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WEEK 11 – THE PLAYOFF
What a great season. Going into the night we already had three of our four spots filled for the AFA tournament in Grand Rapids on Saturday April 20th. The playoffs would determine the fourth qualifier.
On the bubble (ever so barely) was Team 12, The Pin Ticklers featuring Kevin Ney and Steve Bitel. They were our #3 seed in the last AFA Championship. This year they were tied for fourth place with Team 6, Seriously?? with Scott Love and Shawn Fallon at 33-17. They were tied in head to head matchups at 1 a piece. It went to the second tiebreaker and they got fourth place by number of games won in head to head matches, 6-4. Now, they had to hope they or one of the top 3 teams would win the tournament so they would qualify. Any lower ranked team wins it, then they take the fourth spot!
We kicked off the evening with Lee from Founders, our sponsor from the first week coming back for the last week with All Day Grapefruit, their Session IPA with a touch of Grapefruit and MI Pilsner, a Pilsner make with all Michigan Hops. Both on tap. Both delicious. Then we passed out the prize money to our top 4 regular season teams and the first set of trophies to Clint and Danielle Hixson of Team 11, Wine Some Booze Some for their dominating Regular Season championship.
On the bubble (ever so barely) was Team 12, The Pin Ticklers featuring Kevin Ney and Steve Bitel. They were our #3 seed in the last AFA Championship. This year they were tied for fourth place with Team 6, Seriously?? with Scott Love and Shawn Fallon at 33-17. They were tied in head to head matchups at 1 a piece. It went to the second tiebreaker and they got fourth place by number of games won in head to head matches, 6-4. Now, they had to hope they or one of the top 3 teams would win the tournament so they would qualify. Any lower ranked team wins it, then they take the fourth spot!
We kicked off the evening with Lee from Founders, our sponsor from the first week coming back for the last week with All Day Grapefruit, their Session IPA with a touch of Grapefruit and MI Pilsner, a Pilsner make with all Michigan Hops. Both on tap. Both delicious. Then we passed out the prize money to our top 4 regular season teams and the first set of trophies to Clint and Danielle Hixson of Team 11, Wine Some Booze Some for their dominating Regular Season championship.
ROUND ONE -- THE PLAY IN
The first round of the playoffs was the “Play In” Teams ranked 13 through 20 who had to win to get into the round of 16. And unfortunately, what was waiting for them in that round was the top 4 teams. Congratulations?
16 seed 14 For Fowl’s Sake took on 17 seed 17 First National Bonk and Trust on Lane 15. This was the tightest seeding of the play in rankings but the match turned out to be a 3-0 win for 14 For Fowl’s Sake. They advanced to take on #1 seed 11 Wine Some Booze Some.
Veteran Ypsi Fowlers Brenna and David Tavidian of 3 The Empire Strikes Bonk were the top seed of the play in round, meaning the got to play the lowest seed, 13 Striking Ladies. And the seeds did not lie with 3 The Empire Strikes Bonk getting a 4-0 mercy to advance to the Sweet 16
14 seed 2 Fowling Down drew the lucky straw with 19 seed 19 Team Awesome Sauce who forfeited their match due to a funky new work schedule.
The most competitive match of the play in was 15 seed 18 Fowl Horn Leghorns vs 18 seed
15 Super Fowl. Zach Ristau and Ben Mitchell of 15 Super Fowl stood alone in the lead of the league after going 5-0 on week one. In this match they took a 2-1 with both teams firing away at one pin as time started to run out. Neither connected giving 15 Super Fowl the win and advancing them to the next round.
The first round of the playoffs was the “Play In” Teams ranked 13 through 20 who had to win to get into the round of 16. And unfortunately, what was waiting for them in that round was the top 4 teams. Congratulations?
16 seed 14 For Fowl’s Sake took on 17 seed 17 First National Bonk and Trust on Lane 15. This was the tightest seeding of the play in rankings but the match turned out to be a 3-0 win for 14 For Fowl’s Sake. They advanced to take on #1 seed 11 Wine Some Booze Some.
Veteran Ypsi Fowlers Brenna and David Tavidian of 3 The Empire Strikes Bonk were the top seed of the play in round, meaning the got to play the lowest seed, 13 Striking Ladies. And the seeds did not lie with 3 The Empire Strikes Bonk getting a 4-0 mercy to advance to the Sweet 16
14 seed 2 Fowling Down drew the lucky straw with 19 seed 19 Team Awesome Sauce who forfeited their match due to a funky new work schedule.
The most competitive match of the play in was 15 seed 18 Fowl Horn Leghorns vs 18 seed
15 Super Fowl. Zach Ristau and Ben Mitchell of 15 Super Fowl stood alone in the lead of the league after going 5-0 on week one. In this match they took a 2-1 with both teams firing away at one pin as time started to run out. Neither connected giving 15 Super Fowl the win and advancing them to the next round.
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ROUND TWO – THE SWEET 16
Sadly, none of the teams from the play in round advanced through round 2. 1 seed 11 Wine Some, Booze Some handled 14 For Fowl’s Sake 4-2. Danielle Hixson got a bonk, keeping our Bonk Streak alive at 19 weeks. 2 seed 10 The Bourbon Brothers did lose a game but still mercied 15 Super Fowl 5-1. 3 seed 9 Chewbonkka’s beat 2 Fowling Down 4-2 to advance. 4 seed 12 Pin Ticklers had a close match against 3 The Empire Strikes Bonk but ended their evening with a last minute 3-2 victory. Two games in lanes right next to each other featured a player flying solo. Since there were no subs in the playoff games, if your teammate couldn’t make it, you would take your turn, then allow the other team to throw twice, missing your partner’s turn. Brandon Tuttle was out of town so Alicia Curley of 7 seed 4 Bonk Shells was flying solo against 1 It’s 4:20 Somewhere. She kept it close but still lost 3-0. A late cancellation by Noah Helton left Dominic Bazzano of 5 The Jabronis to play alone against 16 Red White and Boujee, the 6 seed. Amazingly he won a game but lost the match 2-1. 12 seed 7 District Won got an injury bye from 5 seed Seriously?? Both Scott Love and Shawn Fallon were nursing injuries from the week before. Instead of risking their health, they stood down giving the match to Austin and Noelle. The only other game was between the two closest seeds, 8 seed 20 Beer League Benders and 9 seed 8 Fowled Folks Home. Scott Brown announced prior to the match that Scott and Patty had never beaten Lisa and Elizabeth in a match before. They called “JINX” and it seemed to be true. 8 Fowled Folks Home took the first two games before 20 Beer League Benders lit the fire to win games 3 and 4. In game 5 as time was running out, Scott picked up the final two pins for the win to advance. |
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ROUND 3 – QUARTER FINALS
8 teams left. 8 Fowled Folks Home typically play at a leisurely pace but still managed to finish early by losing 4-0 to the regular season champs 11 Wine Some Booze Some. Then there’s 1 It’s 4:20 Somewhere, known for their fast play and Isabella Ferstle’s fastball, providing contrast to dad Terry Ferstle’s sweet arcing shot. It took 6 games for 2 seed 10 The Bourbon Brothers to end their evening 5-1. And one of those wins was a Strike for Bourbon Brother Randy Stewart. In a slight upset, 6 seed 16 Red White and Boujee took out 3 see 9 Chewbonkka’s in a tight 3-2 match. Josh Daley is still on crutches but since they went 5-0 in final week of the season to capture third place on crutches, it’s tough to claim it as a handicap. Their night was done, but their ticket to Grand Rapids was already punched in the regular season. Red White and Boujee was still looking for a way in. Also trying to sneak into the AFAs was 4 seed 12 Pin Ticklers. If they, or any of the top three seeds, won the tournament, they go to the AFAs. Anyone else, they are out. Kevin and Steve of 12 Pin Ticklers did not help their cause by dropping their match to 7 District Won in a tightly fought 4-3 match. Now they had to have faith that neither of the lower ranked remaining teams would clear the favorites, make it to the finals and win it, knocking them out of the tournament. |
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ROUND 4 – THE SEMIS
Only two matches this round. First, the top seed 11 Wine Some Booze Some was taking on 12 seed 7 District Won coming of an upset victory. Just like Fowling, it was harder than in looked!! But Clint and Danielle advanced to the finals with a 5-2 victory over Austin and Noelle. One of the underdogs was out. In the other Semi, it was old foes Jenn Johnson and Dean O’Neil of 16 Red White and Boujee vs 2 seed Randy and Jeff Stewart, 10 The Bourbon Brothers. Evidently there was something in the past that set off the 10 Bourbon Brothers because they were on a mission of Mercy, winning 4-0 over 16 Red White and Boujee. The second underdog went down securing the fourth AFA spot for 12 Pin Ticklers. ROUND 5 – THE FINALS / THE THIRD PLACE GAME Third Place. Austin and Noelle just win in tournaments. 7 District Won grabbed the Third Place Money over Jenn and Dean of 16 Red White and Boujee 3-2 in their 20 minute timed match. The Final was the match that everyone has been expecting since week 7 when these two teams pulled away from the pack. Top Seed 11 Wine Some Booze Some vs 2 seed 10 The Bourbon Brothers. Normally a good reporter would be able to tell you who won the first game and the second and so on ... but I am not a good reporter. I DO know that it was a seven-game untimed match for the tournament championship and that neither team was ever ahead by more than one game. I DO KNOW that the Bourbon Brothers took the hammer into game 7. Both teams were throwing at 1 pin in game 7 to win the tournament. How’s THAT for exciting. Danielle knocked down the final pin and Randy Stewart the hammer, one more throw to keep them in the match ... and of course Randy being Randy, he nailed it to send the match, the tournament, hell the SEASON to overtime. After trading some misses on the single rebuttal pin, who else but Randy Stewart would nail it for the win. No Rebuttal. Bourbon Brothers are the champs. Season Over. It was a tough week for Randy so I am sure that the Strike, the Rebuttal and the overtime kill all made it a little bit easier to take. That and this Brotherly Hug from is Bourbon Brother Jeff probably didn’t hurt either! |
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THE AFA CHAMPIONSHIP
We are feeling pretty good here in Ypsi. We have two dominant and tournament tested teams in our 1 and 2 positions for the tournament. Our 3 and 4 are both great teams as well, capable of beating our 1 or our 2 in any match.
