Each year, the FSWA honors fantasy writers in several different categories, representing the four major fantasy sports (football, baseball, basketball and hockey) as well as golf and NASCAR. Making the awards truly meaningful for the nominees is the method by which they are selected: the general FSWA membership submits writers for consideration; the submissions are then whittled down to three finalists in each category (via blind voting—no names are attached to the submissions) by the five-member Executive Committee of the FSWA; the finalists are then passed on to the 21-member Board of Directors of the FSWA. Finally, the board selects the winning submission in each category.

For the 2006 writing season, Sports Grumblings was represented at the FSWA Awards with four nominations, all for fantasy football (we did not offer four-sport coverage in 2006). The nominations were:

• John T. Georgopoulos for Best Fantasy Football Article in Major Media. John was nominated for his work on the Sports illustrated web site.
• John T. Georgopoulos for Best Fantasy Football Article in Print. John was nominated for his work in the Fantasy Football Sourcebook.
• Greg Kellogg for Best Fantasy Football In-Season Article or Series. Greg was nominated for his White Noise column.
• John T. Georgopoulos for Best Fantasy Football In-Season Article or Series. John was nominated for his Fantasy Forecast – The Strategy Series column.

The FSWA award ceremony was held in conjunction with the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) conference in Chicago on February 20. Some of the best writers in the industry were present for the awards ceremony. Sports Grumblings is proud to congratulate senior editor and publisher John Georgopoulos on his being selected as the winner for Best Article or Series on the Internet for his Fantasy Forecast – The Strategy Series column. When receiving his award, John was quick to point out two facts to the packed house of fellow journalists and industry insiders. “First, I have to say that it’s a great honor to receive this award but it’s an even bigger relief to not be branded the Susan Lucci of these awards. After seven nominations over the past three years, it’s good to get off the schneid! Second—and perhaps more importantly—I beat out Greg Kellogg for this award. So I get office bragging rights for this year.”

The crowd got a good laugh at the last remark, as it was Kellogg who edged out Georgopoulos in 2004 for the same award.

Listed below, the complete list FSWA award recipients… congratulations to all these outstanding fantasy sports journalists!