A few weeks ago we launched a feature that allows Yardbarkers to create lists. Who doesn't love a good top 10 list? The thing is, if you had ranked our functionality of that feature from 1-10, it would have fallen in the bottom half of the list. But that was only version one. A temporary taste of things to come. This week we launched version two, which is a significant improvement. Thanks to all of the hard-working engineers who put it together. I love it, and I think you will also.

You can now create lists of any length and with any topic. Just to show you what's what, I put together a quick top 5 of Yardbarker on the red carpet at the ESPYs. There is better stuff that didn't make the list, but I'm going to save that for Sunday or Monday, when Ovie posts the videos of his coverage from the event. He spoke with Kellen Winslow, Bob Sanders, Vernon Davis, Marcellus Wiley, Matt Leinart, Braylon Edwards, Tim Tebow, George "Iceman" Gervin, Tyler Hansbrough, and four or five others. Anyway, I'm straying off topic. My bad.

Back to the topic at hand. Lists. Check it out. Make one. Make two. Make 10 lists and then rank them. Do whatever you want. The ball's in your court, Yardbarkers. As always, send feedback on stuff you'd like to see to feedback@yardbarker.com. This list functionality is a direct result of feedback that we get from our users. That's you.

- Dewey

Top 5 from the ESPYs:

http://www.yardbarker.com/backyard/articles/LIST_Yardbarkers_top_5_from_the_red_ carpet_at_the_ESPYs/292029

To make your own list, click the link below.

A few months ago, we promised features that would mitigate abuse in the Yard. We're pleased to let you know that these features are now live.

NEW FEATURES IN THE YARD

You can now block other Yardbarker users from contacting you, and you can also prevent them from interacting with your content via Yardbarker. By blocking a user, they cannot send you a message, add you as a Favorite, or rate or comment on anything you post. This setting can be controlled under the Privacy tab on your Yardbarker Home page. This is where you block or unblock users.

THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT

We also have an updated policy for those who abuse the system. It's quite simple: Three strikes and you're out. The policy will be enforced, and the guidelines are clear. If you violate the guidelines repeatedly, you'll be kicked out of the Yard. You can read the full policy here (http://www.yardbarker.com/account/community). We hope these features go a long way in minimizing the abuse of our system. Please take advantage of the capabilities we offer to flag inappropriate content, and don't hesitate to contact us at feedback@yardbarker.com should you have any questions, concerns or additional feedback. It was your feedback that prompted these changes. Thank you.

- Dewey

Most fans expected Derrick Rose would go #1 overall to the Chicago Bulls. But did you know that Joe Alexander would go eighth to the Milwaukee Bucks? Or that Beasley, Mayo, Westbrook, Love, Gallinari and Gordon would go numbers two through seven? gwasylik did, and with eight-straight predictions in Yardbarker's NBA Mock Draft contest, gwasylik wins an autographed Greg Oden jersey, courtesy of the Yard and the big man himself.

Thanks everyone for participating. Better luck next time. Until then, enjoy using our new lists features to submit and debate Top 10 lists in the Yard.

- Dewey

Yardbarker Nation, we need your help again! In a continuing effort to deliver the best sports content and services, we want to know a little bit more about you. Please take a few minutes to fill out our user survey. It will take less than 5 minutes to fill out the survey, and as an added bonus to you, you will be automatically entered in a drawing to win a $100 StubHub Gift Card from Yardbarker by completing all of the questions. We will also have a second drawing for 10 users to win Yardbarker prizes. You can take the survey by clicking the link at the bottom of this article. Thanks for your help!

The Yardbarker Team

Yardbarker recently launched a new feature that allows for you to create and submit Top 10 lists to the Yard. Currently we have nine lists from which to choose; however, hopefully soon you'll be able to create custom lists for the Yard. We're working on it. In the meantime, we have a contest taking place this week. Using our new list functionality, submit who you think will be the top 14 picks in Friday's NBA Draft. Whoever gets the most consecutive selections correct (starting with the first overall pick) will win an autographed Greg Oden jersey.

Also, we have a new athlete directory in the Yard. Find your favorite athletes' blogs. Even if they're not in the Yard. It's the most comprehensive list that we know of featuring athlete blogs. The list also features RSS feeds whenever available. I could go on and on and on and on, but why don't you just go there and check it out for yourself. You'll probably discover an athlete blog that you didn't know existed. If you know of any that we've missed, please let us know.