So thank you to everyone in the league and to anyone who has read this far. We are putting together a pretty cool Fowling Culture here in Ypsi Ann Arbor. With the help of some veterans from Hamtramck and some organic Washtenaw County Fowlers, we are raising the skill lever with every league. Soon it will be tough to know who is an OG and who has been Ypsi trained. You all are getting that good! Hell, my team couldn’t do better than 9th here in our own place. We never did better than 9th in Hamtramck either so I guess we are on pace to challenge for a championship.
We have three leagues starting in April and May. Our Tuesday Doubles League on April 2, an alternating Thursday Ladies League on May 2 and our three person team “Beer League” on the other Thursdays starting May 9th. Sign up now and let’s keep this thing going all summer long!
We are feeling pretty good here in Ypsi. We have two dominant and tournament tested teams in our 1 and 2 positions for the tournament. Our 3 and 4 are both great teams as well, capable of beating our 1 or our 2 in any match.
So thank you to everyone in the league and to anyone who has read this far. We are putting together a pretty cool Fowling Culture here in Ypsi Ann Arbor. With the help of some veterans from Hamtramck and some organic Washtenaw County Fowlers, we are raising the skill lever with every league. Soon it will be tough to know who is an OG and who has been Ypsi trained. You all are getting that good! Hell, my team couldn’t do better than 9th here in our own place. We never did better than 9th in Hamtramck either so I guess we are on pace to challenge for a championship.
We have three leagues starting in April and May. Our Tuesday Doubles League on April 2, an alternating Thursday Ladies League on May 2 and our three person team “Beer League” on the other Thursdays starting May 9th. Sign up now and let’s keep this thing going all summer long!
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Click a League Photo above to sign up!
FINAL STANDINGS
WEEK 10 – WHO’S GOING TO THE AFA tournament?
Two of the slots were all but spoken for. 11 Wine Some Booze Some, even with their subs going 2-3 last week still just needed 1 win in 5 games to wrap up first place. 10 Bourbon Brothers were 5 games in front of the next competitor for second place and just needed 1 win to lock that up. Now Third place, that’s was a whole different matter. There were four teams tied for third place and a fifth team just one game back. Any of these 5 teams could have made the grade but you pretty much had to win all of your games to make sure you landed the final AFA slot to be decided in the regular season.
So there was serious business to attend to, but not without our thirst being quenched. That quickly happened thanks to Arbor Brewing who went on a bit of a “Pilsner” and “Euchre” tangent when presenting the Beer of the Week. We had our choice between Euchre Pils in cans or Loner Hand Italian Pils on Draft. That choice was made and it was off to the lanes to find out who would represent Ypsi Ann Arbor at the AFA Championships on April 20th in Grand Rapids.
So there was serious business to attend to, but not without our thirst being quenched. That quickly happened thanks to Arbor Brewing who went on a bit of a “Pilsner” and “Euchre” tangent when presenting the Beer of the Week. We had our choice between Euchre Pils in cans or Loner Hand Italian Pils on Draft. That choice was made and it was off to the lanes to find out who would represent Ypsi Ann Arbor at the AFA Championships on April 20th in Grand Rapids.
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MATCH 1
11 Wine Some Booze Some clinched the regular season championship with a 4-1 victory in the first round. 10 Bourbon Brothers clinched second place with their own 4-1 victory in match 1. In the traffic jam in third place 6 Seriously?? won 4-1, 12 Pin Ticklers had a tough time taking down 5 The Jabronis but won 4-3. 20 Beer League Benders were only one match out of third place and won their match 3-0 to keep pace. The final match paired up two of the teams tied for third, 9 Chewbonkka’s and 16 Red White and Boujee. A tough match up for either team but made tougher for 9 Chewbonkka’s because Josh Daley was on crutches from knee surgery. Last week he sent wife Amber to sub but felt good enough this week to take a shot at playing. Evidently it went pretty well because they ended up knocking 16 Red White and Boujee back a game off the pace by sweeping them 4-0. While the knee isn’t good, Josh’s Fowling was just fine. |
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MATCH 2
This time, 6-Seriously managed a 4-0 sweep to keep them on pace for third place. 12 Pin Ticklers took a bit longer with a 4-2 victory to stay in the race. 16 Red White and Boujee dropped another match 2-3 to put them two games off the pace. Again, 9 Chewbonkka’s was up against a contender, 20 Beer League Benders and the match went the distances with Tommy Andre and Josh (Crutches) Daley of 9 Chewbonkka’s winning 4-3 on pincount keeping them in the race and dropping 20 Beer League Benders off the pace. Our Bonk Streak was kept alive at 18 weeks by Brad Schoeff of 14 For Fowl’s Sake. It was his first Bonk ever. Also, a shout out to 20 Beer League Benders who got a team spare in the third game. |
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MATCH 3
6 Seriously??, 9 Chewbonkka’s and 12 Pin Ticklers all won their third match of the night. All undefeated for the evening ... all still tied for third place with two matches to go. 20 Beer League Benders and 16 Red White and Boujee both lost in Match 3, ending their run for Third place. Noah Helton from 5 The Jabronis recorded his first bonk ever in Game 2. It was against 4 Bonk Shells. Fuckin’ Figures. |
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MATCH 4
Finally, someone blinked. 12 Pin Ticklers won the first two games of their match with 4 Bonk Shells but lost the next two games. The Match went to a one throw for pin count to decide the match ... Kevin from Pin Ticklers got 1 and Alicia from Bonk Shells got 4 to win the match and drop 12 Pin Ticklers one game back. 9 Chewbonkka’s barely won their match which also went to pin count over 17 First National Bonk and Trust. 6 Seriously?? won their match over 7 District Won 4-2 ... it was their first win over Austin and Noelle this season. The match wins for 9 Chewbonkka’s and 6 Seriously?? kept the chase for third place and an automatic seed in the AFA Championship alive. |
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MATCH 5
9 Chewbonkka’s and 6 Seriously?? had one match left to sweep the evening and go to a tiebreaker to decide third place. If both lost and 12 Pin Ticklers won, it would be a three way tie. All of them had favorable draws for the final match. 9 Chewbonkka’s was playing 13 Striking Ladies who started the evening in 20th place. They followed the script and delivered a victory winning the first three games before dropping the final to win 3-1. 6 Seriously?? was playing 16 Red White and Boujee, normally a tough win but they we having a difficult night losing their first four matches. Unfortunately for 6 Seriously, they picked match 5 to right the ship and pulled off a 3-2 win to tarnish 6 Seriously??’s perfect record for the evening, costing them the chance at an automatic bid to the AFAs. 12 Pin Ticklers had the toughest draw of the three, 10 Bourbon Brothers who had clinched second place but were not letting up coming into the match undefeated. It was a hard fought 7 game match with 12 Pin Ticklers winning 4-3 and tying 6 Seriously?? for fourth place. |
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RESULTS and STANDINGS
This is the hard part of the night. We were able to determine our top 3 seeds without a tiebreaker. Each of them have an automatic bid to the AFA Championships in Grand Rapids on Saturday April 20th. Congratulations to our regular season champions Danielle and Clint Hixson of 11 Wine Some Booze Some. They’ll get the #1 seed in next week’s tournament. Hats off to Randy and Jeff Stewart who are the regular season runner ups and #2 seed in the tournament. Rising to the challenge of 4 other teams vying for third place, going undefeated despite recent knee surgery, give credit where credit is due to Josh Daley on crutches and Tommy Andre for taking all of the defensive duties while Josh protected his knee. They’re alone in third place and hold the #3 seed in the tournament. |
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Fourth place is also very important. First, there is prize money for the regular season. Second is status in the tournament for the AFA invitation. If one of our top three teams wins the tournament, then our #4 seed gets the bid to the AFAs whether they win or not. But if another team with a lower seed wins the tournament, they get the final invitation to the AFAs, not the 4th place team. Everyone has a chance until there are vanquished next week.
So let’s do the tiebreakers...
To refresh your memories the tiebreakers are:
None of our tiebreakers made the 10 Pin Challenge (phew) but we were close. There were 5 ties.
