The Fall 2013 season kicked off Tuesday night, marking the 28th season of GutterAlley action. Thirty-two bowlers make up eight teams in this session and it's looking like it's going to be a battle every week. Despite the summer hiatus, many bowlers from last season picked right back up where they left off and carried on with their big scores. Buckle up, gang. This is going to be a fun season.In the first matchup of the night, last season's runner-up for the most fun team to face – Split It and Hit It – squared off against Gutterfingers. After dropping the first game, the rollers on Gutterfingers fought back behind a valiant effort from Scott Murdock - who led the team with his 393 series - to takes Games #2 and #3. However, it was all Split It when it came to total pins - thanks to a 416 series from anchor Dennis Blake - that kept them in the matchup to end it at two games apiece. With the 2-2 split, Split begins the season in 5th with Gutterfingers right on their tails in 6th place.On Lanes 41 & 42, last season's cumulative #1 champ Kody Karnes didn't miss a beat by coming right back out to be this season's first #1 Power Ranked bowler with his 690 series for his new team, Breaking Bad. Facing off against Cliff Barendsen and his new Ballz Out crew, Karnes wasted no time in establishing his team as the one to beat with a 4-0 start to take 1st place. Barendsen's 478 series was the top for his crew but it simply wasn't enough to warrant a single win. Ballz Out finds themselves in 8th place to start the season.Down a pair, the two funniest team names this time around faced off against one another. Bewbie Dance took on Even Brunker Than Defore in what came down to the wire to secure the second sweep of the night. Bewbie's anchor Carl Goetz improved with each game en route to his 591 series to overcome a HUGE Game #3 score from Brunker's Eric Lynch (a 232 to cap off his team-leading 536 series) to narrowly pull off the 3-pin victory for the 4-0 matchup victory. The wins debut Bewbie in 2nd while the losses start Even Brunker Than Defore in 7th place.In a rematch of last season's Finals, reigning champs Will Strike if Provoked took on last season's 2nd place finishers Bowltron. The two teams battled one another to a standstill across their matchup, each coming away with two games apiece. Bowltron took Game #1, behind anchor Ryan Doll's 532 series – along with a big performance from this week's Most Valuable Bowler Rob Kaszuba – but the momentum ended there. Aubrey Moren's 565 series for Will Strike earned them the win in Game #2 before Bowltron came back to barely earn the Game #3 victory. Total pins, however, went to Will Strike to even the series. With their wins, Will Strike if Provoked and Bowltron find themselves in 3rd and 4th place respectively. While we really have to wait until the end of Week #3 to see how the divisions are seeded for this season's Tournament of Champions, we still have several people that need to set an average. Bowlers starting out there season with an inaugural trip to The 200 Club this week include: Angela Bradford (201), Aubrey Moren (202), Bill Krejci (234,223), Carl Goetz (212), Eric Lynch (232), Ken M. Wilson (206, 213), Kody Karnes (246, 235, 209), Rob Kaszuba (202), and Seth Gunderson (200).See you next Tuesday!
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#1 POWER BOWLER
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Kody Karnes
Runner Up:
Bill Krejci
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#1 H2H BOWLER
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Kody Karnes
Runner Up:
Bill Krejci
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FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE)
[Insert the sound of his short's zipper being lowered]
Cliff Barendsen, after showing us how his team got its name.
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EXPANDED STANDINGS
Top Individual Achievements for Week 1
Historically, Week #2 provides the wildest results as averages from the initial week are put to the test and those that did really well are battling themselves as well as their competitors. Those who didn't perform up to potential in their initial outing end up being the most dangerous to their opponents – which was the case this week for sure. To top off the most volatile week of the season, every single team shifted places in the league standings. Yes, you read that correctly – everyone moved. To start the evening off, Will Strike if Provoked faced off for the first time this season against opponents Even Brunker Than Defore. In what the teams deemed "the worst rolling they've ever done" – which may be true as nearly every single bowler shot at least two games below their average (if not all three) – all four victories ended up falling into the laps of Will Strike in the first charity sweep of the season. Led by Aubrey Moren and his 487 series, Will Strike moves up one spot into 2nd place. Brunker, led by Eric Lynch and his 419 series, unfortunately continue to seek their first victory of the season and now find themselves in 8th place.Over a pair on Lanes 43 & 44, two powerhouse teams squared off in what would be a tightly fought contest the entire way through. After a perfect 4-0 start last week, Bewbie Dance looked to extend their winning streak but ran into a recharged Bowltron. Led by anchor Ryan Doll and his 577 series, Bowltron managed to reverse Bewbie's fortunes and handed them the polar opposite of their results from last week, sweeping them all four games. With the victories, Bowltron improves to 6-2 and find themselves atop the league standings in 1st place due to total pins. Bewbie, led by Carl Goetz's 570 series, sag down three spots into 5th place at 4-4.Let's face it. Last week, Split It and Hit It's very own Dennis Blake couldn't find his game. This week, though, was an entirely different story. After setting at 138 average last Tuesday, Blake returned to form and lead his team with a 508 series – earning him both #1 Power Ranked bowler and Most Valuable Bowler honors because of it – as his team knocked Breaking Bad from atop their early perch on the league standings with their 3-1 beat down. Ken M. Wilson led Breaking Bad with his 616 series in the losing effort. Split It jumps one spot to take over 4th while Breaking Bad slips two spots down into 3rd place.In the final matchup of the evening, Cliff Barendsen and his Ballz Out earned their first win of the season – along with their second and third – at the expense of opponents Gutterfingers. With Barendsen's 523 series leading the charge (along with an impressive debut from rookie Heather Bruce, who nearly made it onto the Best Subs of All Time list), the Ballz looked poised to earn a clean sweep until debuting anchor Anita Osthoff kept the Gutterfingers being blanked with her 495 series and a Game #3 victory. The wins allow Ballz Out to roll on up two spots into 6th while the Gutterfingers melt down one spot and find themselves sitting in 7th place.We're now two weeks into qualifying for the respective divisions for this season's Tournament of Champions. For fun, you can see where your current average would seed you at the moment but it'll become official after the games next week. Bowlers trying to keep cool in the waning weeks of summer in The 200 Club this week include: Carl Goetz (200, 204), Ken M. Wilson (229), Kody Karnes (206, 225), and Ryan Doll (204).See you next Tuesday!
With the summer drawing to a close it's time to make Tuesday nights fun again as the Fall 2013 season of GutterAlley action gets underway on Tuesday.This season will feature four new recruits making their debut this season! A special welcome to rookies 
