March Sadness 2026 Round of 32 Tiebreaker Special

Well, we were close to putting this Round in the books, but the vote came out even, so we will have a tiebreaker. Polls will close at 4:30 PM EDT.




Well, we were close to putting this Round in the books, but the vote came out even, so we will have a tiebreaker. Polls will close at 4:30 PM EDT.




With the right-hand side of our bracket set, we now move to the left, Regions C and N! Fun! Polls will stay open until 10 PM EDT today. Vote your heart.


Hockey jerseys no contain magic?
I love how Jim Nantz every year has to go from March Madness to The Masters two days later.
The Red Sox players performing well in the WBC is a positive sign for the season to come, right?
Upton Bell’s Father Bert Bell who founded the Philadelphia Eagles wanted Green from the very beginning.
Would totally watch a “Swingers”-style comedy starring Andy Wong, JStew, Sarge, and that other charmless slob.
Alex Caruso would be a beloved Celtic. I really believe that.
I’ve deleted a post incorrectly identifying who was suspended today. It was Johan Rojas of the Philadelphia Phillies who was suspended.
News Item: Bryce Huff announced that he is starting a company called Neighborstone, which will build safety infrastructure to help with fire risk on lithium-ion batteries.
I guess I’ll root for whichever team from a Massachusetts college or university made it into the Tournament.
Cakes are cooking for Carl Gottlieb, Drew Struzan, Brad Dourif, Rick Martel, Irene Cara, Luc Besson, James McMurtry, Bonnie Blair, Jerry Cantrell, Queen Latifah, Adam Levine, Chad Cordero, Lily Collins, and J.T. Realmuto.
Good to have an old-school Twitter night on tap (hopefully). #Oscars
I’m so damn proud of our gold medal winning sled hockey team. I hope someday to learn what their names are.
Åberg? Å no!
Meal prep, bro. Nothing like planning to essentially eat leftovers every day.
Sorry if I missed your tags today. I’m a little laid up w my back.
AI coach already telling me to tone down my weightlifting 10 days out from 20-mile race. This is the robot trying to weaken the man in order to take over the world. Cannot be fooled.
The winner of the WBC should face the winner of the NBA Cup.
Food cleanse includes booze? WTF.
I’m pretty sure there were entire months where the Revs didn’t score 6 total goals. Good job.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s good practice to keep your cream out of the refrigerator during coffee drinking hours; they don’t call it “table cream” for nothin’.
Hey gang, this week’s Phrase that Pays is, “Playing in the NFL is pretty cool, but ya know what’s *really* cool? Preventing lithium battery fires.”
I watched “Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare” last night on HBO and I can’t remember the last time a documentary brought me to tears that much.
Blue Line: Delays of about 10 minutes while a maintenance train inspects the overhead wires between Airport and Wonderland. Trains may stand by at stations.
The black dog and the wandering boy
Come around every night.
The wandering boy never gets any older
The black dog doesn’t bite.
He just sits on the floor at the corner of the bed
Watching for the things that haunt.
They oughta both go away when I take my meds:
But they don’t.
Hey, somebody lie to me
Hey, somebody lie to me.
There is no greater Lenten sacrifice than choosing a hot buttered lobster roll as your meatless Friday meal.
My lawyer laughed at “dipshit”.
Just so everyone knows: true NCAA tournament “upsets” begin at 4-13. And don’t even think about 9 over 8.
Honk if you remember the Gardner Museum heist.
Do you guys ever think about how epic Anya Taylor-Joy’s peripheral vision must be?
“Dubai Chocolate” is the weirdest psyop I’ve ever encountered.
You can tell I’m a weather enthusiast because I measure rainfall to the hundredth of an inch.
That wasn’t quite the St. Crispin’s Day speech, Aaron.
The clump of confiscated gallon containers of booze is a welcome addition to St. Patrick’s Day Parade B-roll footage.
Welcome Boston Legacy FC.
Maybe should have boiled the corned beef for another hour.
I wonder if any former Patriots player and a current Celtics player were ever guests on the Tonight Show before. Probably not.
Can’t put all your hopes into a Zacha hat trick every game.
Best bet for the weekend: Flag Football, what else?

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Joe Giza, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. Let’s dance.


