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2010 Orble Sport Awards

January 2nd 2011 16:15
I just want to thank everybody that posts on Orble and comments on other blogs. The guys that drop in and comment/read/vote on my blog are really important to me and this website. These awards were viewer's choice, so there really shouldn't be any big snubs. There were two ties, and I gave the person that won the least amount of awards the tiebreaker. However, I did list both people that were tied. At the end of the main awards, I will list everybody who received votes. Thanks guys for an amazing 2010! Let's keep it up and move ahead better in 2011!

Overall Blog: Pro Sports Wrap

Yeah, I don't know how this crappy blog won, but it somehow did. I was pulling for the site that came in second place; Best in Footy. I graciously accept this award. I am honored that people think that this blog is worth something, let alone worth the top spot. I also thought my bros at Unsportsman do a nice job. I love the humor they incorporate into their posts.


Overall Writer: Tie Joe Soriano and Matt Saltmer. Tiebreaker goes to Matt Saltmer.

Matty Salt deserves this fully. He should be getting a job for ESPN Soccernet or something with his insight on soccer. He is the best soccer personality that I have had the pleasure of talking to/messaging. Well done Matty! I tied, but it is obvious that Saltmer should win this award. Just check out his stuff and be amazed. The writers that tied were the only ones that received votes, which is crazy when RC Shivers, Randy Inman, and Rick Gillispie are contributers on Orble.

Basketball Site: NBA Loud

Ah, Rick finally gets his recognition. He runs the third most successful blog in terms of readership on Orble. It is a long road to page hits, and Gillispie has certainly mastered the art. NBA Geek is also a good website- run by arguably the biggest fan of this blog, gpike. However, Gillispie did deserve this award. It's about the website, not the writer all the time.


Basketball Writer: Rick Gillispie and gpike tie. Tiebreaker goes to gpike.

Yeah, this kind of proved that the best blog doesn't equate to the best writer. Well, it pretty much did. It's just how the tiebreaker system goes. I did it this way to make sure more people win something. However, it isn't some solace prize. Gpike truly is a talented writer. He writes about more than basketball, but his blog is titled NBA Geek.

American Football: Pro Sports Wrap and Football Dogz tie. Tiebreaker goes to Football Dogz.

Thank goodness I didn't win this award. I didn't want to take away the accomplishments Bruce, Randy, Winless in Seattle, and the others have done on that website. It has a ton of draft coverage and a lot of strong opinions. Strong opinions build blogs, and they certainly built the best football blog out there. Randy Inman is one of the greatest writers here on Orble. You should really check out the stuff he does with Associated Content. Man, is it good.

American Football Writer: Joe Soriano

Five people received votes for this category. It was an extremely tight race, which makes me even more shocked that I came away with this award. This award and all the others should really go to the readers. Without you guys, this blog would be sitting in C.C. Brown's trash bin.

Soccer Website: Best in Footy

This was a blowout victory, as it should be. Best in Footy is the class of Orble, especially Matt Saltmer; the guy who runs it. It is a database of knowledge, insight, and community interaction. It is the center of the most actively posted sport on Orble.

Soccer Writer: Matt Saltmer

He won writer of the year, is there really any reason why I should explain why he blew out everybody for this award? Saltmer is the best writer we have on Orble, and Buster Olney clones aren't his competition. Every writer on Orble isn't just competent, they are all masters of blogging.

Motor Sport Site: Slurred Words on Motorsport

This blog is the class of motorsport, and it isn't even close.

Motor Sport Writer: RC Shivers

This is one of those masters I am talking about. He is regularly published on Yahoo! Sports, and he is one of the best bloggers on Associated Content. Shivers doesn't get much publicity on a motor sport blog, but he definitely should. RC Shivers, you da man! He also has some good baseball insight, so that's one thing I wish he wrote about.

Baseball Writer: Joe Soriano

Speaking of baseball, here is the baseball writer award. I was surprised that only one person voted for Nakamura. He hasn't been on in a while- it's the offseason- but he always writes like three times a day during the postseason. He is a great baseball mind. I really wish he would contribute more often, but he has a really busy lifestyle. Hats off to you Nakamura!

Baseball Website: Pro Sports Wrap

This blog won this award because the other baseball writers are busy and can't regularly post. This award is probably a fluke thing. Baseball Author, Baseball is Good, and Dustin's blog are good ones. Dustin didn't get any votes, but he is a writer you all need to know about. He doesn't post much, but he is good. Aryan von Eicken is someone who recently started blogging. He writes baseball, but he has yet to actually write a baseball post. I can't blame him. Aryan is writing about football right now, and that's all the rage with the postseason around the corner.

Here are the blogs and bloggers that received votes:

NBA Loud
Best in Footy
Pro Sports Wrap
English Premier League Forum
Joe Soriano
Matt Saltmer
Rick Gillispie
NBA Geek
gpike
Football Dogz
Unsportsman
Randy Inman
Brent d'Foshee
Elliot Smith
Winless in Seattle
Champions League Watch
Kranium Decay
RC Shivers
Slurred Words on Motorsport
Racing Weekend
Nakamura
Baseball Author

Congratulations to all and have a great 2011!



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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NFL, MLB, NBA, Soccer, Other
   


2010 PSW Awards Athletes of the Year

December 22nd 2010 16:21
With 2010 winding down to a close, I am about to recap the year by listing the best of the year in sports. There are several categories, and I hope everybody comments and enjoys.

