Minor-League Baseball Logo "Tourney" at CNBC.com

[Brian in Boston]

First and foremost, #4 Williamsport Crosscutters downed #13 Charleston Riverdogs in a run-off, so the 'Cutters advance in the tourney.

As for the Day 8 results from CNBC's Minor League Baseball Logo Contest...

#9 Grand Prairie AirHogs (58%) defeated #1 Joliet Jackhammers (42%)

#13 Peoria Chiefs (71%) defeated #5 Albuquerque Isotopes (29%)

#3 Southern Illinois Miners (64%) defeated #11 Carolina Mudcats (36%)

#2 West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (53%) defeated #10 Anderson Joes (47%)

The only result I'd quibble with is in the West Tenn-Anderson match-up... and that has nothing to do with the quality of West Tenn's logo. I simply prefer the classic simplicity of the Anderson Joes' mark.

Early results from Day 9 voting...

#16 Trenton Thunder (63%) lead #8 Salem Avalanche (37%)

#4 Savannah Sand Gnats (55%) lead #12 Wichita Wingnuts (45%)

#3 Midland RockHounds (51%) lead #6 Dayton Dragons (49%)

#2 Jamestown Jammers (51%) lead #7 Orange County Flyers (49%)

Please, if there's a "Higher Power" in the world of sports branding, let Him/Her/It smite the Jammers in this round.

[rams80]

Stupid fire dog loving voters.

[winters in buffalo]

Dammit... the Jammers are coasting to another win. Will somebody please stop the insanity?

[Brian in Boston]

Day Nine of CNBC's Minor League Baseball Logo Contest produced another (mind-boggling) victory for the Jamestown Jammers. The results were as follows.

#16 Trenton Thunder (62%) defeated #8 Salem Avalanche (38%)

#13 Wichita Wingnuts (51%) defeated #4 Savannah Sand Gnats (49%)

#6 Dayton Dragons (59%) defeated #3 Midland RockHounds (41%)

#2 Jamestown Jammers (60%) defeated #7 Orange County Flyers (40%) - I'm flabbergasted. Ridiculous... just ridiculous.

Early Day 10 results:

#1 Modesto Nuts (57%) lead #8 Clearwater Threshers (43%)

#4 Williamsport Crosscutters (51%) lead #12 Quad Cities River Bandits (49%)

#14 Lehigh Valley IronPigs (64%) lead #6 Gary Southshore RailCats (36%)

#7 Toledo Mud Hens (64%) lead #2 Clinton Lumberkings (36%)

[BallWonk]

After two weeks, I have confirmed the pattern of the voting: In each round, I vote for the obviously superior contestant in each contest. At the time I vote, my picks are all in the lead. When voting closes, my picks have all been roundly defeated.

Which is to say, this is exactly like real voting, so these results are probably pretty good measurements of popular opinion.

[Brian in Boston]

After two weeks, I have confirmed the pattern of the voting: In each round, I vote for the obviously superior contestant in each contest. At the time I vote, my picks are all in the lead. When voting closes, my picks have all been roundly defeated.

Which is to say, this is exactly like real voting, so these results are probably pretty good measurements of popular opinion.

In the 44 match-ups to date, the logo that I've felt was superior has actually come-out on top in the voting 23 times. By and large, my favorites have led in the early balloting most of the time... only to be bested at the close of voting.

[winters in buffalo]

After two weeks, I have confirmed the pattern of the voting: In each round, I vote for the obviously superior contestant in each contest. At the time I vote, my picks are all in the lead. When voting closes, my picks have all been roundly defeated.

Which is to say, this is exactly like real voting, so these results are probably pretty good measurements of popular opinion.

In the 44 match-ups to date, the logo that I've felt was superior has actually come-out on top in the voting 23 times. By and large, my favorites have led in the early balloting most of the time... only to be bested at the close of voting.

I must be voting like you guys, only later. Each time, I've picked what I think is the better logo, and half the time I'm stunned to see that what I think is vastly superior is trailing by as much as 8 or 10%.

I'm still bitter about Burlington losing.

[Brian in Boston]

Well, CNBC's Minor League Logo Contest is down to the "Sweet Sixteen"... without one of the - if not THE - finest logos in sports.

Two of Friday's four match-ups went into "overtime", so to speak. Apparently, at the end of the regulation voting period, both the #4 Williamsport Crosscutters-vs.-#12 Quad Cities River Bandits and #2 Clinton Lumberkings-vs.-# 7 Toledo Mud Hens match-ups were knotted at 50% per candidate. So, a special run-off vote was held today. The final results from Day Ten Voting were (run-off totals in bold)...

#1 Modesto Nuts (57%) defeated #8 Clearwater Threshers (43%)

#12 Quad Cities River Bandits (54%) defeated # 4 Williamsport Crosscutters (46%)

#2 Clinton Lumberkings (65%) defeated #7 Toledo Mud Hens (35%)

#14 Lehigh Valley IronPigs (55%) defeated #6 Gary Southshore RailCats (45%)

That's right. The Toledo Mud Hens' phenomenal logo has been shown the door... by the Clinton Lumberjacks' logo, no less. Unbelievable!

