Top 10 Player Power Rankings Begins!

In anticipation of the start of the fall season, SABowl will be doing a power rankings (in reverse order) of the league's 10 best bowlers.  The rankings will be spread out over the next few days, to allow (possible) commentary.  Anyone who bowled in summer or last fall that is bowling this season was eligible for the top 10.  Email bowling@southasiansports if you want to post comments agreeing/disagreeing with a particular ranking.

Note that these rankings are not meant to disparage anyone and are supposed to be fun.  Also note that a preference was placed on bowlers who bowled last fall since the season was longer.

Without further ado:

10.  Gage Nestor aka Chocolate Thunder

Gage came on in the summer for the Four Horsemen and averaged 170.4 pins for the season.   His high was a 235, and his high series was 595.  Gage thrived as the team's lead-off bowler, welcoming the challenge of going first and setting the tone for the team.  In addition, Gage welcomed the challenge of facing the opposition's highest handicap players.  Gage would enter a game down 40-50 pins, and got the job done nearly every match.

Where Gage really shined was in the playoffs.  Ask anyone on the Four Horsemen, and they will say Gage was the MVP of their playoff run, and with good reason.  Gage was the team's most consistent bowler - bowling no game under 190, while striking out in the 10th frame in 2 different games.  Talk about bringing your A game on the grandest stage.

Gage throws a good hook with some power to it.  When he's on, he can really strike with the best of them.  When he's on fire, expect the 'flex pose' just after he throws the ball; which means you are big trouble.  The only knock on his game is that he can lose some focus if he misses a few spares, but he has improved on that as the summer season went on.  Expect Gage to be higher on this list as the season progresses.

Fall Season 2 Around the Corner

Playoff!!

After an exciting finish to the regular season, here are the match-ups for the playoffs:

(1) Four Horsemen vs. (4) Mean Machine

(2) Strike Kings vs. (3) Asian Sensation

Finals will follow the semis on Monday. It all starts 815 at East Meadow on Monday!

Summer Playoff Scenarios

This is going to be the closest race of playoff position in South Asian Sports history.

Note: Strike Kings hold tiebreaker over Mean Machine. Other Guys hold tiebreaker over Strike Kings. Mean Machine holds tiebreaker over Other Guys. Asian Sensation holds no tiebreakers.

1. Four Horsemen - Clinched #1 seed

2. Strike Kings - Clinch playoff berth outright with 1 win tonight.

Clinch #2 seed with:

a) Sweeping Four Horsemen OR

b) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) with no other teams sweeping

Clinch #3 seed with:

a) Winning 2 out of 3 (no pins) with no other sweeps AND Other Guys taking at least 8 points

b) Winning 1 out of 3 with Mean Machine taking at least 8 points AND Asian Sensation not getting more than 6 points

Clinch #4 seed with:
a) Winning 1 out of 3 (no pins) with EITHER The Other Guys OR Mean Machine taking at least 8 points AND Asian Sensation taking at least 8 points.

Miss playoffs with:

Getting swept AND Asian Sensation sweeps AND Mean Machine/Other Guys series does not sweep

3. Mean Machine - Clinch playoff berth outright with 1 win + total pins tonight.

Clinch #2 seed with:

a) Sweeping AND the Strike Kings do not sweep OR

b) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings get less than 8 points OR

c) Winning 2 out of 3 (without pins) AND Asian Sensation does not sweep AND Strike Kings only win 1 game without pins

Clinch #3 seed with:

a) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings take at least 8 points OR

b) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Asian Sensation sweeps AND Strike Kings take less than 8 points

c) Winning 2 out of 3 (without pins) AND Asian Sensation sweeps AND Strike Kings win only 1 game without pins

d) Winning 1 out of 3 (with pins) AND Asian Sensation sweeps AND Strike Kings take at least 5 points

Clinch #4 seed with:

a) Winning 2 out of 3 (without pins) AND Strike Kings sweep AND Asian Sensation sweeps

b) Winning 1 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings take at least 5 points AND Asian Sensation does not sweep

c) Winning 1 out of 3 (without pins) AND Strike Kings take at least 3 points AND Asian Sensation does not get more than 6 points.