- Andrew

ENTER THE GREG ODEN CONTEST HERE:

http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/topics/Mock_Draft_2008/119

GOOD NBA DRAFT REFERENCE TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR LIST:

http://www.scoresreport.com/2008/06/22/2008-nba-draft-preview/

CREATE OTHER LISTS HERE:

http://www.yardbarker.com/author/new?tab=LIST

ATHLETE BLOG CENTRAL:

http://www.yardbarker.com/athletes/browse

Hello to the Yard.

Please accept our apologies. While rolling out some new features this week, a number of comments on the site mysteriously disappeared. This was a bug. We did not censor any comments that did not violate the Yard's terms of service, and we understand why you're upset that they disappeared. It was not censorship, and we definitely regret that this bug occurred. As they say... my bad.

We've fixed this bug, and I've gone through and republished all the comments that mysteriously disappeared; however, if you know of any that are still missing, please email feedback@yardbarker.com or reply on this post with a link to the article in question (and/or your user name). I will do my best to get your comment restored. Thank you.

Sumit

What's good, Yardbarkers!?

I'm excited to share this news with you. Yardbarker has entered into a content-syndication partnership with Fox Sports. The relationship impacts our network of 400 or so YBN websites, which will now have the option of making their content available for syndication on FoxSports.com (and potentially MSN.com). It's important to us that all of our users and publishers maintain flexibility and control over their own content, which is why we designed the partnership to be 100% optional. For what it's worth, Yardbarker is not being paid for this partnership. The benefit to the Yard and our publishers is the increased exposure that each will receive. We're looking forward to promoting the Yard and all of its unique sports content.

If you are a YBN publisher, chances are you've already heard from me. If not, make sure our emails aren't going to your spam folder. And keep an eye out in your inbox for more details later today/tonight.

If you're not a YBN publisher, will this impact your day-to-day experience in the Yard? Probably not. Except for the fact that it will bring more sports fans to the Yard, and also to our network of sites. More fans equals more conversation and content. That's good for everyone. Even Dallas and Philly fans can agree with that. Right? Maybe?

- Dewey

Hello, Yardbarkers.

As of last week, you may have noticed some changes in how you post things to the Yard. One of our goals was to make submitting articles, photos and videos easier. For example, you can now attach your photo on the same page where you include your URL and description. What is most important about this release, though, is what's underneath the hood. We've laid the groundwork for future features. Before too long, you'll be able to post even more types of content in the Yard (e.g. quizzes, polls). That's only the tip of the iceberg. Even more is on the way.

As always, we're open to your feedback (feedback@yardbarker.com). Please keep it coming. Your feedback influences everything we do.

Thanks for being in the Yard!

Keep barking,

Matt, Alex, Sumit and Mark

OnHollywood recently chose Yardbarker for inclusion in its Top 100 Private Companies of 2008, thanks primarily to all of the fine folks in the Yard. There is an awards ceremony on June 10-11 in West Hollywood; Yardbarker CEO Pete Vlastelica will speak on June 10. Hopefully there will be a TV nearby, because Game 3 of the NBA Finals is that night. Winning awards is cool and all, but it's tough to beat Lakers/Celtics.

Thanks again for making the Yard such a great place to be. If you're interested in learning more about the OnHollywood Top 100 list, click the link.

- Ben

New video in the Yard for you. We sat down with RB Darren McFadden to talk football, and he offered these words of wisdom: Play your game, don't be fancy, and put 11 in the box if you want to stop the run. That last gem only applies when Darren is in the backfield. Most running backs require eight in the box at most. If it was me back there, all you'd need to do to get me on the ground would be to let the grass grow long and maybe yell really loud. I'll trip up and fold like a baby, I promise you.

- Dewey

What's up, Yard?

I spent today at USC's Pro Day, where Sedrick Ellis, Keith Rivers, Thomas Williams, John David Booty, Lawrence Jackson, Fred Davis, Sam Baker, Chilo Rachal, Terrell Thomas, and others, worked out for NFL scouts. Below is a bit of what I learned after watching the drills, and also from speaking to coaches and scouts.

