Sports Competition Updates!

Shortly after the New Year, I blogged about a bunch of extracurricular sports leagues I was participating in.  Several months later, it's time to give you a much needed update!

IBM Bowling League:
The team was unable to make it back to the championship game, missing the finals for the first time in 5 years. I think part of the problem was 2 bowlers started out with 200-pin averages (Tony and myself) and we were unable to maintain it, which really hurt towards the end of the season.  After about 15 weeks I had a 198 average, but I fell to 191 by the end of week 24.  I feel like I just got mentally and maybe physically fatigued.  I had joined a 9-week summer league for fun beforehand, but when you tack that on to the regular 25-week season, maybe it was just all too much.  191 is still an improvement from 190 last year however, and I will be looking to improve on next season!  Towards the end of the year I even invested in a non-reactive straight ball that I use to throw at 10-pins.  My pickup rate on the 10-pin went from 50% to 80% in the last few weeks, so I'm hoping that I can take my game to the next level next season!

After Hours Gaming League:
The AHGL StarCraft season was going well up until the semifinals when team IBM faced a very strong opponent in Microsoft.  We had the matchups we wanted going into that battle, but 2 players who we were expecting to win didn't, myself included.  Team IBM ended up losing in the semis and unfortunately won't be going back to Santa Monica this year.  There were just so many good teams with good players this year's league that it really could've gone either way.  While disappointing and depressing, it was still a fun season and I met even more great StarCraft players who are also IBMers.  We look forward to getting back at it next season!

It should be noted that Team IBM was 0-3 this season when ATrain lost his game.  That guy needs to step it up next time! >:O

Tucson APA 8-Ball League:
There are a few 8-Ball leagues for APA (American Poolplayers Association) in Tucson, but I play in the Tuesday league at the Fox and Hound.  Our team, nicknamed "The Dollar Menu" features a band of my friends who I recruited to come drink some cheap pints, have some fun, and maybe play some pool.  The pool league is a handicap league where a lower skilled player can actually have a chance of beating a higher skilled player on any given night (although generally the higher skilled players will be winning more often).  The team as a whole must not exceed a certain number of skill level points, which means you can't just stack a team with awesome players.

The funny thing about our team is that we really are a bunch of noobs.  Skill levels range from 2-7 with 2 being the lowest, and to give you an idea, last year we had on our team two 2's, and three 3's (you play 5 players a night and the maximum skill level total cannot exceed 23; so you can see we were playing with 13 points LOL).  We were really bad and got our butts handed to us last season, but this year we've improved a lot, added a couple players, and wouldn't you know it, we're in 1st place going into the last week of the season!  It's really crazy because we are all lower-leveled players, but in a way other teams have been rooting for us to do well...it shows a lot about the handicap system and never before has a team with these skill levels done so well!

Going into the final week of the regular season, my team sits on top at 1st place with a 2-point cushion over the 2nd place team.  We came up huge against that team last week winning 4 out of 5 points and we'd basically have to have a meltdown tonight to lose our grip on 1st place.  The 1st place team of the league will get an automatic bid into the city 8-ball tournament that includes all the leagues from all over the city...and not to mention we win a fat stack of monies as well. :)

But that's not all.  There's an award called "Top Gun" that goes to the player with the most Top Gun points in the league for each skill level tier.  Each time you beat a player, you earn Top Gun points equivalent to their skill level.  I have a 3-point lead in my skill level tier and if I can maintain it in the final week I will win a patch!  But there's still more.  The Top Gun award extends into the city and if you are the highest player in all the leagues in the city, you get a plaque!  My 31 points are tied with another player, so really it all comes down to tonight and whether I can get a solid win against a decently skilled opponent!

Either way, it's been amazing season and I am so happy I joined the pool league here in Tucson.  I've had so much fun and have met so many new and fun people!

IBM Basketball League:
IBM basketball league has begun and we are already 4 weeks into the season!  I took over as co-commissioner this year and helped register our league at the gym we play at (Clements Center), got insurance coverage to cover the gym (since IBM no longer sponsors us; yeah, sucky, we're kind of an independent league now), and got IBMers and their guests to sign up and play!

As the defending champ, my team is built around it's core of 3 players: myself, Ryan, and Cooper.  Ryan is the best player in the league and arguably one of the best in Tucson.  To give you an idea of how good we are, in week 2 we scored a whopping 79 points to the tune of a 79-62 victory where Ryan dropped 40 (thus overshadowing my solid 22 points of production heh). 

But I bear some bad news.  Last week we were 3-0 going into week 4, but 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Ryan's foot got caught on another player's foot and he ended up dislocating his ankle and sustaining a small fracture. :'(  It was the worst case scenario and my star player is pretty much done for the season.  I'm really sad because a talent like Ryan's can't be released and he will surely be missed.  We ended up losing that game unfortunately.  Going into future weeks we have recruited replacements to help fill out our roster and bench, but the road to the repeat will surely be more difficult this year.  Time for me to step up my game!

Upcoming Travel and Fun Stuff!
When I'm not enjoying my leagues, I'll be out and about, still making it happen!  The next 6 weekends will be jam packed for me, but I'm looking forward to all of it.  We have on our way:
1. Birthday parties in Tucson for Matt (4/26) and Wes (4/27).
2. Bachelor Party for Chris and visiting Mike in Austin, TX (5/2 - 5/6).
3. Birthday party in Tucson for Dori (5/11).
4. Wakeboarding at Apache Lake with Matt, Doug, and Jonny (5/16 - 5/18).
5. New Orleans with Mike (5/23 - 5/26).
6. Salt River Tubing with Ann, Dori, and Wes (6/1).
Can't wait for May to roll around!  Gonna be fun!  Thanks for stopping by Andy Andy Blog and see ya next time!