This is our last recap of the year (this week’s results will be made available at our Bracket Release Party) so lets make it count!!!
Team Achievements
Coming into the week there were (by my extremely rough estimates) eleven teams with a chance to win the regular season title. As a quick reminder, we use the BCS, or bocce championship survey, to determine our regular season champion (and playoff standings). The BCS takes wins and also strength of schedule into consideration. Here’s our formula: your winning percentage doubled plus your opponents winning percentage. Four of the eleven regular season champion hopeful teams played each other this week ensuring that two of the eleven would be eliminated from the competition, if not more.
Dog Brothers defeated Blue Balls 2 games to 1 in a rematch of the 2016 championship game. Pretty cool that this grudge match also had real implications on who the regular season champion will be this year. From what I saw there was some really good bocce being played. Sean Flynn hit this shot, but it wasn’t enough. George Christou scored 18 points and Dog Brothers remain in the hunt for a regular season title.
G & T’s faced off against Breakfast of Champions with Breakfast of Champions continuing their hot streak with a big 3-0 week that took them from first place long shot to current first place holder and small underdog to win the regular season crowd. 3-0 weeks against top competition don’t happen often, but when they do they do wonders for your BCS by improving your record and your strength of schedule at the same time.
In other regular season championship news Los Moppines went 3-0 agasint Double A’s Only Bigger ensuring that they will finish the season with the best record. They also hurt their opponent winning percentage a little, allowing Breakfast of Champions to overtake them. I would still label Los Moppines as the favorite to win the regular season title, because Breakfast of Champions has 6 games to play and is probably going to have to win all those 6 games to hold onto the slim advantage that they have.
Dead Rabbits was in contention for a regular season title, but had their hopes dashed by Balls Deep who gave themselves a huge BCS boos at the exact right time with a 3-0 week against a top 4 team.
Theos ensured that they remain long shots to win the regular season title by beating Sans Lumiere 3 games to 0.
At the end of this big shuffle, eight teams remain who can win the title. Breakfast of Champions is the only team with their fate in their own hands, but if they slip up in even one game of the six they have left to play one of Los Moppines, Dog Brothers, Droppin Balls, Amerika’z Most Wanted, Teen Mom III, Theos, or Big LaBocce will almost certainly overtake them.
Individual Accomplishments
Who needs to do what to win what award?? And can anybody break a record this year?
Points:
Greg Griffo – Los Moppines – 171
Bryan Mullane – Los Moppines – 160
Andy Ingalls – Amerika’z Most Wanted – 154
Phil Martino – Dog Brothers – 153
Jim Whipple – Black Jesus – 151
Greg Griffo is in the lead for points, but he has already played all his games this year – averaging 17.1 ppg. Andy Ingalls needs only 17 points in his last game to catch Greg and Andy currently averages 17.1 ppg. Phil Martino needs 18 to catch Greg and is averaging exactly 17 ppg. And Jim Whipple needs 20 to catch Greg and is averaging 16.8 ppg. Not shown in the top 5 is Paul Colabufo who has 146 with 6 games left to play. He needs 25 points to catch Greg and averages 18.3 ppg.
Bocces:
Jayson Gray – Kiss My Ace – 74
Greg Griffo – Los Moppines – 72
Oscar Ocampo – The Newlyweds – 61
Phil Martino – Dog Brothers – 60
Marty McDermott – Theos – 57
Nobody is going to catch Jay (he’s got 1 game left to play and Greg has 0 left to play) so we know the bocce crown is his. The real race is Jay vs. History. Phil Martino has the all time record for most bocces at 82. He set this way back in the early days of Turbo Bocce and I believe its our longest standing record. Jay needs 8 bocces on his last day to tie this record and 9 to hold the all time record himself. Good luck Jay!
Rookie of the Year:
Troy Richardson – Curveball – 111
Kristen McGriff – Kristen & Lisa – 104
Greg Barry – Vandelay Industries – 102
Kevan Busa – Super Bocce Bros – 102
Sam Kallman – Super Bocce Bros – 95
This award is given to the rookie with the highest point total. There are games still to play for everybody in this group so any of the 5 can definitely still win this award. One good week is all it may take!
