Week #2: Game Recap

A big thank you to everybody that contributed to the 'Keith's Ankle Replacement Fund'.  It's great when the group can support brethren after such a terrible injury.   For those of you that may not have heard, Keith suffered the same injury as former Raptor Jorge Garbajosa. 

Kudos to Houman Rahimzadeh for his full commitment to the league colour scheme last night.

GAME 1:  GOLDFISH SWIM SCHOOL (50) DEFEATS OVERHEAD DOORS (40)

What happens when a team of seasoned BMBL veterans (Goldfish Swim School - Yellow) takes on a squad with several league newcomers (Overhead Doors - Dustin McTaggart, Keith Blair and Andrew Ferris)?  The realization that the BMBL is a very physical league.  Games get frisky, combative and frustrating.  The only thing holding these gladiators apart from each other should be the referees (shown above)...however, as BMBL veterans will tell you, sometimes our referees lose control of a game.  This game was a wonderful example.

The score after 6 minutes was 4-0 (seriously).  Hacking, pushing, and rough play led to turnovers and a very choppy start to the game.  Midway through the first half, you could hear the player's frustration on the court, which boiled over into double technical fouls between Dave McKay and Andrew Ferris.  This editor was watching the game and would like to confirm that the incident in question was accidental (although I can imagine after beating the crap out of each other for 10-minutes, it wouldn't feel "accidental").

Unexpected MVP Candidate

Cody Matthews launched himself to the top of the rookie of the year and MVP leaderboard.  He was an unstoppable offensive force.  He knocked down three three-pointers and made several difficult buckets at the rim.  He captured the attention of the dozens in attendance with several "oos and ahhs".  Chris Dibendetto proved naysayers wrong and was dominant with both hands, fearlessly attacking the hoop.

Overhead Doors had a difficult time with their offence in the second half.   First-overall draft pick Dustin McTaggart took matters into his own hands, knocking down several mid-range jumpers and three-pointers.   After receiving several hard fouls, Andrew Ferris continued to play intensely but lost his f-ing mind on the referee and was ejected.  League disciplinary director Kris Ceelen has not informed the league (yet) of possible punishment.

Goldfish proved too much depth, took advantage of Ferris's loss on the glass and extended to a 10-point victory.

Game Notes:  There appeared to be frustration on the court by Overhead Doors.  It was hard to distinguish between referee frustration and teammate frustration.  Are there chemistry issues brewing?  Let the gossip begin.

GAME 2:  MY INSURANCE DEPARTMENT (59) defeats ADAM LEMPKA REAL ESTATE (44) 

MVP candidate Beto Gerones strolled into the gym Wednesday night with a large gravy stain on his shirt.  He told us that earlier in the day, he had officially become a Canadian Citizen and spent the day with his family binge-eating poutine and watching Canadian shows like 'The Kids in the Hall', 'The Beachcombers' and 'The Littlest Hobo'. 

As it turns out, all four starters for My Insurance Department (MID) (Larry Jusdanis, Boris Zadkovic, Tony Bartley and Ben Koo) are BIG poutine fans.  Mutual interest and a shared passion for gravy, fries and cheese curds were the launching pad for terrific basketball cohesiveness in the evening's second game.

Tale of Two Halves

MID starting guards Beto Gerones and Ben Koo showed why they might be the best starting backcourt in the league.  Their quickness and ability to break down defences were superb.  Running high screen and roll with massive human being Boris Zadkovic put much pressure on ALRE.  Boris and Tony Bartley led the offensive attack in the first half with several three-pointers and rolls to the hoop.  

ALRE was missing their best offensive player Ryan French (sore achilles).  Dave Holloway, Paul Manning and Jon Kryzanowski did a great job providing an offensive punch and keeping the game close at halftime.

MID showed their depth in the second half.  Mark Leyser was huge on the glass, Paul Ricciuti pushed the pace, and Larry Jusdanis does 'Larry Jusdanis stuff'.  

The picture below shows the look on the faces of ALRE after the guard-based blitzkrieg from MID in the second half.

Game Notes:  Dave Holloway was rocking a Movember mustache.  It was still in the early stages, and we're excited to see how silly a mustache looks in 2022.  Touch football team captain Joseph Pitirri was overheard trying to create a trade package to acquire fellow footballer Larry Jusdanis after the game.

GAME 3: NEW START KITCHENS (52) defeats JOSEPH PITIRRI REAL ESTATE (36) 

It was a strange beginning to the final game of the evening.  Instead of layup lines, Joe Pitirri had his team doing popular football Dynamic Warm-Ups drills before the game.   They were running crisp routes to prepare for New Start Kitchens.  They followed their warm-up with an equally strange pre-game huddle (seen above).  

Despite the unusual preparation, Joe's team came out with some fire.  Kris Ceelen looked fifteen years younger, making several drives to the hoop.  He had one of those games when he started yelling, "that's in," before he released the ball.  Real classy stuff by Kris.  Another Chris, top pick Chris Keith, missed his second consecutive game.  Chris was nursing a tummy ache after eating 4-pounds of wings the night before.

Another Physical Game

It was another physical game.  The irony that New Start Kitchens had fourteen first-half fouls to Joe Pitirri's Real Estate football squad's two fouls wasn't lost on this writer.

Doug Grittani and Kevin St. Kitts provided flashback performances with knockdown three-point shooting.  Craig Emuss still puts the fear of God into enemies when he's left open for a wide-open three (onlookers still groan "that's in" whenever he shoots).  

Aside from Kris Ceelen, in the first half, JPRE had difficulty scoring without long-time gunners Terry Garrow and Chris Keith, as mentioned earlier.  The score at the half was 30-17 for NTK.

JPRE pushed and made a run in the second half to get the game into single digits, but it was quickly thwarted by strong defence from Brian Lee and offence from Daniel Planckaert and St. Kitts.

NSK improves their record to 1-1.  JPRE drops to 0-2.

Game Notes: Concluding with the overall theme of the 'physical/testy' play was the banging that JP Federico had to deal with.  We watch JP run hard for four straight possessions and get hammered each time down the floor.  Frustration poured over, and he yelled, "Brandon, stop being a cheap bast**d".   Thankfully they were both seen hugging it out in a dark corner after the game.