...for close games. On my court (Court 2, TMC) last Sunday, the final three games of the night were decided by one, four, and 10 points. And in the last game, That One Team held a four-point margin with two minutes to go, but scored the last six points of the game to win by 10. On Court 3 (CTG), the last three games of the night were decided by four, two, and three points. And the last game on Court 1 (Mountain) was a three-point win.

We were a bit shorthanded this week. Rob and Mark were both out of town on Sunday. Mark went to Disneyland. Can you imagine his laugh in The Happiest Place of Earth? It probably registered on the Richter Scale. They'll both be back this week and we'll be good. As some of you know, long-time ref and friend Stew has moved to Denver. And player favorite Rich Cruz is currently rehabbing an Achilles tendon surgery. He'll be back in January.

However, there have been a few blowouts and that's going to happen. Part of the reason for it is that we have lots of new teams and it takes a couple games to see how good (or not good) they are and then match them with other teams that are on the same level. Even then, it's possible for a team that just has a stinker of a day. We've all been there. Nevertheless, our goal is to have as many close games as possible throughout the season. As I've said before, the perfect game is one that is won by one point at the buzzer. The winning team is elated, while the other team experiences strong emotions but goes away knowing that they were this close to winning.

We finally got around to having the long-awaited match-up of Division champions. Both Basketball Junkies and Splash Pad won their respective divisions last season, but the guys from Splash Pad felt that they had been slighted by being dropped to the second-toughest division for the playoffs. The two faced off on Sunday and it was all that anyone could have hoped for. The Junkies jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half behind the explosive play of Chaz Mack. But Splash Pad chipped away and finally took the lead midway through the second half. James Pegues scored 20 points, including a stellar 8-8 from the free-throw line to lead the Splash Pad surge. Splash's Dom Banks led all scorers with 28 points, including 4-4 from the line. (Splash Pad ended the game a perfect 15-15 from the line. That's how you win games.)

In the other special game, Dunkin' Go-Nuts put on a great display of fast-break basketball in defeating my scorekeepers, many of whom are members of my Amphi High School girls' basketball team. (I'm sorry, I think I'm obligated by law to say defending Region champion Amphi High team.) The Go-Nuts guys, many of whom played on the division champion SGO Crusaders team last season, did a great job and we appreciate their effort. They should challenge for another division title this season.

I was fortunate enough to ref the game between Da Wolves (not to be mistaken for Wolves) and Skoden. It was a dazzling display of Rez Ball, which is my favorite way to play the game. Up and down the court, full-speed, for 36 minutes. In the entire game, there were two free throws shot. Just a clean, fast-paced game full of fast breaks and three-pointers. I loved it. Skoden pulled out a 69-66 win.

In the first couple weeks, we had a few forfeits with teams either just not showing up or not fulfilling their responsibilities. This past week--36 games, ZERO FORFEITS. Let's keep it up.