Everyone has now bowled one another once and, with that, the 27th season of GutterAlley action has found itself knotted up in the league standings in one of the closest first halves we've had in quite some time. Heading into the position round next week, a mere two games separate the top five teams in the league. That's pretty close, folks. Ready to see how it all played out? Keep reading...Having finally broken free and taken over 1st place outright last week, Will Strike if Provoked looked to hold onto their position. And while they did come away still in first place by the end of the night, it wasn't without some frustration from opponents Dragon Balls. After losing Games #1 and #2, behind a 547 series performance from the Dragon's anchor Ryan Doll, Will Strike regrouped and pulled off a solitary win to stay ahead of the heap. Both Phil Schroeder and Aubrey Moren shot a 539 series to lead their team in the losing effort. With the wins, Dragon Balls ends up being one of only two teams that moved around in the league standings and finds itself in 2nd place. The two teams will face off against one another in the position round with records of 18-10 and 17-11, respectively.Down a pair on Lanes 43 & 44, four Hall of Famers did battle against one another in what almost ended up being an outright slaughter. Fresh off their ass whooping last week, Snakes on a Lane looked to rebound but quickly derailed at the hands of opponents Three Strikes and You're Out!. Despite throwing the highest series of the evening – a 668 and earning #1 Power Ranked bowler status in the process – Carl Goetz simply received no help from his fellow Snakes as Three Strikes took it to them for a 3-1 matchup victory. Bob Brunker provided the most output for the winning side, ending his night with his best series this season – a 584. Even with the wins, Three Strikes and You're Out remains in 5th place while Snakes on a Lane becomes the only team to fall in the league standings, finding themselves in 4th place now. When you are the team's anchor and find yourself down two bowlers, what do you do? Well, if you are Dennis Blake of Split It and Hit It, you knuckle down and put up this week's Most Valuable Bowler performance. Shooting over his average every game, Blake's 528 series led the way on both sides of the equation en route to the night's lone sweep. The victims this time around were Ballz Out, who are now in the midst of an 8-game losing streak. While Game #2 was won by a mere three pins, the rest of the games weren't even close as Split It improves to a record of 13.5-14.5 good enough to remain in 6th place. They will face Three Strikes and You're Out in the position round. Ballz Out's anchor Cliff Barendsen led his team with a 518 series but continues to struggle to find a way to bring his team to victory...and remains in 8th place.At the far end of the bowling alley, Murder, He Wrote looked to extend their winning streak after last week's sweep. You know how people say that every pin counts? Well, that was certainly the case in Game #1 against opponents Brunk Enough to Dowl. The two teams found themselves tied at 661-661, resulting in a half game victory apiece. Game #2 also came down to the final roll, with the victory going to Murder – compliments of Bill Krejci's team leading 554 series by a margin of only four pins. Game #3 came down to another duel, this time going Brunk Enough's way via the 528 series from Kody Karnes and a 10-pin margin of victory. Total pins went Brunk's way, by six pins, to end it with them taking the series 2.5-1.5. Neither team budged in the league standings – Murder, He Wrote remains in 3rd while Brunk Enough to Dowl continues to reside in 7th place.As a league, we managed to cross the midway point on our way to becoming the season that has seen the most 200+ games. Those contributing this week in The 200 Club include: Angela Bradford (206), Bill Krejci (200), Bob Brunker (204, 223), Carl Goetz (225, 235, 208), Ian Goetz (209), Ken M. Wilson (200), Phil Schroeder (216), and Ryan Doll (203).The Tournament of Champions is back on track now with some changes in the divisional leads. Carl Goetz (13) has taken over the top spot in Division #1 from Ken M. Wilson (12) who has apparently forgotten how to bowl. Division #2 finds a new leader in this week's MVB Dennis Blake (8) while Kody Karnes (6) moves up to tie Cory Chorpenning (6), who has seemingly vanished into thin air the past two weeks. Phil Schroeder (9) and Freda Schroeder (7) continue to rule Division #3 respectively but find Anita Osthoff (7) in a tie for the second spot. Michael Smith continues to hold onto Division #4 but find a new person on his heels, Stephan Miller (7) who inches out Mark DeVoe by a single point.As mentioned on our Facebook page earlier and on the whitesheet Tuesday night, nominations for this season's Hall of Fame induction will close at the end of bowling in the position round. Please, if you haven't already, hop on over and nominate some folks. There are almost 60 bowlers eligible for induction this season but, in the end, there can be only one. Please take a moment and help someone make their way into the Hall this season. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Dennis Blake Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Bob Brunker	#1 H2H BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Dennis Blake
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Jeez, you guys...who do you think you are, the Royals?" Sabrina Gray, commenting on the Snakes' 2-6 record the last two weeks.