No Credentials First Birthday

            It’s hard to believe that a year ago, this blog started with a commentary about Tom Brady’s hair. In honor of No Credentials’ first birthday, we’ll take a look back at some of the high and lowlights of the past year, as well as a look at the people, places, and teams that made the most appearances in the blog. We’ll also highlight some of the dumber things written in this space.

 

The Team No Credentials Talked About the Most

            It’s not the Boston Red Sox.
            It’s not the New England Patriots.
            It’s not the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.
            It’s not my beloved Dallas Cowboys.
            It’s not the Super Bowl Champion/currently undefeated Green Bay Packers.
            Wait for it…

            Buoyed by a slew of appearances in the weekend reviews after the NFL season ended, the Miami Heat checked in as the most discussed team of the past 365 days. The ridiculous, fan-killing lockout has almost made me forget how polarizing “The Big 2 Featuring Chris Bosh” was. I need to move on before I get more depressed about the sad state of the NBA.

(EDITORS NOTE: For humors sake, check out this assessment of NBA title contenders I wrote shortly after the NBA trade deadline last March. My top-3 was the Celtics, Lakers, and Spurs. San Antonio lost in the first round, and Boston and L.A. had their doors blown off in the second. This blog is called No Credentials for a reason folks)

 

Columns I Wish I Wrote

            Spending time with my family, working (believe it or not, I'm just barely competent enough to hold a full-time job), playing video games, and sleeping are the primary reasons I miss out on writing time. In no particular order, here is a list of things I wish I wrote about instead of playing an extra game of Madden or TECMO Super Baseball.

     -         Manny Ramirez getting hit with a suspension, and then retiring. Even though the last few years haven’t treated Manny well, he will always be one of my favorite Red Sox players of all-time. Perhaps I’ll save my Manny essay for when he makes his debut playing in a Japanese league.
     -         All things NHL. I enjoy the sport, but don’t get sucked in on a nightly basis until the playoffs roll around. Look for a Boston Bruins quarter season review to come out in a few weeks though.
     -         The Boston Red Sox collapse. Blame this one on my lack of enthusiasm for baseball, but nevertheless No Credentials should’ve been more on top of it.
     -         Educating the public on how to time picking up food for takeout. Doesn’t have anything to do with sports, but no one does this better than me, and I want to help people.

Least Read Article

            I’m not sure if it’s because of a system error or not, but according to my stats, my Week 17 NFL picks were read by 0 people. It’s a shame none of you checked it out, because you missed out on a decent Betty White joke. Even worse on my part, I have no recollection of how well these picks turned out.
 

The First Time I Tricked My Friend Ethan With a “News” Story

            Believe it or not, my friend who helped me do No Credentials ill-fated mock draft for fantasy football this season, seriously believed that Charlie Sheen was going to bid on the New York Mets. I probably should’ve remembered this before asking him to do a mock draft with me.  
 

Best No Credentials Prediction

            Not only did I correctly predict that the Milwaukee Brewers would win the NL Central, I even predicted the exact record they finished with. Click here for proof, but just make sure you scroll past the part where I picked the Cardinals to finish third in the division and miss the playoffs.
 

Most Research Done For a Column

            Excluding my 2010 fantasy baseball mock draft (which I think I viewed advanced metrics on over 300 players), the hands down winner is my 2011 BCS Championship Game review. I even used the word “revenue” in this piece. Creepy.
 

The Second Time I Tricked My Friend Ethan With a “News” Story

            No Credentials April Fools Joke about the NFL Lockout also fooled Ethan. After finding out it was a farce, he said, “You have to stop doing this to me.”

Most Discussed Person(s)

            It isn’t a shock that Lebron James was labeled nine times. He was the most polarizing figure on the most polarizing team in sports since the Spy-Gate Patriots. It is a shock that of all people, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart tied Lebron. It was a given that Stewart would be mentioned in some of my heavy NASCAR pieces (the ultimate starting grid being my best), but Stewart’s late season tear in The Chase earned him a spot in a mailbag, and his arrest last January in Australia helped him crack a weekend review during the off-season. It’s been a sneaky year for Stewart, which could result in a sneaky championship if he can keep his mojo going for another three races.

(EDITORS NOTE: Honorable mentions in this category go out to Cam Newton, Derek Jeter, and Tom Brady)

Worst Gambling Advice

            It’s hard not to point to last week (with my proclamation that there were a whole slew of teams to throw in three team teasers, but then New Orleans couldn’t figure out how to score on the putrid Rams for three quarters, therefore ruining my three-team teaser and millions of others. Let’s move on before I get angry), but we’ll point to week 7 of this season when Tennessee was one of my top five picks, but ended up losing by 41 points to Houston. This is even more embarrassing because I actually wagered real money on the Titans.
 

Reader of the Year

            Ironically enough, this year’s winner isn’t even that much of a sports fan, but his contributions to No Credentials’ mailbags can’t be overstated. Congratulations to Ryan B., of Kearsarge, for winning the inaugural reader of the year award.
 

Top “10.” Story

            For those that haven’t caught on, the number 10 spot on my weekend reviews is usually reserved for something bizarre. This year’s winner, in a landslide, goes to “The Rapture”, which cracked the top 10 list on May 23.  


            To all of my readers (all nine of you)…thanks for reading No Credentials. I’ve enjoyed the feedback I’ve gotten, the conversations that have started, and more than anything, just putting my brain to work (even if what I write about isn’t exactly important. We’re working on that for year 2). I hope you enjoy reading this space at least a third as much as I enjoy putting it together.