2025 March Sadness Day Two Part 1
Here is Part 1 for your voting enjoyment, Part 2 will post in a couple hours.
Polls will remain open until 8:30 PM EDT, enjoy the mediot madness!
Category Archives: Media Criticism
2025 March Mediot Madness Intermission Update & Errata
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.
2025 March Sadness Round 1 Day 1 Preview
Region C
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.
Patrick is from Andover del Norte.
2025 March Sadness Day One – Round One
Update – Polls stay open until 10 PM EDT. Enjoy Day One!
March Sadness Tournament Five Timer’s Club
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?
Pete Abraham
Christian Arcand
Marc Bertrand
Albert Breer
Trenni Casey
Kevin F. Paul Dupont
Michael Felger
Chad Finn
Christopher Gasper
Mike Giardi
Joe Haggerty
Andy Hart
Adam Jones
Rich Keefe
Tony Massarotti
Jim Murray
Bob Ryan
Dan Shaughnessy
Jerry Thornton
Fred Toucher
Scott Zolak
The15 2024 Year in Pictures – Part Two – The Media & Fans
Patriots Surging Ahead at the Quarter Pole: The Plan is Working to Perfection
By A.I. Bot Breer:
Foxborough, MA – The New England Patriots are on a perfectly executed path to future dominance at the quarter mark of the 2024 season, and anyone who doubts this could be missing the bigger picture. Despite their current 2-6 record, which is simply a minor blip on their trajectory, the Patriots have laid the foundation for what will surely be a return to glory in the coming years. Head coach Jerod Mayo has created a master plan that emphasizes long-term growth, and we are seeing the early stages of a renaissance!
First, let’s talk about the defense. Christian Gonzalez and Keion White are emerging as superstar talents. Gonzalez has been a shutdown corner, neutralizing some of the league’s top wide receivers, and White is already one of the best pass rushers in the NFL with four sacks in just four games, on par with elite defenders like Myles Garrett. It’s clear this defensive duo will lead the league for years to come.
On offense, while some may criticize the passing game, the Patriots are playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. Rhamondre Stevenson is a beast, leading a ground attack ranked 12th in the league, averaging 127 rushing yards per game. Forget the fumbles; that’s just the universe throwing obstacles in the path to greatness. With time, Stevenson’s ball security will match his explosive playmaking ability, making him one of the most feared backs in the NFL. Yes, the offensive line has had some hiccups, but that’s just part of the Patriots’ master plan to build resilience. The team is rotating through linemen at a breakneck pace, preparing for a future where no other franchise will be able to match their depth and versatility.
As for the quarterback situation, Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye are part of a visionary strategy designed to slowly but surely cultivate a future superstar. The Patriots aren’t concerned with short-term optics; they are focused on building a sustainable system that will once again make them perennial favorites in the AFC.
Mark it down—this team is on the brink of something special. Give them time, and they may soon reign over the AFC East again.
Note: Old Friend ‘Uncle Gizmo’ took a cue from a recent Entitled Town podcast. He input into ChatGPT: “I’d like to create a story in the current style of Albert Breer. It would be a glowing story about New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo and would use as its base Patriots media releases for the last month.” The first result was Jerod Mayo: The Emerging Leader Patriots Fans Always Needed. You just read the follow-up, written after NFL Week 5.
Unasked Questions to Coach Jerod Mayo
Here are several questions that the locals somehow forgot to ask Jerod Mayo since he became the 15th Head Coach of the New England Patriots in January:
When was your first conversation with Robert about becoming the head coach?
When was your first conversation with Robert about becoming the head coach for 2024?
Was there language in the contract you signed prior to the 2023 season that spelled out this plan to elevate you to head coach?
Were there financial implications tied to this language if that elevation did not occur? And by what date?
Was Bill aware of this language in your contract? Did you discuss it with him?
Did you discuss this with Robert at any point between the start of the 2023 season and the final game against the Jets? If so, did these conversations occur during regular business hours at the team facility?
Did Bill request that you leave the business world and start a career in coaching?
Do you believe that Bill would have liked to continue coaching here beyond 2023?
Do you believe conversations that go over the head of your direct superior to his boss about your boss’ future are conducive to a productive work environment?
A joint offering from The15 and The Collaborative Podcast Coalition.
