Category Archives: 98.5 The Sports Hub

March Sadness 2026 – Round 2 Preview

Round 1 had everything you could hope for in a media tournament… everyone had a reason to be upset about something. There were a few mild upsets, some close fought one-vote victories, our first ever shutout win, plus a voting scandal! A veritable charcuterie board of results. #yummy

Giant. Pretzel. Charcuterie.

What does Round 2 have in store? Let’s consult the Oracles and find out…

Poor Cesar with the chicken.

Region C
1 Greg Bedard vs 8 Mike Kadlick
The former champ is coming to reclaim his crown.

A crown, a toque, a cap, something.

4 Matt McCarthy vs 5 Dan Shaughnessy
Shank may be irrelevant, but still not as irrelevant as one of the myriad of doofus interchangeable bearded call screeners polluting the airwaves.

3 Adam Jones vs 6 Jarred Carrabis
Adam Jones will get exponentially more votes than he has listeners, and take out Carrubish.

Car rubbish!

2 Fred Toucher vs 7 Nick “Fitzy” Stevens
The Detroit drunk takes the carpetbagger crown from the Greek New Yorker.

Old Jazz recordings, or sports radio? Choose wisely.

Region V
1 Jim Murray vs 8 Christian Arcand

Large Gymnasium mops the floor with Ahhhhhhhcand

4 Pete Abraham vs 12 Chris Curtis
What’s the opposite of easy on the eyes? The tortoise will nip the sentient garden gnome in the bud.

3 Andy Hart vs 6 Brian Scalabrine
In this neurologically divergent version of “David and Goliath”, Goliath knocks himself out while David drools in the corner.

2 Marc Bertrand vs 7 Mark Dondero
The Far Side kid rolls on to the Sour Sixteen

Never not funny

Region N
1 Gabrielle Starr vs 9 Jerry Thornton
A Rabbi’s daughter and an elderly born-again Catholic man walk into a bar, and each leaves with a greater respect for the other and a deeper understanding of the world.
Gabby wins this battle in the never-ending Holy War.

4 Kevin Paul Dupont vs 5 John Zannis
John’s Anus runs away with this one.

3 Michael Felger vs 6 Kenni Middleton
Unfortunately Kendra is away on yet another “business” trip. Felger waltzes on.

Excellent? Not so sure about that, Tone.

2 James Stewart vs 10 Andrew Callahan
It’s every caricature artist’s dream matchup. The Sports Hub’s Hunchback rings Wojak’s bell.

Region T
1 Ted Johnson vs 8 Trenni Casey
CTEd is going to beat Trenni so bad you’ll think she is his wife

Pot roast burnt? Ted angry!

4 Rich Keefe vs 5 Scott Zolak
Zo kicks Dick Teeth’s dick and teeth in.

3 Albert Breer vs 6 Rob Bradford
New TikTok lifehack: Using fresh urine to get wrinkles out of your t-shirts! Breer whizzes past Mushmouth.

2 Chris Gasper vs 7 Rob “Hardy” Poole
Eric Rueb supporters will know exactly how Buffalo Bills fans feel after Kid Gas prances past Poole. Oh what might have been!

Vote early and vote often!

2026 March Sadness Round One Day One

In either a stinging rebuke of the Selection Committee’s choices, or a positive affirmation of their Wild Card selections, the voters have swept all four wild cards to victory over their normally seeded opponents. What a moment! Polls for the first full day of the Tournament will remain open until 9 PM EDT tonight, March 10th. Please enjoy.

2026 March Sadness Tournament Bracket Reveal

Play -in Games Region C 10 Seed Dave O’Brien (NESN) vs wild card Brian “Rear Admiral” McGonagle (Barstool), Region V 16 Seed Travis Thomas (NESN) vs wild card James “Scaz” Scaramozzino (98.5), Region N 12 Seed Mark Daniels (MassLive) vs wild card Stanley “Stiz Grimey” Bruno (WEEI), and Region T 15 Seed Chris Forsberg (NBCSB) vs wild card Eric Rueb (ProJo).

The play-in games will be on Monday, March 9th. The rest of the field will begin on Tuesday March 10th, then Thursday and Friday of that week.

