MARCH MADNESS: Upsets Galore in Round One of Eagles Media Bracket
Today is a great day because the true first round of the NCAA Tournament begins. The play-in games are fun, but they don’t really count, because it’s not the traditional, all-day affair we’ve celebrated in the past.
One other thing we can celebrate is Crossing Broad’s Philadelphia Eagles Media Field of 64, which has now been whittled down to 32 after round one of voting. There were a couple of blow outs, some TIGHT contests, and a handful of crazy upsets as well. This is March! It’s madness!
As an aside, thanks to everyone for your patience with our voting systems. We had some issues displaying the current results because our publishing platform was trying to process multiple people voting at the same time. But rest assured, the vote is not rigged! There were no hanging chads. All of the absentee and mail-in ballots were counted.
To prove it, I will screen shot the raw vote totals from every contest, beginning in the:
Chris Gocong regional
#1 Ray Didinger vs. #16 Gayle Saunders
A comfortable win for the #1 overall seed, Ray Diddy, who defeated the upstart Gayle Saunders of 4th and Jawn.
#8 Mike Quick vs. #9 Kristen Rodgers
An admirable showing for FOX 29’s Rodgers, who had a very difficult draw in this year’s tournament.
#5 Brandon Lee Gowton vs. #12 Marcus Hayes
The people have spoken. Bleeding Green’s Gowton is moving on to the next round.
#4 John McMullen vs. #13 Shamus Clancy
Shamus was actually up early in this one and then a late charge from McMullen sealed the victory. He won Florida and Ohio, which tilted the contest.
#6 Eliot Shorr-Parks vs. #11 Mike Sielski
Down goes Shorr-Parks! The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Mike Sielski knocked off ESP in the opening round. A classic 6/11 upset!
#3 Paul Domowitch vs. #14 David Murphy
Inky on Inky crime right here, as Domo gets a comfortable victory over his jack-of-all trades columnist colleague.
#7 Sheil Kapadia vs. #10 Fran Duffy
A bad beat for Duffy, who does excellent video work for the Eagles. Unfortunately he ran into the buzz saw known as Sheil Kapadia, who was seeded lower as a result of his shift to mostly national NFL coverage these days.
#2 Reuben Frank vs. #15 Michael Barkann
A comfortable win for Roob over his NBC Sports Philadelphia compatriot Michael Barkann.
Reno Mahe Regional
#1 Zach Berman vs. #16 Liam Jenkins
A good showing by Liam Jenkins of the Philly Sports Network, but not enough to topple the #1 seed, Zach Berman.
#8 Rickie Ricardo vs. #9 E Rock
No senor!
Rickie Ricardo was able to stave off a challenge by E Rock, who somehow ended up on this bracket as “media.” If this were a field of 64 for Eagles fans, he would have been the #1 overall seed.
#5 Benjamin Solak vs. #12 Seth Joyner
This was one of the most hotly-contested matchups of the first round, with Solak and Joyner tied at 50% through the first day of voting. Somehow, some way, the former Eagles linebacker made a huge late push to claim the win, and the selection committee is now investigating for irregularities.
#4 Bo Wulf vs. #13 Jamie Apody
A very respectable showing from 6 ABC’s Apody. In the end, Wulf was able to draw some fouls and close out the game at the free throw line.
#6 Barrett Brooks vs. #11 Ross Tucker
Another 6/11 upset? Talk about March Madness! Tucker advances to the next round with a win over Barrett Brooks.
#3 Geoff Mosher vs. #14 Michael Kist
Geoff Mosher, of Inside the Birds, defeats Michael Kist, of Bleeding Green. Two solid competitors, but only one may advance.
#7 Nick Fierro vs. #10 Brian Baldinger
No respect for Fierro? Or just a lot of respect for Baldy? The former Eagle CRUISES to a first-round victory.
#2 John Clark vs. Conor Myles
John, “Airport” Clark got on that big ‘ole jet airliner (Steve Miller Band joke) and flew past Conor Myles in this round one triumph.
Izel Jenkins regional
#1 Jeff McLane vs. #16 Chris McPherson
Jeff McLane, a -800 favorite, cruised to a win over Chris McPherson of the Philadelphia Eagles website.
#8 Chris Franklin vs. #9 Ed Kracz
A solid win here for Kracz, the 10-year veteran of the Eagles beat.
#5 Rob Maaddi vs. #12 Jack McCaffery
Maaddi, the #5 seed, wins, but fails to cover. He was -7.5 on the spread, but only shot 38% from the field and had to rely on tough defense to dispatch the Delco Times’ McCaffery.
#4 Adam Caplan vs. #13 Ed Rendell
A very straightforward win here for Caplan, representing the other half of the Inside the Birds podcast. When reached for comment, Rendell said that his loss confirms that we are becoming a “nation of wusses.”
#6 Martin Frank vs. #11 James Seltzer
With Shorr-Parks falling to defeat, his Go Birds Radio co-host James Seltzer is taking up the mantle. Carrying the baton. Seltzer UPSETS Martin Frank to advance to the second round.
#3 Les Bowen vs. #14 Jeff Skversky
Les Bowen has nothing to complain about after this comprehensive victory. Is he a dark horse candidate to win the Izel Jenkins regional?
#7 Joe Santoliquito vs. #10 Dave Spadaro
Another upset!
Spadaro, representing PhiladelphiaEagles.com, defeats Joe Santoliquito. The committee assumes that Carson Wentz supporters came out in FORCE to vote against the Philly Voice columnist and veteran freelancer.
#2 Dave Zangaro vs. #15 Jaws
Holy cow! What a contest!
Dave Zangaro survived an incredible scare from the #15 seed, Ron Jaworski. Jaws came back in the second half to take the lead, but Zangaro got the ball in his hands and just executed down the stretch. Hit some tough buckets when he really needed them.
Bobby Hoying regional
#1 Tim McManus vs. #16 Jessica Towne and Sam Wilson
An admirable showing for the Babes on Broad, who pulled 20% of the vote against one of the favorites to win the whole damn thing, T-Mac.
#8 Jon Ritchie vs. #9 Thomas Petersen
Jon Ritchie of 94 WIP absolutely wiped the floor with the upstart Thomas Petersen, costing the sports books lots of money in the process.
#5 Howard “The King” Eskin vs. #12 Sal Paolantonio
A knock down, drag ’em out fight between two veterans.
The selection committee thought The King would put up a better fight, but ultimately lost to Sal Pal, who believes the Eagles should have been investigated for pulling Jalen Hurts from the Washington game. What a dope! A nitwit!
#4 Mike Kaye vs. #13 Alexis Chassen
Chassen enjoyed an early push when the east coast states began to report their numbers. But she couldn’t hold on, and was overtaken by NJ.com’s Mike Kaye when California, Oregon, and Washington began to send in their results.
#6 Ike Reese vs. #11 Green Legion
Another 6/11 upset! What is going on back there!?
In this case, the committee observed a strong grassroots push from the Green Legion, energizing their base and getting their folks to the polls. The result was incredibly high turnout, and a stunning victory over 94 WIP’s Ike Reese.
#3 Jimmy Kempski vs. #14 Roy Burton
We should have done this graph in stick figure format.
#7 Bob Grotz vs. #10 Brian Westbrook
The selection committee is seeing a pattern here. Beloved former players, who only serve peripherally as analysts, did very well in the round of 64. Westbrook advances.
#2 Derrick Gunn vs. #15 Victor Williams
Victor unfortunately just got a really shitty draw. Somebody had to go up against D Gunn. Gunner may even win it all. Who knows?
Next round of voting coming next week. We will share the updated bracket on social media.