Week 3 Scores

Gingras- 45  Transfaglia- 34

Werner- 48  Dorff- 44

Modzeleswki- 48  Tornaritis- 38

Gavel- 59  Hecht- 46

Dawson- 60  Coveno- 41

Mitchell  Booth

Week 3 Score Predictions

Dawson vs Coveno

42-38

Dylan Dawson is currently trying to fill his brother shoes. If he puts up another 20 point week then they should be in the clear. Also, If I don’t predict a close game, then Coveno might complain again.

Gingras vs Tranfaglia

45-41

Tranfaglia is coming off a win (possible tie) against a good team Werner. Gingras is coming off a devastating loss to a mediocre Booth. It seems that John Battles will have to drag his lifeless team to bring it to a close game against Tranfaglia.

Tornaritis vs Modzelewski

50-40

Dean is off the chart right now. Sadly for him, I don’t think he’ll be dropping another 30 points against Karl Zimmon who might actually be able to play defense. Tornaritis should still pull out the win because Modzelewski managed to score a Groton-Dunstable Recreational High School Basketball all time low of 14 points (sounds like a 4th grade travel basketball score) in their last game that happened to be a 30 point loss to Dorff. Safe to say that they’re a little depressed.

Gavel vs Hecht

52-44

Gavel is currently struggling right now, but we can all agree that they are still way better than team Hecht. Well on the the bright side, Team Hecht is improving in fitness from all the sprints they’ve been doing.

Werner vs Dorff

54-50

Dorff dominated a decent team Modzelewski, beating them by 30pts. Although Werner will be missing their only point guard Chris Werner, they somehow received an early Christmas present, Justin Watt. With team Werner acquiring the second twin tower, there is no way Dorff can out rebound them. This will allow Werner to dominate the boards and beat Dorff.

Mitchell vs Booth

46-43

Booth might be the one of the hottest teams in rec ball right now. Somehow they managed to knock down former number one team Gingras. I see them winning, because team Mitchell only beat a feeble team Hecht by one point. That is purely disgusting.

Baller of the Week

Baller of the Week once again goes to Dean Tornaritis.  He outdid his previous performance, this week scoring 34 points and controlling the game in a win over Coveno.  At the pace that Dean is playing we at the blog do not believe there is a player in the league who can shut him down.  An honorable mention is Dylan Dawson who scored 22 in Dawson's win over Gavel.

Week 2 Power Rankings

1. Team Tornaritis- (+1) Well it's week 2 and no one appeared to be able to stop Dean. He netted over 30 again, and looked for the most part unstoppable. With that level of play this team will be very difficult to beat. That being said this team goes where Dean goes, and if he struggles in any games they will lose. It's up to the rest of the league to make that happen.
2. Team Dorff- (+2) They play team basketball. They have no major weaknesses, but don't appear to be particularly strong in any area. Having a team that is solid all the way through is a proven way to win, and this team embodies that. It's clear giving his players homework assignments is paying dividends for coach Dorff. Their game looked lopsided, however that was mostly because of missed shots and not good defense. We warn this team about getting too cocky, as we see them as the most likely to drop a few places in coming weeks.
3. Team Booth- (+3) They surprised everyone by beating Gingras while very shorthanded. They didn't have a player over 6 feet, and still managed to win. We do have to put a slight asterisk as Ben Wadden fouled out early, and still continued to play due to Booth only having 5 players. Looking at the matchup this team seemed over matched, but they clearly out worked Gingras, and very much deserved the win. This team is proving that looks can be deceiving, and could continue to climb up the rankings

4. Team Transfaglia- (+3) This team is 1-1, were able to squeak out a win against Werner. They played well, and look like the team we expected them to be at the beginning of the season. As long as the in team fighting remains at a minimum, this team should continue to succeed.

5. Team Gingras- (-4) This team is really not living up to expectations. Realistically they'll continue to fall, and will soon be in the bottom of the league. Their height doesn't seem to be helping them win games, and their guard play is below the league average. They are no longer the only team with twin towers, and we expected them to keep losing. The only hope for salvation is if Jack Battles can figure out that he is taller than the other players, and use that to score points. Unfortunately we highly doubt that will happen

6. Team Werner- (+3) They have lost both their games. In the first they were missing Gabe, and his presence may have affected that game. In the second game questionable score keeping from Dean may have cost them the game. Both their games have been close, but what really moves this team up is the addition of Justin Watt. They now have the most dominant big man paring in the league, and we hope they will be better at using it then Gingras was. We fully expect this team to go on a win streak and rise to the top of the league.

7. Team Mitchell- (+1)  This team pulled out a close win against Hecht in what looked to be an even game. They were short a few players, however we are not sure of that was positive or negative. Once again Quintin's brother was out of control, losing his temper at his team, the refs, and it appeared the ball. If he can calm down this team could play a lot better, perhaps he should buy a stress ball or start taking yoga. Even if he can control himself, we don't see this team rising to much higher, their potential looks for the most part to be maxed out.

