The fifth installment of "The 11th Frame" features some interesting nuggets from our Top 25s collection, covering the accolades (and disappointments) of our current and not so-current league rollers.As mentioned already in this week's write-up – Phil Schroeder and Ken M. Wilson both kept their respective teams knotted in a tie in first place the week before they finally meet up in regular season play. Wondering what else happened that you probably didn't know about? Check this out:INDIVIDUALS: Read the rest of this entry »

With a huge snowstorm scheduled to hit Kansas City this week, the fire from the lanes of Week #5 GutterAlley action could easily melt it away. This season continues to be one of the best in the league's history as another twelve 200+ games were added to the overall tally, bringing our collective total up to 74 in the first five weeks (the all-time record is 183 rolled in the Spring 2007 session). Despite the big scores, only two teams managed to move in the league standings with everyone else pretty much staying put. Ready to get into the details? Read on...The last time the core of these two teams met, it was their winner-take-all battle for the Fall 2012 title with the guys splitting the series at 2-games apiece. Some things never change. After taking Game #1 behind anchor Ryan Doll's 615 series, Dragon Balls jumped out to an early lead. That's when Snakes on a Lane's seemingly possessed Ken M. Wilson took over. Nearly rolling a perfect game – he threw 11 strikes total along with a single spare in the third frame – Wilson propelled his team to a huge Game #2 victory with his 764 series, the second highest in league history, while earning #1 Power Ranked bowler honors along the way. Game #3 came down to a 10th frame showdown with Doll outpacing the Snakes' anchor Carl Goetz to seal the victory. Total pins, however, went to the Snakes to split the matchup at 2-2 each. Wilson and crew remain in 1st by total pins while Dragon Balls fall one spot into 5th place.Last week, Will Strike if Provoked's Phil Schroeder led his team with a 566 series. For his encore performance, this week's Most Valuable Bowler once again shot a 566 series – this time against opponents Three Strikes and You're Out!. Phil's MVB nod, the 12th in his career, ties him for the most MVBs in league history with Jason Carpio. After taking the first two games in the 10th frame, Will Strike found some resistance in the form of Three Strikes' Angela Bradford. Rolling her personal best game of the season so far – a 208 – Bradford swung the tide in the matchup to not only take Game #3 but total pins as well. AB's 538 series now leads the season for Women's High Series Scratch. With the two wins each, Will Strike if Provoked remains in 2nd with Three Strikes & You're Out a game behind them in 3rd place.Jokingly referred to as "The Battle for Last Place" by Kody Karnes before the night began, the 7th place Brunk Enough to Dowl took on 8th place Ballz Out on Lanes 45 & 46...and while neither team ended up moving at all in the league standings, the distance between the two has narrowed significantly. Games #1 and #2 went easily to Ballz Out, with the team's anchor Cliff Barendsen putting up the most fire power with his 584 series. Karnes, easily this season's top Rookie of the Season contender, put up a 635 series to keep his team in the fight and took Game #3 to keep from getting blanked. Total pins went to Ballz Out by a sizable margin. Ballz Out improves to 5-15 on the season as compared to Brunk Enough's 6-14 record. The final matchup of the night found Murder, He Wrote needing to bounce back after back-to-back beat downs the previous two weeks. The victims they put into their crosshairs? The men of Split It and Hit It. With anchor Bill Krejci putting up a 611 series, Murder, He Wrote emphatically took both Games #1 and #2. On the verge of being swept, Split It's Matt Bunyard put up his highest game to date in the league – a 181 – to stave off the Murderous onslaught. Dennis Blake put up the biggest series for Split It & Hit It, a 490. Despite the 100+ pin margin of victory in Game #3, total pins still went to Murder, He Wrote, who remains in 4th place. Split It & Hit It remain in 6th place, just a single game ahead of the team in seventh.Bowlers wondering if this season will see the most business within The 200 Club include: Angela Bradford (208), Bill Krejci (235), Cliff Barendsen (211), Ian Goetz (213, 212), Ken M. Wilson (236, 279, 249), Kody Karnes (212, 256), Phil Schroeder (207), and Ryan Doll (243).The second week of Tournament of Champions action is now in the books, with Division #1 still being dominated by Wilson (12) with Cliff Barendsen (4) behind him. Even with an off night, Cory Chorpenning (6) continues to be the tops in Division #2 with Kody Karnes (4) in second. Division #3 saw Phil Schroeder (9) leapfrog closest competitor Freda Schroeder (7) while Division #4's absent Mark DeVoe (6) managed to remain ahead of the rest of the pack. Michael Smith (3) and Sarah West (3) finish off the biggest point getters in the fourth division. Nominations for this season's Hall of Fame inductee are still open and accepting bids for the next several weeks. We have 59 people eligible for enshrinement but only one will officially make it in this season. Please take a moment to nominate a person who you think is worthy. Thank you!See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Phil Schroeder Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Ken Wilson Runner Up: Kody Karnes	#1 H2H BOWLER Ken M. Wilson Runner Up: Phil Schroeder
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Well, thank God I'm bowling Cory in the first round!" Scott Murdock, after checking on his ToC seeding matchup and seeing Chorpenning's 106 score.

