01-20-2024, 08:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-21-2024, 11:43 AM by xenosthelegend. Edited 1 time in total.)
Recognizing Merit in the League
S39 | S40 | S41 | S42 | S43 | S44
Welcome to the S45 Gemini Media Awards! My name is Baron1898, and I'm here to present some recognition for the best works of media created during the past season.
The new year always heralds new changes in its wake, and the Gemini Awards are no exception. It never quite dawned on me until recently that I was still using a format practically unaltered from the very first Eftelings, something I wrote way back in Season 15, and that if I am going to keep this operation running well into the future it could use some visual refreshing. The most obvious effect of this is the new logo above; there will be other minor tweaks throughout the article.
Unfortunately, whether it was the holidays or some other circumstance, the media scene suffered a lower volume of articles this season, on par with Season 42 as the lowest in Gemini history. Whether this will rebound next year like it did before is uncertain. What I do know is that the work turned out this year has reached the same stellar peaks as always, fueled in large part by an elite cadre of newer writers whose names are all over these awards and who have all become familiar faces to the Geminis. It is my solemn hope that fresh voices will continue getting into media and stepping up to the challenge.
The Rules
- Any piece of written media published during Season 45 is eligible for an award. This runs from the end of Ultimus 44 to the end of Ultimus 45, or from November 10 to January 12. While pressers technically count, the nature of a presser means it would have to be truly exceptional to even register. Graphics and podcasts do not qualify; I know nothing about the former and do not have enough time for the latter.
- There are four award categories: Best Article (Limited), Best Article (Series), Best Author, and Best New Author. Best Article (Limited) and Best Author have ten nominees, while Best Article (Series) and Best New Author have five.
- The winners of each award will receive a $3 million prize from Head Office.
- An article can only be considered for one of the two relevant categories. Any article published as part of an ongoing series, regardless of whether that series was started in Season 45, is only eligible for the latter category. The exception is any article intended to start a series that so far is the only entry.
- Articles published by groups (for example, the SFWG) are not eligible for awards. Articles that are just lists of statistics or players with no added contribution by the author are also ineligible. Finally, my own articles are ineligible for the obvious conflict of interest.
- Any author can qualify for Best Author. Quality as well as quantity of work is heavily rewarded. Only authors who joined the league in the last three draft classes (for this year, the S45, S46, and S47 classes) and who have never won Best Author or Best New Author before are eligible for Best New Author.
- This is only my opinion. Every piece of media has creative value and brings something new to the table.
Best Article (Limited)
This category honors the media pieces from the past year that have risen above the competition to bring creative and professional content to the league at large.
Honorable Mentions
The Nominees
In a season of established heavyweights crowding out the Series category, along came an electric rookie to drop some fantastic analyses. This was maybe the most polished, impressive media debut article since somecoach made his start – here you'll find some fun statistics to pair with a wonderfully keen sense of humor and an intuitive understanding of how to format an article to best keep things organized and interesting.
Amk's latest article turns everything I just said up to eleven, showing off an ever more impressive array of facts and figures that build on his previous work and explore even more avenues for DSFL team analysis. What could easily fall into the pitfall of numbers-vomiting that plagues other promising media, though, Amk deftly avoids through the power of presentation and a well-crafted lightness in tone. This is the product of a writer who is completely in command of his craft.
The media scene may have been smaller this year, but that hardly makes the first-ever achievement of three nominations in this category less impressive. Yes, I nominated every media piece Amk has written; anyone in my position would have done the same. There isn't much to say about this middle entry in his catalog beyond the same praises I have already given in spades for his other articles, and though Amkalytics may not pass the muster of a statistics professor, the ingenuity displayed by this sort of media will always be a blast to read.
The two-time reigning Best Author put one hell of a foot forward here, approaching the topic of maxed player builds not just as a rote list but as an exploration of projection into the players of the future. It is a simple and brutally effective concept, tied together with a disciplined sense of structure and style that prioritizes comprehensibility and thoroughness above all. This is a great, thorough dive, and it absolutely reaches the high bar that caleb's other work has established.
