CLAWSON, MICHIGAN – Every time Coach Mike hosts cornhole, it’s pure fire. From me waking up on Barker’s couch hungover and needing to walk back to Coach’s house to get my car Friday morning, to JV posing and playing topless (more on that later), things are always entertaining.

Week 11 was no different. Eight players arrived in Clawson, like kids on Christmas morning, eager to unwrap the glorious presents at Coach Mike’s house.

This week’s present was unbelievable talent on display – 5 of the 8 players registered a KPM above 10, including 4 players above 12. Traditional weekly recaps would include a summary from the Game of the Night, but this week’s recap will focus on the Week of the Year since the collective performance was the best we’ve seen in 2018.

Joe – His KPM may have only been 5.3, but in Game 5 he partnered with Adam to pull off a big upset of Barker and Coach Mike, and it wasn’t close – 21-9. Joe went head-to-head with Coach, and outscored him 24-18, including the kill shot in the 11^th round. Adam had just finished upping the lead to 18-9 and Joe stepped in to finish things off. He drained a cornhole and knocked two more bags on the board on his way to outscoring Coach Mike 5-0, giving his team the 21-9 victory. In Game 7 Joey Buckets and Jack faced off against Preseason Kick-Off Champions, JV and Barker. The Champs were heavy favorites, but Joe held his own against JV, losing 24-18 in gross points for the match, helping keep his team in the game. Ultimately they lost 21-14, which was much closer than predicted. Joe finished the night 1-3, with a 5.3 KPM, 35% shooting and 1.8 gross points per round.

Jack – Making his 2018 debut after returning from a one-year Polish hiatus, Jack came out of the gates firing for a 10 KPM. He faced some tremendously tough head-to-head match-ups on this night, and represented himself well. Highlights include:

• Game 1 – outscored Coach Mike, 16-11
• Game 2 – outscored by Justin, 38-34, an impressive performance considering Justin finished the night at 12.2 KPM
• Game 7 – outscored by Barker, 35-32, and Barker finished the night at 13.4 KPM on 76% shooting
• Recorded 4 footsnags in his first night back in the league

For the night, Jack fell short of his 10 KPM goal, finishing at 8.3 KPM. He was very accurate after more than one year away from the game, hitting on 52% of his shots. Jack’s biggest downfall was not making cornholes at a high enough rate (only 0.37 cornholes per round). He also battled moments of inconsistency, which is understandable given the long layoff. The highlights above prove Jack is capable of playing with anyone in the league when he gets out of his head and lets muscle memory take over.

Jack finished the night 2-5 with an 8.3 KPM, 52% shooting and 2.8 gross points per round. He ended the night with two tough losses, which prevented him from having a winning record:

• 21-18 to JV and Barker when partnering with Justin (Jack and Justin rallied from a 16-7 deficit to claim a late 18-17 lead before losing the match)
• 21-18 to JV and Justin when partnering with Adam (Jack and Adam held an 18-17 lead, but once again couldn’t close the match, losing 21-18)

Coach Mike – It took Coach a while to get the back-handed taint tickler going. Through his first four games, Coach averaged only 16.5 gross points per game, translating to an unusually low 1.9 gross points per round. Not surprisingly he went 0-4 in those games, the closest of which was 21-10. However, in his fifth game of the night (Game 11), he partnered with KP to duel Barker and Adam. Coach tickled taints all game, averaging 3.9 gross points per round while battling Barker, and kept his team in the game by damn-near drawing even with Barker, losing only 37-31 in head-to-head gross points. Barker slammed a 10-point round on Coach, winning that round 10-1. Excluding that round, Coach outscored Barker 30-27 during the rest of the match. He and KP earned an impressive 21-16 victory over Barker and Adam, giving Coach his first win of the night.

Two games later (Game 13), Coach hooked up with KP in a showdown with Barker and JV. Coach and KP pounced on the Champs early, 10-2 after three rounds, thanks to Coach contributing 6 of those points by outscoring JV 13-7 during that period. The Champs responded with a crushing 16-1 run to take an 18-11 lead late in the match. On the ropes and needing a spark, Coach and KP slowly chipped away at their deficit, closing it to 20-16. In the end, they didn’t have enough to come all the way back, losing 21-16. However, Coach matched JV punch for punch, losing only 39-37 in head-to-head gross points. He averaged 3.6 gross points per round in this game until the final three rounds, which is when he went cold and scored only 1 gross point during that stretch. That cold streak hurt his team’s attempt to walk away with a win, but Coach played well enough to feel good about how he ended the night.

After an 0-4 start, Coach finished the night 1-5 with a 7.5 KPM, 39% shooting (unusually low for him) and 2.4 gross points per round.

JV – After week 5, JV decided to change his toss from his traditional bowling form to a stationary lower body. He hoped this would improve consistency because since winning the Preseason Kick-Off he had struggled mightily through week 5. In week 11, JV recorded a 10.8 KPM, his third KPM above 10 in four appearances since changing his toss. Clearly, he’s started to figure things out, which is just in time as the Postseason Tournament approaches.

He lost his first match of the night, then reeled off four straight victories in dominating fashion, with three of the four wins by double digits. JV finished the night 7-2, easily the best record of the evening, and was in the Labatt Light zone. He scored 3.5 gross points per round, shot 58%, dropped 0.61 cornholes per round, and even posed topless…SEVERAL times…the best of which was when he was so cocky going head-to-head against Joe, he was convinced he could play with his shirt over his face and still kick everyone’s ass (which may have been true).

JV’s game is on an upward trend, and yet he still finds himself at #10 in the Power Rankings with a 9.8 cumulative KPM. He’s a force to be reckoned with during the last month of the season.

Justin – Wow. Justin was a STUD this week. He posted a 12-point round and two additional 10-point rounds this week, and earned the week 11 Mushroom Stamp Moment (“MSM”). In Game 8 he partnered with KP to contest JV and Adam. With his team down 17-8, Justin went H.A.M. averaging 6.3 gross points per round over the last 3 frames to bring his team all the way back to win 21-18. His MSM occurred in the final frame when he crushed Adam 8-3 to close the game 21-18. Justin outscored Adam 19-10 during those final three frames.

Justin’s 12-point round was against JV (won the round 12-6), as were both of his 10-point rounds (won the rounds 10-6 and 10-3, respectively). Poor JV, victim to Justin’s dominating hot streak. His dominance, however, extended beyond these three big rounds and the MSM. He shot 60%, averaged 0.77 cornholes per round and 3.9 gross points per round on his way to a 12.2 KPM. He was on fire all night, finished with a 4-3 record, and outscored all of his head-to-head opponents except KP (narrowly lost 42-36), including:

• 32-21 over Adam
• 66-59 over JV
• 106-85 over Jack

Justin sits at #7 in the Power Rankings with a 10.3 cumulative KPM. He’s having an excellent rookie campaign and one of the top contenders for 2018 Rookie of the Year.

Adam – The Pizza Tosser can make cornholes. Adam’s A-Game is as good as anyone in the league, and tonight he proved it. He averaged an incredible 0.85 cornholes per round, which powered him to a 12.4 KPM. Adam was excellent all night, but what is most impressive is that he won his cumulative head-to-head battles with the Preseason Kick-Off Champs, JV and Barker. He outscored JV 54-49 for the night, and got the best of Barker, 54-46.

