Week 6: Recap and Standings

Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you, this is absolutely incredible—our bowling league is heading into the final week of the regular season, and it’s going to be YUGE! We’ve had some tremendous action all year, folks, just tremendous. Some of these bowlers are bowling like they’re on fire, just tremendous energy out there.

Now, let me give you the scoop. First, the RedSuns, folks, they haven’t lost yet! The only team to clinch a playoff spot. They’re like a massive, Trans-Atlantic passenger ship! They’re unsinkable, believe me. The X-men and Starcraft will only have to win one game in the last week to secure their spot. But here’s the twist, the competition at the bottom is heating up, and I mean heating up big time. Teams are coming in strong, making big moves, and they’re not just rolling strikes—they’re rolling thunder!

We’ve got a few underdog teams who are climbing up, making a dramatic push.  Every other team besides the Puzzle Fighters have a shot at a playoff spot. It’s like watching a movie, very dramatic to the very last moments, folks. If you’re not watching this, you’re missing out. The energy is electric, it’s phenomenal. I’m telling you, the last week is going to be incredible, so buckle up and get ready for the most exciting finish you’ve ever seen. This is going to be something special, believe me.

Tony Le’s Bowler of the Week: 

My personal favorite BSL member, Stephon Chiu, who threw 691 total pins and crushed the raw series record of 667 previously held by #2 ranked commissioner Le Nguyen! 

X-men vs. Starcraft (5 - 2)

Since getting swept in their first match of the season, the X-men have been on an absolute tear through BSL, winning 3 out of their last 4 matches. On the other hand, the once red-hot Starcraft team started the season on fire and now find themselves heading into the last week riding on the coat-tails of 2 straight losses. A crucial match for both teams as they were both in contention for top seed position.

It was a slow start for both teams in game 1 as all but one player hit their average or under. Fortunately for the X-men, Tim Bevins came to the rescue of the sinking team. Almost as if he were a life-boat, Tim showed up and carried all of his X-Women and X-Children to safety by having his season best of 251 pins (handicap) in game 1. 

Oftentimes, large vessels take time to get up to speed, but once they get there, their momentum builds so high that it’s almost impossible to stop, even to avoid disaster! The momentum was now on the X-men’s side, and as most of us are aware now, the X-men are an absolute Juggernaut when riding these waves. The X-men were now fully charged and shot well above their averages, which secured game 2, as well as the match-up.

Victory was already locked up for the X-men by game 3, but with playoffs coming and a top seed position in view, they continued their voyage, full steam ahead! Except for team captain Isaac, who may have taken the rest of the night off. Unfortunately for the X-men, the mysterious Carson Chan appeared from the depths to shoot a career best 273 (handicap) and shattered the American Dream for the X-men

In an important match-up of two fearsome teams, the X-men take the match 5 - 2, and both teams find themselves walking away now tied at 26 points apiece in league standings. They both will be heading into the final week of the regular season fighting for the highly-coveted bye week. 

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ShyGuys vs. Shadow (3 - 4)

Season 8 has been tumultuous for both the Shy Guys and Shadow as they have both been clawing their way to a playoff spot all year. This late in the season, week 6 was an important matchup for both teams as their playoff hopes would be heavily influenced by the outcome of the game.

In game 1, both teams performed well but were mostly unremarkable on both sides as both teams hit their average. Shadow took game 1 by just 24 points. 

Hieu came alive in game 2 for team Shadow, throwing for his season best 246 (handicap). However, his efforts were inconsequential, thwarted by the Shy Guy’s Anny Vien and Thinh Nguyen. Despite losing 35 pins in handicap since the start of the season, Anny had her career best game with 263 (handicap). Thinh appears to be getting more comfortable in the league and had his 2nd best career game with 248 (handicap). The Shy Guys took game 2 by 70 pins.

With the match tied heading into game 3, Shadow improved as the night progressed while the Shy Guys were unable to shoot at the pace they had in the previous game. Shadow took game 3 by 44 points and walked away with the W. Although Shadow won the match, they painfully lost the total pin count by just 2 pins and gave away a point that they desperately need to keep their spot in the playoffs. The Shy Guys and Shadow head into the final week in 4th and 5th place respectfully. We’ll see how important that point may be this week.

