SUMMER 2010 TBL PLAYOFFS
          This could be the greatest set of playoffs EVER! I broke the 31 teams into four groups of six and one of seven. The top two divisions are stacked. Any one of those 13 teams could win their respective titles. NOTE: After I broke the teams into groups, I used the teams' records as of July 18 to set the pairings. That explains the Comeback Kids receiving a first-round bye, among other peculiarities. Good luck to all.
          Tom
          
          SUNDAY, AUGUST 8
          GAME 1 9:00 GRIFFINS - THE FRANCHISE (Division V)
          GAME 2 10:00 PALE, PLUS ONE - CONRAD (Division V)
          GAME 3 11:00 NINJA TURTLES - SUNSHINE BOYS (Division IV)
          GAME 4 12:00 DIRK'S JERKS - PIGLETS (Division II)
          ------------ 1:00 NO GAME
          GAME 5 2:00 A-PACK - SPARTANS (Division II)
          GAME 6 3:00 RUBBER - GAME TIME! (Division III)
          GAME 7 4:00 FLYING SQUIRRELS - SCRAP ATTACK (Div. III)
          GAME 8 5:00 BROGAN'S ZEROES - BLAZE (Division I)
          GAME 9 6:00 FLEET - TOON SQUAD (Division I)
          GAME 10 7:00 P.A.T.R.I.C.K. - CHOP SHOP (Division II)
          GAME 11 8:00 TOEJAM SUNDAE - IRREGULATORS (Div. IV)
          
          SUNDAY, AUGUST 15
          GAME 12 10:00 MAVS - WINNER GAME 1 (Division I)
          GAME 13 11:00 COMEBACK KIDS - WINNER GAME 2 (Division V)
          GAME 14 12:00 WINNER GAME 4 - WINNER GAME 10 (Div. II)
          GAME 15 1:00 THE HAWGS - WINNER GAME 8 (Division I)
          -------------- 2:00 NO GAME
          GAME 16 3:00 PRIME TIME - WINNER GAME 5 (Division II)
          GAME 17 4:00 THROWBACKS - WINNER GAME 7 (Division III)
          GAME 18 5:00 PAYASOS - WINNER GAME 11 (Division IV
          GAME 19 6:00 HOOKERS - WINNER GAME 6 (Division III)
          GAME 20 7:00 BLAZERS - WINNER GAME 9 (Division I)
          GAME 21 8:00 BADGERS - WINNER GAME 3 (Division IV)
          
          SUNDAY, AUGUST 22
          GAME 22 11:00 WINNER GAME 12 - WINNER GAME 13 (Division V Championship)
          GAME 23 1:00 WINNER GAME 14 - WINNER GAME 16 (Division II Championship)
          GAME 24 3:00 WINNER GAME 17 - WINNER GAME 19 (Division III Championship)
          GAME 25 5:00 WINNER GAME 18 - WINNER GAME 21 (Division IV Championship)
          GAME 26 7:00 WINNER GAME 15 - WINNER GAME 20 (Division I Championship)

The updated/expanded schedule for August 1st has been posted. The playoff schedule will be posted Sunday afternoon.

First off, please let everybody know that there will be no games this week. The school is getting the gym floor ready for the start of the new school year and after they've worked on it, the floor has to sit for a few days. The games on the schedule for July 25 will be played August 1st instead. I will also add a couple games to the schedule to limit the number of teams that miss two weeks heading into the playoffs.
          Speaking of the playoffs, the single-elimination playoffs will begin August 8th and culminate with the championships on August 22. We'll then take a week or two off and start the next league in early September.
          There were a couple surprises in this week's action. P.A.T.R.I.C.K., which had laid a whuppin' on Toon Squad last week, lost to Prime Time, which moved into first place in the (top) Gregory House Division. Meelow Martinez hit five threes en route to 25 points in the win.
          Jay Young hit six threes and 29 points to lead Hookers past Slow Mavs. Mike Hein had 20 points in the loss.
          The Spartans upset last year's "A" League champions, Fleet, in a low-scoring game, 37 - 32. Jeff Clark grabbed 18 rebounds for Fleet.
          Jose Arambulo and Jeremy DeWitt combined for 55 points, but it wasn't enough as Scrap Attack lost to Game Time!, 77 - 72. Dylan Johnson had 24 points and eight rebounds to lead a balanced attack for the winners.
          Walter Jefferson hit two three-pointers in the last two minutes and then blocked a potential game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer to lead The Throwbacks past Badgers, 59 - 56.
          The expanded schedule for August 1 will be posted in a couple days. The playoff schedule will be up by Sunday, July 25.
          
