Officially the league kicked off Sunday, but tonight is opening Tuesday. We have a special treat in that all 12 lanes are BoPo both shifts (a rarity) and the amazing Mosart will be spinning for us. Some great match ups, some team debuts. Should be a great night.
Quick notes before the lines. Team fees are due tonight for all those Tuesday teams that have yet to pay. You need to pay them before your game. Secondly the Council of Keglers is up to 6 members and we will be selecting the seventh and final member today. Now, the lines!
Season Prediction Record: 1-1
Game of the Night
8:00 #2 Yahtzee (-3) vs #7 Body English: Let the bias claims begin early this year as the first GOTW features BEER. There’s good reason though. Yahtzee is loaded after the Deputy move, and they recently invoked the wrath of clearly mentally exhausted Hungus with a weird free agent gag. Plus BEER debuts McQueen. Good stuff to watch. On the lanes the Cheddar-Deputy-Sparkles trio (Pauly wildcard), and Lala to boot looks like a really tough to beat group.
Early Games
#3 Back in Black (-3) vs Off Constantly: OC was just outside the power 8 so this is another top 10 matchup. There will be a lot of those in Tuesday A this year (though Thursday has the defending champ and some impressive looking new players). BIB enters the post-Stevie Strikes era, but I feel like they will be fine if not better. Obviously it will be tough to replace a two time top dawg, but the camaraderie may improve. OC had an even more massive shakeup and welcomes aboard Bustah and Peanut. Will be weird to see them in OC unis.
Cunning Linguists (-1) vs Budweisers: The Linguists are crossing over from Thursday, the Budwesiers are making their debut. Gutterslut opened some eyes with a powerful Draft League playoffs, and no idea who else Col.Angus has lined up for his squad this year. I assume Dill and Wendiesel are back? La Ga? The Budweisers are new to the league, and the only spot available was in Tuesday A. They need to grab wins when they can and this may be one of their best shots, but I think the opening night jitters keep them just short. Plus I have no idea who their woman bowler is.
Wrecking Balls (-1) vs No Eye Deer: Dude and Burt the Bandit face off after bonding as Draft league teammates. The Wrecking balls made a nice offseason acquisition in Pin Prick and shed a few players to get the roster leaner. I don’t know what Disco Welder has in store, so I’ll go with the 8th year team.
Three Livers (-1) vs Pinups: This line is entirely based on the idea that Larry will be there for 3 Livers. He’s one of the best bowlers in B though his attendance is spotty and not sure he’s even on the team this year. Will be good to see Bernie in the building again. The Pinups look to bring back the same crew they always have, Silky Pete, Squirrel Master, Big Ern. This is a battle of 8 year teams!
Cape Fear (-3) vs Pinny Candy: Crossover B game between teams with real shots to win their respective divisions. Pinny Candy has steadily improved and put in time at the lanes to get better. I’l be curious to see who makes their roster this season. Cape Fear feature arguably the best bowler in B division in Southpaw, and are pretty focused when they show up at BoPo.
Happy Hands (-1) vs Splits Happen: Another Crossover B game. Happy hands is a perennial contender for the Thursday B crown and would love to take it back this year. They travel to Tuesday to play Splits who last year pulled off some big come from behind wins. Wedghead has perhaps the league’s biggest arsenal of bowling balls and Xander just scores. Should be a great matchup.
Late Games
Ball That (-5) vs Granola Bowlahs: Yet another crossover game, this time between two teams making the jump from B to A. Both teams could face a lot of losses in conference play so getting a win here is huge. Ball That eagerly accepted the invitation to A (to balance out division numbers) and Squampch’s crew will have fun win or lose. Rick Vaughn lobbied hard to move to Thursday A then lost his best player after it was too late to go back to B. They’ve got no expectations and nothing to lose. At least Rick Vaughn was selected to the Council of Keglers.
#6 Binga’s (-1) vs Strikes of Hazzard: Uncle Jesse has insisted Tony Fernandez isn’t jointing his identical twin General Lee on the team this year, yet he did come to team practice. He’ll be on the team and give Hazzard an amazing 1-2 punch. I’m still going with Binga’s just because they have the hunger this year. They won Draft League, they got down to 5 players, and they are armed for bear (and they have their own locker room across the street).
Saucy Posse (-1) vs UREA!: The last crossover match of the night. Saucy Posse has been in conversations with Ralphie which would be a great move but I’m not sure if they sealed the deal. UREA! lost Steff Infection but retained T-$ and Nurp and added Anal Lenoxxx. Good times!
Incredibowls (-1) vs ICBING: Perhaps the biggest Week 1 game in terms of standings as these two teams are likely to be in the hunt for a Tuesday A title and automatic playoff berth, so the head to head result is huge. The Incredibowls have Spidey, the match’;s top bowler. ICBING has experience, depth and and incredible livers.
BILF (-1) vs Nuts: I’ll admit, no idea who is on Nuts. They lost Bustah and Peanut and moved to B division. Herbie is still the captain so there’s that. BILF should be bringing back their whole team. Old Thumper leads the way and they’d love to finally have a season get off to a strong start.