In 25 total weeks of qualifying and two contest finals, we had never had a tie for first place. It's a bit of an oddity, seeing as some of our best singers are hard to differentiate.

Last night, we finally had our first tie.

Ryan and Jeremy, two singers who qualified for the finals of our second contest at Tavern, each finished with 66 points. In true karaoke fashion, that sent us to a Sing Off.

Ryan's Shark outdid Jeremy's Jet, and the former has now qualified for the finals on Sept. 22.

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We've added our two Super Tuesday qualifiers to the schedule for the Tavern in the Forest karaoke contest.

They are listed in the "Contest" link at the top of the site, but for those of you who struggle with extra clicks, here they are:

Tuesday, August 24

Tuesday, September 7

Those two dates will help get us to our final number of 12 people competing for the $750 first-place prize ($250 for second, $100 for third).

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The first four weeks of the third karaoke contest at Tavern in the Forest are in the books, which means that we have four qualifiers with plenty of time to get ready for the finals on Sept. 22.

So far, we've seen Demi, Shane, Nick and Melanie earn a spot for the finals. Shane and Nick have been there before, with Nick earning a second-place finish in the first contest we held.

Who else will be there?

For most of you who visit this site, you already know the format of my shows at Tavern in the Forest.

Just in case you don't, here is the run down.

TUESDAYS: Open karaoke

WEDNESDAYS: Contest qualifiers (at approximately 10:30 p.m.) with open karaoke before and after.

FRIDAYS: DJing mixed in with open karaoke.

All nights begin at 9 p.m., and this format will remain until further notice.

Got some mention from MBScene.com last week, six days after we held our second contest finals at Tavern in the Forest. As I've said previously, the show's Tuesday-Wednesday format is taking off, and we couldn't be happier.

Let them call the Sports Department at the Charleston Post and Courier the "Toy Department" this week.

For those of you who don't know, the actions of sports writer Travis Haney have led the family of Bayler Teal to Omaha for tonight's championship baseball game between South Carolina and UCLA.

You probably haven't heard of Teal before. But here's the short of it (From Travis' story in the P&C):

Another Finals Night is in our rearview, and three more contestants walked out of Tavern with some cash.

Frank earned the big payday, impressing the crowd (and more importantly, the judges) and won the $750 first-place prize.

Dottie (second place) won $250, and Jae (third) won $100.

More details and pics will follow in the coming days. And remember to check back often for dates of our next contest.

Gotta love do-it-all ESPNChicago reporter Scott Powers. In the midst of being slammed with work, he found time to direct and shoot a music video in NYC a few weeks back.

The singer, Niall Connolly, is an Irish folker living in New York. His stuff is sound, and so, too, is the music video Scott did for the song "Jesus Is Coming (And I Can't Pay The Rent)."

Take a look; it will be worth 5 minutes of your time.

I don't know how some of my friends find this stuff. Seriously.

Just the same, anyone who's ever used a type writer can appreciate Michael Winslow -- yes, that Michael Winslow -- doing a 21-minute production on the history of that outdated clicking machine. If you're in a rush, feel free to skip around.

It will still be worth the click. If nothing else, Winslow's facial expressions are priceless.

After our open week, it's time to start getting serious -- for those of you who haven't started to do so already.

On Wednesday, we'll be handing out $1,100, including a $750 first-place prize. Someone's going to walk away very happy; a couple others are going to be pretty happy.

So, Ian, how do I go about winning that money?

Here's a tip, welcome to not only the people already qualified for this finals competition, but also the next contest, which will begin the first Wednesday in July -- Practice, practice, practice.