On a stormy Tuesday night, nearly the entire league showed up to give it one last shot before heading into the half-way mark of the season – the position round – next week. And while only two teams managed to swap positions in the league standings, the stage has been set for what could definitely be a big shake up. But before all of that mess transpires, let's get into what happened during Week #7 first.After securing a 20-pin victory in Game #1, Bowled to Death found themselves facing a rejuvenated Ballsagna. Led by their anchor Russell Madsen and his 462 series, the Balls managed to reverse their team's fortunes and come away with a 3-1 matchup victory to be the only team to climb up in the league standings this week. Ballsagna finds themselves now in 7th place. Ryan Housknecht, who shot a team leading 420 series, led Bowled to Death in the losing effort. During the matchup, Bowled's Ellen Neidlinger shot her all-time high game – a 155. Bowled to Death slips one spot into 8th place.Make no bones about it, the X-Men's Ryan Doll is having a hell of a season. Rolling the highest series of the night, Doll's 650 easily led his team to a 3-1 victory over opponents Strange Bedfellows. Despite anchor Carl Goetz leading the team with a 560 series – and three games over average from lead-off roller Sabrina Gray, who narrowly missed her all-time highest series – the Bedfellows managed only to escape a sweep with a Game #3 win. Neither team moved up or down in the standings, with the Bedfellows remaining in 3rd while the X-Men cling tightly to 4th place.Perhaps it was the joy of a new granddaughter that drove Dennis "Pops" Laube to his season-high 567 series Tuesday night, but whatever it was certainly worked. Leading the Turkey Hunters with his best series thus far this season, the reigning champions added three more wins to their record to extend their lead over the rest of the league to five games. Opponents ACE²S received the most fire-power from anchor Eric Lynch, who ended his evening with a 438 series. Lynch's teammates Chris Klee and Sarah West ended their nights with new personal bests – Sarah with a new high game (165) and Klee with a new high series (435). The Turkeys remain in 1st while the ACE²S keep a trick up their sleeve in 6th place.You can't spell "victory" with having a T in the middle...and Splits or Swallows very own Teresa Deterding provided such a boost. Earning Most Valuable Bowler honors as well as being the #1 Power Ranked bowler, Deterding led her team with a new personal high 517 series (including her first ever 200+ game!) to a 2-2 deadlock with powerhouse team Brown Belt Jones. Once again led by someone other than their anchor, The Belt was carried this week by Bill Krejci and his 532 series. Splits or Swallows remain in 5th while Brown Belt Jones refuses to budge from 3rd place.Bowlers ducking into the safety of The 200 Club to avoid thunderstorms this week include: Angela Bradford (200), Aubrey Moren (200), Bill Krejci (209), Carl Goetz (214), Dennis "Pops" Laube (211), Ryan Doll (216, 220, 214), and Teresa Deterding (200).The breakdown for the Tournament of Champions this week shows the following: Division 1 finds Carl Goetz and Ryan Doll both with 9 points, Aubrey Moren continues to lead Division 2 with 19 points, Jonathan Vigliaturo increases his lead over Division 3 with 13 points, and Eric Lemmon topping Division 4 with 10 points. The Tournament of Champions will conclude in Week #16, the week of the Finals.And a final note...thanks to everyone that has made a nomination this season for someone to enter the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. The forum to submit a nomination is open and will be until the position round.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Teresa Deterding Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Teresa Deterding Runner Up: Dennis Laube	#1 H2H BOWLER Ryan Doll Runner Up: Dennis Laube
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Fortunately there was a space in-between your legs so I could see your ball." Ken, after trying to watch Carl pick up a single pin spare.

