In the battle for the number 1 seed, two teams held serve while two others lost so this sets up a tasty match-up next week between Team Spadoni(expected) and Team Statham(unexpected) which will be a good conclusion to a very eventful first half that featured 2 first round picks going out for the season with injuries and surprising parity amongst all 9 teams. It will be interesting to see how the two replacement players impact the balance of power moving forward. Team Spadoni has already gone on record and predicted an easy 10 point win next week and with their best player(Shimko) planning on showing a 10 point win might be on the conservative side. More on that later. Also, I will issue my can’t miss annual mid-season report card on teams and players. I have been told by a number of players that I am losing my touch and I am way too kind in my observations and assessments and that I need to be a little meaner(read in-truthful) in my assessment of individuals and team performances. So I am going to start sharpening my pen. Be careful what you ask for and put on your thick skin. Roz claims he was unaware that we name ALL-Roz Team every year but I have seen him actively recruiting new players this year. If anyone does not know what it takes to be on the All- ROZ team, I will be glad to fill you in. This is one award that you do not want to claim.
As for last night:
The phrase of the night heard at the bar- “Pulling the Goalie” and we were not watching hockey. Too funny. I also heard that the Ozarks is a great place for a bachelor’s party. What happens in the Ozarks stays in the Ozarks. Listening to Josh talk about his college conquests, was priceless. Trust me, it was worth the price of admission. I regret missing Guinane polish off 2 buckets of beer all by himself. See what the rest of you guys are missing.
Bye – Wagner
6:00- Spadoni 62 over McEldowney 55- Team Spadoni sprinted out to a big lead despite not having their best player but Team McEldowney came roaring to close the gap and was a rimmed out 3 from taking the lead but they could not get over the hump after that. Koll consistently took advantage of the defensive mismatch against McEldowney. Golloghy and Alkhovsky both contributed on the offensive and Golloghy was flexing his muscle as things got a little chippy between him and Purdy. Playing without Knapczyk, Team Green gave team Yellow all they could handle with everyone on the team scoring points but they have found their replacement player so help is on the way. In should be noted that Guinane scored more beers at the bar than points on the court last night and did so in record time. He currently is the leading candidate for the ALL-BAR team.
7:00- O’Malley 69 over Manzke 60- playing with only 5 guys Team Manzke valiantly kept the game close all night as Sexton tried to single-handedly will his team to the win but simple ran out of gas in the end. Team O’Malley seems to have shaken off the early season doldrums and is starting to play better. I believe DeCarlo has been making up for his post-game bar absenteeism by drinking heavily before the game which does not qualify him for the ALL-BAR Team. There was something missing for team Manzke but I can’t put my finger on it but the team was very quiet and no one was yelling at each other-hmm?
8:00- Statham 61 over J. Healy 50- team Healy continues their downward spiral once again getting off to a fast start and unable to hold onto an big early lead. Team Statham shrugged off their slow start and eventually took a 14 point lead late in the second half before allowing Team Healy to close the gap on the backs of Carroll and Slager and with the help of four straight possessions in which Team Statham took ill-advised shots going for the jugular rather than working the clock. Team Healy’s offense became stagnant with no ball movement as everyone else stood around and watched Carroll and Slager do their thing. Hunt was MIA all night. On the other hand, Team Statham received contributions on offense from 6 of their 7 players who showed up including Garmes with some key buckets and rebounds off the bench and constantly pushed the ball up the floor wearing down Team White. As a side note, It appears that blatant moving screens will not be called and teams are clearly taking advantage of the refs’s repeated failure to make these calls. This will not end well.
9:00- B. Healy 56 over Harrigan 51- Lyons made his impact immediately as he took shots on 5 of Team Healy’s first 5 possessions and played great defense on Brian Harrigan and rebounding on the other end. Team Harrigan was ice cold from the outside- and as the saying goes “you live by the 3, you die by the 3″ or shoot till your hot or shoot till you’re not” and they were able to get nothing down low to make up for their poor shooting. Team Harrigan was missing Goyke and Baker-they could have used Baker’s size and Goyke’s shooting. I do not expect team Harrigan to have many off night like this. The difference in this game was Team Healy was able to get a lot of baskets down low with little resistance form Team Gray. I fully expect Team Healy to get back in the hunt with the addition of Lyons. I also think if a player has the balls to take a charge-he should be rewarded. After the non-calls on moving screens, this is the most missed call or non- call.
Lame Bar results but there is something to be said for quality over quantity:
Spadoni (5),Statham(3), O’Malley(1), Manzke(0), J. Healy(0), McEldowney (5) correction, B.Healy(2), Harrigan(1)
Bar Power Rankings:
Statham
McEldowney
Spadoni
Harrigan
O’Malley
Wagner
Manzke
B.Healy
J.Healy
League Power Rankings
Spadoni
Statham
Harrigan
McEldowney
O’Malley
B.Healy
J.Healy
Manzke
Wagner
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