2026 March Sadness Tournament Field of 68

Oyez, oyez! All those having business before the Tournament Selection Collaborative Committee of The15net dot com division of The Local Collaborative, take care and know the following will comprise the Field of 68 in the 6th Annual Mediot Madness/March Sadness Tournament:

Radio – Christian Arcand (WEEI) Marc Bertrand (98.5) Mike Felger (98.5) Andy Hart (WEEI) Greg Hill (WEEI) Ted Johnson (WEEI) Adam Jones (WEEI) Rich Keefe (WEEI) Joe Murray (98.5) Rob “Hardy” Poole (98.5) Nick “Fitzy” Stevens (WEEI) Fred Toucher (98.5) Scott Zolak (98.5)

Print – Peter Abraham (Globe) Andrew Callahan (Herald) Mark Daniels (MassLive) Kevin Paul Dupont (Globe) Chad Finn (Globe) Chris Gasper (Globe/98.5) John Karalis (SI) Doug Kyed (Herald) Sean McAdam (MassLive) Dan Shaughnessy (Globe) Christopher Smith (MassLive) Gabrielle Starr (Herald) Gary Washburn (Globe)

Television – Albert Breer (NBCSB) Lucille Burdge (NESN) Tom Caron (NESN) Jared Carrabis (NESN/98.5/Underdog) Drew Carter (NBCSB) Trenni Casey (NBCSB) Chris Forsberg (NBCSB) Lou Merloni (NESN) Kevin Millar (NESN) Dave O’Brien (NESN) Phil Perry (NBCSB) Brian Scalabrine (NBCSB) Travis Thomas (NESN)

Digital – Brian Barrett (The Ringer) Greg Bedard (BSJ) Rob Bradford (Audacy/WEEI) Mike Giardi (BSJ) Joe Haggerty (BSJ) Grant “Hogdale” Huckdale (Barstool) Jeff Howe (The Athletic) Mike Kadlick (CLNS) Taylor Kyles (CLNS) Evan Lazar (Patriots) Bob Ryan (CLNS/Globe) Jerry Thornton (Barstool) John Zannis (CLNS)

At large – Cerrone Battle (98.5) Tom “Freeze Pops” Carroll (WEEI) Courtney Cox (WEEI) Chris Curtis (WEEI) Mark Dondero (98.5) Michael Hurley (???) Kendra Middleton (98.5) Matt McCarthy (98.5) Jim Murray (98.5) Meghan Ottolini (WEEI/Celtics) Jimmy Stewart (98.5) Matt Vautour (MassLive)

This years Wild Card play-in contestants- Stanley “Stiz Grimey” Bruno (WEEI) Brian “Rear Admiral” McGonagle (Barstool) Eric Rueb (ProJo), James “Scaz” Scaramozzino (98.5). They will participate in the 4 play-in games in advance of Round One.

(note – Though technically re-eligible, John Tomase, having no platform at this time is unable to compete.

Brackets will be announced on Sunday, March 8th, Wild Cards go on Monday, then the First-Round matchups begin in earnest on Tuesday, March 10th.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

The 2025 Christmas/Holiday Mixtape Playlist

(Dear The15net dot com Wicked Pissah Beantown Chowderheads Platinum Elite Members; Here is a musical playlist for your particular winter holiday enjoyment. And everyone else who stayed off the naughty list this year. Click HERE to download. Additional song suggestions are welcomed in the comments. )

Mary, Did You Know That Bert Bell Invented the NFL Draft? – Upton Bell & The Drells

Roger Got Run Over By A Reindeer (Unfortunately) – The Skulking Muskrats

Carol of the Fog Bells – Foxboro Human Shield Chorale

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (and a few doctors) – the Bowen 5

Can They Hear What I Hear, Mike? – Live Zzam

Let It Snow 3.5″ According to my Ruler in Mansfield, MA – BHL

Rich Tried to Put Me on Santa’s Naughty List – Ferrante & Toettcher

Away in a Pallet Shack – MC 34 Year Old Jesus

You Guys I’m Deathly Allergic to Rudolph the Red #5 Nosed Reindeer!!! – Kendra Middleton

Shalise Manza Young – José Feliciano

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Expect for That Sack of Shit Stever)- Carmine Tazzi

Staring at Christmas Trees – Gregory Alan Isakov

Why Can’t We Get Messiahs Like That? – Bob Lobel and the Boston Jewish Men’s Choir

Happy Xmas (War is Over, Kid) – Rear Admiral

A Visit From St. Nicholas- recited by The Honorable Thomas M. Menino (deceased)