          Hookers 64, Slow Mavs 49
          Ninja Turtles 59, Irregulators 53
          Game Time! 77, Scrap Attack 72
          Brogan's Zeroes 58, Blazers 48
          Spartans 37, Fleet 32
          Prime Time 76, P.A.T.R.I.C.K. 72
          Blaze 65, Chop Shop 57
          A-PACK 53, Flying Squirrels 51
          Toon Squad 65, Sunshine Boys 51
          The Throwbacks 59, Badgers 56

Results for July 11, 2010
          Griffins 37, Slow Mavs 30
          Throwbacks 52, Conrad 31
          Dirk's Jerks 57, Piglets 52
          Blazers 73, Hawgs 60
          Fleet 66, Chop Shop 50
          Sunshine Boys 57, Comeback Kids 53
          A-PACK 50, Game Time 37
          Blaze 76, Brogan 64
          Payasos 52, Toejam Sundae 50
          Scrap Attack 69, The Franchise 45
          P.A.T.R.I.C.K. 74, Toon Squad 53
          Toon Squad 75, Ninja Turtles 73
          
          With the playoffs coming up fast, the top division is shaping up to be one of the best in league history. At least seven teams have a valid shot at winning the top division and, in the playoffs were to start today, all seven would be in the same bracket. (I had earlier said that there would be four brackets, but we're going to have to have five brackets, which means more champions. If we had had four brackets, the first day of playoffs would have necessitated 16 games, meaning we'd go from 8 a.m. 'til midnight, non-stop. No thanks.)
          Anyway, P.A.T.R.I.C.K. pulled off a huge win over Toon Squad, blasting the newcomers 74-53, and doing so without team captain Patrick Spencer, who was out of town on engineering business. Marcus Campbell had a big game, hitting 28 points and pulling down 13 rebounds in the win. There was also a rumor--unsubstantiated--that he threw an assist, which would be the first of his career.
          Toon Squad, playing a rare doubleheader, almost lost back-to-back games as they trailed the Ninja Turtles for most of the game. Toon Squad came back in the last few minutes and built a six-point lead, only to have Turtles Matt Washburn and Colin Treat hit big threes to tie the game with 30 seconds left. Toon Squad worked the clock down to the last few seconds, then scored on a drive by Alan Moreno. It was a great game.
          Matt Washburn had the traditional stat line of 30 points and ONE rebound. One.
          Steven "Junior" Lasseson had 25 as Dirk's Jerks raced past the Piglets, 57-52.
          The Blazers, despite their deceptive 4-3 record, might be the best team in the league. They beat The Hawgs, 73-60, behind Marwan Shehata's 21 points and Sohaib Fellah's 15.
          In one of the stranger games of the season, the Payasos erased a double-digit deficit in the final four minutes of the game to stun Toejam Sundae. Derek Ogden hit three straight threes and Mo Paiaina banked in a three in a span of about 90 seconds. The final shot gave the Payasos their only lead of the game with about 10 seconds left. A last-second Toejam shot went wide. Josh Arnold led the Payasos with 25 points and 11 boards.
          Please check the schedule. There have been a couple changes. Remember that the games scheduled for July 25 have been moved to August 1 so that the floor can be done. Also, from here on until...forever!, there will be no gum in the gym. There will also be no food, fountain drinks, seeds, candy, or anything else. This goes for players and fans, no exceptions. Furthermore, the only beverage allowed from here on until further notice will be WATER! No Gatorade, no Powerade, no Vitamin Water, nothing but real water. We're going to take care of the gym and the floor. Thanks for your cooperation on this.
          Tom

