Poppyteez World

These will be the final updates for 2025, as we are taking the next two weeks off for Christmas and New Year celebrations. The Hasbeens — Lanes 15/16 What began as a rough night ultimately turned into one of our better performances this season. We faced the eighth-place team in the league—an opponent you cannot afford to underestimate. While their highest average is 177, meaning they are not stacked with overwhelming threats, they show up consistently each week, and a couple of their players can beat you quickly if given the opportunity. Their anchor (the 177-average bowler) rolled games of 180 and 193 in Games 2 and 3. Their next-highest average player posted a 532 series, finishing with a 204 in Game 3. Had we not been bowling as well as we did, either of those performances could have decided the night. On our side, we had several standout performances. Our leadoff bowler—and lowest average on the team—had a banner night, rolling games of 154, 199, and 141. Entering the night wi...

 The Hasbeens had to roll without me Tuesday night while I was traveling and couldn’t make the event. One of the guys texted to say they took 5 of the 7 available points against a solid team. They won Game 1 by 54 pins, dropped Game 2 by 36, won Game 3 by 11, and claimed the overall total by 29 pins—all while giving up 41 pins per game in handicap. Well done, guys! They performed just fine without me. Come to think of it, they seem to do better when I’m gone most weeks, lol. Last night, Right-Left-Right faced the No. 10 team in the league. Our performance over the past few weeks had slipped enough to knock us from 1st to 4th going into the night. We started by giving up 21 handicap pins, but since one of their players didn’t show, that dropped to a 10-pin difference. They didn’t have any true powerhouses, but a steady anchor and a streaky middle-man meant they could be dangerous at any point. We took all 7 points in a set of close games. In Game 1, our lead-off bowler fired a 243...

  THE HASBEENS — Lanes 19/20 Tonight’s performance could be summed up with the words from John 11:39,  “Lord, by this time he stinketh…” We faced one of the strongest teams in the league and walked away with only two points. It was an evening marked more by frustration than triumph. Our opponents, currently sitting in third place, are easily one of the most stacked teams in the league. Their anchor rolled a 300 earlier this year in the Monday night league and holds a 279 high game in ours. Even their substitute wasn’t a downgrade—he came in carrying a 189 average. We had our work cut out for us from the start. Game 1 was a masterclass in how to beat a team with a higher handicap. They spotted us 140 pins per game, but you’d never know it—they came out firing. Their 854 scratch game included scores of 226, 245, and 237. Even their lowest scorer finished six pins over average. Game 2 went our way, though I’m still not sure why. Maybe they eased up long enough for us to br...