8. Team Dawson- (+4) We are not really sure what to make of this team, with the league apparently banning varsity players, due to being afraid of competition, it would make sense this team wouldn't play well. However Dylan Dawson stepped and played very well, and was the most important player to their win. We don't think this team will rise to the top of the league, but they aren't the last place team we thought they would be.

9. Team Gavel- (-4) We still like this teams potential, however the 0-2 start is leading us to question how successful they will be able to be. They have scored a lot of points, but also allow a lot. That is a tough formula to win with, if they want to turn their season around they'll need to step it up defensively. The talent is there and we think they will be able to rise back to the top of the league.

10. Team Hecht- (+1) This team has exceeded their projections both weeks, we played Mitchell tough till the end of the game, and were very close to a 2-0 start. This team has proved they can shoot 3s well enough to succeed, with some better late game decision making this team, will continue to play well, and could quite possibly rise into the top half of the league.

11. Team Modzelewski- (-8) This team is embarrassing to write about. They finished with 14 points, and only had 4 in the second half. It was one of the worst performances in rec history, and we are unsure if they will be able to show their faces on the rec courts this week. That being said they played very well week 1, and showed they can have great chemistry, it will be interesting to see how this team progresses during the season.

12. Coveno- (-2) Team Coveno has looked very weak this season, and it looks like they will be walked all over. In their week 1 loss they seriously struggled, while they did play better in week 2, however we at the blog feel that Dean walked all over them. Maybe they should walk over some plays in practice, they clearly need to change something in order to start winning,

Week 2 Scores

Booth 42  Gingras 40

Tornaritis 57  Coveno 54

Mitchell 47  Hecht 46

Transfaglia 43  Werner 42

Dawson 63  Gavel 59

Dorff 44  Modzeleski 14

Week 2 Score Predictions

Booth vs Gingras

43-38

Gingras is coming off a large win this past week. Could it have been the return of Connor “delicate knees” Johnson? Also, team Gingras has what team booth doesn't have… Height. Rebounds should be the decider for this game.  

Tornaritis vs Coveno

47-29

Dean scored 30 pts against a good team Gavel, who knows what he can accomplish against a struggling team Coveno.

Werner vs Tranfaglia

42-40

Here at Rec Ball HQ, we're very excited to see team Werner’s true potential. They will finally have a full squad this week and they are expected to string together a beautiful win. Also, if Tranfaglia wants to be in the game, then Jimmy cannot disappoint his dad again by missing a lot of shots. Overall, should be a nail biter.

Modzelewski vs Dorff

39-35

This should be a good game, but team Dorff doesn't have anyone that can handle the wizard himself, Carl Zimmon. Modzelewski also has the bash bros (Mitch and Hoey) to clean up any rebounds against a hopeless Andrew Femia. This will be a good one to watch.

Hecht vs Forbes

50-39

Hecht is coming off of a big win, but keep in mind, they beat a Shane-less team Dawson… Not impressive. This will be a good week to see if Forbes can play as a team (not just Quintin’s brother), and lower Hechts standards again, sending them into eternal sprints at practice.

Dawson vs Gavel

52-43

Well Shane is finally expected to be back with his minions this week so they should be at full strength. Team Gavel put up a good game against Tornaritis, but it's pretty embarrassing that they let up 30 pts to one measly player. Who knows, maybe they could do the same for Shane.

