CLAWSON, MICHIGAN – The footsnag controversy has returned, bringing out more venom in all players than ever before. Things got testy just three games into the evening when Marco and Bushie matched up against KP and Erik – that’s right, the controversy involves Bushie and KP yet again.

Marco kicked the game off with a 3-1 round over KP, and Erik responded in the bottom of the first with a cornhole on his way to a 5-2 advantage over Bushie. Marco again got the best of KP in the second frame, 3-2 to tie the game, 3-3. In the bottom of the the second both Bushie and Erik struggled to find the board, with each player missing their first three shots.

Erik’s fourth toss hit the board and carried off the back with too much power, but in Marco’s attempt to footsnag the errant throw he actually kicked the bag back on the board and into the hole! Erik was rewarded with a cornhole after what should have been an 0-4 round. Bushie was boiling with frustration after his partner kicked in the cornhole, and his anger got the best of him when he missed his last bag of the round.

Thanks to Marco’s unsuccessful footsnag, KP and Erik held a 6-3 lead going into the top of the third frame. KP rode the wave of momentum with three cornholes and another bag on the board for a 10-point round, while Marco only managed three gross points. KP’s 10-3 gross point advantage gave his team a commanding 13-3 lead, and Erik posted a 4-0 advantage over Bushie in the bottom of the third frame to increase the lead to 17-3.

In the fourth frame, KP made it 20-3 and Bushie finally stopped the bleeding when he scored 1 point for his team (4-3 gross advantage) in the bottom of the fourth frame. With the game wildly out of hand at 20-4, Bushie about the explode, and Marco ready to end the game because he and his partner were at odds, KP ended the misery in the fifth frame with a 5-3 advantage over Marco to clinch the game, 21-4.

KP and Erik used Marco’s footsnag snafu to turn a 3-3 tie into an 18-1 run to win the game. KP’s 10-point round to immediately punish Marco for that snafu is this week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment of the week, and propelled KP to a 12 point advantage over Marco during the last three rounds of the game.

Bushie stood on the sidelines during Game 4, complaining to KP about Marco’s footsnag and how it changed the complexion of Game 3. Back to Game 4, when Adam footsnagged his partner, Paul, he turned to KP keeping score and proudly instructed KP to add a footsnag to the stat sheet. Bushie went on a tirade, “You think I’m the gay one, you guys are obsessed with footsnags, rim jobs and all this other shit. Did you know all my gay friends do footsnags? They do them in the clubs and they do them with c()cks. It’s greeeeaaaat!”

Hilarity ensued, including tears of laughter from KP and Erik as they tried to process what the fuck Bushie had just said. Before they could finish wrapping their head around everything, they hear a loud, “MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!” come from Bushie as he watched a hot biscuit (attractive female) run down the sidewalk.

The group struggled to recover, wiping tears from faces, holding stomachs because they hurt from laughter and the players tried to regain focus and continue the match. Everyone was encouraged because it appeared Bushie turned his footsnag frustration into comedy and moved on. Not so fast…

During the Game of the Night in Game 6, Adam and Bushie teamed to face Erik and Paul. Bushie requested to go head-to-head

with his favorite LEG member, Paul, which left the top two footsnaggers, Erik and Adam, going head-to-head at the opposite end. Early in the game Paul threw inaccurately and Erik fought Adam at the other end to claim the footsnag. Neither player was able to complete the snag, but they did incite rage from Bushie, who once again complained about how distracting the footsnag is, how it impacts his accuracy and how the rule should be banned from the league.

KP had enough and snapped, yelling at Coach Mike to “shut the fucking music off,” before he insisted Bushie shut up and listen while KP got on his own soap box supporting footsnags. Everything became incredibly tense during the brief delay caused by the footsnag argument, and Adam and Erik decided to do their best to mind their footsnag P’s and Q’s the rest of the game.

Before the explosion, Erik and Paul had built an 8-0 lead behind a great opening frame by Erik (beat Adam 6-1). However, Bushie and Adam ripped off a 10-3 run of their own to close the gap to 11-10 after five rounds, and all 10 net points were provided by Adam, as he outscored Erik 19-9 during that span.

Paul quieted the run in the top of the sixth with a big 5-1 advantage over his predator, Bushie, increasing his squad’s lead to 15-10. Adam made it 15-13 in the bottom of the sixth before turning it back over Bushie, hoping for his partner to provide some help.

Paul wasn’t having any of that, as he dodged Bushie’s butt-play attempts while blanking Bushie 5-0 and advancing his and Erik’s lead to 20-13. Once again, the pressure fell on Adam to keep his team in the game.

In the bottom of the sixth frame Adam drained a cornhole on his way to outscoring Erik 4-0, making the score 20-17. Paul had been dominating Bushie and only needed one point to close the game. But Bushie finally came through when Adam needed him most. He knocked in two cornholes, putting all sorts of pressure on Paul to keep the game alive. Paul had two bags on the board, facing a 6-2 gross deficit with only one throw remaining. At this point Bushie had secured a 21-20 victory unless Paul scored his last bag. Unfortunately for Paul, he couldn’t keep the game alive when he missed his last throw and Bushie celebrated a great comeback victory with Adam, winning 21-20 in a tense thriller.

