Upset City

Philly Madness Marches On

So long, Mike Schmidt. Hasta luego, Dan Gross. Jimmy Rollins: Yer out! Round Two of City Paper's fun-for-boys-and-girls Philly Madness bracket (citypaper.net/phillymadness) saw several top seeds ousted. Round Three is in full swing through Sunday night. Let the IM bracketology commence.

Nick Norlen: So we're down to 16. Some are sweeter than others.

Brian Howard: There were surprises.

Nick Norlen: Spiral Q Puppet Theater over Mike Schmidt? Do we have a Cinderella on our hands? (Literally?)

Brian Howard: What do you make of Comcast besting Tim and Eric? What does this say about our readership?

Nick Norlen: Our readership ... or our ISP?

Nick Norlen: How are you feeling about J-Roll's loss to the Eastern State Penitentiary?

Brian Howard: I believed J-Roll to be the entity to beat. (Baseball-is-boring joke in 3, 2, 1 ...)

Nick Norlen: I think it just goes to show that even uninhabited prisons are more interesting than baseball.

Brian Howard: I think Nutter vs. The Curse of William Penn is a bellwether matchup for sure: New Philadelphia vs. old Negadelphia. Our better angels vs. our worst. What would happen if the curse ... won? The whole thing?

Nick Norlen: These are the questions we have to grapple with during Philly Madness. So, please, vote responsibly. And try not to create any rifts in the space-time continuum.

Nick Norlen: Three of my final four are still riding strong: Harry Kalas, the Fringe Festival and Casino Free Philadelphia.

Brian Howard: I've got Nutter vs. Kalas in the west bracket finals and Fringe vs. Bike Race in the east.

Nick Norlen: You may be on to something. The Bike Race obviously gained momentum with its win over the Wing Bowl.

Nick Norlen: Wait a minute, don't even tell me you have Kalas and the Bike Race in the finals, Mr. Bikes and Baseball.

Brian Howard: Well, I can actually see the Fringe besting the Bike Race.

Nick Norlen: It all comes down to constituencies.

Brian Howard: I kinda like Spiral Q to go a little bit farther. Maybe not final four, but you never know. Those kids really seem to CARE.

Nick Norlen: They got heart. And that's what it takes to win.

Visit citypaper.net/phillymadness to play.