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May 2 2008 9:48AM EDT

Notes from the National Magazine Awards

Oh, whimsical fate! Who should be called up on stage as a presenter at last night's National Magazine Awards but former New York Met Lenny Dykstra, on the very night news broke that his own magazine, The Players Club, is the subject of a spirited legal tussle.

That the magazine is in lawsuit limbo after only one issue didn't stop a muzzy-seeming Dykstra from repeatedly plugging it during his brief time in the spotlight. "It's definitely major league," he said. "Maybe not The New Yorker's idea of major league, but it's major league."

Then, presenting the award for personal service, he boasted, "Next year, I'll be back up here, winning this award, because Nails never fails!"

Dykstra was one of a stream of randomly-selected "celebrity" presenters; others included Padma Lakshmi, Ray Kelly, Anderson Cooper, and three cast members from 30 Rock in a surprisingly unfunny cameo. Afterward, Harper's editor Roger Hodge said he thought Kelly, as the current New York City police commissioner, was a somewhat inappropriate choice for a roomful of journalists, who ought to avoid appearing too cozy with public officials.

The awards themselves were spread around more widely than usual this year, with perennial heavyweights The New Yorker and New York taking only one apiece (for general excellence, in its circulation category, and leisure interests, respectively). "I kind of forgot what you're supposed to do," quipped New Yorker editor David Remnick upon accepting his Ellie (as the awards are known).

At least he didn't go home empty-handed. Time Inc., the biggest magazine publisher in the U.S., failed to win a single award for the second year running.

That left National Geographic as the night's big winner, with three awards, including general excellence in the largest circulation category, 2 million-plus. "I'm stunned," said editor in chief Chris Johns. "But pleasantly stunned."

Outdoor-enthusiast titles also did well this year, with Backpacker, Runner's World and Bicycling all winning their categories.

Now for some boasting of our own: Among this year's first-time winners was Portfolio, which was honored for the best magazine section. Portfolio's parent, Conde Nast Publications, won seven awards in total, the most of any publishing house.

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