Eagles

APRIL MADNESS: Tight Contests and Huge Upsets in Round Two of our Eagles Media Bracket

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Apr 1st, 2021 · 2:15 PM EDT

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This is madness.

This is April!

As we continue our Philadelphia Eagles media field of 64, we find ourselves in a new month entirely. It’s April 1st, and we have tallied the results from the round of 32 voting and compiled them below. What happened in this most recent exercise is that we expanded the voting to three platforms – this website, Instagram, and Twitter, and then tallied up all of the totals.

There were some incredibly tight contests, and a few red flags that came up as well. But when we investigated the results we found no irregularities and no election rigging. The voters were simply energetic and enthusiastic.

Without further ado, please see the results below:

 

Chris Gocong regional

 

Ray Didinger vs. Mike Quick

• Instagram vote: Didinger 324, Quick 45
• Twitter vote: Didinger 363, Quick 52
• Total: Ray Diddy 1,618, Mike Quick 298

No problems here for the #1 overall seed.

Ray Didinger dispatched former Eagles receiver Mike Quick with hefty margins of victory on all voting platforms. Ray Diddy is a huge betting favorite to win it all. He’s currently -500 at the Crossing Broad sportsbook.

 

Brandon Lee Gowton vs. John McMullen

• Instagram vote: BLG 233, McMullen 75
• Twitter vote: BLG 234, McMullen 95
• Total: Gowton 2,706, McMullen 1,862

Very strong showings from both of these gentlemen, with JAKIB Media and Bleeding Green Nation coming out in force to support their own.

Gowton and McMullen both achieved significantly high individual voting totals in this contest, and if the bracket had played out differently, perhaps both would have carved a path to the Sweet 16. Unfortunately, they met up in the round of 32.

 

Mike Sielski vs. Paul Domowitch

• Instagram vote: Sielski 161, Domo 155
• Twitter vote: Domo 149, Sielski 95
• Total: Sielski 992, Domo 977

Holy cannoli. This one was incredibly close, but Mike Sielski knocks out Paul Domowitch by just 15 votes! Incredible!

This is crazy. We might have to go back and do a recount, or check for hanging chads. Sielski performed well in Florida we’re told, which was a critical swing state.

 

Sheil Kapadia vs. Reuben Frank

• Instagram vote: Roob 197, Sheil 147
• Twitter vote: Roob 220, Sheil  214
• Total: Roob 1,214, Sheil 970

This was a very impressive showing for Reuben Frank, who took on an under-seeded Sheil Kapadia and posted steady wins across all three voting platforms. Many predicted a 7/2 upset here, but Roob held his ground and did not allow Kapadia to advance to the Sweet 16.

 

Reno Mahe regional

 

Zach Berman vs. Rickie Ricardo

• Instagram vote: Zach 227, Rickie 81
• Twitter vote: Zach 206, Rickie 39
• Total: Z Berm 1,270, Rickie Ricardo 401

Z Berm rook on a formidable challenge from Rickie Ricardo, but said “no Senor!” in a comfortable victory.

The #1 seed, representing The Athletic, defeated the 94 WIP host and Eagles’ Spanish play-by-play announcer. Que bien!

 

Seth Joyner vs. Bo Wulf

• Instagram vote: Joyner 210, Wulf 108
• Twitter vote: Joyner 176, Wulf 167
• Total: Seth Joyner 1,083, Bo Wulf 972

In a close contest, the ex-Eagle linebacker Seth Joyner defeated the #4 seed, Bo Wulf.

This surprises the committee, a group of individuals who thought Joyner might go out early as a #12 seed. Instead, he advances to the Sweet 16 as a double-digit underdog.

Ross Tucker vs. Geoff Mosher

• Instagram vote: Mosher 176, Tucker 141
• Twitter vote: Mosher 302, Tucker 171
• Total: Geoff Mosher 1,074, Ross Tucker 937

Wowee.

Talk about a close one. The #11 seed Ross Tucker, representing the great Berks County, defeated Geoff Mosher in website voting, but Mosher made a LATE PUSH on social media to claim a come-from-behind win. The #3 seed, representing the Inside the Birds podcast, is moving on to the next round.

 

Brian Baldinger vs. John Clark

• Instagram vote: Baldy 180, Clark 148
• Twitter vote: Clark 199, Baldy 168
• Total: Baldy 1,038, Clark 870

A huge upset!

Or is it?

Clark was the #2 seed, going up against Brian Baldinger, but couldn’t stave off the challenger. Some members of the selection committee had Clark as a #1 seed on their boards, but he has shockingly been eliminated in round two. Baldy is a DARK HORSE candidate to win it all.