Aces:
Mike Aylesworth – Droppin Balls – 18
Siobhan Christou – Twinning – 18
Bryan Mullane – Los Moppines – 18
Anson Zeppetello – Amerika’z Most Wanted – 17
Colin Donahoe – Droppin Balls – 17
This is quite an interesting race! Bryan Mullane is tied for the league lead in aces, but he’s already played all his games, so I’d say he doesn’t stand much of a chance of winning this award. Teammates Mike Aylesworth and Colin Donahoe have two games left to play and have 18 and 17 respectively which might make them the favorites for this award. But then there is Siobhan Christou (last year’s co-winner) who has one game left to play, and her last weeks scores which have not been tallied yet. Did she get a lot of aces last week? Who knows? This is really anybodies award to grab!
Turbo Bocce Wins:
Angela Donahoe – Double A’s – 6
Phil Martino – Dog Brothers – 6
Jayson Gray – Kiss My Ace – 5
Meghan Sovocool – White BALLerion the Dread – 5
8 tied with 4
This is my favorite award because it basically shows how clutch you were in a one ball one shot situation against another player! Angela has 6 with two games left to play so you’d have to consider her the favorite right now, but this awards is certainly up for grabs because unlike the other categories there is nothing you can do to put yourself in a position to get more Turbo Round Wins.
Debocces:
Phil Martino – Dog Brothers – 8
Andy Ingalls – Amerika’z Most Wanted – 8
Oscar Ocampo – The Newlyweds – 7
Paul Colabufo – Amerika’z Most Wanted – 6
Jodi Jones – Alcohol & Despiration – 6
This is the award nobody wants, but if you look at this list you’ll see a bunch of really good players who are on the top of other statistical categories, and whose teams are dominating the league. If you’re around the pallino a lot you’re going to get a few debocces, and that’s nothing to shy away from. The key is making sure you don’t get a debocce at the wrong time!
The regular season officially ends on Midnight Wednesday so you’ve got Tuesday and Wednesday to make up any games you have left to play. Any games you didn’t play will be forfeits but everybody still makes the playoffs!
Highlights
Thanks to the huge crowd who came out despite the rain! I didn’t pull the camera out because I didn’t want it to get wet, so I only got that one highlight of Sean Flynn. As a fill in, enjoy a few highlights from last week!
This shot is a perfect example of a backstop. This would not be a bocce under our current rules.
20 Point Club (season high 24)
Pat Pascarella – Ballz Deep – 21
Matt Wieczorek – Theos – 21
Ethan Kearns – 44’s – 20
Paul Colabufo – Breakfast of Champions – 20
6 Bocce Club (season high 12)
Ethan Kearns – 44’s – 11
Marty McDermott – Theos – 10
John Bauman – Black Jesus – 10
Jeff McGann – Bocce Against the Machine – 9
Oscar Ocampo – The Newlyweds – 9
Matt Wieczorek – Theos – 8
Phil Martino – Dog Brothers – 8
Mike Burkett – 44’s – 7
Jayson Gray – Kiss My Ace – 6
Bobby Lupi – Bocce Against the Machine – 6
3 Ace Club (season high 5 … set by 5 different people!)
Oscar Ocampo – The Newlyweds – 5
Heather Cleveland – Mean Girls – 3
Multiple Turbo Round Club (season high 3)
Mickey Morey – Dead Rabbits – 2
Angela Donahoe – Double A’s – 2
Rant
Why is there a holiday for people who can throw a stone into a bullseye from 150 feet away over ice, but no holiday for bocce players? We deserve a holiday with twice the flapper girls of Jimmy Gatz’s biggest party and half the car accidents. And it should last longer than the line at the DMV if every person in line had to beat the woman working the counter in a full game of Monopoly before she would address their needs. Here are my demands for this bocce party: it should be the band who sings “We Are Young “ and should be packed with the band who sings “One Week.” If done properly this party will be like an band who sings “Dont Look Back In Anger” in the desert. I mean, this party I’m describing sounds like the band who sings “Heart Shaped Box.” It will be the band who sings “Friday I’m In Love” for what ails you. Also, none of the music from any the five bands I just mentioned should be played at this party. What will I do if you don’t give me my bocce party? Well, I’ll shove a band who sings “Sober” up your bonspiel!
See you at the party!
