Only two weeks remain in the Fall 2011 season and with that, the members of No Pinheads are just two games away from winning the championship – their first since the Spring 2008 session. Week #14 provided absolutely no movement either up or down in the league standings but did set the stage rather nicely for teams to make moves over the next two Tuesdays. Will the current league leaders finish off the season and take the title? Will Kitten Mittons continue their incredible season and move up into 2nd? That'll all have to wait until the near future. For now, let's see how everyone did this week...Having slipped to a .500 record last week, the members of Gutterballs decided enough was enough and returned to their winning ways. Led by anchor Jason Carpio – who narrowly missed a 600 series with his team-leading 597 series – the 'balls came away with a 3-1 matchup victory over opponents Skirtz & Jerkz. Game #2 was settled by a single pin, compliments of the Skirtz' Neil Rieger and his 486 series and helped them secure their lone win of the night. The Gutterballs improve to a 29-27 record to remain in 5th while the Skirtz and Jerkz drop to 20-36 and still sit in 7th place.Throughout the month of November, Kitten Mittons has been on an absolute tear. For the third week in a row, a member of their team has come away with Most Valuable Bowler honors. This week? The Mittons' Ryan Simonet earned it as he led his team to a clean sweep of opponents Das Sauer Popes behind his 436 series. The wins improve their record to 35-21, good enough for 3rd place in the league. The Popes, led this week by anchor Mike Berlin and his 431 series, remain in 8th place with a record of 9-47. It was joked before their matchup that whenever Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse's very own Rob Kaszuba bowls against STFU Donny, he brings his best games. This proved to be true as Kaszuba's team-leading 542 series earned him #1 Power Ranked bowler honors but failed to deliver more than just a lone six-pin victory in Game #2. Why? The Goetz Boys. With Carl Goetz leading the league's reigning champions – whose time at the top could end next week – with a 629 series and son Ian Goetz following closely behind with a 620, STFU Donny came away with a 3-1 matchup win but continue to trail the first place team. Improving their record to 38-18, STFU has to do just that and come away with seven victories over their next eight games if they are going to repeat as champions. Vier Reiters sit at 29-27 and remain in 4th place.No one can deny that No Pinheads is collectively having their best season ever. Anchor Aubrey Moren has emphatically found his game and has continues to keep his team at the top of the heap. Adding four more wins to their win record – improving to 43-13 – behind his 580 series, the Pinheads extend their lead over the rest of the league back up to five games and now sit a mere two victories away from clinching the title. Their victims this week? Mysterious Platypus Appendages. Despite two too-close-for-comfort games, the Platypi couldn't steal a game. Teresa Deterding led the Mysterious with a 451 series and fall to 21-35, good enough for 6th place. Bowlers fed up with leftover turkey this week include The 200 Club: Aubrey Moren (206), Carl Goetz (226, 213), Ian Goetz (211, 250), Jason Carpio (235), Ken M. Wilson (202), and Phil Schroeder (245).Teams coming away with charity wins this week include: Kitten Mittons, who were handed two unearned wins; STFU Donny, who were gifted Game #1; and No Pinheads, who were also handed Game #1. The Gutterballs continue to be the team with the most unearned wins this season having added +13 to their record this season. They are followed by No Pinheads, who have been handed +11 victories and then Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse and STFU Donny, both who have been gifted +7 victories apiece from underperforming teams. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Ryan Simonet Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Rob Kaszuba Runner Up: Ian Goetz	#1 H2H BOWLER Carl Goetz Runner Up: Rob Kaszuba
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Wow, I know you just got married but that doesn't give you the right to f--- our team, too!" Kelly Anderson, after defeating her team's anchor Ryan Doll in Game #3.

