Last night, based on exit polling plus early returns, Bowling News Network (BNN) called first place for Serious Bowlers. Boy, are we red-faced about that one. We haven't missed a call that badly since we projected Hiillary Clinton the Tournament of Champions winner in Fall 2016!

The twelfth week of Fall 2018 saw one team climb in the standings, while one team slipped. Monica Hufford picked up this week's high game (172) and series (493) for the women. As for the men, Seth Gunderson snagged this week's high game with a 233, and high series was earned by Aubrey Moren with a 565. Read on for all the rest of the details!

First up, on lanes 3 & 4: Kansas Republican Steve Watkins (8 Balls) waged a strong fight against Democrat Paul Davis (Serious Bowlers). Voting for Watkins was Dennis Walling with his 547 series, while Seth Gunderson voted Davis with his better-than-normal 549 series. The race was a dead heat, but because of absentee ballots or something Watkins comes out ahead. 8 Balls remains in 2nd place, while Serious Bowlers sinks 1 spot to 4th.

On lanes 5 & 6: The fans of charity bingo games (Bowl Movements) tussled with those who prefer to keep bingo tightly regulated (Gucci Lane). Reinforced by Conor Clarke with his 465 series, with kudos to Most Valuable Bowler Emmy Hanlon, the bingo players collected 3 wins against the bingo regulators. Steven Anthony with his 424 series took the lead among fans of bingo regulation despite his team notching only a single win. Bowl Movements remains in 10th place but can at least now advertise that fact, while Gucci remains in 9th where they will be bombarded by bingo ads.

Jeremy Cline celebrates the passage of medical marijuana in Missouri.

On lanes 7 & 8: Medical Marijuana - New Approach (BDE) faced off against Medical Marijuana - Brad Bradshaw (Bowling For Beers). Demonstrating the prowess of Jeremy Cline despite his below-average 473 series, New Approach trounced Brad Bradshaw by a 3-1 margin. On the side of higher taxes and Bradshaw's monopoly, Jeremy Varnell with his slightly-off 390 series helped lead the way in the failed campaign. BDE remains in 5th place, while Beers remain in 7th and see their dreams of a cannabis cartel go up in smoke.

On lanes 9 & 10: Claire McCaskill (Open Frames R Us) faced a tight race against Josh Hawley (We Don't Give a Split). Despite being led by Monica Hufford with her above-average 493 series, Claire accomplished only 1 win against Hawley. Meanwhile, #1 Power Ranked and #1 Head-to-Head Aubrey Moren and his better-than-normal 565 series campaigned heavily for the Republican challenger, helping bring 3 wins. Open Frames R Us remains in 6th place, while Split Not Given moves 1 spot to 3rd and gets a seat on the Imperial Senate.

It should be noted that in the aforementioned McCaskill-Hawley race, McCaskill campaign manager James Tott became only the second bowler in league history to roll exactly double their game 1 score in game 2. The only other person to have done this was former Sharice Davids MMA sparring partner Sean Simmons, coincidentally also in a week 12.

Finally, down on lanes 11 & 12: Democratic candidate for Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (Red Strikes Matter) faced what was expected to be a much tighter race against Kris Kobach (Teeby Dee), especially with the arrival of a third-party candidate (new league member Stewart Melton ). However, energized by Sean Miller with his above-average 499 series, Laura Kelly was able to kick Kobach to the curb. As for Kris, Curtis Whiles with his 443 series guided Team Kobach despite notching only a single win. Red Strikes Matter remains in 1st place, while TBD remains in 8th but admitted that they aren't really Kobach fans either.

Bowlers who gerrymandered their way into The 200 Club include: Aaron Barber (215), AJ Hofmann (200), Aubrey Moren (228), Sean Miller (202), and Seth Gunderson (233)

In this week's Tournament of Champions brackets: Dennis Walling dominated Division 1, while Aubrey Moren got the better of Division 2. Dennis Laube staked a claim for the Iron Throne in Division 3, and Chuck Kissee triumphed over his enemies in Division 4. Finally, Emmy Hanlon (Division 4) creamed this week's Interdivisional bracket. In terms of overall points: Jeremy Cline calls the shots Division 1; Aubrey Moren dominates Division 2; Dennis Laube and Chadwick Andrews are both in the driver's seat (on each other's laps?) in Division 3 in a tie; and Chuck Kissee tops Division 4.

NEXT WEEK:

• First, on lanes 3&4, 9th-place Gucci Lane will compete against 6th-place Open Frames R Us (hcp 1). Gucci is expected to maintain their current strength as they sweep the series; while Open Frames are forecast to drop their average a bit while they endure a rough night.
• Moving to lanes 5&6, 7th-place Bowling For Beers (hcp 156) will spend some quality time with 2nd-place 8 Balls. Beers might maintain their current strength as they get swept; while 8-Balls ought to raise their average while they rack up a sweep.
• Then, over on lanes 7&8, 8th-place Teeby Dee will hang out with 10th-place Bowl Movements (hcp 23). TBD will likely roll decently and sweep the series; while BMs will probably hold steady as they endure a rough night.
• Next up, on lanes 9&10, 4th-place Serious Bowlers will roll against 1st-place Red Strikes Matter (hcp 49). Serious Bs might maintain their current strength as they sweep the series; while Red Strikes ought to drop their average a bit while they endure a rough night.
• Finally, on lanes 11&12, 3rd-place We Don't Give a Split will throw some gutter balls with 5th-place BDE (hcp 21). Split Not Given is predicted to maintain their current strength as they win the series; while BDE is anticipated to hold steady as they avoid getting swept.

^*(Remember, the predicted results above are based on mathematical extrapolations and can be changed by all sorts of factors. If you don't like how your team's results are predicted, you and your teammates have the power to prove the math wrong!)

THIS WEEK'S MVB Emmy Hanlon Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Seth Gunderson	#1 H2H BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Phil Schroeder
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "You guys both have two balls, right? AJ, do you still have your ball that got crushed? I saw a picture of it and it looked terrible." Josh Rothermel, showing particular interest in AJ's and Scoot's balls on his way out the door Tuesday evening.