So far, the only underdog to pull off the win has been Wild Card Meghan Ottolini, ousting fake 10 seed Jeff Howe. The matches will resume Thursday (six early, then six more later) and the remaining ten on Friday.
Tomorrow’s contestants will be Daniels/Barth, Zolak/ Keefe, Ted Johnson/ Gary Washburn, Jones/ Cotillo, Curtis/Caron, Finn/Barrett, Toucher/O’B, Guregian/Bradfo, Arcand/KPD, Lifshatz/Cox, and Pete Abe/Burton the Elder.
Sharp-eyed viewers noticed that there was a discrepancy between the initial listing of the field of 64, and the contestants that were on the bracket. Due to a terrible mistake, Sean McAdam was erroneously listed in that first post. We can only theorize the recent 5th anniversary of his tragic passing had him top of mind. He was subsequently replaced on the bracket with MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. We regret the error.
5 Andy Hart vs 12 Tom Carroll UPSET ALERT! Tommy Freezepops will release his inner fat slob (who is destined to resurface at a moment’s notice) and squash mighty mite Dumbo Hart like the little cockroach he is.
3 Jim Murray vs 14 Evan Lazar Lazar made a strong push over the weekend when he incorrectly reported that Myles Garrett had been given permission by the Browns to seek a trade, and then after his followers pointed out he was incorrect, he quickly – without admitting the error – pivoted to a slightly altered stance so he could still appear “right”. A complete weasel move by the Lizard. However Jim Murray is truly a odious human being with no redeeming qualities and will win this match up in a landslide.
6 Brian Scalabrine vs 11 Drew Carter The Mike Gorman Memorial match-up, where you, yes YOU, get to determine who is to blame for the sharp drop in the quality of Celtics broadcasts! We’d tell you how Scal thinks this one is going to turn out, but given Scal’s horrific record at replay review predictions, you’d already know the result. (Pssst, Scal is confident that Drew pulls off the upset.)
Region V
8 Jerry Thornton vs 9 Doug Kyed Last fall Jerry buried two of his brothers. Today he buries Kyed.
6 Jimmy Stewart vs 11 Matt McCarthy McTeethy should be a nervous as cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Although most intelligent cats would rather be in a room full of rocking chairs than in a room with J-Stew.
Region N
4 Mike Giardi vs 13 Michael Holley “It’s Girardi not Girardi, idiot.”
6 Nick Cattles vs 11 Mike Kadlick Kadlick was last year’s Cinderella story, but this year it’s pumpkin head Cattles who gets to dance with Prince Charming.
Region T
1 Marc Bertrand vs 16 Joe Murray Joe Murray seems seriously underrated as a 16 seed, but he has no chance in this battle of the behemoths. Bertrand swallows him whole.
4 Tony Massarotti vs 13 Matt Vautour I’m not really familiar with Vautour’s work but I’m willing to believe it stinks. I’m all too familiar with Mazz’s work and I know it’s terrible.
3 Cerrone Battle Ackerman vs 14 Rob “Hardy” Poole YOU didn’t think Ackerman should even be in this tournament! YOU thought the fact that he lives in podunk North Carolina and is completely out of touch with the Boston sports scene would be grounds for exclusion. Now YOU can’t wait to vote for him.
Good morning local sad sacks! You lost an hour of sleep yesterday, boo hoo. Cheer up buttercup, because there’s no better time to kickoff the 2025 March Sadness tournament than when you’ve got a case of the Mondays.
Region C #10 Jeff Howe vs Meghan Ottolini Jeff Howe somehow avoided another medical exemption, although the committee are currently submitting a FOIA requests to breach Jeff’s HIPPA HIPAA shield. Meghan Ottolini deftly dodged the Audacy ax man a few days, possibly based on her Celtics insider status but most likely due to the fact that she is on an expiring guaranteed contract. Why pay Meg-O to do nothing at home when you can pay her to do nothing at TD Garden?
Prediction: Jeff Howe once again fights off an early exit
Jeff is going to outlive Upton
Region V #11 Matt McCarthy vs Bobby Manning Matt McCarthy has been at 98.5 for almost 12 years now, and I challenge anyone to pick him out of a lineup of the menagerie of freaks they employ as phone screeners. But at least I know where McTeethy works, I honestly had never heard of Bobby Manning before the brackets came out. Whenever I don’t recognize a mediot’s name the first thing that springs to mind is “they must work at CLNS Media”. Nailed it! Apparently he covers the Celtics along with about 3 or 4 other interchangeable millennial hipster doofuses.
Prediction: McCarthy chews up Manning
Region N #9 Brian Barrett vs Jared Weiss It would be harder to find two more irrelevant combatants in any tournament duking it out for a 9 seed. Noted shoepisser Brian Barrett, host of “Off My Radar”, was neutered when the Celtics won #18. He is facing off against the Athletic/New York Times NBA correspondent Jared Weiss. Jared got a new title back in September. He’s not just covering the Celtics anymore, now he’s covering the entire Eastern Conference. If the promotion was meant to help his exposure, it isn’t working. The page views for his February/March articles (in reverse chronological order) are 46, 25, 113, 39, 42 and a whopping 13. The “Old Gray Lady” must be pulling her hair out.
Prediction: Barrett has one or two more hate listeners than Weiss has readers
Region T #7 Pete Abraham vs Kayla Burton Sensitive sentient garden gnome Pete Abraham must have finally blocked everyone on Twitter because now he’s solely sharing his thoughts on BlueSky. Kayla Burton is the new kid on the block over at NBC Sports Boston. She seems fine, so you’re probably wondering how on Earth could Kayla ever defeat the universally disliked (and probably smelly) Pete Abe? Well you must not be aware that if Kayla is victorious, she will square off in a Round 1 steel caged father-daughter death match with her dad, STEVE BURTON. Will it be Patricide/Filicide, or will Pete Abe face the dreaded Burton-Burton double dip? It’s up to YOU to decide.
