The Finals are officially a month and a half away. Week 10 had the potential of providing quite a shakeup in the league standings as the top four teams faced off against one another. While both of these matchups ended in a tie, another team's big move has them a mere one game back out of 4th place. With a mere 1.5 games separating first and second place, the teams in 3rd through 5th place find themselves just a short distance from one another with win records of 24, 22 and 21 respectively. A couple of great weeks from any of these teams could really shake things up. It's always interesting to see history repeat itself...especially when it involves this season's most rooted on team, Feed the Monkey. Two months ago, the Monkeys managed their lone regular season win against "a team with real people" (as Sarah Manning puts it) while facing Drink and Hurl. While the Hurlers once again came away with a 3-1 series victory – led by anchor Teresa Deterding's 420 series – the team could not finish off the win-hungry Feed the Monkey. Chris Able led the Feeders with a 388 series in the loss and remains in 7th place. The Hurlers improve their record to 20-20 but do not budge from 6th place.Having lost to Ground Zero Mosque the first time they faced them, the men of Pin Pricks stiffened their resolve and intended to penetrate their record with more wins. Their outcome, however, was pretty flaccid. With Ground Zero's Jason Carpio leading the charge with a 528 series, the teams see-sawed back and forth, exchanging wins throughout the showdown. Carl Goetz put up a 570 series which helped the Pricks barely hold onto a 2-2 tie and first place for the night. The Mosque remains in 3rd place.After handily winning Game #1, the men of No Pinheads ran into a rejuvenated Kitten Mittons. Led by anchor Nick Allegri and his 479 series, the Mittons took Games #2 and #3 but were unable to overcome the deficit from the initial game. Aubrey Moren's 527 series saved the day for the Pinheads, who remain in 2nd place while the Mittons cling to their 4th place standing.If there was ever a time to put on a Most Valuable Bowler performance, it's the Finals. Jerry Krall, however, saved his for when he faced the blind team. Putting up his highest series all season, Krall's 425 series – along with lead-off bowler Jessica Thomas's team leading 430 series – made the difference as Bowl Movement added four more notches in their win column. While the team remains in 5th place, they are now within striking distance to move into the top half of the league standings.Only two bowlers this week managed to sneak into The 200 Club: Carl Goetz (203) and Phil Schroeder (202).For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 10.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Jerry Krall Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Teresa Deterding	#1 H2H BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Carl Goetz
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Wow, and I thought *I* did a great job at sucking." Adult film star Shyla Stylez, after witnessing Ken's piss poor performance Tuesday night.

As the second half of the league officially kicked off, each team faced the same opponent they met on Week #1. With more games under their belts, the teams that took it on the chin the last time they met up in August mounted their own turnarounds on Tuesday night. Week #9 also had its share of controversy with a contested outcome against the blind team. After reviewing the league rules, discussing the situation with two employees of the bowling alley, polling various members of the league and applying logic it was determined that Game #2 in the matchup with No Pinheads is a tie. Simplest way to explain it? Every game in bowling can end in only one of three outcomes – a win, a loss or a tie. While facing the blind team, according to our league rules (Rule 6B), a team "must bowl within 40 pins of their own teams’ average." Therefore, a team must theoretically bowl against themselves with a set outcome of their "opponents." A team with an example collective average of 600 is theoretically facing a team that has bowled a 560 against them. Therefore, if the team bowls over 560 they win...if they bowl below a 560, they lose. If they bowl exactly a 560, it's a tie.With all that said, the matchup against blind team Ray & Stevie didn't turn out exactly how the members of No Pinheads had hoped. After dropping Game #1, the team tied Game #2 dead on the money. A massive Game #3 comeback, led by Phil Schroeder and his 499 series, helped the team secure a 2.5-1.5 matchup victory over themselves. The victories keep them in second place.Having the fourth best record in the league, Kitten Mittons expected to bat around their opponents Bowl Movement like a trapped mouse. Unfortunately for them, they ran head first into the over-average firepower of The Movement. With output of a 458 series from Jessica Thomas, The Movement commanded a clean sweep against their competition. The four victories push the team into 5th place, a mere three games behind 4th place Kitten Mittons. The Mittons were led this week by Ryan Simonet and his 433 series.After taking Games #1 and #2, the men of Ground Zero Mosque were poised to dismiss opponents Drink and Hurl. Game #3, however, saw quite the comeback from The Hurlers to eventually split the matchup at two games apiece. With an uncharacteristically high series out of Ground Mosque's Scott Murdock (a 529), the team went into the final game of the night with a total pins leads of 34. Yet, it was the Hurler's lead off bowler Jake Parrott whose 457 series was just enough to throw his team into the lead to not only take Game #3 but total pins as well...by a mere two pins. Adding in their two victories each, Ground Zero remains in 3rd place while the Hurlers slip to 6th due to a total pins tie-breaker with 5th place Bowl Movement.After post-bowling on the following Monday, Feed the Monkey found themselves in familiar territory against the appropriately named Pin Pricks. Led by a 636 series out of David Codding – along with this week's Most Valuable Bowler performance compliments of Ian Goetz, the Pricks cruised to a clean sweep and find themselves out in first place by a game and a half. The Monkeys, led by Chris Able and his 402 series, find themselves with a record of 8-28 good enough for 7th place. It seems you have to be a Prick in order to gain admittance into The 200 Club this week: Carl Goetz (211), David Codding (224, 231), Ian Goetz (201, 234) and Ken M. Wilson (220, 205).For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 9.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Ian Goetz Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER David Codding Runner Up: Ian Goetz	#1 H2H BOWLER David Codding Runner Up: Ian Goetz
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Equality, or the identity relation, is the binary relation on a set X defined by { (x,x) | x ∑ X }. In other words...you dummkopfs tied." Albert Einstein, chiming in on the Pinhead's win or tie debate.

The 2010 Fall League is now officially half over and the standings do not look that much different than they did after Week #1. The top two teams have the same record, 3rd and 4th place share the same record and the rest of the league is knotted up on through 8th place, each with a chance to quickly move up...or down. As mentioned last week, the position round gives teams the optimal chance to improve their record against their closest competition but only two teams truly cashed in on the moment. Only one thing is certain – the second half of the league is bound to be interesting.Having been in first place all by themselves since the second week of the league, the members of No Pinheads finally stepped aside...barely. Despite having a record of 24-8 – the same as the Pin Pricks, who won the position round matchup 3-1 – total pins drops them into second place. The Pricks, led this week by lead off bowler Ian "Bourbon Bowl" Goetz and his 588 series (landing him this week's #1 Power Ranking), narrowly missing a clean sweep of the former first place team by 11 pins in Game #3 after easily taking Games #1 and #2. Pinhead Aubrey Moren led his team with a 474 series in the losing effort. These two teams are scheduled to face off once again on November 16th in what is sure to be a grudge match. The Pricks lead the overall series 6-2 against the Pinheads. Having faced one another the previous week, Ground Zero Mosque came away the 3-1 victor last Tuesday. The position round, however, belonged almost entirely to opponents Kitten Mittons. Led by Kelly Sands and his 457 series (including his personal best game over his career – a 208), the Mittons bounced back after a Game #1 loss to take Games #2, #3 and total pins. Derrick Grimpo put up the top scores for the Mosque, ending his night with a 404 series. While the teams both share a record of 20-12, the total pins tie-breaker keeps Ground Zero Mosque in 3rd place while Kittens Mittons remain in 4th. These two teams will meet again the week before The Finals.The last time that Drink and Hurl faced opponents Bowl Movement, they took it on the chin and lost 1-3. This time around, however? The Hurler's Jake Parrott put on this week's Most Valuable Bowler performance to reverse his team's fortunes and walk away with a 4-0 matchup victory. Parrott's 467 series pushed his team up into 5th place while Bowl Movement, led this week by Brian Cunningham's 470 series, falls to 6th place. The two teams face one another again on Nov. 16th.Fresh off their three game victory last week against the blind team, Feed the Monkey logged their first sweep of the season and improved their record to include 8 wins. Led by Chris Able and his 372 series, the team now finds themselves a mere five games behind the 6th place team. Could the recharged Monkeys make their way up the league standings? Only time will tell. Only two bowlers made it into The 200 Club this week, both with the same score – Ian Goetz (208) and Kelly Sands (208).For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 8.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Jake Parrott Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Ian Goetz Runner Up: Jake Parrott	#1 H2H BOWLER Ian Goetz Runner Up: Brian Cunningham
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Dammit! Each time we get close to capturing him, that border-crosser up and disappears!" INS Officer Daniel J. Leibowitz, commenting unfavorably on Jason Carpio's no-show on position round night.

