BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – Last week we talked about the two new rookies, and their “welcome to the league moments”. What a difference one week makes – both players looked more comfortable on the boards, allowing their talent to shine.

Pete made a huge move in the Power Rankings, jumping from #16 last week to #11 this week. He threw a 14.9 KPM with 4.7 points per round, 1.04 cornholes per round and 66% accuracy. He was also impressive in his head-to-head match-ups this week, winning every single head-to-head match-up in all seven games he played, and obviously winning the aggregate head-to-head as well.

• Beat Turley head-to-head, 38 – 34 (one game)
• Beat Dan head-to-head, 113 – 105 (three games)
• Beat JV head-to-head, 17 – 11 (one game)
• Beat Bob head-to-head, 68 – 44 (two games)

Pete finished with a 3 – 4 record, but clearly did his part in all seven of those games. Pete has phenomenal mechanics, with one of the flattest bags in the league and a deadly airmail. As he gains more experience, Pete could easily become a perennial top five player in the league.

The other dynamic rookie, Dan, may have stayed at #8 in the Power Rankings, but his KPM jumped from 14.7 last week to 16.0 this week (he’s at 15.5 overall on the season). The rest of his numbers increased nicely week-over-week, as well:

• Points Per Round – 5.1 this week vs. 4.8 last week
• Cornholes Per Round – 1.07 this week vs. 0.84 last week
• Accuracy – 75% this week vs. 79% last week

Dan’s accuracy dropped a bit, but that’s a small sacrifice for seeing the bag go in the hole more often and to score more points every round.

It’s going to be difficult for either of these two to overcome the Rookie of the Year advantage Brent has, simply because of his Preseason Kick-Off Tournament championship and 18.5 KPM so far this season. However, both of these guys are capable of winning the Postseason Tournament and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them make noise in the Singles Tournament. If either guy has impressive runs in the final two tournaments of the year, it’s possible they leap to the front of the Rookie of the Year race.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

This may sound like a broken record week after week, but choosing this week’s Game of the Night was almost impossible. Of the 14 games played this week, nine were decided by six points or less and seven were decided by three points or less. Read that again – seven of 14 games were played to a score of 21 – 18 or closer. That’s unbelievable! For that reason, this week’s Game of the Night is a nod to all the close games – we’ll briefly recap and highlight all seven games decided by three points or less. Let’s dive in!

• Game 2 – Turley and Nick vs. JV and KP
  • Score: Turley and Nick win 21 – 20
  • Recap: Turley and Nick found themselves down 8 – 0 and 20 – 15, yet battled back to take this one. Nick weathered storms of 10 – 7 and 12 – 9 in the sixth and seventh innings against KP, which made the score 20 – 15 in favor of JV and KP. In the eighth inning, Turley tied it at 20 – 20 with an 8 – 3 round over JV, then Nick scored the final point in the bottom half of the inning to secure victory.
  • Stats: Turley scored 41 points and 8 cornholes, averaging 5.13 points per round, while JV scored 38 points and 9 cornholes, averaging 4.8 points per round. At the other end of the boards, Nick scored 46 points and 12 cornholes, averaging 5.8 points per round, while KP scored 47 points and 13 cornholes, averaging 5.9 points per round.
• Game 3 – Dan and JV vs. Pete and Bob
  • Score: Dan and JV win 21 – 20
  • Recap: This game was TIGHT every round through the middle stages of the game, with Pete and Bob ahead 11 – 10 after five innings. In the sixth inning, Bob blew the lid off the game with an 8 – 1 round over JV, making the score 18 – 10. Pete added another point in the top of the seventh inning, making it 19 – 10. JV then ignited a rally with four points in the bottom of the seventh, 19 – 14. The teams traded points in the eighth, making it 20 – 15, and just like the previous game, you didn’t want to be the team with a 20 – 15 lead. Dan closed it to 20 – 19 with an 8 – 4 round, and Mr. Closer (JV) did his thing, outscoring Bob 4 – 2 to clinch the game, 21 – 20.
  • Stats: Dan scored 34 points and 4 cornholes, averaging 3.8 points per round, while Pete scored 35 points and 7 cornholes, averaging 3.9 points per round. At the other end of the boards, JV scored 44 points and 10 cornholes, averaging 4.9 points per round, while Bob scored 42 points and 10 cornholes, averaging 4.7 points per round.
• Game 6 – Pete and Turley vs. Dan and Nick
  • Score: Dan and Nick win 21 – 18
  • Recap: This game was absurd. Pete and Turley raced to a 13 – 0 lead after just two innings, but Dan and Nick hung tough mentally and pieced together a 14 – 2 run over the next four innings, making the score 15 – 14 in favor of Pete and Turley. Across the next three innings, the teams exchanged points in a nip-and-tuck battle. The score was 18 – 17 in favor of Pete and Turley. In the 10^th inning, Pete and Dan played to a 10 – 10 wash, neither player willing to give an inch down. Nick threw fire in his half of the 10^th inning, draining three cornholes and building immense pressure on Turley. Turley managed just five points, including missing his final bag off the board to lose the round, 9 – 5, and the game, 21 – 18. For those scoring at home, losing that 13 – 0 early lead represents a choke for Pete and Turley, and a comeback for Dan and Nick.
  • Stats: Pete scored 54 points and 11 cornholes, averaging 5.4 points per round, while Dan scored 49 points and 11 cornholes, averaging 4.9 points per round. At the other end of the boards, Turley scored 52 points and 12 cornholes, averaging 5.2 points per round, while Nick scored 60 points and 14 cornholes, averaging 6.0 points per round.
• Game 8 – KP and Turley vs. Bob and Pete
  • Score: KP and Turley win 21 – 20
  • Recap: This game was tied at 6 – 6, then 11 – 11, then 18 – 18. Bob scored two points on KP to inch closer to victory, 20 – 18. Turley made it 20 – 19, but couldn’t quite find the hole enough to win the game. In the top of the eight, KP blocked the board with his first two bags, making life difficult for Bob. KP’s third bag pushed through blockers and into the hole, giving him a 5 – 2 lead through three bags. Bob scored his final bag on the board to cut the round deficit to 5 – 3, but that allowed KP to simply board his final bag for the win. He did, giving his team a 21 – 20 victory.
  • Stats: KP scored 34 points and 6 cornholes, averaging 4.3 points per round, while Bob scored 28 points and 3 cornholes, averaging 3.5 points per round. At the other end of the boards, Turley scored 34 points and 8 cornholes, averaging 4.9 points per round, while Pete scored 38 points and 9 cornholes, averaging 5.4 points per round.
• Game 10 – KP and Nick vs. Dan and Turley
  • Score: KP and Nick win 21 – 18
  • Recap: Dan and Turley had an 18 – 10 lead, then survived a 12-point round from Nick (Turley scored 10 to limit the damage to two points) and an 8-point round from KP (Dan scored 7 to limit the damage to one point). With the score 18 – 13, Nick closed the deficit to 18 – 15 before handing the bags to KP, who closed the game with a 10-point round. KP sank three cornholes on his way to a 10 – 4 win, giving he and Nick a 21 – 18 win.
  • Stats: KP scored 36 points and 10 cornholes, averaging 7.2 points per round, while Dan scored 32 points and 8 cornholes, averaging 6.4 points per round. At the other end of the boards, Nick scored 30 points and 8 cornholes, averaging 6.0 points per round, while Turley scored 31 points and 8 cornholes, averaging 6.2 points per round.
• Game 12 – KP and Turley vs. Dan and Bob
  • Score: KP and Turley win 21 – 18
  • Recap: The two head-to-head match-ups were quite interesting, with Dan absolutely working KP at one end and Turley destroying Bob at the other end. Dan and Bob held a late 17 – 12 lead before KP and Turley produced an 8 – 0 burst in one inning to take a 20 – 17 lead. Dan won the next round against KP, 7 – 6, keeping his team in the game (20 – 18). But similar to Game 8, Bob struggled in a clutch moment with the game on the line, scoring zero bags while Turley scored three points to win the game, 21 – 18.
  • Stats: KP scored 47 points and 8 cornholes, averaging 4.7 points per round, while Dan scored 56 points and 15 cornholes, averaging 5.6 points per round. At the other end of the boards, Turley scored 50 points and 9 cornholes, averaging 5.0 points per round, while Bob scored 36 points and 7 cornholes, averaging 3.6 points per round.
• Game 13 – Turley and Nick vs. Dan and KP
  • Score: Turley and Nick win 21 – 18
  • Recap: Turley and Nick almost choked this game away. They were up 14 – 0 through three and a half innings, then KP provided the spark his team needed with an enormous four-bagger against Nick to win the round 12 – 1. Suddenly, the game was 14 – 11. Nick responded nicely with rounds of 10 – 7 in the next two innings to put his team on 20 points. Dan held off Turley during that stretch by scoring four of his own points. The game was 20 – 15. Dan and KP cut it to 20 – 18 with three total points in the seventh inning, but couldn’t overcome the early hole they found themselves in. Nick held off KP in the eighth inning, scoring three points to win the game (he won the round 6 – 3 after KP tried to muddy the board and then failed to push any bags in on his final throw).
  • Stats: Turley scored 43 points and 9 cornholes, averaging 6.14 points per round, while Dan scored 39 points and 7 cornholes, averaging 5.6 points per round. At the other end of the boards, Nick scored 51 points and 13 cornholes, averaging 6.4 points per round, while KP scored 50 points and 14 cornholes, averaging 6.3 points per round.

MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT (“MSM”)

Week 8 featured so many candidates for the Mushroom Stamp Moment, but let’s continue to go rogue this week…normally the winning of the MSM hit a huge shot or round to clinch a game or ignite a game-changing run. This week’s MSM is different – flashback to the Game 6 summary above when the game was on the line, pressure was intense, Pete and Dan both threw a phenomenal round that ended in a 10 – 10. That round from both players earns this week’s MSM.