The resulting "Sweet Sixteen" match-ups are...

#1 Modesto vs. #12 Quad Cities

#2 Clinton vs. #4 Lehigh Valley

#12 Wichita vs. #16 Trenton

# 2 Jamestown vs. #6 Dayton

Winners advance to the "Elite Eight".

As for early results from Day Eleven voting:

#12 Augusta GreenJackets (58%) lead #16 Casper Ghosts (42%)

#2 Columbus Catfish (64%) lead #3 Aiken Foxhounds (36%)

#9 Grand Prairie AirHogs (55%) lead #13 Peoria Chiefs (45%)

#3 Southern Illinois Miners (64%) lead #2 West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (36%)

Winners advance to the "Elite Eight".

[RyanB06]

Thank God the Crosscutters were bounced. Their logo lasted longer than it should have, IMO.

[BallWonk]

Thank God the Crosscutters were bounced. Their logo lasted longer than it should have, IMO.

I kind of agree, except so far I've actually preferred the Crosscutters logo to just about everything that it's been paired with. Which only shows the weakness of the original pool, not the strength of the Crosscutters. It's a B-plus logo in my book, but MiLB has plenty of A's and A-minuses.

[Brian in Boston]

Half of CNBC's Minor League Logo Contest "Elite Eight" is set.

#12 Augusta GreenJackets (53%) beat #16 Casper Ghosts (47%)

#2 Columbus Catfish (61%) beat #3 Aiken Foxhounds (39%)

#9 Grand Prairie AirHogs (51%) beat #13 Peoria Chiefs (49%)

#3 Southern Illinois Miners (66%) beat #2 West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (34%)

As for Day Twelve voting, the early returns are:

#12 Wichita Wingnuts (51%) lead #16 Trenton Thunder (49%)

#6 Dayton Dragons (55%) lead #2 Jamestown Jammers (45%)

#12 Quad Cities River Bandits (61%) lead #1 Modesto Nuts (39%) - Say it isn't so! Modesto has one of my favorite logos!

#14 Lehigh Valley IronPigs (52%) lead #2 Clinton Lumberkings (48%)

[winters in buffalo]

Aw, come on, people! There's no way the Wingnuts' logo is better than the Thunder.

SAVE THE THUNDER... VOTE NOW!

http://www.cnbc.com/id/23791565

[Brian in Boston]

I hate to break it to you, WiB... the vastly superior Trenton Thunder were upset yesterday. They weren't the only ones.

The results of Day Twelve voting in CNBC's Minor League Logo Contest:

#12 Wichita Wingnuts (54%) defeated #16 Trenton Thunder (46%) - As alluded to above, a significant upset. The Thunder's logo is obviously superior.

#6 Dayton Dragons (53%) defeated #2 Jamestown Jammers (47%) - At last... the Jammers' hideous logo has been bounced from the tourney. Talk about a bracket-buster.

#12 Quad Cities River Bandits (57%) defeated #1 Modesto Nuts (43%) - Another upset. Don't get me wrong... I find Quad Cities' logo to be one of the best in minor-league baseball. That said, it's not better than Modesto's sublimely playful mark. Hell... it can be argued that Modesto's logo is no worse than the second-best in minor-league baseball behind that of the Toledo Mud Hens. Then again, we saw what happened to Toledo in this contest.

#2 Clinton Lumberjacks (57%) defeated #14 Lehigh Valley IronPigs (43%) - Now, I'm no fan of the IronPigs' name and I feel that their logo could be improved upon. That said, they shouldn't have lost to the Clinton Lumberkings. Frankly, I'm of a mind that the Lumberkings shouldn't have even made the Field of 64.

As for the early results in today's balloting, with two slots in the "Final Four" at stake:

#2 Columbus Catfish (53%) lead #12 Augusta GreenJackets (47%)

#9 Grand Prairie AirHogs (52%) lead #3 Southern Illinois Miners (48%)

[winters in buffalo]

Tasteless whores!

[Brian in Boston]

Two slots in the "Final Four" of CNBC's Minor League Logo Contest have been claimed... and I would personally rank both as upsets.

#12 Augusta GreenJackets (51%) defeated #2 Columbus Catfish (49%) - According to Darren Rovell's tracking of the votes, the GreenJackets came from eight points behind in the final 1 hour and 4 minutes of balloting. My thoughts on the outcome of this match-up are similar to those I expressed about yesterday's Quad Cities-Modesto clash: while I'm more than willing to admit that Augusta's logo is one of the best in minor-league baseball (indeed, one of my personal favorites), it strikes me that the Columbus Catfish mark is just that much better. In fact, the Catfish logo would have been one of my #1 seeds.