So let’s do the tiebreakers...
To refresh your memories the tiebreakers are:
- Head-To-Head Match Wins
- If tied, then Games Won in Head-To-Head Matches
- If tied, then Season Games Won Percentage
- If still tied, then 10 Pin Challenge
None of our tiebreakers made the 10 Pin Challenge (phew) but we were close. There were 5 ties.
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4th Place Tie between 6-Seriously and 12 Pin Ticklers at 33-17
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6th Place Tie between 4 Bonk Shells, 16 Red White and Boujee and 20-Beer League Benders at 30-20.
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11th place tie between 5 The Jabronis and 7 District Won at 27-23
5 The Jabronis won the head-to-head matchup 2-0 to claim 11th place. |
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14th place tie between 2 Fowling Down and 18 Fowl Horn Leghorns at 16-34
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17th place tie between 15 Super Fowl and 17 First National Bonk and Trust at 14-36
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Just because it was a ton of work, click to download head to head chart. Read across to your team did against other teams. It’s funny how there are some teams where you have their number and others that have your number. Where you stand in the rankings doesn’t always matter.
Speaking of the standings, with all of these ties, here’s how the tournament bracket looks |
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WEEK 9 – LOG JAM IN THIRD PLACE
This week we tasted Uncle Drew’s Flying Machine, a Juicy IPA from Ore Dock Brewing. It was a big week. 11 Wine Some Booze Some started the evening 8 games up on second place 10 Bourbon Brothers with 10 matches to play. They could clinch. But as reported last week, they threw us a curveball...on what was already a tough night playing 5 teams with winning records, they sent in the subs Sara Schauman and Josh Evans. They were not the only ones. Terry Ferstle from 1 4:20 Somewhere was under the weather and sent Savvy Ferstle. Randy Stewart of 10 Bourbon Brothers might finally be “healthy”, but this time was in Montana. Josh Daley of 9 Chewbonkka’s had planned surgery and might be out for the season ... sent wife Amber Daly in his place. Shawn Fallon of 6 Seriously was out and Nicole (Nikki Waffles) Goetzke replaced him. All big teams playing the penultimate week with subs. How was this going to turn out?
Teams were given an assignment ... jot some notes on your scoresheet for the article this week. We will attempt to include as many of these as possible.
Teams were given an assignment ... jot some notes on your scoresheet for the article this week. We will attempt to include as many of these as possible.
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MATCH 1
I’ve got to tell you, asking our Fowlers to provide some color commentary on their scoresheets really paid off. For instance, while most of 2 Fowling Down’s games were “pretty close games, 1 or 2 pins for the finish” they thought that in their first match against 10 Bourbon Brothers they “gave them a run for their money by taking this Titanic all the way to game 7” where 10 Bourbon Brothers “proved to be the iceberg and we didn’t have enough boats”. The allegory! MWA! (Italian hand kiss). In short, 10 beat 2 by a score of 4-3. Also, 7 District Won took out 9 Chewbonkka’s “on pins” in game 5 of their match and Jess Wolverton from 13 Striking Ladies “really likes the vending machine”. 12 Pin Tickers were the only team with a sweep. No Bonks this match. |
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MATCH 2
By the time we got to round two, the cub reporters had put their pencils down and concentrated on Beer and Fowling. Except Jess Wolverton from 13 Striking Ladies who wanted to thank the league commissioner for ”not hitting her in the face with a football” this week. 5 Jabronis even manage to get a sweep in Match Two. |
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MATCH 3
Kevin Ney from 12 Pin Ticklers managed to keep our 17 week Bonk streak alive starting their comeback with a Bonk in game 4 followed by a game 5 victory to win the match. Typically, I don’t mention which teams got swept. It’s embarrassing enough. Well 20 Beer League Benders got a 4-0 sweep in Match 3, and they were coming off getting swept in Match 2. Like they say, just throw that loss in the trash and start over! |
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MATCH 4
Once you Bonk, you just can’t stop! Even though they lost their match 3-4, Austin McBee from 7 District Won bonked but sent partner Noelle Caprarese to accept the honor for him. She signed his name on the Bonk HOF and the Bonk Board, but SHE pulled the Bonk Honk. 20 Beer League Benders picked up the 7-10 Split in game 4. Jess Wolverton from 13 Striking Ladies commented that we “should ask for everyone’s favorite song and make a playlist”. It’s in the suggestion box. |
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MATCH 5
There was a wild match on lane 3 between 8 Fowled Folks Home and the subs of 11-Wine Some Booze Some, Sara Schauman and Josh Evans. WSBS picked up a game one win, the Kill Pin Patty got a 4 piece for the biscuit in game two. Game three was a battle of pins with the 1-7-10 box or square for WSBS and the 6-7 split for FFH. Josh made the perfect throw and was about to get the head pin when Stewie’s ball from the next lane shot over and intercepted the shot before it hit the pins. Later that same game, |
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Kill Pin Patty knocked down the last pin and Sara tried to take out the pesky head pin to send it to OT. Sara missed by an inch but then, out of nowhere a ball flew through the small passage in the fence from lane 3 and missed the head pin by an inch on the other side. WOW! Just as that is happening, Alison Bitel gets a personal spare for 18 Fog Horn Leghorns. As time is running out, 11 Wine Some Booze Some wins game four to tie up the match. Behind them Katrina Keeton from 19 Team Awesome Sauce screams as she executes her FIRST BONK EVER to win game 5, but not the match against 16 Red White and Bougee. Meanwhile, were going into extra time on lanes 12, 13 and 14 with 8-Fowled Folks Home, 6 Seriously and 10 Bourbon Brothers grabbing the extra time wins. We took a break and introduced Katrina to the Bonk Honk. And just like that, the evening was over.
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WEEK 9 RESULTS
If you recall, the standings were pretty tight, and we were hoping that this week would shake it all out. However, most of the top teams did pretty well. Only 10 The Bourbon Brothers with Bruce Kaskey sitting in for Randy Stewart were able to win all 5. 4 Bonk Shells, 7 District Won, 8 Fowled Folks Home, 12 Pin Ticklers and (first time ever) Alison Bitel and Brad Schoeff of 14 For Fowl’s Sake all went 4-1. In fact, every team got a win this week! |
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WEEK 9 STANDINGS
We expected 11 Wine Some Booze Some to clinch this week coming in 8 games ahead of 10 Bourbon Brothers with 10 to go ... but the subs went 2-3 and 10 Bourbon Brothers went 5-0 which means ... if WSBS goes 0-5 and BB go 5-0 in week 10, they would both end up at 39-11. It’s unlikely ... but your saying we still got a chance? Now third place ... this is a mess. 9 Chewbonkka’s were in third at 28-12, and went 1-4 16 Red White and Boujee were in fourth at 27-13 and went 2-3. 6 Seriously?!? were in fifth at 26-14 and went 3-2 12 Pin Ticklers were tied for sixth at 25-15 and went 4-1. Yep. All of these teams are tied for third at 29-16. And don’t count out 20 Beer League Benders who are only 1 game back of the pack at 28-17. So, it’s going to be interesting in Week 10 because third place guarantees you a spot in the AFA Championship. Fourth place, you are only qualifying if you or one of the top 3 teams win the playoffs in week 11. Anyone ranked 5 through 20 wins the tournament, they grab the 4th spot in the tourney. |
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For these seven teams, what are we looking at next week?
There’s not a lot or inter leader play. Of course, 11 Wine Some Booze Some manage to avoid top team competition all night. 10 The Bourbon Brothers won’t play one of the contenders until Game 4 against 16 RW&B and Match 5 against 12 Pin Ticklers. 20 Beer League Benders, 6 Seriously?!? and 12 Pin Ticklers have only 1 match up against the contenders. But 9 Chewbonkka’s and 16 Red White and Boujee each have three matches against the top teams, including kicking the night off against each other. Hopefully it will all sort itself out next week so we don’t have to spend a bunch of time sitting in front of a spreadsheet figuring out the tiebreakers.
AFA CHAMPIONSHIPS GRAND RAPIDS SATURDAY APRIL 20
Also, I confirmed the 4 rooms for our AFA Contingent in Grand Rapids for Friday night and Saturday Night. The block of rooms is at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Grand Rapids – Airport North at 5405 28th St. Court SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546. It’s $139 a night. Call 616-265-3333 to reserve. It’s about 1.6 miles from the FWGR. Let’s see if we can get a good crew up there to support our four representative teams in the AFA Championships. We have an actual shot at it with one previous AFA Champ and some of the best players out there on our potential roster. GO FWYA2!!
There’s not a lot or inter leader play. Of course, 11 Wine Some Booze Some manage to avoid top team competition all night. 10 The Bourbon Brothers won’t play one of the contenders until Game 4 against 16 RW&B and Match 5 against 12 Pin Ticklers. 20 Beer League Benders, 6 Seriously?!? and 12 Pin Ticklers have only 1 match up against the contenders. But 9 Chewbonkka’s and 16 Red White and Boujee each have three matches against the top teams, including kicking the night off against each other. Hopefully it will all sort itself out next week so we don’t have to spend a bunch of time sitting in front of a spreadsheet figuring out the tiebreakers.
