#2017MMM Elite Eight time

Tonight is the last action before the fabulous Final Four in the 2017 March Mammal Madness tournament. Tonights battles feature the toughest of the tough and the baddest of the bad. These guys have made it through 3 rounds of life and death struggles and remain standing.

Here’s the blow by blow recap from the Rodents…

Will the Hog Deer continue it’s Cinderella tale beating out the #4 seed Spider Monkey? Can the #5 Neanderthal Hunting Party survive against the #2 Short Faced Bear with so few of it’s number left? Will the big battles between the #1s and #2s from the Adjective and Desert Adapted brackets result in upsets or did the ranking committee seed them properly?

Here are the 4 matches that kick off tonight:

#1 Spectacled Bear vs #2 Clouded Leopard

#1 Honey Badger vs #2 Guanaco

#2 Short Faced Bear vs #5 Neanderthal Hunting Party

#4 Spider Monkey vs #7 Hog Deer

Could the laid back attitude of the Spectacled Bear leave an opening for the Clouded Leopard? I think so if the environment is right. Even though the Bear is much larger than the cat, the cat proved how fierce it can be against the Maned Wolf last round.

While the Honey Badger may not care, I think the Guanaco doesn’t stand a chance against the odds on tournament favorite.

The most exciting matchup might be the Neanderthal Hunting Party and the Short Faced Bear. These guys have been at each other’s throats since the hominids appeared on the scene and while neither is technically around anymore, their cousins are still competing in some areas of the world for habitat. My money is on the Neanderthal Hunting Party if only because they have a zone defense that will stymie the Bear’s better offense. It should be a good match.

As far as the Spider Monkey and Hog Deer, I really don’t know who’s got the upper hand. The Monkey is agile and can use all 5 of it’s “limbs” but the antlers on the Hog Deer can be mighty weapons if used properly. I think the environment might be the deciding factor in this fight, but I’m pulling for the Spider Monkey.

There you have it…4 battles…8 Mammals go in…4 survive to fight another day and make it to the Final Four…

You can follow all the battles on Twitter with the hashtag #2017MMM or @2017MMMLetsgo and be sure to check out the official site at Mammals suck…Milk.