2023 TABLOID COVER DERBY: YEAR NINE

[Benjamin Grimm]

Today's poll is the final poll of the first round. We have now seen all of the covers for this year's tournament. There were 222 covers this time around, with 81 from Newsday, 77 from the Daily News, and 64 from the New York Post. This is the first year that Newsday has submitted the most covers; the Post had the most submissions in 2020, but every other year it's been the Daily News.

We'll now wait for the seven polls that are still in progress to close, and then we'll start the second round on December 4.

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
2023	77	64	81	222

[Benjamin Grimm]

The final poll of the first round has closed, and we are down to 22 remaining contenders. The top ten ranked covers (based on percentage of votes received) will get a bye and will advance directly to the third round. The remaining twelve covers will compete in six head-to-head rounds starting on Monday, December 4.

1 STOP THE MUSIC (Daily News)
2 FUNDING NIMMO (Newsday)
3 PUT-EM IN THE BOOKS (Daily News)
4 WOETOWN (Newsday)
5 EVERYTHING MUST GO SALE (Newsday)
6 THIS MUCH! (Newsday)
7 REDEMPTION (Newsday)
8 FARM AID (Newsday)
9 THEY DON'T GOT IT (Daily News)
10 THE FRIENDLY "GHOST" (Daily News)

11 REGIFTED! (Daily News)
12 FORCE OF JULY (New York Post)
13 BUCK STOPS HERE (Newsday)
14 DIDDLY SQUAT! (Daily News)
15 RE-PETE OFFENSE (Newsday)
16 MEET THE Mess (New York Post)
17 CLUELESS (Newsday)
18 IT COULD BE YOU! (Daily News)
19 LIKE WE NEVER MET (Daily News)
20 BREAKING OPEN (Daily News)
21 HOUSE OF HORRORS (Newsday)
22 COOKIE MONSTERS (Daily News)


December 4: REGIFTED (Daily News) vs COOKIE MONSTERS (Daily News)
December 5: FORCE OF JULY (New York Post) vs HOUSE OF HORRORS (Newsday)
December 6: BUCK STOPS HERE (Newsday) vs BREAKING OPEN (Daily News)
December 11: DIDDLY SQUAT (Daily News) vs LIKE WE NEVER MET (Daily News)
December 12: RE-PETE OFFENSE (Newsday) vs IT COULD BE YOU! (Daily News)
December 13: MEET THE Mess (New York Post) vs CLUELESS (Newsday)



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
2023	10	2	10	22
Totals	111	39	65	215

[bmfc1]

One more sleep until the TCD resumes!

[Benjamin Grimm]

We've now seen the first three polls of the second round, which will have a total of six. We'll take a break now, and the remaining three polls from this round will be presented next week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

That will be followed by a holiday break, and third-round voting will begin in January.

[whippoorwill]

Is it me or are this year’s covers just bad?

[Benjamin Grimm]

We've now seen all of the polls for the second round. Voting will wrap up next week and we'll have established our Sweet Sixteen. The Tabloid Cover Derby will take a break for the holidays and third-round voting will begin in early January.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The second round of this year's Tabloid Cover Derby is now "in the books" and our Sweet Sixteen has been established. Newsday currently has the advantage, with nine remaining covers. The Daily News has six and the Post, as in most years, trails the pack. Alexander Hamilton's paper has only one cover still in the running.

We'll now take a holiday hiatus, with third round voting beginning early in January.

Round 3.01 THEY DON'T GOT IT (Daily News) vs FARM AID (Newsday)
Round 3.02 THE FRIENDLY "GHOST" (Daily News) vs REDEMPTION (Newsday)
Round 3.03 COOKIE MONSTERS (Daily News) vs THIS MUCH! (Newsday)
Round 3.04 FORCE OF JULY (New York Post) vs EVERYTHING MUST GO SALE (Newsday)
Round 3.05 BUCK STOPS HERE (Newsday) vs WOETOWN (Newsday)
Round 3.06 DIDDLY SQUAT! (Daily News) vs PUT 'EM IN THE BOOKS! (Daily News)
Round 3.07 RE-PETE OFFENSE (Newsday) vs FUNDING NIMMO (Newsday)
Round 3.08 CLUELESS (Newsday) vs STOP THE MUSIC (Daily News)


SWEET SIXTEEN

Year	Daily News	New York Post	Newsday
2015	5	8	3
2016	9	2	5
2017	6	4	6
2018	10	2	4
2019	10	1	5
2020	6	7	3
2021	6	1	9
2022	12	1	3
2023	6	1	9
Totals	70	27	47

[Centerfield]

I usually don't like those gimmicky covers, but I can see myself getting behind "Everything Must Go" the rest of the way.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Tabloid Cover Derby will resume on Monday! Be there, or be elsewhere!