AFA CHAMPIONSHIPS GRAND RAPIDS SATURDAY APRIL 20
Also, I confirmed the 4 rooms for our AFA Contingent in Grand Rapids for Friday night and Saturday Night. The block of rooms is at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Grand Rapids – Airport North at 5405 28th St. Court SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546. It’s $139 a night. Call 616-265-3333 to reserve. It’s about 1.6 miles from the FWGR. Let’s see if we can get a good crew up there to support our four representative teams in the AFA Championships. We have an actual shot at it with one previous AFA Champ and some of the best players out there on our potential roster. GO FWYA2!!
WEEK 8 – The elusive double bonk!
I was having a text conversation with our Founder Chris Hutt this weekend. On Friday, one of our customers got a bonk ... did the entire ceremony; wrote their name on the Bonk Board, got their souvenir Bonk Pin, wrote their name in the Bonk Hall of Fame, Pulled the Bonk Honk. Then he went back and on his very next throw, he Bonked again!! WOW! So I asked Chutt “Has that ever happened before”. He said twice that he knew of. He did it and Kristen Peterson, one of the Hamtramck leaguers had too. This one on Friday last week made 4. So pretty rare.
To kick of the week, Scott Schoeff from 18 Fowl Horn Leghorns walked into the building for league and took a practice throw. BONK! Then he took another practice throw. BONK! Everyone saw it. But Scott just sent them up and continued practice. When some of the other leaguers corralled him and said “Did you just Bonk twice in a row?” he said, “Yeah, but it was just practice ... it doesn’t count.” Bull$h!t it doesn't! A Bonk is a Bonk is a Bonk ... and a BONK BONK is a double bonk. We finally convinced Scott to enter his name onto the Bonk Board and pull the Bonk Honk twice to make it official.
That said, this is week 8 of the AFA Qualifying Winter Doubles League. Only 15 more matches to go before the playoffs. Top three teams automatically qualify for the AFA Championship in Grand Rapids on 4/20. If someone besides the top 3 wins the season ending tournament, they also qualify. If not, the #4 team in the standings gets the final spot in the tourney. Let’s start planning a group to go to the AFA’s! Here are some details about a block of rooms afa_2024_hotel_block.pdf for those who want to stay overnight. I will have the game schedule and more details at league next week. GO YA2!!
The Brewery of the Week was Short’s and they did not disappoint. They had three to choose from; their new Local’s Amber on tap along with Bellaire Brown and the Pure Michigan Spring Hazy IPA in cans. Tom told us all about it and offered a shirt to anyone who BONKED.
To kick of the week, Scott Schoeff from 18 Fowl Horn Leghorns walked into the building for league and took a practice throw. BONK! Then he took another practice throw. BONK! Everyone saw it. But Scott just sent them up and continued practice. When some of the other leaguers corralled him and said “Did you just Bonk twice in a row?” he said, “Yeah, but it was just practice ... it doesn’t count.” Bull$h!t it doesn't! A Bonk is a Bonk is a Bonk ... and a BONK BONK is a double bonk. We finally convinced Scott to enter his name onto the Bonk Board and pull the Bonk Honk twice to make it official.
That said, this is week 8 of the AFA Qualifying Winter Doubles League. Only 15 more matches to go before the playoffs. Top three teams automatically qualify for the AFA Championship in Grand Rapids on 4/20. If someone besides the top 3 wins the season ending tournament, they also qualify. If not, the #4 team in the standings gets the final spot in the tourney. Let’s start planning a group to go to the AFA’s! Here are some details about a block of rooms afa_2024_hotel_block.pdf for those who want to stay overnight. I will have the game schedule and more details at league next week. GO YA2!!
The Brewery of the Week was Short’s and they did not disappoint. They had three to choose from; their new Local’s Amber on tap along with Bellaire Brown and the Pure Michigan Spring Hazy IPA in cans. Tom told us all about it and offered a shirt to anyone who BONKED.
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MATCH 1
It was a relatively quiet match after all the practice fireworks from Scott Schoeff. We did invite some newbies who were subbing for out-of-town teams. 5 The Jabronis had Jevit Tith and Sequoyah King, two early signups for the Spring League, filling in. They won their first game against 4 Bonk Shells and Sequoyah almost BONKED on his first throw of the second game ... but Alicia and Brandon righted the ship to take the last three games of the match over the newbies. We also had Owen Dorsey and John McClay filling in for 19 Team Awesome Sauce, and these newbies won their match! Welcome to league play guys! We also had one 7 game match and two 6 game matches. Guess who got the only sweep this match? Danielle Hixson and Clinton Hixson of 11 Wine Some, Booze Some, our league leaders. |
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MATCH 2
Kevin Ney and Steve Bitel of 12 Pin Ticklers managed a sweep. Since I can’t go a match without mentioning 11 Wine Some, Booze Some, our league leaders, the did not get a sweep this match. But Clint did close out the match with a Game 5 Bonk. So there’s that!! |
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MATCH 3
Scott and Patty Brown of 8 Fowled Folks Home dominated 12 Pin Ticklers Kevin Ney Steve Bitel in Game 1 of Match 3. In one throw Steve Bitel tied it up with a BONK, keeping our (now) 17-week league BONK streak alive. The match slowed as the teams traded wins. With time running out, 12 Pin Ticklers combined on a team spare to take the win in regulation. No sweeps this round but both of our “Sub” teams picked up a win ... the first ever for Jevit Tith and Sequoyah King, our spring leaguers. |
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MATCH 4
No sweeps. No Bonks. No Strikes. No Spares. But this was the beginning of the third rotation through the schedule. All the matches were very competitive with most being one game difference. |
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MATCH 5
A lot of excitement for 15 Super Fowl. Not only did they pull off a sweep, sub Carlos Hernandez got a BONK along the way. 8 Fowled Folk Home grabbed a sweep as well. 6 Seriously!?! got a 5-1 mercy. Typically, a spare is when one member of the team knocks down some of the pins and the other member knocks down the rest of them. Jenn Johnson of 16 Red White and Boujee managed a personal spare picking up the 2-3-5-9-10 five piece to finish the night with a win. |
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WEEK 8 RESULTS
Of course our league leaders 11 Wine Some, Booze Some went 5-0 again this week ... that’s 18 games in a row with their last loss coming against 1 It’s 4:20 Somewhere back in Match 2 of Week 5. Maybe we’ll get a bit of a reprieve next week as Alex Grodin and Sara Schauman from Hamtramck will be subbing for them. Alex and Sara are pretty good so maybe not. We already mentioned Clint and Danielle’s 5-0, but we should recognize 4-1 performances from 12 Pin Ticklers, 8 Fowled Folks Home and 10 The Bourbon Brothers, who had Jeremy Wallace, a Fowling OG subbing for Randy Stewart whose knee injury lingers, although he did show up to cheer his team on. Also a shout out to Laura and Edmund Willoughby of 17 First National Bonk and Trust who had their best week ever, winning their first three games of the night and finishing 3-2. Good job!! |
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Only two more weeks to go and it looks like an insurmountable lead by 11 Wine Some Booze Some who, at 37-3. They are 8 games in front of our second place team, 10 The Bourbon Brothers at 29-11. In third place one game back is 9 Chewbonkka's Tommy and Josh at 28-12. 16 Red White and Boujee (27-13) hold on to fourth with 6 Seriously (26-14) in fifth and 20 Beer League Benders and 12 Pin Ticklers right behind them both at 25-15.
In the playoffs three weeks from tonight, the first three team in the regular season standings have already qualified for the AFA tournament. If anyone beside the top three seeds wins the tournament, they will be the fourth representative of the Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor in Grand Rapids on 4/20. Otherwise, the fourth place team goes. At the AFAs, teams are divided into groups and each member of the group plays all the other teams in the group with the team with the best record advancing to play in the elimination tournament for the championship. We are hoping that one of our teams is able to make it all the way to the championship so we can bring the AFA trophy back to Ypsi Ann Arbor. |
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WEEK 7 – FOUR BIRTHDAYS, FOUR BONKS!! COINCIDENCE
Even before we got to the Fowling, or the Beer, there was CAKE!! Four birthdays to celebrate on Tuesday. Lisa Johnson, Jenn Johnson (no relation) and David Tavidian all had birthdays on 2/20. Alicia Curley had one on Monday. All were celebrated!!
Then the Beer. A two-fer from our friends at New Holland with their Mad Hatter on tap and the surprisingly popular “The Poet” Oatmeal Stout. We only have a couple of those left!!
Next, the Fowling. There’s only 4 weeks of the regular season and I just got the memo from the AFA with all of the details of the National Championship in Grand Rapids on Saturday April 20th (4 20 dude!). Getting pretty excited!
Also a shout out to Founders for sponsoring the league this round. The shirts still look great.
Then the Beer. A two-fer from our friends at New Holland with their Mad Hatter on tap and the surprisingly popular “The Poet” Oatmeal Stout. We only have a couple of those left!!
Next, the Fowling. There’s only 4 weeks of the regular season and I just got the memo from the AFA with all of the details of the National Championship in Grand Rapids on Saturday April 20th (4 20 dude!). Getting pretty excited!
