2024 TABLOID COVER DERBY: YEAR TEN

[Benjamin Grimm]

The third round of the tenth Tabloid Cover Derby is now complete, and we are down to eight surviving covers. Our "Elite Eight" is more evenly distributed among the three tabloids than ever before, with three covers each from the Daily News and Newsday, and two from the New York Post. In our most lopsided year, 2022, the Daily News had seven of the eight, but the lone exception, Newsday's MISERY, held on to be the winner.

All three of Newsday's covers are from the postseason, and all of the remaining postseason covers are from Newsday. The aforementioned MISERY is the only postseason cover to ever win the TCD; 2015's YES-PEDES and 2016's CES BOOM BAH! were both from regular-season games.

Another fun fact: Four of the eight remaining covers feature players with their mouths wide open: ALONSOMG! (Pete Alonso), LUIS ARM STRONG (Luis Severino), HAIR FORCE WON! (Jesse Winker) and SUPERMANEA (Sean Manaea). If NO MERCY! had prevailed in its close race against CALIFORNIA DREAMIN', it would have been five of eight.

Fourth-round voting will begin tomorrow, January 21.

ELITE EIGHT

Year	Daily News	New York Post	Newsday
2015	4	4	0
2016	5	1	2
2017	3	1	4
2018	4	2	2
2019	4	0	4
2020	4	2	2
2021	3	0	5
2022	7	0	1
2023	3	1	4
2024	3	2	3
Totals	40	13	27

The matchups for the fourth round will be:

January 21: CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' (Newsday) vs NO SLEEP TILL THE BRONX (Daily News)
January 22: PICCADILLY CIRCUS (Daily News) vs HAIR FORCE WON! (New York Post)
January 23: LUIS ARM STRONG (New York Post) vs ALONSOMG (Newsday)
January 24: SUPERMANAEA (Newsday) vs THROW BOMBERS FROM THE TRAIN (Daily News)

[bmfc1]

2 of the 8 are from the same 2 game series (Mets @ NYY).

[Benjamin Grimm]

Fourth-round voting has now ended, and we have established our Final Four, which is a repeat of last year's alignment: Two covers from Newsday and one each from the Daily News and the Post. In 2023, it was the one Daily News cover, THEY DON'T GOT IT, which would go on to claim the title.

On Monday, February 3, we will post the two polls that will determine our finalists.

ALONSOMG (Newsday) vs HAIR FORCE WON! (New York Post)
SUPERMANAEA (Newsday) vs NO SLEEP TILL THE BRONX (Daily News)


FINAL FOUR

Year	Daily News	New York Post	Newsday
2015	3	1	0
2016	2	1	1
2017	2	1	1
2018	2	1	1
2019	2	0	2
2020	2	1	1
2021	2	0	2
2022	3	0	1
2023	1	1	2
2024	1	1	2
Totals	20	7	13

[bmfc1]

Lindor, the Mets best player last year, didn't make any of the final 4 covers.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Shoulda gotten more photogenic hair then

[Benjamin Grimm]

We have our finalists! Much to the dismay of a vocal minority, Newsday's ALONSOMG! has won a narrow victory over the Post's HAIR FORCE WON! Newsday also notched a victory in our other semifinal poll, with SUPERMANAEA edging the Daily News' NO SLEEP TILL THE BRONX by an even more narrow margin.

This marks the first time in our ten years of Tabloid Cover Derbies that the Daily News was not one of the finalists. It's also only the second time that we've had two finalists from the same publisher. In our inaugural TCD, the Daily News won both slots, with YES-PEDES earning the victory over CON4TO!

Though the final winner is yet to be determined, Newsday is assured the honor of being represented behind Maja's desk in Stockholm. This will be Newsday's fifth title, tying it with the Daily News.

Voting for the sixth and final round will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, February 11.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

All-Newsday final makes me want to hurl. They don't even get what a back cover is supposed to be

[kcmets]

This is an outrage! Preposterous, I tell ya...

[Centerfield]

Just went back through the thread. I can pick out 3-4 covers I like better than the finalists.

What can you do. That's TCD Suzyn...

[Benjamin Grimm]

I was a big fan of PICCADILLY CIRCUS, but it got eliminated a few rounds ago.