The fourth installment of "The 11th Frame" features some interesting nuggets from our Top 25s across current (and not so-current) league rollers.As mentioned already in this week's write-up – Cory Chorpenning was both the #1 Power Ranked Bowler and MVB in his best individual performance since returning to the league after a 3-year absence. Wondering what else happened that you probably didn't know about? Check this out:INDIVIDUALS: Read the rest of this entry »

We're now a solid month into the league and the knot of four teams at the top of the league standings from last week has now been narrowed down to two. Aside from that, an incredible amount of 200+ games were thrown during Week #4 action that may be an all-time league record...and the Tournament of Champions officially got underway. Ready to hear how it all went down? Us, too.The first matchup of the night featured a tightly fought contest between Three Strikes and You're Out! and opponents Brunk Enough to Dowl. After holding on to a Game #1 victory – led this week by new ball rollin' Bob Brunker and his 522 series, Brunk Enough's Kody Karnes hoisted a career best 651 series to even the series up at a game apiece in Game #2. Game #3, as well as total pins, came down to the wire with Three Strikes sending Brunk Enough off to sober up with a 12-pin win for the game and total pins by seven. Talk about a close finish! Three Strikes takes their 3-1 output and move up a spot to 3rd while Brunk Enough to Bowl slips one spot into 7th place.Down on Lanes 43 & 44, Split It and Hit It decided to have some fun at opponents' Dragon Balls expense. After taking Game #1 by a margin of 60+, Split It – led by anchor Dennis Blake and his 513 series – seemed poised to upset the powerhouse Dragons. That's when last week's MVB Neil Rieger took over and kept that from happening. Evening the score with a Game #2 3-pin win, Rieger went on to lead the Dragons with his 553 series and took Game #3 as well. Total pins, however, went to Split It to end the night with each team adding 2-2 to their records. Both teams move up one spot in the standings with the Dragon Balls taking over 4th and Split It and Hit It climbing to 6th place.For those of you that have been in the league for a long time, it's well known that Cory Chorpenning is one of the best bowlers around. Despite making his return to the league last season, Cory truly showed up Tuesday night against opponents Murder, He Wrote to earn both Most Valuable Bowler and #1 Power Ranked bowler honors en route to a 4-0 sweep over the competition. Chorpenning's 670 series – combined with Ken M. Wilson's team- and season-leading 683 – proved to be too much for Murder, who never managed to get off the ground. The Snakes, improving to 12-4 on the season, remain in first place by a total pins margin of 1,500+. Murder's Seth Gunderson led his team with a 480 series but falls three spots down into 5th place.Let's face it, Will Strike if Provoked put up numbers tonight that Ballz Out simply couldn't compete with down on the final pair of lanes. Putting up some of their highest scores to date, Will Strike simply dominated the matchup from start to finish. Led by lead off roller Phil Schroeder and his 566 series, every single member of the team put up at least one 200+ game on their way to a 4-0 matchup victory and climbing one spot into 2nd place. The Ballz' anchor Cliff Barendsen led his team with a 509 series but failed to put a dent in Will Strike's big performance. Ballz Out remains in 8th place.Bowlers openly wondering how a certain someone managed to make it past the doorman in front of The 200 Club this week include: Aubrey Moren (224), Bob Brunker (203), Carl Goetz (228), Cory Chorpenning (202, 244, 224), Dennis "Pops" Laube (214), Freda Schroeder (211), Ian Goetz (215, 203), Ken M. Wilson (236, 236, 211), Kody Karnes (227, 227), Neil Rieger (237), Phil Schroeder (204), and Ryan Doll (214).The first week of the Tournament of Champions is off and running with the first four winners racing out ahead in their respective divisions. Ken M. Wilson (6 points) took Division #1 this week with Ryan Doll (3) right after him. Division #2 was convincingly handled by Cory Chorpenning (6) followed by Neil Rieger (3). Keeping it in the family, Division #3 starts out led by Freda Schroeder (6) with Phil Schroeder (3) on her tail. Mark DeVoe (6) takes the lead in Division #4 with Sarah West (3) chasing. The GutterAlley Hall of Fame is currently accepting nominations across the field of 59 eligible bowlers. Was Cory's outstanding performance enough to warrant you to cast a nomination? It only takes a minute and is relatively painless. We promise. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Cory Chorpenning Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Cory Chorpenning Runner Up: Kody Karnes	#1 H2H BOWLER Cory Chorpenning Runner Up: Kody Karnes
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Aren't you happy that we're not viewed as the biggest dicks in the league right now?" Ken M. Wilson, shaking Carl's hand, after Ian mock-congratulated Doll for shooting a 139 in Game #3.

