Week 13 is now in the books and with it came the largest shakeup in the league standings in quite a long time. Almost half the league swapped places while the top three teams remained firmly in their respective spots. The big winner this week was a team that, until last week, had been on a massive tear and climbed from 6th to 4th place. Want to know the specifics? Read on...With their eyes on climbing into second place, Ground Zero Mosque stared down the most surprising opponent all season -- the blind team, aka themselves. After dropping Game #1 by a surprising margin, the team regrouped under the leadership of Jason Carpio's 547 series and came away with a 3-1 victory. The team, although still in 3rd place, close the gap to half a game separating them from the team in second. Fourth place was, until this week, the official hangout of Kitten Mittons. Having held onto the spot since Week #5, the Mittons had weathered storm after storm until they finally succumbed to a surprising 2-2 split with Feed the Monkey and slipped one spot into 5th place. Nick Allegri put up the top numbers for the Mittons, ending his night with a 450 series. The Monkeys, led by Chris Able's 410 series, remain in seventh. Ignoring their results from last week, Bowl Movement returned to their winning ways and walked away with the week's only 4-0 outcome. Punishing Drink and Hurl the most was The Movement's Jerry Krall's 440 series. The wins propel Krall and crew up into 4th place. The Hurler's Rick Heckadon provided the most firepower for his team – a 397 – but it simply wasn't enough to turn the tables. Drink and Hurl drop down into 6th place.In one of the most hotly anticipated matchups of the second half of the season, the top two teams in the league faced off for the third time. No Pinheads and the Pin Pricks ended up gaining no ground against one another, ending the night in a 2-2 split. With the Pinhead's Freda Schroeder's 511 series winning them Game #1, it took the Most Valuable Bowler performance of the Pricks' David Codding – who shot the night's highest series, a 633 – to end the battle in a standstill. To give an indication as to how closely fought this matchup was...total pins was settled by a single pin. The two teams remain in their respective spots.Only three bowlers were allowed to duck into The 200 Club this week. They were: David Codding (227, 211), Jason Carpio (202) and Ken M. Wilson (214, 227).For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 13.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB David Codding Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER David Codding Runner Up: Ken Wilson	#1 H2H BOWLER David Codding Runner Up: Jason Carpio
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "I told Ken about our ass douche conversation." Ian Goetz, retelling a tale about a name calling father-son conversation he had had earlier Tuesday.

One month from today, the seven teams of the VML Bowling League will square off one last time in the Finals. While there has not been any real movement in the standings for several weeks now, time is starting to truly run out as the distances between win records continue to shift. Three teams appear to have put themselves out of reach as the season winds down...with one of those teams gaining ground each week.The last time that the current league leaders Pin Pricks met up against opponents Kitten Mittons, it proved to be a slug fest ending in a 2-2 split. After dropping Game #1 this time around, Prick Carl Goetz decided to take matters into his own hands and beat the competition 3-1 with his 609 series. Kelly Sands of the Mittons hoisted a team-leading 406 series to secure the team's lone win of the night. The Pricks remain in first by 4.5 games while the Mittons remain in 4th, albeit with a total pins tie.If any team's run could be equated to that of a yoyo, it's definitely Drink and Hurl. Led by lead-off bowler Jake Parrott and his 441 series, the Hurlers whooped up on the blind team in a clean sweep and hopped one place up into 5th place. The interesting thing to note here is that their record is now the same as 4th place's Kitten Mittons...with only total pins separating them.When second place No Pinheads began their matchup against 7th place Feed the Monkey, past history seemed to point to a sweep in favor of the Pinheads. Such was not the case Tuesday night. Pushing them to the brink in Game #1, the Monkeys – led by Chris Able and his 365 series – almost came away with the victory but fell to the Pinheads by a mere 8 pins. Dennis "Pops" Laube provided the most firepower for the Pinheads to keep them in the lead throughout the night. It wasn't until Game #3 that the Monkeys were able to regain the momentum they started the evening off with and secured their lone win of the night. Both teams remain in their respective spots in the standings, the Pinheads in 2nd and the Monkeys in 7th place.Things look to be on the way up for the men of Ground Zero Mosque. Continuing their Hail Mary run here at the end of the season, the team added four more victories to their record at the expense of Bowl Movement. Led by this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler Scott Murdock and his 528 series – combined with the Most Valuable Bowler performance from teammate AJ Hofmann – the Mosque continues to experience winning bliss as they eye moving into 2nd place very soon. Jessica Thomas had the top series for the Movement, ending her night with a 411 series. Ground Zero remains in 3rd while Bowl Movement slips one spot down to 6th place.Bowlers wondering how the hell Scoot made it into The 200 Club this week include: Carl Goetz (211, 238) and Ken M. Wilson (208). Scott Murdock proudly enjoyed his first drink this season within The 200 Club after having rolled a 212. For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 12.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB AJ Hofmann Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Scott Murdock Runner Up: Carl Goetz	#1 H2H BOWLER Ken M. Wilson Runner Up: Dennis Laube
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "He doesn't recognize cute women...only beer." AJ Hoffman, explaining why Scoot wasn't able to tell the two female bowling alley employees apart that had been serving them beer.

