In a year in which the blogosphere emerged as one of the most powerful forces in the world of sports, it’s only fitting that the 2007 Sportsman of the Year should be a member of that elite fraternity. Amidst the thousands of voices vying for attention in the blogosphere, one stood head and shoulders above the rest: commenter Pgskinfan32, who logged a total of 11,284 witty, incisive, controversial comments from subjects ranging from Spygate to the Mitchell Report.

Pgskinfan32’s influence cannot be overstated, just as his fearless, take-no-prisoners attitude could not be ignored in the year 2007. Among his accomplishments: coining the term “Cheat-riots,” comparing Isiah Thomas to the hapless coach in The Comebacks, and calling for Michael Vick to be tied to a tree and mauled by rabid pit bulls.

According to his contemporaries, no commenter embodied the spirit of the sports fan like Pgskinfan32.

“Pgskinfan32 had one of the greatest seasons in the history of blog commenting,” said SI.com media expert Richard Deitsch. “I’ll never forget where I was when I read his four paragraph rant about A-Rod in response to a Fanhouse post about his contract negotiations. ‘A-Fraud' and 'Scott Borasshole?’ That’s gold. And the way he eviscerated him for failing in the clutch was fearless. I mean, this guy doesn’t care whose toes he steps on.”

Fellow blog commenter Randyjsxx888 insists that Pgskinfan32 also does “all the little things” that make for compelling reading.

“A lot of people will remember Pgskin’s 2007 season for his sweeping, profound statements,” said Randyjszzz. “But for me, it’s the off-the-cuff comments that resonate, like when he said the NFL was full of thugs and criminals who think they're above the law. And when some blogger wrote that the Big 10 was the toughest conference in the country, he took the guy to the cleaners for being part of the anti-SEC bias. I’m sorry, but that guy got served.”

Pgskinfan32 certainly had no qualms with criticizing the very bloggers who made his comments possible, routinely attacking posts he considered factually inaccurate or philosophically inconsistent.

“First of all, if you’re going to write about something, do a little research first,” read one Pgskinfan response to a blog post about the Mitchell Report. “Roger Clemens was not included in the Grimsley affidavit. That was an erroneous story by the LA Times. Jesus, you’d think a professional blogger would take a little time to learn the facts about what he’s writing about. What a hack job. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

That comment single-handedly ushered in a new era of accountability and accuracy among bloggers.

But Pgskinfan32 wasn’t always so influential. When he first began his commenting career, he was simply another foul-mouthed fan with poor grammar skills, as evidenced by the this, his earliest known comment: “Chargers SUCK. They r a bunch of retards and I hope schotenheimer gets fired and aj smith along with him fuck you SMITH you suck lol!!!!”

For Pgskinfan, the journey from nobody to Sportsman of the Year has been a long and arduous one. Now that he’s at the top, he has no intention of relinquishing his position.

“I just feel totally blessed to be held in such high regard by my peers,” Pgskinfan32 wrote. “It’s been a great ride and hopefully I can just keep getting better. I always felt that my job as a blog commenter is to supplement the thoughts and observations of the blogger and occasionally steer them in the right direction when they write something stupid lol.

“Hopefully I can be an inspiration to the kids out there. Kids, keep commenting, keep railing against factually inaccurate blog posts, and most importantly, keep pretending that this isn't all a complete waste of time.”

Copyright 2007, The Brushback - Do not reprint without permission. This article is satire and is not intended as actual news.