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.
It’s Felger’s third time getting to the Four You Deplore, his radio partner Tony got this far last tourney as well, TEC and Kadlick are in uncharted territory. Should be interesting.
Polls will stay open until Midnight EDT, 9 PM PDT. Vote responsibly.
And now a few loving words about “The Hateable Eight”, courtesy of everyone’s favorite meteorologist enthusiast and aspiring journalist, “Joshua from Marion”…
Region C: Mike Felger (1) vs Chris Gasper (2) “I’m not gay or anything but my idol Michael Felger is one handsome mofo.” – Feb 29, 2024 “Gasper is such a fruitcake but I love him too.” – Dec 1, 2023
Region V: Tom E Curran (1) vs Dan Shaughnessy (6) “Good Saturday evening @tomecurran, just wanted to say I love your hard hitting and intense reporting. As someone who had hoped to be a journalist someday, I admire the way you go about craft. Go #Patriots tomorrow even tho the Colts will probably beat them. Take care man.” – Nov 11, 2023 “Only @Dan_Shaughnessy could bring more darkness to the airwaves of @985TheSportsHub than @adamjones985” – Aug 9, 2018
Region N: Mike Kadlick (16) vs Jim Murray (2) “Notice how there’s been zero response by @mikekadlick. There’s several reasons why. Shhhhhhhh you can hear the crickets once the facts come out. Sit down.” – Jan 7,2024 “@bigjimmurray I’ve met him before and he’s not a POS. He wasn’t putting on a front either. He’s said bad things, we’ve all said bad things but we shouldn’t crucify him for life because of it. I believe in forgiveness. I believe in humanity working things out. If not, hit the button already. – Mar 27, 2024
Region T: Tony Massarotti (1) vs Albert Breer (3) “Hey @TonyMassarotti, I know you’ve been getting a lot of shit lately from callers but never forget you are a great guy and talented individual. I’ve met you before at Newbury Comics and you were super classy and gracious. Most people don’t know the real you. – Nov 9, 2021 “I love me some Breer. He’s a true professional and although some of his predictions may be outlandish, he’s willing to sit and take the heat about them. ” – Oct 26, 2023
Remember to vote, and don’t forget to stop by your local parish and get your feet washed tonight!
Polls will stay open until Midnight EDT.
(Preview courtesy of Patrick from Andover del Norte.)
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 out local sports media, 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. Don’t make a maniac out of me. Thanks for reading.
The bones of the previous regime will be roasted at the gates of Hell!
Sent to us from Patrick in Andover del Norte:
Wild Card Monday really lived up to its name, as each of the four winners are first time participants. Apparently, everyone loves to hate an underdog. Are there more upsets on the horizon? That’s for YOU to decide!
Region C – Michael Felger (1) vs Chris Cotillo (16) Let’s face it, Cotillo has no chance against Felger. To help ease his pain please consider signing up to his Zoom workshop for aspiring sportswriters. Come learn what it takes to break into a tough industry. All are welcome, no experience required. Maybe next year YOU can go from March Sadness voter to March Sadness participant. Chris can be reached by email at bychriscotillo@gmail.com for pricing and more info. Make sure to use the code “THE15” at checkout.
Phil Perry (4) vs Rob Bradford (13) What the hell is going on with the brim on all of Bradford’s hats? A 50+ year old man in a flat-brimmed hat is bad enough, but to have a brim with a convex curve! It’s quite the zany affect. I guess it distracts from the perpetually wrinkled boring t-shirts. Perry advances.
We’re on the way to the full Jesper Parnevik brim.
Greg Hill (3) vs Rich Keefe (14) UPSET ALERT! The last time I heard Greg Hill on the radio was during one of Howard Stern’s 20-minute-long commercial breaks. Greg actually pulls the highest ratings at WEEI, which is akin to being the tallest midget (Hello Andy Hart!). If you follow the ratings as they plummet throughout the day, you will eventually arrive at Rich Keefe. Keefer sadness for the win!
Region V – Andy Gresh (5) vs Adam Jones (12) Yet another intra-EEI match up. Imagine being at such an awful radio station that Andy Gresh is your lead in. Now imagine being such an awful radio host that you can’t even retain Andy Gresh’s audience. It must be killing Adam Jones that if he had just hung in there for six more months he could have slithered right into co-host seat at the 98.5 Morning Zoo. The Sports Vulva ffffreaking earholes Gresh.
Dan Shaughnessy (6) vs Jermaine Wiggins (11) Can Shank be the Willis Reed of this tournament? More likely the 2023 version of Reed rather than his 1970 performance. Even without a pulse Dan will beat Wiggy.
Region N – Ted Johnson (1) vs Mike Kadlick (16) And now a few words from Ted Johnson: Bread, good. Fire, BAD!
Ted smash!!
Marc Bertrand (4) vs Gabby Starr (13) Gabby was the belle of last year’s ball, but now that she’s covering the unrest in the Middle East instead of the Red Sox, I fear she may not make it out of round one. The Far Side Kid should roll to a victory.
Jim Murray (2) vs Christian Arcand (15) Arcand is a dingleberry, but Murray is a piece of shit.
Region T – Christian Fauria (8) vs Chris Curtis (9) Fauria may have been part of two Super Bowl wins, yet it is Curtis who has the more amazing accomplishment. What was Lucy thinking?
Gratuitous? Yes, and?
Mark Daniels (5) vs Joe Murray (12) Poor Joey Beefs doesn’t stand a chance against YOUR New England Patriots Minister of Information. I’m hearing whispers than Daniels is primed for a deep run.
The 15 