Athlete of the Year: Roy Halladay

This was a tough choice, and I honestly did not want to pick Doc; but I had to give the guy some props. Halladay not only pitched a perfect game, but he also pitched the first postseason no-hitter since Don Larsen did it in 1956. Doc threw two no-hitter's in a season since Nolan Ryan did it in 1973. He had 219 K's, an unrealistic 1.04 WHIP, a 2.44 ERA, 9 complete games, 4 shutouts, 21 wins- meaningless as he pitched for a great team, and 250.2 innings pitched. Halladay is one of the few pitchers left that continue the lost art of true pitching. Complete games. Doc finishes off games, something few pitchers do in this league anymore. Only Halladay and fellow ace CC Sabathia can call themselves true workhoses.

NFL Athlete of the Year (2009-2010 Season): Drew Brees

Do I have to explain this choice? Brees was robbed of the MVP. Who won the Super Bowl? Who completed 70.6 percent of his passes? Who had a nearly unachievable 109.6 QB Rating? Not Peyton, it was Breezy. He tossed 34 TDs compared to 11 INTs and hurled 4,388 yards with 292.5 yards per game.

NBA Athlete of the Year (2009-2010 Season): Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant did what he always does. Scored. He drove, shot, and free-throwed his way to 30.2 points per game, the league lead. He did have a lot of free throws, but that was because he did what every scout tells you to do. Throw your shoulders in and draw those fouls. He didn't waste his FTs, shooting 90 percent from the line. The Durantula shot 47.6 percent from the floor while also racking 1.4 steals per game and leading the Thunder to a playoff spot. They were a surprise team, but they weren't such a surprise to those who looked at their talent. A team led by Durant with Westbrook, Green, and Harden as sidekicks shouldn't be a surprise.

Soccer Athlete of the Year (2009-2010 Season with World Cup): Xavi

A lot of people read the box score from the baseball game last night and get a good idea of what happened about that game. Those same people look at soccer box scores and think they know what happened. Looking at goals scored does you no good. You need to take into account who distributed and provided those goals. Not even assists can tell you that. The only way to watch who was most influential in those goals, you have to watch the game. It's usually not the goal scorer who meant the most.

There are too many "Box Score Guys" out there, and that's why Xavi doesn't get recognized as one of the best soccer players out there in countries filled with BSG's like America. Xavi's elegant and pinpoint passes were instrumental in the successes of Spain and Barca. It is unquestionable that without Xavi, Spain wouldn't have won the World Cup. He provided all that was needed to David Villa and the others. He fed players and created chances, and everybody knows that chances are the most important things in the game of soccer.

Baseball will not be done, because you already can tell who won.

NHL Athlete of the Year (09-10 Season): Henrik Sedin

I was elated when the MVP voters did not select Ovechkin or Crosby. I despise Ovechkin, but Crosby is my favorite player as his Pens are my favorite team. They were both great, but Sedin was the best player during the season. He led his Canucks through everything. Sure they had a supporting cast, but it wasn't as good as the powerhouses like the Caps and Pens. Sedin led the league in points with 112 and led in assists- it wasn't close- with 83. Sedin has proven to be the second best passer in the league, with only Crosby being better. If one of the greatest talents of All-Time is the only player better than you, then you obviously are a prolific passer.
PSW 2010 Athlete of the Year
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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NFL, MLB, NBA, Soccer
   


12/19 Rambling On: Loss of Quality Soccer

December 19th 2010 14:50
Yeah, I haven't written about anything soccer in a while or very much on this website. It's mainly because- as an American- I am focused on basketball, baseball, and football. That's America's Big 3. What I'm writing about is obvious and overstated, but I will try and bring it into different terms. This season, there have only been three undisputed elite soccer teams in the world. Those are Dortmund- who lost to Frankfurt and are spiraling downward, Manchester United- who might not even deserve to be on this list, and Barcelona. Only the last team of those three cannot be questioned at all.

All three teams have dominated, and really I should rephrase that sentence in the last paragraph. Only one of those teams is indisputably elite. I just had to name a top three. Barcelona are mowing through the La Liga in style. Nobody can exactly romp the Champions League, but if anyone can- it's Barcelona. Usually, we find about five teams each year that are very strong. Last year, Chelsea; Inter; Barca; Bayern; and Manchester United were dominant. This year, it's been all about La Blaugrana.

And why not? Puyol and Pique are arguably the best duo in central defense in the world. The guys to pit against them are United's Vidic and Ferdinand. Barcelona easily have the best midfield there is. The combination of Xavi, Iniesta, and Mascherano are every manager's envy. Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, and David Villa is another top class player. Dani Alves is barely the second best defender in the league. Only former Sevilla teammate- and now rival in Real- Sergio Ramos is better.

This is a team that features an underrated goalie in Victor Valdes. He is constantly overshadowed by fellow Spaniard Iker Casillas. Obviously, Valdes isn't as good; but Valdes is great in his own right. Pedro, Milito, Sergio B, and Abidal make up a great supporting cast to the superstars.

I think Cam Newton will be the most overhyped player in the draft. Heck, everybody and their uncles would agree with me on this one. Even though Jake Locker had a poor year, he is still the better pro prospect than Newton. Newton's leadership, accuracy, and character are huge question marks. Those three things are some of the keys to success in the NFL. Locker is a leader and happens to have absolutely no supporting cast in Washington. Andrew Luck is still the best, but don't dump Jake in your Locker.
What if Dani Alves and Sergio Ramos- as they are now- where still at Sevilla together?
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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NFL, NCAAF, Soccer
   




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