These are the five guys who I watched most closely. I shot some video and a bunch of photos; between now and the Draft, we'll release some of the video, and I'll post some of the photos here in the comments.

- Dewey

CHAUNCEY WASHINGTON (RB): One scout said to me that on film Washington looks like a 4.73 guy. No one expected him to run a 4.35 forty. But he did. Surprise of the day. The stadium erupted when his official time was announced.

SEDRICK ELLIS (DT): Sedrick Ellis is a beast, and fast too. Five seconds flat in the 40. But most impressive was his quickness out of the stance. The guy fires up and into his blocks. I don't think he'll last past Cincy at #9.

KEITH RIVERS (LB): 42" inch vertical today. He literally out-jumped the machine designed to test vertical leaps. He had to do it again so that he could be measured properly. Rivers had nothing to prove today, but he worked out anyway.

THOMAS WILLIAMS (LB): Maybe the smartest guy on the field. Scouts with whom I spoke love his intangibles and also his work ethic. He's not the same caliber as Rivers, but he helped himself today. I spoke with his teammate Rey Maualuga, who in a nutshell said that Williams was the most impressive guy at Pro Day, and that he made himself some money with a bump in draft stock.

SAM BAKER (OT): He's a value pick in the second round, and a steal in the third round. He doesn't fare well on the quote-unquote measurables (i.e. he's slooooooooow) but in position drills he looks like a first-rounder. He's a football player, not a 40-yard-dash runner.

Barack Obama was not a fan of the big man's mohawk. Neither were Grizzlies teammates (and Yardbarkers) Michael Conley and Hakim Warrick, both of whom wish the hairstyle would go back to whatever hole it crawled out of (most likely also occupied by Mr. T). This video of Warrick and Conley railing on the mohawk also includes a surprise "cameo" from an NBA All-Star.

- Dewey

PS: Thanks to the Yardbarkers who pointed out that Greg recently shaved the mohawk. Even still, the video is worth watching... for the All-Star "cameo" if nothing else.

Yardbarker met with MMA legend Frank Shamrock to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by the sport in 2008. Frank reminded us that it's "OK to get your ass kicked," and also that being an MMA fighter requires a "wonderful soul," which may or may not be code for "health insurance."

2008 is a make-or-break year for MMA. For the first time, a prime-time network TV deal is in place. Veteran fighters look to cement legacies, and the next generation of bone-breakers will have the opportunity to earn its stripes in front of unprecedented audiences. Frank will defend his Strikeforce title in a March 29 fight against kickboxer Cung Le.

Today we're heading back down to San Jose to again meet with Frank. Our goal is to get footage that will help newbies to MMA understand its intricacies, and also to film a few hands-on tutorials from Frank on how to more effectively kick ass. Because if it's "OK to get your ass kicked," one can only assume that it's also OK to kick ass, right? Encouraged even?

Keep an eye on Frank's blog for more footage. In the meantime, check out this short interview with The Legend.

- Dewey

There has been a lot more traffic in the Yard lately. Obviously this is great news, but unfortunately a small handful of users are abusing the system. Only a minority of users are engaged in this behavior, but it has impacted the entire community.

Please know that we are hard at work on solutions, including increased moderation. Thanks for sticking with us through these growing pains.

In the meantime, if you see inappropriate or spam content, please rate it with a thumbs-down and tag accordingly. Thank you to everyone for your patience and suggestions. Always feel free to email us at feedback@yardbarker.com.

See you in the Yard!

- Dewey

Bob Sanders. Mario Williams. Jim Brown. Warren Moon. Tim Brown. Some guy who used to play for the Patriots and who supposedly was awesome but I'm too young to have ever heard of him (John Hannah). And a good band with a not-so-great name. Oh yeah, you know you're feeling it. Furious George.

RazorGator knows how to throw a Super Bowl party. We shot some footage at their pre-game party outside the stadium in Glendale. The video is short, mostly because we were distracted by the food, beer, celebrities, and girls wearing football jerseys. Is there anything better than a beautiful woman wearing a football jersey. There's no question mark there because it's a rhetorical question. There is nothing better than a beautiful woman wearing a football jersey. Well, maybe one thing: Giants upset.

- Dewey