Week 1 Power Rankings

1. Team Gingras - After what would have been a week 1 loss to Werner, this team looked to be highly over rated. Jack Battles couldn't score on players shorter than him, they struggled with ball handling, it was all in all a weak performance. However this team showed their depth this week, with the return of Conner "glass knees" Johnson, this team played a balanced game with no one person dominating their scoring. If this balanced game play continues, this team should keep winning and remain atop the power rankings
2. Team Tornaritis- The big question was whether Dean could carry the scoring load for this team. The answer is yes. He looked unstoppable, scoring from anywhere, against what looked to be a very good Gavel team. They were missing some players, and there are still some questions about how well this team will function with Dean off the court. However no matter what this team will be very difficult to beat.
3. Team  Modzelewski - This team played with very good chemistry, as predicted Carl never turned the ball over at point guard, and the bigs in Mitch Townsend and Aidan Hoey were difficult for transfaglia to handle. This team has skill at all positions and has to the depth to be one of the best teams for most of the season.
4. Team Dorff - This team is not great at anything, but it appears they are good at most things. The flying Femias have great chemistry, this should be expected as they are father and son. Their scoring was spread out evenly among players on the team, that is a good way to continue to win games. We do think more drills would be fairly beneficial for this team as they progress further in the season.
5. Team Gavel - Despite losing to Tornaritis this team showed their talent. They have a solid core of players who will consistently get them points. If Gavel stops shooting long 2 pointers this team could be even more effective on the offensive end. Defensively they struggled to guard Dean, but as there are few guards as good as him they shouldn't worry too much. They should remain in the top half off the league, and we wouldn't be surprised to see them make a deep playoff run-
6. Team Booth- This team played well this week and won. However it was against a shorthanded team Werner. This team has skill, however a close game against a shorthanded team is an indication that they will struggle to win games in the future.
7. Team Transfaglia- We had high hopes for this team going into week 1, and they failed to live up to them. They lost to a good Modzelewski team, and Jimmy missed a number of shots he usually makes, so we feel that this loss is not an indication of how this teams season will go. They should rebound and we predict they'll finish in the top half of the league.
8. Team Mitchell- While one of our "analysts" picked them to upset Gingras, they failed to show any real ability. This team has 2 major problems, the first being that they can't make layups. To fix this we recommend lots of layup lines instead of scrimmaging for their whole practice. The second problem is that Quintin's brother is abusing his teammates. This is very detrimental to team chemistry, and could be a reason why some of the smaller players are afraid to shoot the ball. The only bright side is at least he won't get technicals for this. We expect better leadership from this team, particularly players who may have been a captain in another sport. If they can't control him, they'll win spiral out of control on a losing streak.
9.Team Werner- This team played well, in a low scoring game against booth. They didn't win but we expect Dingle to get about 6 points a game, which would've been enough for them to win. However we saw very questionable decision making from Chris Werner (perhaps due to his age dementia is setting in), and we expect him to announce retirement any day now. We expect this team to stay right around this spot for the rest of the season.
10.Team Coveno - This game went as expected they played well for most of the game, and kept it close. However in the last four minutes the fell apart. Some of this can be contributed to being short players, however as we said preseason this team doesn't have a closer to put away games in the final minutes. If Connerty can step up than this team could rise into the top half of the league.
11. Team Hecht - We won by 2 against a team missing not only their best player, but probably the best player in the league. While we did play well, and got contributions for the whole team, beating a shorthanded Dawson team isn't enough to move us past most other teams. We will most likely struggle against teams when they are at full strength. However there is hope as this team shot the ball well from 3 point range, and if they continue to do that, there is hope for them to win a few more games.
12. Team Dawson- Shane's lack of commitment to his team and the league is a serious detriment to team Dawson. They played well against Hect. However with rumors that Shane is intimidated by most of the other players in the league swirling, it is doubtful he will play in many games and that could spell trouble for this team.

Baller of the Week

Baller of the Week goes to Dean Tornaritis who had 30 points and would have had at least a triple double if assists and rebounds were tracked.  Honorable mentions go to Owen Torgersen who had 18 points in a win over Dawson and Ben Wadden who had 15 in a win over Werner.

Week 1 Scores

Modzelewski- 38  Transfaglia- 34

Hect- 45  Dawson-43

Booth- 42  Werner- 38

Gingras- 41  Forbes- 30

Dorff- 46  Coveno- 29

Tornaritis- 52  Gavel- 48

Week 1 Score Predictions

Modzelewski vs Tranfaglia

46-42

This could be a nail biter, but Modzelewski’s level of play should exceed Jimmy and his dad’s will to win. Also, team Tranfaglia’s sharp shooter, Jason Pang, was recently caught saying “It might be a long season.” Could be signs of concern for team Tranfaglia.

Hecht vs Dawson

34-30

If Hecht cannot put together a win against a Shane-less team Dawson, then they might have to consider quitting, or run suicides until they die.

Werner vs Booth

44-36

Team Werner will be missing all of it’s height (Gabe Dingle), giving team Booth advantages to scrap rebounds. Alan Robinson will have to have a monster game to pull out the win.

Gaval vs Tornaritis

50-42

The Gavel brothers are gonna have to put in some good points this week, but they might have a hard time covering the speedy Dean Tortellini.

Gingras vs Forbes

38-36

Team Gingras has shown they are a beatable team, seeing how they got smoked in the week one “scrimmage.” Although they have height, they do not have the guard play to cover team Forbes.

Coveno vs Dorff

41-37

A decent match up, but the Flying Femias (more like Joey) should be the difference makers in this game.

Pre-Thanksgiving Mini Tournament

This Monday and Tuesday there will be a mini tournament for us held at the middle school north. Teams that usually practice on Monday night will go on Monday, and teams that usually practice on Tuesday will play on Tuesday. Everyone will play short 15 minute games, and at the end of each night there will be a championship game.
Notice team Forbes is switched to Monday and team Hecht is switched to Tuesday.

Monday: 7:30 - 9:00 (MSN)
    Gingras
    Werner
    Forbes
    Griffin
    Dawson
    Gavel

Tuesday: 6:00 - 7:30 (MSN)
    Hecht
    JimmyT
    Andreas
    Booth
    Dorff
    Coveno

This Weekends Games

It has been determined that all games played this weekend will be discarded, as the 8:40 games couldn't be finished and the 9:50 games were not played. The games are in the process of possibly being rescheduled.

