Fanatic Knockout 2025- Every Staff Members Odds To Win
If you couldn’t tell by the obnoxiousness of Bill Colarulo and Connor Thomas on the air the last few weeks, it’s time again for our annual Fanatic Knockout challenge. The moment where sports talk radio hosts and our tremendous listeners take the court for one night in pursuit of a championship.
On Wednesday, March 26th, 97.5 The Fanatic will hold its postgame knockout tournament on the Wells Fargo Center floor following the Philadelphia 76ers-Washington Wizards game.
For the past two seasons, I have put together odds on every Fanatic staff member participating to win the staff contest. Many call it our most important piece of content. I am too humble to say that myself, but many are saying that.
Before I deliver the odds to all of you, it’s important to remember that I am an impartial observer of my colleague’s ability to shoot a free throw. This commentary is in no way a reflection of the way I feel about my co-workers. Naturally, this will be ignored by them and Ricky Bottalico will charge me like I’m Barry Bonds.
In addition to that, favorable odds also do not mean that I have a favorable viewpoint of that person. I work with all of my co-workers equally.
As for my former co-worker, Tom Alvord, he is the Fanatic’s reigning champion. We were very close. I went to his wedding, although my invitation didn’t arrive until the week of his wedding.
He has since left our station and because of that, he no longer speaks to me. Sources have indicated that he will be in attendance for Knockout and against my greater judgement, he will be included as staff.
So I guess we can have a repeat champion, but what fun would that be? Other storylines must be delved into.
Will Connor Thomas recapture the magic of 2023? Will Ricky Bottalico actually show any bit of effort in this year’s contest? Is there a member of the staff that has been hiding their talent in plain sight?
What will happen?
Well, that’s why we shoot free throws.
Fanatic Knockout Tournament Odds
Tom Alvord (+120, Last year: +200)
The reigning champion clocks in as our favorite. He has flown under the radar due to the fact that he no longer works at the station and for that reason, he won’t have the same target on his
back. I respect his game tremendously. Otherwise, not much to say since he no longer speaks to me.
Bill Colarulo (+150, Last year: +500)
“Seems like a great dude and I’ve enjoyed his shows” is a real sentence I wrote about Bill in last year’s Knockout odds article. I have been advised by my representation not to comment publicly on how my perspective of him has potentially shifted. If you ask Bill, he’s the favorite. He won’t be able to collude with his wife this year which hurts his chances. However, he’s an athletic guy who’s not Connor Thomas so he won’t have everyone trying to knock him out.
Andrew Salciunas (+200, Last year: +125)
Which brings me to someone trying to knock Connor out. Andrew has said that he will be directly behind Connor in line. He is focused on making sure he doesn’t have to listen to Connor every morning for the next year talking about how he won Knockout. Will that focus end up leading to a lackluster performance? It’s a question worth asking. Plus, it’s a pretty late night for the morning show host with a young child. We’ll see.
Connor Thomas (+220, Last year: +150)
The 2023 champion looks to add another title to the mantle. This is such a played out storyline. Connor thinks he’s LeBron James, the station looks at him like he’s Bronny James. It’s Connor vs. the World and he’ll be the first to tell you that.
Austin Jones (+350, Last year: N/A)
Haven’t heard of him? That’s your fault. Austin is new on the scene at the Fanatic and has talked plenty about hooping with his buddies in his free time. He is this contest’s wild card and could shake up the field. Or, he could be another knucklehead at this station that spends too much time touting his athletic ability.
Brendan Gunn (+500, Last year: +800)
B-Gunn has been working on his game all offseason. Probably due to the fact that I knocked him out last year. I think he has a bounce-back appearance in him. That’s assuming that he knocks down free throws better than his Villanova Wildcats did in late-game scenarios this year.
Sylvana Kelleher (+750, Last year: +750)
The television star enters the field with the same odds as last year. Honestly, she showed glimpses of competitiveness before being knocked out last year. The weight of expectations, however, can be crushing and she is no longer the new kid on the block. She will either use that
as a way to fuel a run at a title or pretend that she is unbothered by it en route to an early exit. If she plays the “too cool for school” act, it likely won’t end well for her.
Dylan MacKinnon (+800, Last year: +800)
Dylan, Dylan, Dylan. He had a formidable showing a year ago. Once he let go of his hatred of me and focused on the basketball portion of things, he was able to lock in. Hopefully that’s a good lesson for him and the rest of the field this year. He says he’s got a full Jackie Moon costume to wear for this event so that elevated his chance to win. Think about trying to take a contest seriously when the guy in front of you is dressed like Jackie Moon. Nearly impossible. Maybe this is the year that Dylan breaks through.
Brendan Petrelli (+1000, Last year: N/A)
This guy has been working the event for the last few years and studied everybody’s abilities more than anyone else in the field. Petrelli is a hard worker who turned himself into a star in the cornhole world. Has he practiced free throws with the same vigor? If so, he’s a sneaky dark horse candidate to win this thing. That said, it does seem more likely that he enters this contest too amped up and that ends up costing him.
Ray Dunne (+1200, Last year: +800)
I’ve talked a lot of smack and let’s be honest about one thing here: there is not a chance I can back it up with my athletic ability. There is a reason that I talk about athletes for a living, I am not one. That’s enough of a reason not to believe I’ll win. Add on to that an ailing ankle from an embarrassing running accident a week ago and it’s not looking good for me. My chances really take a nosedive by being the guy who writes this story because people will not want to see me succeed in this contest.
Matt Minarik (+2000, Last year: N/A)
Matt is honestly just too nice of a guy to win. He cares too much about the office morale to make someone have a bad night and he is too locked in on making sure his family has a nice time at the game. You have to respect that about a guy. That, and the fact that there was not much memorable about his previous performances in knockout, is enough to put him at long odds.
Kevin Cooney (+2500, Last year: N/A)
Inspired by Father Judge’s electric run to a Philadelphia Catholic League title, Kevin will battle the field and Father Time for the crown of Knockout champion. Would Kevin’s title in Knockout be more impressive than the Crusaders beating Roman Catholic a third time on Saturday? We’ll take your phone calls. 610-632…
Haley Taylor Simon (+4000, Last year: +1100)
I think Haley actually survived quite a while last year. I don’t want to take away from that. These are odds to win, however, and the chances that Haley is distracted by side conversation during this contest is very high. Can she lock in? That’s what will stand in between her and an extended run.
Sean Rodman (+5000 , Last year: N/A)
First time participant Sean Rodman enters the field as a fella who’s vertically challenged. That’s not necessarily a dealbreaker, but the ball has to travel further out of his hands than most other participants. It’s not a knock on him, it’s just science. If you’re looking for a short king, this is your pick. If you understand science, this is not your pick.
Ricky Bottalico (+10000, Last year: +450)
There is no greater disgrace to the game than Ricky Bottalico’s lack of heart in Knockout. As a man who competed at the highest of levels, his competitive fire seems totally gone. I have looked favorably upon his odds in prior years, but not this contest. The Utah Jazz have shown greater desire to win over the last few weeks than Ricky has in previous years. Bettor beware.
Mike Vito (+15000, Last year: +5000)
Sure, Vito has a nice office and a fancy title. That can’t erase the memory of him falling on his backside at last year’s event and hurting himself as he got knocked out. There is a revenge factor here, but can he mentally overcome the disaster of last year? Hard to believe, Harry.
