Hard Eights

Philly Madness Keeps On Rolling

The Philly Madness field has been halved and halved and halved again, and here we are down to one utterly unexpected Elite Eight. Take a look at the full bracket on p. 15. We've got a mayor versus a civic group. A restaurant versus a food market. An arts festival versus a library. And puppets versus a bike race. What the hell is going on here? Time once again for CP's self-made bracketologists to get on IM and break it down.

Patrick Rapa: Spiral Q taking on the Philly International Cycling Championship — that's a good old-fashioned street rumble.

Nick Norlen: Rocky V-style.

PR: Exactly.

NN: The question is: Which one's Tommy Gunn?

PR: Well, if I remember correctly, Tommy was a puppet for that Don King wannabe character, so ...

NN: Place your bets accordingly, people.

NN: Fringe against the Free Library. The outsiders against the institution. Will there be impromptu protest plays? Book burnings? Hasty collection of overdue fees? All three at once ending with a song and dance? And then librarians shushing everyone?

PR: I see the Fringe as the insurgency, funded by shady sources and sleeper cells in basements and back rooms all over town. And the other side might expect to be treated as librarianiberators. I don't think I'm making sense.

Vacation in Las Vegas, NV - 3.5 and 4 Star Hotels | Las Vegas, NV - 3.5 and 4 Star Hotels - 3 Days & 2 Nights - Friday or Saturday Check-in Only | Las Vegas, NV - 3.5 and 4 Star Hotels - 4 Days & 3 Nights - Sunday – Thursday Check-in Only | $19.99 for NEW Premium Take Home Teeth Whitening Treatment with LED light with Free Shipping ($50 Value) | Steel Arc Stand & Polyester Hammock Bed Set (Free Shipping) | A Murder-Mystery Dinner Show | 3 Days/2 Nights in an Executive Suite at New Moon Inn in Sacramento, CA | $10 for $20 in Lunch Fare and Dinner Fare at Ribit's BBQ (SoHo) | 16x20 Photo Canvas on 1.5" Gallery Wrap from Easy Canvas Prints - Free Shipping! | $8 for $20 toward 2 Tickets to American Victory Ship Mariners Museum

HALF OFF DEPOT

Why live life at full price?

NN: I was making Rocky references. You're making Iraqi references. It works.

NN: As for Chickie's and Pete's, and Reading Terminal Market, I have two words for you: Food. Fight.

PR: Adamantium chicken fingers against Delilah's mac 'n' seven-cheese bombs.

NN: Tasty chaos.

PR: Are we looking at a classist thing here? The 610-calling wooooo-shouting crowd against the pinkies-out, fancy-spice-using farmers marketers?

NN: Basically ... yes.

PR: I feel bad for Mayor Nutter. He's doing battle with an idea. It's like the War on Terror.

NN: And he's the last person left in Philly Madness. Does that say something?

PR: He's humanity's last hope.

NN: Like Will Smith in I Am Legend. And anti-casino activists are those CG zombies that don't like daylight.

PR: That seems like a fair comparison.

NN: I call 'em like I see 'em.

(pat@citypaper.net)

Go vote at citypaper.net/phillymadness.