Adam finished the night 3-4 overall, but he clinched the victory in two of his three wins. Additionally, Adam posted a 10-point round, a crushing 10-0 advantage over Coach Mike in the fourth round of Game 9, which helped his team to a 21-7 win.

When talking about Adam, we can’t forget to mention footsnags. He has been the league leader all season, and tonight he recorded 8 footsnags, including FIVE in one game (Game 5). This guy is unbelievable, and after narrowly losing out on the 2017 footsnag title (JV edged, 35-34) he has been on a mission to claim the 2018 crown. Thus far, he’s posted 43 for the year with the next closest player at 22 (Erik). It’s safe to say that Adam is the footsnag champ this year, and one of the top all-around players in the league. He sits at #5 in the Power Rankings with a 10.9 cumulative KPM.

Barker – This guy is great. He always plays his best against the best, and tonight was no different. When 5 of the 8 players were above 10 KPM, of course Barker was one of them, coming in at 13.4 (third-highest KPM recorded this season). Barker is always accurate, but at times he doesn’t make cornholes at the rate of some other top players in the league. Tonight? He had it all working. He sank 0.70 cornholes per round, shot an incredible 76% and scored 4.4 gross points per round.

Barker was a beast, as evidenced by his stats, and also a killer. He dropped a 10-point round on Coach Mike (poor Coach, he was also the recipient of Adam’s 10-point round) in round 6 of Game 11, winning that round 10-0. Interestingly, Barker went 3-2 and all three wins occurred when partnering with JV – he was 0-2 without JV. So, can Barker win without JV as his partner? I wouldn’t test that theory if I were any of you.

Thanks to his 13.4 KPM, Barker has climbed from #8 to #6 in the Power Rankings with a 10.8 cumulative KPM. Think about this for a moment – our Preseason Kick-Off Champions, Barker and JV, are currently ranked #6 and #10, respectively, in the Power Rankings. If that isn’t an indicator of how deeply talented LEG is, I don’t know what is.

KP – Thanks to KP, we have a new KPM record. Previously Galz held that honor when he posted 14.7 KPM in week 6. This week KP recorded 15.0, which is pretty incredible considering he did it without a 10 or 12-point round.

He was remarkably consistent at 67% accuracy. Normally KP doesn’t knock down cornholes at a high clip, but this week he was an animal. He averaged 1.06 cornholes per round this week (in other words, 1 in every 4 tosses went in the hole), and when combined with his accuracy he scored 4.8 gross points per round.

His great numbers also helped him to a 5-2 record. Here is the interesting thing about KP’s performance – yes, he was great when you crunch the individual statistics. But, his head-to-head match-ups were strangely close all night:

• Outscored Adam, 66-46
• Outscored by Barker, 61-58
• Outscored Justin, 42-36
• Outscored JV, 87-83

Other than the head-to-head with Adam, all others were extremely close, which is a fantastic indicator of how good the other guys were on this night. KP’s 15.0 KPM looks great on paper, and certainly looks much higher than the other guys (Barker – 13.4, Adam – 12.4, Justin – 12.2, and JV – 10.8), but all these phenomenal players elevate their game when playing head-to-head.

Week 11 was the Week of the Year, and the 8 players who participated witnessed something special.

BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – Last week we talked about Brendan and Paul’s quest for the first 10 KPM of their career. That chase continued in week 10, with both players hungry to record a double digit KPM.

Brendan and Paul both got off to slow starts, struggling with accuracy and low cornhole rates in the first few games, including a Game 4 partnership when they faced off against Galz and JV. Brendan and Paul combined to average only 1.9 gross points per round (2.2 for Brendan, and 1.6 for Paul) while squeaking out 19 total gross points (11 for Brendan, and 8 for Paul) in a 21-1 loss to Galz and JV. Brendan outscored JV, 2-1, in the first frame to give his team a 1-0 lead, only to watch the Galz and JV freight train reel off 21 unanswered points to win the game in dominating fashion.

In Game 5 these guys started to turn things around. Paul partnered with his nemesis, JV, to face Brendan and KP. Paul and JV dominated the game, winning 21-8, with Paul leading the way by scoring the most gross points in the game (39, in just 7 rounds) and outscored Brendan head-to-head, 39-29. Paul averaged a RIDICULOUS 5.57 gross points per round, helped by his 8 total cornholes (good for 1.14 cornholes per round). Although Brendan lost the head-to-head match-up with Paul, he still had the second-highest gross points for the game (29) and averaged an excellent 4.1 gross points per round while sinking 6 total cornholes for the game.

This head-to-head match-up seemed to be exactly what the doctor ordered, which ignited both players for the rest of the night. They closed their night by partnering again in Game 7 in a showdown with Coach Mike and JV, which is this week’s Game of the Night. Coach Mike asked for the head-to-head match-up with the young buck, Brendan, pitting familiar foes head-to-head at the other end (JV and Paul).

Coach immediately took the student to school, outscoring Brendan 4-3 in the bottom of the first round, tying the game, 1–1, after Paul took an early 1-0 advantage over JV to start the game.

The slow, sleepy start didn’t linger long. Paul and Brendan both outscored their opponents 4-2 in the second round, stretching their lead to 5-1. In the third, Brendan gave Coach a lesson of his own by draining a cornhole and scoring the remaining three bags to throw a 6-1 gut punch. In the blink of an eye, Paul and Brendan ripped off 10 unanswered points to claim a 10-1 lead.

The fourth round was critical for Coach and JV. Down 10-1 with their opponents heating up, they needed an answer. JV blanked Paul 4-0 in the top of the fourth and Coach delivered a 4-1 silencer in the bottom of the frame, closing the gap to 10-8. The next few rounds were nip and tuck, each team adding a couple points to make the game 12-10 after six rounds.

In the top of the seventh, Paul added two more points by outscoring JV 4-2, providing a bit more separation, 14-10. In the bottom of the eighth Brendan nailed a cornhole and an extra point on the board enroute to a 4-1 lead over Coach, making the game 17-10.

Just like earlier in the game, Coach and JV needed to dig deep and respond. Coach clawed back to gain one point in the ninth, while JV matched cornholes with Paul to cancel Paul’s points, keeping his team alive and handing the reigns to Coach Mike.

In the 10th round, down 17-11, JV had to exorcise his Paul demons. He did exactly that, going 4-4 and edging Paul, 4-3 to continue chipping away at the lead, which was now down to 17-12. Coach answered JV’s prayers in a big way in the bottom of the 10th. He dropped two cornholes and scored points on his remaining two bags to score 8 gross points, while Brendan could only manage 3 gross points of his own. Coach sent a powerful message to the young rookie, letting him know it ain’t easy closing matches in LEG. Coach’s 5 point advantage tied the game 17-17, and he needed his partner to overcome his 2018-long mental struggle in matches against Paul. Quick side note – Paul has a cumulative head-to-head advantage over JV this year, outscoring him 172-156, including 112-93 during week 10.

