LindsaySoto Posts -- FanHouse

Erin Andrews Voted Sexiest Sportscaster

To compensate for the runaway train that was Erin Andrews in 2008's edition of "America's Sexiest Sportscaster", Playboy ramped up the difficulty this year, adding an additional round and expanding the candidates (as previously noted, there was quite a conglomerate of sexy upside potential.)

Did You See That?

The field clears a fence during the New Season Handicap Steeplechase during the at Ludlow Racecourse on September 16, 2008 in Ludlow, England.

Emanuele Canonica of Italy helps his caddie in the rescue of a pigeon from the water around the 18th green during the first round of the Portugal Masters at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Course on October 16, 2008 in Vilamoura, Portugal.

A multiexposure image showing Britain's Andy Murray returning to Croatian Marin Cilic during a last sixteen tennis match at the Madrid Masters in Madrid on October 16, 2008. Andy Murray won 7-5, 7-6.

English football fans dressed in armours and tunics play in a friendly match against Belarus fans in Minsk on October 15, 2008 before the start of the Belarus vs. England 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier of European group 6 match.

Travis Brigley (R) of Hamburg fights with Matt Keith (L) of Ingolstadt during the DEL match between Hamburg Freezers and ERC Ingolstadt at the Color Line Arena on October 14, 2008 in Hamburg, Germany.

Russian Nikolay Davydenko returns a ball to US Robby Ginepri during a second round tennis match at the Masters in Madrid on October 15, 2008.

A golf ball which has been enveloped by the tree over many years is pictured during the pro-am for the Portugal Masters at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Course on October 15, 2008 in Vilamoura, Portugal.

Andy Murray of Great Britain plays football during his training session prior to his thrid round match tomorrow at the Madrid Masters tennis tournament at the Madrid Arena on October 15, 2008 in Madrid, Spain.

Samuel Peter from Nigeria gets a punch from Vitali Klitschko of Ukraine during their WBC heavyweight boxing world championship fight in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008. Klitschko won the fight after round nine due to technical knock out.

Herbert Knosowski, AP

Japan's Kyoko Hamaguchi (lower) fights with China's Hong Yan (red) during the semi-final of the 72kg class of the Women's Wrestling World Championships in Tokyo on October 13, 2008. Hong defeated Hamaguchi and will face Bulgaria's Stanka Zlateva in the final.

Yoshikazu Tsuno, AFP/Getty Images

But in the end, none of it mattered, as Andrews, champion of Wordpress (read: "blog") photo galleries worldwide, walked away with the 2009 crown as Playboy's sexiest sportscaster (link leads to Playboy.com; NSFW warnings do apply.)

Playboy Is Accepting Votes for 2009's Sexiest Sportscaster: Can Anyone Dethrone EA?

Please prepare yourself for a discussion on a somewhat sexist topic (but appropriately handled by yours truly, natch.) See, Playboy magazine, well known for its brilliant articles, is holding 2009's Sexiest Sportscaster contest. You may remember 2008's event, in which Erin Andrews of ESPN and sandwich eating fame steamrolled the competition en route to winning the crown.

Not to mention bloggers' hearts everywhere. This year, though, EA has seen a little bit -- in my humble opinion -- of a downtrend in terms of popularity. She's still beloved and stalked and all that, but come on folks, aren't we a little sick of harassing her with pictures and signs at every single ESPN event? Aren't we ready for a new lady of sports sideline (or not sideline -- looking at you, Linda Kohn!) to dethrone Andrews?

But, "who!??!?" you ask, will take the queen of sexy sports media down? Excellent question. And it's precisely why Playboy.com just announced their nominees and they are ... (affiliated station in parentheses):

Erin Andrews (ESPN)
Erin Bates (Speed/OLN) Michelle Beisner (NFL Network) Bonnie Bernstein (CBS) Tina Cervasio (MSG) Melanie Collins (Big Ten Network) Stacey Dales (ESPN) Colleen Dominguez (ESPN) Alex Flanagan (NBC)
Jamie Little (ESPN/NBC) Hazel Mae (NESN) Adriana Monsalve (ESPN Deportes) Rachel Nichols (ESPN) Pam Oliver (Fox) Ashley Russell (Rivals.com) Lisa Salters (ESPN) Lauren Shehadi (CBS) Tiffany Simons (NBC) Lindsay Soto (NFL Network) Melissa Stark (ABC) Sage Steele (ESPN) Hannah Storm (ESPN) Mary Strong (NFL Network) Molly Sullivan (MTN) Krista Voda (FOX) Amber Wilson (OpenSports.com) Tracy Wolfson (CBS)

Now, I certainly don't think that anyone from Andrews' own network can beat the reigning champ -- that just seems a little too incestual and unlikely. I do, however, have a ton of faith in Charissa Thompson, Alex Flanagan and my dark horse special, Lindsay Soto, from the NFL Network. Don't believe me? Pictures after the jump.