Also a shout out to Founders for sponsoring the league this round. The shirts still look great.
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MATCH 1
We picked up where we left off last week. With Danielle and Clint Hixson of 11Wine Some, Booze Some sweeping the competition. No losses for them in Match 1. Bella and Terry Ferstle of 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere took one loss in a 5-1 mercy win. |
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MATCH 2
This is where it started getting a little nutty. In quick succession, Sergei Varnavski of 2 Fowling Down grabbed his first BONK and seconds later Elizabeth Gayeski of 20 Beer League Benders helped teammate Lisa Johnson celebrate her birthday with a BONK! Meanwhile there was some sweepin’ goin’ on. 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere, 3 The Empire Strikes Bonk and (guess who) 11 Wine Some, Booze Some all put together 4-0 match victories. |
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MATCH 3
In comparison, Match 3 was relatively quiet except for the large number of last second wins and overtime thrillers. Clint and Danielle didn’t even get a mercy (they went 3-0). Team 6 Seriously?? with Gabby Theodorovich sitting in as a sub (and bartending too, serious props) got a 4-0 sweep. So did 20 Beer League Benders, another birthday present for Lisa Johnson. |
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MATCH 4
It got a bit wild again, this time with both Jeff Stewart of 10 Bourbon Brothers and birthday girl Alicia Curley of 4 Bonk Shells getting a BONK within seconds of each other! This is Alicia’s second this month after a career long drought. Stewie followed up his bonk by knocking down 9 of 10 in the next game almost completing the rare BONK/STRIKE combo. Austin McBee and Noelle Caprarese of 7 District Won was the only team to record a 4-0 sweep. |
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MATCH 5
While 11 Wine Some, Booze Some didn’t sweep in rounds 3 and 4, it was only time that stopped them. They won both rounds 3-0. Who is going to pick up a win against Clint and Danielle? Hello second place 10 Bourbon Brothers!! It’s your turn to go up against the 12 match winning streak. Sitting in for the injured Randy was Karl Reinbold teamed with Jeff Stewart. WSBS took the first game. BB won the next two to take a 2-1 lead. WSBS tied it up in game 4. They split games 5 and 6. All tied up as they moved to game 7 which went to 11 Wine Some, Booze Some to give them a 13 match winning streak. I’m sure everyone is checking their schedule for next week to see if WSBS is on it. It’s a chance for glory or certain defeat. Depends on how you look at it!! |
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WEEK 7 RESULTS
Three teams went 5-0. As expected, Danielle and Clinton Hixson of 11 Wine Some, Booze Some continued their streak with a 5-0 performance. Bella and Terry Ferstle of 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere returned to their winning ways after a week off. Newest members of the 5-0 club this season are Brenna and David Tavidian (hey Happy Birthday David!) of 3The Empire Strikes Bonk. Look like all 5-0 winners share the same last name. Hey, Kill Pin Patty, we’re due!! |
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WEEK 7 STANDINGS
In first place it’s 11 Wine Some, Booze Some at 32-3. They are starting to pull away from the pack, 7 games in front of second place 10 The Bourbon Brothers at 25-10. They are in a virtual tie with third place 9 Chewbonkka’s at 25-10. If the season ended right now, these three would be representing us in the AFA Championships in Grand Rapids on Saturday 4/20. Hanging on to fourth place was a birthday present to Jenn Johnson and 16 Red White and Boujee at 24-11. They would have claim to the last spot unless another team WINS the year end play off. In contention you’ll find 6 Seriously?? and 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere, both at 23-12, 20 Beer League Benders at 22-13 and 12 Pin Ticklers at 21-14. |
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Upcoming events include; The First Friday Tournament at 7PM Friday March 1 ... BYO Team of 2 or 3 or fly solo ...16 teams, 10 minute matches, $140 Gift Card grand prize. Signup for the Spring April / May league is open now at https://fowlingwarehouse.com/ypsiannarbor/leagues/ . Remember to let me know if you have a sub coming or need a sub. Just three weeks left in the regular season, followed by the free Playoff week on Tuesday March 19th.
Week SIX -- yes, they are that good!
Great week for Fowling. It was the first week of the Ferstle Family mourning the Super Bowl loss from their hometown 49’ers. Our thoughts as Lions Fans are with you. It was also a great week for Beer as Tim from North Peak regaled us with a glass of Siren, their flagship Amber or a can of their Hail, their Michigan IPA with Maize and Blue at its heart; Beer made with Maize (yellow flaked corn) and Blue (corn grits). Of course, we drank all of the cans of Hail so only Siren remains in a key as the Beer of the Week for the public Wednesday through Sunday.
We also opened sign up for our April/May Spring league at https://fowlingwarehouse.com/ypsiannarbor/leagues/ We’ll start April 2, play 5 matches per week for 6 weeks and follow up with a playoff. There will be Free Practice and Prize Money. We are working on Beer of the Week and T-Shirts now. Stay tuned.
We did discuss a flexible 1, 2 or 3 person team league on Thursdays. Leaguers seemed open to the idea and especially excited if we had HAWAIIAN LEAGUE SHIRTS! I’ll see what I can do to seal that deal!! We hope to start that as soon as week can, again, stay tuned.
Also a shout out to Founders for sponsoring the league this round. The second week wearing the shirts and they still look great.
We also opened sign up for our April/May Spring league at https://fowlingwarehouse.com/ypsiannarbor/leagues/ We’ll start April 2, play 5 matches per week for 6 weeks and follow up with a playoff. There will be Free Practice and Prize Money. We are working on Beer of the Week and T-Shirts now. Stay tuned.
We did discuss a flexible 1, 2 or 3 person team league on Thursdays. Leaguers seemed open to the idea and especially excited if we had HAWAIIAN LEAGUE SHIRTS! I’ll see what I can do to seal that deal!! We hope to start that as soon as week can, again, stay tuned.
Also a shout out to Founders for sponsoring the league this round. The second week wearing the shirts and they still look great.
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MATCH 1
Brenna and David Tavidian of 3 The Empire Strikes Bonk were pretty happy with getting a win over Lisa Johnson and Elizabeth Gayeski of 20 Beer League Benders in game one of the first match. But Lisa and Elizabeth made them pay for that with back to back spares in games 2 and 3!! They also grabbed a win in game three to win the match 3-1. Meanwhile, 10 The Bourbon Brothers (with Patrick Leonard sitting in for brother Randy) and league leaders 11 Wine Some, Booze Some made quick work, sweeping their opponents 4-0. It took 5 The Jabronis a little longer for their 5-1 mercy. Still impressive. |
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MATCH 2
This round 9 Chewbonkka’s got a 4-0 sweep, as did 11 Wine Some, Booze Some again ... this time Danielle and Clint Hixson got a Team Spare as part of their 4-0 sweep. For those of you keeping track at home, 2 sweeps means they won their first 8 games of the evening |
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MATCH 3
4-0 Sweeps were recorded by 6 Seriously?? and 10 The Bourbon Brothers this round. What? No sweep by Clint and Danielle? Well, not true!! They somehow dropped game 4 after winning the first 3, making it 11 wins in a row to start the night. They added two more after their loss to get a 5-1 Mercy. Congrats to Dan Wurster and sub Keith Colegrove on being the first team to at least win a game against 11 Wine Some, Booze Some. During the middle of game 3, everyone looked around and said “Hey, no one has Bonked yet!”. On cue, the “Silent Bonker” Tommy Andre got one, then did not pull the Bonk Honk to celebrate in keeping with his brand. He did take the pin and wrote his name on the Bonk Board. To the victor go the spoils!! |
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MATCH 4
Guess who got a mercy in Match 4? WRONG! 4 Bonk Shells managed a win in game 2 of their match with 11 Wine Some, Booze Some. Clint and Danielle ran out of time and could only get the match to 4-1, not good enough for a mercy. 5 The Jabronis dropped the first game in their match and then reeled off 5 straight wins to get a 5-1 mercy. |
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MATCH 5
Two teams managed to grab a 4 game sweep. 20 Beer League Benders and (you guessed it) 11 Wine Some, Booze Some over (wait for it) 5 The Jabronis. Maybe Clint and Danielle were pissed that Dominic and Noah stole their thunder in Match 4? Who knows. One thing we know is that on this night, Danielle and Clint Hixson WERE THAT GOOD!! They went 5-0 winning 21 of their 23 games. Without the mercy rule, it could have been worse! |
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WEEK 6 RESULTS
Big props to Austin McBee and Noelle Caprarese of 7 District Won putting together their first 5 win night!! Good job for a home-grown team out of the FWYA2 Tournament Nights who made the jump to league play. We all know that Clint and Danielle of 11 Wine Some, Booze Some got all 5 wins, but so did 10 The Bourbon Brothers with Patrick Leonard (The Sniper) sitting in for Jeff Stewart’s brother Randy who was out with a “Lower Body Injury”. Get Well Soon? Also taking advantage of that “Big Sub Energy” was Steve Bitel of 12 Pin Ticklers who had Carlos Hernandez subbing for Skipper Kevin Ney. They got all 5 wins as well. |
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WEEK 6 STANDINGS
Last week 11Wine Some, Booze Some was in first place with 10 The Bourbon Brothers four games back in second, and none of that changed. They just moved 5 games closer to the AFA Championships. If the season ended right now, 9 Chewbonkka’s Tommy Andre and Josh Daley would get the automatic 3 seed going 3-2 for the night but still holding on to third place. Jenn Johnson and Dean O'Neill of 16 Red White and Boujee moved into a virtual tie for third at 21-9, but are behind in game winning percentage. They had the rare feat this week of going 4-1 in their matches while going 11-11 (.500) in their games this week. Their 8 games back while tied in matches for third. In fifth place it’s a tie between 20 Beer League Benders and 6 Seriously?? at 20-10 with 12 Pin Ticklers close behind at 19-11. Bella Ferstle Terry Ferstle of 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere saw their 10 win streak end going 2-3 for the night dropping off the pace a bit at 18-12. |
We are starting up the Friday Tournaments again, but just on the First Friday of the Month. Hope to see the league well represented on Friday March 1!
