2011 Daily News Sexy Singles: Shrinking

I'm still in a bit of a catchup mode after my California trip, which is why I'm writing about this subject just minutes before the Phillies take the field for their first playoff game.

I got home late on September 20th, so I had my subcription to the Daily News on hold until the 21st. When I got the paper on the 21st, I found that they were in the second day of their annual Sexy Singles event. I've written about it the last two years here: about how so many of their selections either work for local media outlets or the number of models/actors/athletes on the list, not to mention its inclusion (or lack thereof) of the LGBT community.

With the Daily News under new ownership and trying desperately to stay alive, you'd think that Sexy Singles would be a major deal, as it has been in the past. But it's been downsized. This year the feature ran for only two days, and with just 20 Sexy Singles. However, the more things change, the more they stay the same: by my count, 15 of the 20 fall into one or more of these categories: model, fitness instructor, was/is employed by local media outlets, or performer of some kind (including a ballet dancer, the current Miss Pennsylvania and "Top Chef" Jennifer Carroll).

The NFL is again represented, but not by an Eagle.
This year's NFL Sexy Single is Raheem Brock (see photo), Philly-born and a Temple star who was drafted by the Eagles but cut, and went on to win a Super Bowl with the Colts. There's no indicator that any of the 20 come from the LGBT community. I guess you can't be a regular person and/or gay and be sexy, although one of the five non-model, performer, etc. types is paralyzed from the chest down because of a motorcycle accident in 1998.

One of the pretenses of this feature was that you, the reader, could actually be the one to win a Sexy Single's heart. (Or other body parts.) Many of the Sexy Single profiles included email addresses, and a party was thrown each year at a local hotspot, allowing the general public to actually mingle with those Sexy Singles who actually showed up.

Alas, the profiles are much less revealing and no contact info is provided. And another sign the budget cuts have taken their toll on Sexy Singles: as reported by PhillyChitChat.com on Twitter, they didn't throw a Sexy Singles party this year.

Some people are tired of this saying, but until something better comes along I'm going to keep using it: I fear the Daily News Sexy Singles feature has jumped the shark.