CLAWSON, MICHIGAN – I’ve given Coach Mike an unusual amount of shit this year. He bore the brunt of my jokes in the week 2 recap, including tagging him with the nickname “Aunt Millie Mike” when he became king of the bun runs. Coach would be the first to tell you he deserved all the ribbing, so I won’t apologize for it…plus, it was funny as hell. So funny that I’m linking that recap again.
https://legcornhole.com/2020-week-2-recap/
The truth is, Coach has struggled this year. Prior to this week he had a season average of 10.0 KPM, 56% accuracy, scored 3.4 gross points per round, and averaged 0.56 cornholes per round. All solid numbers on paper, yet something wasn’t clicking with Coach. His energy is typically the roaring fire that fuels him, and this year it was flickering, at best.
After week 6, Coach took a break from LEG. Week 7 came and went…no Coach Mike. And the same happened in week 8, and week 9. And again in week 10. He stepped away for a month and drifted off into oblivion, often avoiding responding to text messages.
The reasons for his leave of absence are only known to him, and they should stay that way. But one thing became clear – he needed that break.
How do I know? He returned this week with a renewed spirit. His energy was up, and he revealed a new, saucy, pancake throwing style (how many players are going to change their mechanics this year?!?!).
Before the games began, Dibble was touting the work Coach put in over the prior weeks, practicing this new style toss. And then in Game 1, we all witnessed the fruit of his labor. Coach led off the top of the first inning for his squad – his first throw of the night, BANG! Cornhole!
That was much needed validation for Coach. The pancake toss is officially in his tool belt.
RIP ta da back-handed taint tickler.
Actually, the back-handed taint tickler should stay in the arsenal, and Coach knows it. His pancake toss has a nice cut (left to right movement) on it, whereas his back-handed taint tickler draws (right to left movement) and can trickle over blockers.
Coach Mike has the looks of becoming the most versatile player in the league if he keeps sharpening both styles.
Coach has a lot of paybacks to give, and his revenge tour kicked off this week.
He played five games and won them all. His KPM reached 11.0. He shot 61% and averaged 0.60 cornholes per round and 3.6 gross points per round. Everyone he played, he blew out – one of his four wins was a 21-18 affair, but the next closest was 21-13.
In Game 1, he and Erik were en fuego, racing out to a 9-0 early lead and looked so dominant that JV hollered to his partner, Bob, and asked, “Hey Bob, what kind of underwear do you have on?”.
Coach and Erik couldn’t complete the bun run, but they did win in dominating fashion, 21-6. Coach led all scorers with 22 points and five cornholes while also clinching the game with a 3-2 advantage over Bob in the sixth inning.
PAYBACKS ARE A BITCH
Coach and Erik were a lethal partnership, as they demonstrated with a 21-6 whipping to open the night. They partnered again in Game 6 against Dibble and Bob, and once again pounced on their opponent from the jump.
The first inning was about feeling out the opponent, and they still collected two points in the process to take an early 2-0 lead.
Then in the second inning shit got real. Erik drained three cornholes and was fractions from earning his first four-bagger of the season. His 10-point round was a thing of beauty. He outscored Dibble 10-0 and gave his team a 12-0 lead, and even though his team needed nine more points to win the game, the 10-point round was the death knell for his opponent.
Coach Mike chipped in one more point in the bottom of the second inning to make it 13-0, and turned the bags back over to Erik to keep the bun run alive.
Dibble was rattled, you could see he was feeling the bun run pressure. Erik fired first in the top of the third inning and made cornhole. Dibble’s first bag missed long off the board.
Erik’s second bag settled on the board to give him an early 4-0 lead, then Dibble missed again. Pressure mounting.
Erik missed his third bag, and turned away in disgust, as he desperately wanted to bury Dibble’s scoring hopes. Dibble responded with a critical cornhole to make it 4-3 (advantage Erik) with one bag remaining.
Erik missed again with his fourth bag, which set the stage for Dibble to either wash the round with one point, or erase his team’s bagel on the scoreboard with a cornhole. He tossed his final bag and it fell short of the board, as if he threw a 20 pound bag.
14-0.
And then ol’ Aunt Millie Mike stepped to the plate, ready to stuff buns with hot Italian sausage.
First pancake bag, CORNHOLE!
Second pancake bag, CORNHOLE!
Third pancake bag, on the board for seven points in the bottom of the third inning.
Meanwhile, Bob missed each of his first three throws, which secured the 21-0 win. On Coach’s last bag, he got aggressive and aimed for a cornhole to pad his stats. He missed, but it didn’t matter.
Coach and Erik deep-dicked Dibble and Bob in just three innings, with Erik outscoring Dibble 19-8 (5-2 in cornholes) and Coach topping Bob 17-7 (4-2 in cornholes).
It was Dibble and Bob’s first career bun run, and how fitting that it was at the hands of the Bun Run King.
25.6
Huh? Let me explain – in KP’s first game of the night (Game 2) he partnered with JV to battle Dibble and Galz. JV and KP pulled out a thrilling, 21-20 win that was a finalist for Game of the Night.
But the real story here was KP. He scored 79 points, averaged 7.9 gross points per round, and shot a ludicrous 92.5%, scoring 37/40 throws, including 21 cornholes. He added two 12-point rounds to his resume, just in this game, including a 12-7 dagger over Dibble in the 10th inning to win the game.
At the end of the game his KPM was 25.6, which is easily a LEG record. Erik was scorekeeper and later confirmed that KP’s KPM during the middle of the game had reached 36!
KP finished the night at 19.6, also a new record for a single night KPM. He was 4-2 overall, shooting 76%, averaging 6.1 gross points per round, and dropped four 12-point rounds and one 10-point round for the night.
