Battle of the Network Gays (November 19, 2009)

Every week we pick the gays who we think have made the biggest splash in television (or pop culture in general) and leave it to you, the keepers of the flame, to decide who will be crowned Gay of the Week. We'll announce the winner on Friday, and that champ will reign until a new set of challengers are introduced the following week to try to steal his title.

Last week you crowned everyone's favorite soap opera couple,"Kish" as gay(s) of the week. This week Oliver and Kyle were on the backburner, so four new challengers take to the arena.

Check them out after the break, and vote for your favorite!

• Noah Mayer of As the World Turns gets a nod this week. He used to be an almost permanent fixture in Battle of the Network Gays, but it has been a fallow year for young Mayer (or should we now say Young Grimaldi?) Poor Noah had a terrible week, first being blinded in an explosion and then hastily adopted to become boyfriend Luke's brother!  We thought he deserved a nod this week — if only to cheer him up a bit.

• Glee's Kurt Hummel gets a nod yet again this week. His storyline could have been embarassing (a gay boy mooning hopelessly over a straight one), but thanks to some great dialog and great acting, Kurt's scenes with Finn were incredibly touching.

• Sam and Dan McMillen from The Amazing Race stripped down to their pixillated skivvies to play muddy volleyball with some hot dutchmen Estonians = automatic nomination! Also, props to them for not getting intimidated by two large Harlem Globetrotters breathing down their necks!

• Finally, there's young Will Phillips, the civic minded and very brave 10-year-old from West Fork, Arkansas who refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school until gays and lesbians have equal rights to marry. (If you're one of the 2 or 3 people who haven't seen the CNN interview with Will and his father it's below.) He is not gay, but he's certainly deserving of an honorary Battle of the Network Gays nod. Not just him though. We thought it only fitting to include his parents Jay and Laura Phillips, for raising such an awesome kid!

Vote for your favorite by 10 PM EDT Today. And be sure to check back tomorrow on the blog to see which network gay our readers have carried to glory!