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Week 2 Power Rankings
1. Philly Dribble (1)
Holding steady in the number one spot, Philly Dribble is holding their opponents to less than 70 PPG with a commanding 31.2-point differential. They took care of business this last week, handing San Dominica and Linndale losses leaving (probably) 209 as the only team with a chance to knock them out of 1st in the division over the course of the season. They play host to BKDogs on Saturday before we get to see how 209 will fare against this fearsome squad.

2. The Beer Bellys (3)
As I mentioned, Beer finds themselves this high because of their weak schedule so far. Even though The Ashkickers are ahead of them in the standings (and once again [rightly] annoyed by being moved down this list), thanks to their schedule, Beer Bellys sidle up to the Power Rankings bar with the 2nd and 3rd EFFG & OPP EFFG, landing them in 2nd on this list. Motor City may not be a challenge for them on Saturday, but then they travel to current 2nd seed Miami Cleo for a probable battle for said 2nd spot in the Great 8.

3. The Ashkickers (2)
Are The Ashkickers better than the Beer Bellys? Yes, obviously, but thanks to their schedule and efficiency give/take, they find themselves ranked third after losing to Hustlas last Saturday after getting outscored 14-7 in OT before then getting a win on the road against Żubr Białystok. They haven't seemed as dominant yet this season, but have a chance to prove themselves in a matchup against Miami before then heading to Motor City. I'm confident they'll move up these rankings before long.

4. Hustlas (7)
A decent jump in the rankings this week, Hustlas proves yet again that they're pretty savvy and cunning with their game planning and approach (unlike my own sad sack of a squad), pulling off four victories in four games. Aside from blowing Motor City out of the universe on Tuesday (66-point victory), their other matchups have all been relatively close and not really standout. Their choice to use up some enthusiasm against The Ashkickers is well timed with games against Sweaty Socks and the Spartans this next week, granting them time to regain some of that before then playing host to Żubr Białystok and then facing 209 in their first cross conference matchup of the season in week 4.

5. Linndale (5)
After romping through Carolina last Saturday with a terrifying 73-point victory, Speedtraps meekly traversed to the Dribble Bucket to get soundly drubbed by 29 while watching SF Juljonas Glicas for Philly cruise to 24 points on 5-5 shooting from three. Not unexpected, but quite the swing in results. Next up, they lick their chops as they head to Daylis Stadium to face Lion Rebels before then playing host to BOBBBS to round out their week.

6. 209's MostWanted (4)
Despite winning both games in Week 2 soundly, Alex finds a slight drop in ranking, mostly due to a 21-point jump in OPP EFFG coming off their domination of BOBBBS in Week 1. Solid wins over Lion Rebels and San Dominica seems to cement the 209 as an upper tier team in the Big 8 and this week they'll get the chance to prove their mettle in facing 4th seeded Carolina Rebels before playing host to Philly Dribble in what is probably the Game of the Week. They've got a strong one-two punch in Ariel Ziółkowski & Gjallim Azheli, averaging 20.8 and 18.5 PPG respectively.

7. Miami Cleo (8)
Once again, Miami finds themselves starting the season out strong after suffering their Week 1 loss to Hustlas, first dominating Sweaty Socks (and only allowing 36 points the entire game) before soundly handling The Philadelphia Spartans on the road. But things should get more difficult for them this week as they travel to face The Ashkickers in a TV game this weekend before then playing host to the hot Beer Bellys.

8. Carolina Rebels (9)
Inching up the rankings and trying to hang on to a playoff seed in the Big 8 this week, Carolina has proved feisty and cunning with some great effort wins through four games. Yes, they suffered that humiliation against Linndale this week, but have set themselves up well for seeding in the long term over Lion Rebels and San Dominica with those two Week 1 wins. They proved dominant in blowing out BOBBBSBURGS this week and now turn to face off against the 209 at home on TV before then traveling to BKDogs for what should be a win. I'm betting they're 4-2 heading into Week 4.

9. San Dominica Warriors (6)
After starting the season with a resounding win, thanks to scheduling difficulties, they've now hit a 3-game losing streak losing to Philly Dribble and the 209 this week. Fortunately for them, they travel to BOBBBS SHINA TOWN arena to get things back on track before then playing host to Lion Rebels in what is probably going to be a critical matchup for seeding between the two floundering groups.

