New Page Added!

By request, a team stats page has been added. You can now see the scores of every team for every game this season. You can also see team averages, and which team had the highest team score for any game as well. Check it out under "team stats"

A big thanks to Asif Siddiqui for doing the work to create this page for everyone!

Pin Pals - SABowl's hottest team

The question was asked once before. The question was can anyone beat the Strike Kings? Ever since that question was asked the Srike Kings have 3-6 in their last 9 games. Struggling with attendance as Jason Reiss has missed a game and Arshad missed a game. The new bowlers who have come in have done a commendable job but one way or another the Strike Kings haven't been able to keep it together. They are now no longer in first place. In fact when the next set of standings come out, they may be in third place. Who has taken their place? The hottest team in the league is the Pin Pals. One can't say that the Pin Pals have taken over the league quietly. As Ayaz "Daddy" Dar doesn't have a quiet bone in his body. Ayaz has loudly proclaimed that they have the team to beat. Going in to this weeks match ups they had 49 points. After they swept Asian Sensation they are now sitting firmly in first place with 58 points. Asian Sensation was seen bowling before the league started to make sure that they were ready to go. Pin Pals blew them out in game 1. The question was asked once before for the Strike Kings but now it has to be asked for the Pin Pals. Can anyone beat this team??

Power Rankings - Week 6

Power Rankings after 6 weeks of play:

1. Pin Pals (49 points) - Ayaz has been calling out almost everyone in the league, but he and his team are backing up all their talk. As a team, they've bowled the highest single game (892), have 2 of the top 5 bowlers in the league (Asif #4 and Ayaz #5), and have another bowler just outside the top 10 (Riz #12). So not only is this team carried by 2 star bowlers, they get solid contribution from the rest of the team as well. Chris and Dave have also both had great games this season and have picked up the slack during the few off moments of Ayaz or Asif. If this team continues to go at its current pace, they will be the favorites to win the title.

2. Strike Kings (44 points) - They're built similar to the Pin Pals in that they have 2 of the top 5 bowlers in the league. Jason is currently the top bowler in the league and Don is #3 and closing in on the #2 spot. Combined they are the best 1-2 punch in the league and it's not even close. Their problem? They don't have the depth the Pin Pals have. The team's next best bowler is Ammad, who is an average bowler at best right now. The inconsistencies of the rest of the team will continue to be questioned going forward. That being said, if they get another bowler to score over 150, as long as the rest of the team does it part, Strike Kings should almost never lose.

3. Asian Sensation (30 points) - Controversial call at #3 but they get the nod since they are the hotter team right now, and their team scores last week of 707, 804, and 785 would have won them at least 2 out of 3 games (with total pins) against every other team in the league. After the first power rankings, I called out someone on this team to step up and help Khaled. Well Khaled owes me as both Jin and Yash have stepped up big time. For all the talking Yash has done, he's quickly moving up the rankings as he's now near the top 10. Meanwhile, Jin has cracked the top 10 with a near 150 average. This team definitely has depth, and has shown great improvement since week 1. Their depth allows them to be inconsistent, but without at least one team member to consistently bowl well, they will have a tough time closing out games the top teams. This could be moot though if the team continues to roll 800 team series.

4. Pin Smackers (39 points) - Abhi took the league by storm, and while he's still a top bowler, he's not destroying the league as he was at the beginning. This isn't good news for the Pin Smackers as they don't have the depth of any of the 3 teams above them. Sony and Adam have been relatively consistent, and have shown improvement, but aren't the #2 type bowlers to back up their team's ace. The team's success lies in its attendance; with Eugene or Harp there, they can beat anyone, but if they're missing, they'll likely fall just short as they did this past Sunday. It will be interesting to see who steps up going forward, as no clear bowler has truly stepped up yet.

5. Strikes 'n' Spares (19 points) - I'm pretty sure that no one expected this team to see a number besides 6 when it came to their power rankings when the season started. That being said, this team has quietly bowled some 700+ games. Mufthy Dastigir also got himself noticed this past Sunday bowling a 243, and entering himself in the top 10 bowlers (#7). The big problem is no one else besides him and Nadeem have shown to be consistent bowlers. After Nadeem the drop-0ff is quite noticeable and that will have to change fast. Nadeem's crew is going to be tested in the next few weeks as they'll face some of the league's best bowlers. They need to have a good showing the next few weeks if they want to have a legit shot of being a feared playoff team.