We here at GutterAlley are always dreaming up goofy ways to utilize the huge stockpile of bowling score data we have collected over the better part of the last decade. Things such as the Most Valuable Bowler and the #1 Power Ranking have come about due to these brainstorming sessions. Well, here's our latest offering -- The Over/Under Factor.Born out of a debate based upon the outcome of the Spring 2009 season – in which the eventual championship team was gifted more wins than they actually earned – the eventual end product is what we're debuting today. Basically, we've come up with a pretty sound and extremely simple equation that figures out if your team truly earned the victories you've racked up or if the other team performed so poorly that the win was handed to you in an act of charity.The easiest way to put it? If your team doesn't bowl your team average and yet you still win the game, odds are that it's going to be a charity win. After testing and fully applying The Over/Under Factor retroactively throughout every season that we have data, we came across some interesting facts: Read the rest of this entry »

With Thanksgiving just a couple of days away, several teams this week decided to say thanks as they were busy taking away victories from their opponents. While one team opted to post-bowl, the other three matchups of the evening saw some big wins earned as two teams swept while the third narrowly missed joining them in the clean up crew. After the scores came in, though, one team moved up and one moved down in the league standings. Ready to hear how everyone else did? Let's go.The last time STFU Donny faced Mysterious Platypus Appendages, the night ended with Donny dropping Game #3. The team with the best win record in the second half of the season made sure to not let any games slip away this time around and added four more notches to their win column. Leading the league with his 670 series, STFU's anchor Ken M. Wilson led the charge for his title-minded team who are now only four games back from taking over first place. The Platypi, led by Aj Hofmann and his 375 series, don't add any wins but remain in 6th place.Blaming his status as a newlywed, Ryan Doll of Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse simply can't bring it like he used to in the past. Dennis "Pops" Laube of No Pinheads did...and then some. Putting up a 579 series, Laube led the way for a 3-1 victory. A mere 11 pins in Game #1 kept them from coming away with all four wins. Doll's 541 series – including his highest game of the night (a 211) in the lead off game – was only able to take a single victory. No Pinheads remains in first place, ahead by four games, while Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse remains in 4th place.Right before he rolled his first ball, Kitten Mittons' very own Kelly Sands asked if anyone had ever been the Most Valuable Bowler two weeks in a row. While the answer is yes, Sands set out to join those few and did it, earning consecutive MVB honors as well as being this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler. Rolling his highest series ever – a 553 – Sands crushed opponents Skirtz & Jerkz and hopped up one place into 3rd place in the process. The biggest of the Jerkz this week was Orion Kinkaid, who ended his night with a 408 series and was simply unable to stop the Mittons from winning. Skirtz & Jerkz remain in 7th place.The final matchup of the evening pitted Das Sauer Popes against the Gutterballs. After being hypnotized by the absent Jason Carpio that if he didn't bowl any turkeys he wouldn't be allowed to eat any turkeys, the Gutterballs' Scott Murdock emphatically rose to the occasion and put up a 495 series to lead his team to a clean sweep of the Popes. Mike Berlin had the highest output for the Das Sauers – a 407 series – but couldn't derail the Gutterballs' run towards the four victories. Murdock and crew remain in 5th while the Popes still sit in 8th place. Bowlers avoiding the pumpkin ale in the The 200 Club this week include: Carl Goetz (212, 220), Dennis Laube (213), Ian Goetz (245), Ken M. Wilson (238, 211, 221), and Ryan Doll (211).Congratulations are in order for Bill Krejci and wife Sarah who welcomed their first child, Lily Faye Krejci who was born on Saturday the 19th. We'll pencil Lily in now for the Fall 2030 roster. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Kelly Sands Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Kelly Sands Runner Up: Dennis Laube	#1 H2H BOWLER Kelly Sands Runner Up: Dennis Laube
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Yeah...she likes to have her hair pulled, too." Ian Goetz, offering up some disturbing information about his grandmother.

Week #12 is now finished and with it we enter the final month of the Fall 2011 season. With wins and losses scattered throughout the various matchups, only one team managed to climb anywhere in the standings this week despite some heroic performances across the league. The Finals are just around the corner so if any team is going to unseat the current league leaders, they best get a move on.For those of you wondering what in the hell is going on in this week's feature image it's Ken "Walter Sobchak" Wilson, Scott "Karl Hungus" Murdock, and Nik "The Dude" Domann attending the Lebowski Fest in Chicago this past Saturday. To get the full experience, feel free to visit Ken's and Scoot's photo albums from the event on Facebook.In the first matchup of the evening, Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse came out firing. Led by anchor Ryan Doll and his 516 series, the Reiters seemed poised to make a run but quickly derailed. That's when the Gutterballs' Scott Murdock (wait, WHAT?!?) stepped up to reverse his team's fortunes with a