Today we will look to the right-hand side of the bracket, with Region V and Region T. It’s a shame half of them have to lose. Polls will close at 9 PM EDT.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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!


Round One is in the books, and we have the Round of 32 coming next week. Regions V and T will go on Tuesday, March 17th, then on Thursday March 19th Regions C and N will compete.


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.


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.


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.

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.


Swayman apologized, can we get his daily account back please?
If there’s one consistent through line of fan behavior I’ve observed over the course of attending hundreds of games, it’s that women seem to think the request to remove your caps for the anthem doesn’t apply to them. Very strange.
Bro, sorry if I somehow unfollowed. I would never. I don’t trust this place.
The funniest thing about being a southern transplant in New England is guessing whether something labeled “spicy” on a menu is white people spicy or actually spicy.
Anytime you can bring in a headcase receivah, you gotta do it!
Does anyone else get slightly confused when the Globe Pitchbot pitch isn’t written by Felger and Mazz?
Some important news: New New Scrubs is a 10 out of 10.
Rob Bradford has such a wet voice. When he says Kutter Crawford, I almost feel the spittle on me.
It must be difficult being bisexual when you’re always on vacation.
Cakes are cooking for Adrian Lyne, James Ellroy, Emilio Estefan, Mykelti Williamson, Rick Mast, Patricia Heaton, John Mugabe, Ray Mancini, Steven Weber, Jason Newsted, Khaled Hosseini, Paul W. S. Anderson, Dav Pilkey, Kevin Johnson, Evan Dando, Patsy Kensit, Chaz Bono, Jos Verstappen, Robert Smith, Hawksley Workman, Jason Marsalis, Landon Donovan, Draymond Green, Nick Castellanos, Obi Toppin, and Brooklyn Beckham.
Rewatch both Gold Medal games in full with my 4th of July Playlist playing? Don’t mind if I do.
It’s always a great sign when middle aged broads smile and don’t show their teeth.
Hedy gang, this week’s Phrase that Pays is, “I’m sorry Aerin Frankel – autocorrect is the worst.”
Neil Sedaka’s got some jams. RIP.
I like when people say “Now I wish Canada won.” Oh yeah, rich white guys from Ontario are totally different from rich white guys from Minnesota!
Quarter zip fleece? Not my scene. I prefer the 3/8th zip.
Orange Line: Through March 8. Shuttle buses are replacing service between Back Bay and Forest Hills for signal work. Commuter Rail is fare-free between Forest Hills and South Station.
Imagine telling a chick you’re taking her to “Cream City” and then ending up in Milwaukee.
I know a place where I can go when I’m alone
Into your arms, whoa, into your arms I can go
I know a place that’s safe and warm from the crowd
Into your arms, whoa, into your arms I can go.
And if I should fall
I know, I won’t be alone
Be alone anymore.
I’m with Hurley on this one. Sumo oranges are the best. So I guess those three weeks on the Rich Shertenlieb Show weren’t entirely, fruitless?
Puerto Ricans fucking love ‘the wave.’
Steroid abuse is known to damage ligaments and tendons.
The Patriots literally didn’t think Alec Pierce could be available.
We have a Scaz AND a Stiz!?
Oh, like the Celtics never had a ‘The Naked I Night’, back during Princess Cheyenne’s heyday.
Khusnutdinov. He’s like a mini-Marchand.
Every woman thinks she’s a badass until it’s time to turn on the AC at Christian Barmore’s house.
Honk if you remember Comet Hale-Bopp.
The entertainment industry having awards shows every other week; what do they think they are, sportswriters?
I might pass on canoeing the Saco next year.
Steve Kerr declared POTS is a fake disease again. These hockey broads are having a terrible week.
I just need Hugo to say, “basketball is life.”
Pajamas at the airport? No. I wear an off the rack suit from Kohl’s when I fly. People think I’m an Air Marshal.
Seems like the deficiencies in the Patriots NFLPA report card could be easily fixed by throwing money at the problems. Oh. Right.
Ah, the famously complex flavors of Duval County, Florida.
Alex Guerrero being Brady’s snitch on the Raiders is glorious. There’s only man who can fix this: Jack Easterby.
Best bet for the weekend: World Baseball Classic Fever Grips Hub.

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Joe Giza, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. God’s Great banana skin. Gonna get ya.
