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Tuesday Night's Games to Watch
Looks like two games of intrigue tonight - first up: Great 8's #2 The Ashkickers @ #4 Żubr Biały. Ash brought in two new players this week for a total of $689,999. Those fees brought Tylormade a 29-year-old Italian shooting guard with a weekly salary of $44,204, Graziano Gattoni and a 31-year-old Paraguayan point guard with a weekly salary of $51,387 to boost his back court starting salary to just under $100k (up about $70k, depending on how he introduces them to the lineup). But with those additions, he also drops his guards ages by a cumulative 14 years. Both additions should pose viable threats to the rest of the league and probably make Żubr Biały matchup more of a nightmare than it looked like two days ago. whitestok dazzled, as previously outlined thanks to several injuries to The Beer Bellys, pulling off an early upset to win by 3. But, by the looks of it, I'd guess whitestok is at an enthusiasm disadvantage with what also appears to be a significant salary disadvantage - though they're only separated by $30k in the starting 5 salaries.

Prediction: I've got Ashkickers as -250 on the evening for the money line. Against the spread, we're going Ashkickers -15.

The second match up of intrigue tonight is my own Lion Rebels @ Philly Dribble. This matchup wasn't favorable for the Rebels last season, losing both regular season matchups by double digits before getting dusted in the playoffs. Neither team made significant investments to start this season, but this game will definitely depend on the Rebels being able to shut down PG Velasco and SF Glicas. Enthusiasm effort could be another factor as well.

Prediction: I've got Philly as favorites at home, -200 on the money line; against the spread, Philly -10.5.

Gizmo - I can't believe Roc Pedrosa only went for 4 grand! You got robbed on that - I know he's 36, but he's probably got a few more seasons of some decent production.

Day 2 (Tuesday 26 April 2022) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Mighty Moose Rockets 95 - War Birds 102
Lion Rebels 76 - Philly Dribble 107
San Dominica Warriors 85 - Linndale 91
Rip City Revival 99 - Seattle SuperSonicz 85
The Beer Bellys 90 - Miami Cleo 74
pintipv 113 - Dallas Bomskwad 106
Gremlins 100 - Weather Society 85
The Ashkickers 89 - Żubr Białystok 71

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 113 : pintipv
Rebounds : 63 : Gremlins
Assists : 26 : Gremlins
Steals : 10 : pintipv
Block Shots : 10 : Seattle SuperSonicz

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 38 : D. Muncy (Seattle SuperSonicz)
Rebounds : 19 : T. Colomina (The Ashkickers)
Assists : 9 : D. Nava (Gremlins)
Steals : 4 : D. Donlon (pintipv)
Block Shots : 6 : T. Colomina (The Ashkickers)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : M. Velasco (Philly Dribble) (19 Points, 5 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 27
Shooting Guard : N. Neochoritis (Rip City Revival) (36 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 40
Small Forward : G. Gattoni (The Ashkickers) (36 Points, 8 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 32
Power Forward : I. Homs (The Beer Bellys) (31 Points, 13 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 0 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 39
Center : W. Chan Kiew (Gremlins) (22 Points, 15 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 36

MVP of the evening
N. Neochoritis (Rip City Revival) (36 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 40

The bad performance of the evening
G. MacLerie (San Dominica Warriors) (0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots)M. Wade (Gremlins) (0 Points, 1 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -5

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : S. Doyle (Mighty Moose Rockets), L. Rojas (The Ashkickers), S. Matthew (Dallas Bomskwad) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : D. Ðuric (Rip City Revival), B. Goričan (Rip City Revival) : 5 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : K. Brown (Lion Rebels), Y. Delagnès (Żubr Białystok), M. Grimm (Żubr Białystok) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : N. Neochoritis (Rip City Revival) : 7 Three points

The best performer : W. Kofan (Mighty Moose Rockets) : Rating : 16.0

The worst performer : R. Cary (Rip City Revival) : Rating : 3.5

Quick Tuesday Recaps

Alright - I don't even want to do this first one, but since I highlighted it as a "gAmE To wATcH!" I've got to eat my just desserts. Philly took it to the Rebels last night, with a dominate 31 point win. The 2nd and 3rd Quarters were UGLY, with the rebels shooting 10-36 from the field and unable to rebound (15 total rebounds) - comparitively, Philly went 27-45 from the field, including 7-11 from three to go along with their 25 total rebounds. The effort difference was obvious and I'm ashamed to think that I thought my team would be even CLOSE to within double digits in defeat. Star center Terry Armstead was quoted as saying, "I've never been more embarrassed in my life, not even in U13 hoops, and that's saying something."

Moving on to some of the better "actual" games played last night...

San Dominica Warriors vs. Linndale 85 - 91
In the Big 8's #4 vs #7 matchup, San Dominica put a good showing in to only lose by 6 taking a 3 point lead into the 2nd half, only to choke in the 4th, giving up 35 points to newcomer Linndale. Center Mikhail Klimenkov scored 8 pts, while PG Janis Julins added 11 points on 4/5 shooting with another 3 free throws. The team as a whole, had only taken 4 free throws before the 4th, but made 9 of 14 to help complete the comeback. The only damning thing for Speedtrap's squad was the obvious effort difference - pulling a win off early in the season, but we'll have to see how that works out over the course of the rest of the league games. On the other side, Coach Stephenson has to be disappointed in his squad's poor shooting performance on the night with a TIE game win in reach.

pintipv vs. Dallas Bomskwad 113 - 106
In a somewhat surprising showing, the Great 8's #3 v #8 was competitive and topsy turvey with Bomskwad finding themselves down by 10 after the first, up 4 by the half, increasing their lead to 6 heading into the 4th only to fumble it away at the end and allow pintipv 33 points. PG R. Sole scored 12 points in 7 minutes on 4 shots including 5-8 from the free throw line to lead the fourth quarter attack. It's pretty hard to hold off a team shooting 50% from three, especially when they shoot 30 times from behind the arc - good game overall, Manager The Architect has to feel decent after his architecture nearly pulled off the upset after such a poor first showing this season.

Mighty Moose Rockets vs. War Birds 95 - 102
Entering last night, this was Big 8's #1 visiting #6 and after the War Birds lost to the Rebels, I didn't think this would be much of a contest, but effort differences played key in all three of these games of note, with War Birds holding strong at home for the 7 point victory. Down three going into the final frame, the War Birds scored 31 points and held MMR to only 21 points. They were aided by 13 makes at the charity stripe in that quarter to pull off the upset.

Week Two Saturday Game Predictions Thread
Let's do this a little bit differently...I'll map out the game matchups for Saturday Night's contests and provide betting lines and you all comment on how you'd bet the matchups! In case you don't know how to bet "on the spread", a team with a plus spared (+) means they are underdogs and will receive that amount of points added to their final total. A team with a minus spread (-) means they are favorites and will have that amount of points deducted from their final total. So you're choosing to bet on a team based on whether or not you think they can cover that spread. For an underdog team, you would be betting that they will not lose by more than the points given in the spread bet. For a favorite team, you would be betting that they will win by more than the points that the spread bet would take away. We'll use the first game as an example:

Game One: Philly Dribble @ Mighty Moose Rockets
Both teams rank in the top 3 in PPG, while Philly ranks in the top 5 in allowed points and MMR is in the middle of the pack. Both teams rank 1 & 2 in FG%.
Philly (-8.5) [So, Philly is "the favorite" here to win the game by more than 8 points. If you pick them, they have to win by at least 9 points. Alternatively, you can pick MMR to either outright win, or to lose by less than 8 points]

Game Two: Miami Cleo @ Ashkickers
The Ashkickers rank in the top 5 in the league in scoring, while Miami ranks dead last. Both teams, however, rank in the top half of points allowed per game. Ash leads the league in 3 point percentage while Miami ranks in the top 3 in least 3 pointers scored percentage.
Ashkickers (-16.5)

Game Three: Seattle SuperSonicz @ San Dominica Warriors
Seattle and San Dom both rank in the middle of the league in terms of scoring per game, only separated by 1/2 a point, while Seattle is giving up 6 more points per game to opponents than San Dom's Warriors. San Dom is tied for third with the most Offensive Rebounds per game, while Seattle is tied for second with the least number of ORPG.
San Dominica Warriors (-3.5)

Game Four: Żubr Białystok @ Gremlins
Gremlins are in the top 4 in PPG, while Zubr ranks in the bottom 4. Gremlins is the stingiest team in the league in terms of points allowed, while Zubr is in the middle of the pack. Not surprisingly, Gremlins leads the league in opponents' FG% and Żubr Białystok is tied for the top place in terms of opponents steals per game.
Gremlins (-18.5)

