As a former Turbo Bocce champion I can tell you that winning is an amazing thing. In fact, its so great that my bucket list has only two items on it. #1) Winning another Turbo Bocce championsihp #2) Dialing 867-5309 in every area code just to see what happens.
The path to the championship officially got underway on Wednesday, and here’s what happened.
Tiny But Mighty vs. We Came In Like a Bocce Ball
We Came In Like a Bocce Ball had a 66% chance of winning going into the game according to Vegas, and they took a big lead in game one, going up 10-2 at one point. Unfortunately for them playoff bocce can get messy. After a slow start Tiny But Mighty found their groove, and came back in a big way to win 12-10. After a tough loss like that, it would have been easy for We Came In Like a Bocce Ball to fold in the second game but they did not, winning 13-7. The third game was as close is it can get by rule, as Tiny But Mighty rode a whole bunch of bocces to an 11-9 win.
Peace, Love & Bocce vs. Dolce
Vegas gave Dolce a big 79% chance of winning, but Peace, Love, & Bocce had something to say about that. They won a close first game 11-8. The second game would be even closer. After a marathon game that ate up a lot of the sunlight Peace, Love, & Bocce won an overtime thriller 13-11 with Janet Ridgeway scoring an amazing 11 of ther team’s 13 points and giving them the upset victory.
Thunderballz vs. Bushwackers
Vegas gave Thunderballz a big 87% chance of victory, and as it turned out Vegas was right, but the Bushwackers did not play like a team who had only 13% chance of victory. Thunderballz won in two games, but both games were close – in fact they each had the same score 11-7. Tough first round game for a team with as good a record as Thunderballz, and tough first round game for the Bushwackers.
L & M vs. The Rookies
Vegas gave The Rookies a 63% chance of winning, and that is without knowing that The Rookies have been red hot of late and beat one of the league’s top teams last week three games to zero. In game one The Rookies continued their hot form, beating L & M in overtime 13-10, behind eight big points from Damian Hearn. Its hard to lose such a close game in a best-of-three series, and L & M could not come back from the deficit. Once The Rookies got going they could not be stopped. They won the second game, and the series, 12-2 behind a second impressive eight point game by Damian.
Ontario Strikers vs. For the Love of Bocce
Vegas gave For the Love of Bocce a 70% chance of victory. This makes sense because Ontario Strikers had been on a slide, but I always had the feeling they had the potential to turn it on when needed. That is exactly what happened here. Ontario Strikers won the first game 12-7 behind 8 points by Tom Stinson. In the second game Ontario Strikers sealed the upset with an 11-7 victory. Both games were close, but in the end Ontario Strikers moved on over the number five team in the league, and For the Love of Bocce has to regret getting such a hard game despite having such a great year.
Money Shot vs. Tiny But Mighty
So Vegas apparently likes Money Shot. I say this only because they gave Money Shot a 99% chance of victory against Tiny But Might. So would this be the blowout Vegas expected? Not really. Tiny But Mighty were on a high after their earlier win, and the first game saw Money Shot with a slim 8-7 lead late in the game. They were able to pull out a 13-7, win with a good late round but it was certainly no blowout. The second game was though. Money Shot found their legs and won the last game 11-0.
Balls o Fury vs. Peace, Love, & Bocce
Balls of Fury were 29-1 this season, so I can’t say its a surprise that Vegas gave them a 99% chance of victory. Again this game was not as easy as expected – though it looked like it was going to be that way early on. Balls of Fury took a 10-2 lead, and just when the game looked over Peace, Love & Bocce got hot. They scored 6 straight points (mostly one at a time) really dragging the game out, before eventually losing 11-8. Balls of Fury went on to win the second game and the series.
So how did Vegas do in their predictions? I’d say, not all that great. They got four predictions right and three wrong.
Congratulations to all the teams that won. You will be playing this Wednesday, the 26th at 6:00 pm. If you lost, unfortunately your chance at the title is over, but your season is not quite over yet. We are still having our end of the season celebration/award ceremony Saturday August 29th at 7pm at Sharkeys. There will be free food and drinks as we celebrate a fun season, and you’re invited!