Week 11 is now in the books and with it comes what appears to be very little change. As has been the case many times this season, not a single team has swapped places in the league standings. However, the distance between teams has narrowed quite a bit in some places and made vast improvements in others. The first place team now enjoys its largest lead to date this season while a game and a half separates 2nd and 3rd place. With a mere five weeks until the Finals, it's anyone's guess as to which team will gain the most ground before the big day.The last time that Ground Zero Mosque found themselves up against No Pinheads, the then-league leaders beat the Mosque members like a red headed step-child. This time, however? It was an entirely different story. Led by Jason Carpio and his 471 series, Ground Zero pulled off a 3-1 upset over the Pinheads and move within a game and a half of overtaking them in the league standings. This marks the second week in a row in which Ground Zero has gained ground against the two teams ahead of them. The Pinheads, who received their highest output compliments of Dennis "Pops" Laube and his 474 series, remain in second place nonetheless. One team that has been quietly racking up victory after victory is Bowl Movement. Entering this week on an 8-game win streak, Movement added two more for a total of ten games won in a row before being surprised by Feed the Monkey in Game #3. Led by Chris Able's 442 series, the Monkeys were able to stop Bowl Movement's win streak with a seven pin victory. Jessica Thomas of the Movement provided the most fire-power in their 3-1 matchup victory, ending her night with an impressive 505 series – the women's highest scratch series so far this season. Bowl Movement remains in 5th place but inches up to be a half a game back from fourth. The Monkeys remain in their 7th place cage.The league is already in agreement that the members of the Pin Pricks live up to their name. To add even more validity to this claim, the Pricks showed absolutely no mercy whatsoever against the league's lone blind team. Putting up the 2nd highest team series in league history in Game #3 – missing the all-time mark by 18 pins – the team took a 4-0 win over themselves, extending their lead out in first place to 4.5 games. David Codding led the team with a 658 series.The bowlers of Drink and Hurl have been all over the league standings this season. Reaching as high as 3rd place at one time, the team has been the lone team that has broken the "no teams are moving" curse over the past month. Facing the team two spots – and two games – ahead of them in the standings seemed like the most opportune time to turn on the heat. Well, that was until they ran into Kitten Mittons' anchor Nick Allegri and this week's Most Valuable Bowler Alison Radke. With Allegri's team-leading 470 series, coupled with Radke's well-above average performance, the Mittons held onto their 4th place spot by adding a 2.5-1.5 matchup victory to their tally. The Hurlers' Aaron Chandler put up his personal best series all season – a 462 – and it helped turn the tide for the night after losing Games #1 and #2. The teams tied total pins. Bowlers ducking into The 200 Club this week include a bunch of Pricks: Carl Goetz (209, 212), David Codding (224, 228, 206), Ian Goetz (212, 232) and Ken M. Wilson (215). For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 11.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Alison Radke Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER David Codding Runner Up: Aaron Chandler	#1 H2H BOWLER David Codding Runner Up: Aaron Chandler
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Yeah, a hate crime!" Jason Carpio, after he was told to think about what had just happened after David Codding playfully faked punching him in the stomach.

