We’re at the finish line, folks. The old brackets are hung in the windows with care, with hopes that the new one soon will be there. All that’s left is one last night of revelry. Some of the games mean nothing to the standings, some are for division titles. Here we go…
On a side note, Bayside Bowl was nominated for 8 different Phoenix Best Of Awards: Best Bar, Best Sportsbar, Best Beer Selection, Best Wings, Best Patio, Best Pick Up Spot, Best Bartender and Best Waitstaff. Pretty cool. Plus two other BoPo related nominations: BILF’s Captain Major Danks (Chris Sedenka) was nominated for Best Radio/TV personality, and former Strike Dance Competition winner Sugar (Shenna Bellows of the Sweet Rolls) is up for Best Politician. If you feel like it, support your bowling community. If not, I’ll never know.
Game of the Night (early)
#3 Still L.O.S. (9-2) -1 vs #6 Sons of Danarchy (6-5): A lot at stake in this heavyweight battle. L.O.S. clinches the division, and the #2 overall seed with a win. If they lose, the Leisure Rolls take it. While there won’t be anything even resembling an easy path through the playoffs this year, the #2 seed is definitely looking better than the #4 seed. As for S.O.D., they still have a monster team average but they could use a win to get their confidence back. Their depth strategy hasn’t worked well against the teams with top bowlers, and LOS has 2 or 3 of those. They could finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th in Tuesday A. Lots of talent in this match, lots on the line.
#5 XXX Club (6-5) -3 vs Yay? (5-6): Yay should probably be ranked coming off their win over GOB. Maybe the slight will motivate them against old rivals T-Club. The Club has shot all the way back up to 5th after a rough start to the season. They seem to have figured out how to win again. Not sure what kind of drinking games will happen this time around but I do know these teams may need bibs and a personal mopping assistant. On the lanes I’ll take the Club to roll into the playoffs hot, dropping Yay? to 6th on Thursday A.
Slaughterhouse 7 (7-4) -5 vs 5 O’Clock Somewheres (0-11): One last chance for the 5 O’s to break the streak but it seems like a longshot. They are locked into a Sunday Shootout with BEER regardless of the outcome but they’d love to wrap up the season on a high note. Slaughter is part of a giant jumble of 4-loss teams on Thursday. They’ll need a win with a lot of points to try to avoid Sunday. There will be no mercy in the Slaughterhouse.
Lesbowlians (5-6) -5 vs Bad News Spares (1-10): Good news for both teams. The Lesbowlians are huge favorites to win and complete what I believe would be their 1st .500 season. Pretty good stuff. As for the Spares they broke a two year losing streak with an exciting win last week so this is their week to bask in th glory of that performance. They’ll face the Nutz in the Sunday Shootout.
Late Night
#4 Off Constantly (7-4) -5 vs Young & Bowled (4-7): OC can wrap up 3rd place with a win, though they may decide tanking gives them a better spot in the brackets by the time late games start. Well, I’m not sure tanking is in OC’s DNA. They always think they can beat anyone, and they do have two banners, so they’ll probably come out and try to crush Gang Green. Y&B are hard to figure – they have a really solid lineup but can’t seem to put the pieces together. They are capable of pulling a big upset come tourney time, and would love to get a signature win to finish the regular season.
Lovernauts (7-4) -5 vs Bowlderdash (3-8): There are 6 teams with 4 losses in Thursday B, but the Lovernauts have the inside track on a playoff spot. They lead the pack of team in points and should be able to win this one too. They just need to hold their point lead. Bowlderdash has had a down year by their own standards but could certainly change all that with a win here. They will definitely be playing Sunday and hope to get a little confidence before that.
Guacabowle (7-4) -5 vs Pinny Candy (3-8): This game looks a lot like the game I just listed. Guacabowle needs a lot of points to try to grab a playoff spot. They should win this one but they’ll need to be merciless in racking up points. Pinny Candy looks like a lock for a showdown with Saucy Posse on Sunday, which would be a tough task. They need to pull out all the stops tonight to get a win and avoid that Sunday matchup.
#8 Binga’s (6-5) -9 vs B&B (3-8): Well, if they could pull off the miracle win, B&B can avoid the Sunday Shootout. Mr. Mayor and Billy James would have to bowl their best of the season for that to happen and even then it would be asking a lot. Binga’s could finish anywhere from 3rd to 7th depending on tonight’s results. They need a dominating win to get their groove back heading into the playoffs. They looked like a title contender for a while but have scuffle in the 2nd half of the season. This sure would be a good time for Tso to regain his stroke.
#12 BEER (4-7) -1 vs #9 Guns of Brighton (7-4): Well, well, well. This is the first time I’ve picked BEER to win in 8 weeks. Of course it is in a game that means absolutely nothing – both teams are locked into their positions and the results can’t change anything. Still these are teams that would liek to beat each other while also getting intoxicated. Mr. Pickles and Hungus will get their head to head battle before they travel to Reno for the US Open doubles competition. Filthy and Invisible Hand will trade an escalating level of verbal barbs. E-Minor and Natro will relive a million Beer Frame Fridays. This will be a game played by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Granola Bowlahs (7-4) -3 vs Roll Another (7-4): Two more of the teams in the muddle. The loser drops into Sunday no matter what. The winner has an outside chance at the playoffs but will need to destroy the loser. Rick Vaughn sent me some pretty sweet trash talk predicting victory and I’m letting it determine my prediction. Actually, it’s a combination of that and the rumored return of Bijou Lowry. If she is around for the playoffs this team could make a little noise.