6. Force (16 points) - What is going on with Force? After great (but losing) showings against Strike Kings and Pin Pals, they haven't taken advantage of their easier schedule. They were expected to avenge their loss to Strikes 'n' Spares this past Sunday but instead needed every single pin possible to get their one win. The team definitely has talent: Alan, Bobby, Prince, and Shumail have all rolled games above 180 this season. Attendance and consistent play have been the downfall of this team. If Force's big 4 all bowl as they're capable of, they can beat any team - but that has yet to happen. Prince, for the most part, has done his part, but hasn't gotten too much help outside of Bobby. This team may look great on paper, but needs to start getting wins fast and everyone on the same page if they want to be any threat in the playoffs.

Week 6 Recap

Week 6 saw a lot of intense action as the league had its first position around. Every series was close and had a lot of great games:

Strike Kings vs. Asian Sensation:

This was probably the tightest match-up of the day as the balanced attack of the Asian Sensation was able to hang with the 2 headed-monster on the Strike Kings of Jason and Don. Asian Sensation was able to pull a very close win in game 1 with a score of 707-702. However, Jason and Don stepped up more (if that's even possible) and ensured the Strike Kings would get the other 2 games.

Strike Kings won game 2 842-802, and game 3 806- 785. Jason bowled games of 200, 235, and 255; while Don bowled games of 175, 239, and 193. Statement game in the loss for Asian Sensation though; as they are showing they have a very balanced team and can definitely hang with the top teams in the league. Not to mention the vast improved bowling of Jin and Yash: Jin rolled games of 138, 178, and 154; while Yash continued his great run with scores of 159, 153, and 195.

Pin Pals vs. Pin Smackers

In the battle of the 2 top teams in the league, Pin Pals once again showed that they are for real. Everyone might view Ayaz as the biggest talker in the league, but make sure you also notice that after a bad game 1, he bowled a 214 in game 2 and a 161 in game 3. Asif did even better after his bad game 1, with scores of 196 and 217 respectively. They might talk, but they're backing it up.

Pin Smackers were easily able to win game 1 714-616, but once Ayaz and Asif got going, they proved to be too much for Adam and his crew. Pin Pals won game 2 850-745, and game 3 770-702. Eugene bowled exceptionally well, with games of 145, 201, and 150. Sony had a career series high of 436, and Abhi continued his excellent play with games of 181, 167, and 192. However, if the Pin Smackers want to consistently beat the top teams, Abhi has to go back to dominating the league, and get continued support from Sony, Adam, and others.

Force vs. Strike 'n' Spares:

The 5 vs. 6 match had a ton of excitement as well as 2 of the 3 games were extremely close. Nadeem's crew was able to pull out game 1 late with spares from Mufthy and Nadeem in the 10th frame, winning 703-683. Force won game 2 in the closest game in league history - 1 pin! Alan converted a much needed spare in the 10th frame to give Force a 670-669 victory.

Game 3 saw Mufthy step up and take over the game with a career high of 243 as he demoralized Force and carried his team to a 704-631 victory. To go along with his 243, Mufthy also bowled games of 154 and 159. Nadeem chipped in with scores of 155, 128, and 145. Meanwhile for Force, Prince quieted bowled another solid series with games of 153, 155, and 170. Bobby also contributed with a 420 series and a score of 167 in game 1.

Position Round!

Our league will be having it's first position round entering week 6. A position round is where a team plays the team right next to it in the standings. Here are the match-ups we will see this weekend:

#1 Pin Pals vs. #2 Pin Smackers

#3 Strike Kings vs. #4 Asian Sensation

#5 Force vs. #6 Ballers

Previews and recaps of weeks 4 and 5 will be posted later in the week.

Updates!

The stats, league leader, and team standing pages have all been updated. They are accurate as of the games on 1/15

Take a look and see how you are doing and how your team is doing against the competition after 5 weeks!

Week 3 Power Rankings

After 3 week of bowling, here are the power rankings entering the 4th week:

1. Strike Kings (9 wins, 33 points) - Easy call at #1 right now. While some people are calling the previous article on the Strike Kings premature, they've been taking care of business from the get go. They handled Force in 3 close games in week 1, and took out the Ballers easily in week 2. In week 3, they got a scare from Asian Sensation in game 1, but after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, easily defeated them the next two games. They have 2 of the top 3 bowlers in the league in Jason and Don, who have impressed all season. But the supporting cast like Ammad (10th in the league overall) are starting to improve as well, making this team that much harder to beat. Their depth after the top 2 will be questioned, but if they continue to get solid contributions from at least one other bowler, they will be favorites to win it all.