Coach Mike’s venue continues to prove to be the most challenging in the league, as this week only two players recorded a KPM higher than 10, and only three of the 9 players were above 50% accuracy. That said, the competition was as strong as ever with Barker owning the best win-loss record for the night at just 5-3.

News and Notes:

• Aaron made his LEG debut this week, and was very successful after a slow start to his rookie campaign. He lost his first match of the night before ripping off four straight victories. He ultimately finished at 4-3, and the highlight of his night was in Game 10 when he drilled 8 cornholes, posted a game-high 33 gross points and outscored Bushie head-to-head 33-16. Aaron carried Barker to a 21-17 victory of KP and Bushie. Aaron ended the night with a 7.5 KPM on 0.52 cornholes per round, 2.4 gross points per round, 33% accuracy and posted a 10-point round.
• Marco regained his MVP form this week by recording the highest KPM (11.5) primarily due to a ridiculous 0.88 cornholes per round. He also scored 3.6 gross points per round, shot 46% and finished with a 5-6 record. Marco’s 5-6 record is a testament to the overall competition from all the players, but his 11.5 KPM and two 10-point rounds show how dominant he was individually. Marco held firm at #4 overall in the Power Rankings.
• Adam ended the night with the second-best KPM (11.1) and showed off impressive accuracy (57%) with balanced scoring (0.67 cornholes per round and 3.6 gross points per round). Adam recorded his seventh 10-point round of the season, added 4 footsnags to his league-leading total (28) and jumped to #5 in the Power Rankings after his solid evening. Adam continues to play better and better every week as we approach midseason, and he will be a force to reckon with for the rest of the year.
• Coach Mike has battled inconsistency all year, and this week was no different. He lost games by scores of 21-4, 21-7, and 21-9, where he and his partners all played poorly. He still rebounded to finish the night 4-6 overall with a very solid 8.9 KPM. Coach’s 8.9 KPM is even more impressive considering he was only 42% accurate, but his cornholes per round (0.58) and gross points per round (2.8) were solid. Coach maintained the #10 spot in the Power Rankings and is a scary player because he has top 5 talent when he’s on his game.
• Barker had an off-night with an 8.8 KPM. The KPM is not necessarily the issue…it’s that he was 54% accurate and ONLY recorded an 8.8 KPM. His cornholes per round were extremely low (0.39), and Barker was generally uncomfortable and lacked confidence all evening. He experimented with his throwing style for most of the night before choosing the “butterfly with sore feet” style (high, rainbow throw that lands extremely softly). Barker ham and egged his way to a 5-3 record, but showed some weakness in his confidence. It’ll be interesting to observe how he responds in the coming weeks, because ultimately he still has championship pedigree within him. Will it come out again?
• KP finally had a week below 10 KPM, recording a season-low 9.9 on a near season-low 63% accuracy (his season-low is 61% from week 6). The numbers are still very good, but like Barker, KP hasn’t seemed comfortable since week 4. He finished the night with a respectable 6-4 record, but dropped from #2 to #3 in the Power Rankings after his 9.9 KPM. Galz, who didn’t play this week, jumped from #3 to #2 after KP’s week 7 struggle.
• Paul finished the night with a 7.7 KPM, but was trending much better than that for most of the night. Paul ended the night with only three gross points in Game 19, which killed his KPM. Paul posted a 3-3 record, was 40% accurate, scored 2.5 gross points per round, and knocked in 0.46 cornholes per round. He was also pretty clutch in several moments throughout the evening.
• Erik stayed at #12 in the Power Rankings after his 7.6 KPM, which is impressive given the accuracy struggles he had most of the night (only 36%). His cornholes per round (0.50) were very good, and his 2.4 gross points per round was solid given the accuracy problems he had. Erik also added 2 footsnags on the evening, keeping him in second place for the season and still chasing Adam for the top footsnag spot (he trails Adam 28-18). Erik started the night extremely well when he busted open Game 1 with two cornholes in round 4 and closed the game with a 7-3 advantage (two cornholes and another bag on the board) over Coach Mike to give his team a 21-7 win. He started the night 2-1 before losing 4 straight games to finish 2-5. His 4 straight losses were by scores of 21-20, 21-19, 21-18 and 21-17, which shows how close Erik was to having a very impressive win-loss record.
• Bushie could never find his rhythm. This was his first time playing at Coach Mike’s house, and with all the tension and distractions, he could never get on track. He posted the week-low KPM (6.9) on just 34% accuracy, 2.2 gross points per round and 0.44 cornholes per round. He did have some good moments, including closing the Game of the Night and posted a 5-6 win-loss record. Bushie stays at #11 in this week’s Power Rankings.