#3 Southern Illinois Miners (60%) defeated #9 Grand Prairie AirHogs (40%) - I find this outcome exponentially more puzzling. Aside from the fact that they faced weak competition in the early-going of the contest (the miserable Pensacola Pelicans' logo and the Carolina Mudcats' dated mark), there's no way that Southern Illinois should have advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen". It's not a logo that was worthy of a #3 seed. In fact, they shouldn't have made the Field of 64. There are just so many things about the Southern Illinois logo that rub me the wrong way: the tortured pose of the miner's batting stance... the balloon-like musculature of his arms... the "rubbery" bend to the pick-axe/bat... the shading and highlighting. I mean, if you want to see how a "cartoony" miner can be done right, look no further than the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx logo... a mark that Southern Illinois somehow bested in order to advance to this round.

By comparison, Grand Prairie's logo grew on me throughout this competition. While I opted for the Durham Bulls' classic logo in the first round, I could understand why some fans would vote for Grand Prairie. As I said at the time, the AirHogs' logo is a "clean, well-designed mark with just a hint of the 'cute' factor". That has appeal to people. For instance, I certainly think that Grand Prairie adopted a better porcine mascot than the Lehigh Valley IronPigs did. After the upset victory over Durham, Grand Prairie deserved to best Joliet and Peoria in subsequent rounds. They certainly deserved to best Southern Illinois in this match-up.

[BallWonk]

Two slots in the "Final Four" of CNBC's Minor League Logo Contest have been claimed... and I would personally rank both as upsets.

#12 Augusta GreenJackets (51%) defeated #2 Columbus Catfish (49%) ... In fact, the Catfish logo would have been one of my #1 seeds.

#3 Southern Illinois Miners (60%) defeated #9 Grand Prairie AirHogs (40%)

Brian, you are a more generous observer than I. I like the Greenjackets logo just fine, but the Catfish logo might have been a #1 seed for me, too, whereas the Greenjackets were seeded appropriately at #12.

And I just don't see how the Southern Illinois logo even makes the cut into the tournament in the first place. It's a C or a C-minus logo at best.

This tourney has finally turned a corner for me: It's made me a fan of the Quad Cities River Bandits logo. I hope it pulls through against the cross-state abomination that is the Lumberjacks logo.

[Brian in Boston]

... the Greenjackets were seeded appropriately at #12.

We'll have to agree to disagree. While I likely overstated Augusta's appeal by claiming that the Catfish mark was "just that much better" than the GreenJackets' logo, I wouldn't seed Augusta as low as #12 in a 16-team bracket. IMHO, the logo is better than that.

As for the early returns in the other battles for "Final Four" berths...

#6 Dayton Dragons (54%) lead #12 Wichita Wingnuts (46%)

#2 Clinton Lumberkings (52%) lead #12 Quad Cities River Bandits (48%)

[MisterE]

Some upsets in this contest have not been because the general public prefers Logo A over Logo B, it's that the clubs that have pulled upsets won due to mass voting by their hometown fans.

For instance, last week I received an email from the Peoria Chiefs Marketing Director asking all Chiefs fans to vote the team's logo to a win over the Isotopes' logo. Chances are, the Isotopes probably would have won the poll if it was conducted without anyone who might be biased towards Peoria or Albuquerque.

Teams who had superior logos that were upset could have won if it wasn't for that their opponent had mass emailed everyone to vote for them no matter if they liked the logo or not.

[rams80]

Some upsets in this contest have not been because the general public prefers Logo A over Logo B, it's that the clubs that have pulled upsets won due to mass voting by their hometown fans. For instance, last week I received an email from the Peoria Chiefs Marketing Director asking all Chiefs fans to vote the team's logo to a win over the Isotopes' logo. Chances are, the Isotopes probably would have won the poll if it was conducted without anyone who might be biased towards Peoria or Albuquerque. Teams who had superior logos that were upset could have won if it wasn't for that their opponent had mass emailed everyone to vote for them no matter if they liked the logo or not.

Yeah...I noticed the local paper actually cared about the Chiefs' run.  I'm not sure what they would gain by "winning" though....

[Brian in Boston]

Well, two more clubs have joined Augusta and Southern Illinois in CNBC's "Minor-League Logo Contest". The results - pardon the expression - are not pretty. Take that as you will.

#12 Wichita Wingnuts (67%) defeated #6 Dayton Dragons (33%)

#2 Clinton Lumberkings (65%) defeated #12 Quad Cities River Bandits (35%)

One has to wonder just how much real work is getting done in the front-offices in Wichita and Clinton? After all, it is blatantly obvious that the Wingnut and Lumberking staffs have done nothing for the past two weeks besides repeatedly vote in this contest.

In the first semi-final match-up to be contested, early results are:

#3 Southern Illinois Miners (71%) lead #12 Augusta GreenJackets (29%)

My mind finds the possibility of a Southern Illinois Miners vs. Clinton Lumberkings/Wichita Wingnuts final too abhorent to comprehend.