 

Izel Jenkins regional

 

Jeff McLane vs. Ed Kracz

• Instagram vote: McLane 270, Kracz 22
• Twitter vote: McLane 290, Kracz 45
• Total: Jeff McLane 1,558, Ed Kracz 245

A comprehensive victory for the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, who is the #1 seed in the Izel Jenkins regional.

Kracz might be disappointed with this second round showing, but he earned an opening round upset victory over Chris Franklin and showed well in the tournament.

 

Rob Maaddi vs. Adam Caplan

• Instagram vote: Caplan 195, Maaddi 85
• Twitter vote: Caplan 472, Maaddi 130
• Total: Adam Caplan 1,391, Rob Maaddi 624

This was a classic 4/5 battle, with Adam Caplan doing well across the board. As such, Inside the Birds now has two representatives in the Sweet 16.

Maaddi, no doubt, was undone by Carson Wentz haters. According to our exit polling data, a large portion of Nick Foles and Jalen Hurts fans voted against Maaddi, simply because of his support for the Colts quarterback.

(keep in mind exit polls are not scientific)

 

James Seltzer vs. Les Bowen

• Instagram vote: Bowen 213, Seltzer 83
• Twitter vote: Bowen 232, Seltzer 93
• Total: Bowen 1,280, Seltzer 1,043

Jeez. What a contest.

James Seltzer of 94 WIP and the Go Birds radio show beat out Les Bowen in the website voting, but lost the social media vote, which knocks him out of the bracket.

Bowen avoids the upset bid and moves on!

 

Dave Spadaro vs. Dave Zangaro

• Instagram vote: Zangaro 200, Spadaro 94
• Twitter vote: Zangaro 137, Spadaro 55
• Total: Zangaro 1,105, Spadaro 584

Good effort by Spadaro, who upset Joe Santoliquito in round one before falling to the #2 seed, Dave Zangaro.

Zangaro himself survived a first round scare at the hands of Ron Jaworski, but has now advanced to the Sweet 16 by winning this battle of Daves.

 

Bobby Hoying regional

 

Tim McManus vs. Jon Ritchie

• Instagram vote: T Mac 203, Ritchie 112
• Twitter vote: T Mac 303, Ritchie 106
• Total: T Mac 1,465, Ritchie 996

A good battle here between McManus and Ritchie, representing ESPN and 94 WIP, respectively. T Mac did well across all platforms and won a relatively straightforward victory. Ritchie had a strong showing has to feel good about pushing a #1 seed to the limit.

 

Sal Paolantonio vs. Mike Kaye

• Instagram vote: Sal Pal 217, Kaye 97
• Twitter vote: Kaye 232, Sal Pal 184,
• Total: Sal Paolantonio 1,155, Mike Kaye 890

When this bracket was created, Mike Missanelli poo-poo’d the selection committee’s decision to make Sal Paolantonio a #12 seed. At the time, the committee explained that Sal Pal was seeded that low for two reasons. First, he’s a national guy who doesn’t only cover the Eagles, Two, he said the Eagles should be investigated for pulling Jalen Hurts from the Washington game, which was the worst take of the entire NFL season.

HOWEVER –

Mike is right, and the selection committee was wrong. Not only is Sal Pal in the Sweet 16, but he pulled off two upset victories to get there, dispatching NJ.com’s Mike Kaye and Howard “The King” Eskin.

The Green Legion vs. Jimmy Kempski

• Instagram vote: Kempski 228, Green Legion 88
• Twitter vote: Kempski 1,674, Green Legion 246
• Total: Green Legion 4,099, Kempski 3,527

Holy shit.

The Green Legion once again did an amazing job getting the vote out. Their base was totally energized. They went to the polls and gave people who were waiting in line bottled water and pizza.

Kempski, the favorite, made a HUGE push with the social media vote but fell just short in a contest that pulled more than 7,500 votes across three different platforms.

Moving forward, we will keep an eye on this side of the bracket to ensure that there are no voting irregularities, but it would seem that in round two the Green Legion just turned out their supporters in a big way. We found no instances of fraud.

 

Brian Westbrook vs. Derrick Gunn

• Instagram vote: D Gunn 226, Westbrook 100
• Twitter vote: D Gunn 609, Westbrook  206
• Total: D Gunn 1,683, Westbrook 955

Tell you what –

Derrick Gunn is a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. He is enjoying STRONG support on Twitter and Instagram and did very well at Crossingbroad.com. Could he be in line for a championship game against Ray Didinger?

 

Here is the updated bracket: