As the second half of the season continues on, one team continues to dominate the league as they race towards the Finals...and potentially another championship. Can they be toppled or have they gotten so far ahead that it's a battle now only for second place and below? Week 10 may be looked back upon as opportunities allowed to slip by as yet another powerhouse team succumbed to the reigning rulers of the roost.In the first matchup of the evening, the ACE²S stared down the barrel of Bowled to Death. Bowled's Matt Bell put up the biggest numbers for his team – a 463 – to start the night out with a blowout in Game #1. However, with an ACE up their sleeve in the form of anchor Eric Lynch – who led the team with a 418 series – fought back to even the score with a victory in Game #2. In the end, the third and final game went emphatically to Bowled to Death to end the night with a 3-1 victory in their favor. Neither team moved up or down in the league standings, with the ACE²S remaining in 6th and Bowled to Death staying in 7th place.Boy, enshrine a man into the GutterAlley Hall of Fame and he thinks he's a pro bowler...or such was the case for the Strange Bedfellows' very own Carl Goetz on Tuesday night. Leading his team to a clean sweep over opponents Splits or Swallows, Goetz put up a league leading 692 series and added yet another notch onto his collection of stellar series that appear on the league's Top 25 Highest Series of All Time list as well as being this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler. While the wins keep them ten games out of first place, the Bedfellows may just still have some fight in them this season. Splits' AJ Hofmann had the highest series for his team, ending with a 407 series in the losing effort and remaining in 5th place.After last week's setback, the boys of Brown Belt Jones hoped to regroup this week and hold or improve their tenuous grip on second place..    It might have happened, if not for  Ballsagna's Orion Kinkaid and his 205 in game 3.   Ian Goetz led his dojo to a 3-1 victory with his 544 series, while Ballsanga served up a slice of victory in game 3 with the help of Russell Madsen's team-leading 430 series.   The Brown Belts slip to 3rd place due to the total pins tiebreaker, while Ballsanga remains in 8th.Down on Lanes 25 & 26, the X-Men swore that they would be the team that would end the Turkey Hunters' reign of terror. Such was not the case. Dropping Game #1 by a slim margin, Game #2 went heavily in the favor of The Turkey Hunters. Game #3, however, was in the bag for the X-Men before they handed it away on a silver platter, ending the evening with a 4-0 matchup victory in favor of the current league champs. The Turkeys' Aubrey Moren led his team with a 589 series – with help from this week's Most Valuable Bowler Dennis "Pops" Laube – while the X-Men's Ryan Doll dropped his average two pins with a sub-par 548 series. The Turkeys continue to destroy the league, a full ten games ahead of everyone else. The X-Men, on the other hand, hold steadfastly in 4th place.Bowlers thankful that there weren't any March Madness games on the TV to disrupt their time in The 200 Club this week include: Aubrey Moren (222), Carl Goetz (257, 201, 234), Ken M. Wilson (213, 225), Orion Kinkaid (205), and Ryan Doll (208).The race to qualify for the finals in the Tournament of Champions continue. Division #1 is deadlocked with Ken M. Wilson and Carl Goetz in the lead (both with 11 points). Aubrey Moren (29 points) continues to be lead Division #2 with Bob Brunker (15 point) in second place. Division #3 has Jonathan Vigliaturo and Rob Kaszuba leading the way with 13 points apiece. Division #4 finds Russell Madsen now leading the charge with 18 points and Eric Lemmon just behind him at 17 points.Voting for this season's Hall of Fame nominees is now open. Congratulations to candidates Bob Brunker, Dennis "Pops" Laube, Janelle (Laube) Lamar, Pat Searcy, Phil Schroeder, and Seth Gunderson. Be sure to get in there and vote!See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Dennis Laube Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Dennis Laube	#1 H2H BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Dennis Laube
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Okay, maybe we *do* need Carpio...but let's not rush it." AJ Hofmann, after watching his team get swept for the first time in quite a while.

With the position round now in the rearview mirror, the league restarted its schedule once again Tuesday night as teams faced their Week #1 opponents. Despite an odd assortments of wins and losses across the board, not a single team managed to move up or down in the standings. For the first time in several seasons, five of the eight teams in the league have records .500 or better. Surely this won't stay true as the season rolls onward but, for the time being, there's quite a knot right there in the middle.After being swept by opponents Brown Belt Jones last week in the position round, the X-Men rebounded with a vengeance. Despite anchor Ryan Doll's below average performance (and being two people short to boot!), his 545 series was just what the X-Men needed in order to pull off the 3-1 matchup victory to stave off being passed in the standings by the team right on their heels. The Belt's Ian Goetz miraculously led his team for the first time since Week #1, ending his night with a below average 520 series. The Belt remains in 2nd place, nine games out of first, while the X-Men continue to hover in 4th place with a record of 19-17.There is no denying that the Turkey Hunters are on a roll these days. Notching the night's only sweep (made up of three charity wins), the reigning champions extend their lead over the rest of the league by a 2+ week margin by defeating opponents Ballsagna. Anchor Aubrey Moren put up the league's highest scratch series of the evening, ending with a 614. On the losing side of the equation, the Balls' Dave Winger provided the most fire-power for his crew – a 390. Both teams remain in their respective positions with the Turkeys still in first and Ballsagna in 8th place.After a loss in Game #1 to opponents Bowled to Death, this week's Most Valuable Bowler AJ Hofmann decided that enough was enough and brought it along with teammate Mike Berlin of Splits or Swallows. Berlin, who led the team with a 468 series, steadily got his team back into the matchup culminating with Hofmann's epic performance in Game #3 – his new career high of 186 – that helped win the game by a mere seven pins and giving them the 3-1 matchup victory. Deaths' Matt Bell led his team with a 426 series while teammate Kristie Carter notched her new career high game and series, rolling a 143 in Game #3 and ending with a 349 series. Again, neither team moved in the standings, with Splits or Swallows improving to 18-18 and sit in 5th while Bowled to Death holds onto 7th place. The last time these two teams met, the Strange Bedfellows dominated opponents ACE²S. Such was not the case this time around. The ACE's Chris Klee put on a huge performance against the ailing Bedfellows, setting both a new personal high game (191) and high series (454) to lead his team to a 3-1 beat down. Substitute bowler Cody Beltram showed up on the right night, earning #1 Power Ranked bowler honors for the ACE's, with a 447 series. The Bedfellows, led by anchor Carl Goetz and his 604 series, continue to struggle to find wins. Neither team moved at all in the standings, of course, with the Bedfellows barely clinging to 3rd while the ACE2S stick in 6th place.Bowlers debating who should make it into the Hall of Fame at the end of the season inside The 200 Club this week include: Aubrey Moren (203, 226), Carl Goetz (225), and Dennis "Pops" Laube (207). All three decided it should not be Phil or Pops. The race to qualify for the finals in the Tournament of Champions continue. Division #1 finds a new leader in Ken M. Wilson (11 points) with Carl Goetz closely behind him (10 points). Aubrey Moren (26 points) continues to be lead Division #2 with Bob Brunker (9 point) in second place. Division #3 has Jonathan Vigliaturo leading the way with 13 points with Rob Kaszuba behind him with 10 points. Division #4 finds Eric Lemmon leading the charge with 14 points with both Russell Madsen and Chris Klee just two points behind him with 12 apiece. Voting for this season's Hall of Fame nominees is now open. Congratulations to candidates Bob Brunker, Dennis "Pops" Laube, Janelle (Laube) Lamar, Pat Searcy, Phil Schroeder, and Seth Gunderson. Be sure to get in there and vote!See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB AJ Hofmann Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Cody Beltram Runner Up: Chris Klee	#1 H2H BOWLER Bob Brunker Runner Up: Aubrey Moren
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Wow, that's better than f#cking him in the ass!" Bob Brunker, after slapping Seth in an effort to influence his Hall of Fame votes.