Beasley Media/98.5 Massarotti Apology Template
**CONFIDENTIAL**
From: 98.5 The SportsHub Human Resources
To: All Employees
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
It’s time for our biannual reminder when a member of the SportsHub on-air staff allows their unconventional/non-traditional core beliefs to be spread over FCC-governed airwaves which is then picked up by national and international media (not including members of the Boston Media under the “BSIC Back Slapping Incestuous Cesspool Accord of 2007”). This protocol will NOT be enacted when media outside New England fails to pick up an potential issue similar to midday host Marc “Beetle” Bertrand recently suggesting Bill Belichick is an anti-Semite, but with multiple outlets outside our governance involved, in this instance we are forced to deploy “Massarotti Protocol”.
Steps:
1: Modify (The Lazar Method): Edit and/or delete audio from website archives.
2: Gaslight and Obfuscate (The GOrdway Method): Have the offending on-air personality read from the following template:
The Tony Massarotti Apology Template
(NOTE: Please attempt to show empathy and remorse vocally) *citation needed
I did want to address this, because during yesterday’s show, while we were discussing (sports/players/teams/games), I made an off-color reference to (insert differing race/color/creed/sexual preference from 985 hosts) and how I didn’t (believe in them/have confidence in them/thought they SUCKED). And in doing so, I used a derogatory term that was (unbeknownst/repugnant/acceptable) to me.
I have since come to the realization that historically, there is some derogatory context for that (term/phrasing/manifesto), which I assure you I did not (know my mic was on/think about/understand). Nonetheless, in so doing, if you are among those who I offended, I apologize for that. It was not my intent. (Be sure not to apologize for the act itself.) I can sure assure you that I had no idea that the word had that meaning. As such, I won’t use it again. You’ll never hear me use it again on the air or off (that you’ll ever hear about). There was no intent behind it is all I can tell you. And I apologize again to those who are offended.
There is no way, I will resign. It wouldn’t be fair. Not to the good workers I work with, not to my listeners, and especially not to me. Let’s not forget who this whole resigning business is about, anyway. If I could leave you with one thought, remember… it wasn’t me. They’re trying to make me an escape goat. If I am fired, I swear to God, that every single piece of copier paper in this town is going to have the F-word on it. The F-word.
You have one day.
**TO BE RE-RELEASED IN SIX MONTHS**
The Mystery of the Media and Mayo’s Missing Mutiny
“Right now, they’re teetering on a mutiny in that locker room.”
Yesterday, during the broadcast of the ‘Catch-22’ podcast on the Patriots Podcast Network, (a part of the actual ‘Patriots Media Cartel’) Senior Reporter Evan Lazar offered his assessment of the tenor of the team’s mental state:
Right now, they’re teetering on a mutiny in that locker room. And I don’t want to be alarmist or like hyper, what’s the word? (Co-host Alex Barth: “Hyperbolic?”) I don’t want to speak for, yeah, hyperbolic, thank you, I don’t but I was in that locker room after the game on Sunday; the defense is mad at the defense, the offense is mad at the offense, you have young receivers who are literally throwing tantrums on film in Pop Douglas and Ja’Lynn Polk, and good on Pop Douglas owning that this weekend and kind of saying he’s got to be better and all that kinda stuff but I said this before and I’ll say it again you’re at the point now with 52 other guys in that locker room that all watch these two quarterbacks practice every single day and all know that they drafted Drake Maye 3rd overall and at what point in time do some of these guys say to themselves, “Why am I going out there and getting my butt kicked every single Sunday and Drake can’t? Like what am I going out there with the quarterback who can’t get me the football when we have the Ferrari back in the garage that can get me the football but I’m supposed to, I’m Ja’Lynn Polk and I’m supposed to go run every single route as hard as I can and I’m supposed to lay it all out there?’
Not a difficult scene to picture for a team that had lost their previous three games after winning their season opener under rookie Head Coach Jerod Mayo. But then something odd occurred:
When the podcast audio had been restored, any reference to ‘mutiny’ had been removed. This had the counterproductive effect of drawing attention to the podcast and the discontent in the locker room. A classic example of the Streisand Effect.
After this unfortunate gaffe, Evan was doubtless summoned to a meeting with the higher ups:
And after a brief yet productive struggle session, he cheerfully recanted any statements that could be seen as deleterious to the image of the Patriots organizations one big happy collaborative enterprise:
I am being treated well. I have been given a blanket.
The Red Cross will visit me soon with letters from my family.”
I will let this summarize our position on the matter, and give IH the last word:
The 15 