LETS GET READY TO RRRRRRUMBLE!!!!!
After 7 weeks of competition and 5 rounds of playoffs we have come down to the Wood Choppers of the Estates at Carpenter in Lakeland, FL taking on the SAS Strikers of the Saint Andrews Estates South in Boca Raton, Fl for the title of best in the nation. It's going to be an all Florida battle.
Both teams were odds-on underdogs in their final four match. The SAS Strikers had to get by the highest scoring team in the league, the Cedar Crest Crushers, to reach the title game. The Crushers had been doing just that to their opponents all season. Meanwhile the Wood Choppers only had to beat the highest scoring team of the playoffs, the Fairhope Superstars, to advance. The Superstars had been just that also up until this point.
What was needed here was a Knute Rockne like speech and coaches Oris Martin and Jerry Schmidt did exactly that. Both told their teams that as good as they had been up until that point, their next opponent had been better and they were gonna have to go up yet another level in their play. Well the teams answered the call. Do you think they went back to a locker room and sprayed champagne after their matches?
As stated before, these teams are no strangers to each other. The Wood Choppers took the title of conference champion but lost their only match of the season to the Strikers. The Strikers seem to be peaking at the right time as they continue to put up some record breaking or near record breaking scores in each of the last 2 playoff rounds. However, like Rocky Balboa, the Wood Choppers just keep answering the bell after every round. It's gonna be a battle royale for sure so stay tuned. Match time is scheduled for 1pm on Wednesday, April 28th.

Good Luck to both teams in your quest for the title of
"National Champion"

THE BEST OF THE BEST....................ARE ALL THAT'S LEFT!!
Well the competition has been whittled down to the 4 best teams. Not just the 4 best remaining, but the 4 highest scoring teams from the regular season also. For the vanquished that may mean something but not to these folks. The Crushers led the league in scoring during the regular season with 14,645 points but have actually been outscored 8440 to 8367 by their next opponent the SAS Strikers in the playoffs so far. The Wood Choppers were the second highest scoring team during the regular season with 14,206 points but they too have been outscored by their next opponent the Superstars 8583 to 7860 during the playoffs.
Now for a history lesson. The Strikers are the returning champions from last winter and the Superstars (then known as the Steelers) were an Elite 8 round team. The Crushers and the Wood Choppers are both new entries to the league and WOW did they make their presence known. So we have 2 cases of Old vs New or Experience vs Upstart, however you want to look at it.
Now lets throw another twist in there. The Strikers didn't even finish 1st in their conference. They came in second to the Wood Choppers BUT they won their match against them. Both were part of conference 12 which was the toughest conference to be a part of. In large part because of these 2 battlers. I'm not sure which one will have a bigger chip on their shoulder should they both advance to the final.
The Crushers and Superstars have other ideas though. Their numbers have been impressive as they dominated their competition in the regular season and the playoffs. Both are forces that need to be reckoned with.
Who will come out on top and advance to the championship? Stay Tuned..................
Best of Luck to all 4 teams.

THEN THERE WERE 8
1 point victories, down by 25 and come from behind, and perfect games. They were all a part of the competition as the field was whittled down this past week from 32 to 16 and then to the "Elite 8" of the league. Each of these remaining 8 teams, however, have been dominating their competition as they prove that they are indeed the Aces of the Alley. In this blogger's opinion, predictions = jinx so there will be none of that. Lets just say we have some very interesting matches coming up.
Top ranked Cedar Crest Crushers from Pompton Plains NJ go up against the Riverside Silver of Charleroi, PA. The Crushers are new to the league while the Silver have experience on their side (and some might say an Axe to grind) as a finalist last season.
The 300 Club of Lansdale, PA comes in a very slight underdog against last season's champion SAS Strikers of Boca Raton, FL. This match will also determine who gets bragging rights as the best Wii bowling team in the ACTS Life communities. What will the company memo say?
In the "They Look Familiar" department the Fairhope Superstars of Belle Vernon, PA take on The Active Life of LaGrange, GA. Both these teams changed their names after last season and it has worked so far as their performance has improved dramatically.
In the 4th matchup, coming out of Springfield, IL and fighting their way back to the final 4 we have the CRV Bullets rolling with newcomers and second ranked Wood Choppers from Lakeland FL.
All these matches should prove interesting to watch. These bowlers are so good that should a team slip below 2000 points for a match they are in danger of being sent to the showers. That means bowlers have to put together two 250 point games. That's quite a feat. Stay tuned as the next update will come out on Tuesday morning.