Kicking off in the Spring 2011 season, our bowling community collectively cast its votes for the inaugural class of enshrinees to the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. These initial four bowlers were tasked with carrying on the Hall's enshrinement duties, promising that one new bowler would make his or her way to join them at the end of every season going forward. We are happy to say that the tradition is about to continue. Read the rest of this entry »

As dictated by the schedule the 8th week of the league is always the position round. a week in which the matchups are set by where teams fall in the standings. The results of this particular week have historically done one of two things: the league standings either tighten up as underdogs best their opponents or dominant teams truly leave a message and extend their leads over their closest competitors. This season's position round was a mixture of both. Reigning champions Turkey Hunters wasted no time in dismantling the bowlers of Strange Bedfellows. Easily cruising to a 3-1 matchup victory – and almost pulling off the sweep following a late rally in Game #3 – the Turkeys extend their lead over the rest of the league to six games. Aubrey Moren, who continues to raise his average on an almost weekly basis these days and earned #1 Power Ranked bowler honors in the process, dominated the league with his 660 series. Despite a large box of Justin Bieber cupcakes in honor of birthday girls Freda Schroeder and Sabrina Gray, the Bedfellows' could do no better than Carl Goetz's 599 series in the losing effort. The Strange Bedfellows fell asleep and woke up in 3rd place.What do you do when your team dynamic has been off and on? Brown Belt Jones tried something new and it paid off in spades. Completely changing their bowling order, the boys with The Belt completely whipped the now .500 X-Men to log the only sweep of the night. With newly christened anchor – and this week's Most Valuable Bowler – Bill Krejci leading the way with an impressive 634 series and – I can't believe I'm about to write this – Scott Murdock shooting his new personal high game (a 235!), Brown Belt Jones moved up into 2nd place. The X-Men, led by an off Ryan Doll and his 542 series, remain in 4th place...but by only a single game.What has gotten into Splits or Swallows? Apparently some spunk. Facing opponents ACE²S, Swallows' very own AJ Hofmann figured it was high-time he rolled his personal best series and put up a team leading 487 to lead his team to a 3-1 matchup victory. The team nearly came away with a clean sweep if not for the ACE²S' Eric Lynch rallying with a game 42 pins over his average in Game #3 to earn the victory by 27. Lynch finished the night with a team leading 457 series. With the wins, Splits or Swallows remain in 5th place but have successfully cut the distance between them and fourth place by a single game. The ACE²S stagnate in 6th place.In what has been deemed "The Battle for Last Place" each position round, the 7th and 8th place teams met up Tuesday night to beat up on one another. In the night's tightest contest, each game was settled by the smallest of margins. Bowled to Death came out firing to take Game #1 by 23 pins, compliments of anchor Eric Lemmon's 189 game (Lemmon went on to have the team's highest series of the evening, booking a 429). Game #2 went to Ballsagna, with anchor Russell Madsen's best game of the night en route to his 444 series. Game #3, as well as total pins, came down to the wire with Game #3 and total going to Bowled to Death by a mere nine pins, total pins by ten. The 3-1 win by Bowled to Death inches them up to 7th place by a total pins tie-breaker while Ballsagna now sits in the cellar.Bowlers positioning themselves for a trip into The 200 Club this week include: Aubrey Moren (243, 218), Bill Krejci (201, 211, 222), Bob Brunker (224), Carl Goetz (204, 224), Freda Schroeder (206), Ian Goetz (203), Ryan Doll (200), and Scott Murdock (235).Nominations for the Hall of Fame this season are now closed. The six candidates up for enshrinement this season will be announced next Tuesday.The race to qualify for the finals in the Tournament of Champions continue. At the halfway mark, Division #1's top two seeds are Carl Goetz (10 points) and Ryan Doll (9 points). The top point earner in Division #2 is Aubrey Moren (25 points) and then there's a tie between Dennis Laube and Seth Gunderson, both with 8 points. Division #3 has Jonathan Vigliaturo leading the way with 13 points with Rob Kaszuba behind him with 10 points. Division #4 finds Eric Lemmon leading the charge with 13 points and Russell Madsen just a point behind him with 12. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Bill Krejci Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Bill Krejci	#1 H2H BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Bill Krejci
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Damn, you'd think with that lisp he'd have more experience going all the way down." Deena Slinkard, after watching Scoot do a pathetic half-pushup.

On a stormy Tuesday night, nearly the entire league showed up to give it one last shot before heading into the half-way mark of the season – the position round – next week. And while only two teams managed to swap positions in the league standings, the stage has been set for what could definitely be a big shake up. But before all of that mess transpires, let's get into what happened during Week #7 first.After securing a 20-pin victory in Game #1, Bowled to Death found themselves facing a rejuvenated Ballsagna. Led by their anchor Russell Madsen and his 462 series, the Balls managed to reverse their team's fortunes and come away with a 3-1 matchup victory to be the only team to climb up in the league standings this week. Ballsagna finds themselves now in 7th place. Ryan Housknecht, who shot a team leading 420 series, led Bowled to Death in the losing effort. During the matchup, Bowled's Ellen Neidlinger shot her all-time high game – a 155. Bowled to Death slips one spot into 8th place.Make no bones about it, the X-Men's Ryan Doll is having a hell of a season. Rolling the highest series of the night, Doll's 650 easily led his team to a 3-1 victory over opponents Strange Bedfellows. Despite anchor Carl Goetz leading the team with a 560 series – and three games over average from lead-off roller Sabrina Gray, who narrowly missed her all-time highest series – the Bedfellows managed only to escape a sweep with a Game #3 win. Neither team moved up or down in the standings, with the Bedfellows remaining in 3rd while the X-Men cling tightly to 4th place.Perhaps it was the joy of a new granddaughter that drove Dennis "Pops" Laube to his season-high 567 series Tuesday night, but whatever it was certainly worked. Leading the Turkey Hunters with his best series thus far this season, the reigning champions added three more wins to their record to extend their lead over the rest of the league to five games. Opponents ACE²S received the most fire-power from anchor Eric Lynch, who ended his evening with a 438 series. Lynch's teammates Chris Klee and Sarah West ended their nights with new personal bests – Sarah with a new high game (165) and Klee with a new high series (435). The Turkeys remain in 1st while the ACE²S keep a trick up their sleeve in 6th place.You can't spell "victory" with having a T in the middle...and Splits or Swallows very own Teresa Deterding provided such a boost. Earning Most Valuable Bowler honors as well as being the #1 Power Ranked bowler, Deterding led her team with a new personal high 517 series (including her first ever 200+ game!) to a 2-2 deadlock with powerhouse team Brown Belt Jones. Once again led by someone other than their anchor, The Belt was carried this week by Bill Krejci and his 532 series. Splits or Swallows remain in 5th while Brown Belt Jones refuses to budge from 3rd place.Bowlers ducking into the safety of The 200 Club to avoid thunderstorms this week include: Angela Bradford (200), Aubrey Moren (200), Bill Krejci (209), Carl Goetz (214), Dennis "Pops" Laube (211), Ryan Doll (216, 220, 214), and Teresa Deterding (200).The breakdown for the Tournament of Champions this week shows the following: Division 1 finds Carl Goetz and Ryan Doll both with 9 points, Aubrey Moren continues to lead Division 2 with 19 points, Jonathan Vigliaturo increases his lead over Division 3 with 13 points, and Eric Lemmon topping Division 4 with 10 points. The Tournament of Champions will conclude in Week #16, the week of the Finals.And a final note...thanks to everyone that has made a nomination this season for someone to enter the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. The forum to submit a nomination is open and will be until the position round.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Teresa Deterding Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Teresa Deterding Runner Up: Dennis Laube	#1 H2H BOWLER Ryan Doll Runner Up: Dennis Laube
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Fortunately there was a space in-between your legs so I could see your ball." Ken, after trying to watch Carl pick up a single pin spare.