The honorable mention MSM goes to Bob. In Game 12 Bob hit one of the sickest shots you’ll see, defying physics when his bag rode the left rail (i.e., side of the board) and suddenly shifted hard right around two of Turley’s blockers, finding the bottom of the hole. It was such a hard right turn that Dan and KP looked at each other in amazement, wondering how the bag performed that way. Bob did win that round, 7 – 5, giving his team a 17 – 12 lead. But they went on to lose that game, which is partially why he isn’t rewarded with the MSM.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Nick was off the charts this week, registering a 20.4 KPM with 6.3 points per round, 1.6 cornholes per round and 79% accuracy. Those numbers helped him to a 6 – 2 record, including a comeback. Somehow Nick was #5 in the Power Rankings coming into the week, which I’m pretty sure is the lowest ranking he’s ever had. He jumped to #3 after this week’s performance.
• KP ended the night at 17.8 KPM, averaging 5.6 points per round and 1.34 cornholes per round with 73% accuracy. He ended the night with a 7 – 2 record and remains at #2 in the Power Rankings.
• Turley stays at #6 in the Power Rankings despite a 16.3 KPM. He finished the night with a 5 – 5 record and averaged 5.2 points per round, 1.10 cornholes per round and 75% accuracy.
• JV only played three games before retiring for the night. He finished 1 – 2 with a 13.9 KPM and averaged 4.4 points per round, 0.95 cornholes per round and 63% accuracy.
• Bob dropped from #14 to #16 in the Power Rankings, partially because of Pete’s surge and partially because Bob only produced a 12.1 KPM. His 1 – 7 record was abysmal, but if there is a silver lining in all of this, it’s that he had several opportunities to clinch close games. Despite coming up empty all night, those experiences could pay off in the future. Bob averaged 3.9 points per round, 0.76 cornholes per round and 59% accuracy.

BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – Mr. Cocksucker, the most decorated champion in LEG history, turned 40 years old this week! When reflecting back, it’s hard to believe we started the LEG shenanigans when he was 33 years old, and we’re still going at it seven seasons later. Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

Part of the group’s birthday gift to Mr. Cocksucker was some new, rookie blood. Whether it’s swooping in sober at 9 pm and dominating when the rest of the group has been drinking for 3+ hours, or “aww shucks’ing” his way to a 21 – 0 win over innocent rookies, Nick basks in the glory of beating up on the less fortunate.

Enter stage right – his latest victims, rookies Dan and Pete. These newbies arrive with less fanfare than the current Rookie of the Year favorite, Brent, but only because they aren’t on the cornhole circuit making names for themselves. Both players have natural skills and love to play the game. LEG is the perfect environment for them to thrive.

Before thriving, they must take their customary lumps. Those lumps included the following:

• Dan and Pete partnering in Game 1 against Galz and KP. They lost the match, 21 – 9, in just six innings and had to deal with KP throwing rounds of 12, 10 and 12 on his way to averaging 8.7 points per round.
• Dan and Pete partnered in Game 6 against JV and Bushie. More to come on that in the Game of the Night.
• Pete losing his head-to-head battle against JV in Game 7, 31 – 25, and almost blowing an 18 – 14 lead to lose the game. JV put a 10-spot on Pete (won the round 10 – 5) to give his team a 19 – 18 lead, but he almost hit a 4-bagger that would’ve won the game. For Pete’s sake (see what I did there?), Bushie bailed him out in the bottom of the inning, recovering to win the game 21 – 19.
• Dan losing his head-to-head match with Nick in Game 15, 31 – 26. Barker was on fire, though, and carried Dan to a 21 – 12 victory.
• Dan and Dibble partnering in Game 16 against Coach Mike and KP. They lost the match, 21 – 3, and Coach outscored Dan head-to-head, 28 – 23.
• Dan and Barker partnering in Game 18 against Dibble and Bushie. They lost the match, 21 – 19, and Dibble outscored Dan head-to-head, 27 – 23. Even worse, Dan and Barker logged a “choke” with this collapse – they were leading the game 19 – 3 before giving up 18 unanswered points to lose the match.

While there were plenty of negative moments, both players also had a lot to be proud of. Pete finished his first night with a 12.6 KPM, averaging 4.1 points per round and 0.71 cornholes per round on 67% shooting. He also had a 2 – 3 record, and flashed potential as arguably the best airmail thrower in the league.

Meanwhile, Dan posted a 14.7 KPM and 4 – 4 record thanks to 4.8 points per round, 0.84 cornholes per round and a blistering 79% accuracy.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

The Game of the Night featured the rookies, Dan and Pete, against JV and Bushie. The rookies did a great job early in the match of keeping things close, until JV hit Pete with an 8 – 2 round to help his team take a commanding 13 – 5 lead. At this point, you’d expect a rookie pairing to collapse under such a large deficit, but they showed resilience when Dan immediately scored five points against Bushie (won the round 6 – 1) to vault his team back into the game – 13 – 10.

JV immediately pushed the score to 16 – 10 with another 8-point round (won the round 8 – 5). But Dan was there to the rescue again, winning the round 8 – 5 against Bushie and cutting the deficit to 16 – 13.

JV and Dan volleyed points back and forth for their respective teams, with JV scoring two more and upping the lead to 18 – 13. Dan immediately responded with three of his own to make it 18 – 16.

Serve was broken in the top of the seventh when Pete finally scored on JV, tallying two points to tie the game at 18 – 18. Dan wanted badly to capitalize on his partner’s big round by closing the game. He almost did, but threw an errant bag off the board and settled for two points, taking their first lead of the entire game, 20 – 18.

Here we go again – a clutch moment near the end of the game and the bags are in JV’s hands. He delivered three times in similar moments just last week. This time was no different, as he gave Pete a lesson in clutch performances. JV won the round 5 – 2, using two blocker bags to prevent Pete from easy hole access and then drilled an airmail to secure the game, 21 – 20.

Welcome to the league, rookies.

MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT (“MSM”)

Game 2 was a close match the entire game, with Bob and Brent leading the entire time against Bushie and JV. Bob and Brent held a 19 – 17 lead late in the game with the bags in Bob and Bushie’s hands.

Bob had an opportunity to apply tons of pressure on Bushie, but missed his first bag off the side of the board. That was the opening Bushie needed, and he proceeded to drill three consecutive cornholes to take a 9 – 2 lead in the round after three bags. Bob was helpless, his final bag did not matter. Bushie tried to cap a great round with a 4-bagger, but missed long off the back of the board. No matter, his 9 – 2 round gave his team their first lead of the game when it mattered most…to score 21 points and win the game 21 – 19.

Bushie earns this week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment for delivering in a big time moment.

NEWS AND NOTES

• The Birthday Boy had a great night, going 4 – 3 with an 18.4 KPM and averaged 5.8 points per round and 1.35 cornholes per round on 78% shooting. He sank two 10-point rounds and two 4-baggers.
• KP threw a 21.0 KPM thanks to 6.5 points per round, 1.70 cornholes per round and 77% shooting. He added seven 10-point rounds and two 4-baggers. Despite those numbers, he finished with a 2 – 4 record.
• Brent was on fire, throwing a 20.9 KPM, 6.5 points per round, 1.71 cornholes per round, and 76% shooting. Those numbers helped him to a 2 – 1 record this week.
• Barker also played very well, going 4 – 1 with an 18.2 KPM, 5.7 points per round, 1.37 cornholes per round and 74% shooting. He knocked in two 4-baggers, matching his season total entering this week.
• Dibble went 3 – 3 with a 16.3 KPM, 5.2 points per round, 1.18 cornholes per round and 70% accuracy. Not a bad night at all, but he did slip from #2 to #3 in the Power Rankings.
• Bushie had an excellent week with a 7 – 4 record and 14.7 KPM. He was part of the huge comeback win in Game 18, scoring eight of his team’s 18 points during their game-winning streak. He scored 4.7 points per round, 1.0 cornholes per round and 68% shooting.
• Galz fell from #9 to #13 in the Power Rankings because of his 10.7 KPM. He averaged just 3.6 points per round and 0.56 cornholes per round on 61% shooting. A forgettable night for him.
• Coach really struggled, going 1 – 7 with an 11.2. KPM, 3.6 average points per round, 0.67 cornholes per round and 57% shooting.
• JV was less than stellar with an 11.7 KPM, causing him to fall from #7 to #10 in the Power Rankings. He averaged 3.9 points per round and only 0.66 cornholes per round on 64% shooting. He did, however, have some loud moments despite his overall inconsistency.
• Bob went 2 – 2 with a 12.4 KPM, averaging 4.0 points per round, 0.77 cornholes per round and 62% shooting.

CLAWSON, MICHIGAN – For the second consecutive week we’re in birthday celebration mode…this time it’s double the pleasure, double the fun! Unfortunately the Double Mint Twins weren’t making an appearance, so we had to settle for Jack and Erik.

Last week’s celebration of Coach Mike overwhelmed the cornhole effectiveness, with most players throwing poorly. Maybe it was the hardened livers, maybe we were all still drunk and found our groove from seven days ago. No matter the cause, the effect was more entertaining cornhole this week, compared to last.

Normal nights kick-off with a friendly pillow fight, with both sides softly batting each other around until someone concedes the “match”. Not this week. This week’s opener was like the new porn star thoroughbred who couldn’t wait to bust a nut. Bob and JV challenged Paul and Rich, and it got out of hand quickly – Bob and JV jumped out to a 12 – 1 lead thanks to eight points from JV across two innings, and a 10-point round from Bob that contributed an additional four points.