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.

Six weeks ago, seven teams embarked on a journey to take the title in the VML Bowling League. With the midway point quickly approaching, four of those teams seem to be distancing themselves from the rest of the pack en route to what should be an exciting position round on October 12th. While there was no change whatsoever in the top four spots on the standings, the gap between first place has been narrowed even more. Want to know how everyone did? Well, read on...When will someone be nice to the monkeys?!? You certainly can't count on Ground Zero Mosque to do so, at least not this week. Facing the 7th place Feed the Monkey team, the Zeroes wasted no time in dishing out a 4-0 beat down over their competition. Led by anchor Jason Carpio's 516 series, the Zeroes remain in the hunt by improving their record to 16-8 for the season while remaining in 3rd place. The Monkeys, once again led by Chris Able – who booked a 458 series for the night – came up short and continue to hold the league's worst record at 1-23. Things look brighter next week for the Monkeys as they face everyone's favorite competitors, Ray & Stevie.Electing to post-bowl for their second and final time this season was Kitten Mittons, whose scores ended up as we predicted. Winning all four against the blind team, the Mittons – led by anchor Nick Allegri's 474 series – easily earned their four wins and remain in 4th place with a record of 16-8.Down on lanes #19 & 20, the Pin Pricks faced opponents Drink and Hurl for the first time this season. With each game coming down to the wire, the Pricks managed to get the best of the Hurlers when it counted the most. Leading the team this week was anchor Ken M. Wilson, who ended his night with a 622 series (shut up, Ian!) and earned Most Valuable Bowler honors as well as the #1 Power Ranking spot for Week #6 for his performance. The Pricks improve to 18-6 and are now one game back from first place. The Hurlers, who were led by lead off bowler Jake Parrott and his 433 series, came up short and remain in 6th place with a record of 11-13. Everyone will hear the old phrase "every pin counts!" at least once in their lives as a member of any bowling league. Such was the case for league leaders No Pinheads as they narrowly took a 3-1 matchup victory over opponents Bowl Movement Tuesday night. After emphatically taking Game #1, the second game down to the wire and was decided by a mere 2 pins. Bowl Movement was able to continue their momentum in Game #3 – mainly due to a 470 series performance from Brian Cunningham – to steal the victory and improve their record to 12-12 on the season. The Pinheads were led by Phil Schroeder, who rolled a 526 series. The Pinheads remain atop the league standings while Bowl Movement remains in 5th place. Bowlers slipping into The 200 Club this week include: Carl Goetz (208, 204), David Codding, (214, 217), Ken M. Wilson (215, 213) and Phil Schroeder (201).For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 6.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Ken M. Wilson Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Ken Wilson Runner Up: David Codding	#1 H2H BOWLER Ken M. Wilson Runner Up: Phil Schroeder
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Talk about an aptly named team...'specially that tall guy." Aaron Chandler, after falling 0-4 to the Pin Pricks.