Week 6 of the 25th season was a memorable one in a number of ways: four bowlers shot their career highest games, three bowlers rolled their highest series (including one that is now the 2nd highest in league history), one team tied the all-time record for highest output for a 5-man single game, and a "Hitler Reacts" video were the talk of the evening. Once again, only one team managed to make any headway in the league standings which has a potential for a major reshuffling as we head into the position round two weeks from now. For now, let's just see how everyone did this week...shall we? Despite weeks of speculation as to whether or not he exists, John Haubrich of Splits or Swallows proved that he is indeed for real Tuesday night with his first career Most Valuable Bowler performance. Alongside Jason Carpio's team-leading 571 series, the Swallowers laid waste to opponents ACE²S to earn the lone sweep of the evening. Game #2 was the closest that the victors ever allowed the ACEs to get near them – and that game was settled by a margin of 120 pins. Eric Lynch led his team in the losing effort, ending his night with a 410 series. Split or Swallows ends up being the only team to move up in the league standings this week, climbing one spot up into 5th while the ACE²S trade places with them and wind up in 6th place.The reigning champion Turkey Hunters took on an amped up Brown Belt Jones on lanes 21 & 22 in what was easily the most hostile battle of the evening. After a blowout in Game #1, the Turkeys looked to continue their dominance in the league but found their 10-game win streak snapped by a loss in Game #2. Game #3 came down to an anchor versus anchor showdown in which the Turkey's Aubrey Moren – who shot both his career high games and series (244 and 664, respectively) during the night – easily won. The Belt's third bowler Seth Gunderson led his team for the third straight week, ending his evening with a 586 series. Neither team moved up or down in the standings with the Hunters remaining atop the league standings and Brown Belt Jones still in 3rd place. Six games separate the two teams.You want to talk about some personal bests, let's talk about what happened in the matchup between Bowled to Death and Strange Bedfellows. First off, Bowled's Matt Bell shoots his all time highest game (a 198) and the team wins Game #1. Then, in the next game, Eric Lemmon shoots his highest game (a 190) but the team loses Game #2. Game #3 was when the Bedfellows put their opponents to sleep with the 1-2 punch of Bob Brunker's all-time highest game (a 246) and this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler Carl Goetz and his 735 series – which is the 2nd highest series ever shot in league history. The team also tied the all-time record for highest team score for a single game with their 1041. The Bedfellows added a 3-1 win to their record but still remain in 2nd while Bowled stay put in 7th place.The final matchup of the evening pitted last week's short comers X-Men against the looking-for-wins Ballsagna. Despite a solid start in Games #1 and #2, the X-Men found themselves out bowled by the Balls mainly due to a resurgence by Ballsagna's newly repositioned lead off bowler, Orion Kinkaid. With a team-leading 428 series, Orion managed to stop the X-Men from completely overpowering them to stave off being swept. The biggest X throwing X's this week was, once again, anchor Ryan Doll whose 571 series blazed the path for his team's 3-1 win. The positive notches increase the X-Men's win record into the positive but they remain steady in 4th place. Ballsagna, despite the win, remain in 8th place with a record of 5-19 so far this season.Bowlers goose stepping their way into The 200 Club this week include: Aubrey Moren (244, 234), Bill Krejci (201), Bob Brunker (246), Carl Goetz (226, 264, 245), Freda Schroeder (209), Ian Goetz (201), Jason Carpio (208, 224), Ken M. Wilson (214, 205, 233), Phil Schroeder (214), Ryan Doll (222), and Seth Gunderson (204, 206).The breakdown for the Tournament of Champions this week shows the following: Division 1 sees a new leader in Carl Goetz with 9 points, Division 2's Aubrey Moren with 18 points, Jonathan Vigliaturo leading Division 3 with 12 points, and Eric Lemmon topping Division 4 with 9 points. The Tournament of Champions will conclude in Week #16, the week of the Finals.GutterAlley would like to congratulation league luminary – and new Mommy! – Janelle "Nellie" (Laube) Lamar on the birth of her little girl, Autumn Rose. The little future bowler was born on Valentine's Day and both mother and baby are doing very well. Congrats, Nellie!And a final note...thanks to everyone that has made a nomination this season for someone to enter the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. The forum to submit a nomination is open and will be until the position round.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB John Haubrich Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Aubrey Moren	#1 H2H BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Aubrey Moren
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Oh, the Hitler video you enjoyed but THAT line gets to you?" Carl Goetz, upon seeing Ian shoot Ken a look fresh after his "THERE'S an anchor" comment.