In the top of the 11th round, JV’s burning desire to crush Paul was evident. He was laser focused, teeth clenched, ready to take him down. Unfortunately for JV, his game wasn’t good enough and Paul’s was. Paul dropped a cornhole and two more points to outscore JV, 5-3, and give his team the 19-17 lead.

With the pressure mounting, Coach Mike held a 3-2 advantage in the bottom of the 11th round, closing his team withtin 19-18 with one bag left to throw. A cornhole would win the game, 21-19, and everyone knows Coach wanted to drive the final stake through his opponents’ heart. His final back-handed taint tickler was aggressive (would you expect anything else?), at the hole and just missed dropping for the win. Instead, it came to rest on the board, still giving Coach and JV life, tying the game 19-19.

Once again, it was JV vs. Paul, game on the line. This time JV drew even with Paul, 2-2, and breathed a sigh of relief knowing the game was in Coach’s hands. Brendan ended that relief quickly.

• Coach first throw – missed the board
• Brendan first throw – cornhole
• Coach second throw – missed the board
• Brendan second throw – on the board

With two bags remaining, Coach faced an enormous 4-0 deficit. His third throw missed the board again, and now his only hope to keep the game alive was for Brendan to miss his last two bags and Coach needed to drain a three pointer on his final throw. The rookie was a stone cold killer, swishing a cornhole on his third bag for a 7-0 advantage, clinching the game.

Coach missed his final bag, and Brendan chased a cornhole on his final throw for good measure. He came up short of the hole, missing a 10-point round, but posted an 8-0 knockout punch to win a 12 round heavyweight fight, 21-19.

Brendan’s 8-0 final round to win the game is this week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment, Brendan’s first of his young career. Congratulations to Brendan on the MSM, and on the clutch performance against one of the league’s grizzly veterans.

Brendan’s final game, and his MSM performance also helped him reach 10.0 KPM! Had he scored 6 points in the final round, he would have landed at 9.9 KPM. That’s how little room for error Brendan had, which is even more clutch he pulled it off.

News and Notes:

• Brendan capped off a great night with the MSM, and earned a 10.0 KPM while going 4-2 overall and shooting 57%. He jumped from #9 in the Power Rankings to #7, and will end his 2018 campaign in style. Unfortunately Brendan is headed back to Tuscaloosa to finish school, but we all look forward to his return to Michigan and LEG.
• Paul made a hell of a run at the 10 KPM for the second straight week, but once again finished just short. He ended his night at 9.8, which is nothing to be ashamed of, and finished with a career-high 61% accuracy (good for second-best on the night, JV was tops at 62%). The only thing that held Paul back from his goal was a low cornhole rate, which was 0.43 per round. Paul is starting to hit another gear in the second half of the season.
• Erik played only one game, and won it. He also had one of his more accurate nights of the season, hitting on 50% of his throws. Erik scored just one cornhole in the game he played, which drove his KPM down significantly, landing at 6.2. However, he did record two footsnags, bringing him within 13 of Adam, who is our league leader (Adam leads 35-22).
• Coach Mike and Bushie spent most of their time playing and talking with Carol and Alex, our honorary guests. Bushie only played one regulation game, which was not a good one. He finished with a 4.7 KPM because of the rust and inaccuracy from only playing once in the last three weeks. Coach Mike finished 0-3 with a 7.0 KPM on 40% shooting, one of his worst nights of the year.
• JV had a very accurate night, shooting 62%, but he couldn’t get anything to go in the hole. His 0.26 cornholes per round was unusually low, but the fact that he still averaged 3.0 gross points per round was impressive despite the cornhole rate. His 8.7 KPM and 4-3 record won’t wow anyone, but it was mostly driven by the low cornhole rate.
• Galz did what Galz does – 3-1 record, 12.9 KPM, 58% accuracy, 0.90 cornholes per round, and 4.1 gross points per round. He stayed at #2 in the Power Rankings, but continues to gain on #1 Tony despite the fact that Tony doesn’t play. Tony set the bar high, at 12.5 KPM, and Galz is like Tiger Woods in his prime, chasing everyone down. Galz cumulative KPM is 12.1 and he’s as hot as ever. It’s going to be exciting to see if Galz can overtake Tony for the #1 spot before the end of the regular season.
• KP had an odd night, which sums up his entire season. His KPM was 13.3, which is his season-high and second highest in the league this year. But, he experimented with a new throw, which resulted in low accuracy (56%) and a 1-2 record. He did score more cornholes (0.96 per round, best on the night) and gross points (4.2 gross points per round, also best on the night), which aided his high KPM. But KP can’t find consistent confidence or results. With the 2018 Postseason Tournament quickly approaching, KP has to find his game or risks starting the first 3 seasons without a championship.

BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – KPM. Kornhole Power Metric. King Puzzy Masher. Kurtis Peters Meter. It’s been called many names, but no matter your definition it has become an obsession in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

The KPM is a composite metric used to evaluate how talented the players are. It considers a player’s accuracy, cornholes per round and gross points per round, all of which are the key statistical measures of how effectively one plays the game. Wins and losses can be skewed based on partner and opponent combinations, so the KPM has become the basis for LEG Power Rankings.

The general gold standard for a “great night” is a KPM of 10 or better, which means a player would average 3.20 gross points per round, 55% accuracy and 0.58 cornholes per round.

Through the first eight weeks of the 2018 season, only different eight players have recorded a KPM of 10 or better. In week 9, Paul was hungry to become the ninth different player to reach double digits, while Brendan Bush made his rookie debut this week and wanted to prove capable of making a big splash.

Paul played very well all night long, and even pushed his KPM above 10 at various points of the evening. However, a few late stumbles in his last few games caused him to finish at 9.8 KPM on the night, with 3.2 gross points per round, 55% accuracy and 0.53 cornholes per round (just shy of the standard 0.58 needed to reach 10.0 KPM).

Brendan’s LEG introduction was a bit rough, losing his first two games 21-7 and 21-4, respectively. But Brendan showed fight you’d expect from an Alabama Crimson Tide, battling back to win six of his last eight games to finish the night at 6-4. He was also very accurate, shooting 62%, averaged 3.3 gross points per round and 0.39 cornholes per round. His low cornhole rate held him back from reaching a KPM of 10, but his 9.6 KPM was excellent, especially in his rookie debut.

These two also partnered in Game 8, playing JV and Bushie. Down 8-1 after the top of the third round, Paul and Brendan went on an amazing 20-0 run over the next two rounds to win the game 21-8. They dominated, led by Paul crushing Bushie 15-3 during that span and Brendan smothering JV, 12-4.

Brendan was also featured in the Game of the Night, partnering with Galz to battle Adam and Joe in Game 6. The head-to-head matchups were Brendan vs. Joe and Galz vs. Adam. This one proved to be a marathon, taking 13 rounds to determine a winner. Adam carried his team early on, getting the best of Galz through the first four rounds, outscoring him 18-14. On the other end, Brendan shouldered the scoring burden by outscoring Joe 14-8 through four rounds and accounted for all nine of his team’s points, leading to a 9-7 advantage.

