PCL1 Fresno Grizzlies

Fresno Famous on to Round 2

Published on March 22, 2016 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Fresno Grizzlies News Release


FRESNO, Calif. - Did you enjoy "The Madness" this past weekend? Some called it the most exciting opening round ever. And from what we heard, the basketball wasn't too bad either.

The 2016 "Fresno Famous" tournament, presented by The Fresno Bee and Fresno Grizzlies is on to the second round, as the original field of 64 has been trimmed to 32 (see attached bracket). Fan voting for round two will last until March 26, when the field will be reduced again to the "Sweet 16." The voting is taking place at GrizzPoll.com, links to vote can also be found at FresnoGrizzlies.com and fresnobee.com.

The tournament will culminate with the champion being announced on April 8. See attached bracket for current matchups and voting dates for each round.

This season, the Fresno Famous Champion will have a specialty game-worn jersey designed in their honor as a tribute. The Grizzlies, who have set social media ablaze the last four weeks with a litany of creative theme-night jerseys will also seek significant input from the winning celebrity in the design of their jersey. The team will then wear them on the field Friday, May 27 against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Fans will have the opportunity to bid on the game-worn threads in a silent auction during the game. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the winner's charitable cause of choice. Fans voting in the contest will also be entered to win two tickets to the game on May 27.

Among the first round highlights:

- In the all-canine matchup, Victor E III defeated Peeve the Dog, perhaps riding the "Red Wave" of the Fresno State men's basketball team winning the Mountain West Conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.

- In the spirit of the season, Paul George defeated Chris Herren in a match-up of former Bulldog basketball stars.

- In a clash of great pitchers, Hall-of-Famer Tom Seaver outlasted Milwaukee Brewers and former Fresno State fireballer Matt Garza.

- Nine-year-old Danay Ferguson, founder of Reading Heart, fresh off breaking the Guinness World Record for most donated books collected in a 24-hour period at Chukchansi Park on Saturday, also advanced to the round of 32.

- The Carr brothers swept the Watneys; Derek Carr garnered the most votes of any celebrity in the first round while dispatching PGA Golfer Nick Watney, while David Carr edged out MLB Network host and correspondent Heidi Watney to set up a second-round matchup with his brother.

- On the other side of the bracket, other decisive victories were delivered by Mayor Ashley Swearengin, Jerry Tarkanian, Stefani Booroojian and Kopi Sotiropulos, who should all be considered contenders as well going forward.

Anyone expecting civility out of the Carr brothers heading into their second round showdown only need to look as far as Twitter, where jabs were traded even before their head-to-head matchup became official. In tweets exchanged on March 14, David exclaimed "only thing that matters is that @derekcarrqb doesn't win," perhaps hoping he'd face Heidi Watney and not his brother in round two. Derek fired back with "not cool Dave...I'm a competitor...I want this thing bad (2x crying smiley face emoji)."

It's on!

*The Fresno Grizzlies apologize for any confusion regarding opening round winners in some of the closer contests. An internal glitch with the voting software mistakenly added votes to each matchup, where the results of certain matchups were listed incorrectly for a time following the first round. The issue has been resolved and the fan vote will continue to decide the contest until Fresno Famous concludes.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from March 22, 2016


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