When it comes to the Tucson Basketball League, the Fourth of July falling on a Sunday is like most things in life--not as good as I had hoped, not as bad as I had feared. We had three forfeits as some people chose to skip their games for picnics or fireworks (that's just un-American, if you ask me). But we also had 10 really good games. Fortunately for all involved, the Fourth of July will not fall on a Sunday again until 2021 (it skips over Sunday in the leap year of 2016).
          The day got off to a great start with an outstanding game pitting the Sunshine Boys against the Badgers. Both teams play solid, fundamental basketball and it showed. Fifteen different players scored in the game (eight for the Sunshine Boys). Mario Acedo's 14 points paced the Badgers, who held on for a hard-fought 50-46 win.
          In the next game, Junior Lasseson went for 46 points to pace Dirk's Jerks against Pale, Plus One. Lasseson hit 21 two-pointers and was four-for-four from the free-throw line. Brandon Keith added 15 points and 22 rebounds for the Jerks. Hank Linker had 10 points for Pale, but was a scary 0-6 from the free-throw line. That's hard to do.
          Zach Alvarez returned from a long absence due to a leg injury and scored a point, but it wasn't enough as The Franchise fell to Conrad.
          Kent Senzee and Darren Pierce (who are both 50 years old!) combined for 45 points in P.A.T.R.I.C.K.'s win over Game Time. The two hit a combined eight three-pointers.
          The resurgent Payasos knocked off the Flying Squirrels, 61-49. Guillermo Bay went for 30 points in the win.
          Augustine Ruelas hit six threes in the first half to pace Blaze to a 65-49 win over The Piglets. Kurt Lehan had 16 for The Piglets.
          Hookers continue to show great improvement from the start of the season. They pounded Irregulators in the final game of the night. The Jessups--Clinton, Cody, and JD--combined for 55 points and 31 rebounds in the 73-60 win. Jay Young added 18 points for Hookers.
          
          IMPORTANT NOTICE: The school has informed us that work on the gym floor will begin Monday, July 19 and will require 10-12 days to complete, depending on the humidity. This will require us to move the games of July 25 to August 1. (I had previously been told that we wouldn't have to miss any Sundays, but c'est la vie.) I will present an expanded schedule for August 1 to give more teams a chance to play on that last day of the regular season.
          The single-elimination playoffs will now be August 8, 15, and 22. I am looking at breaking the league into four brackets for the playoffs, with each winning team receiving cool championship shirts.
          The next league will begin Sunday, September 12 and will run through December.

Please pardon me while I wax philosophic. I've been running the league, in one form or another, for nearly 25 years. Occasionally, while reffing a game, my mind will wander. I'll wonder what it's like to get up late on a Sunday, maybe watch NFL football all day. Or go to a movie or maybe play some tennis. My wife asks me why I still do it (Lord knows it's not for the money!). Fortunately, I have the answer to that.
          The last two games on Sunday last were absolutely magnificent. In the 8:00 game, Scrap Attack led the Ninja Turtles the entire game, most of the time by double figures. The Turtles made a couple runs, but Scrap held them at bay. Scrap still held an eight-point lead with two minutes to go. A couple quick threes by the Turtles made it a game. Scrap missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Turtles hurried down the floor. Matt Washburn drained a long three to give the Turtles their first lead of the game.
          With only seconds remaining, Scrap's John Williams dribbled to his left, jumped in the air, and made a most improbable three at the buzzer to give Scrap Attack the win. It was an absolutely amazing turn of events. Williams led Scrap Attack with 34 points, while Washburn had 28 (including eight threes) for the Turtles.
          I figured, no way you can top that, right? The nightcap pitted The Blazers against Toon Squad, a team that joined the league mid-season due to a communication mix-up that I will blame on Darlene (who was out of the country at the time).
          Toon Squad had blasted its first two opponents while the formidable Blazers had stumbled early in the season. It was one of the best games of this, or any, season. Fast-paced, clean, high-level. It was really fun. Fortunately, a couple of my players--Olivia and Sophie--were in the gym and got to see the game.
          The Blazers led by one at the half, but quickly fell behind by 10 as Toon Squad raced up and down the floor, using 10 players in a blistering attack. Sohaib Fellah calmed his Blazer squad down and led the comeback. Marwan Shehata warmed up from outside and hit three straight three-pointers, including one that broke a tie with less than two minutes to go.
          Shehata then hit six-of-six from the line to seal the 63-56 victory. It was a great game. Both teams look poised to challenge perennial power The Hawgs and last year's champs, Fleet, for this season's A-League title.
          This week is the Fourth of July. We have to have games despite the holiday in order to be done with the playoffs by late-August. Please try to make your game; it's only one hour.