Love was in the air Tuesday night on the lanes of GutterAlley as a sizable number of bowlers showed up to do battle. Although only two teams managed to move at all in the standings, three teams are making a play to extend their leads over the rest of the league. Sure, it's early, but we've seen teams build momentum near the beginning of a season that they carry throughout. Let's get to the recap...The Strange Bedfellows fell in love with this week's Most Valuable Bowler – and the most recent Hall of Fame inductee – Carl Goetz all over again. Hoisting a team leading 632 series, the Bedfellows made a meal out of Ballsagna. Despite a 415 series out of substitute anchor AJ Taylor, the Balls didn't notch a single victory. Game #3 ended on an odd note, though, as an intentional double gutter from Joe Longstreet shifted momentum from the Balls over into the Bedfellows favor. If not for the gutters, the Bedfellows would not have added a sweep to their win record. The Bedfellows remain in 2nd while Ballsagna slips a spot into 8th place.As the X-Men's Ryan Doll can attest to last night - "when you're hot, you're hot." Hotness on the lanes, however, doesn't always guarantee victories in the end. Putting up his second highest series of his career – and the highest scratch series shot this season – Doll's 690 series was the best of the best. Bowled to Death, however, came away with a 3-1 matchup victory with Matt Bell leading the charge with his 444 series and cooled the X-Men's recent momentum. The wins also made Bowled to Death the only team that managed to move up in the league standings this week, hopping up into 7th place. The X-Men remain in 4th place.What has gotten into this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler, Aubrey Moren?!? Having been promoted last season into the anchor spot, Moren led The Turkey Hunters with a 621 series to a clean sweep over opponents Splits or Swallows. This extends the Turkeys' win streak to nine games, the longest this season thus far. The Splits' Jason Carpio contributed the most fire power to his team and ended his night with a 595 series in the losing effort. The Turkey Hunters remain three games ahead of the league in 1st while Splits or Swallows continues at a medium pace in 6th place.Despite want ads being placed in local newspapers for an anchor, the members Brown Belt Jones continue to add wins to their record while the position is looking to be filled. Middle bowler Seth Gunderson led The Belt with a 555 series in their 3-1 matchup win over opponents ACE²S. The ace of the ACE²S was Eric Lynch, who is quickly returning to his old self. Raising his average five pins, Lynch's 495 series was the biggest output for his team but it couldn't muster more than just a single win. The Belt remains in 3rd while the ACE²S gain ground but remain in 5th place.Bowlers reuniting this week with their longest love – a 200+ game – in The 200 Club include: Angela Bradford (211), Aubrey Moren (243, 226), Carl Goetz (204, 224, 204), Ian Goetz (212), Jason Carpio (235), Ken M. Wilson (204), Ryan Doll (244, 216, 230), and Seth Gunderson (210).For those of you that were following the Tournament of Champions this week, the full breakdown can be found by visiting that section of the site. A quick recap, however, finds Ken M. Wilson barely leading Division 1 with 7 points, Aubrey Moren dominating Division 2 with 12 points, Jonathan Vigliaturo crushing the competition in Division 3 with 12 points, and Russell Madsen and Eric Lynch tied as the top dogs in Division 4 with 6 points apiece. The Tournament of Champions will conclude in Week #16, the week of the Finals.And a final note...thanks to everyone that has made a nomination this season for someone to enter the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. The forum to submit a nomination is open and will be until the position round.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Carl Goetz Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Ryan Doll	#1 H2H BOWLER Ryan Doll Runner Up: Carl Goetz
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Christ! It was so easy for everyone to get something up in there. Why is it taking so long to get something out?!?" Dennis Laube, commenting about his expectant daughter Janelle still being in labor.

Tuesday night welcomed a number of higher-than-usual games, including some personal bests set around the league. While only two teams managed to exchange spots in the league standings, some ground was gained by several teams. League mystery John Haubrich also managed to make his debut in the league – welcome, John! Week #4 also saw the first actual Tournament of Champions in action, but we'll cover that here in a little bit. Ready to hear how the actual action went down? Let's do this, then.In the first matchup of the night, Ryan Doll of the X-Men decided to make a big statement. After dominating opponents Splits or Swallows in Game #1, the team suffered a misstep in Game #2 – primarily due to Teresa Deterding's near personal-best 173 and AJ Hofmann's team-leading 437 series – the X-Men struck back to take Game #3 and total pins for a 3-1 matchup victory. Game #3 was settled by a mere three pins. Doll, this week's Most Valuable Bowler, led his team with a 633 series. The wins keep the X-Men in 4th while Splits or Swallows slips a spot down into 6th place.It helps to have some ACE²S up your sleeve when facing Ballsagna's Russell Madsen on his best night ever in the league. Despite Madsen shooting his personal best series (a 474) to lead Ballsagna, the night belonged to Eric Lynch and the members of ACE²S. With a 457 series out of Lynch – and a game 84 pin game above her average by Alexandra Avila – the Aces rolled right over Ballsagna for a 3-1 matchup win. The wins push ACE²S up a spot in the league standings into 5th while Ballsagna holds steady in 7th place.Before bowling began, this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler Jonathan Vigliaturo had one wish – to hit the pocket. Boy, did he. Shooting both his highest game ever (219) along with his highest series (538), Vigliaturo found help from league legend and fellow Brown Belt Jones teammate