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This post is written in conjunction with the 30 Days of Writing, a blog challenge devised by Nicky and Mike at “We Work For Cheese.” I’ll be participating throughout the month of June. If interested, you can see my post with the details of the challenge. 

Please note that some of these posts will be serious, some will be normal, and some will be an attempt at humor.

This actually was quite the tough topic.

It’s not that I don’t know any bloggers to toast or roast. It’s more that I don’t want to single anyone out. There are many bloggers I read on a normal or semi-normal basis. And there are some who I’ve found during this challenge that I will continue to read well beyond the end of this 30-day craze.

With the risk of missing some people, I’m just going to basically give a speech and try and include some of my favorites. If you’re not listed, it doesn’t mean I don’t read you… it just means that I probably forgot (after all, getting many blogs in this post will be tough!)

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I could start by noting about this damn challenge. A 30-day blogging challenge where one has to write about certain off-the-wall topics. Yes, it’s the brain trust of Nicky and Mike over at We Work for Cheese. It would be easy to roast them. From their devotion to cheese to being Canadian. Easy roasting, no? Alas, I have an affinity for cheese and for Canada, so not so easy, eh?

And Nicky, believe me, my next trip to Montreal, I’m cashing in on your offer of free poutine!

Alas, by stumbling upon this challenge, I also had the chance to find many new and intriguing bloggers. And it seems bloggers of all ages, too, which is excellent. On top of that, they are from all over.

Such as Babs, who is on the other side of the pond. She’s not the only blogger I read from the UK, either — a fellow geocacher, Sarah, is also from that side of the world. It’s probably good that I am reading their blogs as I’m sure they have accents! It’s always cool to think about what somebody would sound like when you only see them in the Blogging world.

This challenge has led me to blogs like Linda, Wendy, Barb, Linda M, Katherine, Lauren and Laughing Mom, who have all sown creativity and different styles of writing that I really have enjoyed. Whether tales of life, poems or whatever else, they have consistently made me look forward to visiting their blogs.

Shawn has made me laugh — more than once — during this challenge. And laughter is something I truly love, so it’s always a bonus.

And I can’t forget Nonameddufus, who may call himself a dufus, but has humor, excellent stories and a love of hot dogs (albeit microwaved, but still…) and is someone I truly look forward to reading each day.

There are others — not involved in this challenge — who I try to read as often as possible. From geocachers such as GeoKs, to “everyday life” bloggers such as Naked Girl in a Dress (get your mind out of the gutter…) and Christelle, to a former co-worker who now has a “foodie” blog as Scratch Made Wife, my blog roll is a dynamic mixture of tastes, styles and posting frequency. I am happy to be able to read so many excellent blogs.

And Michael leads the fight for peanut butter against Nutella, so he’s obviously a worthy read. Lady in Red has helped that fight. We just need to make sure she doesn’t stray off course in the quest to crush Rusty’s beloved Nutella.

I had to save the “best” for last, however. See, I couldn’t go the whole thing without a true roast.

Over the years, I’ve gotten to know other sports writers and such through the Internet. Mainly through a message board (of which I am no longer and active participant). It’s through there where I first met Jerry. (Note I’ve met him several times now at events such as the Hall of Fame Inductions and have since grown to call him a good friend … he even mentioned me in his acknowledgments at the end of his most recent book… cheap plug! Go look at it and buy it if you are a baseball fan. It’s a great read!)

But about the blogging part…

See, for a long time, I used to tell Jerry to read my blog. But he wasn’t the biggest of blogging people. He’d usually respond to me something along these lines:

Me: Hey man, I had an interesting post at my blog today. You should check it out.

Jerry: BLOOOOOOOOOOGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGS!!!

And that would be it.

A funny thing happened on the way to the blogging world…

See, Jerry became a blogger.

Now, it’s one thing to start a blog. Whether it be about books, sports, real life or whatever. Maybe a niche. Well, Jerry has hit the niche. He blogs about Hofstra basketball. (His three readers will confirm it). Sometimes, when other sports at Hofstra are doing well, he’ll blog about them, too.

Despite his blogging of a school that many people scratch their head at and say “Who?” Jerry has become a blogger. The banter of “Sofstra” and “No football” are inside jokes that always make me chuckle.

In the end, though, Jerry truly runs a solid blog and is something that fans of alumni of Hofstra should be happy to have. I won’t lie that I don’t read it every day (I don’t have connection to Hofstra), but I check it out and there are, at times, posts that truly engage me. His style is excellent and the way he relates things is strong so even those who aren’t connected to the school can read it without thinking it’s been done by some fan boy.

I would encourage people who enjoy good writing to check his blog out. The only bit of advice I would give is if you don;t want millions of updates about Hofstra and CAA basketball, don’t follow him on Twitter (Hi, Jerry!)

For those I left out of this post, accept my apologies. I’ll still be reading!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!