Welcome to the championship round of the Jason Romano Commemorative NLC’s hottest baller contest. 15 of the best-looking players on NLC (plus one guy in limbo (again)) faced off in a single-elimination tournament that culminates with tonight’s match up.

This is it. The final round. Your votes this week will decide who is the NLC’s hottest honey and who is just a modestly famous athlete with a bunch of online fans.

Bubba Crosby has been the cult hero of the competition, and certainly wasn’t a favorite at the beginning, considering that he hasn’t truly been a member of an NLC team the whole time. Now, it’s looking like he’ll sit a year out while he rehabs his shoulder, which at least would give him more time to enjoy his inappropriately named reign as NLC’s Hottest Baller, should he win. And right now I’d give him the odds; no other player has been able to rally the groundswell of support.

Brandon Phillips has been a front-runner from the beginning of the competition. Most recently, he nudged out perennial hottie Jason LaRue with 51% of the vote. As the Reds’ second baseman for years to come, Phillips certainly seems to be a more natural choice for the competition, but it’s going to take an inspired populous of Phillips fans to overcome the Crosby mafia.

Bubba Crosby
ht: 5-11 wt: 195 dob: 8/11/1976

Brandon Phillips
ht: 6-0 wt: 195 dob: 6/28/1981

[poll=28]

Welcome to the semifinals of the Jason Romano Commemorative NLC’s hottest baller contest. 15 of the best-looking players on NLC (plus the newest ex-Mariner) face off in a single-elimination tournament.

Two rounds of fierce competition have made the players glisten with effort and anxious to take it all home. In my imagination anyway. In real life, they almost certainly don’t know they’re even in the NLC’s Hottest Baller tournament, but that’s OK. My imagination is very good.

Jason LaRue, backing up the plate in St. Louis, may not be the top catcher these days, but he’s still the hottest backstop in town. He took down Rick Ankiel in the second round to advance to the semifinals.

Brandon Phillips, enjoying a long-term contract in the Queen City has the moves to go with the smile. He’s already hot this spring, and not just on the field.

Jason LaRue
ht: 5-11 wt: 205 dob: 03/19/1974

Brandon Phillips
ht: 6-0 wt: 195 dob: 6/28/1981

[poll=24]

Welcome to round 2 of the Jason Romano Commemorative NLC’s hottest baller contest. 15 of the best-looking players on NLC (plus the newest Mariner) face off in a single-elimination tournament.

Today’s match is a showdown of a couple of Reds, second-baseman Brandon Phillips and barely-more-than-prospect Joey Votto. An NLC’s Hottest Baller award and a breakout season would do wonders for keeping Votto out of a 5-player trade, but it would also go very nicely with Phillips’ shiny new 4-year, $27 million contract.

Joey Votto
ht: 6-3 wt: 220 dob: 09/10/1983

Brandon Phillips
ht: 6-0 wt: 195 dob: 6/28/1981

[poll=20]

SARASOTA — The Cincinnati Reds and 2B Brandon Phillips have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a four-year contract through the 2011 season with a club option for 2012. Financial terms of the deal were not announced.

Phillips, 26, last season received votes for the National League’s Silver Slugger, Gold Glove and Most Valuable Player awards while earning the Ernie Lombardi Award as the Reds’ Most Valuable Player.

In 158 games for Cincinnati he hit .288 with 30 HR, 94 RBI and 32 stolen bases in becoming only the second second baseman in Major League history to produce at least 30 homers and 30 steals in the same season.

While establishing single-season franchise records for a second baseman in total bases (315) and home runs (30), in 2007 Phillips also led all National League second sackers in fielding percentage (8e, .990), total chances (782), putouts (341) and assists (433).

Among all Major League second basemen Phillips ranked in the Top 3 in almost every major offensive category. He led the Reds in games (158), runs (107), hits (187), total bases, triples (6), stolen bases and multi-hit games (56).

Welcome to round 1 of the Jason Romano Commemorative NLC’s hottest blogger contest. 15 of the best-looking players on NLC (plus one fella in limbo) face off in a single-elimination tournament.

Voting has closed in our first pairing, finding veteran hottie Jason LaRue victorious over underdog Manny Parra. There’s still time to vote in our second match, between Sam Fuld and Rick Ankiel.

Our third pairing sets the Astros’ Brandon Backe against the Reds’ Brandon Phillips. I suspect that this is the 1-16 seed game, but maybe Backe will surprise me.

Brandon Backe
ht: 6-0 wt: 195 dob: 4/5/1978

OK, so this battle of the Brandons might be more fair if it were Brandon Claussen representing the Reds, but Backe isn’t bad, especially by Astros standards. And his 3-1 record in 5 games last season would have trounced Claussen.

Brandon Phillips
ht: 6-0 wt: 195 dob: 6/28/1981

A new member of the 30-30 club, a spectacular fielder, and the subject of debate over his parental status, Phillips may be the single-most exciting player on the Reds right now. And that includes Mike Stanton!

[poll=11]