Week 6 of the 25th season was a memorable one in a number of ways: four bowlers shot their career highest games, three bowlers rolled their highest series (including one that is now the 2nd highest in league history), one team tied the all-time record for highest output for a 5-man single game, and a "Hitler Reacts" video were the talk of the evening. Once again, only one team managed to make any headway in the league standings which has a potential for a major reshuffling as we head into the position round two weeks from now. For now, let's just see how everyone did this week...shall we? Despite weeks of speculation as to whether or not he exists, John Haubrich of Splits or Swallows proved that he is indeed for real Tuesday night with his first career Most Valuable Bowler performance. Alongside Jason Carpio's team-leading 571 series, the Swallowers laid waste to opponents ACE²S to earn the lone sweep of the evening. Game #2 was the closest that the victors ever allowed the ACEs to get near them – and that game was settled by a margin of 120 pins. Eric Lynch led his team in the losing effort, ending his night with a 410 series. Split or Swallows ends up being the only team to move up in the league standings this week, climbing one spot up into 5th while the ACE²S trade places with them and wind up in 6th place.The reigning champion Turkey Hunters took on an amped up Brown Belt Jones on lanes 21 & 22 in what was easily the most hostile battle of the evening. After a blowout in Game #1, the Turkeys looked to continue their dominance in the league but found their 10-game win streak snapped by a loss in Game #2. Game #3 came down to an anchor versus anchor showdown in which the Turkey's Aubrey Moren – who shot both his career high games and series (244 and 664, respectively) during the night – easily won. The Belt's third bowler Seth Gunderson led his team for the third straight week, ending his evening with a 586 series. Neither team moved up or down in the standings with the Hunters remaining atop the league standings and Brown Belt Jones still in 3rd place. Six games separate the two teams.You want to talk about some personal bests, let's talk about what happened in the matchup between Bowled to Death and Strange Bedfellows. First off, Bowled's Matt Bell shoots his all time highest game (a 198) and the team wins Game #1. Then, in the next game, Eric Lemmon shoots his highest game (a 190) but the team loses Game #2. Game #3 was when the Bedfellows put their opponents to sleep with the 1-2 punch of Bob Brunker's all-time highest game (a 246) and this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler Carl Goetz and his 735 series – which is the 2nd highest series ever shot in league history. The team also tied the all-time record for highest team score for a single game with their 1041. The Bedfellows added a 3-1 win to their record but still remain in 2nd while Bowled stay put in 7th place.The final matchup of the evening pitted last week's short comers X-Men against the looking-for-wins Ballsagna. Despite a solid start in Games #1 and #2, the X-Men found themselves out bowled by the Balls mainly due to a resurgence by Ballsagna's newly repositioned lead off bowler, Orion Kinkaid. With a team-leading 428 series, Orion managed to stop the X-Men from completely overpowering them to stave off being swept. The biggest X throwing X's this week was, once again, anchor Ryan Doll whose 571 series blazed the path for his team's 3-1 win. The positive notches increase the X-Men's win record into the positive but they remain steady in 4th place. Ballsagna, despite the win, remain in 8th place with a record of 5-19 so far this season.Bowlers goose stepping their way into The 200 Club this week include: Aubrey Moren (244, 234), Bill Krejci (201), Bob Brunker (246), Carl Goetz (226, 264, 245), Freda Schroeder (209), Ian Goetz (201), Jason Carpio (208, 224), Ken M. Wilson (214, 205, 233), Phil Schroeder (214), Ryan Doll (222), and Seth Gunderson (204, 206).The breakdown for the Tournament of Champions this week shows the following: Division 1 sees a new leader in Carl Goetz with 9 points, Division 2's Aubrey Moren with 18 points, Jonathan Vigliaturo leading Division 3 with 12 points, and Eric Lemmon topping Division 4 with 9 points. The Tournament of Champions will conclude in Week #16, the week of the Finals.GutterAlley would like to congratulation league luminary – and new Mommy! – Janelle "Nellie" (Laube) Lamar on the birth of her little girl, Autumn Rose. The little future bowler was born on Valentine's Day and both mother and baby are doing very well. Congrats, Nellie!And a final note...thanks to everyone that has made a nomination this season for someone to enter the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. The forum to submit a nomination is open and will be until the position round.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB John Haubrich Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Aubrey Moren	#1 H2H BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Aubrey Moren
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Oh, the Hitler video you enjoyed but THAT line gets to you?" Carl Goetz, upon seeing Ian shoot Ken a look fresh after his "THERE'S an anchor" comment.

Love was in the air Tuesday night on the lanes of GutterAlley as a sizable number of bowlers showed up to do battle. Although only two teams managed to move at all in the standings, three teams are making a play to extend their leads over the rest of the league. Sure, it's early, but we've seen teams build momentum near the beginning of a season that they carry throughout. Let's get to the recap...The Strange Bedfellows fell in love with this week's Most Valuable Bowler – and the most recent Hall of Fame inductee – Carl Goetz all over again. Hoisting a team leading 632 series, the Bedfellows made a meal out of Ballsagna. Despite a 415 series out of substitute anchor AJ Taylor, the Balls didn't notch a single victory. Game #3 ended on an odd note, though, as an intentional double gutter from Joe Longstreet shifted momentum from the Balls over into the Bedfellows favor. If not for the gutters, the Bedfellows would not have added a sweep to their win record. The Bedfellows remain in 2nd while Ballsagna slips a spot into 8th place.As the X-Men's Ryan Doll can attest to last night - "when you're hot, you're hot." Hotness on the lanes, however, doesn't always guarantee victories in the end. Putting up his second highest series of his career – and the highest scratch series shot this season – Doll's 690 series was the best of the best. Bowled to Death, however, came away with a 3-1 matchup victory with Matt Bell leading the charge with his 444 series and cooled the X-Men's recent momentum. The wins also made Bowled to Death the only team that managed to move up in the league standings this week, hopping up into 7th place. The X-Men remain in 4th place.What has gotten into this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler, Aubrey Moren?!? Having been promoted last season into the anchor spot, Moren led The Turkey Hunters with a 621 series to a clean sweep over opponents Splits or Swallows. This extends the Turkeys' win streak to nine games, the longest this season thus far. The Splits' Jason Carpio contributed the most fire power to his team and ended his night with a 595 series in the losing effort. The Turkey Hunters remain three games ahead of the league in 1st while Splits or Swallows continues at a medium pace in 6th place.Despite want ads being placed in local newspapers for an anchor, the members Brown Belt Jones continue to add wins to their record while the position is looking to be filled. Middle bowler Seth Gunderson led The Belt with a 555 series in their 3-1 matchup win over opponents ACE²S. The ace of the ACE²S was Eric Lynch, who is quickly returning to his old self. Raising his average five pins, Lynch's 495 series was the biggest output for his team but it couldn't muster more than just a single win. The Belt remains in 3rd while the ACE²S gain ground but remain in 5th place.Bowlers reuniting this week with their longest love – a 200+ game – in The 200 Club include: Angela Bradford (211), Aubrey Moren (243, 226), Carl Goetz (204, 224, 204), Ian Goetz (212), Jason Carpio (235), Ken M. Wilson (204), Ryan Doll (244, 216, 230), and Seth Gunderson (210).For those of you that were following the Tournament of Champions this week, the full breakdown can be found by visiting that section of the site. A quick recap, however, finds Ken M. Wilson barely leading Division 1 with 7 points, Aubrey Moren dominating Division 2 with 12 points, Jonathan Vigliaturo crushing the competition in Division 3 with 12 points, and Russell Madsen and Eric Lynch tied as the top dogs in Division 4 with 6 points apiece. The Tournament of Champions will conclude in Week #16, the week of the Finals.And a final note...thanks to everyone that has made a nomination this season for someone to enter the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. The forum to submit a nomination is open and will be until the position round.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Carl Goetz Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Ryan Doll	#1 H2H BOWLER Ryan Doll Runner Up: Carl Goetz
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Christ! It was so easy for everyone to get something up in there. Why is it taking so long to get something out?!?" Dennis Laube, commenting about his expectant daughter Janelle still being in labor.

