Well, gang, we are exactly one week away from kicking off the Fall 2011 session of the VML Bowling League, aka GutterAlley! We hope that everyone enjoyed their summer break. During the off-season, good old North Kansas City Pro-Bowl purchased a brand new $47,000 oil machine for the lanes. Upon arrival to roll some practice games during the break after the new machine had been put to use, two employees warned us that we "wouldn't like it." So to anyone that throws a fingertip ball, beware –... (more...)

And that does it! With the roster completely full, it's time to pick teams. To speed the process up, we here at GutterAlley are going to take a stab at what we think are going to be the teams this season based upon emails received during the recruitment process.Team 1Logjammin' -- Jonathan Vigliaturo, Gary Schroer, Scott Murdock, Jason Carpio*Team 2No Pinheads -- Aubrey Moren, Phil Schroeder, Dennis "Pops" Laube, Freda Schroeder*Team 3Mysterious Platypus Appendages -- Aaron Chandler, Teresa Deterding,... (more...)

With summer winding down it's time to once again turn our attention toward filling up the 32-person roster for the next session of the VML Bowling League. Starts: August 23rd at 6:30pm (practice starting at 6:20)Ends: December 20th (total of 17 weeks, skipping August 30th*)Cost: $14 per week, does include the cost of rental shoes (full-time VMLers will tentatively pay only $8/week)Location: NKC Pro-BowlHere are the brave souls that have signed up so far to battle this season:1. Ken M. Wilson2.... (more...)

The Kansas City Corporate Challenge bowling competition took place on Saturday, June 18th. Teams from all across the Greater Kansas City area competed in the annual event with VML digging in to face 'em all in Division E. The competition was strong but bowlers throughout GutterAlley's history showed up and came away with medals.The women's team was comprised of GutterAlley's own  Read More →

The Spring 2011 session of the VML Bowling League officially came to a close Tuesday with league president Ken M. Wilson and secretary/treasurer Scott "Scooter J" Murdock presiding over the semi-annual Fun Night. The league crowned title winners Seth Gunderson, Ian Goetz, Carl Goetz and Wilson for their first place finish. Prize money was handed out to all the other teams based upon their win records.1. S*I*C*K (48-16)2. Dolls and Balls (37.5-26.5)3. Istanbowl Turkey (36-28)4. No Pinheads (35.5-28.5)5.... (more...)

The Spring 2011 season has officially come to a close with the results of the Finals now in. Three of the four members from last year's championship team repeated as the first place finishers – congratulations to Seth Gunderson, Ian Goetz, Carl Goetz and Hall of Famer Ken M. Wilson. In the end, three teams swapped places in the league standings as four sweeps were handed out tonight in the matchups. Ready for the final rundown? Let's hit it...The last time that S*I*C*K met up with opponents... (more...)

With the Finals taking place this evening, the voting for the Season Favorites will open after everything is said and done. For those of you unfamiliar with the Season Favorites, it's akin to the NBA's season awards for Rookie of the Year, the Sixth Man, Coach of the Year, etc. There are currently six categories for you to debate and vote upon. They include:Rookie of the SeasonThe best all-around bowler in his or her first season. Past winners include current bowlers Jake Parrott (Fall '10),... (more...)

With almost 100 votes cast from bowlers representing the entire history of the league, the inaugural class of GutterAlley's Hall of Fame has been selected. Congratulations to Angela Bradford, Scott "Scooter J" Murdock, Freda Schroeder and Ken M. Wilson.The four will be officially inducted into the Hall during this season's award ceremony on May 24th. Angela BradfordAB made her debut in the very first season, actually creating the league and acting as its first president. Throughout her time in... (more...)

Surrounded by a steady stream of country music and an entire horde of cowboys and cowgirls, the bowlers of GutterAlley battled through the week before the Finals while a pony stood by the front door. Yes, an actual pony. You can't make this stuff up, folks...but it actually happened. Even though the drama surrounding who would win the title ended last week, teams continued to jockey for a better spot in the standings as every win means more money in the prize fund envelopes at the end of the season.... (more...)