In the top of the fifth round Galz broke things open against Adam, draining two cornholes and adding another bag on the board for 7 gross points, while Adam could only muster 2 points. Galz gave his team a 14-7 lead and turned it over to Brendan who got the best of Joe, 5-4, making the game 15-7. However, something very interesting happened in the bottom of the fifth round – despite getting outscored 5-4, Joe seemed to find a rhythm and confidence. He dunked a cornhole in true Joe fashion, scored another bag on the board, and had his other two throws narrowly miss cornholes before sliding off the board. This development was a big turning point in the game.

During rounds six through nine, Joe helped his team claw back by elevating his game and gaining 3 points, including rounds of: 3-3, 3-1, 3-2, and 4-4 against Brendan. On the other side, Adam and Galz were in a classic dogfight, with Adam getting the best of Galz, 15-13. During this key stretch, Joe and Adam went on a 6-1 run to shrink their deficit to 16-13.

In the 10^th, Adam notched another point while Galz struggled to score just one bag. Joe again drew even with Brendan, making the score 16-14. Things went wild in the 11^th round when Adam dropped three cornholes on Galz, outscoring him 9-4 and giving his team a huge momentum shift and 19-16 lead. After a slow start, Joe and Adam put together an incredible 12-2 run against two of the better players on this night.

Brendan showed great composure for a rookie. He hadn’t outscored Joe in six rounds and his team was on the verge of a devastating loss after building a big lead. Brendan put three bags on the board in the bottom of the 11^th, which added one more point for his team, making it 19-17.

Galz netted two cornholes in the 12^th en route to a 7-point round, meanwhile Adam scored three of his throws, including a cornhole, but could only score 5 points and gave up 2 to Galz. The score was now tied, 19-19 going to the bottom of the 12^th round.

For the second straight round Brendan’s composure resembled that of a league veteran. He scored two of his first three bags, while Joe missed his first three shots. Each player had one bag remaining, and Brendan had given his team a 21-19 lead to this point. Joe needed to score on his last throw to keep the game alive, and fired an airmail cornhole to swing the score in his favor, 3-2. Brendan had a chance to win the game with a cornhole on his final throw, or cancel Joe’s advantage with one point. He could do neither, missing the board and shaking his head in disgust at the opportunity he had just missed. Joe’s Italian balls were enormous on that final throw. Down 21-19 and needing points on his last throw, he turns a potential game-ending deficit into a 20-19 lead for his team. Absolutely clutch stuff from Joe in this game.

In the top of the 13^th round, things turned back over to the #2 and #5 ranked players in the league, Galz and Adam, respectively. Galz is known for rising to the occasion when his back is against the wall. Adam, a great player, hasn’t proven to be consistent in a similar position.

When Adam’s opening throw missed the board, everyone saw Galz licking his chops. Sure enough, cornhole for Galz to kick-off his round. Adam found the board on his second throw, but still faced an uphill battle when Galz also registered a point on his second bag, keeping his advantage at 4-1 through two bags.

Adam needed something big on his third toss and dropped a cornhole to even the scoring at 4-4. Galz silenced his opponent with 3 points on his third throw, claiming a 7-4 advantage. One point on his final through was not going to be enough to extend the game, so Adam played aggressively for a cornhole. He missed, and that secured a 21-20 victory for Galz and Brendan. Galz swung for the fences on his last bag, going for a 10-point round since the game was over. He missed, but was still clutch enough to close the win. It was a long, epic game. Adam, despite the loss, did outscore Galz 55-53 in gross points, while both players dropped 11 cornholes. Brendan ended up outscoring Joe, 36-32, for the game thanks largely to his hot start in the first four rounds. Joe was incredible through the last nine rounds, keeping his team in the game with 6 cornholes.

The week 9 Mushroom Stamp Moment goes to Bushie for his clutch and overpowering performance in Game 3. His team already had a commanding 16-4 lead, and Bushie ensured there would be no comeback when he dropped a 10-point round on JV, outscoring him 10-0 and winning the game. It’s Bushie’s fourth 10-point round in the last three weeks, and it helped him average 3.63 gross points per game in the Game 3 win. Congratulations to Bushie for earning the week 9 MSM.

News and Notes:

• Galz was a monster, scoring 4.2 gross points per round, hitting on 63% of his shots, sinking cornholes at 0.84 per round, and recording three 10-point rounds this week while posting a 13.0 KPM (best of the night). He finished the night 7-4 and retains the #2 spot in the Power Rankings.
• Somehow Adam went 6-6 overall, which is mystifying considering his 11.6 KPM, 66% accuracy and 3.8 gross points per round. He did lose some heartbreakers, 21-20, 21-17, 21-16 and 21-15. Adam was the most accurate player this week and had the second-highest KPM while adding 3 footsnags.
• KP tinkered with his throw, which created bouts of inconsistency, including the opening game of the night when he went head-to-head with Galz and was manhandled 28-8 in just eight rounds. Galz played well, including winning the game with a 10-2 round. However, KP averaged just 1.3 gross points per round in the game, a truly mind-numbing statistic. He rallied to shoot 60%, score 3.7 gross points per round, knocked in 0.66 cornholes per round, recorded two 10-point rounds, and posted an 11.4 KPM while going 6-3 overall.
• JV was very accurate this week, shooting 64%, which helped him to a 10.4 KPM. JV was also clutch in several moments this week, including Game 2 when he was head-to-head with Adam and blew the game open in round 4. JV and Galz held a 6-4 lead going into the bottom of the fourth round when JV turned up the heat. JV had a 7-4 advantage after three throws from each player, then Adam missed his final toss. JV’s strategy on his fourth throw was to hit a cornhole while also dragging a second bag into the hole. JV executed perfectly, pushing one bag in as his fourth throw also went in the hole. He gave a Tiger Woods-esque fist pump to celebrate his 10-point round, upping the score to 12-4. He and Galz ended the game just 1.5 rounds later, 21-4. In Game 4, JV and Brendan found themselves in a tight, 20-17, match against Adam and Paul. JV appeared to have closed the game, leading 2-0 over Adam with just one throw remaining for each player. Adam made a clutch cornhole on his final throw to take a 3-2 advantage and seemingly close the game to 20-18. Mr. Clutch (JV) didn’t allow the celebration to last long. He fired his final shot into the hole to reclaim a 5-3 lead and give his team the 21-17 win. For the second time in two games, JV had ripped Adam’s heart out.
• Paul’s quest for a 10 KPM fell short, but he still had a fantastic night. He scored his first 10-point round of the season, shots 55%, and scored 3.2 gross points per round while going 5-7 overall. He moved up in the Power Rankings from #14 to #13.
• Brendan made an impressive rookie splash with his 6-4 record, 62% accuracy and 9.6 KPM. He debuts at #9 in the Power Rankings, ahead of talented players like Justin, Coach Mike, Bushie and Paul, and just behind Preseason Kick-Off Champions, JV and Barker.
• Bushie had a solid night, including one of his more accurate performances in recent weeks (52%). Bushie wasn’t making cornholes at a high clip (only 0.38 per round), which hurt him a bit. Bushie wasn’t happy with his 2-6 record, but he ended the night with a very solid 8.5 KPM, a 10-point round (his fourth of the season) and this week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment.
• Joe had his best night of the season, and maybe of his career, earning a 7.0 KPM on 40% shooting. Joe was an integral part of almost pulling an upset in the Game of the Night, and he showed up in key moments with clutch throws. Joe’s game continues to improve every time he shows up, he just needs to find a bit more consistency for his game to take the next step.

