Best of Sports Design Finalists Set

Well, the finalists in the Best of Sports Design 2006 are set and voting has begun. Here are links to them all. Today is Wednesday Feb. 7. Voting deadline is Midnight on Thursday, Feb. 15:

Special Section Covers
Live Game Covers
Infographics
Special Coverage
College Designer of the Year
Enterprise/Feature Centerpiece
Special Section Inside Pages
Photo/Poster Pages
Breaking News Covers
Live Game/Breaking News Inside Pages
Cover Design With Ads
Best College Sports Page

(Note that there will be winners in categories not voted on and other categories that did not have enough entries to carry them.)

A Best of SD Q&A after the jump.

Q. How were the finalists picked?
A. We assembled seven-member panels for each category. Panelists included sports designers, editors, presentation editors, college designers, sports editors and non-sports designers from papers of all sizes in all regions of the country. Panelists ranked their favorites, and the entries were scored giving the highest points for a first place vote and down from there. After that, the scores were averaged, and finalists were picked based on category size and how the votes spread out.

Q. I notice a lot of Dallas, Omaha and Columbus pages. Is this contest rigged?
A. All I can say is, no panelist voted for his or her pages. Like SND and APSE, we had "conflict of interest" contingency plans. Pages designed by myself and Rich Boudet were not eligible. Personally, some finalists surprised me, many many others did not, but I cannot find one that I can dispute in good conscience.

Q. Large papers rule the day. Nobody cares about the little man.
A. Not true, as the panelist breakdown will show. Small paper design will get its own discussion at great length very soon.

Q. Why was the "designer of the year" category not posted?
A. Stay tuned on this category. It has not been forgotten.

Q. I thought this page should have been a finalist. I'm no longer visiting this site out of protest.
A. If a page was nominated, it was given full consideration and the panelists took this incredibly seriously. I'll dance a jig if you stick around.

Q. What do the winners get? When will we know the winners? Gotta know about the winners. Winners winners winners.
A. Well, the actual honor comes in making a finalist. Percentage-wise it's about as likely as winning an SND. But the winners will receive a certificate commemmorating their accomplishment.

Q. How 'bout if I just come kick your ass?
A. How 'bout that indeed? ... I will smack you down.

Q. Are we still talking about the contest?
A. No. Stopped that two questions ago.

Q. Now that the contest is over, what are you going to do with your free time?
A. I totally got two full Simpsons seasons on DVD for Christmas. Check you later.