Tabloid Cover Derby 2016

[Centerfield]

I haven't seen any covers from Bartolo's HR, but I'm guessing they go deep in this tournament.

[MFS62]

Can't wait. Bring it on!
Just malke sure Rusty doesn't fill the trophy with barbecue sauce.

Later

[seawolf17]

I am as excited for this as I have been for anything since the end of baseball season.

[Ceetar]

Looking forward to all the garbage stupid headlines these rags produced this year.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Ceetar wrote: Looking forward to all the garbage stupid headlines these rags produced this year.

You're always the turd in the punch bowl, aren't you?

[Guest d'Kong76]

I thoroughly enjoyed this last year and looking forward to it. It's doubly
exciting for me because it will be the first time I've seen probably 90% of
the covers since I don't visit the rags often.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: You're always the turd in the punch bowl, aren't you?

We could change his "Location:" ... we got the POWAH!
*dnnn dnnn dnndnndnn dnn dnn*

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Ceetar wrote: Looking forward to all the garbage stupid headlines these rags produced this year. You're always the turd in the punch bowl, aren't you?

Maybe. Or maybe I'm just a different beverage at a different table.

I'm interested to see what they turned out this year, but it's a lot like picking the silliest WFAN trade proposal.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

I don't get to see the tabloid covers out here too often, so I love seeing this. Looking forward to the new contest. And, hearing from Maja.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Ceetar wrote: I'm interested to see what they turned out this year, but it's a lot like picking the silliest WFAN trade proposal.

To each his own. I don't particularly care about the quippy headlines. I look at them as pop art, and they can be beautiful, in their own unique way.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: I don't get to see the tabloid covers out here too often, so I love seeing this. Looking forward to the new contest. And, hearing from Maja.

Maja told me to tell you she says, "Hallå!" (That's Swedish for "Hey!")

[Lefty Specialist]

David Wright says, 'Back at ya, Maja!'

[youtube:3bjw7299]eu6PytnfCQ0[/youtube:3bjw7299]

[Benjamin Grimm]

The current cover count is 368: 142 for the Daily News, 116 for the New York Post, and 110 for Newsday. This number will continue to grow. The cutoff date is, tentatively, December 4, the date that the final first-round poll is scheduled to launch. I'm expecting we'll see at least a few more covers in the next several weeks with updates on Jeurys Familia, speculation on Yoenis Cespedes, and whatever off-season news or rumors may come up once the World Series ends.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Initial voting for Round One, Group One has completed, although we do still have a tiebreaker in progress, with Newsday's HAMMERS & THOR currently holding an 11 to 7 lead over the Daily News' MATZ BETTER.

If that lead holds up, the Daily News will have five of the eight covers to advance from this group, with two for Newsday and only one for the New York Post.

Second-round matchups are determined by the percentages of votes received in the first round. The number 1 seed is the Daily News' YA GOTTA RELIEVE, which received 30.6 percent of the votes cast in Round 1.1.5. It will face the 8th seed, WHAT A HAM, also from the Daily News.

1. YA GOTTA RELIEVE! (Daily News, 30.6%)
2. WORLD SERIOUS (New York Post, 27.5%)
3. THAT'S TERRIFIC (Daily News, 24.5%)
4. BLADDER UP (Daily News, 23.1%)
5. MATZ BETTER (Daily News) or HAMMERS & THOR (Newsday) (22.2%)
6. AMAZIN' OFFSEASON (Newsday, 21.4%)
7. METS IN A LANDSLIDE (Daily News, 20.5%)
8. WHAT A HAM (Daily News, 14.9%)

Last year, three of the four covers to make the Final Four were number 1 seeds: N.Y. CITI (Post), CON4TO (Daily News), and TEAM OF DESTINY (Daily News). The winner, YES-PEDES (Daily News) was a number 2 seed.

The current bracket, reflecting polls that have been completed as of this morning:

[Centerfield]

Did none of the covers from Ces re-signing make it? That's a bit surprising.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It is surprising. But the Cespedes covers were defeated in Round 1.1.2 by the AMAZIN' OFFSEASON cover featuring Mike Piazza.

I was expecting that the Daily News' CES WE CAN would win, but it finished in second, two votes behind the Piazza cover.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Our tiebreaker thread has ended, and Newsday's HAMMERS & THOR has defeated MATZ BETTER of the Daily News by a score of 12 to 8.

The eight polls from Group 1 have resulted in five wins for the News, two for Newsday, and one for the New York Post.

[Benjamin Grimm]

First-round voting is now complete for all polls in Group Two and eight more covers will advance to the second round. Of this group of eight, we have four covers from the Daily News, three from Newsday, and one from the New York Post. The Post is off to a slow start in this year's competition. It has so far only secured two of the eventual 32 slots on the board, compared to nine for the Daily News and five for Newsday. (Last year at this point, the News had eight first-round winners, the Post had five, and Newsday had three.)

