July: 1 Day Draft – Captains will draft teams immediately before the tournament starts, teams of four, BoPo scoring

August: Mixed Doubles – Simple, choose your own partner, one girl one guy teams

email me if any of these interest you.  i will set dates soon.

Anyone who was there will assure you not to miss the next one – the Bowling Ball was incredible!  Thanks to everyone for being a part of season 5…see some of you in the Draft League, and all of you for BoPo 6.  We will be having a number of one day tournaments this summer as well, so check in every now and then.

Karl Hungus

Turkey Club was an afterthought heading into the tourney.  They had a nice debut season, going 7-5 with a tough schedule, and their bracket looked open enough that they could conceivably make a run to the semis, but no further.  Well, things fell into place and they took advantage of every opportunity.  Twice they battled back on Thursday.  Against the Linguists they were down 5-0 and 6-4.  With three frames to go, they were looking at a 10-5 loss.  Then the Linguists went two frames with one mark, TC kept marking, and flew past them for the victory.  That set up the Trash Talk bowl against the equally unlikely TDYOB.  The Borkers had shocked everyone, handling defending champs Off Constantly in two games with big scores all around.  When the Dr. followed up his 220+ in the quarters with a 230+ in game one against TC, it looked like the Club may finally have hit the end of the road.  Instead, they fought back to tie it at 5, led by Bora Bora.  Game three was Turkey Club all the way, and they now find themselves in the finals.

This is the fifth BoPo championship.  Twice we have had matchups that on paper looked like absolute blowouts.  In 2009, an undefeated Binga’s looked untouchable, and their opponent DHD seemed lucky to be there.  DHD fell behind 7-3, but fought to the end in an exciting game three before finally falling 9-6.  In 2010 it alos looked like a monumental mismatch.  Binga’s hadn’t lost a game in two years.  BEER looked to have fluked into the finals on the strength of a 243 from Tom Richards.  That time the underdog not only hung close, they won, and broke up the Binga’s juggernaut.

Now we have what looks like another huge mismatch.  Roadhouse and Tango would be 5th and 7th in average on the Walkaways team.  The Walkaways were built to win, and noone knows if this franchise will stick around if they lose.  Turkey Club is somewhere they never really dreamed of at the beginning of the season, but they have nothing to lose.  The Walkaways have all the pressure as Goliath, but unlike most David v Goliath matchups, they may have the fan support because they have been around longer and represent the old guard.  Of course, Turkey Club is the hero of all the new, young teams that are eager to make BoPo their own.

Your guess is as good as mine on this one.  But, since I make predictions (which apparently piss-off some of you):

Walkaways 9.5 – Turkey Club 5.5

Finals MVP: Valley Girl Jess

Left Bracket – The Walkaways

The Binga’s vs B.I.B. game has been the talk of the tourney since Tso and Stevie Strikes engaged in their war of words.  There is a lot more to this game, however, than just those two bowlers.  Stevie has finally looked human the last few days, but noone would be surprised if he puts up a 650-700 series.  Bama has been rolling well in the playoffs too.  Gutterboy has been far more erratic, and MIJ and Gutterboy’s Mom have also been highly inconsistent.  That said, they haven’t been as focused as they will be Thursday, though.  Binga’s took the best shot of a very game BUI team on Tuesday and survived by the skin of their teeth.  Jerk started great then fell abck in game two before picking up the clinching shot in game three.  Cookie roared pout of the gate.  Tso was up and down too.  Layne matches up well against BIB’s ladies, and PB&J has the potential for one 130-140 game.

The Walkaways look like they are on a mission.  They are running over opponents with everyone putting up strong scores.  There’s noone to single out on this squad  – any of them could be the top scorer (including, now, Valley Girl who is on a personal hot streak over the last few weeks).  Guns of Brighton are winning close ones with a couple of 8-7 comeback wins.  They do have the top bowler in this game with Mr. Pickles, and the Coco Lopez/Bowltron 3030 combo means they are looser on the lanes.  They are playoff tough, but the Walkaways look unbeatable.

I think Binga’s depth is going to pull them though in spite of a huge night from Stevie Strikes and in spite of their regular season loss. Bingas 8-7.  Then I like the Walkaways to slowly accumulate points and put away GOB 9-6.  In a Walkaways – Binga’s match, I’d go Walkaways again 9-6.

Right Bracket – Off Constantly

Every neutral person who filed out brackets had BEER or Still LOS reaching the finals from the right bracket.  That possibility went out the window on the first night.  Now we’re left with a very unlikely group of four contenders for the other berth in the finals.

