The fifteenth week of Spring 2025 rolled in with intensity, surprise, and heartbreak. One team clawed its way higher in the standings while another slipped like a bowling shoe that tracked popcorn oil onto the approach. One bowler struck personal gold with a best-ever game and series. JoAnne Barber blazed a trail for the women with this week's top game (181) and series (471), while the men's leaderboard was lit up by Chris Windham's scorching 251 game and Matthew Taylor's hard-fought 583 series. Meanwhile, the Tournament of Champions has boiled down to its final eight bowlers—each of them hungry, poised, and ready to battle it out for glory and two enticing cash prizes next week. The championship title? Still up for grabs. But one thing is certain: Squid Row may be out of the running for the crown, yet their icy tentacles of death still reach for a possible 2nd place finish. The lanes have spoken. Read on, and be sure to check out your Bingo Results too!

On lanes 1 & 2: The showdown between Bowls Deep and Gutterly Hopeless was what we like to call a "Trump landslide" -- looking bigly in terms of wins and losses but in reality much much closer in actual points. Despite Ian Estey's determined but unfortunately not-up-to-his-standards 486 series, Bowls Deep was pulled under and swept clean by a team that clearly forgot what "Hopeless" even means. Riding high on Most Valuable Bowler JoAnne Barber's 471 series, Gutterly Hopeless couldn't stop smiling. “We're changing our name to Gutterly Hopeful!” laughed Chris after their commanding sweep. Meanwhile, devastation echoed down the lanes from the Deep camp. “We didn't just lose—we were submerged,” muttered the other Chris, staring woefully into his untouched basket of cheese sticks. By a razor-thin margin Bowls Deep sinks one spot to 6th, while Gutterly Hopeless will finish the season in 4th as it is now mathematically impossible for any team to pass them in either direction.

On lanes 3 & 4: What began as a neck-and-neck clash between and FFK soon turned lop-sided — and it wasn't the Kittens who walked away with the lion's share of victory. Fueled by #1 Head-to-Head Scott Murdock's sharp 542 series, Team Name Loading delivered 3 emphatic wins and roared with joy. “Error 404: FFK's wins not found!” joked AJ, flashing a grin. FFK, though, refused to go quietly. Scott Lawson posted a proud 467, a beacon of hope amid the storm. “We may have lost, but we're still mastering litterbox training,” said Cat with a mischievous wink. holds strong in 2nd place, but FFK claws its way up to 5th. FFK's dreams of a 4th-place finish are mathematically dashed and they'll need to fight tooth and claw next week to hold that spot, while Team Name Loading will eye a possible 1st place finish while trying to at least defend 2nd from an expected Squid attack.

Finally, down on lanes 5 & 6: FILPB stepped onto the hardwood with purpose, but Squid Row had a secret weapon—or two. Aaron Barber's solid 548 series anchored FILPB, but they were able to snag only a single win as Squid Row surged forward with three resounding victories. With Matthew Taylor rolling a season-best 583 and #1 Power-Ranked Chris Windham firing off a blistering 251, Squid Row was surging with momentum. “We may be out of the title race,” said Dennis, “but we're still here to ink our legacy.” “We also still haven't ruled out tying up AJ in the rafters if that helps us regain 2nd next week,” Matt added. The Squid darted gloriously with energy and the sweet smell of revenge on the pins. FILPB holds fast to 1st place for now—but that top spot requires one more challenge. Squid Row stays in 3rd, still with a slippery shot at second.

One more week remains. The pins are restless. The standings are tight. Who will claim the crown—and who will crumble under pressure? All will be revealed in the final act.

Bowlers enjoying gifted memberships to The 200 Club courtesy of the Emir of Qatar include: Chris Windham (251), Matthew Taylor (226), Nick Kinney (206), Scott Murdock (204), and Seth Gunderson (201)

A new personal high game was set tonight by Chris Windham (251, previous best 247). In addition, a new personal best series was rolled by Chris Windham (575, previous best 558).

Adding to the excitement, the 471 rolled by JoAnne Barber is this season's new high series among women.