There have been a few changes to the schedule for the remaining weeks of the regular season. The changes are highlighted in red. If you have any questions, please ask Tom.

We've passed the halfway point of the summer league and things are...oh, what's that cliché I'm looking for?...heating up. We had 13 games yesterday in the delightfully climate-controlled gym and it made for a wonderful Father's Day. Yes, Sheldon, that was sarcasm.
          The day got off to a rousing start with a 38-36 win by The Ninja Turtles over Sunshine Boys. The Turtles held a substantial lead and then held off a furious rally by Sunshine, which missed three potential game-tying shots in the last 15 seconds. Sunshine captain Ben Yates missed the game as he was participating in the Anchorage Marathon, part of his plan to compete in at least one marathon in all 50 states.
          Josh Arnold grabbed 19 rebounds to help lead the Payasos to a 46-27 win over Pale, Plus One. The Payasos had a bad season in the last league, but are a strong 3-1 so far this league.
          The Spartans handed Prime Time a tough 35-33 loss and A-PACK beat back The Griffins.
          In two of the best games of the day, The Blazers beat Roach Coach, 73-61 and The Hawgs edged Piglets, 90-86. In the Blazers win, Marwan Shehata hit eight threes en route to a game-high 36 points. Chad Chop hit 26 in a losing effort.
          Donte Williams had 32 for the Hawgs, while Kurt Lehan had 26 for the Piglets.
          Todd Smith hit eight threes to lead Flying Squirrels over Scrap Attack, 67-55.
          Hookers beat Toejam Sundae (we really have to do something about team names) by a score of 56-40. Clinton Jessup had 16 for Hookers.
          We're coming up on the Fourth of July. We have 13 games scheduled for that day, which falls on a Sunday this year. If you are not going to be able to field a team for that day, please let me know. I probably won't be able to reschedule the game, but at least you won't be charged with a forfeit.
          We welcome back Darlene, our stat-keeper extraordinaire. The stats and standings are now updated and will be kept current for the rest of the season.