First off we have the Cunning Linguists against Turkey Club.  The Linguists have been cruising through the playoffs but haven’t exactly been lighting up the scoreboard.  Gutterslut keeps getting off to big starts and he’s their top playoff dog.  La Gatita always has big game potential.  Pauly Ringwald has yet to have his best game, but he will need to be a factor for the Linguists to advance.  Windiesel has been mostly working on her crotch-chop celebration, but her game has improved to the point that she has a lot more opportunities to use it.  XXX Club has been kind of lost in the silly talk of Tango, but behind the blabber is a strong team, and despite Tango’s bluster, he’s actually come up big so far in the playoffs.  They got by Yay! on the hot hand of unheralded Samsquampch, even as their top bowler Roadhouse didn’t have his best night.  I don’t expect him to struggle twice in a row.

Old pals Off Constantly are back in the mix – again.  They have made it the finals twice in 5 years and won both times.  They want another shot in the most unlikeliest year.  They struggled all year, but after coming back from 4-1 and holding on for a last frame win over Y&B they are on the verge again.  This year Nuber has been their leader, but Oz is always a strong option, and Dick Liquor and Honey Bunny both had clutch performances last night.  Throw in a McQueen that is due and they look dangerous again.  TDYOB may have caught some breaks, but all that matters is that they are still alive.  They could worry about their low playoff scores, but they only care about winning so they’ll be focused on the opportunity they’ve earned.  Noone outside their team thought they’d be here, so they do have the “noone believes in us’ thing going for them.  Dr. Thunder needs to have the playoff game he keeps saying he’s going to have, and Spooky and Sneaky must beat the OC girls.  Dr. can get in folks’ heads, but Dick and Nuber may be immune.

I think Turkey Club wins 8-7, and OC wins 10-5.  That would set up a rematch that was an 8-7 OC win on the last frame.  I think we could get an almost exact replica.  When the dust settles, I think we see OC back in the finals.  Who saw that coming three weeks ago?  According to the brackets, noone but Nuber.

Early Games

Binga’s (9-4) -5 vs BUI (10-3):  BUI was the first Thursday team to break through to the win column, opening the door for a surprisingly high number of their compatriots.  Now they go up against an old-school BoPo powerhouse.  I would have considered leaning toward an upset when I first heard Jerk’s hand was hurt, but then I saw him handle his business in a doubles match win on Saturday.  Binga’s has learned the hard way in the past not to take any teams for granted.  They won’t – they’ll advance.

Guns of Brighton (11-2) -3 vs Strikes of Hazzard (8-5):  This one should be exciting.  GOB survived a scare from a fired up SauPo team.  Redonk led SauPo toa 3-2 lead but GOB held on to win 8-7 behind Mr. Pickles excellent match and captain Invisible Hand’s big third game.  Strikes of Hazzard has been an enigma all year.  They have some potentially powerful bowlers in Uncle Jesse, Deputy and Flash.  No one who can hang with Mr. Pickles but definitely the depth to keep this one close.  I think GOB got their wake up call already.

Cunning Linguists (10-3) -3 vs Nutz (7-6):  Another evenly matched game.  The Nutz advanced despite Bustah not having his best game, which shows more depth than expected.  Now Bustah is due and he does have the ability to carry a team.  Peanut and Hootie both overachieved, and Fuzzy stepped up.  The Linguists may now be the favorite to reach the finals.  Gutterslut and La Gatita have been a great 1-2 punch, and Pauly Ringwald is always capable.  Col. Angus is ready for his closeup.

Yay! (12-1) -1 vs Turkey Club (8-5):  This is thje one both teams wanted.  These are in effect two expansion teams, but they have a history with each other.  The core of TC has beaten the core of Yay! in the playoffs twice in other leagues.  Yay! is struggling, having most of their games lately come down to the wire including an opening round win of just 1 pin.  Turkey Club is surging, winning big.  Both have tandems still alive in the doubles playoffs.  There will be much drinking.  All the indications are that XXX Club has the momentum and will take it, but I can’t get past Yay!’s ability to win the close one.  These guys are due to rebound.  I wouldn’t be remotely surprised to see a Smallwood/Roadhouse bowloff.

Late Games

Back In Black (12-1) -9 vs Pinny Candy (8-5):  Pinny Candy advanced when Almond Joy turkeyed in the 9th and 10th, and Marv Gomez missed his turkey with a 9.  Now they get the unenviable task of going against heavy championship favorite BIB after BIB got a scare in round one.  Stevie Strikes and Bama were on fire, and that’ll likely be enough to advance here, but BIB needs to see Gutterboy pick his game up before a quarterfinals match with Binga’s.

