Ship Drops Anchor in Fifth Place

As Franky said, and now the end is near and so we face the final curtain.  Having already guaranteed the best finish in franchise history, the Ship faced the Justice League in the last match of the season, needing at least a tie protect a 2-point lead to lock-up fifth place in the hotly contested C-1 division of the NYDO.

Rich surprised everyone with a win to start things off in S501, but when Fred lost, there was speculation that this night might be the complete opposite of a regular match.  (It wasn't clear whether or not that was a good thing.)  Meredith put up a tough fight before losing a close match, but Holly, Mindy and Jen all picked up wins, giving the Ship a 4-2 lead and almost half of their goal for the night.  Meanwhile, in the nail-biting intra-squad competition, Fred's shocking loss opened the door for Mindy to capture the S501 Win % title with a .750 winning percentage.

Under strict orders not to lose, Fred / Mindy "R9" Robinson swept the first round of Cricket.  Rich / Holly picked up a split (despite some bad strategy), and Nikki / Meredith played two incredible games, but fell to very tough competition.  At the end of Cricket, the Ship had 7 points, needing only 1 win in D501 to get at least a tie.

In D501, Fred / Mindy walked the walk with a win in the first game, completing Mindy's undefeated night and proving she can beat people other than Holly and Rich.  Holly / Jeremy lost a tough match, despite making a strong comeback.  In the last game, D501 stalwarts Jen / Nikki appeared to be a lock, but they lost a double-out battle.  However, with one win, the Ship managed a 9-9 tie for the night, which was as good as a win, because it secured sole possession of fifth place.

Overall, it was by far the best season ever for the Ship.  The fifth place finish was not only just one spot out of the playoffs, but it was the first time in 3 seasons we didn't finish in last (or tied for last) place.  We scored 115 points, 13 more than last season (which included 2 BYE weeks) and 26 more than a year ago.  As a team, we scored 7,950 AS points, 258 more than last season and 2,017 more than a year ago.  And, as always, we had a damn good time doing it. 

So the Ship is docked for the season, and hopefully it will set sail again next season. Either way, as Jimmy says, it's been a lovely cruise.

Season-Ending Props: 
Ironman: Fred (55), Rich (54), Meredith (47)
AS Points: Fred (2218), Holly (1551)
Total Wins: Fred (31), Rich (28)
S501 Win %: Mindy (75%), Jen / Fred (71%)
Cricket Win %: Mindy (61%), Fred (61%)
D501 Win %: Jen (71%), Nikki (67%)
Overall Win %: Mindy (60%), Fred (56%)

Ship Flipped Off by Road Ragers

The last time we played Road Rage, we were in a battle for third place. This time it was a battle for fourth, and Road Rage treated us like we cut them off on the highway, as they slapped us with a 13-5 loss.

We started off the match slow, in the left lane, with our turn signals on. In the first game, Rich came back from a big deficit, but lost after failing to double out on 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. We had a few close games, but we didn't manage to get into the flow of traffic until Fred asserted his S501dominance, posting our only win and extending his season S501 winning percentage to an astounding 77% (10 of 13).

Down 5-1, we couldn't manage to turn the corner in Cricket. In the first game, Rich / Dave got bitch-slapped for a loss, before coming back to earn a split. Jen / Meredith played really well until they were given bad directions, and ended up with two losses. Fred / Mindy also managed a split, but made things interesting by narrowly winning their second game after building up (and then giving back) a 6-bull lead.

Going into D501, we still had a chance to tie the match if we could manage to blow them off the road. Unfortunately, the powerhouse team of Dave / Fred dropped the first game. Luckily, Jen Cen returned from her cross country adventure and showed she has not lost her D501 touch. Jen / Mindy scored an impressive win, and Jen increased her D501 record to 83% (5 of 6). (Side note: Jen has won with Rich, Mindy and Meredith as partners, and her only loss came when she was paired with S501 champ Fred.) Rich / Meredith concluded the ugliness by not only losing the final game, but getting doubled-out on by their worst player.

Next week is the final week of the season, and will likely be a battle for fifth place, as we face the Justice League. 

Props: 
Jen - Back with a vengeance.  D501 win plus 100 AS points.
Dave - For stepping up to play, even though he lost 3 out of 4 games to a girl.

Meredith Kline Kicks Ass!

Turnabout is fair play and payback is a bitch. After last week's romp over a short-handed squad, we went into the match against the Loud Drunks with Darts with only four hands on deck. Although it would be tough to win the night, we had our own fierce internal competition brewing, with Rich and Fred battling for the most wins and Rich / Fred / Holly / Meredith battling for the title of Ironman.

To start the night, Fred and Rich lost their opening matches, keeping them even in total wins. Then Meredith not only won, but embarrassed her opponent, throwing a 94 and a Ton-33, and doubling out on her second try. Holly opened up a huge lead in the final game, but got nabbed at the end for a tough loss. With both Jeremy and Dave** getting destroyed in their matches, we finished S501 down 5-1.

In Cricket, Fred / Meredith took the first game and managed a split, with Meredith throwing a C3 in the second game. Rich / Holly also managed a split, winning a hard-fought game in their opening match by out-pointing their opponents. In the final game, Nikki / Mindy** got mopped up like the floor under Patrick Ewing during a free-throw, and we lost Cricket 4-2. 

Jen** opened up D501 by getting her midget tossed in a 2-on-1 game. In the second game, Rich / Holly nearly came back, but couldn't manage to double out. In the final game, Fred / Meredith rolled over the competition, taking a much-needed 2 points for the Ship and making the final score 13-5. In the equally important intra-Ship competition, Fred's 2 wins moved him into the "wins" lead by 1, while the Ironman title remains up for grabs.

Props: 
Meredith - 327 AS points, 3 wins, in on 4 of the 5 points, and 1 hernia from carrying the entire team.

** For purposes of this recap, all losses have been fictitiously assigned to non-attending teammates. You got a problem with that?