Seth Gunderson, who destroyed the competition with his own personal new high score – the highest game thrown yet this season – a 262. After being handed a near 200-pin rout in Game #1, Strange Bedfellows's Ken M. Wilson decided enough was enough and put up a 634 series to bring the team back to a 2-2 split with victories in Games #2 and #3. Total pins was easily won by The Belt. Neither team move in the standings, with Strange Bedfellows and Brown Belt Jones remaining in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.The final matchup of the night took place down on Lanes 25 & 26 and saw Bowled to Death facing up against reigning league champs The Turkey Hunters. With each game close heading into the final frames, the resilience of the champs was too much to overcome and Bowled to Death died an 0-4 death. Led by anchor Aubrey Moren's 561 series, the Turkeys hold onto their 1st place position with the league's best record at 14-2 and increase their lead over the league to three games. Bowled, led by sub Matt Hile's 413 series, find themselves with a 1-15 record after four weeks and remain in 8th place. Bowlers finding their own shadows darkening the doorsteps of The 200 Club this week include: Aubrey Moren (200), Carl Goetz (229, 209), Ian Goetz (225), Jonathan Vigliaturo (219), Ken M. Wilson (244), Rob Kaszuba (214), Ryan Doll (236, 201), and Seth Gunderson (262).For those of you that were following the Tournament of Champions this week, the full breakdown can be found by visiting that section of the site. A quick recap, however, finds Ken M. Wilson leading Division 1, Aubrey Moren in the lead over Division 2, Jonathan Vigliaturo the big winner in Division 3, and Russell Madsen the top dog in Division 4. Each has six points. The Tournament of Champions will conclude in Week #16, the week of the Finals.And a final note...thanks to everyone that has made a nomination this season for someone to enter the GutterAlley Hall of Fame. The forum to submit a nomination is open and will be until the position round.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Ryan Doll Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Jonathan Vigliaturo Runner Up: Russell Madsen	#1 H2H BOWLER Ryan Doll Runner Up: Ken M. Wilson
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Hey! There's just too many balls up on this rack." Sabrina Gray, after noticing that the bowling ball return was jamming up.

During the third week of GutterAlley's 25th season, only one team managed to hold onto its position in the league standings. Everyone else moved up or down one spot with one team slipping down two. Surprisingly, the team that didn't move After setting a 166 average last week, Brown Belt Jones' Bill Krejci figured it was time to raise that somewhat. And raise it, he did. Shooting a demonic 666 series – and earning both the Most Valuable Bowler and #1 Power Ranked bowler nods in the process – Krejci showed 'em how it was done en route to the night's only sweep. Opponents Bowled to Death, led this week by Ryan Housknecht and his 409 series, simply could not find the firepower to stop Bill and band. The four wins keep Brown Belt Jones in 3rd while the four losses drop Bowled to Death down one into 8th place.After beginning their season with a perfect 8-0 start, the Strange Bedfellows found their first, second, and third losses at the hands of reigning champs The Turkey Hunters. Led by Phil Schroeder's 524 series, the Turkeys took flight and landed in first place with their 3-1 matchup victory. The Bedfellows' Carl Goetz booked a 655 series in the losing effort. The Turkey Hunters improve to the league's best record of 10-2 while the Strange Bedfellows slip one spot down into 2nd place a mere one game behind.After taking a 101-pin thumping in Game #1, the men of Ballsagna took matters into their own hands (gently, mind you) and reversed their fortunes as the night rolled on. Led by Russell Madsen's 390 series, Ballsagna managed to secure Games #2 and #3 but dropped total pins in the end. The biggest output from Splits or Swallows came from Mike Berlin this week, who led the gang with a 493 series. The teams, splitting the matchup 2-2, both move up one spot in the league standings. Splits or Swallows chokes up to 5th while Ballsagna rolls into 7th place.The final matchup of the evening took place down on lanes 25 & 26 with the closest games of the night, the majority of which were settled by just a mark or two. After taking Game #1, the X-Men found themselves in familiar territory, being led by anchor Ryan Doll (who would end the night with a 551 series. The ACE²S managed to steal Game #2 from them, with anchor Eric Lynch getting more comfortable with his new bowling ball and shooting a 456 series. Enough was enough, however, and the X-Men finished them off in Game #3...taking total pins as well by a mere five pins for a 3-1 win overall. The X-Men move up into 4th while the ACE²S slip two spots into 6th place.Bowlers making sure that Ken doesn't get to come into The 200 Club to celebrate a damn thing include: Bill Krejci (247, 221), and Carl Goetz (215, 215, 225), For those of you that are interested, we're giving you until the end of next week to sign up for this season's Tournament of Champions. Sign-ups sheets were available down on the lanes this week and will be present next week for the final time. It's only a mere one-time-fee of $2 to participate so give it a go if you'd like. Questions? Drop a line to Ken or Scoot.Also, the GutterAlley Hall of Fame is currently taking nominations for this season's enshrinee. As those of you that rolled in our last session, Carl Goetz was the latest addition to the Hall. Who will make it in this season? Only time will tell. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Bill Krejci Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Bill Krejci Runner Up: Carl Goetz	#1 H2H BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Bill Krejci
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "...birthday to me, ...birthday to me, it would have been happier, if we hadn't lost three." Ken M. Wilson, serenading himself after costing his team big Tuesday night.