A stagnated fourth week of Spring 2026 somehow managed to feel like a full-blown Mardi Gras parade that forgot to move its floats, with the standings frozen in place but the drama roaring through the lanes. One bowler rolled a new personal best game and shook the building, reminding everyone that even when the numbers don’t budge, the stories still explode. JoAnne Barber seized both the women’s high game (127) and high series (349), while Scott Murdock launched a cannonball of a 253 to claim the men’s high game, and Matthew Taylor stitched together a season-shattering 615 to take the men’s high series. Meanwhile, the Tournament of Champions burst into life, kicking off 13 weeks of head-to-head chaos, pride, and grudges waiting to be settled under the lights. The standings may have stood still, but the night itself sprinted, danced, stumbled, and roared into memory, ending with a glance toward this week’s bingo results.

Squid Row
Squid Row slithered onto the lanes like a parade float rolling down Bourbon Street, tentacles waving, beads flying, and ambition dripping from every suction cup. Even with two absences thinning the school, the cephalopods still made plenty of inky noise. Matthew Taylor, fresh off his trifecta sweep of #1 Head-to-Head, #1 Power-Ranked, and Most Valuable Bowler, put on a sea monster performance. His 226 towered far above his average and powered a monstrous 615 series that reset the season’s league-high mark. After two narrow losses, Squid Row surged late to win Game 3 and the series by fewer than ten pins, and the mood flipped from briny despair to oceanic joy. Ben Spencer hovered right around his average all night, acting as the steady lighthouse to Taylor’s crashing waves. The celebration took on extra sparkle with birthday cheers echoing down the lanes for Matthew Taylor, while teammates made a point to shout out Chris Windham back home, promising to save him a slice of cake and a story about the night he missed. Someone cracked that it felt wrong to celebrate a Squid’s birthday without all the tentacles present, but the good wishes still traveled. “We were dead in the water, then suddenly we were the tide,” one squid-clad bowler laughed. Taking the series after a rocky start left Squid Row relieved and fired up, their tentacles firmly wrapped around first place.

Thots & Spares
Thots & Spares came in throwing spares like parade beads, and for two games they partied like they owned the route. Scott Murdock detonated the house with a jaw-dropping 253, a new personal best that soared nearly a hundred pins over his average and left the building buzzing. The lanes felt like Bourbon Street at midnight when that one hit, and suddenly every pin was on notice. Tim Deddens also soared well above his average in two games, while Jim Koger endured a wild swing, dropping far below his norm in one frame before rebounding to help lock down early wins. But the beads eventually ran out, and the finale slipped away in a heartbreaker decided by fewer than ten pins. “We danced early and tripped on the beads late,” one teammate sighed. Losing the series stung, but with Scott’s cannon shot echoing through league lore, Thots & Spares walked away with swagger intact, even if the scoreboard told a crueler story.

The Queenpins
The Queenpins rolled in like royalty atop a glittering float, tossing strikes like doubloons into the crowd. After a shaky second game threatened to knock the crown askew, the Pins rallied with regal authority, winning three of four points and the series. Dustin Schmeltz led the coronation with a commanding 215 that soared above his average and set the tone for the entire match. Jon Little opened strong, stumbled badly in the middle, then surged back with a towering final game that helped slam the door on the match, turning a potential stumble into a royal procession. Lindsay Sargent quietly built momentum across the set, inching upward each game, while Ryan Sisco battled below his average but never let the crown slip from his focus. “We remembered we were royalty,” one teammate joked, “and gutters don’t get coronations.” Taking three wins had the Queenpins buzzing with excitement, like catching the perfect strand of beads tossed from a balcony.

3 Pins and a Gutter
For 3 Pins and a Gutter, the night felt like marching at the tail end of the parade, where the candy’s gone and the band is tired. Jesse Sauerbrei struggled mightily below his average all night, and every missed pin seemed to echo in the empty space between cheers. JoAnne Barber flashed moments of form but couldn’t quite pull the team out of the gutter’s gravitational pull. Nathan Burrows battled through uneven frames before rallying late with his team’s top game, but the comeback never fully materialized. Jeremy Varnell was the bright mask in the crowd, steadily climbing and delivering frames that kept hope alive longer than expected. “We kept finding three pins, and the gutter kept finding us,” one teammate sighed. Losing three games left the team deflated, but not broken; sometimes you trail the parade, and sometimes you become the story the next week.