10. BKDogs (13)
With only a -6 point differential on the season coupled with their 1-3 record, Wisdom's biggest problem appears to be game shape. They get a nice boost in these rankings this week due to beating BOBBBS by 68 last weekend but were unfortunate to provide my sad sack of a squad their first win of the season. Things don't immediately look to get better, however, as they travel to play Philly this weekend before then playing host to the upstart Carolina Rebels. If they want to strive for that 5th seed, they're going to need to beat Carolina at least once.

11. Lion Rebels (11)
Even though we saw improvement in both EFFG and OPP EFFG, 1-3 only gets you so far, and taking a drubbing against Philly doesn't help before finally getting said win against BKDogs. Do I think we're worse than BK - potentially, if their starting 5 isn't booking 80+ minutes every week, but a wins a win even if that doesn't mean ranking higher in these sham rankings this week. A challenging week lies ahead with a matchup against Linndale before the aforementioned crucial matchup with Coach Stephenson's Warriors.

12. The Philadelphia Spartans (14)
Jumping a couple of spots on the list, Coach Victor's group is sporting a 1-3 record but seems to be the best of the worst teams proving that in their lone victory defeating Motor City fairly handily last weekend before succumbing to Miami at home. Next up they play host to Żubr Białystok and then take their show on the road against Hustlas in a TV game. They have an opportunity to make it 2-4 this week - will Romão and Nicolle make it happen?

13. Żubr Białystok (10)
Sounds like whitestok's real life got in the way of fantasy land the first week, but they've tried to rebound but still lost both games this week, first to The Beer Bellys and then in a valiant effort succumbed to The Ashkickers. They do have two favorable matchups this week as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Spartans before playing host to the Sweaty Socks. I see good things in their future, potentially even a .500 record!

14. Motor City Waddupdoe (12)
After getting a win against Sweaty Socks in Week 1, Week 2 brought struggles as they dropped a game first to Philadelphia and then got ridden over by Hustlas. Not a very promising week in the works as they travel to The Keg to face The Beer Bellys before then playing host to The Ashkickers. We'll see how much newcomer Paul Cater can help them sort things out, but I think they'll need to make some more moves to avoid a difficult relegation matchup come season's end.

15. Sweaty Socks (15)
As predicted, it's been a rough go for these two bottom-feeder teams. Last week, Sweaty actually had a slight distinction with their OPP EFFG ranking at 13th, but after dropping two games by a cumulative 108 points to Miami and Beer Bellys, that ranking dropped down to 15th with a 137 rating. On the offensive side, they're performing better than BOBBBS, but comparatively to the rest of the league, it's a pretty pathetic 29. While Westmoreland, Grissom, and Bueno aren't terrible, the other 15 players on the roster don't belong as contributors at this level. This week brings a matchup against #1 Hustlas before then traveling to whitestok's Polish Beer factory. It looks like they'll have to wait until December 10th for what might be their first and only win when they face off against BOBBBSBURGS.

16. BOBBBSBURGS (16)
BOBBBS are averaging a paltry 52.5 points per game while giving up far and away the league high of 119 points per game. Losses this week to BKDogs and Carolina leave them still at the bottom of the barrel of the Big 8 and performing decidedly worse than the next worse team in the league. Michael Spain is their only "quality" player, but even he would only fill in as a reserve backup PF for almost any other team in the league but he hasn't logged a single minute this season for the Burgs. Instead, 31-year-old SG Ted Hewitt is their point scorer, averaging 14.7 and is ranked in the top 10 in the league in 3FG made, but also has the distinction of leading the league in personal fouls. Hopefully they can find some money to bring in some quality players to contend a bit at the bottom and not just be a guaranteed win for almost every other team.

Great write-up as always. Hopefully we'll be worthy of a top 4 ranking by the end of the season. We've got a plan, but of course it will likely change 20 times in the next week.

Letting our home-grown trainee PG Walker Huffman go will hurt a for a little while until we find a suitable back-up guard. However, we are more than happy to see him leave and even better than he is relegated to hell. Being an MVP caliber trainee was overshadowed by his thirst for booze and our cheerleaders, so the idiot just wouldn't train to expectations.

Two of the things I won't tolerate from players.
1. Weak ass drinkers who can't party late and still get up for practice or work the next day and give 100%. I set too good of an example for them to not follow suit.
2. Don't mess with my cheerleaders. They are for me, go get your own hottie.

Happy Ouerer: "Happy Ourer on WINO radio with Coach and lead assistant Pio Reina. Coach, after a rough week, where
do things stand for our favorite basketball team?"