Tuesday night welcomed a number of higher-than-usual games, including some personal bests set around the league. While only two teams managed to exchange spots in the league standings, some ground was gained by several teams. League mystery John Haubrich also managed to make his debut in the league – welcome, John! Week #4 also saw the first actual Tournament of Champions in action, but we'll cover that here in a little bit. Ready to hear how the actual action went down? Let's do this, then.In the first matchup of the night, Ryan Doll of the X-Men decided to make a big statement. After dominating opponents Splits or Swallows in Game #1, the team suffered a misstep in Game #2 – primarily due to Teresa Deterding's near personal-best 173 and AJ Hofmann's team-leading 437 series – the X-Men struck back to take Game #3 and total pins for a 3-1 matchup victory. Game #3 was settled by a mere three pins. Doll, this week's Most Valuable Bowler, led his team with a 633 series. The wins keep the X-Men in 4th while Splits or Swallows slips a spot down into 6th place.It helps to have some ACE²S up your sleeve when facing Ballsagna's Russell Madsen on his best night ever in the league. Despite Madsen shooting his personal best series (a 474) to lead Ballsagna, the night belonged to Eric Lynch and the members of ACE²S. With a 457 series out of Lynch – and a game 84 pin game above her average by Alexandra Avila – the Aces rolled right over Ballsagna for a 3-1 matchup win. The wins push ACE²S up a spot in the league standings into 5th while Ballsagna holds steady in 7th place.Before bowling began, this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler Jonathan Vigliaturo had one wish – to hit the pocket. Boy, did he. Shooting both his highest game ever (219) along with his highest series (538), Vigliaturo found help from league legend and fellow Brown Belt Jones teammate Seth Gunderson, who destroyed the competition with his own personal new high score – the highest game thrown yet this season – a 262. After being handed a near 200-pin rout in Game #1, Strange Bedfellows's Ken M. Wilson decided enough was enough and put up a 634 series to bring the team back to a 2-2 split with victories in Games #2 and #3. Total pins was easily won by The Belt. Neither team move in the standings, with Strange Bedfellows and Brown Belt Jones remaining in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.The final matchup of the night took place down on Lanes 25 & 26 and saw Bowled to Death facing up against reigning league champs The Turkey Hunters. With each game close heading into the final frames, the resilience of the champs was too much to overcome and Bowled to Death died an 0-4 death. Led by anchor Aubrey Moren's 561 series, the Turkeys hold onto their 1st place position with the league's best record at 14-2 and increase their lead over the league to three games. Bowled, led by sub Matt Hile's 413 series, find themselves with a 1-15 record after four weeks and remain in 8th place. Bowlers finding their own shadows darkening the doorsteps of The 200 Club this week include: Aubrey Moren (200), Carl Goetz (229, 209), Ian Goetz (225), Jonathan Vigliaturo (219), Ken M. Wilson (244), Rob Kaszuba (214), Ryan Doll (236, 201), and Seth Gunderson (262).For those of you that were following the Tournament of Champions this week, the full breakdown can be found by visiting that section of the site. A quick recap, however, finds Ken M. Wilson leading Division 1, Aubrey Moren in the lead over Division 2, Jonathan Vigliaturo the big winner in Division 3, and Russell Madsen the top dog in Division 4. Each has six points. The Tournament of Champions will conclude in Week #16, the week of the Finals.And a final note...thanks to everyone that has made a nomination this season for someone to enter the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. The forum to submit a nomination is open and will be until the position round.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Ryan Doll Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Jonathan Vigliaturo Runner Up: Russell Madsen	#1 H2H BOWLER Ryan Doll Runner Up: Ken M. Wilson
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Hey! There's just too many balls up on this rack." Sabrina Gray, after noticing that the bowling ball return was jamming up.

During the third week of GutterAlley's 25th season, only one team managed to hold onto its position in the league standings. Everyone else moved up or down one spot with one team slipping down two. Surprisingly, the team that didn't move After setting a 166 average last week, Brown Belt Jones' Bill Krejci figured it was time to raise that somewhat. And raise it, he did. Shooting a demonic 666 series – and earning both the Most Valuable Bowler and #1 Power Ranked bowler nods in the process – Krejci showed 'em how it was done en route to the night's only sweep. Opponents Bowled to Death, led this week by Ryan Housknecht and his 409 series, simply could not find the firepower to stop Bill and band. The four wins keep Brown Belt Jones in 3rd while the four losses drop Bowled to Death down one into 8th place.After beginning their season with a perfect 8-0 start, the Strange Bedfellows found their first, second, and third losses at the hands of reigning champs The Turkey Hunters. Led by Phil Schroeder's 524 series, the Turkeys took flight and landed in first place with their 3-1 matchup victory. The Bedfellows' Carl Goetz booked a 655 series in the losing effort. The Turkey Hunters improve to the league's best record of 10-2 while the Strange Bedfellows slip one spot down into 2nd place a mere one game behind.After taking a 101-pin thumping in Game #1, the men of Ballsagna took matters into their own hands (gently, mind you) and reversed their fortunes as the night rolled on. Led by Russell Madsen's 390 series, Ballsagna managed to secure Games #2 and #3 but dropped total pins in the end. The biggest output from Splits or Swallows came from Mike Berlin this week, who led the gang with a 493 series. The teams, splitting the matchup 2-2, both move up one spot in the league standings. Splits or Swallows chokes up to 5th while Ballsagna rolls into 7th place.The final matchup of the evening took place down on lanes 25 & 26 with the closest games of the night, the majority of which were settled by just a mark or two. After taking Game #1, the X-Men found themselves in familiar territory, being led by anchor Ryan Doll (who would end the night with a 551 series. The ACE²S managed to steal Game #2 from them, with anchor Eric Lynch getting more comfortable with his new bowling ball and shooting a 456 series. Enough was enough, however, and the X-Men finished them off in Game #3...taking total pins as well by a mere five pins for a 3-1 win overall. The X-Men move up into 4th while the ACE²S slip two spots into 6th place.Bowlers making sure that Ken doesn't get to come into The 200 Club to celebrate a damn thing include: Bill Krejci (247, 221), and Carl Goetz (215, 215, 225), For those of you that are interested, we're giving you until the end of next week to sign up for this season's Tournament of Champions. Sign-ups sheets were available down on the lanes this week and will be present next week for the final time. It's only a mere one-time-fee of $2 to participate so give it a go if you'd like. Questions? Drop a line to Ken or Scoot.Also, the GutterAlley Hall of Fame is currently taking nominations for this season's enshrinee. As those of you that rolled in our last session, Carl Goetz was the latest addition to the Hall. Who will make it in this season? Only time will tell. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Bill Krejci Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Bill Krejci Runner Up: Carl Goetz	#1 H2H BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Bill Krejci
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "...birthday to me, ...birthday to me, it would have been happier, if we hadn't lost three." Ken M. Wilson, serenading himself after costing his team big Tuesday night.