New user guides are niche to the point of hardly even counting as a genre, but when they work (see AdamS's article on negotiating a contract) they work wonders. CaptainDMG made his mark as last season's Best New Author off of his incredibly unique, approachable voice, and the fingerprints of that casual honesty are all over this piece. I know for certain that I would have had a much easier time acclimating to the league if I had something like this to guide me, something that covered every base without making any of it seem overwhelming or opaque.
CROney has an argument for one of the most frequently nominated authors without a win yet, and just like last year his ranking of the fantasy rankers adds another nom to the pile. The presentation of the comparison tables with his subjective feedback makes for an easy and delightful read. His writing works well to lay his thoughts bare, helpful for discerning which rankers to trust even as he shamelessly puts himself at the top of the pack.
Who needs offseason awards when midseason awards do the trick? These only cover the offensive side of the ball, which is offensive in and of itself, but dogwood makes his reasons for the picks quite clear through not just a rote summation of statistics but a presentation of their strengths and just a hint of dramatic flourish. The format here is simple but does its job – there is a clear clarity of purpose and scope in this piece and it leaves nothing unpromised by the premise.
Strangely, the "title belt" genre has had its fair share of members over the years; the Macguffin can certainly join their ranks. While this outing is not as technically polished or comprehensive as some other entries on this list, its strength lies in the breadth of IceBear's examination and his earnest tone across the writing segments. The research effort he displayed in tracking 45 seasons of the Macguffin's movement certainly doesn't hurt the article's appeal.
It has been a while since jdc last turned his eye to the media scene, but what a return to form this is. Here he has undergone a survey of every team's haul from the titular draft, sorting the wheat (New York) from the chaff (not New York) not only by TPE but by the impacts their users have had on the team and on the league – whether that be the boring contribution of jobs or the exciting contribution of the almighty Conduct Detrimental to the League. The writing and presentation here are both top-notch.
The seasons may change and the names may move, but Tuba will be there like clockwork to give his annual rankings for fantasy football. CROney may have technically bested him in accuracy, yet Tuba is the unmatched king of fantasy media, using an effective and practically unchanged formula that covers basically every relevant option in depth and how Tuba reasons they will perform based on their new circumstances. It is as precise and as detailed as it has always been.
@Amkamkamk!
Specifically, Amk's third and final media piece from Season 45 is what wins him the crown here. Everything about this article just oozes effort and personality in all aspects, blending into an engaging read that grabs your attention and never lets go. He may have given the Pythons the Amkalytics People’s Champion Award, but Amk himself will be taking home his first career Gemini.
Best Article (Series)
This category recognizes the media that has been published as part of an ongoing series of articles. United in theme or in branding, these media collections can tell stories and capture an audience through the use of sequenced publishing.
Honorable Mentions
The Nominees
The continuation to one of the best media entries of Season 44, this series picked up in excellence right where it left off. In many ways it came out even better; caleb.grim framed his examination of every team through a season-long guiding question that helped to focus the excellent writing and add another wrinkle to the flawlessly precise formatting. One can even forgive his terribly persistent insistence that the Outlaws were the best team in the league.
Last year's Best Author and Best New Author sparred indirectly in Season 45 with the publishing of both of their long-running power rankings series. CaptainDMG, though, focused not on the wider scale of teams but on the week-by-week performances of the league's defensive rookies and on their broader chances to pull home the eponymous prize. There is consistency, there is an ever-evolving array of facts and figures, and then there are the touches so perfectly in character for this author, from sharing each user's artwork to frankly encouraging positive mental health.
As a counterweight to the DROY race covered above, lemonoppy tackled the other side of the ball with this two-fold series that bookended the season with an inspired predictions post drawing on past trends and contexts and a recap post that goes through lemon's impressions of the rookie seasons and how they performed. Everything here is beautiful, from the writing style to the formatting, but holy cow those charts are amazing. Please go dig around lemon's website. (Yes, I notice you, two-time Gemini Award winner.)