AALC Playoffs - Final Four

Congratulations to the Glenhaven Gardeners, Eagle Ridge Eagles #1 and #2, and the Silver Sliders of Cambridge House Maryville. These four teams have scorched the competition within the AALC and will be competing against one another head-to-head in Springfield, Illinois for the AALC Illinois State Championship beginning April 26th!

Best of luck to all four competing teams!! A Final Four breakdown as well as live action pictures will be posted after the championship, so stay tuned!

2 Down, 4 to Go (Rounds that is)
Well We have made it to the Sweet 16 round and with one notable exception the top 16 scoring teams during the regular season are filling out the bracket. The 23rd ranked FMC 10 Piners overcame a 24 point loss in game 1 of their match to win game 2 by 25 points. Do the math folks and you have a match decided by only one pin. Talk about close, WOW!!!! Congratulations to Dolores and her bevy of men for really stepping up their games when it meant the most.

Having ranked the teams by scoring during the regular season the one thing we here at HQ have noticed is that doesn't mean they have been following that pattern during the playoffs. Top ranked Cedar Crest Crushers have to be looking over their shoulders at the remaining competition. On any given day anything can happen so keep your eyes on the pins bowlers and worry about the competition later. Not a lot is separating playoff scores for the remaining teams so we expect some very close matches here in the sweet 16 round and probably a couple of upsets. The scores will all be in tonight so we'll keep you updated with our next post tomorrow. Good Luck to all and keep knockin' them down.

AALC Playoffs Brace for Week 2 Scores!

The Affordable Assisted Living Coalition of Illinois competed this spring in it's first NSL organized Wii bowling tournament as a, well, coalition. While bowling the normal regular NSL season competition, the AALC also used their scores each week from the NSL to compete in a sub-tournament consisting of the 37 bowling AALC teams (also organized and run by the NSL).

While the NSL competition was a head to head matchup within a designated conference, the AALC competition was a combination of each weeks overall score per team. Each week, each team's previous week's scores were added together to come to an overall season score at the end of the regular season, the highest 16 team season scores advancing to the playoffs. The level of fun as well as competition was doubled as teams competed on both a local, as well as national level for the 7 week regular season.

As the regular season came to a wrap, many AALC teams found themselves on the exciting verge of entering both the NSL and the AALC playoffs! Two chances in two tournaments to make one lasting statement! As we enter week 2 of both competitions, four of our AALC teams still have a shot at an AALC Illinois State Championship, an NSL National Championship, or the long shot dream of clenching both!

The Glenhaven Gardeners, the Eagle Ridge Eagles #2, the Chicago Strikers and the Silver Sliders have all advanced to round 2 in both competitions and are taking no prisoners!!

Below are the remaining 8 teams competing in the AALC Playoffs:

1. The Springfield Splitters 1,774

2. The Glenhaven Gardeners 1,762

3. Eden Chicago Strikers 1,752

4. Silver Sliders 1,748

5. Moraine Court Maniacs 1,691

6. Eagle Ridge Eagles #1 1,630

7. Eagle Ridge Eagles #2 1,610

8. Brookstone Strikers 1,547

Best of luck to all teams in all competitions! The next round of NSL Playoff scores are due tonight by 9 PM eastern, the next round of AALC Playoff scores are due Thursday by the same time.

The Playoffs Have Begun!!!

