Before the game, Cap'n Jim (oh yeah apparently the summer team is called the Jimbo's Sweet Meat All-Stars or something) told me that despite our two squads being friendly that they were going to decimate us.
I wasn't afraid though but I suppose I should have been.
Game 1
Mike and Jim
Dave and Sarah
Things didn't start well as we quickly found ourselves in a 3-0 deficit. But then Dave and Sarah quickly tied it and we were on our way. That is until the Meats answered that with a three spot on Mike and Jim to take a 6-3 lead.
However, we weren't done. No way. Dave and Sarah notched another point and we were only down by 2.
Then things got interesting. Jim started the frame with an exquisite first roll. The Sweet Meats spent the next four balls trying to knock Jim's ball out of the way. They did not succeed but did set up a nice wall around the pallino where it resided on the right side.
Victory was within our reach! We had three balls left to get two more points but it was a tricky shot. Mike and then Jim both tried to sneak it in on the left side but couldn't quite do it.
With one shot left, I was hopeful that Mike could get us another point to set Dave and Sarah up to win it. The score would have been 6-5 at the very worst if Mike was not successful.
However, Mike (goaded by the Coffee Flats Terrors in attendance) went for the kill. It was an easy shot he kept saying afterwards. I was blissfully ignorant at the other end of the court about the debate going on before Mike's roll. So when his roll came barreling down the court and smashed into the wall of red, I was caught unawares.
Unfortunately for Rod, a one point green advantage turned into this.
Game 17-4 Sweet Meats
Game 2
SHR and Beth
Sarah and me
But we didn't let it faze us. We took Jimbo and his squad out quickly by a score of 7-2. All of the women rolled well and they carried me because I was pretty mediocre. SHR had one of the best rolls I've seen in a long time early in the game that set up Rod taking a 5-0 lead.
Game 3
Same as Game 2
It was back and forth at first. 2-0 Meats, Tied, 3-2 Meats, 4-3 Us
But the tide turned in the frame where we took the lead. My good rolls from the beginning of the game had completely deserted me at this point. Despite an excellent roll by Sarah to knock the pallino back to set us up for a killer round, I hit the back wall and we only got two points. We should have had three.
Somewhere during this time, many of the Coffee Flats Terrors who were supposedly rooting for us early in the match accepted bribes from the Sweet Meats to root for them instead of us. Oh well, anything for a quarter I suppose. We now know how cheaply some of the Terrors' loyalty can be bought.
Whether it was my bad rolls, Rod having an off night, or the quarters being bandied about, we completely fell apart - all four of us.
The Sweet Meats scored three points in the next frame and then finished us off in the next frame by only throwing one ball. The funniest part of this was that Tom Sweet Meat had no idea that the game was over and thought that we had become so disheartened that we had simply quit. I think he thought that we had one more ball left or something? Anyway, it was yet another loss to the Sweet Meats but we'll get them back in the playoffs! Maybe.
Game 3
7-4 Sweet Meats
Summer Record: 2-2
18 comments:
Because they are so nice I want to have a good attitude about losing to them, but I really don't. This SUCKS. Well, as Rod's fellow ass-tapping enthusiast Luther Campbell would probably say, forget about the salad, just beat the Meats!
the Terrors have allegiance only to Terror. and alcohol. buy us a crapocopia and we're yours until a better offer comes along.
i think Mike made the right play at the end of Game 1, but i didn't realize he was going to throw it so hard. a softer roll might have had a better outcome.
as i said jamie, you guys are easily bought. i have no problems with your lack of character as a team - just stating how easily you are bought. 1/8 of a pbr is what does it.
i look forward to you trying a similar shot this monday and we'll see how the outcome treats you.
Hey Boccelisms - I know you read this thing. Can you tell me if you won your match on Monday? I was pulling for you and would like to know if the outcome against Ceauşescu was favorable.
Also, I just want to say that I noticed that the Terrors have not updated their blog since their loss to the Meats in their season opener. That being said, I am certain that they will win the best blog award!
That is part of Marc's plan to win the blog award... it's true.
ezra,
if that was the case, he shouldn't have updated this season. to win the best blog award, you can't even update during the season that you win it.
