Second round of voting under way

After six topsy-turvy days of voting, we are now one step closer to determining one of today's most important issues: Who has the best name in all of Minor League Baseball?

Half of the initial field of 64 competitors has been eliminated, including a No. 1 seed and a pair of No. 2 seeds. In fact, the underdog emerged victorious in 17 of the 32 first-round matchups. Nothing can be taken for granted.

Round two of the voting is underway, and will continue through 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 27th. This all-important round of the democratic process will determine who will make it to the Sweet 16.

But enough talk about the future. Let us now take a moment to analyze the first-round results.

Upsets, Upsets, Upsets: Ernie Banks, we hardly knew ye. The 21-year-old Marlins prospect earned a No. 1 seed in the Natty Nattress bracket based on the fact that he shares a name with the most popular Chicago Cub slugger of all time. Yet, he went down in defeat to No. 16 seed Gonzalo Gonzalez (who won by a mere dozen votes). The No. 2 seed in the Natty Nattress bracket also was defeated, as Given Kutz overcame Rocky Cherry. Finally, over in the Razor Shines bracket, No. 15 Devin Drag took home an easy win over No. 2 Jetsy Extrano. Who'd have thunk it?

And More Upsets: No. 13 Jeremiah Piepkorn bested No. 4 Darling Read (Farmer Works Bracket). ... No. 13 Brett Butts edged No. 4 Mark Hamburger (Razor Shines Bracket). ... No. 12 Cal Stanke defeated No. 5 Mayobanex Acosta (Farmer Works Bracket). ... No. 12 Dusty Napoleon trounced No. 5 Judd Songster.

Revolution #9: All four No. 9 seeds in the tournament (Zelous Wheeler, Noochie Varner, Smelin Perez and Houston Summers) advanced over their No. 8-seed counterparts.

Destined For A Repeat? In last year's inaugural Minors Moniker Madness tournament, Houston Summers defeated Will Startup in the final round. The same matchup could happen again in 2008. Summers, competing out of the Razor Shines bracket, garnered the third most first-round votes, and handily defeated Sundrendy Windster.

Startup, meanwhile, earned more votes than any other competitor. His victory over Jimmy James was hardly a blowout, however, as James tallied the contest's second-largest vote total. The Startup-James battle nearly netted more votes than the rest of the Icicle Reeder Bracket combined.

Here's a bracket-by-bracket look at the first-round results:

Icicle Reeder Bracket

BIGGEST BLOWOUT: No. 3 Winter Polo (85%) over No. 14 Adam Parliament (15%)

CLOSEST MATCHUP: No. 10 Will Startup (54%) over No. 7 Jimmy James (46%)

KEY SECOND-ROUND MATCHUPS: Polo will have a hard time obtaining another blowout victory, as his next opponent is Startup. Meanwhile, No. 4 Brooks Dunn vs. No. 5 Rocky Roquet is sure to be a close battle.

Farmer Works Bracket

BIGGEST BLOWOUT: No. 1 Rowdy Hardy (69%) over No. 16 Tuffy Gosewich (31%)

CLOSEST MATCHUP: No. 10 Mumba Rivera (51%) over No. 7 Jair Jurrjens (49%)

KEY SECOND-ROUND MATCHUPS: Two of last year's Elite Eight competitors go head-to-head, as Hardy takes on No. 9 Noochie Varner. A pair of underdogs clash in No. 12 Cal Stanke and No. 13 Jeremiah Piepkorn.

Natty Nattress Bracket

BIGGEST BLOWOUT: No. 12 Dusty Napoleon (81%) over No. 5 Judd Songster (19%)

CLOSEST MATCHUP: No. 16 Gonzalo Gonzalez (51%) over No. 1 Ernie Banks (49%)

KEY SECOND-ROUND MATCHUPS: Gonzalez seeks to continue his Cinderella story against No. 9 Smelin Perez, while Napoleon looks to keep the momentum going against No. 4 Woods Fines.

Razor Shines Bracket

BIGGEST BLOWOUT: No. 9 Houston Summers (67%) over No. 8 Sundrendy Windster (33%)

CLOSEST MATCHUP: No. 13 Brett Butts (51%) over No. 4 Mark Hamburger (49%)

KEY SECOND-ROUND MATCHUPS: Reigning-champion Summers goes up against No. 1 Cirilo Cumberbatch; No. 10 Tobi Stoner meets No. 15 Devin Drag.