Round one is over and what was once 64 teams is now down to 32. It is very obvious that these teams mean business too. Average match score for round 1 was 1649. The highest average match score during the regular season happened during week 5 when teams averaged 1433 for a match. With such a high average you would think everyone was bowling perfect games. You would be wrong though. Only 2 perfect games were bowled out of the 512 necessary to complete the 1st round. That means it was the everyday bowlers, the regular Joes and Janes on the teams that stepped it up. A victory is a team effort after all. Way to go folks.

No big upsets to report in round 1 as the favored team won in all but 2 matches. The 2 upsets had very even matched teams playing but lets give a shout out to the Village Alley Katz and the Foothills Fancy Feet for beating the odds. The teams in round 2 are the best 32 in the league and these folks mean business. A few upsets are in the making as this update gets typed.

STAY TUNED....

"Do You Mean Now?"
Once, when asked for the time Yogi Berra famously gave this reply.
What does this have to do with Wii bowling you ask. EVERYTHING is my reply. Yogi Berra is probably one of the greatest gamers to ever play baseball as well as one of the greatest personalities/spokesmen/ambassadors of our national pastime. His "Yogi-isms" can be applied to many of life's situations as well as almost any game played by 2 or more people. Any team captain or administrator that has read my league e-mail updates has seen "It ain't over till it's over" used more than a few times. Well "This is like deja vu all over again" entering the playoffs, ALMOST.
"You can observe a lot just by watching" and doing just that we realized that 5 of the top 10 scoring teams in the playoffs this time around were in the Elite 8 last season. Will they be able to make it back or will it be a case of "The other teams could make trouble for us out there if they win." Many a fine regular season bowler has wilted in the pressure of the play-offs. "A nickle isn't worth a dime today" if you don't bring your game to the virtual alley. More than a few people will wish "The towels were so thick" they "could barely close the suitcase" as they get sent home packing with tears in their eyes.
Having a little trouble picking up those spares and strikes? Better switch remotes. As Yogi said, "I never blame myself when I'm not hitting, I just blame the bat, and if it keeps up, I change the bat. After all, If I know it isn't my fault I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself." That's brilliant, after all "It ain't the heat, it's the humility" that gets to some people.
Now "You have to be very careful if you don't know where your going, because you might not get there." Keep your eye on the prize folks. On any given week in the NSL playoffs, an unknown is going to "Come to a fork in the road, and take it." They will step out of the shadow, into the lime-light and announce their arrival. For a few favorites, "It's going to get late early out there."
So what does Yogi's question have to do with Wii bowling?
Yes Yogi, Now. The time is now!
Best of luck to all 64 teams in the playoffs. Follow the action at www.nslgames.com

Hey coaches, Yogi also once said, "I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early." There is no penalty for getting your scores in early, don't wait until the last minute or you might be too late.

Regular Season Wrap Up

Well there you have it folks, just like that the regular season is now behind us. We at the NSL would like to give a big thank you to all of our competing teams this season. The competition was close and the spirits remained high throughout all 7 weeks, we could not have asked for a better league of bowlers! Before we kick off the playoffs, lets review a few final statistics from the regular season.

The Week 7 NSL league average was 1,427

The NSL season average for all 7 weeks of competition was 1,368

The toughest 3 conferences for the entire season were 8, 12, and 20. Bravo to all the teams involved in those tricky conferences, you all kept the competition extremely strong!

The Top 3 highest scoring regular season teams were the Cedar Crest Crusher in first, with an overall score of 14,645. The Wood Choppers held down second place, with an overall score of 14,206. Third place goes to The Fairhope Superstars with an overall score of 14,169. These three will certainly be teams to watch out for in the upcoming weeks, along with our returning 2009 National Champions, the SAS Strikers!

To all the teams that did not make the playoffs, thank you so much for being a part of the NSL! Keep fresh batteries in those Wii remotes and keep practicing, because the next NSL National Tournament will be here before you know it!

To all of the teams that have made the Spring 2010 Playoffs, best of luck in the upcoming week! You will be notified shortly as to how the playoffs will unfold and what you will be responsible for scores-wise. Please take time to review all playoff material and have your scores in on time, we would hate to see a forfeit knock a team out at this point in the season!

Bowl true, and we'll meet again next week!