NOTE: This has been submitted by Andre Welbon
Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 9AM in AMF Southdale
Position Round
(1st Place) Impact vs. (2nd Place) Kryptonite
This is going to be a crazy match up. Chuckie Hood continued to shine down on Impact as they clobbered their latest opponent and the angry red beard continues to motivate Big K to a red hot start of the season. So, with the Position Round switched to a no longer neutral house, looks like this match should be a lot more interesting. Yes, Kirby is still out and on the mend, so how will Impact re-work their lineup to a favorable roster to combat a Kryptonite friendly AMF Southdale. Yes, Impact still has the big boys and girls, and with a couple new pickups, their lineups will be stronger than ever. However, AMF houses play a little different, so the generous edge Impact had in this match up may have dwindled just slightly. Will the 2nd Place Kryptonite be able to take advantage of this slightly more preferential circumstance? We will see. Impact powered by Scott Rehm, Dan Schaden, Ko, Rich and company still hold the advantage, but Rob Bateman, Spence, the Crush brothers, Rob McEwen, Bobby Reece and Dallas should love this house. Again, no one aside from Rob Bateman knew Big K would be in 2nd place at this point of the season. Impact is clearly one of the strongest teams in the DMV and they are living up to expectations this year by rolling all over the competition. This will be a slug fest with tons of trash talk and bets waged. Southdale typically yields high scores, so this will be a high scoring affair which will embody what the UBA is all about and should be truly entertaining from start to finish. Recall that Impact was clobbered by N.W.O. last year at Southdale and that Kryptonite destroyed Charm City Chaos last year at Southdale. So, who will emerge victorious? Ultimately, I believe Impact wins this one in a closely fought match, 24 – 16.
(3rd Place) Outrage vs. (4th Place) N.W.O. Wolfpack
Who would think that we would find The UBA Champions, Outrage, outside of the top 2 in the DMV North at this point of the year, and yet, that is exactly what we have. N.W.O. was having their way with the competition until they got walked down by Apex after sweeping all pairs the 1st two games of their last stop. I guess that is why they say: “it is not how you start, but how you finish.” Either way, the N.W.O. loss gives the UBA fan base another wonderful match up featuring Outrage and N.W.O. Just two Tour Stops ago, N.W.O. had their way with Outrage. Instead of the tougher Crofton house, N.W.O. and Outrage meet at the more favorable Southdale. N.W.O. loves this house as they have had a great deal of success there and Outrage generally bowls well everywhere. However, Outrage is looking for some payback. So, the question is which team matches up better at this house and the odds actually favor N.W.O. N.W.O. has owned Outrage as of yet, but it is hard to bet against the Champs. Both squads have a ton to prove and a loss here could potentially drop one of the squads out of the playoff race. With the stakes so high, I believe that Outrage will rise to the occasion and take a narrow victory, 22-18.
(5th Place) Apex Predators vs. (6th Place) Vipers
Apex is riding high after a miraculous turn around victory against a previously overwhelming N.W.O. squad. They are bowling together and getting stronger as a unit. The Vipers have outperformed all expectations and are looking in great shape to be an outside chance for a playoff position. With both squads coming off huge wins, the question is who will ride their wave of momentum into a huge victory to propel them into a playoff spot? Apex should perform extremely well at Southdale, which is not good for the Vipers who got the dreaded 40 piece spicy there the last time. This prognosticator believes that Apex has the stronger team and should take a big victory here with a 32 – 8 victory.
(7th Place) Pin Krushers vs. (8th Place) Charm City Chaos
PK and CCC suffered major setbacks in their playoff hopes with bad losses in their last tour stop. Both teams need victories in a desperate way, but who will want it more. PK and CCC are pretty evenly matched which makes for an interesting match up. The victor is a toss up, but I think CCC has bowled better this year and should narrowly edge out a 24-16 victory.
(9th Place)The Expendables vs. (10th Place) Da Stoners
This is a match up of teams who have simply under performed in many ways this season so far. Both squads have had tough match ups and have been unable to secure quality victories when needed. Da Stoners have the talent, but have yet to gel as a squad. The Expendables have a very talented squad, but the roster turnover has left them trying to find an identity. Da Stoners should be heavily favored in this match up as many of their bowlers call Southdale home. Will they benefit from some home cooking? Hmm, I think this will be close, but The Expendables have a better squad talent wise in this prognosticator’s eyes, so I will give them the edge 22-18.
