The Crane Pool Forum

PREVIOUSLY, ON THE TABLOID COVER DERBY...

I wonder if Maja has aged.

The Mets have not been generating many off-season covers so far this time around, so it's looking likely that we'll end up with 26 first-round polls. That will mean that the top six covers (based on percentage of votes received) will get a second-round bye, while the remaining twenty covers will compete for the final ten slots in the Sweet Sixteen.

At this point, voting has closed for the first ten polls of Round One. Four covers have therefore been eliminated from any chance of finishing in the top six.

Here are the current standings:

1 IT'S A MIRACLE! (New York Daily News)
2 BLAST FROM THE PAST! (New York Daily News)
3 PETE TAKES 'EM HOME (New York Daily News)
4 ACE BANDAGE (New York Daily News)
5 GLAD MAX (Newsday)
6 STAR POWERED (New York Post)
7 A NINTH TO REMEMBER (Newsday)
8 MOOD SWING (Newsday)
9 THIS MAY HURT A BIT (New York Daily News)
10 MAXWELL'S SMART (New York Daily News)

Covers listed in italics have been eliminated from the competition for a second-round bye.

In order to get the first round finished before Thanksgiving, we'll be doubling up this week, with two polls released each day, from Monday through Wednesday. Polls will remain "sticky" a little longer than usual in order to allow more opportunities to vote during a time when forum visits may be less frequent.

Today polls 1.25 and 1.26 were posted. These are the final polls for the first round. We've now seen all of the covers, a total of 275 this year, with 103 from the Daily News, 95 from Newsday, and 77 from the New York Post. There are ten polls still open for voting. Barring any need for tiebreaker polls, we should have all 26 winners established by November 30, and the second round would likely begin on December 1.

Winning covers are ranked by the percentage of votes that they receive. The top six covers will receive a second-round bye.

Here are the current standings:

1. IT'S A MIRACLE! (New York Daily News)
2. BLAST FROM THE PAST! (New York Daily News)
3. PETE TAKES 'EM HOME (New York Daily News)
4. ACE BANDAGE (New York Daily News)
5. LATE SHOW (New York Post)
6. LET'S DO LAUNCH! (New York Daily News)

7. GLAD MAX (Newsday)
8. STAR POWERED (New York Post)
9. NICK AT NIGHT (Newsday)
10. RALLY RAT! (New York Daily News)
11. BABY HOLD ON! (New York Daily News)
12. A NINTH TO REMEMBER (Newsday)
13. MOOD SWING (Newsday)
14. COLD SNAP! (Newsday)
15. THIS MAY HURT A BIT (New York Daily News)
16. MAXWELL'S SMART (New York Daily News)


Covers listed in italics have been eliminated from the competition for a second-round bye.


Number of covers, by year:

Year	Daily News	New York Post	Newsday	Total Number of Covers
2015	135	124	110	369
2016	150	117	114	381
2017	83	58	67	208
2018	114	84	81	279
2019	114	111	93	318
2020	72	83	49	204
2021	104	70	92	266
2022	103	77	95	275

TCD runs a tight, well-oiled vessel!

Lotsa fun so far, and thanks.

What most of these back pages have looked like:

STRAINED IF
CLEVER PUN
Tortured explanation of play on words
added on assumption readers are dense

Twenty-four of the 275 covers this year included the word MAX in the headline. (That's 8.73 percent.) As promised a week or so ago, now that we've seen all of the covers in the competition, it's time to present the GALLERY OF MAX:

All first-round polls have now closed, and we have 26 covers remaining. They have been ranked based on their vote percentage in the first round. The top six (listed in bold) will receive a bye in the second round, which will begin tomorrow.

Our list of winners includes eighteen from the Daily News, six from Newsday, and two from the New York Post.

1 IT'S A MIRACLE! (New York Daily News)
2 CATCH OF de YEAR! (New York Daily News)
3 BLAST FROM THE PAST! (New York Daily News)
4 BATY GOES BATTY! (New York Daily News)
5 PETE TAKES 'EM HOME (New York Daily News)
6 HELLO, ATLANTA! (New York Daily News)
7 BACH IN THE NY GROOVE! (New York Daily News)
8 ACE BANDAGE (New York Daily News)
9 MISERY (Newsday)
10 LATE SHOW (New York Post)
11 GLAD MAX (Newsday)
12 LET'S DO LAUNCH! (New York Daily News)
13 FALLING FLAT (New York Daily News)
14 STAR POWERED (New York Post)
15 NICK AT NIGHT (Newsday)
16 GOOD OLD TIMES (New York Daily News)
17 RALLY RAT! (New York Daily News)
18 BABY HOLD ON! (New York Daily News)
19 HOW NUTS IS THAT! (New York Daily News)
20 A NINTH TO REMEMBER (Newsday)
21 MOOD SWING (Newsday)
22 CITI OF LIGHT (New York Daily News)
23 COLD SNAP! (Newsday)
24 THIS MAY HURT A BIT (New York Daily News)
25 FRANCISCO TREAT (New York Daily News)
26 MAXWELL'S SMART (New York Daily News)

I don't get the love for Hello, Atlanta!... what am I missing?