NOVI, MICHIGAN – The regular season returned to Novi for the first time since week 1, and the players looked like they were in midseason form, making for an entertaining night of cornhole.

KP hadn’t performed well since week 4, at which point he was #2 in the Power Rankings and had a cumulative KPM of 12.0. Coming into week 8, he was fighting through a three-week slump where he dropped to #3 in the Power Rankings, his KPM tumbled from 12.0 to 11.4, and he was unimpressively 15-10 during that period.

The week 8 homecoming couldn’t have arrived at a more opportune time for KP. He looked like a completely different player, snapping out of his funk to win 4 of his 5 matches (his only loss was a 21-20 stunner in game 6), hit 69% of his throws, scored 4.1 gross points per round and posted a dominating 12.3 KPM.

KP also earned his second straight Mushroom Stamp Moment of the week honor when in game 2 he and Mike M. held a 16-9 advantage after seven rounds over Paul and Erik. In the top of the eighth KP turned it on, draining four straight cornholes to post a perfect 12-point round against Paul. Paul, overwhelmed by KP’s flurry of cornholes, missed all four of his tosses to lose the round 12-0, and the game 21-9.

In game 5, KP was inches away from another 12-point round, with his last bag hanging in the hole. He settled for a 10-point round to clinch a 21-7 win for he and Adam over Coach Mike and Erik. KP averaged a ridiculous 5 gross points per round in that game and led all scorers with 30 gross points, while the next highest player recorded 14 gross points.

It’s going to be intriguing to see if KP can maintain this momentum in the Midseason Singles Tournament.

The final match of the evening featured Justin and Coach Mike against Paul and Adam, which was so thrilling it earned the week 8 Game of the Night. Paul and Adam raced out to an 8-0 lead after the first frame thanks to Paul burying two early cornholes while posting a 7-2 advantage over Justin, and Adam chipped in 3 points after getting the best of Coach Mike, 6-3.

Over the next three frames, Justin fought to keep his team in the game. He outscored Paul 13-7 to give his team 6 points, but he looked up at the scoreboard and still found his team down 15-6 thanks to Adam controlling Coach 14-7 over the same period.

Justin and Coach chipped away at their deficit, closing it to 15-9 when Coach finally came alive in the top half of the seventh. Coach drilled two cornholes and added another scoring bag for 7 gross points, while Adam only scored 3 points. All the sudden the game was tight, 15-13.

Justin focused and tried to seize the opportunity to flip the script on his opponents. He went 4-for-4 in the bottom of the seventh, with all bags on the board for 4 gross points. Paul, however, had 100% round of his own that included two cornholes, giving him an 8-4 gross points advantage and a major answer to silent Coach and Justin’s run. Paul and Adam held a 19-13 lead and were primed to close the night with an impressive win.

Coach kept swinging, landing another point in the eighth against Adam, and Justin again went 4-for-4 with all bags on the board, while Paul managed only 2 points, making the score 19-16. In the top of the ninth, Coach knocked in two cornholes and Adam managed only 4 gross points. The score was 19-18 because Coach was putting a whippin’ on Adam from the seventh through ninth frames, outscoring him 16-9 in gross points.

Justin made it 19-19 after he drained a cornhole en route to outscoring Paul 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. The bags turned back over to Coach and Adam, which didn’t appear to be a good thing for Adam.

Coach led things off in the tenth with a cornhole on his first throw, while Adam shakily missed his first throw. Coach couldn’t keep the pressure on, as his second throw missed the board. Meanwhile, Adam exhaled relief when his second shot found the bottom of the hole. Coach’s third toss landed on the board, and Adam seemed to find his rhythm when he swished a second straight cornhole on his third throw.

Each player had one throw remaining, Adam held a 6-4 gross points advantage, and Coach needed to score at least 1 point to extend the game. On his last throw, Coach had a little too much “tickler” on his back-handed toss and the bag wouldn’t hold the board, resulting in a 21-19 loss for him and Justin.

The win was Paul’s first of the night, helping him close on a high note after losing his previous five matches. It also helped Adam finish 6-1 overall and exercise his Coach Mike demons.

News and Notes:

• Mike showed improvement during week 8, recording 0.42 cornholes per round which is consistent with a KPM in the mid-7s. The highlight of his night was a 21-9 win over Erik and Paul where he matched Erik is gross points for the game (16), recorded more cornholes than Erik and Paul (4 for Mike and 3 for the other two, respectively), and averaged an extremely solid 3 gross points per round during the game until he struggled through the final two frames. Mike’s cornhole rate is good, but he needs to increase his accuracy to compete more consistently with the rest of the league. More repetitious should help him in the coming weeks.
• Erik is comfortable at KP’s house. He’s played some of his best cornhole there, including this week where he finished 3-3 overall with a 7.1 KPM. He was especially good from the left side of the board, posting an 8.1 KPM. Erik’s accuracy was 47%, which is on the cusp of being good enough for a 9 KPM. However, his issue was lack of cornholes, where he only scored 0.27 cornholes per round. The highlight of Erik’s night was in game 3 when he closed the game against Mike by making his last two bags on the board. In game 8 he partnered with Adam, losing 21-11 to KP and Justin, but he scored 31 gross points and averaged 2.8 gross points per round. If Erik gets out of his head and just throws, he can play with anyone in the league. And at KP’s house, he is more comfortable and confident, which could make for a great recipe for success during the Midseason Singles Tournament.
• Justin was a monster this week, recording a 9.9 KPM, hitting 61% of his throws and scoring 3.3 gross points per round. He was on fire the entire evening, but picked things up after he started slow in his first two games. Throughout his last five games, Justin averaged 3.6 gross points per round, over 34 gross points per game, and 4.2 cornholes per game. Justin also recorded his first 10-point round of the season in game 3, gaining a 10-3 advantage over Coach Mike and helping lead Erik to a 21-15 win over Coach and Mike. He finished the night with a 3-4 record, but he jumped his cumulative KPM from 9.2 to 9.5 and now sits JUST behind Barker and JV in the Power Rankings (9.7 and 9.6, respectively). Justin will be a very dangerous player during the Singles Tournament.
• Coach Mike damn near mirrored Justin this week, also registering a 9.9 KPM, scoring on 62% of his throws, draining 0.44 cornholes per round and scoring 3.3 gross points per round. He played loose and confident all night long, despite only a 2-4 record. In game 9 he was truly dominant, averaging 3.9 gross points per round while partnering with KP to earn a 21-16 win over Justin and Paul. Coach has now strung together two solid weeks in a row, after his 8.9 KPM in week 7. His cumulative KPM sits at 8.9 and he seems to be finding the magic in his back-handed taint tickler as we roll into midseason. Keep an eye on Coach to keep ascending the Power Rankings.
• Paul had a strange night, going only 1-5 but he had a solid 8.3 KPM on 55% shooting, which was one of his most accurate nights ever. He was victim of a few tough 21-16 losses, but outscored Adam head-to-head in game 4, 27-17, and held his own against KP in game 9, losing 32-25 in gross points. Paul was excellent in the Game of the Night, averaging 3.6 gross points per round and essentially drawing even with Justin in gross points (lost only 34-32 head-to-head), which was key to his team’s 21-19 victory.
• Adam was in full beast mode this week, hitting 10.4 on the KPM, scoring on 58% of his throws, knocking in 0.56 cornholes per round and scoring 3.4 gross points per round, helping him to a 6-1 overall record. The highlight of Adam’s night is hard to choose, but is arguably in game 6 when he partnered with Erik to grapple with Justin and KP. Adam and Erik faced a 20-12 deficit late in the game when Adam rallied his team to a 21-20 victory by scoring 7 of the 9 points during his team’s comeback (outscoring Justin 18-11 over the last three frames), including clinching the game with a 7-3 gross points advantage over Justin when the score was previously 20-17. He was extremely impressive in all his head-to-head matchups. He outscored Justin 57-38, Coach Mike 39-35, Paul 50-49, drew even with Erik (11-11), and held firm against KP, losing the head-to-head 40-39. Adam stays at #5 in the Power Rankings this week, with an absurd 10.5 cumulative KPM. He also added four more footsnags to increase his league-leading total to 32.

