Three weeks ago, we challenged executive producers from all the news networks to take part in our NCAA basketball tournament bracket challenge.

At the time, “BBC World News America” EP Rome Hartman told us that he was “constitutionally incapable of picking against Duke even if my head tells me not to.” As one of his staffers put it, “there rests the fate of BBC World News America pride.”

After nearly everyone lost their champion pick, Kansas, in the first few days, the competition remained tight. David Friedman (“The Early Show”) led for much of the way, until David Tabacoff (“The O’Reilly Factor”) took the lead.

While Hartman was out of the top five for most of the tourney, his stubbornness about sticking with his alma mater ended up launching him to first pace when all was said and done, which means he’s officially crowned the 2010 Boss of All Bosses champ. Congratulations, sir.

MSNBC’s Chris Licht (“Morning Joe”) is the first runner up followed by Tabacoff, Amy Sohnen (“O’Reilly Factor”) and a three-way tie for fifth between Bob Epstein (“NBC Nightly News”), Kim Rosenberg (“FOX Report”), and your TVNewser editor.

Here’s Hartman’s winning bracket and check out the full standings after the jump.

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Well, this year’s TVNewser Bracket Challenge has gone from a “Boss of All Bosses” competition to a “Last Boss Standing” contest.

“Early Show” EP David Friedman, who has led the way since the first days of the tournament, slid back to 5th with losses by Kentucky and Baylor this weekend. “O’Reilly Factor” EP David Tabacoff jumps into first, while “Nightly News” EP Bob Epstein and your own TVNewser rocketed from outside the top ten into a three-way tie for second place with “FOX Report” EP Kim Rosenberg. MSNBC’s Chris Licht and “Meet the Press” EP Betsy Fischer also made their way into the top ten.

With late-round wins carrying more weight, the sleeper right now is “BBC World News America” EP Rome Hartman who is the only competitor left with their National Championship selection, Duke, still in the running.

Here are the top half of the standings following the Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen games showing the current and best-possible scores:

> Update after the first two rounds
> List of competitors

What a weekend of unexpected upsets in college basketball. It’s time to see who survived in our TVNewser 2010 Bracket Challenge, where we asked executive producers from all the networks to submit their predictions for March Madness.

Through the weekend, CBS “Early Show” EP David Friedman held a firm grip on the lead, but “O’Reilly Factor” EP David Tabacoff, “Face the Nation” EP Carin Pratt, CNN’s Michael Kane, and “Fox Report” EP Kim Rosenberg are not far behind.

14 out 21 competitors (including TVNewser) lost their national champion pick, Kansas on Saturday. Losses by Villanova and Georgetown also threw a wrench into plenty of brackets. Since more points are awarded for correct picks later in the tournament, it’s still anyone’s to win.

Here’s the top half of the rankings as of Sunday night showing the current and best-possible scores:

It’s time for some College Basketball March Madness and while you’ve been asking your colleagues (or are being asked by your colleagues) to join a bracket pool, we’ve been asking your bosses (or your favorite show’s bosses) to join ours. In this, the second annual TVNewser Bracket Challenge, we’ve asked executive producers from all networks to submit their picks. We’ll be keeping tabs on the results as the rounds go by and will eventually crown a 2010 TVNewser Champion, or, as we are unofficially calling it, a 2010 “boss of all bosses.”

Here are this year’s entrants:

Amy Sohnen, “The O’Reilly Factor”
Betsy Fischer, “Meet the Press”
Bill Wolff, “The Rachel Maddow Show”
Bob Epstein, “NBC Nightly News”
Carin Pratt, “Face the Nation”
Chris Licht, “Morning Joe”
David Friedman, “The Early Show”
David Tabacoff, “The O’Reilly Factor”
Gary Schreier, Fox Business Network
Jon Banner, “ABC World News”
Kim Rosenberg, “FOX Report”
Matt Quayle, “Squawk Box,” “Squawk on the Street”
Alex Crippen, CNBC and CNBC.com
Michael Kane, CNN Money Unit
Ramona Schindelheim, CNBC Business Day
Regina Gilgan, “Mad Money”
Rome Hartman, “BBC World News America”
Sanford Cannold, “Power Lunch,” “Street Signs”
Stephanie Todd, “Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell”
Tom Cibrowski, “Good Morning America”

And now, to get you in the mood:

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