Fie on byes!

For all the "de" and "MAX" covers only one of each made the second round (and the "de" was superfluous to he cover").
Six covers did not feature active players: 2 of CitiField, 2 of Mr. Mets, 1 of Doc, and 1 of Gil.

First-Round Wins

Year	Daily News	New York Post	Newsday	Total
2015	13	12	7	32
2016	17	7	8	32
2017	6	4	6	16
2018	14	2	6	22
2019	15	2	8	25
2020	6	7	3	16
2021	12	1	11	24
2022	18	2	6	26

All second-round polls have now been posted, and we're waiting for the last few to close. At that point, our Sweet Sixteen will have been established. We'll then take a hiatus over Christmas and begin the third round on or around January 1.

The second round is now complete, and the Tabloid Cover Derby will take a holiday hiatus, with voting resuming in early January.

The Daily News holds a commanding position, with twelve of the remaining sixteen covers, the highest total ever for a single publication at this stage of the competition.

Year	Daily News	New York Post	Newsday	Total
2015	5	8	3	16
2016	9	2	5	16
2017	6	4	6	16
2018	10	2	4	16
2019	10	1	5	16
2020	6	7	3	16
2021	6	1	9	16
2022	12	1	3	16

Round Three, beginning on or around January 1, will feature the following matchups:

ACE BANDAGE (Daily News) vs MISERY (Newsday)
BACH IN THE NY GROOVE! (Daily News) vs LATE SHOW (New York Post)
HELLO, ATLANTA! (Daily News) vs CITI OF LIGHT (Daily News)
PETE TAKES 'EM HOME (Daily News) vs MOOD SWING (Newsday)
BATY GOES BATTY! (Daily News) vs A NINTH TO REMEMBER (Newsday)
BLAST FROM THE PAST! (Daily News) vs HOW NUTS IS THAT! (Daily News)
CATCH OF de YEAR! (Daily News) vs BABY HOLD ON! (Daily News)
IT'S A MIRACLE! (Daily News) vs RALLY RAT! (Daily News)

Are cameras allowed at the Derby HQ Holiday Party?

No, but you're allowed to bring your favorite courtroom artist.

Ugh... my two favorites, Catch and 'Bach, are in the same corner of the bracket.

We'll be starting up again on Sunday, January 1, with the third round.

Please be sure to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep the night before so you can be properly prepared. On the morning of January 1, please consume no solid foods. You may have coffee or tea with no milk, as well as Jell-O or clear chicken broth.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ↑Wed Dec 28, 2022 11:11 am We'll be starting up again on Sunday, January 1, with the third round.

Please be sure to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep the night before so you can be properly prepared. On the morning of January 1, please consume no solid foods. You may have coffee or tea with no milk, as well as Jell-O or clear chicken broth.

Are we voting or having a colonoscopy?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ↑Wed Dec 28, 2022 11:11 amOn the morning of January 1, please consume no solid foods. You may have coffee or tea with no milk...

Is coffee with spiced rum kosher, or should we wait until after voting?

bmfc1 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 28, 2022 11:19 am Are we voting or having a colonoscopy?

Is there a difference?

All third round polls have now been posted. Two of them have been completed, and as noted in the 3.02 thread, the New York Post has been eliminated from the competition. The Daily News retains its commanding position; they may have as many as seven of the covers that advance to the Elite Eight.

Voting for the fourth round will begin next week.

Among Newsday covers, MISERY no longer has any company. With today's elimination of A NINTH TO REMEMBER, following yesterday's elimination of MOOD SWING, the cover featuring the anguished photo of Francisco Lindor in an inverted V posture is Newsday's last hope for a fourth consecutive championship. There are still three polls open from the third round, but they all feature clashes between Daily News covers. Our Elite Eight, therefore, will consist of seven Daily News covers and one from Newsday, an unprecedented imbalance.