[Benjamin Grimm]

We're going to take a little break now. The third round will resume for its second half on Monday, January 8.

[bmfc1]

Too many breaks! What is going on at TCD HQ during these breaks? Deep-cleans? Orgies?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yes, but not in that order.

The breaks are because there's less traffic here on the weekends.

[bmfc1]

Yes, but not in that order.

That makes sense.

[whippoorwill]

Yes, but not in that order.

Lol

[Benjamin Grimm]

We've now seen all eight polls from the third round. Once these polls close, next week, we'll be down to eight remaining covers. Voting for the fourth round, which will establish our Final Four, will begin the following week, on January 22.

Meanwhile, we have two active polls that are currently deadlocked. Anyone who hasn't voted in on or both of these polls is invited to do so:

• 2023 Tabloid Cover Derby Round 3.06 DIDDLY SQUAT! vs PUT 'EM IN THE BOOKS!

• 2023 Tabloid Cover Derby Round 3.07 RE-PETE OFFENSE vs FUNDING NIMMO

[Benjamin Grimm]

We have now finished the third round of this year's Tabloid Cover Derby. Eight covers remain: Four from Newsday, three from the Daily News, and one from the New York Post. We're evenly split among "good news" covers (FORCE OF JULY, REDEMPTION, RE-PETE OFFENSE and THIS MUCH!) and "bad news" covers: (DIDDLY SQUAT!, STOP THE MUSIC, THEY DON'T GOT IT, and WOETOWN).

Voting for the fourth round, in which we'll establish our Final Four, will begin on Monday, January 22.

Round 4.01 FORCE OF JULY vs WOETOWN
Round 4.02 DIDDLY SQUAT! vs THIS MUCH!
Round 4.03 RE-PETE OFFENSE vs REDEMPTION
Round 4.04 THEY DON'T GOT IT vs STOP THE MUSIC



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
Totals	37	11	24

[Benjamin Grimm]

All polls from the fourth round are now open for voting. By this time next week, we will have established our Final Four.

Fifth-round voting, our semi-finals, will commence on Monday, February 5.

[Benjamin Grimm]

We have our Final Four! This is the first year that the Daily News has fewer than two remaining covers at this stage of the competition. The New York Post returns to the Final Four for the first time since 2020. Newsday holds the current advantage, with two covers, but they'll be facing off against each other, guaranteeing that the final battle will be between Newsday and either the News or the Post. Although Newsday has won the last four Derbies, following four straight wins from the News, there has never been a final round that didn't feature at least one Daily News cover. Will that streak end this year? We'll soon find out!

Voting for both polls in our semi-final round will start on Monday, February 5.

Round 5.01 REDEMPTION vs THIS MUCH!
Round 5.02 FORCE OF JULY vs THEY DON'T GOT IT


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
Totals	19	6	11

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Super Bowl is over, and now America's attention turns to an even more heralded event... the final round of the Tabloid Cover Derby! This year's final battle will, for the sixth consecutive year, be a faceoff between a Daily News cover (THEY DON'T GOT IT) and a cover from Newsday (REDEMPTION). Tabloid Cover Derby I, from 2015, featured two Daily News covers in the final round. TCDs II and III, in 2016 and 2017, ended with the Daily News defeating the New York Post. The Daily News was victorious over Newsday in TCD IV in 2018, but Newsday then topped the News in TCD V, VI, VII, and VII (2019 through 2022).

Enough history lessons! The Big Event is tomorrow! THEY DON'T GOT IT vs REDEMPTION! A trip to Stockholm and tabloid cover immortality is on the line! Don't dare miss it!

[kcmets]

I think I forgot to vote, I also think those are the two I woulda went with....