Week #2 of GutterAlley's 25th season is now in the history books and with it came some rather impressive performances from what some would consider unlikely sources. Tuesday night also saw the official debuts of some new rookies including Chris Klee, Alexandra Avila, and Sarah West as well as new subs Kris Karnes and Matt Hile. Welcome to the league, gang!In the first matchup of the evening, reigning champs The Turkey Hunters got off to a slow start against powerhouse team X-Men, dropping Game #1 by 60+ pins. That's when head Turkey Freda Schroeder turned on the juice and, with her team-leading 524 series, led her team to a come from behind 3-1 matchup victory. Despite anchor Ryan Doll shooting a 573 series, the X-Men simply couldn't muster the firepower necessary to derail the Turkeys. Improving to a record of 7-1, The Turkeys Hunters remain in 2nd while the X-Men drop one spot down into 5th place.Down on lanes 21 & 22, Brown Belt Jones had high hopes of moving up in the league standings. Fortunately for them they had Jonathan Vigliaturo on their team. Leading the team with his 524 series – which included his first in-league 200+ game – Vigliaturo propelled his team to a 3-1 matchup victory over opponents Ballsagna. Despite this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler performance compliments of the Balls' Russell Madsen, who led the team with his 440 series, Ballsagna only managed to secure a lone victory in Game #2. The Belt managed to hop two spots up into 3rd while the men of Ballsagna remain in 8th place. Last week, the short-staffed ACE²S didn't manage a single win. This week, they simply couldn't lose. With lead off bowler Ed Felix providing the largest amount of firepower – a 393 series – the ACE2S rolled right over opponents Bowled to Death in a clean sweep including an 8-pin victory to lock up Game #3. Bowled to Death's Ryan Housknecht managed team leading 375 series but it was no match for the surging ACES. The wins give the ACE²S the largest leap in the standings, moving up three spots into 4th while Bowled to Death slips one spot down into 7th place.RIght before they began bowling, this week's Most Valuable Bowler was told that she was going to best her all-time high game Tuesday night. While she only fell a few pins shy of accomplishing that feat, Strange Bedfellows's very own Sabrina Gray put up her career best series in a 4-0 beat down of opponents Splits or Swallows. With teammate Ken M. Wilson leading the league with a 605 series, Gray and crew improved their record to a perfect 8-0 on the season to keep themselves in 1st place. The Splits' anchor Jason Carpio put up a 534 series in the losing effort and finds his team falling three spots into 6th place. Bowlers celebrating the fact that Aubrey Moren didn't show this week and put up games high enough to gain them admittance to The 200 Club include: Carl Goetz (200, 203), Jason Carpio (234), Jonathan Vigliaturo (209), Ken M. Wilson (205, 224), and Ryan Doll (212).For those of you that are interested, the newly launched Tournament of Champions is currently accepting entrants who would like to participate in the league's newest venture. Sign-ups sheets were available down on the lanes this week and will be present over the next two weeks as well. It's only a mere one-time-fee of $2 to participate so give it a go if you'd like. Questions? Drop a line to Ken or Scoot.Also, the GutterAlley Hall of Fame is currently taking nominations for this season's enshrinee. As those of you that rolled in our last session, Carl Goetz was the latest addition to the Hall. Who will make it in this season? Only time will tell. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Ed Felix Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Russell Madsen Runner Up: Sabrina Gray	#1 H2H BOWLER Freda Schroeder Runner Up: Scott Murdock
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Splits or Swallows? I think we certainly know which one I'm doing tonight." Jason Carpio, admitting that he may have set his average a little too high last week.

The 25th season of the VML Bowling League kicked off Tuesday evening and with it came rookie debuts, renewed rivalries, and epic sandbagging. This time around, 40 bowlers will do battle across eight teams in a quest to finish in first place at the tail end of Week #16. Making their official debut in Week #1 were Ed Felix, Ellen Neidlinger, Kristie Carter, Matt Bell, Eric Lemmon, and Anita Osthoff. Welcome!In the first matchup of the evening, the members of Strange Bedfellows came out firing and gave notice that they are a team with which to be reckoned this season. Led by Ken M. Wilson and his 571 series, the Bedfellows swept opponents ACE²S 4-0 to start their title quest off in first place. The ACES, led by returning league legend Eric Lynch and his 384 series, may have dropped each game but don't find themselves in the cellar to start the Spring 2012 season, ending up in 7th place.A pair of lanes down, Splits or Swallows' very own Jason Carpio decided to not only set a 200+ average to lead the entire league but also to be named this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler. Rolling a 618 series, Carpio – along with this week's Most Valuable Bowler Teresa Deterding – led their team to a 3-1 matchup victory over opponents Bowled to Death. The Death squad was led by rookie Matt Bell, who threw a 490 series in his GutterAlley debut, but could only secure one win. The three victories establish Split into 3rd while those Bowled to Death start out their season in 6th place.Brown Belt Jones had high expectations for their initial night in the league. After winning Game #1, they squeaked by with a 5-pin victory in Game #2 before their opponents – the X-Men – fought back to even the series at two games apiece. The Belt, led by newly adorned anchor Ian Goetz and his 565 series, wind up in 5th place with their two wins. The X-Men got the most firepower out of anchor Ryan Doll and his 575 series as they use their total pins to take over 4th place. The final matchup of the evening – which continued on with bowlers finishing up shortly after midnight – ended with reigning champions and the newly renamed The Turkey Hunters earning the second sweep of the evening and snatching 2nd place due to total pins. Led by anchor Aubrey Moren and his 483 series, the Turkey Hunters overcame the 457 series of substitute anchor AJ Taylor of the comically named Ballsagna to put themselves right into the thick of things. Without a single win to their name yet, Ballsagna quickly finds themselves in the cellar in the league standings in 8th place.Bowlers beginning their season with a score to gain them admittance into The 200 Club include: Adam Messner (207), Jason Carpio (200, 203, 215), Ken M. Wilson (214), Ryan Doll (205), and Seth Gunderson (215).See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Teresa Deterding Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Jason Carpio Runner Up: Ryan Doll	#1 H2H BOWLER Jason Carpio Runner Up: Carl Goetz
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "I don't know about this 5-person format. If it's going to take this long each week, at least bring back Alison Radke so I can go get a firm hug in-between every shot." Dennis Laube, trying to find a way to pass the time.

Baby, it's cold outside...and also time to get the next season of the VML Bowling League underway on Tuesday, January 17th. For those of you that are new to the league – including those few that have subbed in the past and have decided to join us full time this season – welcome! New recruits this go around include Alexandra Avila, Anita Osthoff, Ed Felix, Ellen Neidlinger, Eric Lemmon, John Haubrich, Kristie Carter, Matt Bell, and Sarah West. START DATE: Tuesday, January 17th at 6:20PM (league bowling starts at 6:30 after ten minutes of practice)LOCATION: NKC Pro Bowl, 505 East 18th Avenue, North Kansas City, MO 64116. Anyone that has been in the league pretty much knows everything else that's about to be told but, just in case you are bored and/or need a refresher, here's the GutterAlley 101 so that you know what to expect in our league: Read the rest of this entry »

The roster for the Spring 2012 season has filled up big and bad...much to our surprise. The official page where we'll list out who has signed in will be kept at the following URL:

The Fall 2011 came to an official conclusion on Tuesday night, complete with prize disbursement and the announcement of the various season-ending awards.This season proved to be a big one for returning bowlers shooting their all time personal bests (obviously rookies had their highest games, series, and average ever in the league this season so we left them off):Highest game?Aaron Chandler, Alison Radke, Aubrey Moren, Eric Summers, Jake Parrott, Jenn Seefeldt, Phil Schroeder, Ryan Simonet, Sarah Sauer, and Teresa DeterdingHighest series?Aaron Chandler, AJ Hoffmann, Alison Radke, Aubrey Moren, Emily Podhajsky, Eric Summers, Kelly Sands, Ryan Doll, Sarah Sauer, and Teresa DeterdingHighest season-ending average?AJ Hoffmann, Alison Radke, Aubey Moren, Carl Goetz, Eric Summers, Ian Goetz, Jake Parrott, Jason Carpio, and Teresa DeterdingThree bowlers also put up scores that put them into the all-time records in league history:Jenn Seefeldt now has the 5th place all-time Women's High Game Scratch with her 203;Ryan Doll now has the 5th place all-time Men's High Series Scratch with his 707 as well as the 5th place all-time Men's High Series Handicap with his 767;Mike Berlin now has highest all-time Men's High Game Handicap with his 311 (knocking out Ken by 1) as well as the highest all-time Men's Pins Over Average with 122 (knocking out Orion by 4).The biggest individual achievements for the season came out as follows:Women's High Series Scratch: Freda Schroeder - 555Women's High Game Scratch: Jennifer Seefeldt - 203Women's High Series Handicap: Sarah Sauer - 662Women's High Game Handicap: Alison Radke - 243Women's Pins Over Average: Sarah Sauer - +68Women's Most Improved Bowler: Freda Schroeder and Kelly Anderson +6Men's High Series Scratch: Ryan Doll - 707Men's High Game Scratch: Carl Goetz - 269Men's High Series Handicap: Mike Berlin - 723Men's High Game Handicap: Phil Schroeder - 280Men's Pins Over Average: Mike Berlin - +122Men's Most Improved Bowler: Rob Kaszuba, Carl Goetz, Kelly Sands +14The results of the Season Favorites were announced at the Tuesday night meeting, including the addition of the Emily Podhajsky Good Sportsmanship Award along with the renaming of the Defensive Bowler of the Season to include it's biggest winner throughout league history - Carl Goetz:Rookie of the Season - Mike Berlin (Neil Rieger, runner-up)Captain of the Season - Ken M. Wilson (Alison Radke, runner-up)Carl Goetz Defensive Bowler of the Season - Carl Goetz (Ryan Doll, runner-up)Underdog of the Season - Alison Radke (Orion Kinkaid, runner-up)Bob Brunker Good Sportsmanship Award - Rob Kaszuba (Orion Kinkaid, runner-up)Emily Podhajsky Good Sportsmanship Award - Emily Podhajsky (Alison Radke, runner-up)People's Choice: Most Valuable Bowler - Ryan Doll (Carl Goetz / Aubrey Moren, runner-up)Actual individual team MVBs:Das Sauer Popes = Eric SummersGutterballs = Jason CarpioKitten Mittons = Alison Radke / Kelly SandsMysterious Platypus Appendages = Teresa DeterdingNo Pinheads = Aubrey MorenSkirtz & Jerkz = Neil RiegerSTFU Donny = Ken M. WilsonVier Reiter Der Apokalypse = Ryan Doll / Rob KaszubaActual: Most Valuable Bowler - Ryan Doll / Rob Kaszube (Jason Carpio / Teresa Deterding, runner-up)Cumulative #1 Power Ranked Bowler: Ken M. Wilson (Aubrey Moren, runner-up)The Tournament of Champions, which will make its official debut next season within the league, had its winner for this season revealed: Allison Radke would have come away with 1st place over 2nd place finisher Dennis "Pops" Laube in a contest that was settled by 11 pins. More details on the Tournament of Champions later.Prize money was handed out for the teams based upon wins:1. No Pinheads (49-15)2. STFU Donny (40-24)3. Gutterballs (36.5-27.5)4. Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse (36-28)5. Kitten Mittons (35.5-28.5)6. Skirtz & Jerkz (22-42)7. Mysterious Platypus Appendages (22-42)8. Das Sauer Popes (15-49)And lastly, Carl Goetz was officially inducted into the GutterAlley Hall of Fame after being selected over Bob Brunker, Dennis "Pops, Laube, Janelle "Nellie" (Laube) Lamar, Jason Carpio, and Pat Searcy by the voters of the bowling community. Congratulations to all of the winners this season!

