Best 22 of 2008 on Hillcrest Road

In the time of the Best XI and year-end recap, we decided to look back at the first year of existence for Hillcrest Road. I tried putting together a Best XI, but frankly, there were too many favorites, so I decided to do a Best 22. I know no one really does this, but it's like two teams starting against one another. Here are the 22 players from Hillcrest Road that start the end-of-year recap with a little blurb about each.

1. The first-ever post. Enough said.

2. The streaker post. Enough said. Not really, this was the first real in-depth interview done here that didn't focus on a Wizards player. We beat Ives Galarcep to the story. Now it's enough said.

3. Wizards beat RSL 1-0 in Saturday Cup. This was the first-ever live commentary here at Hillcrest. Not a bad way to start, with Jimmy Conrad scoring a goal. Who knew we'd see that so many times this year? Not us.

4. Wizards defeat D.C. United 1-0. The first-ever regular-season game and first-ever regular-season win blogged about here. Glad it came against DCU.

5. Former Wizards Leading Teams. This post turned into an article in the KC Star by Bob Luder a couple of months later. That's called breaking a story.

6. Crashing the Cauldron is named. Nothing like starting a term.

7. KCSoccerStore.com opens. It's not so much for our post here as it is about the online presence of a Wizards store. That's a great move for our organization.

8. Conrad language commercial. The first time my Spanish was ever corrected by someone publicly. Now the significant other does it regularly.

9. QnA with Lauren Fowlkes. She went on to win the U-20 World Cup with the USA team. Nice pre-emptive interviewing here.

10. The Will Daniel Story. One of my favorites. This kid really loves soccer, and our players are really great to him. Please read this one.

11. Help us Help Others. Another of my favorites. QnA with a young kid who is really making a difference. Read it.

12. Robb Heineman's emotions. Good read. Love seeing an owner who cares so much, so publicly.

13. 80's commercials. Hilarious.

14. Buy your kid a Wizards monkey. This illustration by the young fan is GREAT.

15. Interview with Mike of Down the Byline. This came after he won his award from the Pitch. Congrats again.

16. Cauldron video. Watch it, imbed it, show your friends. We want the Cauldron to keep on growing!

17. Coldplay photos. I kind of feel like TMZ for this one. Wish I saw Coldplay up close like the players did.

18. Blogger fight. We get into it with Red Bull Reader from RBNY. I love blogger fights. This was our first.

19. The Cauldron Crashes Columbus. It was incredible seeing and hearing the Cauldron all the way in Columbus. That was sweet. Good seeing Robb Heineman and Cliff Illig greet them as well.

20. Owners wives in Columbus. The wives of our owners were also on hand for the game and posed with the Cauldron. Fun stuff.

21. Wizards Wonderland wrap-up. First effort with Picasa. Glad the event was so busy and went so well.

22. Holiday shopping list. We give our best gifts for the Wizards fans in your lives. Still very relevant. Read and shop.