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.

BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – The big news this week is that “Gramps” (Tony D’Ambrosi) played in a LEG event for the first time since his semifinal loss in the 2017 Postseason Tournament when he partnered with JV on “Sausage Factory.”

Speculation is Tony needed time away to work on his mental game after his devastatingly sudden end to the 2017 Postseason Tournament. If you ask Tony, he’ll do what any good father and poor sport would do…blame his kids’ soccer matches.

Whatever the excuse, Tony’s “break” appears to be just what the doctor ordered, as he returned with his big Italian dickcopter swinging on everyone. Tony’s 12.5 KPM was a warning shot to the entire league about what he has in store for the 2018 Postseason Tournament. He scored 4.1 gross points per round on 64% accuracy and 0.76 cornholes per round.

Scouting tip for the rest of the league, Tony is better from the left side of the board (at least on this night) so force him RIGHT!

Left Side – 13.3 KPM, 66% accuracy, 4.3 gross points per round, and 0.83 cornholes per round

Right Side – 10.4 KPM, 58% accuracy, 3.4 gross points per round, and 0.56 cornholes per round

Scouting tip #2 – Tony lost head-to-head battles against Galz (40-31 gross points) and Bushie (38-31 gross points), so if you are partners with Galz or Bushie and square off against Tony’s team, make those guys go head-to-head.

As great as Tony was, this night belonged to Galz. He was coming off a horrendous week 5 performance (by his standards) where he shot only 33% and recorded his lowest KPM of the season (9.1). On this night, he was locked in and the best he’s ever been.

Galz set a record for highest KPM at 14.7, which is absurd. He was 71% on his tosses, scored 4.7 gross points per round and drained an INSANE 0.95 cornholes per round! Yes folks, he essentially made one cornhole every round.

And if that wasn’t enough, he cawk punched everyone all night, going 8-1 overall, and tea bagged KP by sinking four straight cornholes in Game 3 to put his second 12-point round of the season on the board. Keep in mind, Galz has the only 12-point rounds of the 2018 season and matches Nick Winkler for most in LEG history with two (Nick recorded both of his 12-point rounds in week 14 of the 2017 campaign).

Galz was so good, it should surprise nobody that he earned this week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment. In Game 3 he partnered with Marco and battled KP and JV. Galz was confident. Focused. Cocky. He wanted the head-to-head matchup with KP, who regularly gets the best of Galz (KP owns a 170-164 head-to-head gross points advantage on the season). KP granted the wish and was ready for business as usual…except, not this time. Galz outscored KP 26-14 for the game, which lasted only 3.5 rounds, and led his team to an impressive 21-1 victory. Galz closed the game with a 12-point round in the top of the fourth frame (outscored KP 12-4 in gross points) to propel his team from a 17-1 lead to a 21-1 celebration.

Galz’s 26-14 gross points advantage over KP in this game helped him to a 55-34 gross points advantage over KP on the night (Galz also got him 29-20 in Game 11), which significantly cut into KP’s head-to-head season gross points lead (now 170-164, was 136-109).

Congratulations to Galz for his dominating 12-point round and week 6 MSM!

The dynamic sibling duo of Janet and Ken joined LEG, and made their presence felt by going head-to-head in the Game of the Night. Janet partnered with Coach Mike, while Ken teamed with Bushie in Game 12. Bushie opened the scoring with a 10-point round, outscoring Coach Mike 10-1 to give his team an immediate 9-0 lead. Four frames later he posterized Coach Mike with another 10-point round, besting him 10-4, upping the lead to 17-7.

Down 17-7, cue Coach Mike, right? WRONG! Cue Janet against her brother! Throughout the next four rounds Janet crushed her brother to gain 7 net points (11-4 gross points advantage), while Coach Mike tried to find his back-handed taint tickler.

After Janet closed the deficit to 17-15 in the seventh frame, Bushie jumped all over Coach with a 6-4 gross advantage to make it 19-15. Once again, it was up to Janet to keep the game alive and she promptly drained a cornhole and added another bag on the board to claim a 2-0 net advantage over Ken (4-2 gross points) and tighten the game to 19-17.

In the bottom of the eighth frame Coach Mike discovered how to tickle Bushie juuuuuuust right – he drained a cornhole and landed two more bags on the board on his way to a 5-2 gross advantage and overcame an enormous, game-long deficit. Coach and Janet had faced deficits of 11-1 and 17-7, but now held a 20-19 lead.

The pressure was on Ken to avoid losing to his sister. He didn’t light the world on fire, but he did turn the keys over to Bushie one final time by outscoring his sister 1-0 to tie the game at 20.

Bushie vs. Coach, game tied at 20. What more could you ask for? If you’re Bushie, you could ask for a second chance. Coach swished a cornhole on his first toss to apply all the pressure on Bushie. Coach would only hit one more of his bags on the board, but it was enough to hold off Bushie 4-1 gross, and enjoy a 21-20 rallying win!