Coach: "Well, we expected things to be rough this season, but things may not be as rough as they appear. We are seeing the needed improvements
we wanted to see from our young big men, and they are continuing to build on those improvements."

Coach Reina: "We're also starting to see some separation in who starts and who comes off the bench. It's quite possible the limeup and rotation
changes in the not too distant future."

Happy: "Changes? What moves are likely?"

Coach: "While we can't speak on future moves, we can say that we're seeing some separation that shows us we have 3 players fighting for 2 starting
spots. That shows we're building the depth we want."

Happy: "How are the rookies developing?"

Coach Reina: "Vincent Gross looked solid, but he has to tighten up a few things before he can possibly crack the rotation. Art Reese is ready
defensively to play right now, as is Gross, but he has a lot of work to do on the rest of his game.Carlton Mosley has a skillset that doesn't fit
his position; we're trying to see if he develops those skills or continues with the skillset he has."

Coach: "Remember, roster building isn't just for the now; we try to look ahead also. We know we're not winning the title this year unless
something unexpected happens to a few teams, we feel we can make the playoffs AND thread that player devlopment needle. We'll see how the kids
develop and adjust accordingly. And obviously, adjust to what the front office gives us."

Happy: "What should we expect tonight against the Lion Rebels?"

Coach: "Hopefully we can get Reese and Gross a lot of playing time tonight."

Happy: "Sounds like you're expecting a blowout or to be blown out."

Coach Reina: Individually, they have a couple players that really concern us. We know we can't handle Armstead, but maybe we can slow him down a bit.
Our depth helps us that way. I'll take our backcourt over theirs everyday of the week, and they have some talent. Either our guards will carry us or
the big man carries them with Carrillo proving a very good Robin to Armstead's Batman.

Happy: " WE're out of time. Thanks to you both Coach and Coach Reina, and we'll see you after hopefully a Linndale win tonight!"

I’m never watching the end of a game on here again. FFS!

You saw that?!? Wow!!! Mine froze after the last timeout. I had to refresh the browser and I never got to see the end, only read it.

Happy: "Happy Ourer here with Coach after a stunning 99-97 victory over the Lion Rebels. Coach I immediately note
the absence of Pio Reina."

Coach: "He's attending to the locker room right now. Happy, we won the game, but understand something: that was not
Linndale basketball. We did not rebound well, we did not take care of the basketball, and we did not shoot the three well.
Lutz had an awful game but came through in spots. The bench was offensive on offense. The defense was just okay. To be honest, was only good enough. If you had told me out backcourt would give up 52 points to theirr backcourt, I would have asked you how many we lost by. McKnight killed us on the boards, but Nicky was huge tonight and so weere all of our bigs. Kyle was solid, but Coenen was absolutely masterful when we needed him to be. We have a ton of work to do, and I know we won, but we are not pleased with this performance. I know Pio is letting them have it right now. We have to be better than this. Give all the credit to the Lion Rebels for coming out, playing hard and making us play their game. Armstead was clearly the best player on the court. Harden was very good defensively. Carrillo was as expected, and Brown was too. Make no mistake, we are not happy with OUR performance."

Happy: "Was there any aspect of the game you were happy with?"

Coach: "Coenen, and I have complaints there too. He should have taken a few more shots."

Happy: "More from the Linndale Radio Basketball Network after these messages."

Last edited by Speedtraps at 11/20/2022 11:16:08 AM

You saw that?!? Wow!!! Mine froze after the last timeout. I had to refresh the browser and I never got to see the end, only read it.

Yeah, I saw it. Unbelievable! But that's why we play - at least it was close and competitive!

Day 5 (Saturday 19 November 2022) : Performances by (https://www.buzzer-manager.com)

Night results
Linndale 99 - Lion Rebels 97
San Dominica Warriors 146 - BOBBBSBURGS 28
209’s MostWanted 96 - Carolina Rebels 109
BKDogs 48 - Philly Dribble 123
Miami Cleo 45 - The Ashkickers 66
Motor City Waddupdoe 57 - The Beer Bellys 106
Hustlas 118 - Sweaty Socks 33
Żubr Białystok 91 - The Philadelphia Spartans 73

Best collective performance of the evening
Points : 146 : San Dominica Warriors
Rebounds : 80 : San Dominica Warriors
Assists : 32 : Philly Dribble, Hustlas
Steals : 12 : Philly Dribble
Block Shots : 12 : San Dominica Warriors, The Beer Bellys

