The votes are in from all but one of the pairings in the hot blogger bracket hosted by the Ladies . . . and the results are simply brutal.

Two No. 1 seeds have gone down to defeat. None of the No. 2 seeds remain. A couple of upsets were scored by underdogs who garnered upwards of 83 per cent of the vote. Also, I lost.

In my second-round matchup with Run Up the Score, I garnered 457 of the 984 votes cast for a respectable 46.4 per cent showing. This, however, was insufficient to overcome the 527 ballots (53.6%) garnered by my 19th-seeded opponent.

It was, as they say, an honor just to be nominated. I might not have made it to the Final Four, but at least I lasted long enough to reach the Final 44. I extend my congratulations to Run Up the Score and I wish him well in the third round. I also would encourage all of my readers to check out his weblog from time to time.

(As for the phone call to EDSBS Radio on Tuesday night . . . um . . . that wasn't me. That was some guy pretending to be me. Yeah, that's the ticket. I'm going to find out who that was, for real. In fact, I'm going to make a deal with O.J. Simpson; if he helps me track down the guy who called in to Orson's and Peter's show pretending to be me, I'll help him find the real killers.)

I want to thank everyone who voted for me. I particularly want to thank Holly for her endorsement. A special commendation goes to PSUgirl, who understands the old saying that, when life deals you lemons (i.e., a computer that keeps crashing), you should make lemonade (e.g., by voting numerous times using rotating IP addresses).

Since the Ladies . . . made it clear from the outset that electoral shenanigans not only were legal, they were encouraged, I tip my cap to PSUgirl for her ingenuity and, like Robert Shaw in "The Sting," I certainly can't criticize the opposition for cheating better than me. Be sure to check out PSUgirl's site, as well . . . and, if need be, chip in to help her get a new computer at least in time for next year's hot blogger bracket.

I'll be back this evening to offer a bit of bracketology on the third round of the tournament, which I hope you will continue to follow despite my absence from the field. I am grateful to the Ladies . . . for including me in the mix, as it has been a great deal of fun, and, if I had to get bounced, well, hey, at least I was kicked to the curb in the same round as Peter Bean, Orson Swindle, and Will Leitch, so I'm in pretty good company in the losers' lounge.

Go 'Dawgs!