If historians ever study the 22nd season of the VML Bowling League and look for the week in which the tables turned the most, we predict that it will be Week #5. Of course, we'd all wonder why the hell they are studying our bowling league in the first place but one never truly knows. Regardless, Week #5 was the week in which the first place teams massive win streak was ended and when the standings were tightened quite a bit. A mere five games now separate six of the eight teams in the league. Want to know how things shook out? Well, read on...Having warned No Pinheads last week that they would end their win streak, the Pin Pricks looked as if they were going to have to eat their words. Instead, at the hands of this week's #1 Power Bowler Carl Goetz, the Pricks stood true to their word. Led by Carl's 680 series, the Pricks took a 3-1 matchup victory over the current league leaders. The Pinheads' anchor Freda Schroeder put up the top series for her team – a 495 – but it was only good enough for the Game #1 victory. The Pinheads streak ends at 12 games but not before amassing the season's best record at 16-4. The Pricks remain in second place, trailing behind by two games.After adding only one win to their record last week, Bowl Movement stormed back Tuesday night with a 3-1 matchup victory over opponents Drink and Hurl. Game #3 was settled by a mere 11 pins in favor of the Hurlers, compliments of a 420 series out of Aaron Chandler. But it was the 469 series from Brian Cunningham that pushed his Bowl Movement teammates into the victor's circle. Movement improves to 11-9 on the season and find themselves in 5th place, barely inching Drink and Hurl in the standings due to total pins. A mere three bowlers rolled on Lanes 19 & 20 in the first meeting between Ground Zero Mosque and the team blinded since birth – Ray & Stevie. Amazingly, Game #1 found the Mosque letting the victory against themselves slip away. Derrick Grimpo, however, turned the tide for his team and brought them back for a 3-1 series win with his 418 series. The Mosque move up one spot into 3rd place while the memberless blind team remains in 8th place.Make no doubt about it, Kitten Mittons is on a roll. With only two bowlers showing up, the team managed the only 4-0 clean sweep on the lanes last night while facing opponents Feed the Monkey. Led by this week's Most Valuable Bowler Kelly Sands and his 491 series, the Mittons jump two spots up into 4th place. Coming very, very close to reversing their fortunes in Game #2 (which ended in a 3-pin loss), the Monkeys continue to seek out their second victory of the season. Chris Able continues to put up the largest numbers for the Feeders, ending his night with a 448 series. Feed the Monkey remains in 7th place.Bowlers spied busting a move this week in The 200 Club include: Carl Goetz (214, 242, 224), Freda Schroeder (214) and Ken M. Wilson (202, 240).For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 5.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Kelly Sands Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Ken Wilson	#1 H2H BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Brian Cunningham
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Come on, Winger...bowl higher than the number of candles on your last birthday cake!" Jerry Krall, to teammate Dave Winger when Game #3 was on the line.

Week #4 is now just a memory as the 28 members of the VML Bowling League have logged their scores into the history books. While the bowlers of No Pinheads continue to add to their impressive record, the rest of the league continues to beat up on one another in an effort to topple the current league leaders. How did your favorite team fare this week? Read on, my good friend, and find out...They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Such may be the case for Ground Zero Mosque who welcomed back anchor Jason Carpio with open arms after a 2-week absence. Carpio, putting up a 509 series, reversed the fortunes of his team while securing a 3-1 victory over opponents Bowl Movement. Managing to save her team from getting blanked, Jessica Thomas of the Movement put up a team-leading 375 series just in the nick of time to take Game #3 by a margin of nine pins. The lone win drops the Movement two spots into 5th place while the members of the Mosque hold steady in 4th place.Pushing their current win streak to 11 games, everything seems to be coming up roses for No Pinheads. With an impressive 579 series from lead off bowler Aubrey Moren (who was also #1 in this week's Power Ranking), the Pinheads denied this season's underdogs – Feed the Monkey – from doubling their win record. Adding four more notches to their win column, the Pinheads are off to a 15-1 start and currently dominate the league standings. The Monkeys, led by Chris Massey's 358 series, end their first month in the league with the opposite record of 1-15 in 8th place.After losing Game #1 by two hundred pins, this week's Most Valuable Bowler sprung into action. Kitten Mittons' very own Alison Radke decided that enough was enough and put on the performance of her career. Rolling both her personal best highest game and highest series ever, Radke's scores – combined with a team-leading 468 series from teammate Kelly Sands – dashed any hopes of the Pin Pricks gaining any ground in the league standings. Despite a 632 series out of the Prick's Ian Goetz, the team never recovered after their Game #1 victory and split the series at two games apiece. While the Pricks remain in 2nd place, the Mittons slip one spot into 6th place. What do you call a team that would pick on the blind? Drink and Hurl, that's what. Facing the eternally-sightless team Ray & Stevie, the Hurlers wasted no time in adding four more wins to their season's record. With lead off bowler Jake Parrott hoisting a team-leading 426 series, Drink and Hurl improved to a 10-6 record and vaulted from sixth place into 3rd. Bowlers cursing the names of their fellow competitors this week in The 200 Club include: Aubrey Moren (212), Carl Goetz (233), Dennis "Pops" Laube (206) and Ian Goetz (236, 200).For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 4.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Alison Radke Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Ian Goetz	#1 H2H BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Ian Goetz
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Damn. I haven't been spanked this hard by an old person since I set the living room rug on fire as a child." Emily Podhajsky, after her team fell 0-4 to the members of No Pinheads.

