"Best"? Who am I kidding? I don't believe there's any way to determine what the best sports photographs of the year are. Photography is simply too subjective. Almost every professional photographer has stories about winning awards for mediocre pictures while his or her best work goes unrecognized. A contest is only as relevant as the judges making the choices, and the same contest with different judges would produce very different winners. So perhaps I should call these photographs my favorites, because that's what they are. They reflect my personal tastes and biases, which regular readers of this blog will recognize: an attraction to the obscure, a passion for the absurd, and a love of that intersection between sport and culture. Pictures full of humor, beauty, and moments both subtle and decisive draw me in. Editing this blog has been pure joy as photographers from all over the world astound me every week with their skills. Each week there's always many more photographs I want to share than I have room for. And this entry is no different. Part one of the 100 Best Sports Photographs of 2009 covers the months of January, February, and March. I'll post the rest on successive Thursdays this month. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much I do. ( 25 photos total