The Fall 2011 season came to a conclusion Tuesday night and with it came some huge scores...none larger than Ryan Doll's. Several people rolled their personal best games and series and, in the end, five – count 'em, FIVE – teams exchanged places in the league standings. Simply put, this was one of the wildest finishes score-wise to a season we've had in quite some time. Ready to see how it all ended up? So do we. Let's go.But before we start that, please be sure to vote for your Season Favorites before noon, Tuesday the 20th. After having crushed them the first two times they faced last season's champions 3-1 each time in their matchups, Fall 2011 title winners No Pinheads decided to not mess with a good thing and once again whooped them 3-1. Led by a 2-game absent Aubrey Moren, who rolled a 227 in his lone game of the night to lead the way, the Pinheads increased their win record to 49-15 which ties as the 2nd best win record in league history. STFU Donny's Ken M. Wilson, absent Game #1 due to stupidly leaving his bowling ball at home and making a mad dash to retrieve it, shot a 213 & 187 in his two games to lead his team. STFU ends up in 2nd place with a record of 40-24. Wilson and Moren finished the season as the number one and number two cumulative #1 Power Ranked Bowlers, respectively. Let's face it, the rollers of Kitten Mittons had a great season. Heading into the Finals in third place, the team and opponents Gutterballs slugged it out down to the wire in each game...settling each contest in the 10th frame. End results? A tie in Game #1 and then three wins for the Gutterballs ending the Mittons incredible run and sending them down into 5th place. The Balls' Jason Carpio saved his best series of the season – a 660, missing his all-time personal best by four pins – for just the occasion to help turn the tide on the Kittens. Ryan Simonet and Alison Radke both led their team in the losing effort, each shooting a 479 series – Radke's personal best of her career. While the Mittons slip two spots down into fifth with a record of 35.5-28.5, the Gutterballs sneak up into 3rd place with their 36.5-27.5 record. The Mysterious Platypus Appendages just can't catch a break. Did they roll over their team average every single game? Yes. Did they roll their best team series all season tonight? Yes. Did lead-off roller Aaron Chandler roll his all-time personal best series and lead his team with his 406? Yes. Did they win a single game? No. You're kidding, right? Nope, not at all...and you can blame Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse's Ryan Doll. Rolling his very first 700+ series – an incredible 707 – Doll joined the small group of bowlers who have crested that mark at any point in the history of our bowling league. Naturally, he earned #1 Power Ranked bowler honors for his big series. The four victories push his team up into 4th place to end the season with a record of 36-28. The Platypi take it on the chin and fall down into 7th place with a record of 22-42.Last week, the Das Sauer Popes surprised everyone with the record-breaking output from Mike Berlin to lead the team to a 3-1 against opponents Skirtz & Jerkz. This week, the Popes' Eric Summers decided to get in on the action. Leading his team with his all time high game (a 194) and his all time high series (a 487), Summers earned the Most Valuable Bowler nod while earning his team another 3-1 matchup victory over the Skirtz. Despite the big wins, the Popes couldn't shake things up enough to climb out of the cellar and end their season in 8th place with a record of 15-49. The Skirtz' Jenn Seefeldt put up the biggest numbers for her team, wrapping up her season with a 427 series. Skirtz and Jerkz with the lone win move up a spot to finish out in 6th place with a record of 22-42. Bowlers finishing their season with one last trip to The 200 Club include: Aubrey Moren (227), Ian Goetz (203), Jason Carpio (242, 232), Ken M. Wilson (213), Rob Kaszuba (203), and Ryan Doll (265, 232, 210).Next week, as most of you know, is the prize week where we hand out the money earned for the number of wins your team racked up as well as the individual awards for high games and high series. This year's winners include:Men's High Series Scratch: Ryan Doll - 707 ($20)Women's High Series Scratch: Freda Schroeder - 555 ($20)Men's High Game Scratch: Carl Goetz - 269 ($20)Women's High Game Scratch: Jennifer Seefeldt - 203 ($20)Men's High Series Handicap: Mike Berlin - 723 ($10)Women's High Series Handicap: Sarah Sauer - 662 ($10)Men's High Game Handicap: Phil Schroeder - 280 ($10)Women's High Game Handicap: Alison Radke - 243 ($10)Money will also be awarded to this season's overall Most Valuable Bowler, which will be revealed at the meeting...as well as this season's GutterAlley Hall of Fame inductee!Again, if you haven't already, please take a moment to vote for your Season Favorites. It's up to you to decide who is the People's Choice Most Valuable Bowler, Rookie of the Season, Captain of the Season, Defensive Bowler of the Season, etc. And, in honor of what was most likely Emily Podhajsky's final season in our league, we have a new category named in her honor – the Emily Podhajsky Good Sportsmanship Award, which will go to the best female sportsman in the league. The Bob Brunker Good Sportsmanship Award will now solely be awarded to males. Congrats, Emily!See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Eric Summers Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Ryan Doll Runner Up: Eric Summers	#1 H2H BOWLER Ryan Doll Runner Up: Eric Summers
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Well, looking back on this failure of a season, at least I can say that I came away with the Men's High Series Scratch." Ken M. Wilson, moments before realizing Ryan Doll was on pace to shoot a 700+ series.