News and Notes:

• Galz – really, screw Galz and his great night.
• Gramps finally showed up, and played extremely well. In fact, he played so well that he now holds the #1 spot in the cumulative Power Rankings. Granted, he’s only played one week while his opponents have played several weeks. Everyone should not expect to see Tony again until the end of the season. He takes great pleasure in holding the #1 spot, even if all factors aren’t equal.
• Marco got back to his true form with an 11.6 KPM, 58% accuracy, 3.8 gross points per round, and two 10-point rounds. It’s still hard to understand how Marco didn’t make any noise in the 2017 Postseason Tournament, but he’s playing at an MVP level in 2018 and will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the year.
• KP somehow arrived at an 11.0 KPM, despite how he seemed to play very poorly. He went 4-4 on the night, and only hit on 61% of his throws (compared to above 70% for the season). KP is on a downward trend the last few weeks, but still managed to hang on to the #2 spot in the Power Rankings.
• Bushie played the best cornhole of his career, dropping THREE 10-point rounds on the night, recording a 10.5 KPM (his first ever KPM above 10) and going 4-2. Bushie scored on 45% of his throws, but hit 0.76 cornholes per round to demoralize his opponents and drive his KPM above 10.
• JV finally showed true championship form for an entire night. He locked in at 10.4 KPM, and was very accurate at 59%. He averaged 3.4 gross points per round and 0.54 cornholes per round. JV has been on a season-long struggle, and still only sits at #8 in the Power Rankings. More than half a season remains, but it appears JV is struggling to maintain his championship level after having won The Cup.
• Erik seemed to get back on track after having several down weeks. He played very well in week 1, but has been in a downward spiral since then. This week, he found his game again, hitting on 54% of his throws, scoring 3.0 gross points per round, snagging 5 foot snags, and posting an 8.9 KPM. Erik sits at #2 overall in cumulative foot snags with 16, chasing Adam and his league-leading 24.
• Paul had a very good night, scoring 53% of the time (one of his most accurate nights ever), averaging 3.0 gross points per round and 0.46 cornholes per round while producing a 9.1 KPM. Paul sits at #14 in the Power Rankings, but the league shouldn’t forget he was in the semifinals of the 2018 Preseason Kick-Off as Bushie’s partner. The league is filled with talent, and Paul sitting at #14 in evidence of that.

Speaking of deep talent in the league, after six weeks we have six players who own a cumulative KPM at 10 or greater. Nine other players have KPMs ranging from 7.0 to 9.8, which gives us 15 players above 7.0 KPM. The league is thriving, players are excelling and the rest of the 2018 season should be extremely competitive. Everyone is jockeying for prime position in the 2018 Postseason Tournament Draft Lottery, and with the deep talent pool The Cup is up for everyone’s grabs.

CLAWSON, MICHIGAN – The curious case of KP’s missing sunglasses has been cracked! For those who don’t remember, KP lost his aviators the night of May 5, during the Preseason Kick-Off. KP stumbled into an Uber carrying two cell phones, a speaker, two cell phone chargers, a single cigar, his “MAGA” hat and All-Tournament Team medal. When he woke on Sunday, all items were accounted for, though scattered all over his house like a trail of bread crumbs. However, there were no aviators.

He called and texted the Uber driver from the night before, and the driver didn’t find them. He texted, emailed and called LEG members asking if they found the sunglasses…no luck. So, a few weeks passed, and he remained pissed off about the missing sunglasses until finally he decided to purchase a replacement pair.

But then came week 5…Steve strolls up the driveway, mandingo cigar in his mouth, cooler in his hands and informs KP that he has good news that will make him a happy man. He opens the cooler and voila! The aviators somehow made it into the cooler, which is a very logical place for drunk KP to put them.

Week 5 also marked the first time LEG was played in Clawson at Coach Mike’s house. As you might expect with Coach involved, it was an all-out PARTY! We had strippers in the living room getting it on, and they didn’t leave until 6 in the morning. Ok, that’s not true, but we had 11 guys running two boards, Coach Mike’s boombox blasting bangers for the entire neighborhood, and an industrial cooler full of booze that was damn near empty by the end of the night.

The whole evening was a dark, fuzzy memory for most involved. JV could barely get in the car when his girlfriend so lovingly picked him up. KP woke up Friday morning on Barker’s couch after he and Barker closed Renshaw Lounge after leaving Coach Mike’s place.

The quality of play suffered due to the party atmosphere, with 10 of the 17 matches decided by double digits and only four matches were within five points. However, the Game of the Night was a hell of a match between Steve and Marco, and Paul and Coach Mike.

Steve and Marco dominated early, pouncing on their opponents in the third and fourth frame behind Steve’s 6-0 advantage against Paul and Marco’s 6-1 dominance of Coach, respectively. After the top half of the fourth frame, Coach and Paul were staring at a daunting 13-1 deficit.

But Paul played his best cornhole of the year over the next four frames, going on his own 15-0 run against Steve (outscoring him 16-1 in gross points), while Coach kicked in 4 points (outscoring Marco 10-6 in gross points). Marco and Steve were stunned, grasping for their momentum but instead watched it slip through their fingers. Now they were down 20-13 and on the brink of losing a game they controlled.

This game was all about runs and major momentum shifts, and Paul and Coach had to deal with that harsh reality when Marco edged Coach 3-1 in the eighth, and Steve came alive to cool off Paul with a 5-2 win. The lead was now 20-18, and Coach Mike had a great opportunity to close the game against his nephew. But Coach uncharacteristically missed all four of his tosses in the ninth, and while Marco scored only one bag, he made it count by registering a cornhole to pull off a thriller, 21-20.

Marco scored only 10 of his 36 throws in the game, but NINE of them were cornholes. Paul’s 16 gross points during the middle four frames were extremely impressive, as it also provided a 15 point net advantage over Steve. However, Paul only scored 5 gross points in the other frames, which was a big reason why he and Coach couldn’t clinch the game.

The Mushroom Stamp Moment of the week belongs to Adam, and came in game 7 when he partnered with JV to battle Coach Mike and Steve. Coach Mike had just given his team an 8-4 lead by dropping a 10-point round on JV. In the very next frame Adam answered the bell with his own 10-point round, and a crushing 10-0 win over Steve. Adam’s dominance gave his team a 14-8 lead and they never looked back, going on to win 21-14.

As if the 10-point round wasn’t enough, Adam added 6 foot snags in the game. Congratulations to Adam for earning the week 5 MSM with his impressive and versatile performance.

News and Notes:

• Barker, the Preseason Kick-Off champion, made his first regular season appearance since taking home The Cup. Despite six weeks away, he dominated week 5 with an 11.4 KPM, 60% accuracy, and a 3-1 record. He even teamed up with JV to relive their championship glory in a 21-9 win over KP and Adam. Barker immediately jumped to the #2 spot in the Power Rankings.
• KP had a nice night, going 5-2 with a 10.9 KPM on 65% accuracy. KP also posted a 10-point round against Barker in game 12, which turned the tide and helped lead KP and JV to a 21-18 win over Barker and Steve. KP vaulted into #1 in the Power Rankings thanks in part to his good night, and Marco’s stumble (7.3 KPM, who was previously #1 in the Power Rankings).
• Adam earned this week’s MSM, recorded two 10-point rounds, posted a ridiculous 11 foot snags (which is as many as the second place person has on the season), and went 4-2 with a 10.7 KPM.
• Galz finally had a night below 10.0 KPM, coming in at 9.1. That is still very impressive considering he was only 33% accurate. By comparison, Coach Mike was also 33% accurate and Paul 34% with KPMs of 8.1 and 6.1, respectively. Galz continued to hit cornholes at a high rate (0.74 per round), which kept his KPM above 9.
• Overall, accuracy and KPMs were way down compared to normal, which, as mentioned earlier, is highly correlated to the amount of partying that was done. Of the 11 players, only two (Barker and KP) were above 50% accuracy and eight players ranged from 22% – 38% accuracy.

BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – Week 4 marked the return of Humberto Klein (we call him Bert), which was the first time we’ve seen him since he partnered with JG on “Joe Mixon’s Domestic Abuse Hotline” to win the 2017 Preseason Kick-Off Tournament.

Bert has had great intentions to join the 2018 season earlier in the year, but he finally returned from a 3 week vacation in Southeast Asia. Bert couldn’t have timed his return any better, with Father’s Day only a few days away, considering he fathered a handful of kids during his vacation.

After having 14 months away from the game, Bert showed no signs of rust. In his first game he dropped more hammers than he did on Southeast Asian women, knocking in 9 cornholes while carrying Justin to a 21-11 win over KP and Paul.

Bert was on fire early, winning his first three games of the night 21-11 (summarized above), 21-5, and 21-7.

His fourth game was the Game of the Night where he partnered with Justin in a showdown against Hugh and KP.  Bert immediately punched Hugh in the mouth, jumping on him 5-0 in the first round, and Justin landed another body blow to KP in the bottom half of the round with a 6-3 advantage, pushing the lead to 8-0.

Hugh and KP weathered the flurry of cornholes and promptly rattled off their own 16-1 run over the next five rounds, led by KP scoring 12 of the points (outscored Justin 25-13) and Hugh gaining a 4 point advantage over Bert (outscored him 16-13).

In the top of the seventh round, facing a 16-9 deficit, Bert scored 3 points to close the gap to 16-12 only to have KP up the lead to 17-12 in the bottom half of the round.

Bert tested Hugh’s chin again in the eighth, dealing a devastating blow by draining two cornholes and another bag on the board to post a 5 point round (7-2 gross point advantage) and tie the game at 17.

The game was back and forth with runs, and each team gained and lost momentum. Justin tried to ride Bert’s momentum in the bottom of the eighth by hitting a cornhole and two bags on the board for a 5 point round. But, KP stalled his opponents’ momentum with two cornholes and two more bags on the board to post an 8-5 advantage over Justin and give his team a 20-17 lead.

Bert earned 1 more point in the ninth to keep the game alive, and turned it over to Justin who tried to keep KP from closing out a 20-18 game. KP choked, putting only two of his four bags on the board, while Justin swished a cornhole and added another point on the board for a 4-2 advantage.

The game was tied, 20-20, with red-hot Bert having control to close the game and win his fourth straight match. However, Hugh was tired of being pushed around and came out throwing hay-makers of his own. He put the pressure on immediately by landing his first bag on the board, which was followed by Bert missing his second bag (he also missed his first toss). Hugh put his foot on Bert’s throat with a cornhole on the second toss to snatch a 4-0 advantage with only two throws remaining for each player. Bert, crumbling under the pressure like his Asian victims crumbled to his meat hammer, missed for a third straight throw, which clinched the game for Hugh and KP. Just for good measure, Hugh put his last two bags on the board to post 6 gross points and Bert found the board on his last throw to avoid a donut in the final round. It didn’t matter, Hugh’s 6-1 advantage earned the victory.

Despite six 10-point rounds recorded during week 4, Hugh’s clutch performance against Bert is this week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment of the week. Congratulations to Hugh for the MSM and for elevating his performance to slow down one of the hottest players this week.

Game of the Night was a tough decision because game 5 and game 17 were also intense thrillers. Game 5 featured Galz and Bushie versus KP and Hugh, and several huge moments. KP and Hugh jumped out to an 8-0 lead, only to have their opponents chip away and close the gap to 12-11. But Hugh and KP upped the lead to 19-11 in just one round when KP outscored Bushie 4-1, and Hugh dominated Galz 5-1. But Galz immediately regained focus and notched three cornholes on his way to a 9-0 round over Hugh, giving his team a 20-19 lead. In the bottom of the round KP rose to the occasion, landing three bags on the board and one cornhole while Bushie missed all four throws. KP closed the game, a 21-19 win, with a 6-0 final round.

Game 17 pitted Paul and Hugh against Joe and Adam. Paul and Hugh were heavy favorites considering they had played several games and Joe had just arrived from work, was cold and hadn’t yet locked in mentally. None of that mattered, as Joe and Adam held a 13-8 lead in a fairly close game through the first six rounds, thanks largely to Joe drawing even with Paul (each player scored 16 gross points through six rounds) and Adam got the best of Hugh, 22-17. In the seventh round Adam busted the game open, dropping a 10-point round on Hugh to take a 19-9 lead.

Sadly, the underdogs couldn’t close the game despite their 10-point lead late in the match. In the eighth round Paul and Hugh quickly closed the gap to 19-16 behind a 6-1 advantage for Paul over Joe, and a 3-1 advantage for Hugh over Adam.

In the ninth, when Adam needed to find his hot streak, he went cold. Paul had gained one point on Joe to make the score 19-17, and Adam could only get one bag on the board, losing to Hugh 5-1, which was good enough to give Hugh four gross points and his team a 21-19 come from behind victory.

Once again, Hugh was the closer and is even more proof that he deserves the MSM this week.

New and Notes:

• Adam was a monster this week, recording a 12.4 KPM (second-best of the night), going 6-4 with an amazing 0.88 cornholes per round and 54% accuracy. From the left side of the board he was bananas – 15.2 KPM (the biggest KPM we’ve ever seen), 1.09 cornholes per round, 66% accuracy and a 3-0 record. He posted THREE 10-point rounds on the night, two of which were from the left side of the board. Adam also added 3 foot snags to his season-leading total.
• KP posted the top KPM on the evening (13.1), 0.75 cornholes per round and 70% accuracy on his way to a 10-2 record. He also posted his first 10-point round of the season. His big week helped keep him at #2 in the cumulative Power Rankings, which was impressive given Adam and Galz had big weeks in their chase to climb the rankings.
• Galz continues his streak of having a KPM above 10 every week he plays. This week he landed at 10.8 while hitting 0.74 cornholes per round and 49% accuracy. His accuracy was a bit down compared to usual, but his overall game was still excellent and resulted in a 4-2 overall record. Galz also made some bombass ribs for the entire group.
• Bert was dropping meat hammers like he was still on vacation in Southeast Asia. After winning his first three matches, he finished the night overall at 4-4. However, he had the fourth best KPM (9.8), while 54% accurate and knocking in 0.54 cornholes per round. Not too bad after 14 months off. That’s why he’s a champion, folks.
• JV had a strong night, going 6-4 with a 9.8 KPM. He wasn’t as accurate as normal (49%), but had a respectable 0.61 cornholes per round and also posted two 10-point rounds on the night. He dropped from #4 to #6 in the Power Rankings thanks to Adam and Bert’s strong nights.
• Justin made his first regular season appearance and played much better than he did during the Preseason Kick-Off. He ended the night with a 9.2 KPM, 51% accuracy, 0.49 cornholes per round and 3 foot snags. Strangely, these solid numbers only produced a 4-8 record. Justin is a perfect example of where the individual stats that drive KPM are more valuable than analyzing one’s overall W/L record. Nice season debut, Justin.