team-leading 452 series. The net result? Games #2 and #3 went to the Gutterballs but total pins were snatched up by the Apokalypse to end the night in a 2-2 split. While the Reiters remain in 3rd the Gutterballs manage to hop one spot up into 5th place – the lone positive move in the standings all evening.Since the position round, STFU Donny has won 14 of 16 games...earning three of those wins Tuesday night against opponents Skirtz & Jerkz. With the league's highest series of the night, compliments of Carl Goetz – who shot a 623 – Donny managed to cut the gap between them and first place by another game, trailing by only five now. The Skirtz' Orion Kinkaid – who wanted to make sure that the world knew that "Neil pussed out tonight" – shot a team-leading 446 series which was good enough to take Game #2 away from the surging 2nd place team. Skirtz and Jerkz remain in 7th place.First place No Pinheads continues to add wins to their record but fewer and fewer are coming their way as the season gets closer to its conclusion. This week, 8th place team Das Sauer Popes saw a very surprising performance out of Sarah Sauer – this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler – who put up her all-time best series and ended the night with a career high 490. Despite another high output night from anchor Aubrey Moren – who shot a 571 – the matchup ended up in a 2-2 split. Neither team moved from their respective positions.The final matchup of the evening down on Lanes 25 & 26 had the Mysterious Platypus Appendages hoping to add some wins at the expense of Kitten Mittons. Such was not the case. With the Mittons' Kelly Sands putting on this week's Most Valuable Bowler performance with his 440 series, Kitten Mittons came away with the lone sweep of the evening and improved their record to 27-21...the same as 3rd place Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse with only total pins separating them. The Platypi's Jake Parrott led his team with a 438 series but it couldn't stop the Kittens from batting them around like a play thing and dropping them into 6th place.Bowlers wishing they, too, would have been at The Lebowski Fest this weekend in Chicago but rather ended up at The 200 Club instead include: Aubrey Moren (215), Carl Goetz (246), Ian Goetz (244), and Ryan Doll (200).Please, please, please, please, please – if you haven't already – please take the time to vote for the Hall of Fame candidates of your choice. Thank you!See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Kelly Sands Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Sarah Sauer Runner Up: Freda Schroeder	#1 H2H BOWLER Freda Schroeder Runner Up: Carl Goetz
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Excuse me, I just need to reach between your legs and grab a ball." Eric Summers, while trying to fetch a house ball near Scott Murdock.

On our old site, we had a feature that allowed you to quickly see the averages of each person in the league. When we ported the core functionality of the original GutterAlley into what it is today, we left behind a lot of that code with the intention of making it better at a later date.With that, we're happy to reintroduce Averages. You can get to by mousing over the "Bowlers" main nav item at the very top of the site. "Averages" will be the first submenu item that appears.The biggest difference in the Averages section of the site as compared to the old version is that you can now look back at a snapshot of any week during any season we've ever bowled. You'll be able to see whose average went up, whose average went down, and other things like the number of games a bowler has rolled as well as total pins knocked down.You can sort the data in the various column by simply clicking the header text. For example, clicking the words "Total Pins" will automatically sort the entire table from most total pins to the least. Click it again and the column will swap the order, showing least total pins to the most. The default sort for each week is currently by alphabetical order by first name as opposed by highest average. We're open to suggestions as to which you'd prefer.Enjoy!

Tuesday night saw a resurgence of several of the underdogs in the league, who rose up to strike down their higher ranked competitors. And while only two teams swapped places, the overall result was a tightening in the standings all over the place. To top off the evening, a visit was paid by league legend – and Hall of Fame nominee – Pat Searcy to a "young whippersnapper" attempting to make his move into the upper echelon of league lore. Ready to see how your favorite team performed? Us, too.In the first matchup of the evening, the Mysterious Platypus Appendages decided to make their move. With this week's Most Valuable Bowler performance coming compliments of Jake Parrott – who put up a 480 series – the Appendages logged the lone sweep of the evening against opponents Das Sauer Popes. Despite a stellar series out of the Popes' Mike Berlin, who led his team with his first 200+ game this season as part of his 494 series, the team couldn't stop the surging Platypi. The most Mysterious team in the league moves up one spot to 5th while the Popes remain in 8th place.After having not lost a matchup since Week #1, the rollers of No Pinheads suffered their first set back in two and a half months at the hands of Kitten Mittons. Despite a 617 series from anchor Aubrey Moren – as well as being this week's #1 Power Ranked bowler – the Pinheads managed to only win one game Tuesday night. The Mittons, led by lead off roller Alison Radke and her highest series ever – a 449 – took it to the current league leaders with a 3-1 matchup victory. Neither team moved at all in the standings, however. No Pinheads remain in 1st by