Jamie, not sure if you noticed: we had the point there before game 1 ended abruptly. I say you should never take a shot like that unless you're in a desperate position. If the other team has the point, fine. Go for the crazy, risky shot because you have everything to gain. Otherwise, trust in your teammates and preserve the point you have instead of giving the game away. Of course, as Dan said, if you guys want to give us points on Monday, we'll take them. To my own teammates, I say this: don't take the Terrors' advice on shots anymore.
I chose the shot independent of any terror advice or goading. It was not a safe shot, it was not a crazy shot, it was just a difficult shot. The day I stop taking difficult shots because I'm afraid to lose a game is the day I stop playing bocce. We were down 6-4. I could just as easily given them the game by trying to get a second point to tie the game. I felt the risk of driving the pallino back was only marginally higher than trying to get the second point for a tie. The reward on the other hand was much greater. So I chose the higher risk shot and it didn't work out. I'd rather not dwell on this stuff though, it makes bocce a lot less fun.
how come all of the focus is on mike's one shot? No one even mentions any of sweet lil' rock 'n rollers awsome shots. like the one where she skillfully knocked the pallino to get the point- oh wait, she did that a couple of times. damn - no love for sj.
SJ was definitely the star of the night. I think I told you that in person (I hope)! Very impressive rolling.
My concern about the lessons learned or not that night -- and sure this is dwelling, that's how you get better -- was that we agreed as a team a couple seasons ago to follow Dan's philosophy of "minimizing mistakes," and I feel like maybe that needs to become a priority again instead of trying to get the maximum amount of points possible with every shot. Other people (including me) had bad shots for the night, other people played really well, but I just felt that our team philosophy maybe needs to be reinforced.
jim,
i don't think the minimizing mistakes was my idea. i seem to recall that we had noticed that was the way the terrors used to play back in their championship days.
Beth,
Yes we did finally win one. It was a long, very close match. The final game ending 7-5. Thanks to you and Jim for sticking around to root for us.
-Chuck Knoblauch
Hey Yankee pest - thanks for the update! And congratulations on your first win of the season! Hopefully you will be to back to your losing ways by the thirtieth day of July...
Botchulisms were 0 for the season until Monday? I think this all part of a master plan.
Jaysus FLOYD, when the fuck are you going to update the website? Where exactly does our $20 go to? Best blog prizes for teams that never update? I can't wait until the end of this season when you award yourselves "best blog."
It is a tight race between Cobra Kai's site and Floyd for least updates this year.
Jim, don't play like a coward, you can be smart and aggressive at the same time.
Dan, what I actually said was something to the effect of, "IYWMB is just not one of the elite teams." Maybe I said you were a joke too, i don't remember, I was rambling incoherently at the time.
Dear EZ,
What you said was that the Coffee Flats Terrors are in a "higher echelon" of the league than IYWMB, who are "actually a little bit of joke". You mentioned how you guys are really close with Bourbon Balls, Po-Town, Boccelism, etc. Bourbon Balls I'll give you, but do Boccelism and Po-Town have any awareness of your new and wonderful friendship, built on mutual respect, admiration and caring? Is it maybe just all in that adorable little mixed-up head of yours? I'd also be curious to know which teams are actually in this higher echelon you speak of, and whether or not they know they are in it. I could pose a few more questions and remind you of some stats, but why bother when we can just settle this on the court this Monday? Also, I do admit to being disproportionately annoyed at you when you were saying all of this stuff a couple of weeks ago at Floyd.
All the best,
Beth
There's times to be aggressive, and times to be smart. Pushing the pallino back is fun, and getting 2 or 3 points in a frame is great, but when your opponent needs only 1 point to win a game, you don't risk handing it to them like a birthday present for the sake of attempting a shot that will make you feel cool. Getting one point and staying alive is always better than losing a whole game unnecessarily.
But then, if you find yourself in a similar situation tonight Ezra, feel free to roll your last ball right into the middle of a bunch of our balls and see how it turns out for you.
On that last one, what I really meant to say was that you are right Ez, sometimes you can be smart and aggressive. But in certain key situations, being aggressive is not the smart choice.
At the beginning or middle of a game, try risky stuff that could help or hurt you or turn the tide of a game either way. But not when doing so makes you lose. That instruction is for IYWMB. For the Terrors, do the opposite. Make the riskiest shot possible every time! Especially when you are one point away from elimination.
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