Miss playoffs with:

a) Getting swept AND Asian Sensation sweeps

b) Winning 1 out of 3 (without pins) AND Asian Sensation takes at least 8 points AND Strike Kings take at least 3 points

4. The Other Guys: Clinch playoff berth outright with 2 wins + pins tonight

Clinch #2 seed with:

a) Sweep AND Strike Kings do not sweep

b) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings take 5 points or less AND Asian Sensation does not sweep

Clinch #3 seed with:

a) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings take 5 points or less AND Asian Sensation sweeps OR

b) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings take more than 5 points AND Asian Sensation does not sweep OR

c) Winning 2 out of 3 (without pins) AND Strike Kings take 3 points or less AND Asian Sensation takes at most 5 points OR

d) Winning 1 out of 3 (with or without pins) AND Strike Kings get swept AND Asian Sensation takes 3 points or less

Clinch #4 seed with:

a) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings win at least 2 games AND Asian Sensation sweeps OR

b) Winning 2 out of 3 (without pins) AND Asian Sensation sweeps AND Strike Kings take 3 points or less OR

c) Winning 2 out of 3 (without pins) AND Asian Sensation takes less than 8 points AND Strike Kings take more than 3 points OR

d) Winning 1 out of 3 (with or without pins) AND Strike Kings take more than 3 points AND Asian Sensation takes less than 8 points OR

e) Winning 1 out of 3 (with or without pins) AND Asian Sensation takes at least 8 points AND Strike Kings take 3 points or less

Miss playoffs with:

Taking 6 points or less AND Asian Sensation sweeps AND Strike Kings take more than 3 points

Asian Sensation - Clinch playoff berth with sweep.

Clinch #2 seed with:

Sweep AND no other series sweeps

Clinch #3 seed with:

Sweep AND EITHER Strike Kings OR Mean Machine/Other Guys sweep

Clinch #4 seed with:

a) Sweep AND Strike Kings AND Mean Machine/Other Guys sweep OR

b) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings take 3 points or less AND Mean Machine takes 5 points or more OR

c) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings take more than 3 points AND Mean Machine takes 5 points or more OR

d) Winning 2 out of 3 (with pins) AND Strike Kings take more than 3 points AND Other Guys take 8 points or more

Miss playoffs with:

a) Taking less than 8 points AND Strike Kings take more than 3 points AND Other Guys take 5 points or more

b) Taking less than 8 points AND Strike Kings take more than 3 points AND Mean Machine take 3 points or more

6. Bowlsonihal - Missed playoffs

Schedule updates

In week 6 we will have our last week of "match play" (position rounds do not count; in our match play you play every team once). The match-ups are as follows:

The Other Guys vs. Asian Sensation

Strike Kings vs. Four Horsemen

Bowlsonihal vs. Mean Machine

After week 6, here's how the rest of the season will go:

Week 7 - Position round #2

Week 8 - Position round #3

Week 5 Previews

Mystery writer #2 for week 5 previews:

Four Horsemen vs. Mean Machine:

MVP(Jason) , DaddyDar(Ayaz) The Mayor (Ahbi) Oh my!! This game is filled with the top bowlers ofthe league and we didn’t even mention the Commissioner Prince. This matchup features 4 of the top 5 bowlers in the league and will be a game that the other teams will be watching. One could only imagine what the trash talking will belike during the game, as ESPN is ready to use their censor button. The real question is how many fans will come to see this epic matchup? Ten thousand? Twenty Thousand? Some people are even scalping tickets in the parking lot forthis main event.

Jason leads his Mean Machine team into unchartered waters where they will face the 1st place and favorites to win it all The Four Horseman. This is the first true test for the Mean Machine. Yes Strike Kings swept them, but that was early in the season. In this handicap league, players like Shazad, Sidd and Kenny will be getting major pins which will give the Mean Machine an edge. All 3 of those bowlers average lower than 144 and must bring their "A" game if Mean Machine has a chance. Jason knows he must bowl over 200's every game but he is capable of doing that as his average is 197. His brother Justin has come out of nowhere averaging 182 pins. He and Ayaz will be battling it out as their averages are basically even. The question is can Justin withstand the trash-talking that Ayaz will bring?

Mean Machine must take advantage of their handicap and try to withstand the top bowlers which are the Four Horseman. Mean Machine is coming off a huge week winning 2 games and taking total pins vs. a great Asian Sensation team. You would think they would have the momentum, but guess again.

The Four Horsemen swept Strike Kings last week and took over first place in the league. That game was packed with controversy and players were called out for tanking. The Four Horsemen withstood all of that and took care of business. Ayaz, Prince and Ahbi are there three main bowlers, and are being compared to Wade, Lebron, and Bosh of the Miami Heat. The question is who will be the fourth bowler. Will it be 'Sneaky Sneaky' Sony or 'Chocolate Thunder' Gage? One of those bowlers will be bowling and will be the X factor for the horsemen. The main question is which team will show up. Will it be The Four horseman who swept Strike Kings? Or will it be The Four Horseman who laid an egg and lost by 200 pins against Bowlsonihal? Regardless, this will be a showdown you do not want to miss.

