“Double-Double Goes X-Large on Points and Moves into 1st Place!”

Week 14 MVP Award Winner –
Double-Double (35 Points)

In a development that is going to surprise absolutely nobody, Double-Double has posted another huge late season week in the club.  Double-Double went extra large on Points and scored 35 to win the Week 14 MVP Award.  As a result, he moved into 1st Place for the first time this season.  Our defending 2018 Club Champion, Double-Double’s 2019 season is starting to resemble last year’s late season surge.  Last season, Double-Double took over 1st Place during Weeks 10 & 11, but then lost the top spot to Stinkerbell for the next 4 weeks.  Then, he surged forward and reclaimed #1 during Weeks 16 & 17 to win the club title with a narrow 5 Point margin of victory.  Stinkerbell is no doubt still disappointed one year later after logging 13 Weeks at #1 last season only to lose the title at the end.  Double-Double thus became the seventh player this season to move into 1st Place for at least one week.  I must say, it is really nice to see 1st Place spread around so much this season.  Double-Double joins The Cat, Halibut J-Bird, freespirit, Slick Chick, Drummer Boy, and MJD Hogg as part of the 1st Place club members for the season.  Well done to everyone on that list!  Double-Double only picked three games wrong last week – Dallas, Houston, and Seattle.  The Week 14 MVP Award Runner-Up went to Fearless Tuna with 30 Points.  I ended up missing one more game than Double-Double, as I had picked New Orleans to win.  I should add that it would be nice if I could find a way to get into 1st Place for at least one week.  The last 4 weeks, I’ve been either 1 or 2 Points out of 1st Place every single week and each time a different person has been above me.  But with only 3 weeks left, time is running out fast to claim the top spot for any length of time.  Other club members who had really high scores last week included Stinkerbell (27 Points), Captain Insano (26 Points), and Drummer Boy (25 Points).  Looking at the Top Five, we currently have #1 Double-Double, #2 Fearless Tuna (1 Point behind), #3 Halibut J-Bird (14 Points behind), #4 Mr. T (15 Points behind), and #5 The Rickster (18 Points behind).  Let’s see which players from the Top Five and beyond can make up some much needed ground this week.

The Super Bowl Tournament last week featured four big matches in the Divisional Round.  In the first match, (1) Double-Double def. (7) MJD Hogg 35-18.  I ran into MJD Hogg on Saturday last weekend and gave him some quick encouragement on winning his match.  But it wasn’t enough, as there is literally no way to beat the #1 seed when he is the MVP for the week.  In the second match, (3) Hoosier Daddy def. (4) Bob Swerski 17-14 to end Bob’s dream of repeating as Super Bowl Head to Head Champion.  In the third match, (8) Drummer Boy def. (2) The Rickster 25-19 to pull off his second consecutive shocking upset.  I don’t think anybody at all (except for maybe Drummer Boy himself) thought that such an impressive run through the tournament was possible.  Drummer Boy had to play in the dreaded First Round against dangerous player Captain Insano, then face #1 seed The Cat, then #2 seed The Rickster, and survive all three matches in order to reach the Conference Final.  And he somehow did it.  In the fourth match, (6) Slick Chick def. (5) Mr. T 22-18 in a battle between two teammates.  Slick Chick is also having a fantastic run of upsets in the tournament.  In the Conference Finals this week we have (3) Hoosier Daddy (8-4) at (1) Double-Double (10-1-1) and (8) Drummer Boy (6-7) at (6) Slick Chick (7-5).  The nice thing is we have all four divisions represented.  So be sure to cheer on and support whoever is playing from your division.  Hoosier Daddy vs. Double-Double will be a great showdown between long-time friends.  Hoosier Daddy will be looking to get revenge for his brother MJD Hogg’s defeat last weekend.  Drummer Boy vs. Slick Chick is a match between two players who have achieved huge upsets and each just need one more win to the make the Super Bowl final.  As far as all four remaining players, only Double-Double has previously won the Super Bowl Head to Head title (in 2008).  None of the other players have won it, although Drummer Boy made the Super Bowl final in 2007 and Hoosier Daddy made the Super Bowl final in 1999.  Which two players will step up this week and make the 2019 Super Bowl final?  We will soon find out.

The Pro Bowl Tournament got started last week with two First Round matches.  (3) Daddy & His Boys def. (6) The Black Pearl 60-55 and (5) The Supernovas def. (4) Alhambra 77-50 to advance to the Final Four.  So now we know that one of the four teams left will be our 2019 Pro Bowl Team champions.  Wild Animals are our defending 2018 team champs and they have won 2 of the last 3 Pro Bowl team titles.  The Final Four showdowns this week will be (5) The Supernovas (6-7) at (1) Wild Animals (9-3) and (3) Daddy & His Boys (7-5-1) at (2) McTriple Play (8-4).  For the first match, #1 seed Wild Animals will have to face off against their kryptonite The Supernovas.  Wild Animals only lost 3 games all season, but 2 of those losses came at the hands of The Supernovas.  I remember during the off-season inviting Double-Double to join me on The Supernovas.  But he declined the invitation, stating that he planned to return to Wild Animals to defend his team’s title.  Now these two teams will do battle, with Wild Animals being heavy favorites but they still will have to watch out for the upset.  In the second match, we have a showdown between two very strong teams.  McTriple Play are the #2 seed while Daddy & His Boys are the #3 seed.  These two teams only played twice during the regular season and split their matches.  In Week 5, McTriple Play def. Daddy & His Boys 69-41.  And in Week 10, Daddy & His Boys def. McTriple Play 33-27.   Which team will win this hugely important third meeting?