Off Constantly (7-6) -3 vs Young & Bowled (5-8):  OC is going to be surprised to look across and not see BEER.  They had a big playoff win to shake off their regular season rust.  Now they play a team they demolished last year in the playoffs.  Y&B have to come down quickly form the high of their big upset.  They hope The Truth can now lock in after the first round pressure is gone.  Pistol Pete will need to be at the top of his game, and noone on their team is hotter now than Senator ITZ.  They need to coach and play to win, but if OC slips up, they will be there to pick up another shocking scalp.

TDYOB (10-3) -3 vs Tequila Mockingbird (8-5): Another rematch from last year’s playoffs.  Last year Tequila had a 7-3 lead, then fell to a screaming Dr. 8-7.  They didn’t like the Dr.  TDYOB is hoping they can get in their heads again.  Tequila had the big advantage of only having their top 4 bowlers show up for week one and their big upset over LOS.  Last year with a 7-3 lead they played backups – what will Riggs do this year if the game is on the line?  No such question for TDYOB, they will play to win.  Sneaky Pete will look to continue her surprising postseason play.

Walkaways (11-2) -7 vs ICBING (10-3):  This one looks like a giant mismatch, but this tournament has proven already that anything is possible once teams hit the lanes.  Peanut Gutter is rolling extremely well, but will need much more from Fabio if they are going to have a chance to keep this one close.  The Walkaways are on a business trip right now.  They have one goal in mind and look pretty focused, brushing off a 660 from Guacabowle like it was nothing.  I don’t think they’ll be slowed here.

Early

Binga’s vs BUI; Strikes of Hazzard vs Guns of Brighton; Nutz vs Cunning Linguists; Yay vs Turkey Club

Late

Back in Black vs Pinny Candy; Young & Bowled vs Off Constantly; TDYOB vs Tequila Mockingbirds; Walkaways vs ICBING

As for prediction, well, going into Tuesday the only things I was sure of were that Back In Black would win 10-0 and that Guacabowle wouldn’t stand a chance.  Turns out those underdogs put up 650s and 660s in battling to the finish.  Top seeds will need to be on the lookout tonight because the gap is closing and the underdogs are hungry.

Early Games

#2 Guns of Brighton (10-2) -5 vs #15 Saucy posse (5-7):  Guns of Brighton finished 2nd on Thursday but has definitely received the most talk of any Thursday team about making a potentially deep run in the playoffs.  Maybe it’s because they have Mr. Pickles, who battled for Top Dawg to the final day, or that their Captain Invisible Hand has battled for most improved all season, or that big free-agent signing Coco Lopez just wins playoff games.  They face a SauPo team that hit hard times this year, almost inexplicably.  Walter and Hot Sauce looked like a potentially dominant 1-2 force, but they haven’t adjusted yet this year.  Maybe Thursday they do – Walter finds his 200′s, Hot Sauce finds his mojo and Uncle Schmucker continues his out-of nowhere resurgence.  After Tuesday’s games, I could see just about anything.  One thing for SauPo, they excel most when given up, so, here’s their chance.

#12 Nutz (6-6) -3 vs #5 UREA! (9-3):  I don’t know if T-$ will be there or not.  I’m guessing he will.  If he’s in, and Knuckles is there, UREA! is capable of making this one as interesting as a Tecumseh windup.  J-Bird has  built a team that is clutch and finished an impressive 9-3.  They are not as nice and innocent as they would have you believe – they have the competitive drive of a crazed tiger – and if you are lulled to a happy place they tear you apart.  Nutz is hard to lull to a happy place.  They started 0-5 before battling all the way back to even their record.  Bustah is their ace and he would love to see how far he can take them.  He is ably backed by Fuzzy and Salty Nuts.  Hootie and Peanut will need to rise to the occasion against the blonde bombers pacing UREA!.

#6 Still L.O.S. (7-5) -4 vs #11 Tequila Mockingbirds (7-5):  L.O.S. has the talent to make a championship run, but that has been said every year.  They are even better than normal in 2012, and Double Cheese and Precious form an intimidating pair.  Mr. Stiffy has been quiet lately but may have just been waiting for the playoffs.  Alley-Lujah is the key – pacing the team to a tight win last week with a top-point game 2.