The score through two innings was 12 – 1, which is impressive but also in the choke/comeback territory. SPOILER ALERT!

Somehow after two innings Bob outscored Rich head-to-head, 13 – 10. Well, that didn’t last. Bob’s 10-point second inning slipped through his fingers like sand in an hourglass. He followed that up with rounds of 1, 0, 3 against the most talented player to ever participate in LEG (Rich).

Bob woke the sleeping giant with his 10-point second inning, and was then swallowed by the giant. His team’s 12 – 1 lead quickly evaporated. JV did everything he could to score points against Paul. It didn’t matter. Rich produced scoring round of 7 (8 – 1), 7 (7 – 0), and 6 (9 – 3) to complete the comeback and hand JV and Bob a choke, 21 – 14.

It was a phenomenal comeback by Rich (Paul essentially did nothing, with all due respect). But can I ask a frank question? How the hell does someone throw a 10-point round and follow it up with rounds of 1, 0, and 3? Credit to Rich. He would’ve continued grinding until the “W” was in the left side of his column. Still, one can’t help but wonder about the result of this opener had Bob maintained even a shred of composure.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Choosing this week’s Game of the Night was incredibly difficult because five of the 15 games played were decided by four points or fewer. Ultimately, the choice was Game 5, which pitted JV and KP against Erik and Rich.

Points were difficult to score early in this game, with Rich and Erik leading 6 – 5 after three innings. In the top of the fourth inning, KP created a little separation by throwing a 4-bagger to win the round 12 – 7 over Rich, giving his team a 10 – 6 lead. JV added another point in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 11 – 6.

Rich and Erik scraped together three points in the fifth inning, cutting their deficit to 11 – 9, but JV and KP tacked on four more points in the sixth inning thanks to an 8 – 5 round for JV over Erik. The scoreboard was 15 – 9 after sixth innings.

In the top of the seventh inning Rich repaid the 12 – 7 favor to KP, throwing a 4-bagger of his own to rally his team within a point, 15 – 14. Erik hopped on the momentum train and outscored JV 5 – 2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving his team a 17 – 15 advantage.

Rich pushed the scoring run to 10 – 0 and upped the lead to 19 – 15 with a 9 – 7 advantage over KP in the top of the eighth.

A 15 – 9 lead for JV and KP was gone in the blink of an eye (1.5 innings), and they no longer had room for error. JV calmed the storm a bit with two points in the bottom of the eighth inning, 19 – 17.

KP delivered two enormous points in the top of the ninth to tie the game, 19 – 19. He won the round 7 – 5, and had an opportunity to win the game by making a cornhole with his final throw. His final bag was on target, but couldn’t push through two of Rich’s blockers to find the hole.

The bags were back in the hands of the league’s best closer, JV. Erik is a strong player, but his history of coming up big in end of game moments is not as decorated as JV’s. Add in the fact that Erik had only outscored JV in two of the eight innings leading up to this moment, what happened next was almost too predictable. JV recorded five points after his first three bags, while Erik missed the board with all three of his throws. The game was over, so JV tried a ridiculous airmail drag on his fourth bag. He missed it, but it didn’t matter because even if Erik went in the hole on his final bag, the round was still 5 – 3 for JV, which was good enough for a 21 – 19 victory. Erik’s final bag stopped short of the hole, giving JV a 5 – 1 final round to win the game.

Erik finished the game with 25 points and two cornholes, averaging just 2.8 points per round, which was significantly below his season average of 4.6 points per round. JV scored 35 points and 6 cornholes while averaging 3.9 points per round. Most importantly to JV, though, was the stat of closing out yet another game. The only stat he truly cares about is winning, and when it’s winning time he rises to the occasion. Unfortunately we don’t track games closed, but I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that JV would sit atop that list if we did track that stat.

The other end of the boards was lights out – KP scored 67 points and 19 cornholes while averaging 7.5 points per round, and Rich scored 73 points and 22 cornholes while averaging 8.1 points per round.

MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT (“MSM”)

This week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment is a bit unique. Normally we give this award for a specific

moment in a game, but this week’s award goes to someone who had an outstanding overall performance.

This week’s MSM is Rich’s total numbers. He was exceptional, shooting a 25.8 KPM, scoring 7.9 points per round, 2.27 cornholes per round, and 83% accuracy. He threw 12 total 10-point rounds and seven 4-baggers (i.e., 12-point rounds). It’s the most impressive week in the history of LEG, and for that reason deserves the week 6 Mushroom Stamp Moment.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Turley defied logic this week. He posted a 20.6 KPM while scoring 6.4 points per round and 1.56 cornholes per round on 83% shooting. Yet, he didn’t win a single game, going 0 – 3 with a -4.3 scoring differential. How does that happen? At least he can feel good about his performance, which included three 10-point rounds and one 4-bagger.
• Brent also had a great week, going 2 – 1 with a 20.8 KPM and averaged 6.4 points per round and 1.69 cornholes per round on 77% shooting.
• KP went 6 – 3 with a 20.3 KPM, averaging 6.3 points per round and 1.60 cornholes per round on 78% shooting. He finished the night with six 10-point rounds and one 4-bagger.
• JV had another strong week with a 5 – 3 record and 14.9 KPM. He averaged 4.7 points per round and 1.09 cornholes per round on 63% shooting. His most impressive stat was that he closed out three tight games with the winning points, which included the Game of the Night and games 12 and 14.
• Galz began his path to getting back on track this week, shooting a 14.1 KPM and averaging 4.4 points per round and 1.06 cornholes per round on 58% shooting. Galz hit two 4-baggers and another 10-point round tonight, good signs for his recovery. He still finds himself at #9 in the Power Rankings, which is hard to fathom given he’s never finished lower than fourth in the Power Rankings since joining the league in 2018.
• Erik had a less than stellar birthday week, posting just an 11.4 KPM. As outlined in the Game of the Night, Erik struggled. He scored 3.8 points per round and 0.62 cornholes per round on 63% shooting – all well-below his season averages. It should be no surprise he finished the night winless, 0 – 4.
• After a fantastic week 5, Jack dropped from #6 to #14 in the Power Rankings this week because of his 11.9 KPM. He did throw one 10-point round, but was much less consistent this week – scoring 3.9 points per round, 0.74 cornholes per round and 59% accuracy, while posting a 2 – 4 record.
• Paul finds himself at the bottom of the Power Rankings, dropping from #14 to #16 after shooting a 10.7 KPM on 3.4 points per round, 0.71 cornholes per round and just 50% accuracy.
• Bob had flashes of exceptional performance, as outlined earlier in this recap. Unfortunately for Bob, there were more moments of struggle this week, evidenced by his 11.9 KPM, 3.8 points per round, 0.84 cornholes per round and 52% accuracy. He did salvage the night with a 4 – 2 record, but most of that was due to having strong partners, as Bob only won one of his six head-to-head match-ups this week (29 – 28 against Erik in Game 6).

BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – It’s a celebration, bitches! This week was centered around Coach Mike’s birthday bash – with Coach Mike on the beats and 12 guys in attendance, the party atmosphere was off the charts, and the cornhole performances were largely subpar because of it.

Two individuals who were anything but subpar were the birthday boy and Jack.

Let’s begin with the guest of honor – Coach threw a 13.0 KPM this week, a drastic jump from his 11.8 season average entering the night. He’s unlikely to be a guy who throws a KPM in the high teens due to his style of play – dirty, muck up the board approach so that his opponent has to execute more difficult shots. Because of that, Coach’s cornhole rate is naturally lower than the players who prefer to slide in the hole on a clean board. So, the most effective version of Coach will be on display when his KPM starts to creep into the mid-teens because that means he’s tossing more accurately and with that, littering the board with obstacles for his opponent to navigate.

This week’s version of Coach Mike was damn near perfection, for the style he wants to play. His 13.0 KPM is nice, but it’s about how he posted that number – 73% accuracy, 4.3 points per round and 0.68 cornholes per round. He’s capable of increasing the cornholes per round without sacrificing his style of play, and when he does, Coach becomes a tough player to beat.

Coach earned a 2 – 2 record this week, which included a +3.3 scoring differential across his four games. He got the best of KP head-to-head in Game 5, outscoring him 33 – 26 to help his team to a 21 – 13 victory.

In Game 3, he neutralized Nick in the head-to-head battle as he was narrowly outscored, 32 – 31. Playing Nick to a draw is impressive for anyone, but when Coach Mike pulls that off, it’s almost certainly a recipe for victory – in this game, it was recipe for a 21 – 6 blowout for Coach’s team.

In Game 6, Coach took a bite out of another top five player in the league, this time going head-to-head with Turley and holding his own. Turley barely held a scoring edge in this game, winning it 52 – 47. Coach and Steve-O almost pulled a pretty big upset against Turley and Bob, losing the match 21 – 18. But without Coach holding serve against Turley, this game is a blowout.

If the above synopsis of Coach’s night still doesn’t impress you, then think about this – forget the fact that he handcuffed three of the top five players in the league from a head-to-head standpoint; he also held them below their season average in points per round.

• Game 3 against Nick – coming into this week Nick averaged 5.7 points per round, and was held to 5.3 points per round in this game. In Nick’s final round of the game, he threw a 10-point round (Coach threw an 8). Nick had averaged just 4.4 points per round prior to that 10-point outburst.
• Game 5 against KP – coming into this week KP averaged 5.9 points per round, and Coach locked him up, allowing him to score a meager 3.25 point per round in this game.
• Game 6 against Turley – coming into this week Turley averaged 5.2 points per round, and thanks to Coach’s stingy defense, was held to 4.7 points per round in this game.

This is filthy Coach Mike, a tough SOB on the boards. The key is for him to bring this level every week, and especially in tournaments.

Let’s flip the script to Jack, who had arguably the best night of his career with a 15.1 KPM. He appears in the Power Rankings for the first time this season (this was the first week he played), and enters with a loud bang at #6. He averaged 4.8 points per round due to 65% shooting and 1.08 cornholes per round. His +8.5 point differential on the night was absurd, and easily the highest of any player this week.

Jack capped his night with a masterpiece, almost doubling Bushie in their head-to-head match-up, 32 – 17 and averaged 5.3 points per round while leading Steve-O to a 21 – 7 cakewalk over Bushie and JV.

Far too often the focus and talking points are centered around the higher ranked players in the league. However, when players like Coach and Jack up their level of play, the entire league becomes stronger and game results become even more unpredictable. Seeing these guys grow is part of what makes this league so much fun, and it makes us all better players.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

This week’s Game of the Night featured Steve-O and Bushie against Bob and Paul. Bushie began the game scorching hot with rounds of 7, 6, 7, helping his team to an early 10 – 5 lead. Paul, to his credit, withstood Bushie’s flurry, not flinching when the early haymakers were coming at him hard and heavy.

In the fourth inning, Paul got the best of Bushie, 8 – 5, to cut his team’s deficit to 10 – 8. Bob added three more points in the sixth inning, with Paul chipping in another and suddenly the game was tied, 12 – 12.

Bushie found his zone again in the sixth inning, draining two cornholes and piling two more bags near the hole to win the round 8 – 4, increasing his team’s lead to 16 – 12. But in the seventh inning Bob and Paul manufactured a quick 6-point burst to take an 18 – 16 lead, powered by four points from Bob after he hit a ridiculous airmail drag for six points (he won the round 6 – 2), and Paul scratching out two points in a rare low-scoring inning (3 – 1 in favor of Paul over Bushie).

In the strangest rollercoaster you’ll see, Bushie recovered from his 1-point round in the seventh inning with an 8-point round in the eighth inning. If you’re counting at home, that’s an 8, 1, 8 stretch from the sixth through eighth inning for Bushie, causing the game to seesaw from 12 – 12 to 16 – 12, then 16 – 12 to 16 – 18, and finally from 16 – 18 to 19 – 18. Meanwhile, Steve-O was washing rounds at the other end with Bob, including the bottom half of the eighth inning, leaving the score at 19 – 18.

With the majority of the game’s scoring dependent upon Bushie’s ups and downs, the top of the ninth inning was primed to be the deciding moment of the game. Bushie started the round with a cornhole, followed by an errant bag by Paul. Bushie’s second bag landed on the board, followed by another errant bag by Paul.

With the score 4 – 0 after two bags, Paul was in a serious hole with the game on the line. Bushie let him off the hook by missing his third bag, unfortunately Paul’s third bag was out of play on the board. Bushie’s fourth bag also missed the board, requiring Paul to make a cornhole to tie the round and extend the game. His final toss rolled up the middle of the board and stopped just shy of the hole – 4 – 2, Bushie wins the round and clinches the game, 21 – 18. It was a rather anticlimactic finish to an otherwise thrilling game, but a win is a win!

Bushie finished the game with 50 points and 12 cornholes, averaging 5.6 points per round. Without his stinker rounds of one point and four points, Bushie averaged 6.8 points per round!

Paul tried to hang with Bushie, scoring 42 points and 7 cornholes, averaging 4.7 points per round, but didn’t have enough firepower in the end.

At the other end of the boards, Bob scored 33 points and 7 cornholes, averaging 4.1 points per round, while Steve-O scored 28 points and 4 cornholes, averaging 3.5 points per round.

MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT (“MSM”)

Game 8 incorporated four of the top five players in the league with Nick and KP partnering to battle Brent and Turley. This game started as a knife fight, with points hard to come by. But Nick blew the game open with back-to-back 10-point rounds in the third and fourth innings, netting him 10 total points and driving his team’s lead from 7 – 4 to 19 – 4. Nick and KP closed the game shortly thereafter, coasting to a 21 – 11 victory.

Nick’s back-to-back 10-point rounds were the turning point in this match, and are enough to earn this week’s mushroom stamp moment.

NEWS AND NOTES

Given the large group, the “News and Notes” section will be rapid fire and recap this week’s statistics for each player.

• Dibble limped to a 14.3 KPM, but the sample size was small enough (two games) that it didn’t cause him to lose his grip on the #1 spot in the Power Rankings. He averaged 4.5 points per round and 1.0 cornholes per round on 63% shooting.
• KP posted a 17.0 KPM and 4 – 2 record while averaging 5.4 points per round, 1.26 cornholes per round and 71% accuracy. He remains #2 in the Power Rankings.
• Nick recorded a 17.1 KPM and 1 – 3 record while averaging 5.4 points per round, 1.21 cornholes per round and 75% accuracy. He holds steady at #3 in the Power Rankings.
• Brent was the leader in the clubhouse with an 18.8 KPM and 1 – 1 record while averaging 5.8 points per round, 1.50 cornholes per round and 71% accuracy. He also holds his spot in the Power Rankings at #4.
• Turley posted a 14.8 KPM and 3 – 2 record while averaging 4.8 points per round, 0.94 cornholes per round and 72% accuracy. He came into the week at #5 in the Power Rankings and remains there after this week.
• JV had a pretty good week with a 14.9 KPM, despite an 0 – 2 record. He averaged 4.8 points per round and 1.0 cornholes per round on 69% shooting. He dropped from #6 to #7 in the Power Rankings thanks to Jack’s emergence in the Power Rankings.
• Bob also made his first appearance of the season, posting a 14.3 KPM which was good enough to secure the #10 spot in the Power Rankings. He averaged 4.6 points per round, 0.97 cornholes per round and 66% accuracy while going 1 – 4 on the evening.
• Steve-O just wins games, baby! He went 3 – 1 with a 13.3 KPM, earning him the #12 spot in the Power Rankings. He averaged 4.4 points per round and 0.77 cornholes per round on 70% shooting.
• Bushie went 1 – 2 with a 13.2 KPM, good enough to lockdown the #13 spot in the Power Rankings. He averaged 4.3 points per round and 0.76 cornholes per round on 70% shooting.
• Finally, Paul posted a 14.3 KPM and 1 – 2 record while averaging 4.7 points per round, 0.76 cornholes per round and 80% shooting. Overall, a great statistical night for Paul. Unfortunately for him, he dropped from #10 to #14 in the Power Rankings thanks to the newcomers making their first appearance in the Power Rankings this season (Jack, Bob, Steve-O and Bushie).

SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN – Dibble had himself a night this week, scoring 6.4 points per round and 1.74 cornholes per round while shooting 74%. He scored three 12-point rounds and three 10-point rounds this week. Add it all up and it yielded a 20.9 KPM, jumping him from #3 to #1 in the young season Power Rankings.

And boy did the rest of the league hear about it. Shortly after the updated Power Rankings and statistics were posted to the league website, Dibble sent a screen shot, taunting the group with his name atop the rankings.

Give credit where it’s due, his 20.9 KPM this week and 19.8 KPM overall are undoubtedly impressive. But it’s a long season, and boasting about being #1 in the Power Rankings when there are four months remaining in the season is akin to celebrating on the sidelines when there’s 10 seconds left in the football game and your team still has to execute a punt…

God help us if Dibble ever wins a tournament because we’ll never hear the end of it.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Speaking of never hearing the end of it, the bromance continued this week with Dibble and Brent slurping each other up all night. Dibble and Brent have each played 13 and 14 total games this season, respectively, and eight of their games have been as partners.

Encouraging them to “get a room” would be an understatement – the group was fearful we’d have to take cover while these two recreated the lift scene from Dirty Dancing in Brent’s pool.

“Heeeeeeeey, hey baby! I wanna know, if you’ll be my girl.”

Dibble, without hesitation, “Yes!”

Game 3 featured The Ambiguously Gay Duo against Galz and KP. In what appears to be their new pre-game ritual, Ace and Gary…errr…Dibble and Brent gathered at midcourt and summoned powerful cornhole skills from their “lightsaber,” which I’m still convinced is a double-dong dildo.

Early on, the double-dong prayers didn’t appear to help as both players were shooting blanks. They quickly found themselves down 13 – 4 after two innings.

But then Dibble exploded with a 6 – 0 advantage in the top of the third inning, bringing his team within four points, 14 – 10.  After exchanging a few points in the fourth inning, it was 16 – 11 in favor of KP and Galz.

Cue some Dibble heroics – he sank three cornholes in the fifth inning, securing a 9 – 3 advantage and propelling his team to a 17 – 16 lead. KP tied it at 17 – 17, but missed a push shot that could have won the game had he hit it.

In the top of the sixth, Dibble delivered the money shot. He drained three cornholes and added another bag on the board for 10 points, overwhelming Galz 10 – 4 to win the match 21 – 17. Dibble was visibly excited, quickly slapping hands with his opponent before embracing his partner with celebration.

As he squeezed Brent, the group overhead Dibble’s failed whispers of sweet nothings – “I don’t wanna spit, I wanna gulp. I wanna gag, I wanna choke. I want you to touch that lil’ dangly thing that swings in the back of my throat.”

Okay, those are actually Cardi B lyrics, but you can imagine what it’d be like if Dibble really said that. Right?

Really, though, the two hopped in their cock car and threw themselves a celebratory parade.

MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT

We might as well stay on theme, this week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment (“MSM”) also involves Dibble and Brent. This time, they were head-to-head…no, they weren’t “docking”! Pull your head out of the gutter!

In Game 9, Dibble and Erik had Brent and JV on the ropes with a 17 – 8 lead. Dibble, trying his best to impress his butt-buddy, hit three cornholes in the fifth inning and Brent couldn’t handle this stud (don’t worry, he tried again later in the evening), only scoring one point. The 9 – 1 round clinched a 21 – 8 victory for Dibble and Erik, and gives Dibble this week’s MSM!

NEWS AND NOTES

• Turley had a nice week, scoring four 10-point rounds on his way to a 16.5 KPM, 5.3 points per round, 1.13 cornholes per round and 75% shooting. Excellent numbers for him, which unfortunately did not produce victories – he finished with a 2 – 6 record. Nonetheless, he appears in the Power Rankings for the first time this season, entering at #4
• Brent was leap-frogged by his boyfriend in the Power Rankings, falling from #1 to #3. His individual metrics fell short of his high ceiling (15.2 KPM, 4.9 points per round, 1.02 cornholes per round, and 71% accuracy), yet he still won games, evidenced by his 5 – 2 record. He can thank Dibble for that
• JV had a steady night, shooting 71% and scoring 4.9 points per round…much better than last week’s 49% and 4.3 points per round. His 15.5 week 2 KPM helped him jump from #7 to #5 in the Power Rankings
• Erik fell from #4 to #7 in the Power Rankings, despite playing pretty well! He had a 4 – 3 record while producing a 14.1 KPM thanks to 67% shooting, 0.92 cornholes per round and 4.5 points per round
• Galz had arguably his roughest week ever – 13.9 KPM, 4.4 points per round and 0.89 cornholes per round on 64% shooting. Maybe it’s because his pink eye settled down, or maybe he was overwhelmed by the male erotica. I don’t expect him to stay down for long
• KP logged a 20.1 KPM, 6.3 points per round and 1.52 cornholes per round on 82% shooting, all of which contributed to a 6 – 2 record

CLAWSON, MICHIGAN – The week following a tournament typically feels like a hangover. The players are moving slow, the energy is low, and the environment is just a little sleepy.

Week 1 wasn’t much different, with player after player filing up the driveway, as if they were doing the “walk of shame”…until Dibble showed up. The guy was bouncing off the walls, “I missed you guys! I missed this!”

And then when Brent arrived and Dibble realized there was a new addition to the league, which means an opportunity for a new best friend, he was like a rescue dog vying for attention from a prospective family – tail wagging, jumping up and down, “Pick me! Pick me!”

His injection of energy was just what the doctor ordered.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Dibble brought that energy to the Game of the Night, where he partnered with his new best friend, Brent. Really, they are best friends. Of the 12 games in week 1, Dibble latched on to Brent in four of those games (insert laughing emoji).

Their Game 6 opponents were Galz and KP, who took an early 7 – 0 lead after the top of the first inning. The besties shook off their opponent’s quick start and put together their own 19 – 1 run, giving them a 19 – 8 lead. During that stretch, Dibble score nine points against Galz, while Brent posted 10 points against KP, powered by a 10 – 5 advantage in the top of the sixth inning.

KP encouraged Galz, reminding his partner that the game doesn’t start until a “choke” is in play (i.e., one team holds a 10+ point advantage and must close the game). Galz savors opportunities like this, and promptly responded with two points to close the deficit to 19 – 10.

It was KP’s turn to put up or shut up. He delivered a four-bagger, while Brent managed just three points. A 12 – 3 win in the top of the seventh inning knotted the game at 19 – 19 **AND** positioned Galz to clinch the match by completing the “comeback” (and securing a “choke” for Dibble and Brent).

Galz and Dibble both threw cornholes with their first two bags. Clutch performances in a tense moment. Galz’s third bag missed long and right, but stayed on the board for a 7 – 6 advantage. Dibble applied pressure with a third straight cornhole, requiring Galz to score on his final bag to keep the game alive. Galz always goes down swinging, and played for the cornhole. His bag was a little too firm and skipped over the hole, falling off the back of the board.

The game was over, and Dibble missed an irrelevant airmail attempt. His 9 – 7 advantage was enough to win, 21 – 19, and the friendship strengthened.

MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT (“MSM”)

The first MSM of the 2022 season belongs to JV. In Game 10, JV threw a perfect block with his first bag of the round. Barker navigated it perfectly, slipping his bag around the block and into the hole. Without hesitation, JV threw an airmail and hit it!

Barker missed long off the back with his second bag.

JV immediately hit another airmail, leaving his blocker in place.

Barker again missed off the back.

JV went up again, draining a third consecutive airmail, leaving his blocker for Barker to contemplate.

Barker’s last bag was off the back again, unable to navigate the laundry on the board.

JV won the round 10 – 3, which gave his team a 12 – 4 lead and broke the game open. He and Erik finished the job, winning easily, 21 – 7. He played the round perfectly with a block, airmail, airmail, airmail. That’s professional-level cornhole, which is why he earns this week’s mushroom stamp moment.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Brent reinforced his championship performance by earning the top spot in the Power Rankings this week and had a +12.1 point differential for the night (i.e., averaged wins of 21 – 9). His 19.7 KPM, 6.1 points per round, 71% accuracy, 1.62 cornholes per round, and 7 – 0 record were dominant. He added five 10-point rounds and two 12-point rounds to his week 1 resume
• Dibble avoided having Brent FOMO and kept pace with an 18.3 KPM, 5.7 points per round, 71% accuracy, 1.43 cornholes per round, and 4 – 2 record (all four wins were as Brent’s partner). Impressive numbers under any circumstance, but especially so considering the long layoff he’s had
• JV was great in earning the MSM, but his numbers are head-scratching – his 14.1 KPM is good. But he pulled that off on just 49% accuracy, which is sub-par. JV was basically boom (cornhole) or bust (errant shot) all night, but his “booms” sure were amazing
• Barker somehow went 0 – 5 despite putting up good numbers – 14.5 KPM, 73% KPM, 4.7 points per round, and a 12-point round. His biggest downfall was “only” hitting 0.88 cornholes per game. Nonetheless, the donut in win column was shocking and unusual. Don’t get used to that
• Erik dropped a 12-point round, which helped him to a 14.7 KPM (#4 in the Power Rankings), 4.7 points per round, 65% accuracy, 1.03 cornholes per round, and 2 – 3 record. This is a great start to the 2022 campaign, showing Erik continues to build on the growth he’s demonstrated the last few seasons
• Galz went 2 – 5 overall with a 14.2 KPM, 64% accuracy and 4.5 points per round. His 0.98 cornholes per round was un-Galz-like, but expect that number to rise as the season progresses
• Paul was last in this week’s Power Rankings at #8, but his numbers were good! He continues to increase his accuracy, shooting 63% this week. He also hit 0.88 cornholes per round and 4.3 points per round, earning a 13.3 KPM and 3 – 3 record. Paul also outscored his opponent head-to-head in four of his six matches
• KP finished second in the Power Rankings this week with an 18.4 KPM. He also averaged 5.8 points per round, 76% accuracy, 1.38 cornholes per round and produced a 4 – 3 record. He also recorded two 10-point rounds and two 12-point rounds

BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – There are new sheriffs in town, and their rule of law could get ugly for the citizens of LEG.

Brent A. (we’ll just call him Brent from now on) and Turley were paired through the blind draw, forming “Hole Bangers” and becoming one of the obvious contenders to win the 2022 Preseason Kick-Off Tournament.

Though “Hole Bangers” looked like a super team on paper, there were still some questions surrounding their team.

• Even though he immediately jumps to the top of the talent pool, how would Brent handle his first tournament?
• Turley won the 2021 Postseason Tournament, but did so paired with Nick, who is a championship veteran. Could Turley be the leader of a championship squad for the first time in his career?
• Turley openly admits to being a basket case, particularly in close end-of-game situations. Can he overcome that, or will it hinder his team’s ability to claim The Cup?

The questions were legitimate. The answers were undisputed. “Hole Bangers” stomped their way to a 2022 Preseason Kick-Off championship, losing only one game all day – a 21 – 17 nail-biter during the round robin session to “Mol-Ester” (JV and Erik).

Brent claims he needs 50 throws to get loose and find his groove. In other words, the best chance to beat him is to catch him early before he finds his rhythm and confidence. “Mol-Ester” executed that strategy perfectly in round robin play, but no other team in the field could do so. Brent hit his stride, Turley flashed his improving game from an offseason of hard work, and the dynamic duo coasted to a title.

HOW THEY GOT THERE

“Hole Bangers’” lone blemish during round robin cost them the #1 seed, which was earned by the undefeated “Pink-Eyed Strippers” (Galz and Scott). Landing on the #2 seed only fueled their fire, as they donkey punched “Butt Jam” (Paul and Bushie) 21 – 0, rolled “Big Bush, Long Wood” (Barker and David) 21 – 7, and then exacted revenge on “Mol-Ester” in the third round, 21 – 12, sending “Mol-Ester” to the losers’ bracket gauntlet.

“Hole Bangers” punched their ticket to the championship match by defeating “Mol-Ester” for a second consecutive game, 21 – 16. JV and Erik hung tougher in this rubber match, but didn’t quite have enough ammunition to overcome the fire Brent and Turley were throwing.

That was an enormous victory because “Hole Bangers” remained undefeated in a triple elimination format, meaning their opponent would have to beat them three consecutive times in the championship match. The Cup engraving was almost a certainty at that point, with the only potential derailment being a waiting period filled with booze and rust accumulation.

The prize was too grand for complacency and carelessness to creep into the equation on this day, and “Hole Bangers” clinched their title with little drama, handling “Pink-Eyed Strippers” in Game 1 of the title showdown, 21 – 13.

LOSERS’ BRACKET CHAOS

The losers’ bracket is not the place to be. As you read this, you’re probably thinking “No shit, Sherlock.” But beyond the obvious, it’s also become a swimming pool full of sharks. Every game is a grind against a team capable of making a deep tournament run. It wasn’t always that way. Let’s dive into the shark tank and analyze all the teams who found themselves on the longer path back to the title match.

“Pink-Eyed Strippers” (Galz and Scott G.) – #1 Seed

I already spoiled the suspense by disclosing “Pink-Eyed Strippers” lost in the championship match, meaning they fought their way through, and emerged from, the losers’ bracket. But that doesn’t begin to tell the story of this team. First of all, Galz probably should have been on injured reserve because his eye was swollen shut. A lesson for the kids at home, don’t allow strippers to pee on your face without protection. Always wear a dental dam! I actually don’t know what a dental dam is, but I’m sure it prevents urine-based eye infections.

With three “good” eyes, these two earned the #1 seed and looked the part by dismantling #8 seeded “Stosh” (Josh Turley and Steve-O) 21 – 6 in the first round. But a 21 – 17 loss to #4 seeded “Mol-Ester” in the second round, followed by a 21 – 15 loss to “The Aces” (Jack and Nick) plummeted the top seed to the bottom left corner of the bracket.

On the brink of elimination and staring down the longest possible road back to the championship, “Pink-Eyed Strippers” relaxed and let it flow, ripping off five consecutive victories to reach the championship. That stretch included revenge wins over “Mol-Ester” and “The Aces” and only one of the five wins was decided by less than 10 points.

The rollercoaster ride was wild, but they ultimately ended up where they should have – in the title match. Unfortunately their untimely losses and five-game grind might have cost them a legitimate chance to win the whole thing. However, a runner-up finish is nothing to be ashamed of and both Scott and Galz played exceptional cornhole throughout the tournament.

“Big Bush Long Wood” (Barker and David) – #3 Seed

Barker’s championship DNA is nearly unmatched with his three titles and three runner-up finishes; and, he entered the tournament on a heater – he’s played at a higher level in unsanctioned events throughout the winter and early spring.

Though David is a rookie, he’s no stranger to the game and he’s an athlete with a fierce competitive streak. In his spare time you’ll find him starting fights in beer league hockey games, including with his opponent’s fat ugly girlfriend sitting in the bleachers. He also loves smoking any kind of meat he can get his hands on, and even loves to cook a little bit too!

This pair looked dangerous early, but things took a drastic turn for the worst after a fantastic first round victory over #6 seeded “The Aces”. They took one on the chin, losing 21 – 7 to “Hole Bangers,” rebounded with an easy win over #7 seeded “Butt Jam” and then bowed out of the tournament as a victim of “Pink-Eyed Strippers” run through the losers’ bracket.

An early exit and 2 – 2 record is not what they envisioned. To their credit, they collected themselves and won the Toilet Bowl Championship by knocking off “Guess Who’s Back, Back Again?” (21 – 13) and “Stosh” (21 – 4). Winning the Toilet Bowl Championship may not make your trousers move, but there are worse things than being the Toilet Bowl champs. If you’re playing for something, no matter what it is, you want to win. Credit to Barker and David for getting the job done, despite feeling disappointed about being there.

“Mol-Ester” (JV and Erik) – #4 Seed

The only team all day to defeat the champs! Unfortunately it was during the round robin session and not bracket play. They should be proud of their third place finish, which included great wins over “Guess Who’s Back, Back Again?” (21 – 20), “Pink-Eyed Strippers” (21 – 17), and “The Aces” (21 – 20). As you can see, all of their tournament wins were down to the wire…exactly how JV wants it! Keep things close, then Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn sprints out of the bullpen to put the game away.

David experienced the JV closing effect up close and personal in round robin. “Big Bush Long Wood” had an 18 – 15 lead over “Mol-Ester” when the bags turned over to JV vs. David. Both players littered the board with blockers after their first two bags.

David’s third bag missed the board, giving JV an opportunity for points. JV’s third bag launched high and deep, clearing the pile of blockers for an airmail!

For the first time, David faced adversity and tried to steady his nerves. His final bag also missed the board. JV held a 5 – 2 advantage in the round and knew a cornhole would give him an 8 – 2 advantage, and his team a 21 – 18 win. He launched again, and hit nothing but net! Airmail for the win!

David turned to JV, “Are you fucking kidding me?” JV smiled and sheepishly shook David’s hand. Welcome to the league, rookie.

“Mol-Ester” was unbelievable in close matches, and provided the stiffest test to “Hole Bangers”. They played well enough to win a title, which has to sting knowing they came up just a bit short.

“Guess Who’s Back, Back Again?” (Coach Mike and KP) – #5 Seed

Coach and KP were excited to join forces again, after feeling as though they underperformed as partners in the 2021 Postseason Tournament. Well, here they were again, underperforming. In the first round, they held a 15 – 8 lead over “Mol-Ester” but failed to close and lost the match 21 – 20.

After a 21 – 5 win over “Stosh” in the losers’ bracket, “Guess Who’s Back” secured a big win over “Big Bush Long Wood” (21 – 17), but couldn’t measure up against “The Aces” (lost 21 – 12) or “Pink-Eyed Strippers” (lost 21 – 15) – the latter eliminated them, flushinh them to the Toilet Bowl Championship, where they lost to “Big Bush Long Wood” (21 – 13) in a revenge match.

Coach Mike played the role he needed to, which was to play his opponent to a draw and hope KP could deliver the scoring blows at the other end of the boards. Sadly for Coach Mike, he didn’t get the version of KP necessary to make a deep run.

Upon elimination, both players were disappointed and apologetic to one another. “I want to win a championship with you,” KP poured out to Coach. That’s a heart-warming thought, but reality is harsh. KP started this league in 2016 and has won only one title, and we’re three years removed from that (2019 Postseason Tournament). At some point, you need to deliver or accept your backseat to the actual top players in the league.

“The Aces” (Nick and Jack) – #6 Seed

Landing as the #6 seed was a surprise to everyone. Any team with Nick is a threat to win the whole thing, and Jack has been part of multiple teams who have played deep into past tournaments. The fact they were in the bottom half of seeding should serve as additional evidence of how talented the rest of the field is.

Once seeding was revealed, their opponent (#3 seed “Big Bush Long Wood”) was not thrilled about the draw. Barker turned in disgust, “We have to play Nick? Great.” In fact, that match-up wasn’t great for “The Aces” – they were routed, 21 – 7.

In the losers’ bracket, “The Aces” strung together three consecutive wins over “Butt Jam” (21 – 7), “Pink-Eyed Strippers” (21 – 15), and “Guess Who’s Back” (21 – 12). In a crucial losers’ bracket match with the winner advancing for a semifinal match against “Hole Bangers,” they added their name to the list of teams who couldn’t make plays down the stretch to win a close game against “Mol-Ester,” losing 21 – 20.

They were eliminated in their next game after running into the buzz saw named “Pink-Eyed Strippers” (“The Aces” lost 21 – 5).

For the first time since 2019, the championship team did not include Nick. That’s a dominating statistic, and one Jack wished hadn’t come to an end. Nonetheless, “The Aces” outperformed their #6 seed by finishing in fourth place.

“Butt Jam” (Bushie and Paul) – #7 Seed

Where to begin? First, why do Bushie’s team names usually revolve around ass?

• “Dirty Butt” in the 2017 Postseason Tournament
• “Butt Plugs” in the 2019 Postseason Tournament
• “Pull & Tug Brothers” in the 2020 Postseason Tournament (okay, technically not ass-related, but…)
• “Double Dildos” in the 2021 Preseason Kick-Off
• And now…”Butt Jam”

Keep in mind, he’s also missed four or five of the tournaments since 2016…

Secondly, as soon as the blind draw selected Paul and Bushie as partners, Bushie wanted to take his ball and go home. He loudly offered to trade partners with JV (i.e., swap Paul for Erik). The funny thing is, Bushie and Paul partnered as “Pull & Tug Brothers” and finished runners-up in the 2020 Postseason Tournament. So, they’ve had success together in the past. But, this day was doomed from the start.

They won only one game all day, a 21 – 20 round robin escape over “Stosh,” who finished as the bottom seed (more to come on them later). A dreadful 1 – 6 record across round robin, bracket play and the Toilet Bowl Championship is the perfect reflection of how this day started for “Butt Jam”…a player not embracing his partner and openly expressing that to the group.

Maybe the ass-themed team names are an obsession. Maybe they are a personification.

Poor Paul. He deserved better.

“Stosh” (Steve-O and Josh Turley) – #8 Seed

No matter which way you slice it, there are always going to be a few teams eliminated with an 0 – 3 record. Hell, the #1 seed in this tournament nearly hit that mark. “Stosh” was one of those teams in this tournament.

Though their games don’t appear to be competitive on the scoreboard, they made their opponents grind for victories – they weren’t losing games in three or four rounds. The 1 – 7 record covering the entire day is painful, but somewhat expected given Josh is a rookie and Steve-O was looking down from space, watching himself play cornhole most of the day.

Their tournament was also better than “Butt Jam’s” – they played hard, laughed, had fun, and stuck together. Ultimately that approach paid off by snapping a six-game losing streak with a Toilet Bowl semifinal win over “Butt Jam” (21 – 16).

Steve-O is a two-time champion. But he’s an all-time dude. Win or lose, he’s always laughing, vibing to the music, or hanging on for dear life as his rocket ship races to Mars. Though it wasn’t a successful pairing in the win-loss column, it was the perfect pairing to welcome Josh to the league. That’s how it should be.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

The top four players receiving votes from the rest of the group were named to the 2022 Preseason All-Tournament Team.