Game Five: Linndale @ Lion Rebels
Linndale is ranked 2nd to last in terms of PPG, while the Rebels barely edge them out, finishing in the bottom half. Linndale allows 19 less PPG than the Rebels. Linndale is 2nd in opponents' Efficiency per game, while Lion Rebels lead the league in Steals per game.
Linndale (-7.5)

Game Six: Dallas Bomskwad @ The Beer Bellys
Dallas comes in near the bottom of the league in PPG, while the Beer Bellys are in the middle of the pack. Dallas is giving up the most PPG, while BB (not to be confused with BuzzerBeater) rhanks in the top 6. BB leads the league in FT allowed per game (lowest amount allowed), while Dallas is tied for the lead in ORPG.
Beer Bellys (-15.5)

Game Seven: War Birds @ Rip City Revival
War Birds ranks in the top half of the league in PPG, while Rip ranks in the bottom half. War Birds also ranks in the bottom half of the league in points allowed per game, but Rip City is 3rd. War Birds are top 3 in terms of least number of opponents reb/game; Rip leads the league in lowest three point percentage allowed.
Rip City (-3.5)

Game Eight: Weather Society @ pintipv
Weather is in the middle of the pack in PPG while pintipv is ranked 2nd. WS gives up the 2nd most PPG while pint is in the upper half of the league. pint is ranked 3rd in FG% and WS is ranked in the top 3 in Blocks per game.
pint (-14.5)

I'll go first:
Game 1: I'll take Mighty Moose Rockets (losing by less than 8.
Game 2: Ashkickers by more than 16
Game 3: San Dominica by more than 3
Game 4: Gremlins (easy pick of the week - sorry whitestok!)
Game 5: I don't know that I'll win this one, but I have faith my boys will at least make it close - Lion Rebels.
Game 6: Beer Bellys
Game 7: I think Rip pulls of the upset here.
Game 8: pintipv by 15 at least

Week 1 Power Rankings
[Someone get me a gig at ESPN already]

I'm doing these rankings based on a combination of Efficiency Per Game ranking and Opponents' Efficiency Per Game ranking. Obviously some room for error, which I think makes it more fun. It would be easy to list Rip City toward the bottom, but it's far more controversial to stick them at 8th (and makes for the run of these sorts of things through the season have more variance). Let me know your thoughts!

1. Gremlins - in a game not highlighted yet, Weather Society suprisingly stayed relatively close to the Gremlins, losing by only 15 after entering the 4th quarter down by 25. Gremlins look GOOD.
2. Philly Dribble - Philly's manager Phil_Wings was obviously PISSED OFF after I suggested they would finish 3rd in the Big 8 in the preseason, destroying the Rebels by 31 in a game that wasn't ever close.
3. The Ashkickers - if you thought Phil_Wings was pissy, Tylormade was DISTRAUGHT by my preseason rankings, bringing in PG Rojas (16.5 PPG) and SG Gattoni (36 points in his only game this season) to easily handle their first two games of the season.
4. Mighty Moose Rockets - Hutch44's squad easily handled the SuperSonicz before falling to the War Birds after which they transferred SF Doyle who had 23 points and 16 rebounds in their only DIV III.11 start for the season.
5. The Beer Bellys - a narrow loss to Zubr to start the season, followed by a dominating performance of Miami - Beer seems like the team that will beat/lose to the teams they should.
6.Linndale - Manager Speedtraps is probably feeling even more anxious than before the start of the season, heading into the TV matchup of the night against the Rebels after starting the season 2-0. Time will tell.
7. pintipv - I think pintipvw is sneaky good and deserves a higher ranking after winning their first two games of the season.
8. Rip City - Jbogroff has to be at least mildly upset by his team's narrow defeat at the hands of early promoter Linndale, but this week doesn't look to be any easier for them.
9. War Birds - Grimhawke's crew fell flat opening night before redeeming themselves with an upset victory over MMR. Are they a potential bottom seed play off team?
10. Lion Rebels - I feel GROSS.
11. San Dominica Warriors - Coach Stephenson, wherefore art thou, Coach Stephenson? After starting 0-2, the Warriors look to rebound and make it even by Tuesday evening as well as looking at an easy Cup matchup.
12. Miami Cleo - packer_22 brought in a Center, American Patrick Cheatle (who coincidentally because of the time he transferred, played in two Buzzer Beater Madness games this week), who should instantly start at the big man position for Miami.
13. Dallas Bomskwad - After The Architect sold off Carols Calderon for a cool 1.887 MILLION DOLLARS, there doesn't seem to be much hope for the Great 8 cellar dweller, but we'll see what he Architects with that nearly $2 mil payout.
14. Żubr Białystok - whitestok is ranked low on this list, but enters week 2 with a .500 record, but faces both pintipv at home and the Gremlins on the road - might be uglier for them this season than I supposed at the start.
15. Seattle SuperSonicz - Manager iBeStrugglin is trying to break out of the early season slump by selling off his 19 yearold PG and bringing in a 33 yr old SF Cristancho to shore up some gaps (who also got the luxury of playing in two cup games this week!).
16. Weather Society - Melan Collie can't be feeling too melancholy after his start - yes he's 0-2, but has been able to score fairly well against two of the top teams in the Great 8. We'll see if they can keep it up with two intriguing matchups this week.