Let’s hear it for these local media ‘personalities’ who have been involved in this tournament since its inception. Some obvious names, and some unexpected ones. Might one of them finally take home the crown?
If some of the seedings seem strange to you, there’s a reason for that, and possibly a good reason. We have instituted a few rule changes regarding the top seeds this year. One- only one top seed allowed per media outlet. Two- if the media member has been a multiple time #1 Seed and not won the championship, they cannot be a top seed this go around, And Three- If you are a #1 seed and lost to a #16 last tournament, you are similarly ineligible to be a top seed.
Dua Lipa also has New Rules.
Play -in Games Region C 10 Seed Jeff Howe vs wild card Meghan Ottolini (WEEI/Celtics), Region V 11 Seed Matt McCarthy vs wild card Bobby Manning (CLNS), Region N 9 Seed Brian Barrett vs wild card Jared Weiss (The Athletic)., and Region T 7 Seed Pete Abraham vs wild card Kayla Burton (NBCSB).
Play in games will be on Monday, March 10th. The rest of the field will begin on Tuesday, then Thursday and Friday of next week.
Attention, please! All those having business before the Tournament Selection Committee of The15net dot com division of The Local Collaborative, take care and know the following will comprise the Field of 68 in the 5th Annual Mediot Madness/March Sadness Tournament:
Peter Abraham (Globe) Christian Arcand (WEEI) Brian Barrett (The Ringer) Alex Barth (98.5) Cerrone Battle (98.5) Marc Bertrand (98.5) Rob Bradford (WEEI) Albert Breer (NBCSB) Steve Burton (WBZ) Andrew Callahan (Herald) Tom Caron (NESN) Jared Carrabis (NESN/98.5/Underdog) Tom “Freeze Pops” Carroll (WEEI) Drew Carter (NBCSB) Trenni Casey (NBCSB) Nick Cattles (CLNS/98.5) Courtney Cox (WEEI) Chris Curtis (WEEI) Mark Daniels (MassLive) Mark Dondero (98.5) Kevin Paul Dupont (Globe) Mike Felger (98.5) Chad Finn (Globe) Chris Forsberg (NBCSB) Chris Gasper (Globe/98.5) Mike Giardi (BSJ) Dan Greenberg (Barstool) Karen Guregian (MassLive) Joe Haggerty (BSJ) Andy Hart (WEEI) Michael Holley (NBCSB) Jeff Howe (The Athletic) Greg Hill (WEEI) Ted Johnson (WEEI) Adam Jones (WEEI) Mike Kadlick (CLNS) Rich Keefe (WEEI) Doug Kyed (Herald) Taylor Kyles (CLNS) Evan Lazar (Patriots) Dan Lifshatz (98.5) Jackie MacMullan (Kraft Dynasty LLC) Tony Massarotti (98.5) Sean McAdam (MassLive) Matt McCarthy (98.5) Kendra Middleton (98.5) Jim Murray (98.5) Joe Murray (98.5) Dave O’Brien (NESN) Phil Perry (NBCSB) Rob “Hardy” Poole (98.5) Mike Reiss (ESPN) Bob Ryan (CLNS) Brian Scalabrine (NBCSB) Dan Shaughnessy (Globe) Christopher Smith (MassLive) Gabrielle Starr (Herald) Nick “Fitzy” Stevens (WEEI) Jimmy Stewart (98.5) Jerry Thornton (Barstool) Fred Toucher (98.5) Matt Vautour (MassLive) Gary Washburn (Globe) Scott Zolak (98.5)
Wild Cards – Meghan Ottolini (WEEI/Celtics) Kayla Burton (NBCSB) Bobby Manning (CLNS) Jared Weiss (The Athletic). These contestants will be in the four ‘play-in games’ prior to the First Round matchups.
Brackets to be announced Thursday of this week.
(note – Though technically re-eligible, John Tomase, having no platform at this time is unable to compete.
(The Selection Committee reserves the right to substitute a new contestant for any and all Audacy employees who may be laid off on Thursday & are slated to participate in this tournament.)
It appears that the Chinderella Kadlick bloc of voters stayed home in silent protest. As is their right. And also that Mike Felger choked during clutch time, caller! Fact: not opinion!
Thank you to all the media contestants, to the voting public, to the Selection Collaborative, and to The15 at large. Let’s do this again next year! (Or something similar sooner than that!)
In the Consolation Match, Mike Kadlick proves no one cares about a Cinderella once their carriage turns back into a pumpkin. No glass slipper, just a glass jaw in a loss to Squeaky Tony Mazz who finishes in third place in consecutive tournaments.
Yes, you’re a winner, pal.
Now on to the final act of The Big Sads – Felger vs. Curran. Two formerly ink-stained wretches. An irresistible farce meets the immovable object of derision. The Carpetbagger vs. the Lakeville Dagger. Missing eyebrows vs. hair transplants. Wisconsin Cheesehead vs. New England PotatoMan. Miserable Cuck vs. Heel Turn for a Buck. Both highly deserving. Two men enter, one man leaves. Choose wisely, voters.
Given the importance of this matchup, the poll will remain open for 24 hours, closing at this time Friday.
Dear readers, if you have been enjoying this year’s Mediot Tournament, or the ones previous, or the Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer columns, or the articles investigating the local sports media, or any of our other features, or the Twitter hijinks of the local collaborative, please consider making a one-time donation. Site registration isn’t free. The Crowdsignal plug-in that tabulates the votes costs money as well. Or in the alternative visit our The15 Genuine Merchandise page and buy a shirt or a mug? Up to you. Thanks again for reading.
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