Week One Score Predictions

Transfaglia-Gavel

Score: 40-26

A big match up between preseason ranked 2 and 3 with both rosters looking pretty strong. At full strength, this match up would be very good, but team Gavel’s star Zach Gavel and his minion Adam Scott are questionable to miss the game due to cross country districts. If they are not present, then Tranfaglia should have no problem squishing team Gavel and sending them down the power rankings.

Gingras-Werner

Score: 44-38

A match up between the “best” team in the league and the second to worst team in the league. As we’ve seen in the past, don’t let the preseason power rankings fool you. An underrated team

Werner could put up a good game against Gingras, considering the loss of sharpshooter Connor “glass knees” Johnson. Should be a decent match up.

Tornaritis-Hecht

Score: 45-30

Owen Torgersen is team Hecht's best player, that says something. Although he is a former first overall pick, I don’t think even he can pull out a win against the former rec basketball champs. With Tornaritis missing half it’s team (Matt Tornaritis), we’ll have to see if the overrated Jack O’Neill can somewhat fill an eighth of his role.  

Mitchell(Forbes)-Modzelewski

Score: 35-32

With team Mitchell being ranked 7th and Modzelewski ranked 5th, I sense there might be an upset. It all depends if Mitchell’s weak spot (Nate Forbes) shows up. If he is there, Mitchell might have hard time beating team Modzelewski. I’m also interested to see if the league's top point guard, Carl “feeble armed” Zimmon can make a comeback from last years injury.

Dorff-Dawson

Score:40-32,

Team Dorff 40 - Shane Dawson 32. Enough said.

Coveno-Booth

Score: 40-35

This will be a ruthless battle between the ego of Zach Coveno and the inexperience of team Booth. Coveno should be able to squeeze out a win but could have a hard time depending on whether or not Alan Robinson tries. Also, there are rumors of a potential return of Jack Wadden to play for team Booth. If he shows up then Coveno can accept the loss.

Schedule and Roster Tabs Updated

The schedule and roster are now able to be viewed in the tabs on the website.

Preseason Power Rankings

1. Gingras- This team will absolutely dominate the paint this year, with two of the tallest player in the league in Jack Battles and Griffaaannn Lily. There is no team in the league that will be able to out rebound them, and with their length teams will struggle to take the ball to the rim against them. That coupled with solid guard play, and overall team depth, we at the blog think this will be the team to beat.
2. Transfaglia- This team is probably the most balanced in the league, they have skill from top to bottom. There is no match ups other teams can exploit against them, so they will be difficult to score a lot against them. With Jason Pang this team will have one of the best shooters in the league who can provide instant offense. The only thing that could seriously hurt this team is Jimmy taking too many fade away threes.
3. Gavel- Zach Gavel is probably the most skilled big man in the league and will be difficult to stop for most teams. This team also has all three rookie of the year candidates, so look for them to break out and help carry this team throughout the season, the biggest detriment to this team will be its lack if experience, as they don't carry a single senior on their roster
4. Dawson- They have Shane. The defensive plan against them is for everybody to guard Shane and unfortunately for the rest of the league that probably still won't work.
5. Modezeleski- They have the best pure point guard in the league in Carl Zimmon and two very good bigs who can play anywhere in Mitchell Towsend and Aidan Hoey. This teams has height and athletes, but they lack scorers. They will have to rely on winning low scoring defensive games.
6. Coveno- This is team hustle, they will score most off their points off of offensive rebounds, and forced turnovers, and this team will cause a lot of them. This team will be able to outplay most teams, only struggling with the really tall teams. This team will struggle similarly to gavel with out senior experience, and the lack of player to close out games for them. They will have to hope for games in which they can build a large lead and don't need to close.
7. Micthell- This team has two skilled guards in Billy Mitchell and Will Cullen, and the rest of their team is very good too, Eric Tupua, Darren Costa, Kevin Doody, Zachary Loverin, Joey Madden, and Jared Smith should all be instrumental in helping this team win games.
8. Tornaritis- This team has a lot of athletes, and should be very good defensively. However it looks like Dean will have to score all their points, with Antonopoulos contributing 3s. However that will most likely not be enough, and this team could quite possibly struggle.
9. Dorff- This team has good depth but is lacking any real scoring power. They will be similar to Tornaritis, except less athletic, and worse at scoring. This team is one that needs to practice very hard, we would recommend lots of drill, and putting in many plays, in order to improve.
10. Booth- This team is talented at the top and has good guard play. The questions are about this teams ability to play good defense as their are lacking lots of athletes. They should score a lot, but they will struggle to stop anyone.
11. Werner- This team has very little offensive firepower. Chris Werner is a shell of his former self, he can't shoot he can't play defense, rumors are swirling about a possible retirement, as he is embarrassed to show his face on the court anymore. Dingle is one of the most over rated big man in the league, and will struggle to score on most of the others. This team also lacks a true offensive point guard, perhaps the only bright light is defensive specialist Nick Boggiano, who as some may recall was the only player to successfully lock down Shane Dawson last year.
12. Hecht- This team has zero height, and will struggle to rebound against most of the teams in the league. They will have to rely on a run and gun style of play, while shooting lots of 3s. This teams is in luck as both Mark De Binder and Wiley Ordemann can shoot the 3 well, however that still may not be enough for them to win.

