ESPN.com: Vote for the NEXT athlete

One of my favorite ESPN features is the NEXT athlete features. ESPN the Magazine does a good job of looking to the future and seeing what will come. Generally, they’re pretty good about it. The first year included Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez, who have since ascended to the stratosphere, along with Eric Lindros and Kordell Stewart, who have… well… A-Rod and Kobe are great, right?

The candidates for the 2007 cover include Dwight Howard, who is a monster, of course. He gets my vote easily. Also on the ballot are Evgeni Malkin, Jose Reyes, Calvin Johnson, and Juan Pablo Montoya. Reyes doesn’t really fit in with the others – he’s energizing, but I really don’t think he’ll ever be among the two or three best in his sport. Howard and Malkin, on the other hand, are already almost there, and both still quite young.

Don’t forget to vote early and vote often.

ESPN.com: NHL All-Star Reserves Ballot

Here’s your chance to vote in the Western Conference All-Star Ballot on ESPN.com. Don’t forget to vote for Rory Fitzpatrick. Here is why, and here are my previous comments on the matter.

Vote For Rory: Smear Campaign

The funniest and most effective smear campaign I’ve ever seen. Watch as the announcer denounces the accomplishments of Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, and Niklas Lidstrom. The ads are part of a campaign to get Rory Fitzpatrick elected as a write-in candidate to the NHL All-Star Game. And it’s working: Rory current sits second in Western Conference All-Star voting.

Short, concise, and (very) funny, these ads are fantastic. And Rory has just become 50 times more marketable, and it should come through in his next contract. While this must be a pain in the neck for our pals over at NHL.com, it’s definitely a significant step as we move toward the Technology Age. Ah, the power of the internet!