3rd Thursday

Game of the Week

Leisure Rolls (1-1) -1 vs B.U.I. (1-0): Not the game you thought you’d see her perhaps but it could go a long way in shaping the rest of the season.  B.U.I. opened with a solid win and looked more confident than ever. Snapshot is grabbing the anchor spot after his Draft League title and new signing G-Unit could have some strong games.  Leisure Rolls got rocked in the season debut vs LOS, then rebounded nicely last week in their regulator Thursday night party slot.  If the Rolls win, then they are looking strong and just have a loss to the #1 team that doesn’t look bad at all, and BUI is back to looking like a middle of the pack squad.  IF BUI wins then suddenly they are 2-0 and an outside contender for the top of Thursday A, and the Rolls looks like they will have taken a step back.  Of course that could all be horsecrap but they are good story lines.

Early Games

#6 TDYOB (1-0) -3 vs B&B (0-2): Well there’s a 100 pin team average difference but I think it will be a little closer than that.  TDYOB was dominant in it’s opener and the party train had tons of momentum.  Strikes are contagious.  They were fired up to play a higher ranked team, but how will they perform add favorites?  i see a letdown, though still doing enough to win.  This is their only early game I think and that is no their style.  They should be missing Senator ITZ and Space Farmer. Munson will have to risk his league leading 221 average, but they have Lou Dawg, Pistol Pete, a fast starting Spooky and another week of Easy Day Hero 2-handing. B&B plays best when they are big underdogs.  Billy James and Viking have been practicing a ton.  I think they keep it close, but ultimately drop to 0-3.

Guacabowle (1-1) -1 vs UREA! (1-1): Same record, similar averages.  These teams look like middle of the pack Thursday A squads, so a win here really helps one of them try to hang with the top dogs.  Guac had a nice rebound win last week, UREA dropped their game despite a 235 from T-$.  I think Guac has a little more team depth and will overcome losing some top points to pull out a win.

Roll Another (2-0) -4 vs DHD (0-1): A couple of Original 12 teams battling it out for the 8th season in a row.  DHD had it’s glory days in 2008 and 2009 with back to back BoPo finals appearances.  Roll Another is still waiting on it’s signature year, so maybe this is the start of it with a solid chance of moving to 3-0. They’d love to win Thursday A and grab the first trophy for their team trophy case.

Pinny Candy (0-2) -3 vs 5 O’Clocks (1-1): I picked Pinny Candy last week and they got shellacked 14-1.  That said I’m sticking with them as i think they are the stronger team in this one.  5 O’Clocks are actually coming off a 15-0 win of their own, their first ever franchise shutout.  Tillie’s crew has got to be feeling pretty good about themselves, but good enough to spring the upset?

Lovernauts (2-0) -3 vs Lesbowlians (1-1):  The Lovernauts won 14-1 last week (as underdogs!)  That followed on a 15-0 win in week 1, giving them 29 of 30 possible points.  No matter who you play that’s impressive.  Lesbowlians will give them their toughest test yet.  The Lesbowlians rallied last week to knock off defending A champs IBS in one of the best wins in team history.  They did it with Beaver leading the way, the week after Stayfree led them..  They are finally getting good contributions from ladies not named Tilt-A-Whirl.  Tilt-A-Whirl vs Rufio tonight is a classic matchup that should be good watching, but Rubbys gives Lovernauts the edge.

Late Games

Spare of the Dog (1-1) -9 vs Granola Bowlas (0-2): Rick Vaughn knew his team would take their lumps when they got in Thursday A and only later found out they had lost their best bowler.  They are one team I’m not worried about having fun in the face of so many losses.  Spare of The Dog lost badly last week to fall to 1-1.  Coco Lopez vs Bijou Lowry would have been a good one, too bad Bijou retired.

I.B.S. (1-1) -3 vs Happy Hands (0-2): This matchup has lost a little bit of it’s luster.  Last year these teams were fighting for the Thursday A title.  This year Happy Hands is off to a really rough start, and I.B.S. is coming off a surprise loss to the Lesbowlians.  If I.B.S. wins they are fine at 2-1 and will have essentially buried their rival from last year.  If Happy Hands win at least both teams are 1-2 but the door would be wide open for a new Thursday A champ.  I’ll surprised HHP hasn’t been bowling better but i think they will soon, just not soon enough to get by the Ram Bros.

Guns of Brighton (0-2) -1 vs #7 Linguists (2-0): Upset alert?  It’s odd to see these teams in their respective positions with GOB stumbling out of the gate and the Linguists in the rankings after posting the highest team total of the season last week.  GOB is bound to get it going at some point as all their bowlers are bowling below where they will end up.  Railroad has the Thursday experience under his belt now and Pickles will have a monster night soon.  The Linguists have overcome the loss of their Captain to put up some big wins.  La Gatita and Gutterslut are a strong 1-2 punch right now and Wildcard and Wendiesel have been steady and good.  Oh and lets not forget EHD (not to be confused with TDYOB’s EDH – Easy Day Hero) had a two hundo last week.  I think it will be close, but I think GOB avoids the 0-3 start (unlike BEER and OC).

Bad News Spares (0-2) -3 vs Pud’s Taxi (0-1): Well this marks the first time ever Bad News Spares has been a favorite.  Welcome!  This is a monster game for these teams as it marks the best chance for a win all season for both of them.  The Spares have a 20+ pin better average, but they’ve struggled for two weeks.  Pud’s came back to the league with a great energy even in falling 15-0 to the 5 O’s.  Hopefully they maintain that energy even if the struggles continue.  This will be as fun as it gets for these teams, and they’ll party hard into the evening.