2015-2016 Rosters

Werner  

Boggiano Nicholas    

Dingle Gabe

Lacombe Kyle

Martinez Nate

Meyers David

O'Reilly Patrick

Saboliauskas Alex

Truex Avry

Werner Chris

Forbes

Costa Darren

Cullen Will

Doody Kevin

Forbes Nate

Loverin Zachary

Madden Joey

Mitchell Billy

Smith Jared

Tupua Eric

Booth

Cronin Brendan

Booth Jacob

Dorr Andrew

Hickman Jacob

Hickman Christopher

Majkut Benjamin

Robinson Alan

Scharn Jake

Wadden Benjamin

Tranfaglia

Barranco Alec

Graham Jackson

Harrison Zachary

Maloomian Mark

Pang Jason

Rubeski Scott

Solomon Garrett

teDuits Ryan

Tranfaglia Jimmy

Dorff

Berube Andrew

Crowell Griffin

Dorff Jared

Femia Joey

Femia Andy

Fitzpatrick David

Hastings Edward

Kavalowskas Justin

Kimetto David

Lovezzola Anthony

Tornaritis

Tornaritis Dean

Antonopoulos Nicholas

Brennan Caleb

Crandall Timothy

ElMasri Adam

McDonough Liam

Niemoller Eric

ONeill Jack

Wheeler Mitch

Dawson

Dawson Shane

Battles Sam

Boudreau Samuel

Dawson Dylan

Henry Jack

Sickles Jeremy

Turksen Alihan

Zaiatz Marcus

Battles Cameron

Modzelewski

Zimmon Carl

Gravina Andrew

Gravina Kurtis

Hoey Aidan

Joyce Jack

McDonough Michael

Philbert Alex

Townsend Mitchell

Townsend Nathan

Zimmon William

Gavel

Scott Adam

Boynton Aidan

Brewster Jacob

Gavel Zachary

Gavel Jacob

Keast Jeremy

Phanord Max

Phanord Alex

Scott Brian

Baker Ryan

Hecht

Torgersen Owen

Bettencourt Samuel

Carroll Matt

De Binder Daniel

De Binder, Jr. Mark

Dutile Jacob

Hecht Christopher

Ordemann Wiley

Willsie Grant

Gingras

Battles Jack

Hertog Jacob

Battles Kyle

Battles Max

Gingras Andrew

Gingras Matthew

Johnson Connor

Lilly Griffin

Marsh Nicholas

Ralls Jeremy

Coveno

Brown Liam

Connerty Kevin

Coveno Zachary

Griffin Justin

Heffernan David

Marino Philip

Marson Jack

Naboicheck Tristan

Pisani Cole

Senior Rec Ball Analyst Jacob Barnes's Predraft Analysis

Projected Draft Order
Deluca
Dorff
Gingras
Coveno
Gavel
Werner
Transfaglia
Dawson
Tornaritis
Forbes

Possible First Round picks (No coach’s sons)-No Order
Kevin Connerty
 Aidan Hoey
Femia Package
 Owen Torgersen
 Jason Pang
Alan Robinson
 Garrett Solomon
Townsend Package
Wadden Package
Zimmon Package
Toner
 Connor Johnson
 Kyle Lacombe
Sleepers
David Fitzpatrick
Nick Boggiano
Wiley Ordemann
Jacob Hertog
Darren Costa
Breakout Candidates
Nick Antonopoulos
Griffin Lilly
Mark De Binder
Justin Griffin
Jacob Hickman
Value Picks
Will Cullen
Jack Joyce
Patrick O’Riley
Mark Maloomian
Eric Tupua
Rookie of the Year Candidates
Jeremy Keast
Brian Scott
Jacob Gavel
Projected last pick 
Nathaniel Forbes

***Updated Rec Eval Information

The new dates are Tuesday 10/27 at the Middle School North J-O 6-7:30 P-Z 7:30-9
And Monday 11/2 at the Middle School North A-Da 6-7:30 De-I 7:30-9

Rec Ball Combine

It's that time of year again, Rec season is right around the corner. The rec evaluations are next week Monday 10/26 last names A-H and Tuesday 10/27 last names I-Z. The times are still being finalized so I will try to update those soon

All Star Game

Let's also not forget about the All-Star game.  While Team Tornaritis again beat Team Werner 70-67 in OT, the All-Star game MVP goes to someone on Team Werner.  Perhaps the most surprising performance of the season, this player had more threes, points and assists than the entire year combined.  Drumroll please for... Eric Yanchenko.  Yanchenko had 23 points on 7 threes, not to mention 8 rebounds and 7 assists.  The blog caught up with Eric after the game and when asked about his inspiration he said, "I feed off the haters."  Could not have said it better myself.