Strike Kings vs. The Other Guys:

Before last week Strike Kings was on a roll dominating the league and going undefeated. They then ran into a brick wall in the Four Horseman and got swept. After the game there was some chirping of tanking but nevertheless they lost fair and square. Strike Kings just might bring the most dominating team besides the Four Horseman; in that their top three bowlers Raza, Mufty and Don Ali all average over 160. As of now they have the number one bowler in the league in Don Ali, who has shown night in and out he will bring it. Don Ali must be mad from last year’s lost because he has increased his average by over 10 pins. He is one of the few bowlers who have actually increased their average from the fall in that he is averaging almost 207 pins per game.

The X Factor for the Strike Kings has to be Nisar. Nisar has the potential of bowling a great game with his high being a 159, The downfall is he can bowl pretty low as his average is only 127. Add Nisar’s handicap to his high game and that easily surpasses 200 pins easily. Strike Kings better take this game seriously in that they face the Syosset four aka The Other Guys.

The Other Guys are a very dangerous team led by the guy who has the nastiest hook in the league Eddie Santana. Eddie has quickly made a statement averaging 176 and has a high game of 224. Eddie has become a great anchor and faces one of the best in the game in Mufty. This match could come down to one of them throwing a strike and closing it out in the tenth. Put Eddie's skills with Gladson, Ben, and Stanley this is dangerous team and could easily pull off an upset if not a sweep.

Ben, Stanley, and Gladson all average around 155 which mean they will be getting a lot of handicap. If two of the three can bring their A game and go for 180’s these games may be over very fast. These three bowlers like Eddie have came into the league being unknown but quickly become household names. They have showed they can take on the best, and here is another chance to prove that.

The X factor in this Matchup is Ben for The Other Guys. He averages 154, but with a high game of 198, he has the potential of bowling a huge game with handicap. Benny Bravo knows what has to be done, and if he wants to pull off an upset he must get the job done.

With Eddie taking on Mufty the question is who will take on Don Ali and Raza? The individual matchups will be interesting to see, and this should be a great match.

Bowlsonihal vs. Asian Sensation:

Asian Sensation and Bowlsonihal are a battle of two tough teams who both lost 2 games plus total pins the previous week. This matchup is a dead heat in that their total averages from the top four bowlers are only 23 pins apart. That means handicap will not be a factor and these bowlers will have to bowl their tails off. Both of these teams also like to run their mouth and some of them even like to show some skin. Again ESPN is ready incase anything that is not "PG" happens.

Bowlsonihal (which I’m sure no one outside their team can pronounce) is lead by their top dog Satbir and of course Captain Harp. Captain Harp is the only bowler on the team who was in the fall league and knows what it takes to get the job done. Harp and Satbir both have high games over 200 and they may need to do that this week. Mickey and Ushbir both average below 138 which means handicap will be on their side. They have both maxed out at 166 and if they can do that again then Asian Sensation may as well go on a long cigarette break because they have no shot.

The X factor has to be Captain Harp who’s showed he can bowl well over 200, but also has games that he is not proud of. If he can bowl over a 200 Monday, with his handicap, its going to be a long ride home for the Sensation.

Asian Sensation is a loud mouth team and you never know what you will get. Sometimes they talk too much and lose their focus on what’s important which is winning. They have beaten The Four Horsemen, but also lost 4 out of 6 to Mean Machine. With bowlers like Yash whose high game is 234, and Khaled whose is 189, they have the potential to matchup with the best in the game. Yash and Khaled are a great duo to end the game and Khaled has showed he is a true closer. Khaled missed last week and his presence was missed from the sensation as they were off their game. If the sensation have any chance of winning he Khaled must show up.

The X factor has to be the battle of Adam and Amin vs. Ushbir and Mickey. Which bowlers with the 130 average will take the advantage of getting massive handicap? Amin and Adam have bowled over 170 so it can be done. Ushbir and Mickey both bowled a high of 166 which means they are capable of a big game. Who will step up and carry their team to victory?

Given that both team's scores are so close, and even the individual matchups are very close, this may very well be the tightest series of the night.

Summer Position Round #1

With tomorrow being a position round, the teams right next to each other in the standings will square off. That means:

(1) Strike Kings vs. (2) Four Horsemen

(3) Mean Machine vs. (4) Asian Sensation

(5) The Other Guys vs. (6) Bowlsonihal

These match-ups could very likely cause a major shakeup in the standings. Big week for EVERY team.