Hot-n-Ready®
Hot-n-Ready® showed up piping hot and served a full three-course sweep with extra cheese. Every frame felt fresh from the oven, and winning all three games left the team openly buzzing with excitement. Seth Gunderson turned up the heat with a blazing 209 in the finale, soaring above his average when it mattered most. Ian Estey had a brutal dip well below his norm in the middle game before roaring back with a huge final performance that sealed the sweep, proving that even a cooling pie can come back hot. Buck Nasty stumbled late after a strong middle, but by then the feast was already laid out. “We came in Hot-n-Ready and left Hot-n-Relentless,” one bowler laughed. Three wins meant the celebration stayed loud long after the lanes went quiet.

Walk Offs
The Walk Offs walked in hopeful and walked out emotionally wrung out, swept in all three games in a night that felt like watching the parade route end just before you arrive. This was full Mardi Gras melodrama: the music fading, the beads gone, the street swept clean of joy. Carl Mueller opened strong above his average before fading into rough waters, Kurt Fredrickson never quite found his footing, and Chris Hagan rallied late with his team’s top game, but by then the sweep was inevitable. “We walked on, and the lanes walked all over us,” one teammate said with gallows humor. Losing every game left the Walk Offs devastated, staring at the lanes like the last float had passed without tossing a single bead, though the fight in their frames promised better days ahead.

Beads littered the approaches, crowns tilted, and the echoes of roaring strikes mixed with groans of near-misses as Mardi Gras energy swallowed the alley whole. Matthew Taylor’s historic series and Scott Murdock’s personal-best blast shook the building, while comebacks, heartbreaks, and clean sweeps wrote a three-act parade of chaos. The Tournament of Champions has begun its 13-week march, the standings remain frozen for now, and yet the stories are already boiling over. As the pin decks were swept clean and the music faded, one last round of cheers rang out for Chris Windham and Matthew Taylor, because birthdays deserve to be celebrated loudly, even when one of the honorees has to be cheered from afar. The parade rolls on, and next week promises more beads, more heartbreak, and more heroes.

Bowlers rolling into The 200 Club include: Dustin Schmeltz (215), Ian Estey (203), Matthew Taylor (226), Scott Murdock (253), and Seth Gunderson (209)

A new personal high game was set tonight by Scott Murdock (253, previous best 247).

Adding to the excitement, the 615 rolled by Matthew Taylor is this season's new high series for men.

In this week's Tournament of Champions brackets: Matthew Taylor routed Division 1, while Scott Murdock dominated Division 2. Chris Hagan creamed Division 3, and Jeremy Varnell whipped Division 4. In terms of overall points: Matthew Taylor is in the driver's seat in Division 1; Scott Murdock reigns over Division 2; Chris Hagan holds the reins in Division 3; and Jeremy Varnell calls the shots for Division 4.

NEXT WEEK:

• First, on lanes 1&2, 6th-place 3 Pins and a Gutter will socialize with 5th-place Walk Offs (hcp 1). Gutterly Pinned is expected to maintain their current strength as they lose the series but avoid getting swept; while Walkers are forecast to hold steady as they enjoy their victories.
• Moving to lanes 3&4, 3rd-place Thots & Spares (hcp 82) will tussle with 2nd-place Hot-n-Ready®. Thots might roll a little low and lose the series but avoid getting swept; while The Ready® ought to drop their average a bit even as they enjoy their victories.
• Finally, on lanes 5&6, 4th-place The Queenpins (hcp 84) will test their mettle against 1st-place Squid Row. Queenpins are predicted to have a bit of an off night and get swept; while Squids are anticipated to hold steady as they rack up a sweep.

^*(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 Matthew Taylor Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Matthew Taylor Runner Up: Scott Murdock	#1 H2H BOWLER Matthew Taylor Runner Up: Dustin Schmeltz
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "I love Carl's leathery ball bag." Matthew Taylor, on the rugged texture a well-worn bag.