Week #3 of 17 is officially history now and with it came some surprises. While more than half the league changed places in the standings, No Pinheads continues to rack up victories and mow down anyone they face. How long can they remain at the top of the heap? Only time will tell. With the newly launched Power Rankings feature in place, one bowler has taken both MVB and the #1 Power Ranking for the week. Here's how the night went down...After completing their post-bowling on Friday afternoon, the results from the matchup between Drink & Hurl and Kitten Mittons could be calculated. After taking Games #1 and #2, the Kittens' quest for a sweep was halted dead in its tracks by a surging Drink & Hurl comeback. Led by Aaron Chandler's 358 series, the Hurlers were able to tie the series up at two games apiece. Mittons was led by anchor Nick Allegri, who hoisted a 499 series for his team. The tied series also results in the teams tying with a 6-6 record overall, but due to total pins the standings find Kitten Mittons (5th place) just above Drink & Hurl (6th place). After taking a swift kick to the nads last week, the men of Pin Pricks bounced back with a 4-0 victory over hapless Ray & Stevie. Leading the charge was big man David Codding whose team-leading 603 series is the first of the season to crest the 600+ mark but also pushes him to the #1 cumulative spot on the Power Rankings. The victories push the Pricks back up into 2nd place with a record of 9-3. It looks like it may take more than just prayer to help Ground Zero Mosques ascend to a higher spot in the standings...especially after they ran head first into the league's leading team, No Pinheads. Increasing their win-streak to seven games now, the Pinheads trounced Ground Zero four games to nothing on Lanes 19 & 20. Putting up the top numbers for the Pinheads was Dennis "Pops" Laube, who ended his evening with a 517 series. On the losing side, fill-in anchor Scott Murdock tried his best to stop the competition with his 506 series but it just wasn't enough. Will Jason Carpio ever return and help his team out? The members of No Pinheads don't care as they remain in first place. Ground Zero does a nose dive into fourth.Seven days prior, the men of Bowl Movement shamefully lost two games to the blind team. This week, however? Brian Cunningham responded in a big way. Leading his team with a 483 series, Cunningham not only helped his team earn a clean sweep over competitors Feed the Monkey but also landed this week's Most Valuable Bowler honors. Brian also sits atop this week's Individual Power Ranking listing. The wins temporarily propel the Movement into 3rd place, depending on the outcome of the post-bowling scores matchup. Feed the Monkey, led this week by Chris Able and his 379 series, continue to double their wins in 8th place.Bowlers making their way into The 200 Club this week include: Carl Goetz (205), Ian Goetz (204, 210), Aubrey Moren (218) and Ken M. Wilson (233).For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 3.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Brian Cunningham Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Brian Cunningham Runner Up: Ian Goetz	#1 H2H BOWLER Ian Goetz Runner Up: Phil Schroeder
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Man, I knew Scoot let's down everyone at work...but on the lanes as well? Damn. Jake Parrott, after watching Scott Murdock dash his team's chances at a victory in Game #3.

