This is madness! This is March!

Thank you to everybody who participated in the first voting round of the Crossing Broad Philly Sports Talk Radio field of 32. Voter turnout was significant, and we triple checked to make sure there were no irregularities. There was no intimidation at the polling locations. No hanging chads. All of the mail-in ballots were sorted and counted. We even put up a camera in the warehouse to allow poll watchers the opportunity to observe the counting process in full.

At the end of the day, we had a handful of close contests, plus an absolutely astonishing upset in the first round.

Here are your results:

 


Butch from Manayunk regional

 

Jamie Lynch vs. Jon Ritchie

Upset alert! Upset alert! Jamie Lynch pulled an Iowa State here, defeating former Eagles fullback Jon Ritchie by a 62% to 38% final. He might be the “Silent Bro” in theory, but he’s MAKING NOISE in this bracket.

 

Sean Brace vs. Bob Cooney

A classic 7 vs 10 matchup, and Bob Cooney came out on top. Sean Brace, representing The Gambler, earns a moral victory by bringing Philadelphia’s newest sports talk radio station into the tournament for the first time ever.

 

Howard Eskin vs. Eliot Shorr-Parks

Wow! What a battle between Howard “The King” Eskin and Eliot-Shorr Parks, who says that it’s better to have a bad take than no take at all.

The people were not a fan of this matchup. The selection committee was inundated with requests for an “abstain” option here, however if you look at the vote total of 1,605 you will discover that many people did just that. They didn’t vote for either guy and instead decided to pass.

 

Ray Didinger vs. Pat Egan

TOUGH matchup for Pat Egan, who comprises one-fourth of the 97.5 the Fanatic morning show, or one-fifth if we’re adding Eric “Coach” Camille. Not many people go up against the Hall of Famer, Ray Diddy, and come out on top, so there’s no shame in bowing out in the first round for Mr. Egan.

 

Joe DeCamara vs. Mike Gill

A respectable showing for Mike Gill, representing 97.3 ESPN in South Jersey, which the selection committee approved for inclusion in this exercise.

HOWEVER –

Gill could not beat the Hammer, and Joe D is moving on with 76.7% of the vote.

 

Ike Reese vs. Rhea Hughes

It would appear that, yes, people are drinking that Ike Juice. The former Eagle, now hosting with Jonny Marks and Jack Fritz and subjected to daily phone calls from people like INGY and Mad Mike, has advanced to the next round with a sound victory over the 12 seed, Rhea Hughes.

 

Andrew Salciunas vs. Jody Mac

Man, what a tough matchup this is. Did the voters go with the respected veteran in Jody Mac? Or did they ride the Choonis train into the next round?

They are going with Andrew Salciunas as an advancing eight seed.

 

Mike Missanelli vs. Tyler Zulli

Is Mikey Miss the OUTRIGHT leader in electric sports talk?

That has yet to be determined, but Mike is off to a great start, defeating Fanatic comrade Tyler Zulli in the first round with 67% of the vote.

 

 

Jose from Norristown regional (what up?)

 

Angelo Cataldi vs. Jen Scordo

WOW! This is madness! This is March!

Jen Scordo is UMBC and Angelo is Virginia. These upsets only happen once in a lifetime! What a story! It’s awesome baby! (Dick Vitale voice)

This matchup got 4,800 votes which is insane. Scordo MOBILIZED her base. Is she the Stacey Abrams of Philly sports? And will those voters join her in round two? We’ll see!

 

Tyrone Johnson vs. Keith Jones

This was another matchup that was widely circulated on Twitter. Tyrone wanted that W, and he energized his base. Keith Jones tried to get some pucks in deep, but Johnson’s back check was too strong. If Jonesy was rolling out the 2022 Philadelphia Flyers, Johnson performed more like the 1992 Penguins in this first round.

 

The Cuz vs. James Seltzer

Easy work for “The Cuz,” who took out James Seltzer of the 94 WIP midday show and Go Birds radio show. Oddly enough, this was a matchup between guys who worked for one station, then left to join the other. The Cuz now advances to the round of 16, where he hopes to place the competition in the bagster.

 

Jon Marks vs. Eytan Shander

Jonny Marks moving on with a comprehensive victory against former 97.5 co-worker, Eytan Shander, now representing the Gambler. Sources indicate that Chuck from Mount Airy tried to vote several times in this poll, but was rebuffed, so instead he just called the show and blathered on, incoherently.

 

Al Morganti vs. Devon Givens

Damn. A clean sweep! Out goes the ENTIRE 94 WIP morning show in the very first round! Incredible. A big win for Devon Givens.

 

John Kincade vs. Jack Fritz

Many people pegged this one as a 14/3 upset, but John Kincade held strong and rebounded for a win over Jack Fritz. An important victory for the Fanatic, which staved off a WIP producer by a slim margin.

 

Glen Macnow vs. Hunter Brody

Brodes with a tough draw here, but he picked up a respectable 25% against Glen Macnow. Brodes tried to conjure some St. Peter’s magic, but alas, just not enough here.

 

Joe Giglio vs. Jon Johnson

Well holy shit. This was our tightest matchup of the first round.

Let it be known that this showed as a 50/50 tie on the Twitter mobile app. However, when you look at the results on your laptop or desktop, it reveals that Giglio just barely edged Yon Yohnson by a 50.4% to 49.6% margin. This one was extremely close. What does it mean for Giglio in the next round? We’ll have to wait and see.

Here is the bracket as it currently stands: