BUTTER NUTZ DO IT AGAIN

Boasters League first half~

Who’d have thunk it? But is really all that surprising? Sante Fratarcangeli and his “Butter Nutz” compatriots continue to impress as they once again end up on top of the standings after the first half of the 2014-2015 Boasters League season. However, it was oh so close!

Captain Josh Slominski and his “Space Geckos” were edged out of top spot at the 11^th hour. When the deadline passed and I started going through all the last minute scores, the “Space Geckos” held a slim 3 point lead. Given that they had the last week ‘bye’, they did an excellent job of playing many make-up matches – the most of any of the other teams. Unfortunately for them, the “Butter Nutz” kept pace with their make-ups as well, and as it turned out it was just enough (with the points they scored from round 9) to pip the “Space Geckos” at the post. This will no doubt motivate Josh and his team even more for the second half, maybe we are witnessing the birth of a healthy rivalry?

Actually, all the teams made a notable push in the final week. Too little too late for some, but I will mention that “Vivio’s” picked up the most points of any team from week 8 onwards. Even “Foss Nation” stepped up and scored the third most points. Not that it helped them out of the cellar.

Let’s look at the statistics of the first half, shall we?

• The league has a record 153 players. 76% of total matches were completed. That’s more than the first half last year – with so many more players, it’s an excellent trend.
• “Space Geckos” played the most matches with 86%.
• The next best percentage of matches played with 78% goes to… “Foss Nation”!
• Surprisingly, “Butter Nutz” only played 74% of their matches. But they had the best win percentage with 61%
• “Foss Nation” had the worst winning percentage with 40%.
• Only once did two teams play all 17 matches in any one round. That was “Vivio’s” and “Space Geckos” in round 1.
• The most points picked up by any team in one single round were “Wardogs” with 40 in round 1.
• “Wardogs” also scored the least points in any one round with 15 in round 9.
• You’ll never guess with team had the most bonus points… Yep! “Butter Nutz” with 89.
• And the least bonus points… right again! “Foss Nation” with 58.
• Only 6 players picked up all 8 bonus points.
• An amazing 39 players played all 8 matches. Wow!
• 5 of those 39 players were also undefeated.
• Marc Topacio (“The Nicker Ballers”) scored the most points of any player with 30.

The general trend is for play to dip in the second half. That’s hard to believe considering that January and February are typically our busiest months on the courts. There is a lot going on, but let’s see if we can buck that trend and keep up with the matches. All the captains need to step up and encourage as much as possible. From the feedback I get from players who do have the more active captains, their efforts are greatly appreciated and it does make a difference.

The second half kicks off on January 7. There will be some movement in the ranks and some of you will even jump teams. All teams start from scratch, but now you will be fighting for one of the six play-off spots come March. Can anyone stop the “Butter Nutz”?