The T-Birds are no strangers to the playoffs.  Their roster boasts 5 BoPo finals’ games of experience.  They have a former Captain of the Year.  They still have the coolest shirts in school.  Harlyn P may finally be regaining his form.  They are a scrappy, veteran bunch capable of pulling this upset if they have everything break just right.

#6 I.C.B.I.N.G. (9-3) -1 vs #11 My Balls (5-7):  This one could be really good.  When both teams were looking at some of the potential teams they could play in the first round, they both hoped for each other, seeing each other as the best shots for a win.  Pretty fun.  My Balls have a very focused team in Barry Violet and DC Lane, with Big Red transforming her game in recent weeks to have two weeks of very strong scores.  They also have Lt. Striker – and that could mean anything between 85 and 215 more pins per game.

ICBING had a great seven game win streak this year and started to play better as the season progressed.  Peanut Gutter has a great shot if he’ll play himself.  Sweet Creamy and Deep Fried have been bowling well above average of late, and Fabio has shown a few late signs of regaining his form.  There will likely be brutal heckling going on, and that’s why I give ICBING the edge.

Late Games (have your team prepared to start at 8PM in case prior match ends in 2 games)

#1 Yay! (11-1) -7 vs #16 No-Eye-Deer (5-7):  Give Ralphie some credit – she lost three of the top 12 bowlers in the league, and rebuilt a team that finished 11-1.  Hats off to you.  Now they make their playoff debut.  Tom Smallwood and Yao Romo are becoming household names, and should form a formidable twin towers to counter N.E.D. frontman Shifter Pawl.  N.E.D. surprised last week with a convincing win to clinch a playoff spot.  In that game Shifter got some much needed help from the long missing Deez Nutz.  N.E.D. can be dangerous if they play like last week, but Yay! should have the firepower to advance to the game they really want next week.

#3 T.D.Y.O.B. (9-3) -5 vs #14 D-GUTS (6-6):  Dr. Thunder likes to engage, that we know.  Those attempts may fall on deaf ears against D-GUTS, as from the sounds of their leader Cap’n Collection they “know [they'll] lose”.  Could be his team has no hope, or could be a clever play to throw the Dr off balance by letting his attempted headgames go unchallenged.  Interesting.  D-GUTS had a couple of big nights, and did go 6-6 on Tuesday, so they’re no pushover.  That said, T.D.Y.O.B. has never lost a first round game and they are focused on moving on this year.

#7 Strikes Of Hazzard (7-5) -11 vs #10 Wrecking Balls (7-5):  This one looks like a blowout, but that’s what we thought about the Back In Black/Balls of Fury Game too.  Uncle Jesse has a very talented team.  He also got himself a taste of winning this offseason when he assembled a a BoPo super-team to dominate a very low-key business league.  They should be fine, but this team has had crazy nights that could only be explained by them hitting the still too hard.  Wrecking Balls will need to hope for that and simultaneously bring their a-game.  They ill have their most dangerous team, with Swing and Swanny both in the lineup for perhaps the first time.  The Dude is scheduled to get back from San Fran around 7, will he make it?  Will time in California have helped replenish his Dudeness?

#2 B.E.E.R. (10-2) -2 vs PLAY-IN Young & Bowled (4-8):  Young and the Bowled and Play-In hardly belong in the same sentence.  This is a team that had a slow start, but was last seen pushing L.O.S. to the limit in the last week of the season.  One big reason for the turnaround is Pistol Pete.  If you’d seen the horrifying monstrosity that was his right hand at the beginning of the season, you’d have wondered if he’d be able to even keep it.  Now Pete and his FrankenFinger are back to where they were when he was top-5 draft league bowler.  Senator ITZ has been solid all year and just posted his first league 200 last week.  The Truth has the wight of the world on his shoulders trying to shake off last year’s playoffs, but he did just open a game with nine straight strikes last week.  If Lucky regains her all star-form, they have a 650 potential lineup.

B.E.E.R. have a lot of question marks around them right now, but they have a playoff tradition.  Filthy McNasty is one of the most feared clutch bowlers in BoPo, and opposing teams just have to cross their fingers that Tom Richards isn’t going to unleash the fury.  Hungus’ elbow is fine but if starts switching balls you know he’s in his own head.  Cheddar has been on the DL off and on, but he plans to give it a go at gametime.  Slow Roll is back on B.E.E.R. looking for another title belt.

I think it will be a battle royale, but B.E.E.R. has the playoff tradition and the playoff-proven vets.

Oh, if you see Lou Dawg rush in late flushed, sweating profusely and in green hotpants – he’s just coming from his hoop game and hoping to cement his legend as one of the top partybowlers of all time.