Championship

Congratulations to Team Tornaritis for winning the 2014-15 High School Rec Championship.  Team Werner put up a good fight, led by Cedric Wirta, but they could not overcome the guard play from the Tornaritis brothers and Mike Tamarro's solid post play.  Finals MVP goes to none other than Matt T.  Stayed tuned later in the week for the post-season awards and final power rankings.

Final Four Results

The Final Four lived up to the hype and provided two excellent games.  With former rec legends in attendance, Tornaritis stifled Shane and Werner held off a late rally from Kidger.  The baller of the round goes to Cedric Wirta who was unstoppable in the paint, hit a few threes, and sunk clutch free throws with the game in the balance.  Also of note from this round: T-Poit's league leading second technical foul, Tim Coloatouni's near assault charges and Shane's "remodeling" of the Middle School's doors.
Don't forget to come to the finals on Sunday, with the All-Star game immediately following.

Elite Eight Results

Elite Eight saw our first upsets with both Barnes and Forbes falling to lower seeds.  Also, of note from this round was Coach Werner inexplicably showing up late to his game, potentially being distracted by formulating his team's trash talk...
While Shane Dawson and Matt/Dean Tornaritis had their usual stellar games, the baller of this round goes to an unsung hero from Kidger. P.J. O'Reilly had a double double with 14 points and helped propel Kidger to a nice win over Bonnett.

Round 1 Results

Round 1 is in the books and there were no upsets which is really boring.  Tyler Poitras gets baller of the round for scoring 20+ points and leading Tranfaglia to a big win... oh wait that was Nick Poitras, Tyler hasn't scored 20 points this entire year combined.  Also, I think court 1 set a record with 6 technical fouls in two games which is quite an achievement.

Brackets

Don't forget to get your brackets in to me by tomorrow.  There is no cost and you can win money. Why wouldn't you fill one out?

Playoffs... We talking about PLAYOFFS!?!?

Sorry the first post was incorrect, so here is the updated bracket for the playoffs.  As added excitement for the year, we will be holding our own March Madness.  To compete: print out this bracket, fill out who you think will win, and then hand it to me, Eric Yanchenko. Whoever has the most accurate bracket at the end will receive a prize of $10 and ultimate bragging rights. There is no cost to play so I expect everyone to fill out a bracket.

All Stars

Congratulations to this years' All-Stars.  The All-Star game will take place immediately following the Championship on Sunday, March 15.

Cedric Wirta, Dan Evans
Andrew St. Pierre, Allan Robinson
Jack Battles, Owen Torgenson
Geoff Kidger, Tim Colontoni
Dean/Matt Tornaritis
Nate Forbes, Billy Mitchell
Keenan Kimetto, Shane Dawson
Jack/Ben Wadden
Jack Allen, Alex Keast
Jimmy Tranfaglia, Zach Cotoni
Eric Yanchenko, Nick Freiter
David Naughton, Brendan Myers

Final Standings

1. Barnes
2. Kidger
3. Forbes
4. Werner
5. Dawson
6. Tranfaglia
7. Bonnett
8. Tornaritis
9. Saraceno
10. Yanchenko
11. Gingras
12. Dorff
If you have any question about tiebreakers you can ask me cause it was kinda confusing.

Week 11 Baller of the Week

This is perhaps the easiest choice he have ever had for Baller of the Week.  While Joey Femia, Nick Freiter and Jack Battles all had good games, no one could match Shane Dawson.  With 32 points and a buzzer beater three, he led Dawson to a big win over Tornaritis.

Week 11 Scores

Forbes 25 Werner 32
Saraceno 50 Kidger 44
Barnes 46 Dorff 49
Bonnett 42 Tranfaglia 43
Dawson W Tornaritis L
Yanchenko 59 Gingras 53

Sportsmanship Power Rankings

We are making history here at the rec blog with the first ever sportsmanship power rankings.

1. Gingras- Clearly the best attitude in the league.  While Owen did call out one of the bloggers on the website and Jack Battles is constantly pestering us, on the court you can have no complaints.
2. Dawson- Somehow no one on their team is showing up to the games.  Foul play on Shane's part may be suspected but they continue to exhibit good sportsmanship.
3. Dorff- Despite their losses piling up, this team keeps a very positive attitude.
4. Kidger- After McDonough left this team, their sportsmanship skyrocketed.  Equally impressive considering they overcame Poit's and Tim's antics.
5. Saraceno- This team would be higher if not for Jack Allen's flopping.
6. Tornaritis- They don't care enough to have bad sportsmanship.  Nate Hallock has wanted to hit members of Team Werner, but can you blame him?
7. Yanchenko- After overcoming Belanger's technical foul and Mulligan's play against Werner and Yanchenko's destruction of Jack and Freiter's campaign for dirtiest player and Coveno's "discussions" with refs, we still think we are nice on the inside and deserve this spot.
8. Bonnett- One of the Naughton's has a tendency to chirp.  Hint: not the tall one.
9. Tranfaglia- Short-tempered big men account for this ranking.  By association with Tyler, Nick Poitras bring them down, despite no wrongdoing from him.
10. Barnes- Have called out other teams playing time when their own playing time is in question.  Don't forget about varsitygate and playtimegate.
11. Werner- Ran up the score on a hapless Tornaritis. Also very disrespectful to the blog from the kin of xxYoungSwaggxx.  Keep in mind, Coach Werner was extremely rude to the media when asked for an interview. Multiple players such as Matt Straw and Chris Buzan have made their names by tackling opponents to the ground. This team will be known for horrible sportsmanship and their tendency to lose to Team Yanchenko.
12. Forbes- Nate Forbes. Enough said.