Personal best performances of the evening
Points : 33 : J. Segovia (The Beer Bellys)
Rebounds : 20 : D. Allen (Carolina Rebels), L. McKnight (Lion Rebels)
Assists : 14 : B. Coenen (Linndale)
Steals : 5 : G. Gattoni (The Ashkickers)
Block Shots : 5 : Y. Semiramis (The Beer Bellys)

Top 5 of the evening
Point Guard : É. Blanchet (San Dominica Warriors) (16 Points, 3 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 2 Steals, 3 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 26
Shooting Guard : J. Segovia (The Beer Bellys) (33 Points, 3 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 35
Small Forward : L. Baião (San Dominica Warriors) (29 Points, 6 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 41
Power Forward : N. Guevara (Linndale) (28 Points, 16 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 0 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34
Center : D. Allen (Carolina Rebels) (18 Points, 20 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steals, 2 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 34

MVP of the evening
L. Baião (San Dominica Warriors) (29 Points, 6 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : 41

The bad performance of the evening
A. Bueno (Sweaty Socks) (0 Points, 5 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 0 Steals, 1 Block Shots) : Efficiency : -9

All kinds of statistics
The player who forgot to remove his mittens : S. Asulin (The Philadelphia Spartans), L. Stern (BOBBBSBURGS) : 5 Turnovers

Player targeted by the referees : A. Varpukevicius (Miami Cleo), Z. Than Lin (209’s MostWanted), M. Smalls (Motor City Waddupdoe), J. Medina (Motor City Waddupdoe), H. Vaarandi (The Philadelphia Spartans), S. Asulin (The Philadelphia Spartans), K. Knowles (Linndale), P. Lutz (Linndale), D. Harden (Lion Rebels), Z. Elsneris (BKDogs), F. Sierra (BOBBBSBURGS) : 5 Personnal Fouls

The iron-man : D. Santana (Miami Cleo), G. Locus (Miami Cleo), I. Gamón (Motor City Waddupdoe), G. Romão (The Philadelphia Spartans), D. Harden (Lion Rebels), L. McKnight (Lion Rebels), M. Grimm (Żubr Białystok), Z. Elsneris (BKDogs) : 48 Minutes

The shooter : J. Segovia (The Beer Bellys) : 7 Three points

The best performer : T. Armstead (Lion Rebels) : Rating : 18.0

The worst performer : S. Bryant (BOBBBSBURGS), J. Aguilera (BOBBBSBURGS) : Rating : 3.0

Happy Ourer: "Happy Ourer and Marshall Richards here on the Linndale Basketball TV Pre-Game Show! Marshall, how are you today?"

Marshall Richards: "I'm great, and it's great to be here! Thanks for asking; how are you, Happy?"

Happy: "I am doing well, thank you!"

Marshall: "Glad to hear that! Folks, we know what you want and we're gonna get right to it! You want to know what to expect from tonight's game against BOBBBSBURGS and we went straight to the source to find out."

*plays video*

Marshall: "Coach Reina, what can we expect to see in tonight's game?"

Reina: "No Paul Lutz. He's gotten a bit banged up the last two games, so we're gonna give him the night off. Also Nicky Guevara and Gyozo Czagala get the night off. We want to try and get a look at some younger guys tonight. Expect to see Carlton Mosley, Vincent Gross, and Art Reese tonight. If we get it to garbage time early, they will play a lot."

Marshall: "Shots starting in Lutz place?"

Reina: "Yes. Jung at the power forward and Datler at center. I have things I expect to see from them as well. This is an important game development wise. All those guys would do well to grab the opportunity afforded to them."

Marshall: "Any tweaks to the game plan?"

Reina: "Not really; we adjust to the talent we have available, but we're gonna go out and try to play our game. If we do that things will take care of themselves."

Marshall: "Any takeaway or carryover from the last game?"

Reina: "The only takeaway is that we are not as good as some guys in the locker room think we are. We can't just roll out of bed and show up. I hope they got that message."

Marshall: "Thanks, Coach. Good luck tonight, and we'll see you after the game."

*end video*

Happy: " Coach Reina seemed to be quite perturbed at the team's performance last game and doesn't want to see another egg like that."

Marshall: "He was definitely bothered by that, and I know he's been preaching the message that they aren't as good as they think. We cannot go out there and not play Linndale basketball and expect to win. We're not at that level."

Happy: "More from your Linndale Basketball pregame show after these messages..."