How do I even judge this series impartially? Would giving this series the win be seen as personal bias towards a narrative in which I am the center of focus? Would rewarding someone motivated by losing a Gemini be seen as capitulating to pressure, encouraging future writers to find new and creative ways to pander to me? And would withholding an award from a series out of fear of judgement be unfair to this monumental achievement of research and writing, a 40,000 word tome singularly fueled by the spite of its unhinged narrator and the lengths he goes to construct a narrative through the realm of biographical exposé?
The ISFL rookies clearly had their time in the sun this season, but the DSFL rookies weren't left behind thanks to Rydychyn. They crafted a fully realized two-parter on the performances and impacts of every new player, the initial article showcasing some wonderfully sardonic and dry humor off of one week of action while the follow-up made clear strides forward in improving their presentational skills while also giving each player their fair due. This was simply a great series.
@lock180!
Frankly, it would be a disservice to these awards to have their reasoning be colored by the fear of negative optics. So I will not let that color my conviction. The time and effort put into this endeavor by lock shines through tenfold, and its comparative lightness in terms of structure and formatting only enhances the frantic, raw energy that ties the whole conceit of the series together. Lock can claim his Gemini with pride and, I imagine, relief that he does not have to do this again in Season 46.
Best Author
This category honors authors whose work in the past year has contributed significantly to the media scene. These individuals have proven to consistently provide quality content for the press and include some of the most inspired and dedicated members of the community.
Honorable Mentions
The Nominees
The four articles published by amjohnson all show promise for their future endeavors, but the two in particular that resonated with me were their DSFL and then ISFL mock drafts for the same class. Every reasoning is solidly argued, the composition works in service of its legibility, and there is a casual tone sprinkled throughout that adds just the right amount of personality to their work. I also enjoyed their micro article on assumption of risk in football, not least because they used fancy Latin terms to convince the readers of their law student credentials.
Usually I try to mention the parts of an author's portfolio that haven't yet been covered by the Gemini writeups here; for Amk, whose trio of pieces all qualified for a nomination, that proves impossible. I will have to settle for again singing his praises and hoping profusely that his deserved drafting by New York does not temper his enthusiasm for continuing to contribute to the media scene for seasons to come.
The twin series of Bamford earned him a nomination, not necessarily for his polish but for his quietly charming style. Recitations of DSFL players of the week sprinkled in some light humor amidst the wash of names and stats; a two-part first-person drama echoed the stories of Leilanis and Triceracops past. Both had simple goals to accomplish, and both were worth the time to give a quick read.
Caleb.grim's talent as a writer should be obvious at this point, staring down a potential fourth career Gemini, but his nominations in both prior categories will certainly do the talking. In addition to those, though, he also turned in a brilliant series of playoff previews that went far beyond the norms of that subgenre with beautiful comparative statistical matchups and a strong sequence of keys to the game. Everything he writes is fun to read.
CaptainDMG really expanded his range this year, carrying over not just the style of discussion posts that he mastered previously – for a standout this season, I recommend the post on the ISFL as a Thanksgiving connection – but translating his voice into rookie guides, DROY rankings, and even an extremely inaccurate description of New York pizza as "not the best but not the worse". So actually ignore everything I just wrote, this guy is clearly out of his mind.
To complement his nominated piece on the league's top performers – in writing style if not necessarily in topic – dogwood also churned out a supremely thorough review of the Sabercats' first ten games to a level of specificity and detail I am not sure I have ever witnessed before. The impressive accomplishment on dogwood's part is spinning an actual narrative out of dry index play-by-plays, sparing no quarter for extraneous details or even paragraph breaks.
Do you happen to be curious about basically anything related to the Season 45 Dallas Birddogs? If so, you've come to the right place. ElMerchanto's midseason roster review of the team is a spectacle of words, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the team in its ultimately unsuccessful Ultimini bid, but he also wrote interesting pieces on a collection of individual player records in Dallas and even a breakdown of the decidedly not-Dallas Luchadores and their success.
Jollyjiggs had a pretty reserved output this season, but their combination of candid writing and clean formatting worked wonders for what they did publish. In particular, while the article on dumping 250 TPE into one attribute was a fun conceit, they really shined with the crazily extensive retrospective of the S40 DSFL Draft that heaped on loads of factors to judge and grade the relative success of each player.
