NOVI, MICHIGAN – The top of the power rankings are as uncertain as ever, with Week 9 of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (“LEG”) shuffling the standings yet again. Nick dominated play last week with a 5-0 record, a commanding +10.2 scoring differential, and capped it off with 3 foot snags. Nick jumped from 5th place overall to 2nd, as he tries to hold off JG and KP who are charging hard for the top ranking overall heading into Saturday’s season-ending tournament. Editor’s Note – Nick G. is in first place overall, but he is not playing in the season-ending tournament; therefore Nick Winkler (aka just “Nick”) is the leader in the clubhouse for the #1 position in Saturday’s Draft Lottery.

The game of the night was in Game 1 where JG and Nick (both league MVP candidates) squared off against KP and Paul, who was playing his first LEG event of the season. KP and Paul raced out to a 6-0 lead, only to have the dynamic duo respond with a 13-0 run of their own. Down 13-6, it looked as though JG and Nick had taken KP and Paul’s best shot on the chin and were on the verge of a TKO. But KP and Paul got hot, fought back and trailed 20-19 in the late stages of the match. KP had a final toss to win the game with a cornhole, but just missed, giving JG and Nick life. True to form, Nick closed out the match on his next turn by outscoring Paul 1-0, good for a 21-19 victory.

It was a hell of a game, and KP and Paul showed a lot of fight in almost pulling the upset. But, you have to capitalize on opportunities when players as good as JG and Nick are on the ropes, and KP and Paul failed to do that.

Speaking of Paul, he made his season debut going 2-4. He played well in a Game 4, a 21-10 win as he teamed with Nick to take out Adam and KP. The low point of Paul’s night was when he joined forces with fellow newcomer, Adam, in Game 3 to battle against JG and KP. JG and KP dominated their way to a 20-0 lead over the rookies, and the dreaded “bun run” was fully in play. That’s right folks, we were 1 point away from a 21-0 shutout and a naked run around the block for both Adam and Paul. On my last turn, I landed all 4 throws on the board, with 2 of them dangling from the hole, but neither would fall. Adam matched my 4 points for a 0-0 draw that round, avoiding the bun run. On the next turn, Paul outscored JG for their first points of the game and negated the bun run. In fact, Adam and Paul went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 20-8 before JG and KP finally closed out the game, 21-8.

The rookies get a lot of credit for battling through adversity of a 20-0 deficit and the pressure of an embarrassing naked run weighing on them. If only one of my throws had fallen off the edge of the hole…instead, we had the biggest bun run scare of the season.

JG finished the night 4-3, representing the second-best record on the evening, despite having a negative scoring differential. He sits in 3rd place overall, just 1 game back of Nick.

Adam also had a respectable debut, going 2-3 and showing off beautiful form. We expected nothing less from Adam, who doubles as an outstanding bowler. With more game reps, Adam could be one of the top players in the league.

Joe V. and I had poor weeks, going 1-3 and 2-3, respectively, and battled through a lot of inconsistencies from game to game.

NOVI, MICHIGAN – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (“LEG”) continues to rob people of their virginity. We took cornhole purity from 3 new guys last night, Ryan, Pat and Nick Giammarco (aka, “Nick G”).

Nick G., the self-anointed “Rainman” because he comes in dumb and leaves wet, is now atop the power rankings with a winning percent of 67%, after going 2-1 in his debut. Yes, he has a much smaller sample size than say, JG who resides in second at 65%, but rules are rules. Therefore, “Rainman” is the top dog this week. He also had a very respectable win when he teamed with me to beat JG and Pat, 21-15.

Ryan started rough with a 21-1 loss in Game 1. He ended the night with a 2-5 record that included highlights such as teaming with Nick G. in Game 5 to register both of their first wins of the season over the Catholic Central All-Stars, Pat and Josh. Ryan was also involved in the game of the night, a 21-20 loss in Game 7 to Nick and Brad. More on the game of the night later. Ryan’s record wasn’t stellar, but he has some talent and could be as sneaky as JG’s twink boyfriend’s tongue when drafted for the big tournament on October 1.

Josh showed up after a few weeks off, and it showed in his game. He went 1-2 on the night, dropping him to sixth overall, and in a Game 3 loss hit his low point by missing all 4 of his throws short of the board on one turn. Josh did salvage his night with 4 foot snags in just 3 games, upping his league-leading total 15 foot snags (the next closest is 4).

The game of the night was in Game 7, where Nick and Brad teamed up to face Ryan and JG. The game was tight the entire way, and with a 20-19 lead Ryan let his last throw go and hit nothing but hole. It appeared as though he just clinched the game since the only thing that could save Nick and Brad was a cornhole by Nick on his last throw. Nick proved he has ice water in his veins by nailing a cornhole, canceling Ryan and JG’s win and extending the game. Nick and Brad would go on to score the last two points of the game and win 21-20.

In the immediate aftermath, JG and Ryan were hurting. Hurting so bad they demanded a rematch. Brad and Nick obliged, but couldn’t pull off back-to-back wins as JG and Ryan rolled to a 21-15 victory.

We are winding down the regular season, with only 2 weeks left before the big tournament. The top 9 guys are at .500 or better and the top 5 in the standings are all within at least 5% of each other. A lot can happen these last few weeks as we jockey for the critical Draft Lottery position.

NOVI, MICHIGAN – Week 7 was a small group, with only 4 cornholers playing. But, it was a nice 4-man gangbang of former EY Chrysler audit team guys, so thanks to everyone else for sitting this one out and allowing us to have our reunion moment. For our Catholic league guys on this chain (Nick, Josh, Lucio, Joe, Pat, Chinoski), it was similar to your locker room cracker circle jerks in high school. 😉

Humberto popped his LEG cherry, going 3-4 in his first ever appearance, which was good for the second best overall record on the night and ninth overall in the power rankings. Humberto flashed that Brasil futbol skill, nabbing the only foot snag of the night. Even more impressive was Humberto’s Babe Ruth moment in Game 4. Bert and KP were up 19-15, Lucio had 3 points on the board and Bert had one toss left. As soon as the bag left his hand Bert called his shot with a confident, “Cash!”. He found nothing but net, cancelling Dave’s 3 points with a cornhole of his own, and preserving a 7 point lead, 19-12. In the next round I closed the game out, but Bert – the baller, shot caller – saved the game.

In Game 3, Dave had a chance to extend the game on his last throw, but choked in a major way by failing to score and lost the game because of it (21-16 win for Bert & KP over Lucio & Joe). Dave, in a fit a rage, demanded a rematch, which is when Bert ripped his heart out in Game 4 (see above for details).

Joe and Dave each finished the night at 2-5, but Joe had a better scoring differential than both Bert and Dave at -2.9. Dave struggled with confidence issues all night, going 1-4 in the first 5 games. During Game 6 Dave battled through his internal struggle and self-demands to “do something with your life,”. He had a solid final round to win the closest match of the night, a 21-17 win for Lucio & KP over Bert & Joe.

After that Game 6 win Dave was feeling froggy, so he leaped into another rematch of Dave & Joe vs. KP & Bert. He lost for the third time on the night, 21-12. An unhappy Dave is good for the league. It means the fire is burning to show up again and redeem himself.

I was the MVP of the night, going 7-0 with a +10.6 scoring differential. My undefeated night (the first undefeated night by anyone this season, by the way) helped me jump from 5th place in the power rankings to 2nd place overall with just 3 weeks left before the season-ending tournament.