JV helped lead “Mol-Ester” to a semifinal appearance and third place finish, earning him a spot on the All-Tournament Team for the fifth time in his career!

Scott was exceptional all day, earning his “Pink-Eyed Strippers” team the #1 seed in the tournament and digging them out of an 0 – 2 start to bracket play, only to rip off five straight victories before falling just short in the championship. His resilience and mental toughness was a key factor to his team’s success, and the rest of the players recognized that by voting him to the All-Tournament Team – the second of his career.

Turley was named to the All-Tournament Team for the second time in his career, including for the second consecutive tournament. This wasn’t a rubber stamped vote because he was on the title winning team. Turley was the perfect Robin in his dynamic duo, rounding out a squad that was almost untouchable.

Speaking of untouchable, Brent was a unanimous MVP of this tournament and represents the final member of the All-Tournament Team. Many rookies struggle, particularly in their first tournament, because the marathon of the day and pressure of each match becomes overwhelming. But none of that bothered Brent on this day. He was confident in his game, and trusted the best player (him) on the best team (his) would win in the end.

Congratulations to Brent on his first MVP, and to JV, Scott and Turley for their All-Tournament Team honors.

 

CLAWSON, MICHIGAN – The sixth season of LEG is drawing to a close, and the 2021 Postseason Tournament has the makings of being the best grand finale yet. On Tuesday night we held a Zoom call to conduct the blind draw in advance of the tournament, only the second time we’ve done it this way. All teams now have approximately 10 days to strategize, but more importantly, choose their team name and coordinate their Halloween costume with one another.

In this article we’ll breakdown all the teams and offer a preview of the Postseason Tournament.

BLIND DRAW

This year’s blind draw was unique because we gave all 18 players one ping pong ball each, rather than giving more ping pong balls (and thus, higher odds) to lower ranked players like we have in the past. The table below summarizes the teams for the 2021 Postseason Tournament.

Team	Player 1	Player 2
Team 1	Dibble	Erik
Team 2	KP	Coach Mike
Team 3	Ray	Galz
Team 4	JV	Thomas
Team 5	Bushie	Paul
Team 6	Scott	Matt
Team 7	Barker	Brendan
Team 8	Jack	Bob
Team 9	Turley	Nick

DIVING DEEPER

Team 1 – #2 Dibble and #10 Erik

Dibble burst onto the scene in 2019, running a train through the league by winning the Singles Tournament and intimidating all the players along the way. Since then, he’s been searching for tournament success and would probably admit to being disappointed in the way he’s played in tournaments the last few years. However, he’s clearly one of the most talented players in the league, capable of carrying anyone to a title.

Erik is arguably the most improved player from the last few seasons. His teams finished runners-up in the 2020 and 2021 Preseason Kick-Off Tournaments, where he also earned All-Tournament Team honors, including the 2021 Tournament MVP. Erik is the second-most accurate player (73%), so you know he’ll score. The X-factor is if Erik’s cornhole rate goes up. If it does, his 4.3 gross points per round could jump closer to 6.0 gross points per round, making this team extremely difficult to beat.

Contender/Pretender/Dark Horse: There is a lot to like about this team, and I’d consider them a heavyweight in this field. Definitely a contender.

Team 2 – #3 KP and #15 Coach Mike

During the blind draw KP praised Coach Mike for throwing well at a recent Michigan State tailgate, and said he could be dangerous in the tournament if he continues to play at that level. Sure enough, KP drew Coach Mike as his partner moments later.

This team’s success comes down to two things:

• Can KP avoid the Postseason Tournament letdown in 2021? In 2020 he won the Singles Tournament over Nick in dramatic fashion, but failed to handle the emotional high and target on his back during the 2020 Postseason Tournament. He defended his title by winning the 2021 Singles Tournament. Can he grow from his 2020 experience and have the poise to navigate a deep tournament field?
• Coach Mike’s back-handed taint tickler. Is it back? Does he throw it consistently? He was on fire in the Singles Tournament before having to leave early, and has continued to look like his old self as this season has progressed.

Contender/Pretender/Dark Horse: This team will be overflowing with chemistry, which is always a great starting point for a partnership. If the dangerous Coach Mike shows up, and KP brings his A-game, this team could compete. Watch them as a dark horse.

Team 3 – #4 Galz and Ray (Unranked)

Don’t let the fact that Ray is unranked fool you. He didn’t play in 2021. Based on his 2020 performance (14.5 KPM), he’d be ranked #6 in 2021. Ray is also a horse shoe player, which translates nicely to cornhole. Ray can play…very well.

Galz almost always makes noise in tournaments, and is one of the few players in the league you can count on to deliver when his back is against the wall. Case in point, he often “waits” for the other team to build a 10+ point lead in matches, just so he can mount a comeback and hand the opponent a “choke”. Galz won the 2019 Preseason Kick-Off Tournament and has finished runner-up in two Singles Tournaments (2018 and 2019). In other words, he knows what it takes to survive and advance.

Contender/Pretender/Dark Horse: This squad is LEGIT – #4 and essentially #6? They are not only a contender, they might be the favorite to win The Cup.

Team 4 – #8 JV and #18 Thomas

If anyone can carry a partner to a championship, it’s JV. He did it twice with Barker, and has two runner-up finishes as well (Erik and Humberto were partners in the two runner-up finishes). JV is also the best closer in the league – he not only hits clutch shots, he *wants* to take the clutch shot. That mentality isn’t for everyone, which is why he distinguishes himself from most of the other players.

The challenge for JV in this tournament will be Thomas. No disrespect to Thomas, but he’s a rookie and not many rookies are successful in their first tournament. It’s hard to navigate the gauntlet.

Contender/Pretender/Dark Horse: Thomas has been known to play in several leagues and tournaments outside of LEG. If he has been playing the last month, those reps could pay off for him and his team because all of LEG has been on a five week (or more) hiatus due to various factors. If other players are rusty enough to be a notch below their normal selves and Thomas has picked his game up a bit from when we last saw him, this team could play a spoiler role in this tournament. That said, I think this team will struggle with some of the heavyweights, so I have to call them a pretender.

Team 5 – #7 Bushie and #13 Paul

This duo reunites just one year later, after they finished runner-up in the 2020 Postseason Tournament as the “Pull N’ Tug Brothers”. Both players have improved their game since last year’s second place finish, so it’s possible they make another deep run.

Maybe more interesting than their tournament performance is how they’ll top last year’s team name. “The Ambiguously Gay Duo”? “Karma Chameleon”? “Who’s in My Mouth”? “Bob Kraft’s Backroom Bandits”? The suspense is killing me!

Contender/Pretender/Dark Horse: Despite their sensational 2020 Postseason Tournament performance, this team is a dark horse in this tournament. On paper, there are just too many other teams I’d rank ahead of them (Dibble and Erik, Galz and Ray, Turley and Nick, and Barker and Brendan), which prevents them from jumping into the contender status.

Team 6 – Scott (Unranked) and #17 Matt

Scott is a former champion, winning the 2018 Postseason Tournament, and he also has two runner-up finishes (2017 and 2019 Preseason Kick-Off Tournaments, respectively). Scott is ready for another deep tournament run, but will he get enough help from his partner?

Matt, like Thomas, faces the uphill challenge of being a rookie. He has shown flashes of his potential in 2021, while also having some low moments, like his week 3 bun run with Coach Mike.

I like Scott’s game a lot, and always feel like he’ll have his team in the running for a championship. It’s very clear that this team’s success hinges on Matt.

Contender/Pretender/Dark Horse: History tells us this team should be a pretender because no rookie has ever won a doubles tournament championship. Is this the year, and the team, to break history? It’s possible, but also hard to imagine given the talent on the other teams. For that reason, I have to label these guys as pretenders.

Team 7 – #6 Barker and Brendan (Unranked)

Barker rode JV’s coattails to two championships, and Nick’s to another championship. Once again, Barker finds himself in a nice comfortable partnership heading into a tournament. He’ll look for Brendan’s shoulders to carry him to a fourth championship in this tournament.

Brendan is unranked because he has not appeared in 2021 regular season action, but he’s clearly one of the better players in this field. He is fresh off a 2021 Singles Tournament runner-up, and while he should feel great about that result, he also has a bitter taste in his mouth because he was capable of claiming that championship.

Contender/Pretender/Dark Horse: This team features two of the top six or seven players in the league, one of which is hungry for his first title after coming oh so close in this year’s Singles Tournament (Brendan). The other (Barker), hungry to prove he wasn’t the one riding coattails. This team is a contender.

Team 8 – #16 Jack and #11 Bob

This season Jack eclipsed the 10.0 KPM mark for the first time in his career, and Bob made an enormous leap from 8.2 KPM in 2020 to 12.8 KPM in 2021. These guys are rising stars in the league, but their tournament success comes down to their consistency and their draw. If both players can throw accurately all day, and not get caught up in trying to go bag-for-bag in the hole with some of their opponents, they’ll be in good shape. Their mentality needs to be any scoring bag, even one on the board, is a great bag. Make it difficult on their opponents and try to grind out victories. After that, they’ll need a little luck on which teams they draw during their tournament path.

Contender/Pretender/Dark Horse: Both players are improving rapidly. Unfortunately this tournament field is super talented, making this team a pretender. However, they are capable of creating chaos by pulling an upset or two, and this team should be in the running for the Toilet Bowl Championship.

Team 9 – #5 Turley and #1 Nick

Is there a luckier player in the league when it comes to tournament drafts than Nick? My god. For this blind draw we had protections in place to ensure none of the top-4 ranked players could be partners. So what does Nick do? He draws the #5 player, the highest possible ranking he could partner with. Truly unbelievable. In the 2020 Postseason Tournament Draft Lottery, he was selected with the second pick by Barker, who had just a 3% chance of earning that pick (they went on to win that tournament). Nick has also been randomly partnered with Steve-O twice, and both times they won the tournament.

