In an absolute stunner, Nick Wright – who we rated as a 16-seed – has been crowned the most annoying person in sports media for 2019. Wright somehow took down ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith in the championship round to make it happen.
Wright, who clearly has a lot more detractors than we realized, took down Jim Rome, Mel Kiper, Deadspin, Clay Travis, Colin Cowherd and Smith to win it all. He certainly earned the victory.
This year’s bracket saw nearly 350,000 votes across all the rounds. The Final Four wound up being Smith, Wright, Cowherd and Skip Bayless.
Here’s a look at the final bracket. Obviously, Wright has earned himself the overall 1-seed a year from now:
While we’re surprised, others are not. Some were calling it from the start.
Nick Wright about to be the Cinderella of this bracket
— Mike Lombard (@MichaelLarry85) March 18, 2019
Nick Wright is the strongest 16 seed in the history of tournaments. Would put UMBC to shame.
— Pete Za (@squidburgers) March 18, 2019
Nick Wright as a 16 is balderdash
— Brendan Mulligan (@Mulliganbrendan) March 18, 2019
Previous winners include Smith and Jemele Hill, who we took out of the bracket this year since she’s moved on from sports media. It’s an elite club.
You can view the results for the championship here, the Final Four here, the Elite Eight here, the Sweet 16 here, the Second Round here and the First Round here.
Stay tuned next March for the 2020 edition. Thanks for voting!