CLAWSON, MICHIGAN – JV was at a different level this week. Sure, he played well (11.5 KPM and 63% shooting), but I’m talking about his party level. He let loose this week, almost to the infamous “Sake Man” level.

Don’t know that story? Here it goes…one lovely Sunday JV and Katie decided to start their “Sunday Funday” at their VIP table at Renshaw Lounge. JV started with a little of Daddy’s Medicine, Dewar’s on the rocks. He then loaded up on White Claws and shots before deciding to give in to Katie’s pleas for food.

If you know JV, you know he prefers not to eat until he’s done drinking. But JV is also the ultimate gentleman and obliged his future wife’s wishes.

They departed the VIP table and headed to Kyoto, a Japanese steakhouse. During the long wait at their hibachi table, JV befriended the chef by telling jokes and ripping sake shot after sake shot.

Dinner wrapped up and JV stumbled out of his chair like a drunken giraffe. The chef insists, “Sake Man! One for the road?!?!” As he’s already pouring the bottle in JV’s mouth.

“Oh god,” his soul whispered to himself as he continues toward the door. “I’m not going to keep this down.”

Like his high-arching rainbow cornhole tosses, he came up just short of “making it.” He vomited all over the lobby, with hungry patrons awaiting an open table. Without missing a beat, “Don’t worry, the food is fine!” he slurred in between hurling.

This week he wasn’t quite “Sake Man!” but he was spinning like a top. When he wasn’t yelling for all his bags to “GET THERE!,” he was threatening his opponents every time he made a cornhole – “Oh yeah, baby! Daddy’s gonna give you another one right here!,” as he doggy-styled the air.

It was a hell of a week, and ultimately he did spend some time visiting the porcelain dish throughout the night.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Given JV’s condition, it should come as no surprise that he was not part of the Game of the Night. This week’s thriller featured Erik and Galz against Paul and KP in Game 3. Speaking of doggy-style, Galz blew this game open right off the bat, dropping an 8-1 score on KP in the first inning. That helped Galz and Erik build an early 12-4 lead, which they increased to 17-7 in the fourth inning when Erik buried two cornholes in a dominating 6-1 inning against Paul.

Through four innings Galz abused KP, getting the better of him 19-13. In the fifth, KP salvaged some pride when he drilled three cornholes while Galz was erratic with his shot. KP’s 9-1 inning crept his team within 17-15.

Paul rode the wave of momentum in his half of the fifth inning and tied the game at 17-17. Each team traded a point in the sixth inning, continuing the deadlock at 18-18.

In the top of the seventh inning, Paul looked to close it out. Erik had honors and threw first, landing the bag on the board. Paul’s first toss found the bottom of the hole for three!

Erik launched his second bag, again landing on the board. Paul answered with one on the board.

Erik’s third shot missed the board wide, opening the door for Paul to drive a nail in the coffin. Paul’s third bag raced up the board, split the blocking bags, and fell into the hole for three more! Suddenly, Paul had a commanding 7-2 lead with one bag remaining.

Erik needed a cornhole to avoid losing the game. He trusted his fundamentals and executed a calm, confident throw. His bag also navigated all of the blockers on the board and slid into the hole for three! What a clutch shot to cut the scoring to 7-5 – advantage to Paul, but that shot kept Erik and Galz alive.

Paul could still win the game on his final bag by landing on the board. Unfortunately Paul didn’t know the situation, so he played aggressively and chased a cornhole. He missed his last toss long, and Erik sighed in relief.

Paul had given his team a 20-18 lead, but was frustrated with himself when the score was explained to him.

Focus turned to Galz and KP for a closeout opportunity. KP placed his first toss on the board, while Galz applied pressure with a cornhole.

KP’s second toss was wide, hitting the right side of the board and sliding off. Galz’s second toss slid up the center of the board and into the hole, giving him a 6-1 lead. KP needed a cornhole, and found one with his third toss.

Unlike Paul, Galz knew score and situation. He was up 6-4 and KP only had one bag remaining. One point on his third bag would likely force KP to need a cornhole to extend the match because only one point from KP would still allow Galz to win the game on his final toss with a bag on the board.