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Alliance vs. P.C. Onix (0 - 7)

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Puzzle Fighters vs. GTA: SA (5 - 2)

This season has been rough for both the Puzzle Fighters and GTA: SA who have 1 win between the two of them. The Puzzle Fighters at this point have yet to win a game and are out of then running for any post-season hopes. GTA: SA on the other hand has been continuously hit by obstacles throughout the season so their road to the playoffs will be difficult, but not completely out of reach. 

In his 8th season, Jimmy Tran has been having one of his best seasons yet. Jimmy started game 1 with a 7 bagger and dropped gem after gem on the Puzzle Fighters. Jimmy had his 3rd 250+ raw point game this season, but this was not enough to hold up Vinh Ly who was uncharacteristically struggling after showing out the previous week. GTA: SA limped out with a 659 team score, which is the first sub-700 team score this season. The Puzzle Fighters narrowly squeak by with game 1 with a score of 709, the second lowest team score this season.

In game 2, GTA captain Darren took over for their team and threw for one of his best games this season. The rest of the GTA team did their best to keep pace as the Puzzle Fighter’s captain, Thanh Nguyen was having one of her best games of the season as well. Luckily for GTA, with Sang Pham getting some much needed R&R in Hawaii(and penalized 21 points) , and Dillon Nguyen continuing to struggle against his handicap, GTA is able to take game 2 by 19 points. 

Dillon Nguyen finally put his talent on display in game 3, throwing for his 2nd best game of the season with 214 raw. Darren Le continued to build on his previous performance and had his best game in season 8 so far. However, with Dillon in peak form, the Puzzle Fighters were able to take out GTA for their first win of the season by just 7 pins in game 3. Sorry Linkin Park.

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BallisLife vs. RedSuns (2 - 5)

The 1st place RedSuns have been a force to reckon with and have been able to navigate the twists and turns of this season towards an undefeated season. BallisLife on the other hand has been fighting tooth and nail and has been dealing with the highest pins against count in the league and are 9th place heading into week 6. But don’t let that fool you. Both teams have some of the best talent that BSL has to offer, and boy did they put on a spectacle. 

In the first game of the night, The RedSuns came out firing on all cylinders. The Dynamic duo of Huy and Stephen shot their way to 220+ raw each. BallisLife put up a valiant effort but were unable to overtake the speedy RedSuns in the first leg of their race. 

Game 2 saw a dramatic shift as BallisLife came out like a team on fire. Team captain Johnny Tran reminded the league of who he is as he roared his way to 235 pins raw. The RedSuns did not falter, but ultimately were not able to keep up with the rest of BallisLife team heating up.  Each bowler seemed to have a superpower, delivering strikes and spares with the precision and flair of a flaming basketball from downtown. Duck threw for 212 raw, JQP with 197 raw himself. BallisLife came back, taking Game 2 in a stunning display of bowling prowess.

With the series tied, Game 3 was a dramatic high-speed race. BallisLife were slow off the line and left an opening. The RedSuns took pulled ahead of BallisLife and never looked back. Despite BallisLife’s best efforts to pull ahead, the RedSuns dynamic duo maintained their composure, and now the wild cards Andrew and Tracy were able to make their move and close out game 3 with a decisive win.

As BallisLife made it down to the bottom of the mountain at the end of the race, captain Johnny Tran noticed that the RedSuns were already parked with their hoods propped open. Johnny Tran went over to congratulate the RedSuns on their win, and in doing so, he peeked into the engine bay of the RedSuns. Johnny’s hands trembled as he looked over the sleek, meticulously tuned machine and the clamor of other engines and chatter of competitors faded into a distant murmur.

Johnny's eyes scanned the engine bay, and for a moment, he froze. “this isn’t a rotary engine,” he thought. There, nestled snugly between the custom chrome fittings and high-performance components, was a spoon engine head cover, draping over an inline 4 cylinder engine.The signature red-and-black detailing of his own high-octane modifications stood out against the gleaming metal. His breath caught in his throat.

As he stepped closer, the familiar marks, 100 shot of NOS, and distinctive sound of the MOTEC exhaust, Johnny now fully realized what he was looking at, the Spoon SR20 engines that he had lost months ago before race wars started. Johnny couldn’t help but chuckle.