Last year, Capitals Outsider started a tradition to stroke the egos of colleagues on the Caps blogosphere, including ourselves, by giving out awards for Excellence in Capitals Blogging.
Capitals Blogger of the Year
Adam Vingan, of Kings of Leonsis, S.B. Nation D.C. and Mr. Irrelevant. At first, he was just another young Caps blogger. But he kept working hard (and wouldn’t go away), and now he’s a constant presence in the press box and one of the most vocal Caps writers on Twitter. Now, after every game, we’re in the habit of looking to see what he has to say.
(Also, Vingan gets it this year because Neil Greenberg is suddenly a legit journalist. Congrats, Neil!)
The unsung hero award goes to Capitals Outsider’s own M. Richter, who consistently travels further than any other blogger for a story, including commuting to Hershey for home games, and also various Caps activities throughout D.C. In other words, she rarely just sits at home and writes like many of us do.
Best New Caps Blog
Caps Basketball. At first, we thought this was just a silly idea, but this site has continued to provide consistently entertaining posts.
Best Name for a New Capitals Blog
Sick, Unbelievable (Previous winner goes to Kings of Leonsis, which is soooo 2010).
Runner up: Hockey Yelling. A blog that takes the ‘capitals’ part seriously.
Original Caps Song of the Year
Granted, there aren’t too many of these to choose from, and we’re big fans of King Koopa and Remy’s I’m a Caps Fan (which was mysteriously removed from Comcast’s site). Either of those can easily get the award. But instead we’ll highlight one from Sick, Unbelievable that just came out last night called “This is the year.”
Best Capital to Interview
Once again, it’s Karl Alzner and Mike Knuble, the quote-machines. Media members (bloggers included) can ALWAYS count on them for soundbites.
Most Philosophical Capital
Brooks Laich. Don’t ask questions, just accept our claim that Laich is the most philosophical, which also makes for a great interview. Also, kudos to Matt Hendricks.
Best Blogger-made Caps Video
This goes to our very own Phillip Van der Vossen for his time-lapse project leading up to the drop of the puck for this season.
Runner up goes to me because I made the Caps as Star Wars video and I deserve an Emmy for this.
Most Despised Media Member
No surprises here. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, it’s Mike Milbury (The writer who suggested that Ovi was on PEDs doesn’t even qualify as a media member). Here’s a photo of Mike accepting his award:
The J.P. Award for King of All Caps Bloggers
Once again, this award goes to Jon Press of Japers’ Rink. Without Japers’ Rink, the Caps blogosphere would be in chaos and fans eager for more pixels wouldn’t know where else to look. No other Caps blog would be hitting the numbers it gets without links from that site.
End-of-Year Thanks
Thanks to Dan Steinberg for his continued support of the Caps blogosphere. Though he writes for The Washington Post, I’m pretty sure in his heart, he’s one of us. Same goes for Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blogger Greg Wyshynski, who remains one of the top NHL writers on the web, yet refuses to let that level of credibility interfere with his toilet humor.
Thanks to the Washington Capitals organization, James Hueser of Caps Overtime, @CapsGameEnt, media relations director and third-string goaltender Sergey Kocharov, the rest of the staff, but especially Ted Leonsis, who made all of this possible. It’s not just his foresight to credential new media, but his continued support by highlighting posts he enjoys on the blogosphere. I’m not even sure if he’s aware of the community and friendships he’s created, and the number of writers he’s opened windows for to get a jump into this business.
Thanks to all of our readers, several of whom have participated on the site by lending their photos, ideas and creativity. You know who you are. We love you. Happy new year from Caps Outsider (Facebook, Twitter) and our brother site, Gunaxin!
