Season 26 Mid-Season Report

Season 26 has reached the halfway point and it’s been one for the record books. There are 15 rollers that are currently averaging over 385 & for those looking to get a card this season, you’re going to need to average better than a 325 to have a shot to break the top 32. 

To give some kudos for those who killed it in the first half of the season I broke down all the major categories to see if they have a shot at taking a shot atop the lanes on Super Saturday. Without further ado, the Season 26 Mid-Season report. 

Most Improved Roller: 

Alex Carr is currently in the lead because he’s rolled three really good games and is doing something right that he couldn’t find last season. The 84 point increase in average is pretty damn impressive but with an extra game, there’s plenty of time to screw this up.  It doesn’t help that just he’s got some mean competition: Cory Magno is one of the most underrated players in the league & it’s nice to see him emerge with a top-10 season and Logan appears to have taken a major step up and broken the 300 average. Hoping Logan can continue to put up some high scores & get himself a card this season. If I have to pick one, I’ll go with the one who got some chalices, Cory.

Karen & Staci were very, VERY competitive last season while vying for Rookskee of the Year & both have taken a nearly identical step forward: Karen has improved by 34 points & Staci by 33. Also: another category, another Skee Bare Bear. Danny is not too far behind as he has upped his average 25 points from Season 25. This one will definitely come down to the wire & should make for a very fun Rivalry Week. I’ll have to stick with Karen. She did beat me in a tournament once…. she also hasn’t let me forget about it either. 

This is a little unfair as Johnny as only rolled two games. One was a 348 & the other a 347. Unless he’s a robot, we’ll expect this to change. I’m also rooting that Jessica gets off of this as that means she has improved her average because I hope she’d continues to improve on her average! That leaves Kyle Mack & Tom Martin, two rollers who have taken time off but haven’t shown any rust and have been a good stable roller for their teams (and boy do Devin and Steve need that). Would expect them to maintain right where they are at & stay steady as she goes. I’ll take Kyle as the roller to be the steadiest of all. 

So there’s two stories here: folks that stumble out the gate, like Jen & Sarah, who fail to break 300 early but have shaken it off & have come back strong. And then there’s the powerhouses like Pat & Kim who play really well but  just have a bad week. Hey it happens folks. Not everyone can average 400 week in, week out. Tanner is holding on by a few points but Pat’s ability to break 500, makes him the favorite to take this trophy home. 

 

This is just wild and honestly, how it should be. The league has turned more into a live or die by the hundo league…but we’ve always said you should find your 40. Now it’s highly doubtful Ev’s record is getting broken but the odds on favorite here is Snively as she has won this three seasons in a row and a fourth ties her with Ev & Ryan Gearghty for most all time. If we had an oddsmaker here (paging Johnny Hunt), the dark horse would be Mike Pagnotta. He’s not shooting hundos at all so having four more frames to get these 40 streaks is a very distinct advantage. 

Again, the odds on favorite is the person who has won the last three times, Chuck Rogers. A fourth straight win breaks a tie with the Master of the Scombo, Scott Sinclair, for most all-time trophies. (If only Chuck showed up to Super Saturday to collect them.) But we’re not here to go chalk. Robo has been constantly harassing Chuck about his combos and should put up a good fight. Dawson’s chance depends on how angry he gets at himself. Papa Pinball can put up a good fight to win his second combo title but he’s become lane dependent nowadays. This leaves Dan as our only true hope to take out the * and he should get it done. 

Now Pat is on fire this season…. not as hot up the middle as he was 10 seasons ago but the man can still do enough to be the odds on favorite for his ninth title. It did take Bri-Guy his last frame of the season to get a share of a title last season & maybe can get hot here. Patrick has gotten his 2nd career 50 streak back in Week 2 & is steadily improving alongside his fellow Bears. If he can somehow get a few 50 streaks and emerge as a contender, it will be one of the biggest upsets in SkeeBoston history. I’ll root for that over the vets any day.

This title has been synonymous with the MVSkee for the past few years (last non-MVSkee to win the hundo title was Steph Burgess back in Season 12). Pat was a a flamethrower in his first three weeks, and while his average stumbled, still managed to get 20 hundos to keep his lead. Rob is continuing to climb the ranks & should contend. Meanwhile, I have been good for 54s & 63s but still can’t get anything over that which is good for the average but not enough to retain my title. Devin is being Devin & lurking creepily in the background. He’s won trophies like this before & is hoping everyone sucks so he can win again. Just don’t see it happening with Pat…. it’s his to lose.

This is usually tough when trying to factor in those with DNRs but Rob(o) have excelled every week thus far. They’re not Bocskee great but are on pace to become the 8th team to break 9000 in history. They do face some tough competition as Total Eclipse in it various forms over the years have shown they can get hot. Dynamic duos like Ev/Bri-Guy & Pat/Dawson can get high 1100 to low 1200s and Finding Skeemo is just hovering around and can get hot at any point. If I have to pick, I expect Rob(o) to slow down juuuuust enough for Total Eclipse to catch up and grab the top spot at Rivalry Week. 

Rookskee of the Year:

When it comes to Rookskee’s, I look for improvement, someone who has figured out their rolling stance & isn’t afraid to go for hundos. Max started out strong with a 309 in his first game but hasn’t been able to replicate that success. That leaves an opening for someone like Kenny, who was at 235 at Week 2 & finished Week 4 with a 292, a chance to overtake him. The rookskee race is wide open and one really good week could separate you from the pack. I’ve already given Kenny credit for his style and everyone should be voting for It Ain’t Eazy Being Skeezy for Best Team Uniform but I’ll make him the favorite for Rookskee of the Year as well.

MVSkee

Leader: Pat Bassett (460.75)

You have two rollers who have won half the MVSkees and a third who acts like he won the other half. With the way he was rolling, I fully expected Pat to not only end my hopes for a three-peat but also break my record.

Then Week 4 came along. 387 is still a very good score but it is given both Rob & myself a chance at the top spot. Pat is still my choice to win amongst the three of us but what fun is that? Someone else has to come in and make this interesting but for others to have a chance, all three of us need to have a bad game and I highly recommend you boo us in order for that to happen. Why? Because I like to introduce a little anarchy… plus it’s more fun for everyone if we all roll bad. 

That’s all I got this time rollers. Skee you at the lanes on Thursday.