recognize anyone?

Bye- Manzke

6:00- J.Healy v. Harrigan -10- another week another loss for team Healy as they continue their downward spiral after starting out the season on a high note although their win-loss record was bolstered by a soft schedule. Team Harrigan hit a bump in the road last week with some atrocious outside shooting but I fully expect them to rebound this week and they simply have to much offense to lose to an offensively-challenged team. Look for Goyke to be the “X” factor for team Grey and Linane to be “X” factor number 2 if Healy does not play but I still expect the over/under on the number of shots the Harrigans take is 42(no not for the first half for the game). Team Healy’s chances of pulling out a win took a hit with Slager suffering a minor ankle injury playing in a “B” league game on Monday. Less important, John Healy is a game time decision. Team Harrigan expects to have a full squad as they continue to struggle to find significant minutes for all the mouths they have to feed. They have the weekly dilemma of playing small and putting their best offensive team out there or sprinkling in some “Bigs” and sacrificing some offense while helping their defense. P.J. could be the “x” factor in this game if he can guard both the Harrigans at the same time. Look for Alkofer to step up his offensive game with Slager out. Hunt was last seen on the back of a milk carton. Carroll, as good as he is, can not continue to carry this team by himself.

Late Breaking News- Healy will not show greatly increasing his team’s chances of an upset-in fact he has now gone on record predicting a win-only if the rest of the team had that much confidence(or disillusionment)

7:00- Wagner v. O’Malley -8- Instead of getting in the gym during the bye week Wags spent the week golfing in Arizona which is appropriate for his team as they will be the first team picking up their golf clubs at the end of the basketball ball season. To make matters worse, he will not be in attendance tonight nor will Mike Greene who is undergoing yearly maintenance for his chronic back issues. Ryan will be missing the game as well as he is “working” in Florida. Due to the number of key players who will miss this game, we will  not learn anything new about either of these teams. One thing is for sure Team Black’s bench mob is sure to see its share of playing time with Ryan not there to glue them to the bench. Expect to see a lot of shots going up from unexpected players. Team Wags will need big games from Bendo,  Packy, Troy and Neil if they hope to have any chance of the upset and it could happen but not likely.

8:00- McEldowney   v. B. Healy  -6 (upset special) both teams now have their replacement player but it will probably take Fahey a couple of games to get his sea legs. Lyons has a game under his belt and he hit the ground running last week. Fahey will not be able to replace Rob but he should be a more than adequate replacement which will allow Team Green to continue to build on the first half success. Hopefully, he will also help Team Green’s bar ranking unlike Lyons but fits right in with the rest of Healy. However, tonight Brian has predicted a win for his squad of 6 as Team Healy works its way back into the race. Kessenich will be the “X” factor for Team Healy. McEldowney will have to fill the offensive void now that Rob is gone but this team depends on Spain to run the show and he will also have to look to score more.  I will go out on a limb an pick Fahey as the “x’ factor in this game and Guinane might struggle against a bigger line-up despite the extra work he put in on Sunday morning scoring from both inside and out. In the end Healy’s size will just be too much for Team Green to overcome.

9:00-Statham -4   v. Spadoni   (THE MAIN EVENT- SPADONI PREDICTS 10 POINT WIN AND OFFERS TO PAY THE BAR TAB FOR HIS ENTIRE TEAM IF THEY WIN), a fitting match-up to end the first half of the season, which also could be a preview of the Championship Game (jinx be damned). Unfortunately, Team Orange will be down one of their starters and best defenders which  makes a small team even smaller. The duo of Batman (Shimko) and Robin(Koll) will pose a big match up problem without B-Mac so Team Statham will have to mix and match to try and minimize the mismatches.. There is a slight chance that Shimko sits this one out due to a nagging heal injury but my money says he will show. Team Statham will also be missing a key member of their bench. Kevin Statham and Patrick Statham will be X-factor 1 and 2 for Team Orange and both will have to be hot from behind the arc if Team Statham has any chance at the upset as they try to expose Shimko’s and Koll’s weaknesses on the defensive side of the court.  Golloghy will be the “X” factor for team Yellow but Sexton could have his way with Team Orange’s smaller line-up. Team Gold has more offensive weapons off the bench and this could be the deciding factor. Alkovsky has had this game circled since draft night after Statham the Elder snubbed him in the draft and he will be out to prove him wrong. Team Statham will have a special defense set up designed to specifically prevent this from happening no not really some players you just don’t game plan around.. If Shimko does not play, Team Statham wins in an upset at the buzzer. For the sake of Team Yellow, hopefully they can cash the check that Spud wrote with his prediction on the outcome of this game. Still, despite the free beer,  no chance Koll shows at the bar. Expect Team Statham to get some unexpected offense from an unlikely source.