2. Pin Smackers (aka Eagles) (6 wins, 20 points) - A toss up between the #2 and #3 teams currently, but the Pin Smackers get the edge due to their head to head matchups and better attendance. They have the league's best bowler in Abhi, who's put up ridiculously good numbers, including a 279 game that will likely not be matched by anyone. He also takes the pressure off the rest of his teammates since you know he'll likely beat the opponent's anchor by a decent margin. But Abhi will be the first to tell you it's all about the team; and while Adam and company haven't put up eye popping numbers, they've put up solid games and someone always seems to have a great game to go along with Abhi. Besides the Strike Kings, they're the only team that can say they won at least 1 game each week to this point. A matchup with Strike Kings is needed to see how they'll fare when the opponent has someone that can take on Abhi.

3. Pin Pals (6 wins, 22 points) - Yes, they have more points than the Pin Smackers, but it's been all or nothing for this team so far, and the schedule has favored them thus far as well. There is no question this team has talent. Ayaz and Asif have not disappointed so far as they're currently the #4 and #5 bowlers in the league. Riz is also the #6 bowler in the league, so they have depth. But they've also had attendance issues. Riz has only bowled 4 games, Ayaz, Chris, and Dave have all missed a week. Missing Chris, Dave, and Riz hurt as they got swept by the Eagles. The only time they've had their full roster so far is against the Ballers. If they continue to have attendance issues, they won't be able to crack the top 2, but at full strength, this team can has the ability to beat anyone.

4. Asian Sensation (4 wins, 16 points) - When Asian Sensation is going well, you will definitely know it. One of the more animated teams in the league, Asian Sensation has found early success with two wins against the Eagles and Force. They also took the Strike Kings to the limit in game 1 of their series, as they had a near 70 pin lead in the 9th frame. However, they blew that lead as they couldn't close it out. Then in games 2 and 3 they got blown out. Could this be a sign of things to come? Or was it just an aberration? In Asian Sensation's defense, they were missing power bowler Adam against the Strike Kings, who's been their 2nd best bowler so far this season. But Asian Sensation's main problem has been consistency. Jin has bowled games in the 180's this season, but he also has games in the 110's. Khaled has broken the 200 game barrier, but hasn't always had the help he's needed. Going forward, this team needs someone to step up and consistently finish every game for this team, otherwise the pressure of close games could continually stop them from being top notch.

5. Force (2 wins, 8 points) - Force has been the most inconsistent team thus far. Alan and Bobby have missed one week, and Shumail and Raheel have only come one week. Prince, Bobby, and Alan have all bowled great games, but they haven't been able to do it in the same game to this point. While the 3 of them rank 7, 8, and 9 in average in the league respectively, they need to be more consistent in order to put wins on the board. Force might have the deepest full roster in the league, with players like Roswell and James doing a respectable job, but attendance issues could easily derail them from doing anything substantial. Force has played teams tough; they gave the Strike Kings 3 tough games in week 1, played Asian Sensation close in week 2, and was very close to sweeping the Pin Smackers in week 3. They've had a tough schedule so far, but they have been unable to close out games and capitalize on their opponents lower games. Alan and Prince showed signs of breaking out against the Eagles, and if they continue to put up the 160+ games they did last week, Force could easily make a move upward in the standings. But if the team continues their inconsistencies in attendance and play, they won't be going very far this season.

6. Ballers (0 wins, 0 points) - In fairness to the Ballers, they've had one less week than the other teams to figure out their roster and to start improving as a team. Even when they've shown, they had attendance issues their 1st week (against the Strike Kings no less). They have the talent, as Nadeem has already put up a 190 game, and the others have been around the 140 mark. They've also bowled over a 700 series as a team. But they're going to have to figure everything out quickly if they want to make a run at the playoffs. Nadeem is going to have to be a consistent anchor for this team and he's going to have to get support from his entire roster. This team still remains a mystery as they been seen the least, so they have a chance to be taken lightly and surprise their next few opponents.