Week 10 Baller of the Week

The Week 10 Baller of the Week goes to Justin Watt for leading his team to a win over Saraceno with 23 points.

Week 10 Scores

Tranfaglia 55 Saraceno 38
Werner W Dorff L
Dawson 49 Yanchenko 46
Kidger W Forbes L
Bonnett W Tornatitis L
Barnes W Gingras L

Week 10 Power Rankings

1. Kidger- Continue to whine about their spot in the rankings so we have finally appeased them.  Hopefully, number 1 is good enough for them.
2. Tornaritis- Once again, no one can stop them when they try, led by Matt “Tight Shirts” Tornaritis. The only question mark with this team is the possible acquisition of Tim Hilbrunner.  Sorry, former Baller of the Week Mike Yesterday, who appears to be on the way out.
3. Forbes- When we critique them they yell at us and when we compliment them they get even more angry with us.  We can’t win.  
4. Barnes- Slightly suspicious that they call out Team Yanchenko’s playing time when question marks swirl around this team and their playing time.  Trying to compensate for something...
5. Werner- “We didn’t have Cedric, don’t drop us.”-Cedric Wirta
6. Saraceno- “We didn’t have Jack, don’t drop us.”-Jack Allen
7. Yanchenko- “We didn’t have Eric, that’s why it was so close.”-Nick Freiter
8. Bonnett- Can't function without their heart and soul Zach Coveno.
9. Dawson- Expect them to drop with their impending loss to Team Yanchenko.
10. Tranfaglia- They lost to Forbes 54-49.
11. Gingras- After beating former No. 1 Werner, this team is on their longest win streak of the year.
12. Dorff- Might get an easy win against a spiraling Werner.

Week 9 Scores

Tornaritis W Saraceno L
Barnes W Yanchenko L
Forbes 54 Tranfaglia 49
Gingras 29 Werner 22
Dawson W Bonnett L
Kidger W Dorff L

Week 8 Baller of the Week

The week 8 Baller of the Week goes to Matt Tornaritis for the first triple-double in league history. Matt had 32 points, 12 rebounds, 10 steals, 5 assists and, great flow.  Honorable mentions... nothing can compare to that game.

Week 8 Results

Bonnett 43 Yanchenko 39
Kidger W Gingras L
Tranfaglia W Dorff L
Tornaritis 67 Forbes 44
Werner 38 Barnes 20
Dawson W Saraceno L

Week 8 Power Rankings

1. Barnes (-) It appears that St. Pierre should buy a lottery ticket after his game winner.  That being said, this team just continues to find ways to win games.
2. Forbes (+1) Nate Forbes is rounding into one of the best players in the league.  His tenacious assault on the rim is making teams run scared.  It's hard to believe he could be this good.  There is no way to stop his flawless game.
3. Kidger (-1) Tough loss but proved they are for real.  Holding Barnes to 30 in OT is validation for their defense.
4. Tornaritis (+2) They scored 80 points... in 32 minutes... that's 2.5 points per minute... that's .04 points per second... that's .00004 points per millisecond... that's...
5. Bonnett (+4) This team continues to befuddle the editors of this blog.  It appears that Justin Griffin is shaping into a premier shot blocker though.
6. Yanchenko (+4)  WOW!  What can you say?  Connor Mulligan has 3 threes.  Zach Coveno makes a layup.  Yanchenko gets to the hoop at will... all without Freiter??  If the team can play this well with Freiter, there will be no stopping them.
7. Saraceno (-2)  "Give us sympathy, we didn't have Jack.  Don't punish us." -everyone on Team Saraceno.  Well boohoo. Yanchenko managed to win without their superstar so all I'm hearing is a lot of excuses.
8. Werner (-4)  Looks like karma is coming back around to bite this team.  After running up the score against Team Tornaritis, this team finds themselves on a three game losing streak.
9. Gingras (+2) John Battles scored 25 (according to him) and this team picked up their second win on the year.
10. Tranfaglia (-3)  Find themselves on a tough losing skid but this team still has enough talent to compete.
11. Dawson (-3)  Couldn't handle the pressure of moving up in the Rankings it appears.
12. Dorff (-) Just a reminder to the league to stay indoors during the impending snow storm.

Week 7 Baller of the Week

The week 7 Baller of the Week goes to Connor Mulligan for his 3 three's which helped led Team Yanchenko to a big win over Werner without Freiter.  Honorable mentions go to Andrew St. Pierre and Nate Forbes.