In this week's Tournament of Champions brackets: Seth Gunderson got the better of Division 1, while nobody claimed victory in Division 2 (though Chris Windham came closest). Buck Nasty creamed Division 3, and Carl Mueller claimed victory in Division 4. Congratulations to our division champions! The following eight people will compete next week for the big prize! Division 1: Seth Gunderson and Matthew Taylor. Division 2: Scott Murdock and Scott Lawson. Division 3: Tim Deddens and Buck Nasty. Division 4: Cat Atwood and Brian Schaben. Our condolences go out to Ian Estey, who seemed a shoo-in and wheeled and dealed with his rotating teammates to ensure he could be here next week, only for Seth Gunderson and Nick Kinney to charge ahead of him this week and knock him out of contention.

AND, starting BRAND NEW this season, if any of the 8 ToC finalists are absent next week, the next person below them in their division gets to take their place and compete for a (reduced) 2nd or 1st place prize!

NEXT WEEK:

• First, on lanes 1&2, 5th-place FFK will throw some gutter balls with 6th-place Bowls Deep (hcp 82). Kittens are expected to roll a little low and lose the series but avoid getting swept; while DEEEEEEP is forecast to hold steady as they enjoy their victories.
• Moving to lanes 3&4, 1st-place FILPB will spend some quality time with 2nd-place (hcp 50). Eff It might maintain their current strength as they win the series; while Team Name Loading ought to drop their average a bit while they avoid getting swept.
• Finally, on lanes 5&6, 3rd-place Squid Row will meet with 4th-place Gutterly Hopeless (hcp 139). Squid is predicted to maintain their current strength as they sweep the series; while Hopeless are anticipated to hold steady as they endure a rough night.

^*(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 JoAnne Barber Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Chris Windham Runner Up: JoAnne Barber	#1 H2H BOWLER Scott Murdock Runner Up: Matthew Taylor
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "You've been teammates before, I'm sure this isn't the first time you've exchanged bodily fluids." Scoot, to AJ and Nathan, after they became confused as to which of two side-by-side cans of Coke belonged to whom.

Pos.	Team name	Record	Percent	Total Pins	Change
1	FILPB	41.5-18.5	.692	29,343	n/a
2	(Team Name Loading)	38.5-21.5	.642	26,600	n/a
3	Squid Row	36-24	.600	29,792	n/a
4	Gutterly Hopeless	24.5-35.5	.408	21,978	n/a
5	FFK	20-40	.333	24,937	+1
6	Bowls Deep	19.5-40.5	.325	22,703	-1

insert into team_standings (teamID, seasonID, week, wins, losses, percent, movement, `rank`) values (439,52, 15, 19.5, 40.5, .325, -1, 6)

Men's High Series Scratch	Women's High Series Scratch
Matthew Taylor - 583 Chris Windham - 575 Aaron Barber - 548 Scott Murdock - 542 Seth Gunderson - 540	JoAnne Barber - 471 Cat Atwood - 309
Men's High Series Handicap	Women's High Series Handicap
Chris Windham - 683 Scott Murdock - 645 Matthew Taylor - 643 Seth Gunderson - 628 Dennis Walling - 613	JoAnne Barber - 648 Cat Atwood - 534
Men's High Game Scratch	Women's High Game Scratch
Chris Windham - 251 Matthew Taylor - 226 Nick Kinney - 206 Scott Murdock - 204 Seth Gunderson - 201	JoAnne Barber - 181 Cat Atwood - 128
Men's High Game Handicap	Women's High Game Handicap
Chris Windham - 287 Matthew Taylor - 246 Scott Murdock - 238 Seth Gunderson - 230 Carl Mueller - 229	JoAnne Barber - 240 Cat Atwood - 203
Men's Pins Over Average	Women's Pins Over Average
Chris Windham - 96 Matthew Taylor - 51 Scott Murdock - 47 Carl Mueller - 46 Seth Gunderson - 38	JoAnne Barber - 55 Cat Atwood - 22