Fairytale of New York and of Boston and of Philadelphia – The Shukes

Eight Maids a Milking was #1 on my 2021 12 Days of Christmas Draft Board – Danny Kelley

In the Bleak Mid-Winter Ratings – Brighton Chilly

I Heard the Bells on Happy Honda Days – The Herb Chambers Choir

The MutStacker Suite – The Saratoga Tiny Brass Band

I Won’t Be Home for Christmas (Or Until You Get Offline) – Mrs. Bowen and the Chatty Nurses

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel- Zesty Freddy Lynn

Hark! The Herald Is Just $1 For 1 Year If You Subscribe Now – Callahan & Kyed

Christmas In Millis – Average White Band

She Bettah Nawt Bring Him to Christmas Dinnah – Keno Snapback Guys

Greenteamersleeves – The Blehhhhs

Who Told You King Wenceslas was Good? – Oafis Redding & the Carbonless Trio

Walking in a Winter Hill Wonderland – The Feebs

Angels We Have Heard on High Got Better Ratings Than WEEI Afternoons – Arbitronix

The Christmas Song – Mensa Matt

Mini-Tourney Round 2 Preview

Welcome to the first ever Summertime Sour Sixteen! If you like new media and Red Sox broadcasters, or more importantly if you don’t like new media and Red Sox broadcasters, then this is the competition for you! We’ve got six podcasters, seven current or former members of Red Sox radio/TV broadcasts, two crusty old newspaper men and one weepy grifter. (Sung to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas)

Region B
1 Dave O’Brien vs 4 Steve Perrault

O’Brien wasn’t bad on radio play-by-play. However, he is so bad on TV that he actually makes people long for the days of Don Orsillo. Now that’s bad. Perrault is just one of the Carrabis’s many forgettable goofball sidekicks. O’Brien walks it off.

2 Chad Finn vs 3 Rob Bradford
Hairy vag faced Bradfo will smother Wax Pack Chad under a pile of wrinkled t-shirts.

Chad should have stayed in the safety of internet free Mid-coast Maine

Region V (aka The Section 10 free region)
1 Gabby Starr vs 4 Justin MLB

Here’s a tip for any of you looking to participate in next year’s Mini-Tourney. Put “MLB” in your twitter handle, it will set you apart from your average run of the mill baseball fans named Justin. Gabz won’t even need to come back from one of her many in-season vacations to dispatch Mr. Gonzalez.

2 Tom Caron vs 6 Hogdale
The Hogriders came out in force and pushed their hero into Round 2. They may have misunderstood the assignment though. How could anyone not appreciate the passion that Grant Huckvale brings to the role of “Hogdale”? It’s always a tour de force performance. Grant is matched up with milquetoast Tom Caron. No matter how many hair plugs Caron gets, it will never be enough to mask his Megamind Forehead. Dr. Tom Leonard’s least successful client moves on.

His comb over is much more lustrous now

Region N
1 Jared Carrabis vs 4 Coley Mick

Jared Carrabis is a better more knowledgeable fan than YOU. Sorry, just deal with it losers. “Coley Mick” is a lace curtain Irish dunce. “Car Rubbish”® will mash that bloated spud in the Section 10 showdown.

2 Tony Massarotti vs 3 Will Fleming
It seems unfair to have the March Sadness runner up in the Midsummer Mini-Tourney, but that’s baseball. Maybe if Will Fleming starts speaking Spanish, Tony will run away and hide. Unfortunately the only Spanish Mazz will hear from Fleming is “No Más“.

Region T
1 Pete Abraham vs 4 Tyler Milikin
This match up should be introduced by Dale Dorman as part of the Creature Double Feature. Sentient garden gnome (Abraham) takes on an obese two legged centaur (Milikin). The winner may depend on what country you live in.

Avert your eyes… they’re both hideous!

2 Tyler Broadman vs 3 Mike McCarthy
Is Mike McCarthy the pudgy bearded millennial doofus who figured out you can lose weight by eating salads, or is he the pudgy bearded millennial doofus with horrible teeth, or is he the pudgy bearded millennial doofus who couldn’t successfully book flights for his honeymoon or is he McBone? It’s hard to keep track of all these wacky call screeners.
Tyler Broadman may turn out to be a decent play-by-play man once he completes puberty, but his fake radio voice and Connecticut School of Broadcasting cadence make me want to ram my score keeping pencil in my ears. This a tough one, but McCarthy squeezes by.

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