Galz fired his third bag aggressively at the hole. He missed the hole, but his bag settled on the board, in front of the hole, for one point. It was up to KP to extend the game. He had to have a cornhole, but Galz had successfully blocked an easy look at the hole. KP decided to attempt an airmail in order to avoid taking Galz’s blocker into the hole.

The final toss was high and looked to be on target, but carried over the board by about a foot. Game over. Galz didn’t need to throw his final bag, but he did with hopes of making it while taking the blocker in for a four-bagger. His final throw was offline and he settled for a 7-4 win in the inning, and a 21-20 “save.”

Galz was a beast, scoring 33 points on seven cornholes for the match, which went seven innings. Erik wasn’t far behind, scoring 28 points on six cornholes. After nearly blowing a 10-point lead, which would’ve given them a “choke,” Erik and Galz steadied the ship and got the victory.

HUNGRY LIKE A WOLFE

Speaking of Erik, he’s earned a player feature this week. He’s been on a roll in 2020, making an appearance in his first tournament championship match and was voted to the all-tournament team by his peers. Through seven weeks he’s posted a 10.1 KPM and is shooting 56% for the season.

This week he was an animal (pun intended) – he played with more confidence than we’ve seen all season, which helped him make 0.93 cornholes per round (i.e., essentially one of every four bags he threw was in the hole) and that elevated his game to a 13.3 KPM.

Though he was excellent throughout the night, Erik’s highlight was in Game 6 when he partnered with Paul against Jack and Galz. Erik single-handedly carried Paul to a convincing 21-13 win (Galz outscored Paul 30-18 in this match) by scoring 45 points and knocking in 12 cornholes in only eight innings (averaging 5.63 gross points per round).

By comparison, Galz was the next leading scorer in the game and he had 30 points and 6 cornholes. Those figures jump off the page and tell you just how good Erik was, both in that game and for the night.

MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT

This week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment was difficult to choose given there were several clutch throws, as well as six different 10-point rounds. However, the winner of the week 7 MSM is Galz for his 12-point round in the ninth inning of Game 1.

Not only does he earn the MSM because of the 12-point round, but dropped the four-bagged on KP’s chin in response to KP winning the previous round, 10-5, which helped KP’s team close their deficit to 14-12 (it was 14-7). Not only was Galz pissed about losing the round 10-5, but he wanted to up the ante. Boy did he ever…the 12-point MSM also gave his team a 21-12 victory in the game.

Galz is a stone cold killer.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Galz led the way this week, going 4-1 with a 14.8 KPM. His 12-point MSM gives him a third 12-point round for the 2020 season, tying him with KP for the league lead. He shot 68% while making 1.0 cornholes per round, and added two more 10-point rounds to his week 7 resume. His only loss of the night was in Game 6 when Erik went bananas.
• Nick wasn’t far behind Galz, coming in with a 4-1 record and 14.0 KPM. Nick had a 10-point round as well, while also shooting 70%. In his only head-to-head match-up with Galz, Nick got the better end of things personally by outscoring Galz, 23-19. But Galz’s team won the game, 21-10.
• KP had a rough night. Sure, he posted a nice, shiny 13.8 KPM. But when you polish a turd, it’s still a turd. He went 1-4 and couldn’t make a shot when it mattered. He was directly responsible for his team losing the Game of the Night, and besides that close loss (21-20) his remaining losses were blowouts – 21-12, 21-15, and 21-12. The only positive for KP on this night is that he didn’t fall in the Power Rankings.
• Turley continued his hot season with an 11.8 KPM this week, driven by 69% shooting and 0.58 cornholes per round. He also posted a 3-2 record, including going nuts in Game 4 with 39 points on eight cornholes, leading his team to a 21-3 win.
• Paul had a solid night, shooting 62% and dropping 0.58 cornholes per round, which was good for a 10.9 KPM. He finished the night 3-3, and jumped from #11 in the Power Rankings to #9.
• Jack struggled a bit this week. He was just 1-4, and though his accuracy was good (51%), he didn’t make enough cornholes (just 0.41 per round). He had an 8.5 KPM, which dropped his season KPM to 8.9. He was solid in his only victory (Game 7), scoring 24 points and five cornholes, while averaging 4.8 gross points per round. He won his head-to-head match-up with Turley, helping his team to a 21-6 victory.