The Group Two winners, seeded from 1 to 8 are:

1. SULTAN OF SWAAT (Daily News, 27.9% of the vote)
2. IN A PINCH, (Newsday, 27.6%)
3. DOZEN GET ANY BETTER (Newsday, 25.0%)
4. SIGH OF RELIEF (Newsday, 23.7%)
5. FROM MEEK TO MIGHTY (Daily News, 23.3%)
6. SEEDS OF LIFE (New York Post, 20.0%)
7. SWEEPING THE COUNTRY (Daily News, 17.8%)
8. GRAND FINALE! (Daily News, 17.6%)

[Guest cooby]

Love ya Rusty

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

Does Maja get to vote?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Does Maja get to vote?

She already did. She voted for Trump. Happy?

[Benjamin Grimm]

We're almost through with Round One. By Sunday morning we'll have seen all of the covers (the count is currently at 380) and second-round voting will begin on Monday, with a matchup between two Daily News covers, YA GOTTA RELIEVE! and WHAT A HAM!

Unlike last year, there will be a pause of a little over a week between the second and third rounds. (We found that voting hit a low ebb during the week between Christmas and New Year's when many of us are busy doing other things.)

[Benjamin Grimm]

First-round voting is now complete for all polls in Group Three. Of the eight new covers that advance to the second round, there are have four covers from the Daily News, two from Newsday, and two from the New York Post. Twenty-four covers have secured a second-round spot so far, and the Daily News has a commanding lead in number of covers: There are 13 from the News, 7 from Newsday, and 4 from the Post.

The Group Three winners, seeded from 1 to 8 are:

1. WIL POWER! (Daily News, 38.9%)
2. METS FIND NIMMO! (Daily News, 30.3%)
3. CES BOOM BAH! (Daily News, 28.6%)
4. IN COMPLETE CONTROL (Newsday, 26.9%)
5. LIKE OLD TIMES (Daily News, 21.6%)
6. YO & BEHOLD (New York Post, 20.0%)
7. FAB FOUR! (New York Post, 20.0%)
8. MATZ INCREDIBLE (Newsday, 16.3%)

[Benjamin Grimm]

The New York Post has really stumbled out of the gate in this year's TCD. The Post only won four of the first 25 first-round polls, but has recently made up some lost ground with three winning covers in a row:



The Post's chances of winning this competition do look fairly grim. One of their second-round entries, WORLD SERIOUS, is currently trailing in poll 2.1.2

At the moment, things are looking pretty good for the Daily News to once again have the winning cover, based on the number of first-round winners. But things can change. Sometimes it's possible to win even with a "narrow path to victory".

[Benjamin Grimm]

All first-round polls have now completed.

Voting for Group Four finished this morning, and the winning covers, seeded from 1 to 8, are:

1. 11TH HEAVEN (Newsday, 36.1%)
2. THE HAIR APPARENT! (Daily News, 26.3%)
3. GAME SETH MATCH (New York Post, 25.6%)
4. WET & WILD! (Daily News, 22.0%)
5. YO GOTTA BE KIDDING! (New York Post, 20.8%)
6. HOPE (Daily News, 20.5%)
7. T.J. MAXX! (New York Post, 20.0%)
8. ALL TOO FAMILIA (Daily News, 17.9%)

The 32 covers that will compete in the second round include 17 from the Daily News, 8 from Newsday, and 7 from the New York Post.

Of the players featured on the 32 covers, Yoenis Cespedes appears the most frequently, on seven covers. Noah Syndergaard appears on four. Jacob deGrom, Wilmer Flores, Matt Harvey, and Mike Piazza appear on two each. Appearing on one cover are Asdrubal Cabrera, Terry Collins, Jeurys Familia, Curtis Granderson, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, Steven Matz, Brandon Nimmo, Jose Reyes, Matt Reynolds, T.J. Rivera, Hansel Robles, Tom Seaver, and David Wright.

As a prize for appearing on a first-round winning cover, each of the above mentioned individuals will receive a four-pack of blank VHS video cassette tapes!



And for appearing on the most covers, Yoenis Cespedes will receive a coupon redeemable for one free Big Gulp at his nearest participating 7-Eleven!

Congratulations to all!

[Guest d'Kong76]

Standard grade VHS? Stockholm in getting chintzy...

[Benjamin Grimm]

Current brackets, through polls that are completed as of this morning:

[bmfc1]

Someone who works for The Daily News picked the top 20 back pages of 2016. Mets-wise it includes:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/daily-news-best-back-pages-2016-gallery-1.2917398?pmSlide=1.2917376
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/daily-news-best-back-pages-2016-gallery-1.2917398?pmSlide=1.2917380
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/daily-news-best-back-pages-2016-gallery-1.2917398?pmSlide=1.2917383
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/daily-news-best-back-pages-2016-gallery-1.2917398?pmSlide=1.2917392
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/daily-news-best-back-pages-2016-gallery-1.2917398?pmSlide=1.2917396

[Benjamin Grimm]

Only one of them, YOU GOTTA RELIEVE!, is still alive in our competition. None of the others made it out of the first round, although I had high expectations for CES WE CAN! and FOUR!

"Sellouts" and GOD HELP US didn't do at all well here. "Sellouts" only got 3 votes in the first round, and GOD HELP US only got 2.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Tabloid Cover Derby will resume tomorrow morning when the third round of voting kicks off.