Week 7 Scores

Barnes 30 Kidger 29
Gingras 52 Tranfaglia 48
Tornaritis 80 Dorff 50
Forbes W Dawson L
Bonnett 63 Saraceno 33
Yanchenko 40 Werner 39

Week 7 Predictions

Tranfaglia over Gingras by 10
Game of the Week: Kidger over Barnes by 1
Forbes over Dawson by 10
Tornaritis over Dorff by 5
Upset Alert!! Bonnett over Saraceno by 7
Werner over Yanchenko by many (Will Team Yanchenko break double-digits??)

Power Rankings Week 7

1. Barnes* (-) The investigation into both Varsitygate and Playingtimegate have given this team the asterisk.
2. Kidger  (+3) Lead the league in whining about their ranking so here ya go.  This team is hard to beat because they are so well rounded, including, to quote Coach Werner, "those damn Zimmon brothers!"
3. Forbes (-) They win but in the least impressive way possible.  Word on the street is that Nate Forbes's three-point percentage has dropped below zero and is now actually negative.
4. Werner (-2) This team's downward spiral is expected to end next week against the currently pathetic Team Yanchenko.  Note: Gabe Dingle's shoes are not flashy enough for this team to succeed.
5. Saraceno (+1) The MVP of their last game goes to Alex Thaon for fouling out Freiter with 4 fouls. Mark Roper needs to start calling bank on his threes, or the league will disallow them.
6. Tornaritis (+2) Trade rumors are swirling around this team and their interest in Tim Hilbrunner
7. Tranfaglia (-3) Lost to Barnes, but with the controversy surrounding that team, there is little shame in a loss for Tranfaglia.
8. Dawson (+2) After breaking the season record for points and approaching the all time record for points, no one is mad at Dawson for running up the score, because they needed this one after that tough start.
9. Bonnett (-2) We never really know what to say about Bonnett. They win and lose seemingly randomly.
10. Yanchenko (-1) We are on to Werner.
11. Gingras (+1) Started from the bottom now they here. (One space up)
12. Dorff (-1) Maybe next week :) (It worked for Dawson)

Week 6 Baller of the Week

The Baller of the Week for week 6 goes to Mark deBinder for contributing to Team Dawson's offensive explosion.  Honorable mentions go to Mark Roper and Carl Zimmon.

Week 6 Scores

Forbes 45 Bonnett 42
Barnes 50 Tranfaglia 39
Dawson 81 Dorff ~30
Kidger +13 Werner
Saraceno 44 Yanchenko 40 (OT)
Tornaritis 49 Gingras 43

Week 6 Predictions

UPSET ALERT!!!! Bonnett over Forbes by 2
Barnes over Tranfaglia by 6
Dawson over Dorff by 3
Game of the Week! Kidger over Werner by 1
Saraceno over Yanchenko by all the points
Tornaritis over Gingras by 11

Week 6 Power Rankings

1. Barnes  (+1) GD Rec Ball committee still reviewing possible violations for having a varsity player, but in the mean time, this team is difficult to stop with the St. Pierre duo.  A separate investigation is looking into possible uneven playing time.
2. Werner (-1) YESSSSSSSS! They finally lost!
3. Forbes (-) As this game showed, when Nate Forbes makes his lay-ups, this team is tough to stop. However, future opponents could benefit from giving him some space for open threes.
4. Tranfaglia (+2) America's Team after beating Werner.  Our heroes.
5. Kidger (+3) Took advantage of a lackluster Team Yanchenko performance, but this is the most balanced team in the league.
6. Saraceno (-2) This team once again proving that Jack Allen is just not a sufficient replacement for Nick Freiter.
7. Bonnett (+2) While 3-2, this team still needs to prove themselves against better competition.
8. Tornaritis (-1) After back to back to back losses, we are beginning to wonder if this team still remembers how to win.
9. Yanchenko (-4) No comment :(
10. Dawson (+2) Hard works always pays off as this team proved.
11. Dorff (-1) This team still needs to give Wadden some help.
12. Gingras (-1) After an adventure out of the double digits in the power rankings, this team is back where they began.  But there is still hope for the team that beat Forbes.

Week 5 Baller of the Week

Week 5 Baller of the Week goes to Shane Dawson for leading his team to their first victory. Honorable mentions go to Keenan Kimetto (Robin to Shane's Batman), and all of Team Tranfaglia for finally handing Werner their first loss.

Week 5 Scores

Bonnett 49 Dorff 46
Tranfaglia 41 Werner 40 (2OT)
Tornaritis 51 Barnes 52
Kidger 47 Yanchenko 33
Saraceno L Forbes W
Gingras L Dawson W

Week 5 Predictions

Werner over Tranfaglia by 10
Bonnett ties Dorff
Tornaritis over Barnes by 3 (Assuming Matt and Dean try)
Yanchenko over Kidger by 5
Dawson over Gingras by -1
Saraceno over Forbes by 25