Eight Easy Pieces

And then there were eight in City Paper's Philly Madness bracket.

S o the NCAA tournament is over, but we're just getting down to the end game of our Philly Madness bracket. It's the Elite 8. In an exciting fourth round, which saw more than 3,800 votes, Pierre Robert put a surprising hurting on founding father Ben Franklin (66 percent to 34 percent). Rocky (57) clobbered the Art Museum (43). Ryan Howard (59) took South Street (41) deep. Cheesesteaks (73) made a mess of Cecily Tynan (27). The Phillie Phanatic (63) rung the Liberty Bell (37). The Spectrum (67) outclassed the Trocadero (33). The Parkway (80) decked Stephen Starr restaurants (20). And the Mummers (56) withstood a solid effort from Citizen's Bank Park (44).

Pierre Robert vs. Rocky

Ryan Howard vs. Cheesesteaks

The Phillie Phanatic vs. the Spectrum

The Parkway vs. the Mummers

At the close of Round 3 voting Sunday, bracketologists Nick Norlen and Brian Howard hopped on Instant Messenger to analyze the results.

Brian Howard: So first things first: Nah-nah-nah-nah, nah-nah-nah-nah, hey hey hey, goodbye Ben.

Nick Norlen: I'm sure he would appreciate that. Wasn't even close.

Brian Howard: I knew Pierre was beloved, but the margin shocked me.

Nick Norlen: A lot of outcomes this round hovered around 60/40. I expect those margins to decrease next round. It's crunch time.

Brian Howard: Using the cross-tabulation feature of our polling software, we find that a majority of people who voted for Robert also voted for Rocky.

Nick Norlen: Uh-oh.

Nick Norlen: So the lovers of underdogs also love dog-loving DJs.

Brian Howard: And the number of people who voted for both Ryan Howard and cheesesteaks is even higher.

Nick Norlen: That's the matchup we've all been waiting for. Will Ryan Howard's mug on the cover of Philly Mag hurt him?

Brian Howard: The Philly Mag curse?

Nick Norlen: Will he get unlucky a la the SI-cover curse? Good thing Philly Mag saved their "the best cheesesteaks!" cover story for next month.

Brian Howard: If only "the best Mummers" cover were this month. I will admit that Citizen's Bank Park put up a noble fight.

Nick Norlen: Got our hopes up and lost in the end. That doesn't sound familiar at all. A Parkway victory against the Mummers would be the biggest upset of the tourney, in my opinion.

Brian Howard: I think the Parkway's run is over. Are you disappointed in the results of the Phanatic/Liberty Bell showdown? I know you were hoping for civic-mindedness to sort of step up.

Nick Norlen: I wasn't so much hoping as I just thought that it would. And now we have a matchup between a building in which none of our major teams play and a thing that drives a quad around messing with umpires.

Nick Norlen: Good job, Philly.

Brian Howard: I think the Phanatic can beat the Mummers. I'm not so sure about the Spectrum.

Nick Norlen: Well, he'll have an advantage in that he'll be playing their game, which is assorted nonsense in furry suits.

Brian Howard: It'd really be a battle for the soul of the city.

Nick Norlen: And no, Bon Jovi, we're not talking about you.

Brian Howard: So the Robert upset busts both of our predictions.

Nick Norlen: This hippie seems to have finals aspirations. If he makes it, he'll probably don Grateful Dead tie-dyes like Lithuania in the '92 Olympics. But somewhere, an unknown South Philadelphian is beating a piece of meat with a long-haired wig and a fake beard on it.

Brian Howard: Thanks for that image.

Brian Howard: So you had Liberty Bell going all the way.

Nick Norlen: Look, people, I just make the brackets.

Brian Howard: I wasn't, like, calling you out. I was just wondering how you see it shaking out now.

Brian Howard: (Although, really, man: Liberty Bell?)

Nick Norlen: Shuddup!

Nick Norlen: I see the winner coming out of Pierre/Rocky or Howard/cheesesteaks.

Nick Norlen: That said, the Mummers might have an easy path to the final.

Brian Howard: I think it's customary at this point to take a look back at some of the also-rans. To acknowledge the fighters who maybe made it out of the first round and who maybe didn't.

Brian Howard: Because, y'know, everyone's a winner here. Except for maybe Stephen A. Smith.

Brian Howard: Imagine a montage where we reflect on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's stirring upset of Shyamalan, or the way R5 Productions didn't have a shot against the Big Five, but they showed up to play.

Nick Norlen: South Street is probably bemoaning the fact it had to face powerhouse Howard.

Nick Norlen: Booing Santa Claus: Better luck next year when you appear as "Throwing Batteries."

Brian Howard: The Roots: You'll be back.

Brian Howard: Against The Hooters.

Nick Norlen: Or Boyz II Men.

Nick Norlen: Cecily Tynan, you should probably apologize for breaking Hurricane's arm during that matchup.

Brian Howard: We should note that Stephen Starr restaurants got absolutely manhandled by The Parkway.

Nick Norlen: Which, if you ask me, is this year's Cinderella.

Brian Howard: And sure, its run ends here. But man, good show, Parkway. Giving us all something to believe in.

Nick Norlen: Not so fast, BH. The Mummers haven't won yet. Don't let 'em strut on you, Parkway.

Elite 8 voting for Philly Madness is under way. Visit www.citypaper.net/phillymadness to play.