GAME OF THE NIGHT
Game 5 pitted Nick and JV against Galz and Paul. This was a game of runs – Nick and JV raced out to a 5-0 lead, only to see Galz and Paul go on an 11-0 run to take an 11-5 lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, JV stopped the bleeding with a 7-2 win over Paul, which pulled his team within 11-10. More importantly, his five points sparked an incredible 14-0 run, led by a monster seven point fourth inning by Nick (beat Galz 9-2).
It was 19-11, and Nick and JV appeared to be in complete control.
Galz found a way to eke out three points against Nick in the sixth inning – 19-14.
Paul’s been here too many times, especially against his nemesis, JV. He relished the opportunity to spoil a JV celebration. In the bottom of the sixth Paul drained two cornholes en route to a 7-2 win, which tied the game at 19-19. Paul’s final toss could have won the game had he knocked in another cornhole. Instead, he landed on the board to even the game.
Galz and Nick washed their half of the seventh inning, combining to go 8/8 and each scoring a cornhole.
The bags flipped back to Paul and JV. Could Paul spoil the celebration again, for the second consecutive inning?
First bag:
Paul – on the board for one point
JV – answered with one on the board
Second bag:
Paul – runs his bag up the middle of the board and into the hole for three!
JV – places another bag on the board
Third bag:
Paul – missed as his bag hit the front left of the board and continued off. That was an enormous missed opportunity for Paul, as he could’ve applied a lot of pressure with a scoring bag.
JV – his third toss landed in the middle of the board and took a big hop forward into the hole for three! He needed that shot, and gave himself a 5-4 advantage.
Fourth bag:
Paul – he played aggressively, trying to score three points, but settled for one on the board instead. That allowed him to draw even for the inning, 5-5. But, JV had one final bag.
JV – the guy performs bar tricks by counting the number of letters in a sentence within seconds of hearing a sentence. Do you really think he doesn’t know the situation and score? Of course he knew a cornhole would win the game, and against Paul? Ohhhhh daddy! Get your popcorn, folks.
He launched a rainbow that carried the other four bags on the board. His bag hit in the center of the board and curled into the hole for a game-winning cornhole!
JV was fired up, and celebrated a little harder knowing it would devastate Paul. A great game, and a great finish!
Galz led all scorers with 35 points and six cornholes, while Nick trailed just behind with 33 points and eight cornholes. JV scored 32 points and six cornholes, none bigger than the game-winner. Paul scored 27 points and five cornholes.
MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT
This week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment was a game-clincher. In Game 7 Bob and KP were partners and quickly fell behind their opponent, JV and Paul, 7-0 after the first inning. KP and Bob rebounded with a 19-4 run to take a commanding 19-11 lead.
But then the tide started turning again when JV and Paul closed the gap to 19-15 in the fifth inning.
In the top of the sixth inning, the match-up of Bob vs. Paul was critical because Paul has big-inning potential and could easily score the six points his team needed to pull a stunning comeback.
The two players exchanged misses and cornholes on their first two bags. Each player landed their third bag on the board, making the score 4-4 with one more toss remaining. Paul had an opportunity to cut his team’s deficit to 19-18 with a cornhole, and he threw first – off the board!
KP celebrated, knowing his partner couldn’t lose the inning. 
As Bob prepared for his final bag, the tension of the moment didn’t seem to bother him. Maybe he’s too green to know any better? He launched, and immediately liked what he saw. The bag was tracking in the air, but was also carrying like it was launched out of a cannon. It carried, and carried, and then sailed through the hole for an airmail!
Bob with an airmail to cap a 7-4 round win and win the game, 21-15! He gets this week’s MSM, which isn’t easy given the array of incredible shots many players made this week.
Bob outscored Paul 29-19 and 6-3 in cornholes. He was the second leading scorer in the game, behind JV (30 points), and outscored his partner, KP (27 points).
NEWS AND NOTES
- JV posted a 14.1 KPM and 3-3 record while shooting 66% and draining 0.95 cornholes per round. His game-winner in the Game of the Night was incredible, but he also added two straight airmails during a nine point round in Game 9. He doesn’t flip the switch for every game on Thursday nights, but when he does turn it on, it’s must-see TV.
- Bob got better this week, building on his LEG debut in week 10. He had a 7.9 KPM and shot 43%. Though he was 1-4 overall, the one win was a special one for him because of his game-winning airmail that earned him the MSM.
- Dibble had an off-night, yet his numbers are still ridiculous. His KPM still ended up at 18.7, accuracy at 78%, and made 1.38 cornholes per round. Despite his off-night, he did enough to earn the #1 spot back in the Power Rankings. He also earns this week’s MVP for the spread he provided all of us. His smoked pig shots and armadillo eggs were fantastic! So was the sausage and mac and cheese. Dibble set the bar high as a host this week.
- Nick was excellent once again – 16.8 KPM, 74% shooting, and 3-3 record. He scored a 12-point round and three 10-point rounds. Somehow, he lost his one-week hold on the #1 spot in the Power Rankings despite those numbers. Regardless of Power Rankings, Nick is a handful and extremely difficult to beat.
- Erik jumped from #11 to #9 in the Power Rankings thanks to a 3-3 record and 11.5 KPM. He continues to prove how good he is, steadily producing ~11 KPM week after week.
- Paul had a solid night, posting a 10.5 KPM and delivered in the clutch several times. Unfortunately he was just 2-4 overall and dropped from #10 to #11 in the Power Rankings. He did add one foot snag against Galz, which was perfect timing because Galz had just popped a fresh Two-Hearted.
- Speaking of Galz, he solidified his #4 spot in the Power Rankings with his 16.1 KPM. He shot 72% and dropped 1.12 cornholes per round. His 3-4 record is not impressive, but two of his losses were heart-breakers – 21-20 and 21-19.