Listen, Nick is an excellent player. He’s #1 for a reason. But he doesn’t need any help!

Turley has had a breakout 2021 campaign, hitting 70% of his bags and posting a 14.6 KPM (up from 11.4 KPM in 2020). A Postseason Tournament title would be the cherry on top of an incredible year.

Contender/Pretender/Dark Horse: No doubt, this team is a contender! Nick is the most decorated player in LEG history with five championships and two MVPs. Turley, on the other hand, has not had much success in tournaments…that is the wildcard for this team. How does Turley handle the pressure of advancing deep into this tournament?

PREDICTION

Every year, in every tournament I find myself saying, “this is deepest pool of talent we’ve had for a tournament”. It’s not lip service! It’s true! Of the 18 players in this tournament field, only two are below the 10.0 KPM threshold (it’s safe to assume unranked players Scott, Brendan and Ray would clear that mark). When the KPM metric was developed, 10.0 was considered a great night/season. Now, we are blowing that out of the water!

With so many good players, victories will be hard to earn in this tournament. Ultimately, someone has to win and there are two teams that I think separate themselves – Galz and Ray, and Turley and Nick.

My gut is telling me Galz and Ray pull this one out, with the championship match being decided in the third, and final, game.

CLAWSON, MICHIGAN – In any sport rivalries can be good for the game and fun for fans. They can also be foul and toxic. In LEG, we’ve seen our share of rivalries throughout the years – Paul and JV always comes to mind, but it all started with the O.G.s, Nick and JG. Fast forward to 2021 and we have some new rivalries brewing among the likes of Bob and JV, Paul and Erik, and Dibble and Bushie.

The latter might be the hottest rivalry in the league, and at moments may even approach the foul/toxic category. But this week, Dibble extended an olive branch inviting Bushie to be partners in Game 1. When he did, everyone and everything stopped in their tracks, like a DJ bringing the beats to a screeching halt when the awkward white guy walks into a black club and starts dancing with the hottest chick in the room.

Once everyone picked their jaw up from the ground, Bob and Turley were there to accept the challenge from the frenemies. Less than 10 minutes and eight throws from each player later, Bob and Turley regretted accepting that challenge. Dibble and Bushie were cooking, holding a 10 – 0 lead after the first inning primarily because of Dibble smacking Bob around with a 9 – 0 round.

In the top of the second inning Turley was dominated by Bushie, 9 – 3 to make the score 16 – 0 overall. Turley was disgusted because he knew what was coming…a 9 – 3 win for Dibble in the bottom of the second inning to win the game, 21 – 0!

The quickest bun run in the history of LEG (not counting when Steve-O gave KP a bun run in the 2020 Singles Tournament in just four throws – read more about that here https://legcornhole.com/2020-singles-tournament-recap/ ).

“Did we just become best friends?” Dibble asked Bushie after the game. Without answering, Bushie

walked away and grabbed a Coors Light refill. Guess we’ll have to stay tuned a bit longer for the Bushie-Dibble romance to heat up. In the meantime, if you want to get hot fast, check out the bun run footage from this week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BngHTnikD-U

SPEAKING OF RIVALRIES…

Bob and JV have a neighborly rivalry going this season. The strange thing about this rivalry is that it is not rooted in head-to-head matches. In fact, the two have only played head-to-head one time this season, with Bob narrowly edging JV, 28 – 25.

The rivalry was established with Bob using JV as a measuring stick, and proclaiming it publicly in the group text after week 3.

Bob: “Dude! JV and I are tied for KPM?”

JV (clearly annoyed): “After 3 weeks you should just put yourself on the trophy. That’s what I do.”

JV (still annoyed and unprompted from any other messages): “I would suggest a different measuring stick though. The battle between 8^th and 9^th doesn’t hold a lot of the crowd’s attention.”

Crickets…

JV and Bob may have only been 8^th and 9^th in the Power Rankings at that point of the season, but they were tied at 13.1 KPM, which is ridiculously high for the 8^th and 9^th ranked players. After this week, they still reside in 8^th and 9^th, with Bob holding the edge at 13.5 and JV checking in at 13.3. JV did get the best of him this week, though, with a 14.7 KPM compared to Bob’s 14.1.

Will Bob supplant Paul as JV’s arch-nemesis? That’s unlikely. But this neighborly rivalry has potential to add some juice to the league. Now they just have to play each other head-to-head more often!

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE NIGHT

There is seemingly never a shortage of hilarious moments at LEG, and Coach Mike is almost always involved in those moments. During a rough stretch of Game 2 this week, Coach Mike struck again. He was head-to-head with Jack and the dynamic duo posted the following scores in four straight innings:

• Inning 1 – Jack 1, Coach Mike 1
• Inning 2 – Jack 3, Coach Mike 1
• Inning 3 – Jack 2, Coach Mike 1
• Inning 4 – Coach Mike 2, Jack 1

After Coach Mike’s final bag of the fourth inning, which shockingly (note the sarcasm) was a miss, he yelled down to JV and KP at the other end, “Sorry guys. Stoner bags down here!”

For the game Coach scored 11 points in seven innings (average of 1.57 gross points per round) and made just one cornhole. Jack, on the other hand, wasn’t much better with his 19 points (average of 2.7 gross points per round) and two cornholes. In their defense, they were moments removed from a few rips of fantastic ganja.

HOLY CHOKES, SCOOB!

This week there were three chokes/comebacks! Since the metric was developed in 2018, there were only 11 total coming into this week. In other words, when a team builds a 10+ point lead, they almost always close it for the save. Not this week.

In Game 3 Dibble and Paul built a 10 – 0 lead over Nick and Bushie, and then never scored another point! Nick and Bushie ripped off 21 straight points to complete the comeback, 21 – 10.

In Game 18 Paul and Bob had multiple 10+ point leads over Jack and Dibble, including 10 – 0, 14 – 3, and 16 – 4. Yet, they somehow choked and lost 21 – 16. Jack was responsible for 10 of his team’s 17 points in their comeback from the 16 – 4 deficit.

In Game 19 Erik and Coach Mike were on the cusp of victory with an 18 – 8 advantage over Galz and Turley. Not only did they fail to score again while giving up a 13 – 0 run to choke away the game, but they lost that lead, and the game, in just one inning! Galz always jokes about toying with opponents, letting them get a 10+ point lead before he actually starts playing. I’m beginning to think he’s telling the truth. Turley outscored Coach Mike 8 – 2 and Galz cleared the bases, bringing all runners home with his 9 – 2 win over Erik to clinch victory, 21 – 18.

Paul involved in two of this week’s three chokes. Ouch.

THIS JUST IN, NICK IS REALLY GOOD

Another week, another record for Nick. This time he posted a weekly record-high KPM of 21.7, breaking his old record of 21.2 from week 2 this year. This guy has a 20.2 KPM for the season, including weeks of 17.6 (week 1), 21.2 (week 2), 20.4 (week 3) and 20.4 (week 4).

He busted off a 5 – 0 record this week with a +10.6 scoring differential. Say what???? He shot 82% this week (76% on the season) while averaging 1.73 cornholes per round (1.61 on the season) and 6.7 gross points per round (6.3 on the season). He’s practically untouchable right now with those numbers.

MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT

Nick and JV partnered against Dibble and Adam in Game 8. And no, that’s not a typo. Adam actually showed up for the first time since playing in only weeks 9 and 10 of 2019 (only 12 games for the season). We basically haven’t seen Adam since the 2018 season.

With Nick and JV up 20 – 10, Nick signaled to the bullpen. Moments later Jeff “Wild Thing” Vaughn…err, Valantas came sprinting onto the field. Okay, JV doesn’t run. But he slowly bent over to collect all his bags and then took Adam to school.

Adam had a 4 – 3 lead after each player tossed three bags. JV then hit Adam with the high heat on his fourth toss, sinking an airmail and dragging another bag in with it for a double cornhole! Ballgame. Nothing Adam could do on his fourth toss would change the outcome.

The league’s best closer does it again, earning the week 5 Mushroom Stamp Moment.

GAME OF THE NIGHT

Game 7 featured Erik and Dibble against Bushie and Adam, and let’s pick up the action in the top of the fourth inning when Bushie and Adam held a 12 – 4 lead. Dibble bullied Adam in the top of the inning, beating him 8 – 3 to cut the deficit to 12 – 9. Erik evened the score at 12 – 12 when he outscored Bushie in the bottom of the fourth inning, 7 – 4.

In the top of the fifth, Dibble bent Adam over and stuffed it in dry, outscoring him 8 – 1! It’s the first and only time in Dibble’s life he’ll use seven of anything when he has someone bent over in front of him.

19 – 12 advantage to Dibble and Erik.

Bushie kept his team’s hopes alive in the bottom of the fifth by scoring all four of his bags, including two cornholes, topping Erik 8 – 2 and cutting the deficit to 19 – 18.

Everyone in attendance expected Dibble to continue raw dogging Adam. But then we realized he already finished. We should’ve known he’d be that quick.

Adam scored a point to tie the game, 19 – 19, then waddled to the bathroom to flush Dibble’s seed down the toilet.

Don’t worry Adam, Bushie didn’t need any more help – not because he had the game under wraps, but because Erik did. The Lefty from French Lick swished two cornholes and boarded his other two bags to score eight points. Bushie could only manage three points, giving Erik five net points. Victory for Dibble and Erik, 21 – 19.

That was a hell of a game-clinching round by Erik, finishing a phenomenal scoring run by he and Dibble.

NEWS AND NOTES

None this week. You want more stats, check the website!