Now, these are people who have their priorities straight! Thirteen games on a holiday weekend and not one forfeit! (Of course, if you're old and fat and have to ref most of those games, a little voice in the back of your head mutters, "You've got to be kidding me! Thirteen games on a holiday weekend and not one forfeit?!"
          Actually, it was really cool, and we had a bunch of top-level games. The day started with The Payasos staging a furious second-half comeback to nip The Sunshine Boys. After trailing by seven at the half, the Payasos rode the shooting of Guillermo Bay, who poured in 15 of his game-high 36 points to lead the team to a 62-58 win. Rayford Price, Junior and Senior, had 19 and 13, respectively, for The Sunshine Boys.
          Brogan's Zeroes shot a stunning 17-for-21 as a team from the free-throw line in the second half to hold off Chop Shop, 70-61. Jon Brogan, who finished with 32 points, and Junior Hackworth were a combined 10-for-10 from the line down the stretch as Chop Shop had to foul late in the game.
          In one of the best games of the day, The Spartans grabbed a halftime lead against perennial power, The Hawgs, and held the lead until late in the second half. Donte Williams went for 25 of his game-high 40 points in the second half to lead The Hawgs back. Kent Senzee had 15 points on four three-pointers and three free throws (after having been fouled on a three-point attempt).
          Kyle Weleby led the Spartans with 17 points, including five threes.
          Defending "A" League champion Fleet overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to pull out a win over Blaze. The former Pueblo High duo of Mical Kidd and Jeff Clark combined for 40 points for Fleet. Justin Jewitt had 15 for Blaze, while Augustine Ruelas had 13 in the defeat.
          The Throwbacks and Toejam Sundae put on a barn-burner in one of the later games. Former Amphi High and UMass player Anthony Oates had 28 points, including a twisting lay-up with two seconds left to lead The Throwbacks to a thrilling 68-66 win. The quartet of Jeremy Dewitt, Danny Anderson, Russell Trombley, and Meelow Martinez all scored between 13 and 21 points to account for all of Toejam's scoring.
          It was hot, loud, and stinky in the gym during that nail-biter of a game--in other words, Basketball Heaven.
          The last game of the night might have been the best of all. The Franchise, a team that didn't win a whole lot of games last season, came out blazing against The Irregulators. They took a 28-18 lead, much to the delight of their cheering section (four girls and a guy). However, the three-point shooting of Zach Ryberg and George Mejia brought The Irregulators back in the second half and they actually took the lead.
          Two free throws by Jibran Toledo tied the game with 20 seconds left and the The Irregulators missed a shot at the buzzer that would have won it. The Franchise outscored their opponents, 4-0, in the overtime for the win.
          Teams have been doing a pretty good job of cleaning up after themselves, but it's not perfect. You really don't want to be the team that gets the Eddie Slovik Forfeiture. (That's a bit harsh as an analogy. In World War II, Eddie Slovik was the only American soldier executed for desertion since the Civil War. General Eisenhower felt that he had to send a message to other would-be deserters. It worked.) Clean up your area.
          NOTE: Our illustrious scorekeeper, Darlene, will be playing in the USA Volleyball National Championships this week and weekend. (Her team won the national championship in 2008 and has a solid shot at grabbing it again this year.) While we will take stats of all of the games, they won't be updated on the website for a couple weeks. Sorry.
          And finally, as the summer heats up and tempers fray, please remember that while basketball is great and exhilarating and transcendent, it's still just a game. Please hold down the testosterone (or whatever other hormones you have raging inside you). Thanks.
          --Tom

The summer 2010 session of the Tucson Basketball League is now in full swing with 30 teams, making it the largest summer league we've ever had. We have several new teams and a whole lot of returnees.
          The schedule is a nightmare, as always. Some teams want to play at night, others in the morning, and some at exactly 3 p.m. If the schedule is done right, everybody should end up a little bit disappointed. I promised that it would be up Tuesday night, but it will probably be more like Wednesday afternoon. Sorry. I do the stuff by hand, but Darlene has to enter it into the website and she has one of those job things. I'll be done with the schedule late tonight but I don't want her to have to wait until I'm done. Thanks for understanding.
          So far, the teams are doing a decent job of cleaning up after themselves. Remember, if a team (or its fans) leave behind a mess of empty bottles, food wrappers, or the like, the team will forfeit its next game and some other team will play in its place.
          Also, summer is always a bad time for forfeits. Two forfeits in one season and your team is OUT OF THE LEAGUE! So don't do that.
          Some bad news: Long-time League member Paul Young suffered a knee injury playing at some other gym. He won't be playing this summer.
          Some really good news: Billy Waldrup, one of the best shooters in the history of the league, is back after a five-year hiatus. He's playing on Rob's team, Rubber.
          Let's have a great summer. Schedule tomorrow, I promise!

The summer season is underway, but the team list and schedule have not yet been finalized. Therefore, the website will not be fully updated just yet. The individual and team stat leader information is current, but the stats by team have only been posted for returning teams. New teams' stats will be posted as soon as possible, along with the schedule, as soon as it is finalized. If you have any questions about when your team plays, please contact Tom. Remember that there are no games this Sunday, May 9th, in observance of Mother's Day. Thanks!