With nearly every bowler having six games under their belt after two weeks, the VML Bowling League is off and running. Historically, the second week of every league is each individual bowler's moment to shine – they are either dealing with an over-inflated average from the previous week and on a mission to prove that they can maintain it or they are on the opposite side, and facing an opportunity to really bring the heat after a sub-par performance seven days prior. The teams that found themselves on the positive side of that equation rose while the teams that weren't floundered. Want to know how your favorite team did on Tuesday? Well, you've come to the right place...Having declared war on the blind, the members of Bowl Movement found themselves bowling the league's favorite team of missing bowlers – Ray & Stevie. Now, according to league rules, when facing a team of all blinds a team merely has to bowl within 10 pins times the number of bowlers on the team (so, in this case, 40 pins) of their team average. In other words, it's like Friday night for most preteen boys...they just have to beat themselves. Unfortunately for the Movement, this task proved rather difficult. Led by Jerry Krall and his 394 series, the team only managed to add two notches into their win column. Their 3-5 record drops them into 6th place while Ray continues to look for answers in 8th.Starting off a season with a sweep is a tough feat to accomplish. Staying perfect for two weeks in a row is almost unheard of (I said "almost"). Had it not been for an incredible Game #1 from Nick Allegri and his Kitten Mittons, the now-1st place No Pinheads would have done it. Allegri's team-leading 498 series was enough to end the Pinhead's perfect start. Dennis "Pops" Laube put up a 458 series for the Pinheads to reverse the tide and bring the rest of the victories over to his side. With a 7-1 record, No Pinheads sits atop the league standings all by themselves while the Mittons take their 4-4 record into 5th place.Talk about bringing in the right person at the right time. After missing the initial week of bowling, new recruit  Teresa "T" Deterding brought the necessary oomph (a 372 series) to Drink and Hurl to help her team secure a 3-1 victory over opponents Feed the Monkey. The Monkeys, who were once again led by Chris Able and his 416 series, did manage to eek out one narrow win at start but remain in 7th place. The Hurlers, however, improve their record to 4-4 and slide up to 5th place.Also attempting to remain perfect after two week were the cocky bowlers of Pin Pricks. Unfortunately for them, however, they ran into AJ Hofmann and  Derrick Grimpo of the Ground Zero Mosque. Grimpo, who set an average of 119 last week, shot a 504 series en route to securing a 3-1 matchup victory over last season's champions, while Hofmann's similar performance barely edged him out over Grimpo for this week's Most Valuable Bowler award.  Leading the charge for the Pricks was the tallest Prick, David Codding, who shot a 566 series but could only manage one win for the night. While Ground Zero moves up into 2nd place with a record of 6-2, the Pricks go limp and slip into 3rd with a record of 5-3.Bowlers making their way into The 200 Club this week were: Nick Allegri (212), Ian Goetz (201), David Codding (208, 205) and Ken M. Wilson (225).For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 2.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB AJ Hofmann Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Derrick Grimpo Runner Up: Ken Wilson	#1 H2H BOWLER Derrick Grimpo Runner Up: Scott Murdock
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Oh, nice. You've put a gigantic wet spot on Ian." Melissa Wilson, upon seeing Ken wiping his sweaty forehead on Ian's back.

Week 1 is now officially in the books. With solid debuts from veterans and rookies alike, this season promises to be an interesting one as seven teams (and one blind team) battle for supremacy to take home the title in December. Two teams of old timers even kicked off their seasons with perfect 4-0 records – an accomplishment that has only happened a handful of times in the league's 10-year history. Want to see how your favorite team fared? Well, you've come to the right place...Before we get started we'd like to officially welcome and recognize the rookies that made their debuts Tuesday night: Aaron Chandler, Brian Cunningham, Chris Able, Chris Massey, Jake Parrott, Jessica Thomas, Rick Heckadon and Sarah Manning. Thanks for joining the league!In the first matchup, returning champion Carl Goetz of the aptly-named Pin Pricks set the pace for his team's night against opponents Feed the Monkey. Putting up a 569 series, Goetz led his team to a rare 4-0 first night series win. With a strong rookie debut out of Monkey Chris Able and his team-leading 425 series, the team finds themselves with no place to go but up . The outcome of the matchup propels the Pricks into first place due to total pins and cages the Monkeys into 8th. Two lanes down, the embattled members of the Ground Zero Mosque