Recs.
Updated
Blogger allows you to create a simple hosted blog using your Google account. No HTML knowledge is needed as Blogger gives you basic editing tools (you can still dip into the source if you want to).
Specs
Pros
Pro No ads
You can turn on ads if you want, but you can also keep your Blogger blog ad-free. That is different from WordPress.com (free hosted WordPress) where there are ads, and you cannot do anything about it.
Cons
Con Bad post editor
It is a WYSIWYG html editor, and it would be a bit better if it used <p> tags. Instead it uses divs and brs everywhere, which leads to inconsistent or just crappy typography and spacing.
Con Limited authorization system
Sadly the authorization system is fairly limited. Co authors can post and publish, without you getting a chance to pre-check their posts as an admin. e.g. you can't give them "create" and not give them "publish" permissions. They can only edit their own posts however.
Recommendations
Comments
Flagged Pros + Cons
Con Tied to other Google services
Whether you like it or not Blogger is tied to AdSense, Google+, Feedburner, Analytics, etc. There is no way to opt out.