Historically, the weeks of the position round and the Finals have the biggest potential for a shake-up in the league standings. A distant third (and fourth) are the weeks preceding those showdowns. For those of you that are new to the league, we'll explain how the position round works.After each team has bowled one another once, the following week is handled a little differently. Rather than starting the schedule over again, teams are pitted against their standings counterpart. So, next week, the first place team will take on the second place team. The team in third will battle the team in fourth. Etc. What these matchups do is add extra pressure onto the team on top to keep their lead while giving the team just beneath them to truly gain some ground. All in all, the position round is typically the second most exciting week of the season. The Finals, however...ahh, yes.So, how did everyone do on Week #7? We'll start out with the matchup between league leaders No Pinheads and Drunk and Hurl. After Game #1's photo finish – in which the Pinheads survived yet another near miss – Aubrey Moren took matters into his own hands and kept his team afloat in first with his 539 series en route to another 4-0 matchup victory. Drink and Hurl, led by Jake Parrott and his 358 series, remain in 6th with a record of 11-17. The team most anxious for the position round is easily the Pin Pricks, who have been chomping at the bit to move into first place. Unfortunately for the Pricks, they'll have to do more work than expected after taking a 3-1 victory over opponents Bowl Movement. Having taken the first two games, led by anchor Ken M. Wilson and his 549 series, The Movement struck back in a big way to take Game #3 while narrowly missing total pins. Lead off bowler Jessica Thomas provided the most fire power for The Movement, ending the night with a 444 series. The Pricks remain in second place, two games back, while Bowl Movement remains in 5th with a record of 13-15. Miracles never cease, right? Right. Just ask Feed the Monkey. After struggling for the first six weeks of the league, they took charge in Week #7 against everyone's favorite opponent – Ray & Stevie – and came away with a 3-1 matchup win. Improving their record to 4-24, led by Chris Able and his 381 series, the team looks to add even more notches to their win column next week when they face Ray & Stevie once again.In what was perhaps a preview of next week, third place Ground Zero Mosque took on fourth place Kitten Mittons. Both teams began the night with a tied record, separated only by a total pins tie-breaker. The night, however, didn't end in a tie mostly due to this week's Most Valuable Bowler and #1 ranked Power Ranking performance by journeyman anchor Jason Carpio. Carpio, after being stung in Game #1 by the Mittons, turned it on with a 593 series to reverse the Mosque's fortunes and end the night 3-1. The Kittens were led by anchor Nick Allegri, who booked a 415 series. The Mosque improves their record to 19-9, a mere four games back from 1st place, while the Mittons remain in 4th with a record of 17-11. Only three bowlers were allowed to take shots this week inside The 200 Club – Aubrey Moren (208), Jason Carpio (210) and Ken M. Wilson (214). For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 7.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Jason Carpio Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Jason Carpio Runner Up: Aubrey Moren	#1 H2H BOWLER Jason Carpio Runner Up: Aubrey Moren
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "What do you expect? He's the Ball Whisperer." Jerry Krall, to Ken while describing Dave Winger's uncanny ability to predict open frames.