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Week FIVE -- ALICIA FINALLY GETS A BONK!
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With the completion of this week, we are officially halfway through the regular season of our AFA Qualifying Winter 2024 Doubles League! David from Mothfire Brewery was the proud sponsor of this week’s Beer of the Week as everyone got to taste their Double Dry Hopped Hazy IPA “Lolo” or their new Kolsch Style Ale “Times”. We took our league photo and were off to the races.
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MATCH 1
It’s always fun when someone gets a bonk or a strike. Scott Brown from 8-Fowled Folks Home got a “all pins over now” strike in game 2 of their match with 5-Jabronis. It was their only win of the first 4 games. With only 2 minutes and down 3-1 Scott and Patty mounted a furious comeback with a last second 4 pin split pickup by Kill Pin Patty Brown to take the match to extra time and then won on pins for a 4-3 victory. Meanwhile on lane 12, in game 2 Alicia Curley of 4 Bonk Shells picked up a 7-10 Split. But 1 It’s 4:20 Somewhere had the hammer and Bella Ferstle picked up the kill pin to send the game to overtime where 1 It’s 4:20 Somewhere got the win. Put a little bit of a damper on the 7-10 celebration. Lisa Johnson and Elizabeth Gayeski of 20 Beer League Benders put together a 4-0 sweep. |
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MATCH 2
All that disappointment Alicia had about not winning her 7-10 split game was quickly dissipated when in game 2 of match 2 ALICIA GOT HER FIRST BONK. We’re not sure if everyone in the league was aware that she did. There were a few people at the Food Truck a half mile down the street that heard the echoes of Alicia’s Scream and the subsequent cheering as she high-fived the entire rink ... and our ears are still ringing from the Bonk Honk extendomix she laid on us in the post-match celebration. In all honesty, Alicia has been one of our best and most dedicated players since we first started the leagues here in Ypsi and no one deserves it more than her. Congrats Alicia on your first BONK!! (This also keeps our League Bonk Streak alive at 13 weeks). Also in this round, Randy Stewart Jeff Stewart of 10 The Bourbon Brothers and Kevin Ney and Steve Bitel of 12 Pin Ticklers both got 4-0 sweeps this round. |
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MATCH 3
Taking a cue from Tommy “The Silent Bonker” Andre of 9 Chewbonkka’s, Danielle Hixson of 11 Wine Some, Booze Some quietly got a bonk in game 5 of their match. She eschewed the Bonk Honk and souvenir pin but did write her name on the Bonk Board. Tale of two bonkers. As Barry Sanders dad said, “act like you been there before”. 10 The Bourbon Brothers put together their second 4-0 sweep in a row while 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere swept the hard way by a 5-1 total. |
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MATCH 4
All the excitement this match happened in game 5. On lane 14, 6 Seriously?? put together a perfect spare. Scott Love got 5 on his first throw. Shawn Fallon got 5 on his first throw. Then over on lane 12, Team 3 The Empire Strikes Bonk were tied at 2 in a tight match with 12 Pin Ticklers. That's when David Tavidian of The Empire unleased a last throw Bonk to win the game and the match. David had no trouble pulling the Bonk Honk or taking home the souvenir pin. As Mel Allen often said “How About That!”. It’s not his first Bonk rodeo. 9 Chewbonkka’s and 11 Wine Some, Booze Some both managed 4-0 sweeps in Match 4. |
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MATCH 5
In comparison to all the other rounds, Round 5 was a relatively quiet news day. No Stikes, Bonks, Spares or Splits to report. Two sweeps though. 13 Striking Ladies Jess Wolverton and Janelle Phillips won 4 and lost 0 for the sweep. Danielle and Clint Hixson made it two sweeps in a row for 11 Wine Some, Booze Some, making it 12 game wins in a row after losing the first two in Match 3. |
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WEEK 5 RESULTS
You might remember that Bella and Terry Ferstle of 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere had a rough few weeks to start the Winter 2024 campaign. They were in 17th place at 1-4 in Week 1. By Week 3 they had only managed to scratch their way up to 14th place at 6-9. But since then, they have not lost a game going 5-0 last week and 5-0 this week. This week’s 5-0 was especially impressive. They knocked off Bonk Shells, Wine Some, Booze Some, Red White and Boujee, The Bourbon Brothers and Seriously?? That’s the top 4 teams at the start of the night plus The Bonk Shells who went 4-1 and had a split and a Bonk tonight. Serious Props!! They are now hottest team in the league in 7th place and one of the three teams at 16-9, just outside the top four AFA Qualification positions.
They were the only undefeated team this week but there were plenty of runner ups. 4 Bonk Shells, 8 Fowled Folks Home, 9 Chewbonkka’s and our league leaders 11 Wine Some, Booze Some all notched a 4-1 mark for the week. Some of our top teams had a rough week, so there are some changes in the standings.
You might remember that Bella and Terry Ferstle of 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere had a rough few weeks to start the Winter 2024 campaign. They were in 17th place at 1-4 in Week 1. By Week 3 they had only managed to scratch their way up to 14th place at 6-9. But since then, they have not lost a game going 5-0 last week and 5-0 this week. This week’s 5-0 was especially impressive. They knocked off Bonk Shells, Wine Some, Booze Some, Red White and Boujee, The Bourbon Brothers and Seriously?? That’s the top 4 teams at the start of the night plus The Bonk Shells who went 4-1 and had a split and a Bonk tonight. Serious Props!! They are now hottest team in the league in 7th place and one of the three teams at 16-9, just outside the top four AFA Qualification positions.
They were the only undefeated team this week but there were plenty of runner ups. 4 Bonk Shells, 8 Fowled Folks Home, 9 Chewbonkka’s and our league leaders 11 Wine Some, Booze Some all notched a 4-1 mark for the week. Some of our top teams had a rough week, so there are some changes in the standings.
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WEEK 5 STANDINGS
No change at the top. Clint and Danielle Hixson of 11 Wine Some, Booze Some held serve winning 4 this week and remain at the top of the table with at 22-3. Randy Stewart and Jeff Stewart of 10 The Bourbon Brothers dropped a game going 3-2 this week, but held on to second place at 19-6, 3 matches back. Their 4-1 performance this week put Tommy Andre and Josh Daley of 9 Chewbonkka’s alone in third place at 18-7. Right behind them alone in 4th place is Jenn Johnson and Dean O'Neill of 16 Red White and Boujee due to their 2-3 showing this week, dropping out of 3rd place. Then, there is a log jam right behind our 4 leaders at 16-9 with Lisa Johnson and Elizabeth Gayeski of 20 Beer League Benders, Scott Love and Shawn Fallon of 6 Seriously?? and the blazing hot Bella and Terry Ferstle of 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere standing just outside of the spotlight. |
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Week FOUR -- No lions in the Super bowl? Let's Fowl!!
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Great week to be a Fowler. Not so great week to be a Lions Fan. Since the dream season is over there is only one thing to do to get your mind off it ... FOWL! We kicked off the evening getting our new league shirts from Founders. Make sure to wear your shirts next week so we can get a league picture. Another way to forget about it is to knock back an icy cold beverage. This week that beverage was The Legend of the 1952 Olympics, the Finnish Long Drink! We were able to sample 4 flavors (Citrus, Cranberry, No Cal and the new Peach) thanks to Steve and Randall from Long Drink. They also brought plenty of swag!