DMV South Tour Stop #4 Predictions
Sunday, December 15, 2019 at 1PM in Bowl America Chantilly
1) Contract Killaz vs. Most Wanted
Well, both of these teams are coming off of very disappointing performances (CK lost 38-2 to SBC and Most Wanted lost 30-10 to Dynasty). For CK, I am sure this is not how they envisioned their season going after a Cinderella season and playoff appearance of only a year ago. Most Wanted has been rudely welcomed as the new franchise of this division. They have faced some difficult opponents, but that is ultimately an excuse. They just simply have not performed up to their capabilities. CK and MW will need to rebound in a big way if either of these teams hope to make a realistic playoff push this year. BA Chantilly is a wide open house and both squads have very capable bowlers. This match will be determined by which squad gets hot and stays hot. CK has a better handicap squad by the numbers and a competitive few scratch bowlers when motivated. MW has a great balance of bowlers, but have not been able to mesh. Based on the aforementioned, I believe that CK should have the edge in this match up and should be able to claim victory, 26 – 14.
2) High Powered vs. NoVa Beastmode
HP will come into this match up after suffering an unexpected defeat, in their home house, to, what many believed to be an outgunned and out matched, Body Bagz team. HP will come into this match hungry and ready to re-cement themselves at the top of this division. This is rather unfortunate for Beastmode, who has yet to win, but seems to be performing better in each match. BA Chantilly is close to home for many Beastmode bowlers, which would play to their favor if they were not bowling against HP, who many of the bowlers on their squad call Chantilly home, as well. Chris Garvey, Schmal, Bryan Miller, Brian Snyder, Mike Simpson, Jeremy Merriner, just to name a few, will be looking to take out their frustrations on the poor Beastmode squad and I am afraid that they will be able to do nothing but sit their and take it. This should be a blowout. I predict that HP wins 34 – 6.
3) Infamous vs. DMV Hit Squad
Infamous is emerging from a good victory over a more competitive Beastmode. The same cannot be said about DMV Hit Squad. They took it on the chin against a dominant DC Mafia, who blasted them 36-4. Chantilly has been pretty good to both squads, but this match up will come down to the handicap pairs. Infamous has been hot and on a roll, but DMV Hit Squad can always catch flame at any time. It is hard to choose a victor in this match up, but I like DMV Hit Squad to bounce back with a nice 24 – 16 victory in this very competitive match up.
4) Magna Carta vs. Dynasty
Despite an amazing performance by MC’s scratch squad in their last tour stop against Boardwalk Empire, they still could not claim victory. Jarrett DeFalco should be featured in this match up as he averages about 250 million at BA Chantilly. However, scratch will not be MC’s problem. Their handicap squads have simply been unable to get the job done as of late, where as Dynasty’s squad has come out to play. MC has the advantage as many of their bowlers bowl at BA Chantilly regularly. However, you just cannot count Dynasty out of a match. I predict this one will be close, but I believe that MC should be able to use the home field advantage to their favor on the handicap pairs. This one will be close, but MC should edge out Dynasty 22 – 18.
5) Str8bizness Cartel vs. Boardwalk Empire
This is the O M G match up of the week. SBC rolled CK 38-2 almost netting their second 40 piece spicy for the year. BE rolled on past MC, despite a poor scratch performance. SBC stumbled against DC Mafia, but rebounded in a big way, and BE has just continued to win and go about their season in a professional manner. Both of these squads are tied for second place in the division at 88 points a piece. They are going to show up and show out. Ultimately, I like SBC to win 23 – 17 in this thriller.
6) Body Bagz vs. DC Mafia
BB netted an unexpected victory against HP, but this was in spite of another Tour Stop where their scratch squad could net not one point. This will not be a recipe for success against a cruising DC Mafia, who is sitting comfortably on top of the DMV South division in 1st Place. This will be a fun and competitive match.