{"id":130,"date":"2016-03-21T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T10:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/?p=130"},"modified":"2016-03-20T10:42:39","modified_gmt":"2016-03-20T14:42:39","slug":"feline-fighter-fury-2016mmm-catscandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/2016\/03\/21\/feline-fighter-fury-2016mmm-catscandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Feline fighter fury #2016MMM #catscandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Note: This post is about <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mammal_March_Madness\" target=\"_blank\">March Mammal Madness<\/a>. Check out <a href=\"http:\/\/mammalssuck.blogspot.com\/2016\/02\/mammal-march-madness-2016.html\" target=\"_blank\">this year&#8217;s tournament<\/a>\u00a0if you&#8217;re unfamiliar with it.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It started:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">alright alright alright! Welcome to Mammal March Madness 2016! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/2016MMM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#2016MMM<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ub2DuVZlbD\">https:\/\/t.co\/Ub2DuVZlbD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AlrightAlright?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AlrightAlright<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Aw9CFHcrWH\">pic.twitter.com\/Aw9CFHcrWH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Prof. Katie Hinde (@Mammals_Suck) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mammals_Suck\/status\/707015469300105216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 8, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>But is it really alright? Investigators have discovered a disturbing trend in March Mammal Madness that threatens to shake the foundations of this noble tournament. Supposedly, match outcomes are determined by the flip of a coin weighted by each mammal&#8217;s seed. But one intrepid follower noticed something awry:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Unless, of course, the mammal in question is a cat. We get hosed. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/catscandal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#catscandal<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/2016MMM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#2016MMM<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/r5OSjRtuSc\">https:\/\/t.co\/r5OSjRtuSc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Natick Bobcat (@NatickBobCat) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NatickBobCat\/status\/710806739344605185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 18, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Cat scandal indeed. Investigative research has discovered anti-cat bias that goes back to the very dawn of March Mammal Madness. Since the first tournament in 2013, cats have entered the tournament SIXTEEN times. And not one has\u00a0made it\u00a0even as far as\u00a0the Elite Trait.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Most perfect killing machines evolution has designed since the velociraptor and not one? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/scandal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#scandal<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/2016MMM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#2016MMM<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/margaretkosmala?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@margaretkosmala<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/c_n_anderson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@c_n_anderson<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Natick Bobcat (@NatickBobCat) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NatickBobCat\/status\/710659660609667073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 18, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Not one.<\/p>\n<p>And it&#8217;s not like the cats are low seeds that wouldn&#8217;t be expected to advance. In the first three tournaments, there were NINE feline\u00a0entries, with\u00a0an average initial seed of 3.9. Two of those were division first seeds (Tiger-2013 and Cath Palug-2015), one was a second seed (Caracal-2014), and two were third seeds (Lion-2013 and Greek Sphinx-2015). That makes more than half of all cat entries as top three seeds in their diviison. We would have expected at least one &#8212; if not more &#8212; of these highly ranked cats to make it to the final two in their division. But no.<\/p>\n<p>Instead five of these nine (more than half!) were victims of an upset. And none &#8212; NONE &#8212; were the winners of an upset. As a result, being a cat in March Mammal Madness meant you were likely to finish 2.0 places below your seed on average.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s insulting,&#8221; opined\u00a0Leopard, &#8220;I mean, a River Otter? Seriously. I&#8217;ve been boycotting March Mammal Madness since 2014.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This year is not all that different. With SEVEN new cat entries this year, it seemed likely that cats had a greater chance than ever. But this year they tended to be more lowly seeded.\u00a0Just one of these seven furry felines\u00a0was seeded in the top three: Snow Leopard at seed #2. And Snow Leopard bowed out to #3\u00a0seed Wolverine in the Sweet Sixteen. This year, two-thirds of cats were victims of an upset. Unlike previous years, three were victors of an upset, with\u00a0two Chill Cats, Pallas\u2019 Cat and Andean Mountain Cat, and the Quinnipiac Bobcat beating higher ranked foes.\u00a0But\u00a0cats were unfortunately matched with one another, with two cats being knocked out of the tournament by other cats, including Quinnipiac&#8217;s upset win over Schoolcraft College Ocelots.<\/p>\n<p>On balance, being a cat continued to be a negative, with the four-year statistics showing that cats\u00a0finish 1.1 places below their\u00a0seeds on average.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A Polecat is like a fake cat, a pseudo-cat!&#8221; exclaimed Cat of the Sand after the March 11 battle between the two. &#8220;There&#8217;s no way a pretend cat beats a real cat. Tail floof, shmail ploof.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>What will happen now that these revelations have come to light? Will the tournament be embroiled in scandal? What do the moderators have to say? What does this mean for future generations of cat aspirants to March Mammal Madness? As we go into the Elite Trait this evening,\u00a0we have more questions than answers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecologybits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cats.png\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-131\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"131\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/2016\/03\/21\/feline-fighter-fury-2016mmm-catscandal\/cats\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecologybits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cats.png?fit=755%2C290\" data-orig-size=\"755,290\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"cats\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecologybits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cats.png?fit=300%2C115\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecologybits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cats.png?fit=755%2C290\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-131\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecologybits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cats.png?resize=755%2C290\" alt=\"cats\" width=\"755\" height=\"290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecologybits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cats.png?w=755 755w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecologybits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cats.png?resize=300%2C115 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 755px) 100vw, 755px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Note: This post is about March Mammal Madness. Check out this year&#8217;s tournament\u00a0if you&#8217;re unfamiliar with it. &nbsp; It started: alright alright alright! Welcome to Mammal March Madness 2016! #2016MMM https:\/\/t.co\/Ub2DuVZlbD #AlrightAlright pic.twitter.com\/Aw9CFHcrWH &mdash; Prof. Katie Hinde (@Mammals_Suck) March 8, 2016 But is it really alright? Investigators have discovered a disturbing trend in March Mammal &hellip; <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link block-button\" href=\"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/2016\/03\/21\/feline-fighter-fury-2016mmm-catscandal\/\">Continue reading &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fun-and-games","nodate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p77WvP-26","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133,"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions\/133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecologybits.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}