Friday, October 28, 2011

Kronum League 2011 Weekly Recap – Round 3

   L.A. Looks should jump the train as an official Kronum League sponsor over the next few weeks of play. I can see the player endorsements for each team that would go a little something like “Hi, I’m Ryan Hoff, when my team is looking to gel together and hold firm early in the season, we don’t reach for just any gel, we grip up a bottle of L.A. Looks. We might be named the Throwbacks, but we always come looking fresh!” or “This is Jared O’Donnell of the Kronum League champion Nimble Jacks. Sometimes my team AND my mohawk need a bit of a lift. We stand tall together with L.A. Looks Super Mega Hold. Remember kids, the team that gels together, wins together. And obviously has great hair.” 

Someone call somebody please and get me a retail placement writing position. I relate to and specialize in ego-maniacal consumer products only.  Here’s the the Round 3 Kronum League breakdown as all 6 teams find their identities, strengths, and weaknesses moving forward:

Round 3/Game 1: Jet Sets vs. Work Horses
The offensive juggernaut Jet Sets found themselves at an unlikely 0-2 after two rounds and someone had to pay. Jeff “Frodo” Regensberg must have watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy the previous evening as he lit up the Horses with multiple 4 and 8 point Crown Ring shots. After finishing with an “Un-Jeff” 2 points after the first, J-Regz connected for 26 points in the 2nd, highlights by two 8-pointers from the Cross Zone. He finished with a game-high 34 points and team-high 5 assists. Back in action for the Horses after missing the first two rounds, captain Jeff Yetter and ranger Mike Small provided and much-needed spark to a struggling offense. Small, with arguably the strongest throw in the Kronum League whipped shots from the Flex Zone past the Sets’ Wedgebacks and finished with 29 points. You can't save what you can’t see. Yetter ran the middle and distributed as he typically does and had a game-high 6 assists while Bob Zane and Shane McManus each stopped 9 shots in net for the defensive-minded Horses. “Vote for” Vinny Greco put on a clinic in goal for the Sets’ as he dismissed 15 shots on the day but the most complete effort of the game came from Zack VanFossen, who landed the Jet Sets to 127-82 victory with a 20 point, 10 save double-double. 

Round 3/Game 2: Nimble Jacks vs. Night Owls
My 7th grade science class dissected owl pellets and I remember finding remnants of various animal species including rabbits in the exercise. This match-up did not represent the food chain structure, as mere bunnies devoured mighty Owls in the mid-day run. Pete Weiss came with his best Biggie Smalls “If ya don’t know, now ya know” effort as the rookie Wedgeback blew up the Owls Goal Zone defense for 5 Crown Ring jams, 4 in the 2nd period alone, 19 stops in net,  gave blood, carried groceries for an elderly woman, then went out with Jessica Biel that night. Not bad for someone still “learning” Kronum. Crossers Ryan Coyne (16 points, 6 assists) and Jay Shegda (5 assists) created turnovers and won virtually every loose ball with their high-energy play. Ranger Jared O’Donnell has found himself in more of a scoring role for the Jacks this season and he finished with an effortless 35 points while Wedgeback Sean Kennedy (12 points, 9 saves) missed a double-double by one save. The two teams traded shots evenly and the Jacks led 39-36 after the 1st. Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown” pretty much summed up the Owls play for half of the 2nd period. Bad shots, passes, ball-handling, and lax defense allowed the Jacks to capitalize and pull ahead by 21 after two periods. Same old Jacks, slow-playing their opponents then pull away late, right? Wrong. The fiery Owls refused to go quietly and had the highest scoring period of the game, hitting for 48 points in the 3rd. Luke Dougan (22 points) connected on two 4 pointers and Kyle McGrath (20 points, 5 assists) led the charge and WB Matt Sola (14 points, 8 saves) played mad on both sides of the ball. Both teams came in at 2-0 but the Owls’ late run feel short and the Jacks hopped away with 116-110 win.

Round 3/Game 3: Throwbacks vs Urban Legends 
The final match-up of the day featured two teams sitting at 1-1 with similar skill sets and style of play. This game looked like a grind on paper and that’s exactly how it played out. This one lived up to the expectations and it came down the 3rd period, a battle of resilience, where both squads clawed and gnawed to try and break above the .500 barrier. “Sidearm,” Steve Botta (22 pts, 7 saves, 4 assists) and Nick Ferraro (22 points) came out blazing in the 1st, combining for 22 points for the T-Backs, including three 4-point ring shots from the Flex to counter the Legends’ “Kevins”. The Glover version (20 points, 6 saves) hit for 12 in the first and the Clark edition (20 points, 5 assists) netted two 4s to finish with 10 on the period. Two squads touted for their defense and foot skills scorched the net for a combined 80 points in the 1st. Ferraro and Crosser Joe Ferrigno (12 points, 5 assists) paced the T-Backs in the 2nd while Legends ranger Brian Sperling (17 points) broke loose with hard throws from the Flex. Wedgeback highlights were not short in this one as James Thomas (13 saves) stonewalled the Legends kicks and throws while Scott Anderson (10 saves) kept the T-Backs in check. The Legends got a spark from Ranger Dess Leeper (15 points) in the 3rd period as he nailed two 4 point shots from the Flex Zone. The battle ended in a 113-101 Legends win. We are all eager to see the revenge game between these two later this season.

Thanks to all who viewed the Live Stream action. Log on to kronum.com at 1pm this Sunday: 
1pm EDT: Nimble Jacks (3-0) vs. Work Horses (0-3) 
2:30pm EDT: Night Owls (2-1) vs. Throwbacks (1-2) 
4pm EDT: Urban Legends (2-1) vs. Jet Sets (1-2)

Kronum League 2011. Live it. We do. 
Tune in to www.kronum.com this Sunday to Join the Revolution.

PC

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