Once all the forgetting was over, we got to Fowling. |
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MATCH 1
Nothing crazy happened this round. There was a last second kill which sent a match to overtime which had Scott Love Shawn Fallon of 6 Seriously?? victorious over Kevin Ney and Steve Bitel of 12 Pin Ticklers 4-3. Otherwise, no mercies, bonks, spares, strikes or splits. |
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MATCH 2
Whatever excitement we missed in Match 1, we made up for in Game 4 of Match 2! Brad Schoeff of 14 For Fowl’s Sake got his first Bonk! Seconds later Dan Wurster of 2 Fowling Down nailed another Bonk! Simultaneously, Alicia Curley and Brandon Tuttle of 4 Bonk Shells put together a team spare . This all happened in just one game!! It also keeps our league Bonk/Strike streak alive at 13 weeks!! 4 Bonk Shells and 10 The Bourbon Brothers each put together a 5-1 mercy this match. |
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MATCH 3
Zack Ristau of 15 Super Fowl got another Bonk in game 4. Unfortunately, they still lost the match 3-4 to 13 Striking Ladies Jess Wolverton and Janelle Phillips who were unfazed by all the excitement. Scott Love and Shawn Fallon of 6 Seriously?? teamed up for a Spare in game 5 of their 7-game match. They won 5-2. 8 Fowled Folks Home and 16 Red White and Boujee with summer leaguer Neil Turchick subbing for Jenn Johnson both logged a 4-0 sweep. Dean O’Neill said it was the new ball that made it possible. |
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MATCH 4
After all the excitement of Match 3 and 4, it was good to settle down and just Fowl for Match 4. No sweeps, bonks, spares or strikes. |
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MATCH 5
6 Seriously?? managed to get a sweep this round. Nick Schneider IV and Scott Schoeff of 18 Fowl Horn Leghorns got three quarters of the way to a sweep but could not complete the fourth game before time ran out. Katrina Keeton and James McCracken of 19 Team Awesome Sauce took Lisa Johnson and Elizabeth Gayeski of powerhouse 20 Beer League Benders to extra time with the hammer before leaving too many pins on the last throw to get the victory. Tough loss |
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WEEK 4 RESULTS
Two teams managed a perfect record this week. Bella and Terry Ferstle of 1 It's 4:20 Somewhere went 5-0. Neil Turchick sat in for Jenn Johnson and joined Dean O'Neill to get 16 Red White and Boujee a 5-0 sweep for the evening. Clint and Danielle Hixson of 11 Wine Some, Booze Some were on a long-planned vacation, so Scott Michalowicz and Diggy Makamora subbed for them and won 4 of their 5 matches. The rest of us were 3-2 or lower for the evening. Parity... |
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WEEK 4 STANDINGS
Having some subs to keep up their high standard of play served 11 Wine Some, Booze Some as the stayed in first place at 18-2 and added a match to their lead over second ranked 10 The Bourbon Brothers at 16-4. A sweep by 16 Red White and Boujee moved them into third place and one game closer to second position at 15-5. 6 Seriously?? dropped into a virtual tie for fourth place with 9 Chewbonkka’s at 14-6. 20 Beer League Benders and 12 Pin Ticklers are one match back at 13-7. NEXT WEEK Again ... DON’T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR SHIRT FOR TEAM AND LEAGUE PICTURES!! Also, we need two subs for Katrina Keeton and James McCracken of 19 Team Awesome Sauce. Let me know if you have someone who has always wanted to try out some league play for free!! Our brewery of next week is Mothfire so get your drinking gloves ready!! |
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Week three -- beers and bonks and strikes, oh my
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YPSILANTI, MI -- TUESDAY JANUARY 23, 2024. It’s Week 3 of the league and we STILL haven’t finished the Round Robin yet. This week we got to play 5 teams you had not played this season to see how we stacked up.
We also got to try some excellent Isle Royale Amber Ale from the closest brewery to our front door, the Ypsi Ale House. It was great listening to head brewer Ted Badgerow who has the distinction of being the first Craft Brewery in Michigan at the Real Ale Company of Chelsea. After that closed, he sold the original beer kettle to Larry Bell of Bell’s Brewery. He eventually got back in the business and started the Ypsi Ale House, a place where we took many meetings we had to open the Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor. https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/nightlife/2017/02/08/man-who-pioneered-michigan-craft-beer/97082960/ |
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MATCH 1
Once everyone arrived (thanks again, Mother Nature) we kicked off Match 1. We had two mercy matches with 13 Striking Ladies Jess Wolverton and Janelle Phillips along with 20 Beer League Benders Lisa Johnson and Elizabeth Gayeski both recording 4-0 sweeps. 12 Pin Ticklers Kevin Ney Steve Bitel lost 1 but went up by 4 for a 5-1 mercy victory. |
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MATCH 2
Our league Bonk/Strike streak is now at 12 weeks! In game 3, Austin McBee of 7 District Won recorded his second bonk in as many weeks but credited it to partner Noelle Caprarese on the Bonk Board (again). In game 5, Josh Daly picked up a bonk AND took credit for it. Too bad we can’t bank these things!! 8 Fowled Folks Home Scott and Patty Brown picked up a 4-0 sweep. |
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Match 3
Carlos Hernandez was subbing for Brad Schoeff on 14 For Fowl’s Sake with Skipper Alison Bitel. And good thing because he recorded a Bonk in Game 3. It took them 6 games to win the match too! No one recorded a sweep or a mercy this match. |
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MATCH 4
Two of our teams recorded a sweep. Austin McBee and Noelle Caprarese of 7 District Won did it the traditional way ... they won all 4 games. Scott Love and Shawn Fallon of 6 Seriously?? lost a game but won 5 getting the 5-1 mercy. |
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MATCH 5
Scott Love of 6 Seriously?? had a Bonk earlier this season and he added a Strike during Game 5 of Match 5 to finish up the week in their final game. Ben Mitchell Zack Ristau of 15 Super Fowl got 4 wins in a row to get the sweep. |
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WEEK 3 RESULTS
Only one team managed to go 5-0 this week, and that was Danielle Hixson and Clinton Hixson of 11 Wine Some, Booze Some. Deserving an honorable mention are 3 The Empire Strikes Bonk, 5 The Jabronis, 7 District Won and 10 The Bourbon Brothers all went 4-1 to move up the standings. |
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STANDINGS
Overall, 11 Wine Some, Booze Some sit alone on top of the standings at 14-1 followed closely by 10 The Bourbon Brothers at 13-2. 6 Seriously?? and 9 Chewbonkka’s are both at 12-3 with 6 Seriously?? holding third place on their games won percentage. Next week we finish the Round Robin and Match 4 and start the second-round robin ... so in Match 5 you will getting your first shot at revenge against your Week 1 Match 1 opponent. |
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Week TWO -- the cream rises
YPSILANTI, MI -- TUESDAY JANUARY 16, 2024. Now that we have the first week jitters out of the way, it was time for everyone to relax, have a beer, and get down to some competitive FOWLING!!
About that beer, we have two Brewing companies to thank this week. First, Founder’s Brewing Company will be the league sponsor with their name on the T-Shirt, Website and E-Mails. We should have our new league t-shirts all ready for Week 4. Next brewery to thank is Heather from Eastern Market Brewing Company who provided us with a delicious Elephant Juice, their New England Style IPA.
We pointed out to everyone that our leaders after week one were Ben Mitchell and Zack Ristau of 15-Super Fowl. I hope I didn’t put a target on their back. Let’s see...
About that beer, we have two Brewing companies to thank this week. First, Founder’s Brewing Company will be the league sponsor with their name on the T-Shirt, Website and E-Mails. We should have our new league t-shirts all ready for Week 4. Next brewery to thank is Heather from Eastern Market Brewing Company who provided us with a delicious Elephant Juice, their New England Style IPA.
We pointed out to everyone that our leaders after week one were Ben Mitchell and Zack Ristau of 15-Super Fowl. I hope I didn’t put a target on their back. Let’s see...
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MATCH 1
Props to Dominic Bazzano and Noah Helton of 5-The Jabronis who put together a Team Spare in Game 4. A shout out to 2-Fowling Down, 4-Bonk Shells and 11-Wine Some, Booze Some who all managed a 4-game sweep. We have to notice the quick play of 6-Seriously?? and 9-Chewbonkka’s who both won 4 and lost 3 games ... and a tip of the cap to the teams that quickly lost 4 and won 3 ... a total of 7 games in 20 minutes! |
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MATCH 2
Lots of excitement in Match 2. Alicia Curley and Brandon Tuttle of 4-Bonk Shells got a Team Spare. Laura Willoughby and Edmund Willoughby of 17-First National Bonk and Trust got their first win of the season (high five). 1-It's 4:20 Somewhere and 10-Bourbon Brothers both got 4-Game Sweeps. Speaking of which, 13-Striking Ladies Jess Wolverton and Janelle Phillips TWICE went to overtime during their 0-4 loss to 10-Bourbon Brothers Randy Stewart and Jeff Stewart. That's gotta count for something right? |
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MATCH 3
Nothing special happened in Match 3. No bonks, no strikes, no spares. At this point I am starting to get worried that our 10-week Bonk/Strike streak is in jeopardy. Last time we didn’t have one was back in week one of the Fall league. 9-Chewbonkka’s got a 4-0 sweep. |
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MATCH 4
Seems I had nothing to worry about. Austin McBee of 7-District Won Bonked in game 2, keeping our streak alive at 11 weeks (although he gave partner Noelle Caprarese credit on the Bonk Board!) Even more dramatic was Elizabeth Gayeski’s Match Ending Sweep Sealing game 4 Bonk for 20-Beer League Benders. Also joining them in “Sweepland” were 7-District Won, 10-Bourbon Brothers and 12-Pin Ticklers. In a rare event for an AFA league, 3-The Empire Strikes Bonk’s Brenna and David Tavidian won the only complete game in their 20:00 match against 14-For Fowl’s Sake’s Alison Bitel and Brad Schoeff. I’m telling you, that last pin is REALLY hard to get sometimes!! |
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MATCH 5
After all the excitement of Match 4, Match 5 was relatively quiet by comparison. 6-Seriously?? and 10-Bourbon Brothers (shocker) both managed 4-0 sweeps. And that was it. The night was over. |
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RECAP
So let’s view the fallout of this week’s events. No one went 5-0 last week, but we threw parity out the window this week with 4 teams managing a perfect record for the evening; 10-The Bourbon Brothers, 11-Wine Some, Booze Some, 12-Pin Ticklers and 20-Beer League Benders. So our leader board is starting to look like we thought it would when we saw who signed up for the AFA Qualifying League this Winter. In first place at 9-1 are Super Fowl and AFA Champs Randy Stewart and Jeff Stewart of 10-The Bourbon Brothers. Right behind them in second at 9-1 are last season’s champs Danielle Hixson and Clinton Hixson of 11 Wine Some, Booze Some. At 8-2 are 12-Pin Ticklers Kevin Ney and Steve Bitel, 6-Seriously?? Scott Love and Shawn Fallon and 9-Chewbonkka’s Tommy Andre and Josh Daley. What happened to last week’s leaders 15-Super Fowl? Ben Mitchell and Zack Ristau ran into some stiffer competition this week (or because I put a target on their back) going 2-3 and ending up in 8th place at 6-4. |
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Go to https://www.fwya2.com/leagues.html to get the match by match stats and the overall standings as of today.