Lemon's output this season consisted entirely of their series on the offensive rookie performances, but that outing was impressive enough to carry the weight. Again, I direct your attention to those moving bar charts. The articles are rock solid the whole way through, but it must be said in particular that Sutha definitely had a better season than Passarelli and the touchdowns outweigh the yards. Keep on rocking, lemon.
Lock has one of the most instantly recognizable media personalities in the league, and his often hyperbolic screeds disguise the skill he possesses to infuse charm and humor into what could easily come across as annoying and abrasive. With all due respect, I very much enjoyed watching his season-long meltdown over the Yellowknife Wraiths and his descent into agonized despair over the tribulations that come with being a high TPE kicker.
@CaptainDMG!
Shockingly, CaptainDMG has made history as the first Best New Author winner ever to win Best Author. That is only shocking in that it has never happened before; him winning, though, is a well-deserved endcap to his furious writing effort this season across a varied portfolio of styles and genres. This category was undoubtedly a tough matchup, but CaptainDMG earned his victory here.
Best New Author
This category recognizes the newcomer authors on the block, whose early dedication and hard work shines through their content.
Honorable Mentions
The Nominees
A Best Author nomination naturally means a Best New Author nomination as well.
A Best Author nomination naturally means a Best New Author nomination as well.
Automatic points docked for the Tijuana bias, but aside from that I enjoyed what DigDoug contributed to the media landscape when they dipped their toes in. Of the two, their introductory effort reviewing the color rush fields was a worthy rendition of a familiar article archetype, approaching the rankings not by any semblance of objective criteria but through their short and honest opinions of what a color rush field should embody and how each team stood up.
The most aggressive username on the list, MMAJAKE actually displayed a relatively reserved writing style. They embodied the well-worn angle of personal player profiles with pride, penning stories that ranged from their backstory to interviews with Skip Bayless and an episode guide to a TNT food show. The last one is probably my favorite for its interesting showcase of creativity through the absolutely shameless shilling of different fast food restaurants (no In-N-Out? Shame on you).
Rydychyn authored the fantastic and Gemini-nominated series on DSFL rookies that proved enough to earn them a spot on this list as well. The purposeful presentation of both articles is a true treat, as is the inspired content, and I can only look forward to whatever else Rydychyn has in store down the line that might showcase even further maturation into a great media writer.
@Amkamkamk!
It isn't much surprising that a rookie effort totaling three article nominations and a win came out on top. Amk's work this season was crazily good in all respects, and although I am running out of ways to describe the qualities of his writing I hope that this second Gemini victory will temper his disappointment at my brevity.
Congratulations to @Amkamkamk, @lock180, and @CaptainDMG for your Gemini victories, and congrats to everyone else who was nominated or who contributed to the media scene in any fashion this year. These were some tough decisions. I encourage anyone who hasn't read any of the media pieces mentioned above to take some time out of your day and peruse; I promise it will be time well spent.
And for all the new people who recently joined the league, or anyone who hasn't written media in a while, I hope you are inspired in some capacity to write something of your own. This award could soon be yours.
I'll see you in Season 46!
Transgender lesbian, S15 veteran, and media extraordinaire. Fascists and bigots are welcome to fuck off.
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For Your Reading Consideration:
Before the Butchers | The Jungle
The Giving Tree | Volume II | Volume III
A Winter of Discontent | Volume II
The Rockiest Road | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | Finale
Two Essays on Unfree Agency: On Agents | On Contracts
Eclipse of the Honey Moon | Volume II
Gemini Media Awards:
S39 | S40 | S41 | S42 | S43 | S44 | S45 | S46
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For Your Reading Consideration:
Before the Butchers | The Jungle
The Giving Tree | Volume II | Volume III
A Winter of Discontent | Volume II
The Rockiest Road | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | Finale
Two Essays on Unfree Agency: On Agents | On Contracts
Eclipse of the Honey Moon | Volume II
Gemini Media Awards:
S39 | S40 | S41 | S42 | S43 | S44 | S45 | S46
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