A new champion was crowned Tuesday night as the members of No Pinheads made it impossible for anyone to dethrone them in the Finals next week. Congratulations to Freda Schroeder, Phil Schroeder, Dennis "Pops" Laube, and Aubrey Moren on becoming the Fall 2011 champions! Tuesday night also saw some stellar performances throughout the league as other teams set their own stages for the Finals in a last ditch effort to move up in the league standings. Ready to see how everyone did? Read on, my good reader...Needing to win only two games to claim the crown this season, No Pinheads took control of the night early on and didn't let go. After decimating last year's champions – STFU Donny – in Game #1 by beating them scratch, the Pinheads only faltered in Game #2 in which their competition quickly erased the nearly 100-pin victory margin. Game #3 was a do or die situation for Donny who ended up folding like a paper napkin, including dropping total pins by a mere three pins. Phil Schroeder put up the best numbers for the champs, ending his night with his best series of the season – a 543. STFU Donny's Ken M. Wilson ended his quest for a 5th consecutive title with a 628 to lead the league but simply couldn't lead his team to a win, lose, or die Finals. Neither team can move up or down next week in the Finals when they face off again with the Pinheads ending in 1st and STFU Donny doing no better than 2nd place.After dropping their initial game by a margin of three pins (a common theme so far, eh?), Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse declared that enough was enough. With anchor Ryan Doll striking back with a 601 series – with help from this week's Most Valuable Bowler Rob Kaszuba – the Reiters returned to form to come away with a 3-1 matchup victory over opponents Mysterious Platypus Appendages who were led this week by Jake Parrott and his 476 series. Despite the three wins, Der Apokalypse managed to slip one spot in the standings to 5th while the Platypi continue to hibernate in 6th place. The two teams will face one another next week in the Finals.Coming into their matchup this evening, the Kitten Mittons had been on an absolute tear while on a 14-game win streak. Leave it to the Gutterballs, however, to spoil all their fun as the streak abruptly came to an end at the hands of the Balls' Jason Carpio's 595 series. Handing out the lone sweep of the evening, the Gutterballs managed to be the only team to move up in the league standings this week and find themselves hopping up a spot into 4th place. The Mittons, led this week by Ryan Simonet and his 366 series, manage to hold onto 3rd place and will face the Gutterballs once again in the Finals. Little did Mike Berlin of Das Sauer Popes know that, despite No Pinheads earning the title tonight, his second game would be the biggest story of the entire night. After narrowly taking Game #1, Berlin put on the performance of his career – not to mention earning #1 Power Ranked bowler honors due to i.e. – by throwing an incredible 267. The game was not only Berlin's personal best but rocketed him to the top of TWO ALL-TIME LEAGUE RECORDS in the process. Check it out! The 267 put him at the top of the Men's High Game Handicap (311) as well as Men's High Pins Over Average (122)! These records are sure to stand for quite some time. Berlin, naturally, went on to lead his team with a 591 series (also his personal best) and secured a 3-1 matchup victory over opponents Skirtz & Jerkz, led this week by anchor Jennifer Seefeldt and her 417 series. Neither team move from their respective positions in the standings – Skirtz & Jerkz in 7th and Das Sauer Popes in 8th – and will face one another in the Finals next week.Bowlers who wish they could have bowled as high of a game as Mike Berlin this week but still made it into The 200 Club include: Carl Goetz (219, 213), Ian Goetz (204), Jason Carpio (220), Ken M. Wilson (212, 223), Mike Berlin (267, of course), Phil Schroeder (211), Ryan Doll (213), and Seth Gunderson (203).Thanks to everyone that voted for the Hall of Fame candidates this season. Voting is now closed and we'll be announcing the winner at the awards ceremony during our Fun Night on December 20th. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Rob Kaszuba Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Mike Berlin Runner Up: Aaron Chandler	#1 H2H BOWLER Ryan Doll Runner Up: Mike Berlin
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Number 5 is alive...unlike Ken's chances of repeating as champion. Suck it, laser lips." Number 5 from "Short Circuit", after watching STFU Donny fail to defend their title.

Only two weeks remain in the Fall 2011 season and with that, the members of No Pinheads are just two games away from winning the championship – their first since the Spring 2008 session. Week #14 provided absolutely no movement either up or down in the league standings but did set the stage rather nicely for teams to make moves over the next two Tuesdays. Will the current league leaders finish off the season and take the title? Will Kitten Mittons continue their incredible season and move up into 2nd? That'll all have to wait until the near future. For now, let's see how everyone did this week...Having slipped to a .500 record last week, the members of Gutterballs decided enough was enough and returned to their winning ways. Led by anchor Jason Carpio – who narrowly missed a 600 series with his team-leading 597 series – the 'balls came away with a 3-1 matchup victory over opponents Skirtz & Jerkz. Game #2 was settled by a single pin, compliments of the Skirtz' Neil Rieger and his 486 series and helped them secure their lone win of the night. The Gutterballs improve to a 29-27 record to remain in 5th while the Skirtz and Jerkz drop to 20-36 and still sit in 7th place.Throughout the month of November, Kitten Mittons has been on an absolute tear. For the third week in a row, a member of their team has come away with Most Valuable Bowler honors. This week? The Mittons' Ryan Simonet earned it as he led his team to a clean sweep of opponents Das Sauer Popes behind his 436 series. The wins improve their record to 35-21, good enough for 3rd place in the league. The Popes, led this week by anchor Mike Berlin and his 431 series, remain in 8th place with a record of 9-47. It was joked before their matchup that whenever Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse's very own Rob Kaszuba bowls against STFU Donny, he brings his best games. This proved to be true as Kaszuba's team-leading 542 series earned him #1 Power Ranked bowler honors but failed to deliver more than just a lone six-pin victory in Game #2. Why? The Goetz Boys. With Carl Goetz leading the league's reigning champions – whose time at the top could end next week – with a 629 series and son Ian Goetz following closely behind with a 620, STFU Donny came away with a 3-1 matchup win but continue to trail the first place team. Improving their record to 38-18, STFU has to do just that and come away with seven victories over their next eight games if they are going to repeat as champions. Vier Reiters sit at 29-27 and remain in 4th place.No one can deny that No Pinheads is collectively having their best season ever. Anchor Aubrey Moren has emphatically found his game and has continues to keep his team at the top of the heap. Adding four more wins to their win record – improving to 43-13 – behind his 580 series, the Pinheads extend their lead over the rest of the league back up to five games and now sit a mere two victories away from clinching the title. Their victims this week? Mysterious Platypus Appendages. Despite two too-close-for-comfort games, the Platypi couldn't steal a game. Teresa Deterding led the Mysterious with a 451 series and fall to 21-35, good enough for 6th place. Bowlers fed up with leftover turkey this week include The 200 Club: Aubrey Moren (206), Carl Goetz (226, 213), Ian Goetz (211, 250), Jason Carpio (235), Ken M. Wilson (202), and Phil Schroeder (245).Teams coming away with charity wins this week include: Kitten Mittons, who were handed two unearned wins; STFU Donny, who were gifted Game #1; and No Pinheads, who were also handed Game #1. The Gutterballs continue to be the team with the most unearned wins this season having added +13 to their record this season. They are followed by No Pinheads, who have been handed +11 victories and then Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse and STFU Donny, both who have been gifted +7 victories apiece from underperforming teams. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Ryan Simonet Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Rob Kaszuba Runner Up: Ian Goetz	#1 H2H BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Rob Kaszuba
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Wow, I know you just got married but that doesn't give you the right to f--- our team, too!" Kelly Anderson, after defeating her team's anchor Ryan Doll in Game #3.

