WINKY-DINKS LOOKING HEALTHY

Boasters League round 6~

Probably the team that ended up in the best position after round 6 was the one that didn’t even play! Winky Dinks had the bye week which means everyone else had the chance to catch up – which they did, but not by as much as they needed to. In make-up matches alone, Winky Dinks picked up 19 points, which keeps them in second place tied with the Space Geckos. Now, they are the only team in the top 4 that have suffered through the ‘bye’ week, putting them squarely in the driver’s seat to end up on top of the standings after the first half of the season.

Space Geckos performed the best on the score board this week picking up a total of 38 points and closing the gap to the league leading Butter Nutz to just 13. Just a hair behind the Geckos were the Nicker Ballers with 37, and on the other end of the scale, Vivio’s were this week’s slackers with only 23 points. Bonus points overall were down for round 6, and I’ll attribute it to the election hangover. A large percentage of players apparently watched all night as CNN tortuously, minute by minute, covered the voting numbers of every single county in the country… fascinating viewing no doubt. Some members still hadn’t reached the hangover stage however, not sure whether they were celebrating or drowning sorrows, but either way in no condition to grace the squash court!

For those that did, it was a competitive evening. Dewey - Nana-nana-nana-nana, Nana-nana-nana-nana... Batman! -  Steffen (Space Geckos) had to deal with not only the crafty placement of his opponent’s shots (Gus Ploss -Vivio’s) but also the ear splitting “encouragement” of Gus’s team captain. Maybe the cheering wasn’t quite loud enough (or too loud?) but Dewey kept his calm just enough, throwing in his good deal of “Boo-Yahs!” along the way, to take the 2-1 victory. 

Andy Adamo (Nicker Ballers) was surprised to see how much JC Tibbitts (Nick at Night) has improved recently and was pushed all the way as he worked a lot harder than he was expecting to, earning his 2-1 win. Tom Bejin (Butter Nutz) picked up his first win of the season with a steady enough display, taking out Mike McCuish (Mongoose) 2-1, and handing Mike is 3^rd 2-1 loss so far. Another first win of the season goes to Patrick Petz (Nick at Night) who found himself moving more freely which allowed him the place the ball more consistently, as he pulled the 2-1 upset over Maggie Durant (Nicker Ballers). 

Round 7 has crept up on us very quickly. The good news is that the league takes a rest the week of Thanksgiving, so it will give everyone a chance to get a good amount of make-up matches in, and make sure you are covered in your 5 match minimum in order to play in the second half… right? Butter Nutz may have a difficult time holding on to top spot next week as they will be sitting this round out, can the other teams take advantage? Complacency is your enemy.

TOP TWO PULL AWAY

Boasters League round 5~

Butter Nutz were out in force for round 5. Fifteen of their seventeen players were accounted for, 11 matches have so far been completed for this week, and they are looking pretty sitting on top of the standings. The Winky-Dinks have also done well to keep pace. Their numbers were not as impressive as Butter Nutz’, but they did get a few make up matches completed over the week to make up for it and are still only 5 points back of the league leaders. It will be imperative for Winky-Dinks to keep up with those make-up matches as they will be sitting on the bye for round 6.

Space Geckos were the biggest disappointment for the round. Together with Nick at Night, they picked up the least amount of bonus points for the week (9), and together with Foss Nation, picked up the least amount of points since last Wednesday (21). (Not counting Wardogs who had the bye). They are still in third place, but instead of being just 9 points off first, they are now 24 points behind. They have a lot of work to do to catch up now, especially since they have the undesirable bye in the final round of the half.

Vivio’s, however, were the week’s best performers. Since round 4, they have picked up 41 points overall, putting them on equal standing as the 5^th placed Nicker Ballers, but are in 6^th position because they have accumulated less bonus points for the season. If Vivio’s would have the same amount of bonus points as the Nicker Ballers, they would be in 4^th spot, just 1 point back of the Space Geckos. In fact, Vivio’s are second last in the league in that category. Pays to turn up, doesn’t it?

Some (not all!) highlight matches of the week include: Steve Smihal (Winky-Dinks) has remained undefeated so far and picked up his 5^th straight win taking out Jim Miller (Foss Nation) 2-1. Curt Pedersen (Nick at Night) was moments from death as he tried to figure out how to end a rally against Nolan Monforton (Space Geckos). “He wouldn’t stop running!” was the message I received on my phone, but maybe Curt’s 6-foot-7 frame was a smidge too tall for Nolan. Curt won 15-12; 14-15; 15-14. I think the fitness room is missing an oxygen tank…?

Zac MacVoy (Butter Nutz) did all he could to hold off the stubborn red Rich Stimson (Vivio’s) to take his 4^th 2-1 victory in a row and keep Rich winless so far; and James Van Dyke (Nicker Ballers) let his new Ninja racquet do all the talking as he sliced and diced his way to a 2-1 win over Mike Petix (Mongoose), his 3^rd of the season.

As we approach the downhill portion of the first half of the 2016-2017 boasters league, it is my duty to once again remind all of you that 5 is the magic number. December 9 is the deadline to complete as many matches as possible, anyone not reaching the magic number is subject for replacement. I have 18 players on the waitlist, chomping at the bit to join the foray!