six games while the Mittons improve to a winning record of 23-21 and stay in 4th place.The last time they met in the position round, STFU Donny edged opponents Gutterballs 3-1 – having lost one game by just a few pins. History repeated itself against Tuesday night. With Searcy's foil Ian Goetz – who has set his sights on moving ahead of the Hall of Fame nominee on the Best Bowlers of All Time list – hoisting up a 590 series, Donny managed to add three wins to their record and cut the gap between them and 1st place by two games in the process. The Gutterballs' anchor Jason Carpio led his team with the most firepower, adding a 516 series to the mix, but only managed to eek out a 3-pin victory in Game #2. STFU remains in 2nd while the Gutterballs treat objects like women, man, and slip a spot down into 6th place.In the final matchup of the night, Skirtz & Jerkz's Neil Rieger finally showed up in a big way at just the right time. Facing opponents Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse, Rieger dropped his first 600+ series this season – a 605 – to lead his team to a 3-1 beat down of Der Reiters. Despite the Apokalypse's Rob Kaszuba putting up his best numbers of his season (a 542), he could find no help from anyone else on the team to turn the tide. Even with the wins and losses neither team budged in the standings with Vier Reiters clinging to 3rd and the Jerkz still sitting in 7th place.Rollers not liking the rainy weather tonight outside the The 200 Club include: Aubrey Moren (223, 235), Bill Krejci (201), Carl Goetz (212), Ian Goetz (208, 203), Jason Carpio (204), Ken M. Wilson (204), Mike Berlin (200), Neil Rieger (203, 214), and Rob Kaszuba (203). And if you haven't already, please take a moment to cast your vote(s) on this season's Hall of Fame ballot. Thank you!See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Jake Parrott Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Neil Rieger	#1 H2H BOWLER Neil Rieger Runner Up: Rob Kaszuba
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "Please, Scoot...we are gonna hump you so much you won't be able to walk tomorrow. Ian Goetz, talking trash to Murdock on Facebook prior to their matchup this evening.

Only six weeks remain in the Fall 2011 season and three teams have broken away from the rest of the league on a course towards the Finals. Week #10 is now history and with it came very little movement in the standings. Big performances from several rollers aided their teams in adding more notches in their win column, including a near perfect game by one and another bowler achieving his very first 600+ series. Ready to hear how your favorite team did Tuesday night? Keep on reading, then.At the end of Week #4, the members of No Pinheads took over the top spot on the league standings...and haven't let go yet. With anchor Aubrey Moren hoisting his first 600+ series (a 628) – and earning #1 Power Ranked bowler honors in the process – against opponents Skirtz & Jerkz, the Pinheads remain a full 8 games ahead of everyone else. The Skirtz' Jennifer Seefeldt put up the highest series on their side of the equation, ending the evening with a 370 series but earning no wins in the process. Skirtz & Jerkz fall one spot into 7th place.Ups and downs is the best way to summarize the battle that pitted the Gutterballs against the Mysterious Platypus Appendages on the lanes Tuesday night. With anchor Jason Carpio's team-leading 564 series, the Gutterballs struck first to take Game #1. The Platypi, led this week by Teresa Deterding's 435 series, fought back in a big way to take Game #2. Game #3 was settled in the 10th frame in favor of the Gutterballs but they were unable to overcome the total pins deficit, which was owned by the Platypi. The teams split the series and remain in their respective spots in the league standings – Gutterballs in 5th, Mysterious Platypus Appendages in 6th.After having shown up on Tuesday ready to roll, the members of Vier Reiter Der Apokalypse found out that their competition we be post-bowling later in the week. This didn't stop this week's Most Valuable Bowler Bill Krejci from putting on a clinic. Ending his night with a 605 series, Krejci led his team to a clean sweep over opponents Das Sauer Popes and keeps his team in 3rd place. The Popes received the most firepower from anchor Mike Berlin, who shot a 414 series. Das Sauer Popes remains in 8th place.The last time they faced one another, the Kitten Mittons crushed STFU Donny. Such was not the case this time around. Led by Ken M. Wilson's 631 series – and a new season best individual game from Carl Goetz (a 269, started with 8 strikes in a row) – Donny added another four wins to their record and have extended their win streak to 11 games. Alison Radke led the Mittons with a 386 series. Neither team moved in the league standings: STFU Donny remains in 2nd while the Mittons stay in 4th place.Bowlers lamenting the demise of Octoberfest for the year this week in The 200 Club include: Aubrey Moren (210, 234), Bill Krejci (204, 209), Carl Goetz (269), Ian Goetz (231, 206), Jason Carpio (203), Ken M. Wilson (213, 217, 201), and Seth Gunderson (227).To those of you that have already cast your vote on this season's Hall of Fame ballot, we thank you. For those of you that have not, come on...it'll take you less time than it took to read this write-up.See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Bill Krejci Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Aubrey Moren Runner Up: Bill Krejci	#1 H2H BOWLER Bill Krejci Runner Up: Aubrey Moren
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "I'll be the fluffer!" Alison Radke, chiming in after Carl and Ken announced they were heading down to hump Scoot following both throwing three strikes in a row.