With Thanksgiving just a couple of days away, several teams this week decided to say thanks as they were busy taking away victories from their opponents. While one team opted to post-bowl, the other three matchups of the evening saw some big wins earned as two teams swept while the third narrowly missed joining them in the clean up crew. After the scores came in, though, one team moved up and one moved down in the league standings. Ready to hear how everyone else did? Let's go.The last time STFU Donny faced Mysterious Platypus Appendages, the night ended with Donny dropping Game #3. The team with the best win record in the second half of the season made sure to not let any games slip away this time around and added four more notches to their win column. Leading the league with his 670 series, STFU's anchor Ken M. Wilson led the charge for his title-minded team who are now only four games back from taking over first place. The Platypi, led by Aj Hofmann and his 375 series, don't add any wins but remain in 6th place.Blaming his status as a newlywed, Ryan Doll of Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse simply can't bring it like he used to in the past. Dennis "Pops" Laube of No Pinheads did...and then some. Putting up a 579 series, Laube led the way for a 3-1 victory. A mere 11 pins in Game #1 kept them from coming away with all four wins. Doll's 541 series – including his highest game of the night (a 211) in the lead off game – was only able to take a single victory. No Pinheads remains in first place, ahead by four games, while Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse remains in 4th place.Right before he rolled his first ball, Kitten Mittons' very own Kelly Sands asked if anyone had ever been the Most Valuable Bowler two weeks in a row. While the answer is yes, Sands set out to join those few and did it, earning consecutive MVB honors as well as being this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler. Rolling his highest series ever – a 553 – Sands crushed opponents Skirtz & Jerkz and hopped up one place into 3rd place in the process. The biggest of the Jerkz this week was Orion Kinkaid, who ended his night with a 408 series and was simply unable to stop the Mittons from winning. Skirtz & Jerkz remain in 7th place.The final matchup of the evening pitted Das Sauer Popes against the Gutterballs. After being hypnotized by the absent Jason Carpio that if he didn't bowl any turkeys he wouldn't be allowed to eat any turkeys, the Gutterballs' Scott Murdock emphatically rose to the occasion and put up a 495 series to lead his team to a clean sweep of the Popes. Mike Berlin had the highest output for the Das Sauers – a 407 series – but couldn't derail the Gutterballs' run towards the four victories. Murdock and crew remain in 5th while the Popes still sit in 8th place. Bowlers avoiding the pumpkin ale in the The 200 Club this week include: Carl Goetz (212, 220), Dennis Laube (213), Ian Goetz (245), Ken M. Wilson (238, 211, 221), and Ryan Doll (211).Congratulations are in order for Bill Krejci and wife Sarah who welcomed their first child, Lily Faye Krejci who was born on Saturday the 19th. We'll pencil Lily in now for the Fall 2030 roster. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Kelly Sands Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Kelly Sands Runner Up: Dennis Laube	#1 H2H BOWLER Kelly Sands Runner Up: Dennis Laube
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Yeah...she likes to have her hair pulled, too." Ian Goetz, offering up some disturbing information about his grandmother.

Week #12 is now finished and with it we enter the final month of the Fall 2011 season. With wins and losses scattered throughout the various matchups, only one team managed to climb anywhere in the standings this week despite some heroic performances across the league. The Finals are just around the corner so if any team is going to unseat the current league leaders, they best get a move on.For those of you wondering what in the hell is going on in this week's feature image it's Ken "Walter Sobchak" Wilson, Scott "Karl Hungus" Murdock, and Nik "The Dude" Domann attending the Lebowski Fest in Chicago this past Saturday. To get the full experience, feel free to visit Ken's and Scoot's photo albums from the event on Facebook.In the first matchup of the evening, Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse came out firing. Led by anchor Ryan Doll and his 516 series, the Reiters seemed poised to make a run but quickly derailed. That's when the Gutterballs' Scott Murdock (wait, WHAT?!?) stepped up to reverse his team's fortunes with a team-leading 452 series. The net result? Games #2 and #3 went to the Gutterballs but total pins were snatched up by the Apokalypse to end the night in a 2-2 split. While the Reiters remain in 3rd the Gutterballs manage to hop one spot up into 5th place – the lone positive move in the standings all evening.Since the position round, STFU Donny has won 14 of 16 games...earning three of those wins Tuesday night against opponents Skirtz & Jerkz. With the league's highest series of the night, compliments of Carl Goetz – who shot a 623 – Donny managed to cut the gap between them and first place by another game, trailing by only five now. The Skirtz' Orion Kinkaid – who wanted to make sure that the world knew that "Neil pussed out tonight" – shot a team-leading 446 series which was good enough to take Game #2 away from the surging 2nd place team. Skirtz and Jerkz remain in 7th place.First place No Pinheads continues to add wins to their record but fewer and fewer are coming their way as the season gets closer to its conclusion. This week, 8th place team Das Sauer Popes saw a very surprising performance out of Sarah Sauer – this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler – who put up her all-time best series and ended the night with a career high 490. Despite another high output night from anchor Aubrey Moren – who shot a 571 – the matchup ended up in a 2-2 split. Neither team moved from their respective positions.The final matchup of the evening down on Lanes 25 & 26 had the Mysterious Platypus Appendages hoping to add some wins at the expense of Kitten Mittons. Such was not the case. With the Mittons' Kelly Sands putting on this week's Most Valuable Bowler performance with his 440 series, Kitten Mittons came away with the lone sweep of the evening and improved their record to 27-21...the same as 3rd place Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse with only total pins separating them. The Platypi's Jake Parrott led his team with a 438 series but it couldn't stop the Kittens from batting them around like a play thing and dropping them into 6th place.Bowlers wishing they, too, would have been at The Lebowski Fest this weekend in Chicago but rather ended up at The 200 Club instead include: Aubrey Moren (215), Carl Goetz (246), Ian Goetz (244), and Ryan Doll (200).Please, please, please, please, please – if you haven't already – please take the time to vote for the Hall of Fame candidates of your choice. Thank you!See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Kelly Sands Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Sarah Sauer Runner Up: Freda Schroeder	#1 H2H BOWLER Freda Schroeder Runner Up: Carl Goetz
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Excuse me, I just need to reach between your legs and grab a ball." Eric Summers, while trying to fetch a house ball near Scott Murdock.

Tuesday night saw a resurgence of several of the underdogs in the league, who rose up to strike down their higher ranked competitors. And while only two teams swapped places, the overall result was a tightening in the standings all over the place. To top off the evening, a visit was paid by league legend – and Hall of Fame nominee – Pat Searcy to a "young whippersnapper" attempting to make his move into the upper echelon of league lore. Ready to see how your favorite team performed? Us, too.In the first matchup of the evening, the Mysterious Platypus Appendages decided to make their move. With this week's Most Valuable Bowler performance coming compliments of Jake Parrott – who put up a 480 series – the Appendages logged the lone sweep of the evening against opponents Das Sauer Popes. Despite a stellar series out of the Popes' Mike Berlin, who led his team with his first 200+ game this season as part of his 494 series, the team couldn't stop the surging Platypi. The most Mysterious team in the league moves up one spot to 5th while the Popes remain in 8th place.After having not lost a matchup since Week #1, the rollers of No Pinheads suffered their first set back in two and a half months at the hands of Kitten Mittons. Despite a 617 series from anchor Aubrey Moren – as well as being this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler – the Pinheads managed to only win one game Tuesday night. The Mittons, led by lead off roller Alison Radke and her highest series ever – a 449 – took it to the current league leaders with a 3-1 matchup victory. Neither team moved at all in the standings, however. No Pinheads remain in 1st by six games while the Mittons improve to a winning record of 23-21 and stay in 4th place.The last time they met in the position round, STFU Donny edged opponents Gutterballs 3-1 – having lost one game by just a few pins. History repeated itself against Tuesday night. With Searcy's foil Ian Goetz – who has set his sights on moving ahead of the Hall of Fame nominee on the Best Bowlers of All Time list – hoisting up a 590 series, Donny managed to add three wins to their record and cut the gap between them and 1st place by two games in the process. The Gutterballs' anchor Jason Carpio led his team with the most firepower, adding a 516 series to the mix, but only managed to eek out a 3-pin victory in Game #2. STFU remains in 2nd while the Gutterballs treat objects like women, man, and slip a spot down into 6th place.In the final matchup of the night, Skirtz & Jerkz's Neil Rieger finally showed up in a big way at just the right time. Facing opponents Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse, Rieger dropped his first 600+ series this season – a 605 – to lead his team to a 3-1 beat down of Der Reiters. Despite the Apokalypse's Rob Kaszuba putting up his best numbers of his season (a 542), he could find no help from anyone else on the team to turn the tide. Even with the wins and losses neither team budged in the standings with Vier Reiters clinging to 3rd and the Jerkz still sitting in 7th place.Rollers not liking the rainy weather tonight outside the The 200 Club include: Aubrey Moren (223, 235), Bill Krejci (201), Carl Goetz (212), Ian Goetz (208, 203), Jason Carpio (204), Ken M. Wilson (204), Mike Berlin (200), Neil Rieger (203, 214), and Rob Kaszuba (203). And if you haven't already, please take a moment to cast your vote(s) on this season's Hall of Fame ballot. Thank you!See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Jake Parrott Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Neil Rieger	#1 H2H BOWLER Neil Rieger Runner Up: Rob Kaszuba
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Please, Scoot...we are gonna hump you so much you won't be able to walk tomorrow. Ian Goetz, talking trash to Murdock on Facebook prior to their matchup this evening.