You rock man. I read everything. Enjoying it all.

Here's my reaction to placement and comments:
1. My franchise is definitely middle of the pack right now. My hope is to sneak into the playoffs this year so my attendance can stay strong and financials can remain decent. But make no mistake this franchise is in full on training mode. I'm all in on my young guys and that means I may be making more moves this season. If I do, it probably won't be to get better overall, but instead to get better young guys to train.

2. I'd say annoyed not upset. I got normal'd so I can take a close loss. It was at home so yah that's a bit annoying. And I picked 3-2 versus a low post, also annoying. The last one is on me. I was reading up on Discord about managers using 3-2 and decided I try my hand. I picked the wrong game to test this out. So yah that' pretty annoying. I think I'd be angry if I had picked a 2-3 and we had the same enthusiasm and still lost by 2 at home. He had the tactics and enthusiasm in his favor so 2 points is just fine by me. Should be a good rubber match later this season at his place.

3. Tough schedule for me this week.

Where am I? I'm here in this thinker position wondering why every third quarter my team feels like it has to play who can imitate Trajan Langdon and John Starks the best by jacking up the most unnecessary shots.

Other than that hoping these new additions gel before our team song is regulate

Haha - love the references!

Just to be clear (for everyone’s sake) all of my posts are definitely written tongue in cheek. Love the back and forth!

Day 3 (Saturday 30 April 2022) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Philly Dribble 94 - Mighty Moose Rockets 82
Linndale 85 - Lion Rebels 98
Seattle SuperSonicz 102 - San Dominica Warriors 118
War Birds 79 - Rip City Revival 98
Dallas Bomskwad 79 - The Beer Bellys 108
Weather Society 128 - pintipv 141
Żubr Białystok 81 - Gremlins 112
Miami Cleo 62 - The Ashkickers 83

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 141 : pintipv
Rebounds : 66 : Gremlins
Assists : 28 : Rip City Revival
Steals : 11 : Gremlins
Block Shots : 10 : Żubr Białystok

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 43 : C. Masetti (Weather Society)
Rebounds : 21 : W. Kofan (Mighty Moose Rockets)
Assists : 9 : V. Laddha (Rip City Revival)
Steals : 4 : D. Nava (Gremlins), J. Campino (Gremlins)
Block Shots : 4 : J. Campino (Gremlins)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : V. Laddha (Rip City Revival) (14 Points, 11 Rebounds, 9 Assists, 2 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 26
Shooting Guard : D. Donlon (pintipv) (35 Points, 5 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34
Small Forward : C. Masetti (Weather Society) (43 Points, 9 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 42
Power Forward : W. Kofan (Mighty Moose Rockets) (37 Points, 21 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 45
Center : A. Leonard (Dallas Bomskwad) (26 Points, 15 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 0 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 33

MVP of the evening
W. Kofan (Mighty Moose Rockets) (37 Points, 21 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 45

The bad performance of the evening
R. Alderman (Dallas Bomskwad) (0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -6

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : C. Geiger (The Beer Bellys) : 6 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : B. Goričan (Rip City Revival) : 6 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : M. Maurin (Miami Cleo), G. Locus (Miami Cleo), W. Kofan (Mighty Moose Rockets), J. Fleurent (Mighty Moose Rockets), B. Lutz (Lion Rebels), Y. Delagnès (Żubr Białystok), P. Traganitis (Żubr Białystok), A. Leonard (Dallas Bomskwad), J. Felip (Dallas Bomskwad) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : C. Masetti (Weather Society) : 6 Three points

The best performer : P. Fasselli (Philly Dribble) : Rating : 15.5

The worst performer : P. Mandosio (pintipv) : Rating : 2.0