Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to The CJN’s exclusive ongoing coverage of Meshugene March, the annual winner-take-all tournament that brings together the biggest and brightest names in Canadian Jewry along with a host of upstarts looking to make their marks. If you’re just tuning in, let’s bring you up to date on some of the action thus far in our four divisions:

Jewish Organizations: As expected, the Orgs bracket has seen some of the closest competition, with groups from across the country facing off to see who will represent the Jewish community in the Final Fir. Two perennial powerhouses are set to collide next, when the Jewish National Fund (JNF) takes on Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.

The bookies appear to favour the Friends, who have stymied opponents so far with their patented full-court press, while JNF will have to travel cross-country to Vancouver for the game and could be a little discombobulated by their surroundings. Earlier, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs earned a bye after scheduled opponent Independent Jewish Voices opted to hold its own tournament across town instead, setting CIJA up against the Federation All-stars. The winner of that matchup could be the favourite to take home all the gelt.

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Political Parties: Meanwhile, in the Politics division, things have gone according to plan thus far, with the Liberals manhandling the NDP, which was playing without team leader Thomas Mulcair (who said he would be there, but didn’t show up), and the Conservatives winning by forfeit after the Greens failed to muster enough players. That sets up an expected Liberal-Conservative clash that pundits have been drooling over. The last time these two teams met, the Reds won handily. Now, the Blues are out for revenge. Expect a raucous crowd for this one!

Jewish Communities: Meshugene March is perhaps best known for upsets – when powerhouse teams fall prey to lesser-known underdogs – and that has certainly been the case in the Cities bracket. Toronto and Montreal both cruised to wins in the early rounds, before coming up against Winnipeg and Halifax, respectively. Both games were tight until the very end, but the dark horses ultimately prevailed, leaving Toronto head coach Drake and Montreal manager Irwin Cotler to admit their teams were clearly looking ahead to another marquee showdown instead of focusing on the opponents at hand. A source with access to the Montreal and Toronto dressing rooms concurred, adding both teams were so confident going into their matches that neither had even reviewed tape of their opponents.

Righteous Gentiles: Heading into the round of 16 – a.k.a., the Zis Zektsyn – there was some unexpected controversy, after officials had difficulty determining how exactly to define a gentile. Some referees claimed matrilineal descent was the only acceptable way to decide who was, and who was not, a non-Jew, while other voices questioned whether the time had arrived to loosen those rules. Tournament officials are still reviewing the matter, and a decision is expected soon.

Stay with The CJN for complete coverage of Meshugene March. Happy Purim!