Over The Pylon

Card Madness began with 68 BSU alums vying for glory and fame as the first ever champion of the OTP Ball State bracket. Today marks the kickoff of the Sweet 16, and what a Sweet 16 it is. Actors, late night talk show legends, pizza makers, package deliverers, former coaches, current presidents, Brewhouse namesakes, and everyone’s favorite hot dog slinger. It’s been a tremendous success so far, and our Sweet 16 can see the homestretch of the Final 4. The only thing standing between them and the promised land are 15 other competitors and the votes of you, their supporters.

We’ve seen social media play a huge role in this tournament. It was nearly responsible for an epic first-round upset of #1 overall seed David Letterman as 16-seed and play-in game winner Bridget Bobel lost a heartbreakingly close contest. The moral of that story is anyone is capable of winning this thing with the right amount of fanfare. Facebook it, Tweet it, email it, whatever you need to do to make people aware that your favorite needs their support.

Today and Wednesday our Sweet 16 gets whittled down to an Elite 8, and Thursday and Friday we turn that in to a Final 4. You can check out round 1 results here and here, our round 2 results here and here, as well as our most recent bracket with winners here.

Need a refresher on what Card Madness is all about? Click here. Need a bracket breakdown for the 4 different regionals? Check out the Charlie Cardinal Athletics Regional here, the Emens Entertainment Regional here, the Beneficence Campus Admin Regional here, and the Frog Baby “Other” Regional here. Ready to read about our competitors and vote? More after the jump…

ROUND 3, DAY 1 VOTING:

Emens Entertainment Regional
(1) David Letterman vs. (4) Joyce DeWitt
Heavy hitters of Hollywood highlight this regional semi-final in the Emens Entertainment Regional. Top-seed David Letterman really needs no introduction, does he? He is the former 12:30am talk show host on NBC, the current 11:30pm talk show host on CBS, and is the namesake of the telecommunications and media building on campus. Arguably no other alum is more visible, vocal, and known than David Letterman. Dave defeated 16-seed Bridget Bobel in a significantly closer than expected round 1 match 57%-43% and defeated Scott Halberstadt 87%-13% in round 2. Four-seed Joyce DeWitt was Janet Wood on Three’s Company and though not the most memorable of the cast, she had a long and fruitful career, one that I think was highlighted by her guest voice on an episode of Pinky and the Brain. She defeated Angelin Chang 84%-16% in round 1 and Anthony Montgomery 83%-17% in round 2.

(2) Jim Davis vs. (3) Doug Jones
A soft and fluffy lasagna eating feline creator matches up with an action movie stalwart in this regional semi-final. 2-seed Jim Davis has brought laughter and joy to millions of children and more than a few adults in his career as the creator of Garfield and his crew. With Odie and Jon Arbuckle, Garfield and his love of lasagna are as reputable a cartoon as any other. Paws Inc. has set numerous records for merchandising and branding and laid the foundation for future long-term merchandise plans. Davis defeated 15-seed Sister Edith Pfau 97% to 3% in round 1 and beat Stedman Graham by a 100%-0% margin in round 2. 3-seed Doug Jones has left his mark on Hollywood, starring in Buffy the Vampire Slayer on television, the Hellboy series on the big screen, and playing the Silver Surfer in the most recent Fantastic Four. He defeated Bill “Superfoot” Wallace in round one 76%-24% and Brian “Boom goes the dynamite” Collins 56%-44% in round 2.

Charlie Cardinal Athletics Regional
(1) Bonzi Wells vs. (4) Nate Davis
In this football/basketball tilt, Bonzi Wells faces his first male competitor in Card Madness and what some say is the first real upset chance for him. When Wells left Muncie for the NBA he was the MAC leader in points and steals, and managed to lead the conference in steals all four years. He was awarded the MAC Freshman of the Year after his first season and was selected 11th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft and would go on to have a fruitful NBA and international career. His jersey also hangs in the Worthen Arena rafters. Wells defeated LaTasha Jenkins in round 1 85%-15% and Tamara Bowie 91%-9% in round 2. 4-seed Nate Davis led BSU to two Bowl games in three seasons on the roster, and saw the Cards ranked in the Top 12 of the BCS in the 2008 undefeated season. Davis went on to be drafted by the San Francisco 49ers and spent a year in the NFL. He most recently led the Amarillo Venom to a championship in the Lonestar Football League. Davis defeated 13-seed Bernie Parmalee 77% to 23% in round 1 and beat 12-seed Reggie Hodges 73%-27% in round 2.

(3) Brad Maynard vs. (10) Chris Miller
It’s a punter battle royale in this Charlie Cardinal Regional Semi-final. 3-seed Brad Maynard is a BSU Hall of Fame member and averaged 44.2 yards per kick, ranking third in NCAA history at the time. He amassed over 10,700 yards on 242 punts. Maynard was named onto the consensus All-American selection and All-Mid-American Conference first-team. He won MAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year and MVP following his senior campaign. Maynard had a long and fruitful NFL career, most memorable for his time with the Chicago Bears. He defeated 14-seed Sally Northcroft 92% to 8% in round 1 and beat 6-seed Larry Bigbie 96%-4% in round 2. 10-seed Chris Miller was the punter of record for 2008 which gets a bit of a bonus with the Cards knocking on the BCS door and all. Miller was also a Playboy Preseason All American and a 2-time coaches All American while in school. He also broke the aforementioned record held by Maynard and is BSU’s and the MAC’s all-time leading punt average record holder at 44.7, trumping Maynard’s 44.2 and ranking top 5 all-time in the NCAA. Miller upset 7-seed Greg Garnica 81%-19% in round 1 and upset 2-seed Blaine Bishop 71%-29% in round 2.

Voting will remain open until 8pm tonight. Tomorrow sees the Frog Baby “Other” Regional and the Beneficence Campus Admin regionals whittle it down to two remaining in each. Thursday and Friday will be the regional finals for the Final Four berth. Spread the word, click away, make it happen for your favorite.

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