Everyone has a win and everyone has a loss as we head into week three of competition next week.
Everyone has a win and everyone has a loss as we head into week three of competition next week.
Week ONE -- Let the games begin!!
YPSILANTI, MI -- TUESDAY JANUARY 9, 2024. It was the typical chaos of week one with league veterans weaving their well trodden path into the northeast corner of the warehouse and new players filling out their AFA cards and finding their way. All the teams have a name, all the new players got some learning on Fowling League rules and customs and the Michigan Manatee called the league to order. Lee from Founder's Brewing was kind enough to share a Mortal Bloom Hazy IPA with each of the members who wanted one and we kicked off Game One of the Winter 2024 AFA Qualifying Doubles League. Great players have converged on the league hoping to find their way into the AFA Championships in Grand Rapids on Saturday April 20th.
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MATCH ONE
The league started off with a Bang, or a Bonk for Brenna Tavidian of 3-The Empire Strikes Bonk. It was her first throw of the season and our first Bonk on the year, keeping our "at least a bonk a week" streak alive. It was also good to see one of our new teams Alison Bitel and Brad Schoeff of 14 For Fowl’s Sake get their first win. |
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MATCH TWO
Another new team, 19-Team Awesome Sauce with Katrina Keeton and James McCracken picked up their first win in game two. Veterans 12-Pin Ticklers Kevin Ney and Steve Bitel got a 5-1 mercy. Last season's champs Danielle and Clint Hixson of 11-Wine Some, Booze Some and Super Fowl Champs 10-The Bourbon Brothers with Jeff Stewart and Diggy Makmoura filling in for the injured Randy Stewart also picked up a 4-0 wins. |
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MATCH THREE
It's not often you mercy someone in one match then walk into the buzz saw in the next match, but that's what happened to Kevin Ney and Steve Bitel of 12-Pin Ticklers. 13-Striking Ladies Jess Wolverton and Janelle Phillips were the buzz saw. After splitting the first two games, the ladies reeled off 4 straight victories to knock the Pin Ticklers off their perch! Scott Brown and Tim Stankiewicz (subbing for Kill Pin Patty Brown) got a team spare for 8-Fowled Folks Home. |
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MATCH FOUR
Dan Wurster and Sergei Varnavski of 2-Fowling Down pieced together a 4-0 mercy in Match 4. 16-Red White and Boujee's Jenn Johnson and Dean O'Neill lost their first game and followed with 5 straight wins to get theirs. Scott Love and Shawn Fallon of 6-Seriously?? put together a team Spare in game three after being the victim of a spare in Match 3. Nick Schneider IV and Scott Schoeff of 18-Fowl Horn Leghorns picked up their first win as a new team. |
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MATCH FIVE
It's hard to get 7 games in a match but it is easier when you get a Bonk and a Strike in them match. Scott Love got a Bonk in game 3 then he and Shane Fallon combined for a spare in game 7. 6-Seriously?? were playing game 8 when the clock ran out. Good thing too ... there's not space for an eighth game on the scorecard! |
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RECAP
A fun night for all, a nice frosty beer and a good kick off to the season. Only one team did not get a win. An no team went undefeated. A bit of parity there. Some of the most recognizable teams are at 4-1 ... 11-Wine Some, Booze Some, 6-Seriously??, 10-The Bourbon Brothers, 16-Red White and Boujee, 8-Fowled Folks Home and Tommy and Josh's newly named 9-Chewbonkka’s ... but none of them hold the top spot. That would go to the newly formed 15-Super Fowl featuring the third Jabroni Ben Mitchell who teamed up with Eric "E" Smith to make it to the finals last season and Zack Ristau who cut his teeth last year on a team with his Dad, getting a Strike and a Bonk along the way. They took out veterans Bonk Shells and Red White and Boujee, only losing to The Bourbon Brothers. Evidentally these young bucks are not to be trifled with!!
A fun night for all, a nice frosty beer and a good kick off to the season. Only one team did not get a win. An no team went undefeated. A bit of parity there. Some of the most recognizable teams are at 4-1 ... 11-Wine Some, Booze Some, 6-Seriously??, 10-The Bourbon Brothers, 16-Red White and Boujee, 8-Fowled Folks Home and Tommy and Josh's newly named 9-Chewbonkka’s ... but none of them hold the top spot. That would go to the newly formed 15-Super Fowl featuring the third Jabroni Ben Mitchell who teamed up with Eric "E" Smith to make it to the finals last season and Zack Ristau who cut his teeth last year on a team with his Dad, getting a Strike and a Bonk along the way. They took out veterans Bonk Shells and Red White and Boujee, only losing to The Bourbon Brothers. Evidentally these young bucks are not to be trifled with!!
Welcome to the 2024 Winter AFA Qualifier League!
Welcome to the 2024 Winter AFA Qualifier League! The roster is set at 20 teams, two full rinks. It will be a great competitive set to qualify our best 4 teams for the AFA Championships on April 20 2024 at the Fowling Warehouse Grand Rapids.
There are a few newbies in the league so if you have never played before, I have attached the official AFA league rules, Tournament Rules and a Scoresheet. Read through those and get here a little early (like 6:30) and I’ll walk through all the details with anyone who is interested.
The cost of the league is $20 per week, $200 for the 10 week season. You can pay upfront (preferred) or pay $20 each week. This includes an AFA membership, so if are not an AFA or your membership is expired we will need to renew that at the front desk before play.
Your League Membership also covers “Fowling Practice” during the week between league nights so basically this is the last time you’ll have to pay to Fowl until March 19th!! Also there will be a league T-Shirt and a Craft Beer provided by one of our breweries. Week one the Beer Of The Week is Founder Mortal Bloom, a Hazy IPA.
Since this the AFA qualifier league, we will have FIVE rounds a night instead of four, so the breaks will be shorter. Make sure you are here on time. Remember this is a Fun League and all of the league regulars are great people. We hang out outside of the league and when you come in for practice, you are likely to see other leaguers there. They’ll be happy if you join them.
See you at 7PM on Tuesday, January 9th!!
There are a few newbies in the league so if you have never played before, I have attached the official AFA league rules, Tournament Rules and a Scoresheet. Read through those and get here a little early (like 6:30) and I’ll walk through all the details with anyone who is interested.
The cost of the league is $20 per week, $200 for the 10 week season. You can pay upfront (preferred) or pay $20 each week. This includes an AFA membership, so if are not an AFA or your membership is expired we will need to renew that at the front desk before play.
Your League Membership also covers “Fowling Practice” during the week between league nights so basically this is the last time you’ll have to pay to Fowl until March 19th!! Also there will be a league T-Shirt and a Craft Beer provided by one of our breweries. Week one the Beer Of The Week is Founder Mortal Bloom, a Hazy IPA.
Since this the AFA qualifier league, we will have FIVE rounds a night instead of four, so the breaks will be shorter. Make sure you are here on time. Remember this is a Fun League and all of the league regulars are great people. We hang out outside of the league and when you come in for practice, you are likely to see other leaguers there. They’ll be happy if you join them.
See you at 7PM on Tuesday, January 9th!!
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Winter 2024 Doubles schedule
Find the Fall 2023 League page HERE
Find the Summer 2023 League page HERE
Find the Spring 2023 League page HERE
Find the April 2023 League page HERE
Find the Winter 2023 League page HERE
Find the Fall 2022 AFA League page HERE
Find the August 2022 League page HERE
Find the July 2022 League page HERE
Find the June 2022 League page HERE
Find the Summer 2023 League page HERE
Find the Spring 2023 League page HERE
Find the April 2023 League page HERE
Find the Winter 2023 League page HERE
Find the Fall 2022 AFA League page HERE
Find the August 2022 League page HERE
Find the July 2022 League page HERE
Find the June 2022 League page HERE