The third installment of "The 11th Frame" features some interesting nuggets from our Top 25s across current (and not so-current) league rollers.As mentioned already in this week's write-up – Neil Rieger and Angela Bradford were the #1 Power Ranked Bowler and MVB, respectively, while four teams are all now sitting atop the league standings with records of 8-4. Wondering what else happened that you probably didn't know about? Check this out:INDIVIDUALS: Read the rest of this entry »

With nine games under their collective belts, the top four teams in the 27th season of GutterAlley action have quickly found themselves knotted up with records of 8-4. Granted, the league is just truly getting underway, but it's pretty apparent that it'll be a fun ride leading up to the position round in Week #8. With only two exceptions, every single team moved into a new spot in the league standings. Buckle up, fans...it's on.The first matchup of the night featured Murder, He Wrote against Will Strike if Provoked. After one of the best starts in league history, Murder quickly found themselves derailed as Will Strike – led by Aubrey Moren and his 597 series – handily took Games #1 and #2 in 100+ pin blowouts. Game #3, however, came down to the wire with Murder barely holding on for a 5-pin win in their 10th frame showdown. Seth Gunderson led Murder with his 550 series in the losing effort. With their 3-1 victory, Will Strike evens their record with Murder, He Wrote at 8-4 apiece. Due to total pins, however, Murder finds itself in 2nd while Will Strike sits in 3rd place. After avoiding a sweep at the hands of their opponents last week, Snakes on a Lane bounced back big to log their first sweep of the season. With Ken M. Wilson leading the way with his 613 series, the Snakes put a 4-0 beat down on Ballz Out in a fairly calm matchup. The Ballz' anchor Cliff Barendsen led the team with his 556 series but it simply wasn't enough to stop the slithering Snakes. The wins – and their total pins – put Snakes on a Lane at 8-4 and atop the league standings in 1st while Ballz Out remains firmly planted in 8th place with a record of 2-10.Down in Lanes 45 & 46, Neil Rieger of Dragon Balls decided to improve his legacy as he winds down his time within the league. Moving to California in the near future, Rieger used Tuesday night to not only lead his team with a 610 series but also earn #1 Power Ranked bowler honors at the same time. Opponents Brunk Enough to Dowl, led by rookie sensation Kody Karnes and his 605 series, took Game #1 before the Dragon Balls reversed the tables and rolled to a 3-1 matchup win. Both teams moved up one spot in the standings with the Dragons climbing to 5th and Brunk Enough up a spot into 6th place.After a slow start this season, the ladies of Three Strikes and You're Out! put on a clinic against the men of Split It and Hit It in a 4-0 win on the final pair of lanes. After squeaking by with a 2-pin win in Game #1, it was all downhill for the Splits as this week's Most Valuable Bowler Angela Bradford led the Strikes with her 516 series. Dennis Blake provided the most firepower for Split It and Hit it with his 529 series but couldn't stop Bradford and crew. Despite the victories, Three Strikes and You're Out remains in 4th while Split It and Hit It drop two spots into 6th place.Bowlers having to go to The 200 Club for decent beer this week include: Aubrey Moren (248, 202), Carl Goetz (222), Cliff Barendsen (204), Cory Chorpenning (227), Ian Goetz (220, 226), Ken M. Wilson (226, 203), Kody Karnes (225), Neil Rieger (213, 215), Ryan Doll (212, 212), and Seth Gunderson (211).With Week #3 completed, the divisions of Tournament of Champions have now officially been set with everyone seeded according to their current average. The weekly battles will commence next week with the white sheets provided by Scoot on each lane so that you can keep track of the outcomes as the night progresses. Good luck to everyone!See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Angela Bradford Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Neil Rieger Runner Up: Kody Karnes	#1 H2H BOWLER Kody Karnes Runner Up: Neil Rieger
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "YES! I'm ahead of AB and Pops due to my higher average. Man, do those two suuuuuck!" Scott Murdock, upon seeing his placement within the Tournament of Champions seeding.