NOVI, MICHIGAN – The bar was set extremely high in week 12 when 6 guys recorded a KPM of 10 or higher. Naturally, week 13 couldn’t live up to those standards, however the overall level of play across all players might have been the most balanced of the season.

The KPM across all 8 players ranged from 8.1 – 9.7, which is very impressive. The records reflected this balance, with almost all players hovering near the .500 mark.

The Game of the Night was a match-up between Adam and Coach Mike vs. JG and Bushie. This one was a long, 13 round slug fest between two hot teams. Through 6 rounds each team exchanged blows with Adam and Coach Mike leading 11-9. They extended their lead with a 6-0 run over the next two rounds, each player chipping in a +3 advantage against their opponent.

JG and Bushie composed themselves and battled right back, going on a 9-0 run (JG was +5 against Adam and Bushie +4 against Coach Mike) in the next two rounds to take an 18-17 lead. The run was capped by JG winning round 10 against Adam, 6-2, including 100% accuracy (a cornhole and 3 on the board). It was like Rocky against Ivan Drago, nobody could gain a clear advantage but both sides were giving everything they had.

With the game tied at 20, Bushie and Coach Mike squared off. The mental fatigue was taking it’s toll, as both players missed their first two throws. Coach Mike then found a cornhole with his third throw, putting tons of pressure on Bushie, who missed his third consecutive throw. Coach Mike could close the game with his last toss by landing one on the board, but he missed and kept the door open for Bushie. Needing a cornhole to extend the game, Bushie focused and tossed his final bag. It hit the board and fell to the ground. A rough final round for both competitors, but good enough from Coach Mike to escape with a win.

This week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment goes to Paul, who posted a 10 in Game 6. It wasn’t just a 10, though. He was playing his arch nemesis, JV, head-to-head and JV had nailed two cornholes already. Paul had a cornhole and one on the board, but still trailed 6-4 after two throws. Paul launched his third throw and the bag hung on the hole like a bad dingle berry. JV missed his third throw, and Paul dunked his final throw in the hole, taking the dingle berry down with it…two cornholes on one toss. JV was rattled and promptly missed his final throw, losing the round 10-6 to Paul.

Congratulations to Paul on his first MSM of the season.

Game 6 had more fireworks, when in round 8 JV again held an advantage over Paul, 6-1, before Paul ripped JV’s heart out again by draining cornholes on his last two throws to win the round, 7-6.

Also in Game 6, Jack, frustrated by his partner’s play (JV), foot snagged an errant JV toss and screamed, “Drink it bitch” to his fragile partner. Needless to say, Paul and Adam cruised to a 21-13 win over Jack and JV.

News and Notes:

• Yet again, Coach Mike demonstrated how well-rounded his is. We were getting down to some Usher bangerz when Coach polled the audience – “Did you guys know Usher has herpes?” Hilarity ensued. Of all people you’d expect to be current on pop culture and the state of Usher’s dick diseases, would anyone have expected Coach? Not me, that’s for sure.
• Coach Mike locked down the top KPM this week, at 9.7. His accuracy was the best of his season (63%) and he had a very good 3.2 gross points per round. Coach’s cornholes per round were down compared to his normal standard (0.34), which drove his KPM below 10. Maybe he should’ve pictured the hole as Usher’s dirty dick…
• Paul had a very good night, finally getting back on a consistent winning track. Paul was great in the early season, but has been hovering around .500 most weeks since. He turned in the best record of the night, 4-1, and also had a KPM of 8.5 while showing off perhaps his most accurate night of the year (46%).
• Jack had his best night of the season, earning a 9.4 KPM, which was good for second-highest on the night. His accuracy was excellent (53%) and gross points per round were also good (3.0). Jack added 2 foot snags on his way to a 2-3 record. He’s #8 in this weeks’ Power Rankings.
• Adam followed up a great week in week 12 with another solid performance. His accuracy was up to 50%, but his lower cornholes per round drove his gross points per round down a tick, as well as his KPM. He finished at 8.6, which is pretty good, and was 5-6 on the night. Once again, Adam was the weekly leader in foot snags with 6. That is now 13 foot snags in the last two weeks. He’s on JV’s tail for the overall season lead, down just 5 foot snags (32-27). It should be a great race to the finish for top foot snagger of the year.
• JG was red-hot, going 65% from the field. He struggled to find cornholes consistently, just like everyone else. His 0.28 cornholes per round was 7th out of 8 competitors, which was the big factor in his 9.4 KPM. Again, an impressive KPM, but when JG goes 65% you’d expect a KPM north of 10. Stunningly, despite a tie for second-highest KPM, JG finished 2-4 on the night. He dropped another spot in the Power Rankings to #3. After holding the top spot for 11 straight weeks, he has now dropped a spot in each of the last two weeks.
• JV was the guy who jumped JG in the power rankings, now sitting at #2. JV had one of his tougher nights of the season, registering a KPM of 8.1, the lowest of all 8 competitors. He had decent accuracy at 50%, but the rest of his numbers were way down. He did claw his way to a 4-3 record on the night though.
• Bushie posted a .500 record (5-5) and had one of his more accurate nights (54%). But like everyone else, he struggled to make cornholes, finishing last of all competitors in cornholes per round (0.27). His KPM was still good at 8.2, but it’s clear Bushie prefers to play in the Friendly Confines of Beverly Hills.
• KP fought his throw all night long, mentally and physically. For most of the night the league’s most accurate player was anything but that. He did rebound to finish at 60%, but was in the low-50s through the early games. He finished 4-6 on the night with a KPM of 9.4. Despite the poor record, he remained in the #1 spot of the Power Rankings due to JG’s stumble.

We only have 4 weeks left in the Road to the Cup. These are precious opportunities to hone your game and improve your position in the Power Rankings before the year-end tournament on September 16.