May is here and with it comes the big conclusion to the Spring 2011 session of the VML Bowling League. With the Finals just two weeks away on May 17th, teams need wins now more than ever if they are going to move up in the league standings. The distance between several teams is very tight and wins over the next two weeks could make all the difference. Is there enough time for teams to move up? Definitely. It's now up to the members of each team to follow through.Please, please, please, if you... (more...)

Week 13 is now in the books and oh what a week it was. The league standings may not have changed very much but the stage is being set for an exciting finish to Season 23. Three teams seem to have broken themselves off from the rest of the league with the Finals just as many weeks away. Only seven games separate the triumvirate at the moment and a showdown between the top two teams is slated for next week. In the meantime, GutterAlley witnessed yet another impressive series of high games from... (more...)

There are only a few more weeks of voting left before we close up shop on the inaugural class of enshrinees for our recently formed Hall of Fame. So if you have a moment, please visit the Hall and cast your vote(s) today. All season long, the trash talk has flown back and forth between reigning champs S*I*C*K and long-time rivals Istanbowl Turkey. In their first meeting, S*I*C*K came away with a sweep. When they met again in the position round, it was Istanbowl's turn to win it, 3-1. Tuesday... (more...)

At the mid-point of April – with the Finals five weeks off – the VML Bowling League witnessed quite a shakeup in the league standings. While the team at the top of the standings continues to hold onto that coveted spot, there was quite a shakeup amongst the rest of the league. All it took was a nod from a doctor clearing a long-time bowling powerhouse to return to the lanes after arm surgery to bring about one of the largest single-week climbs of any team this season. We're still accepting... (more...)

Another week, another round of wins and losses to make the league's standings interesting. While S*I*C*K continues to top the league, their lead has once again been cut into and is within striking range of two other teams. With the Finals six weeks out, can another team finally knock them from their first place perch? It seems highly likely with as many ups and downs as each team is facing each week...including a long-time bowling legend earning his first Most Valuable Bowler performance in a... (more...)

With the position round in the league's rear view mirror, the schedule now calls for every team to begin down the seven week trek of facing one another once again...with the Finals looming in the distance. After last week's tumultuous position round – in which the majority of the league changed places in the standings – big wins and losses were handed out in key matchups...but only two teams ended up swapping spots. Another key highlight was that, for the first time in the league's... (more...)

Hey, gang! Sad news to report...Freda broke her shoulder.As several of you know, long-time league fixture Freda Schroeder bowls on another league on Thursday in our same bowling alley. Unfortunately, while getting ready to bowl, she took a fall as she was coming down off the steps into the bowling area and tripped on a lip in the tile. As she fell she attempted to catch herself with her left arm and, in the process, ended up breaking her left shoulder. She's currently resting at home. We at... (more...)

Ahh, the position round. One of the two true wild cards of each season. Teams can make meteoric rises or suffer huge drops in the standings. The results of this season's position round truly reshuffled the standings as every single team – with the exception of the 1st and 8th place teams – changed spots in the league standings. Now THAT'S what we're talking about. Along with the reporting of the position round, we'd also like to take the opportunity to introduce GutterAlley's Hall... (more...)

After having kicked the idea around for several months, Scoot and I finally knuckled down and programmed the newest feature to the league – the Hall of Fame. With the league into its 23rd season now, we thought back through the hundreds of people that have bowled over the years and remembered a great number of bowlers who have contributed to the league by donating their time to originally get it started (Angela Bradford!), bringing in a ton of new recruits (Jason Carpio!), keeping weekly stats... (more...)

So, as we do each season around this time, Scoot and I got to thinking about how the standings could move around depending on the numerous outcomes from next Tuesday. Finally we decided to just do the math ourselves (always a recipe for disaster) over lunch and came up with what is listed below.The highest each team could move next week after the position round, provided "perfect conditions" take place (and by "perfect conditions" we mean that your team sweeps and the teams above end their matchups... (more...)

Week #7 has come to a close and with it comes the lineup of which teams will compete against one another in the season's position round at the midway point. This week alone, four teams swapped placed in the league standings. The surprise of the night came with an unlikely sweep from a team that mounted a huge comeback starting this time last season as well. Could history be repeating itself?For those of you that do not know how the position round works, here's the inside skinny: once each team... (more...)