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Off the Grid: Sally breaks down Mama

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! Mama
Constructor: Matt Luter
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Matt: I’m pleased to be making my USA Today debut as a constructor! I try to get a breadth of reference points into my grids, so in this one we have a theme entry for the theater kids and one for the sports fans (not that those are mutually exclusive). This is also my first published grid that isn’t entirely symmetrical, as USA Today is one of relatively few outlets that allow asymmetry. While that frees up the construction to be more flexible in areas of the grid that might be tougher to fill, it also just means more decisions to make at every turn! Thanks to Amanda for the editing and guidance, and I hope you enjoy solving.
Both words in each theme answer begin with the letter string MA-: MARY MARTIN, MARCH MADNESS, and MAGIC MARKER.
As Matt mentioned in his constructor notes, the grid for this puzzle is asymmetric. The majority of crossword puzzles have 180-degree rotational symmetry, which means that if you turn the puzzle upside-down, the grid will look the same as it does right side up. The asymmetry in today’s grid is my favorite kind of asymmetry in that there are just two asymmetrical black squares, meaning it would be easy to miss the fact that the grid is asymmetric. Congratulations to Matt Luter making his USA Today debut! Thank you, Matt, for this enjoyable puzzle.

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