Lines

Back to being a neutral observer…

I’m sitting at 51-36 in picks.  That’s a testament to the league – used to be I could pick at a .800 clip without much trouble because the league was imbalanced and predictable.  The division breakdown has been great and the parity is fun.

Game of the Week (tie – both early)

#11 TDYOB (2-2) -1 vs Yay (1-2): This should be a battle.  Yay! has now had a game to let the shock of Ralphie’s retirement wear off, and they battled LOS for a bit last Friday before ultimately succumbing to the giants.  Yao and Bombpop need to get their games back together but they’re due, and Probie usually rolls well the week after he averages a sub-100.  As for TDYOB this is one of their Shifter games, he of the two handed throw earning him the monniker ‘Pawl-monte’.  Roy Munson is on the edge of joining Pawl above the all-star cutoff, and Thunder is motivated like never before sitting in 3rd on his own team.  TDYOB needs to build a big lead before their usual 3rd game dropoff, but I think they’ll do enough to win.

Lesbowlians (2-2) -1 IBS (3-1):  Lesbowlians are 0-2 when I pick them, and 2-0 when I pick against them.  They’ll probably not be psyched by this line, then.  They enter on a two game win streak and could potentially get above .500 for perhaps the first time in franchise history.  IBS is 5 pins from being undefeated, but they do have the exact same 519 team average as the Lesbowlians.  Oolie’s return has been a lift for this team but Wut What’s steady captainship has been the signature piece of the team’s rebound after last year’s 0-12 campaign.  This should be a B division classic.

Early Games

#6 L.O.S. (3-1) -3 vs Bowled & Beautiful (2-2):  I think Precious is back – he was around yesterday anyway.  He and Cheese look back to their old selves and should have no trouble racking up 1200+ pins on their own.  Stiffy has been up and down but certainly is killing it in 2v2 (maybe he likes being the same height as his teammate for once).  B&B are having a solid debut season, and they’ll win a lot more games before the season’s out.  Not this one though.

Happy Hands (3-1) -11 vs Bad News Spares (0-3): I have to hand it to the Spares.  They are showing up week after week and having a great time in the face of blowout losses.  La Striking Senorita and Gutterpussy are doing some fine captaining (and I’m not just buttering you guys up because it looks like BEER might face you in the Sunday Shootout).  Happy Hands finally fell from the ranks of the undefeated, but they’ll get right back on the winning track tonight.

Late Games

Guacabowle (2-2) -1 vs #15 Roll Another (4-0): I was pretty surprised by Guac’s loss last week, and I have been ranking Roll Another with their 4-0 start.  A closer look, however, makes this seem like a strong upset potential.  Roll Another keeps pulling off last minute 8-7 wins, and their average is dropping. Guac is putting in time, are eager to rebound and have a 30 pin higher team average.  I think Sparetime will battle Uncle Buck or the Package to a draw with Bonita pulling out the win.

Slaughterhouse 7 (2-2) -1 vs Lovernauts (2-2): This should be a very close battle with a great bowloff potential – and who wouldn’t want to see Coco Lopez get her shot in a bowloff?  The new S7 Captain has been bowling well on her way to an all star spot and straight dominating the women’s 2v2 league.  Rufio will rise to the challenge and should battle CL, and while the ‘Nauts don’t have an answer for Ishmael they do have depth for the 3 and 4 spots.  It will be close.

#14 Young & Bowled (1-3) -3 vs UREA! (1-2):  Y&B has gotten more credit than a normal 1-3 team but there is good reason.  They are 1-0 when their top 2 show up.  They have played a tough schedule and rolled well anyway.  They should have the whole gang (sans Lou Dawg) for this one and double down on their 1 game win streak.  Not sure what’s up with UREA!, I thought they’d be stronger this year.  It’s early and they could easily turn it around.  Steff Infection and T-$ need to put the team on their backs.

#1 Guns of Brighton (4-0) -5 vs Linguists (1-3): Tough draw here for the Linguists.  They have a decent squad, despite early struggles, but this one looks like an insurmountable obstacle.  GOB is the new #1 for a reason.  They’ve been led by a different bowler each week with at least a 240 from Pickles, then E-Minor, then Jon Moon.  Then there’s Hootie, who is actually sitting 11 pins higher than Linguist’s perennial all-star La Ga.  The Hand has built something special here.

Granola Bowlahs (2-1) -3 vs Pinny Candy (1-3): The rookie Granolas are looking to get to 3-1 and feeling pretty good about things.  Rick Vaughn may be busy at a black tie affair, however.  They can survive his absence if Bijoe Lowry, the Real Queenshit, shows.  Pinny Candy may bowl a little angrier after many of them had to sit politely during a cartoonishly bad State of the State.  If they channel that righteous indignation into crushing pins, well…