i vote. Not one vote from the Aloha state is going to Ausmus.

And Kayne Lawton, once down by as many as 16 percentage points, has climbed back into the race and is now trailing Nick Youngquest 51.4% - 48.6%

VOTE HERE

Brackets

Voting ends 8pm Eastern on Wednesday

Happy '40th' Birthday Brad Ausmus !!!

A little over three hours remain to vote in the Elite Eight. The last time I checked, Brad Ausmus held a one vote lead over Colt Brennan with over 930 votes cast. And the David Wright-Wes Welker match is also tight. YOU may be the deciding vote.

In case of a tie, there will be an one hour overtime.

What'chu waiting for? Vote now!

Hey MDG:
Can't seem to access your gallery via the KOTH site. Is it still up?

Yes, I was doing maintenance. It should be working now.

Voting is open for the Final Four.

Final Four:

Americas Championship: Brad Ausmus v. David Wright

World Championship: David Williams v. Nick Youngquest

VOTE HERE

Brackets

I don't know who keeps "stuffing the evelope" with Brad Ausmus, but come on, stuffer people- Brad is hot but should not be here.

Part of my decision not to vote for Brad is that despite his positive rhetoric for Billy Bean, he did not participate in a post victory interview or statement after previously winning. I don't know if that was a lack of Outsports not asking or his people not allowing him to participate. Either way, this spin around, he has not gotten my vote.

BTW- THANKS MDG for doing all this work!!!

does anyone find it in the least suspicious that ausmus keeps winning by 3-4 votes or less than a percentage? its almost as if someone is stuffing the ballot box just to the point where he wins.

what measures are being taken to prevent fraudulent voting?

No.



When I vote I don't see vote totals, only the percentage each guy has. I assume it's the same for the others. I don't see how anyone can arrange to stuff the ballot box in such a way.



Because if Brad Ausmus keeps winning someone loses seats in Congress, or our taxes will be raised, or the world will come to an end?

We used the same polling software for our Local Groups contest that MDG does for KOTH and sadly discovered that it is possible to "stuff the ballot box." We had 2 groups who waited late, then jammed in enough votes at the wire to affect the result. Fortunately, we had a system to prevent these groups from winning it all.

I also find it suspicious that Ausmus keeps winning; also, the pics of him are not recent. I know we all have our taste but find it hard to believe he keeps winning or going far each year.

Tell me about it. Every year since this started, never a latino, African-American, Asian, or even a biracial player has made it to the final four. It is so depressing.

I have had my suspicions ever since round one in his match-up with Ryan Lochte.

I tried to find Dodger pics of Brad but I only found one or two and they were not that good.

At least with the vote being close, it does make it exciting no who will win.




Yes it is No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't bring the crown to Koji Murofushi!

I would have axed Brad this season -- no one should win based on years-old photos. If he beats either of the rugby guys, then we'll know it was fixed by his secret admirer!

I have nothing to do with it. I'm not that smart. I've been in a real dilemma this year. Because Brad and David are going head to head. But I gotta stick with my guy. But I swear, I only voted for him once. Plus you have to admit that Brad is still a good looking guy. Even in this blurry shot of him in the dugout.