faced the debuting members of Drink and Hurl. Starting his season off with one of the league's two 200+ games rolled last night, the Mosque's Jason Carpio put up a 506 series en route to a 3-1 matchup victory against the competition, Drink and Hurl. Made up of four brand new bowlers to the league, Hurl got the best output via lead off bowler Jake Parrott. Parrott, starting the season off with his new personal best high game (a 179), put up a 394 series and helped secure the team's lone victory. The outcome between these two teams finds the Ground Zero Mosque erected in 4th place while Drink and Hurl has a chaser in 6th.Down on lanes 19 & 20, the sunny team Kitten Mittons met up with four people taking a Bowl Movement. Apparently beginning to figure out his new bowling ball, the Kitten's Nick Allegri came out firing with a team-leading 515 series to earn his team three notches in the win column. The Movement, led by last-second replacement Jessica Thomas and her 409 series, managed to poke its head out just in time to win Game #3 and avoiding the sweep. The Mittons, after Week 1, find themselves sitting in 3rd place with their 3-1 record while the Bowl Movement floats in 5th with the opposite record.The final face-off of the night was a fast and furious fete for No Pinheads who found themselves facing the team devoid of any actual bowlers, aka Ray & Stevie. Putting on this weeks' Most Valuable Bowler performance was lead off bowler Aubrey Moren who, coupled with the team's high 495 series from anchor Freda Schroeder, managed to secure a first week sweep and move into 2nd place. Hapless (and memberless) Ray & Stevie see their way to 7th. The only bowlers making their way into The 200 Club this week include: Carl Goetz (223) and Jason Carpio (211). For the full results of this week, please check out Season 22, Week 1.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Aubrey Moren Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Nick Allegri	#1 H2H BOWLER David Codding Runner Up: Ken M. Wilson
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Does this t-shirt idea for my team (the Ground Zero Mosque) make me a bad person?" Scott Murdock, upon showing a sketch of a bowling ball flying like an airplane into two Twin Towers looking bowling pins.

The 22nd season of the VML Bowling League officially begins tonight. With only seven teams signed up, this is the smallest crew we've had since the Fall 2002 season. The Finals are a full four months away. Which two teams will end up facing one another in the championship matchup? Rest assured, returning champions Ian Goetz, Carl Goetz and Ken M. Wilson will do their best to defend their crown and return to the Finals but with several brand new teams in the mix, it's anyone's guess as to who will emerge victorious. So, without further adieu, let's get this party started!Bowlers making their debut this season include Aaron Chandler, Ben Coffman, Brian Cunningham, Chris Able, Chris Massey, Jake Parrott, Rick Heckadon, Sarah Manning and Teresa Deterding. Welcome to the league, new blood! If you have any questions at all please drop Ken or Scoot a line.Now we know that there are several of you that will not be able to make it the first night. This is okay. It's better to miss now than later on in the season when your team will need you. In the event that you cannot make it on a particular night, just alert your team captain or leave a note for Ken and/or Scoot. This way we can make sure that everything is taken care of on the administrative end.We hope that everyone has a fun time this season and good luck to everyone.

It is with great pleasure that we launch the new and vastly improved GutterAlley.com web site. After nearly seven years of faithful service, we've retired the old code in favor of a revised look and feel running on the WordPress engine. While there is still plenty of work to be done porting over code from the previous site, rest assured that we'll bring it all over while adding many new features as well. For those of you in the league this season, Ken and Scoot will be creating you accounts on the site very soon so that you can enjoy a more customized experience. And for those of you who are not in the league this time around – but have bowled in our league before – please contact Ken or Scoot and ask them to set you up with an account. Naturally, development will continue on as the season progresses bringing you the same level of statistics as you've enjoyed in the past. However, the use of Google Charts will make its way onto the site providing you with a deeper level of number crunching of how you're truly doing over the course of the season as well as throughout your career in our league. We plan to implement all of the data we have dating back to 2003 over time so that you can graph yourself – or others – until the cows come home.Many, many more features and enhancements will be added to the site as well but it's coming up on three o'clock in the morning and 'tis time to call it a night.We'll let you in on more as we progress.Stay tuned!