Season 14 – Playoff Picks

Greetings high rollers…it’s playoff week and time for the Season 14 – Playoff Picks!

The eight weeks leading up to this one were basically practice. As Duke alluded to in the skeemail, the playoffs are very much the skeeBOSTON version of March Madness where anything can happen. And trust me when I say that upsets will happen (more on that below). Toss out all of the push-ups….there are no more pins to be had…every ball matters.

Looking back on the skeeson, the word parity comes to mind. The top ten teams all cracked 8000 and are separated by just over 500 points, or about 60 points/week. All it takes is one roller getting hot at the right time, or a matchup on the Lane of Broken Dreams, and 60 points can be erased in just a few frames. Even the top five teams are just about 200 points apart. While FKA Daddy rose to the top, you could make the case for any of them (Daddy, Skeezy, Hobbits, Han Rolo, Plumbers) as the top seed.

With all that parity, this tourney is about as wide open as we’ve seen in recent memory. I would not be surprised to see at least one double-digit seed in the final eight, and perhaps one or more mid-to-high single digit seeds (5-9) playing on Super Saturday (foreshadowing, anyone?). Give Duke some credit for not being a girlyman (which we know he can be) and picking a few of the higher seeds to make the final four, unlike some of the past ghost writers that have typically picked just the top teams, also known as “chalk.” [Editor’s Note: Did you just indirectly try to call me a girlyman?]

One last note before the playoff predictions. I finished the season on a high note last week going 4-1 to finish two games above .500 for the skeeson [Editor’s Note: damnit!]. Take that, Duke!! Without further adieu, let’s get to it.

FKA Bracket
Hat tip to Duke for the inside info on #17 Boccskee not having a third, as I think they were the choice at but I’ll also go with #16 FoT here (nice steal of my acronym, Duke. #winteriscoming). Their run will be short-lived, however, as #1 FKA Daddy will give them a beat down not seen since the Red Wedding. The matchup of the night could be the 9:30 match with #8 Duke I am your Father against #9 Conspiraskee Theorists. I think Duke overrated the two-week hiatus for Chris Martin, and while Ev is clutch in the playoffs, I’ll take Conspiraskee in a minor upset [Editor’s Note: whoa]. If the 10:30 matchup is on lane 1 I like Conspiraskee’s chances. FKA Daddy is too strong on other lanes. Who’s Your Daddy to the final four. [Editor’s Note: Nice chalk, girlyman.]

Han Rolo Bracket
Han Rolo’s leading roller, Steve “Pinball” Robinson, is the best roller in skeeBOSTON history (#1 in points all time, #2 in 50 Streaks, #3 in combos, #4 in Hundos, one HRT) without a chalice to his name. Is this the skeeson?!? With three vets on the team, I like #4 Han Rolo over #13 Skee 3PO in the first match. On the other side of the bracket, I can see #12 The Night is Dark and Full of Skeeballs giving #5 No Mike in the Plumber’s Shed a scare. With Jenn “The Shed” Foxon going on maternity leave after the skeeson, I think she and team will be on a mission. Somehow Pinball and Shed find a way to compete against each other, either individually where Pinball edged her by less than one point in the final standings [Editor’s Note: there will be payback for that], or in the team matchups. I love the story for Baby Shed, but I think Pinball and team move on to the final four (hold your comments, Duke). [Editor’s Note:All chalk. Lame.]

Skeezy Bracket
An interesting play-in match with #15 I Skee Drunk People and #18 Live Skee or Die. Both teams sport former chalice winners – Joe and Tom of the Drunks, Scott of Live Skee. I touched on Scott’s letdown in skeeson 14 (did he really roll four combos in week 8?) [Editor’s Note: I saw a couple, but not sure about four. Everett better check that scoresheet], and the same could be said of Live Skee after a strong debut in skeeson 13. But this team appears to be peaking at the right time, so I’ll take them in the upset. Skeezy will bring an abrupt end to Skee season and move onto the final eight. At 9:30, #7 Skeeing is Believing, a wildly up and down team, faces #10 All the Single Ladieskees. All the Single Ladiesskees started strong but faded a little as the skeeson went on. Both teams are better than their seeds would indicate, but I’ll take SIB in this one. Skeezy will be tough to handle in the elite eight, but I like the underdog factor of SIB who haven’t gotten the respect they’ve deserved this skeeson. SIB to the final four. [Editor’s Note: They may have a sub which isn’t going to help the ONLY upset you’ve picked.]

Trickskee Bracket
I love the story of #19 Beer! (Congrats Janelle on playing card!) As the last team in, but they will also be one of the first teams out losing to #14 Why So Skeerious. I can’t rule out another win for Skeerious against #3 Trickskee Little Hobbits in the 7:30 match. That said, I’ll take the league’s top roller and his team in this one. Three #11 seeds won first round matchups in the NCAA Tourney. If that’s not a sign that #11 Run DMSkee will pull one of the bigger upsets of the night over #6 Magically Skeelicious in the 8:30 matchup I don’t know what is. Want an ever bigger upset? #11 Run DMSkee will be the Syracuse of this year’s tourney, have a massive last few frames, and take down #3 Trickskee on their way to the final four. All of a sudden this bracket looks like most of my NCAA tourney brackets (go Oklahoma!). [Editor’s Note: Eww for Oklahoma, but like the pick. Justin has quietly had an amazing season.]

Final Four
Much like the Cinderella run of Syracuse this year, I think Run DMSkee will run into a hot Skeeing is Believing in the final four. The matchup on the other side of the bracket is full of intrigue as Pinball faces two of his former teammates of FKA Daddy (Brian, Sam). The irony here is that the three of them, as a former team, have some of the biggest playoff chokes in skeeBOSTON history. Well, one of them separated from the pack. So Han Rolo will take down the top seed in a close battle. And if Pinball gets to the final with defending chalice holder Cory and veteran Nate, I don’t see them losing to SIB despite a great underdog run from Ben, Eric, and Marissa. Pinball edged out Shed on the last ball of week 8 in the individual title. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it come down to the last ball once again. Han Rolo was my favorite at the beginning of the skeeson. I think it pays dividends on Super Saturday XIV!

Week 8: 4-1
Skeeson 14: 18-16

Good luck to everyone in the playoffs, skee you on the lanes!!

p.s. If you’re looking for two more songs to get you amped for the playoffs it’s tough to go wrong with Eye of the Tiger or Thunderstruck.

Season 14 – Playoff Picks