The Finals proved to be the closest one in quite some time as the eight teams lined up to face one another for the last time in the conclusion of the Fall 2012 season of GutterAlley action. One bowler entered The 700 Club, another bowler won his first Tournament of Champions, only two teams swapped places in the league standings, and four bowlers added another title under their belts. Ready for the recap? I know I am...Note: Voting for the Fall 2012 Season Favorites is now open. The ballot will remain available until noon on Tuesday, December 18th. Please take a minute or two and fill it out. Thank you!Mathematically, only two teams had the option to walk away as this season's champs. Meeting up on Lanes 41 and 42, FTOP and Pocket Pounders were separated by the slimmest of margins – half a game. In a showdown of the anchors, the Pounder's Ryan Doll (618) and FTOP's Ken M. Wilson (604) led their teams in a true back and forth. Game #1 went to the Pocket Pounders by a 41-pin margin. Game #2 looked to be going the Pounders way until FTOP's John Boren gave a venom-laced inspirational speech that brought his team back into it and pulling off a 20-pin upset. Game #3 was a winner takes all situation with the victors walking away with the league championship. With the game as tight as one could ask for, it came down to a single roll by Wilson in the bottom of the 10th frame to either win or lose the whole thing...and with a single strike, it was all over. FTOP ended their season with a league best 39-25 record. Congratulations to John Boren, Cory Chorpenning, David Codding, and Ken M. Wilson on being the Fall 2012 league champions! The title was Boren's third, Chorpenning's second, Codding's fifth, and Wilson's twelfth. The Pocket Pounders finish in 2nd place with a record of 38.5-25.5.In the battle for 3rd and 4th place, Mayan Apocalypse went into the matchup trailing opponents Turkey Hunters by two games. By the end of the night, their positions would reverse as the Mayans handed out a 3-1 beat down to the Turkeys. With Hall of Fame nominee Pat Searcy's 586 series leading the way along with a stellar performance out of this week's Most Valuable Bowler Anita Osthoff, the Mayans only dropped Game #1 before predicting – and subsequently earning – the next three wins to push ahead into 3rd place by a total pins tie breaker. The Turkey Hunter's Freda Schroeder led her team with a 560 series in the losing effort. Both teams end the season with a winning record, 35-29. No one gave up or gained any ground in the battle for 5th and 6th place. After putting on a clinic last week, Bobby Belt and The Facebook Friends' very own Bill Krejci rolled his all-time personal best series – an incredible 703 – to not only sweep opponents Sexual Chocolate but also earning him #1 Power Ranked bowler honors as well as a spot on the Top 25 Highest Series of All Time. Welcome to The 700 Club, Krejci! Sexual Chocolate's Jason Carpio put up the highest series for his team – a 536 – but simply could not stop the Krejci train. The Belt ends their run this season with a 33-31 record good enough for 5th place while Sexual Chocolate wraps it up in 6th with a record of 26-38. Down on the final pair of lanes, Split It and Hit It looked to keep themselves from slipping into the cellar as they faced surging opponents Ballz Out. With the Ballz' own Cliff Barendsen putting up a team-leading 521 series, they almost pulled it off. Winning Games #1 and #2 (including a 117-pin blowout in the second matchup), victory looked to be in the bag before the men of Split It and Hit It regrouped and ended the Ballz' quest to ascend the league standings. Split It's Dennis Blake led the team with his 482 series and ends up in 7th place with a 25.5-38.5 record. Cliff and the rest of the Ballz wrap up the fall season with a record of 24-40 in 8th place.Bowlers wondering who will be this season's Hall of Fame enshrinee while knocking back drinks in The 200 Club this week include: Anita Osthoff (202), Bill Krejci (246, 236, 221), Cliff Barendsen (219), Cory Chorpenning (225), David Codding (200), Freda Schroeder (202), John Boren (227), Ken M. Wilson (215, 208), Neil Rieger (204, 203), Pat Searcy (238), and Ryan Doll (246).The grand finale of this season's Tournament of Champions came to an end with Andy McLeod besting Scott Murdock in the big finish. Congratulations to Andy and Scoot, both of whom will receive extra money in next week's prize envelopes. For those of you new to the league this session, next week is what we call the Fun Night. We gather together and hand out the prize envelopes, all of which will contain money for each win that your team has earned. In addition to the dough for the wins, extra money is awarded to the bowlers that achieved the highest individual scores throughout the season. They include:Men's:High Series Scratch - Carl Goetz (728)High Game Scratch - David Codding (300)High Series Handicap - Cliff Barendsen (769)High Game Handicap - John Boren (267)Women's:High Series Scratch - Freda Schroeder (560)High Game Scratch - Anita Osthoff (212)High Series Handicap - Teresa Deterding (641)Also of note, Anita Osthoff (+27) was this season's most improved female while Cliff Barendsen (+29) was this season's most improved male bowler.The Hall of Fame will also induct its latest member. See you next Tuesday!

THIS WEEK'S MVB Anita Osthoff Runner Up: (See Posting)	#1 POWER BOWLER Bill Krejci Runner Up: Anita Osthoff	#1 H2H BOWLER Bill Krejci Runner Up: Freda Schroeder
FROM THE GUTTER (GUTTER QUOTE) "I'm sorry, I can't hear you all the way down there from the 8th place lanes." Ryan Doll, attempting to hear some trash talk from Dennis Blake before the night got underway.