Here at Blowouts, Upsets & More! for season 11, weekend 4, we are finally gathering enough proof to show that Olmec has feelings beyond dislike.  Olmec's love of certain managers is becoming harder to conceal.  See Upsets below for more detail.

Starting with Blowouts of the Week!  There were a few of note, though not in the 40+ range as we've seen in the prior three sessions this season.  Ames came into their WGM match looking to advance. Sheboygan did not.  The end result was +25 rating for Colin, and a sweep by a combined 33 points.  For a tie at the 2nd largest blowout of the week, we have conference matches where the home teams played strong and the visitors sent a sacrificial offering.  Santa Clara and Carlsbad (Phil's lizards at +27 rating) and Ames at Portland (the 'Jacks at +31 rating) both were quick and decisive matches, ending at +38 points.  In both, the visitors netted just 9-16 points per set, and by halfway through on each there was no doubt as to the victor.

For the top mark of the week, the WGM round 2 matchups seemed to give us a doozy of a first rounder!  Portland and their top T7 vs. Cincinnati and their dominant squad.  At Cinci, though that doesn't really matter.  Portland has put out two of the top 3 rated lineups so far this season (89 & 90).  Cinci dropped a 92 here at home (#3 for the season for home ratings, behind only Portland's 93 & 94).  What we got was anything but a 'must see' match.  The 'Jacks were felling trees in the conference play, setting the mark in match 10 for highest-rated away team (90) and 11 for highest home team (94).  In the WGM match, they rolled out a 54.  The Hogs, meanwhile, were ready for a top showdown and trotted out a 92-rated team.  The +38 rating difference was the highest of the weekend, and the final results showed.  Three identical sets of 25-12 and James ended with a +39 point domination.  Congrats to James for the Blowout of the Week!

For Upsets of the Week, we had plenty to choose from as there were multiple competitive matchups and no upset sweeps.  In the 'minor' upset range of -1 to -3, we had five road teams overcome the home bonus to take the match, including two in WGM play as both Mat-Su, upset by Steve and the Tomatoes, and Tucson, upset by Eduard and the Bloodhounds, were trying to win and put out squads rated over 80.  More on Steve later.  And once again, Olmec saw fit to give extra help to the Hogs, as they pulled a -3 rated upset over a column fave (you guessed it, didn't you?), the Vampire Bats and their ever-game and utterly relatable in his miseries coach, John H.  Ames and Antioch were also upset at home by Columbia and Merritt Island respectively.  Rob in particularly seems to attract lousy luck in these kind of matches, dropping 15-12 in set 5 despite a very respectable 80-rated lineup.

For #3 this past weekend, we start at Columbia where evidence of an illicit affair has come to full Red Fruit-ition!  Never since the annuls of this column (and thus absolutely accurate and undeniably true) have we seen a team pull not one, not two, yet THREE upsets in the same session!  Olmec's love of Steve runs as deep as the Tomatoes training roots, and for the rest of us smells as lovely as the manure fertilizer used in their training facilities to grow yet another batch of players that the league loves to hate.  In match 10, the Tomatoes won a 4-set away match while rated 2 less than Ames (78 to 80).  In match 12 (WGM), they toppled an impressive Mat-Su lineup on the road, again winning in 4 sets despite a 2-rating difference (85 to 87).  And in the capping match of the week where Olmec couldn't resist extending their winning streak against all odds, Pekin and Roger went to Columbia in match 11, and posted an 84-rated away team.  Steve's squad was 79 at home.  Despite the talent gap, the Tomatoes again won in 4 sets, and Roger's well-planned schemes were foiled by the fickle fate of the totally random and not-at-all biased number generator of Ol' Stoneface.  We don't know why Olmec loves Steve.  Whatever the reason though, Steve will need to keep doing and saying the right things to hold off the brewing love triangle with another manager (see below)!

For #2 on the weekend, James W and the Screaming Eagles were playing the WGM game to win, bringing a team rated 85 on the road.  Santa Clara gave it the ol' college try and put out 76 at home, rated 9 worse.  Olmec scoffed, giving the rat-dogs the first two sets.  Though Alton rallied in 3 & 4 to force a fifth set, the end seemed inevitable and just strung along hope for the bird loving fans that made the trip to So Cal.  15-13 in set three for SCC and Martyn nails yet another top upset, getting outscored by a total of 2 pts for the match, and tying the second-highest mark of the season at -9.

For #1, we have to wonder if Andy might be stealing some of Steve's Olmec-love here, or if Matt W just did something to anger The Grand Fickle One.  The Swordfish were having a solid season through three sessions, and came into this weekend in conference-topping form.  And that despite a near-loss to Denali in match 1, losing 2 sets to 3 with 2 going to extra points and getting within 4 points of the upset themselves (rated 8 less) in set 5.  However, three striaght losses this past session, and the (conference) tables are turned and Denali are beneficiaries.  Match 10, Denali (67) at San Diego (78).  The first two matches were near-mirror opposites as the Angry Wolves won 25-16, then lost 14-25.  Set 3 took to 27 pts for Andy to win, then got fin-slapped 17-25 in set 4.  No one knew what to expect in set 5.  Sadly for the ocean dwellers, the Wolves feasted on Fish to end the match, winning 15-10 and setting the mark for Upset of the Week and Upset of the Season so far!  Only four matches ended with as high an upset all of last season.  The Angry Wolves vs. the Crazy Tomatoes in a matchup could either break Olmec or give us further proof of Max's programming mastery, developing a program capable of arbitrary affection for a certain manager.  Only time, and the BUM report, will tell.

Final shoutouts to some fun matches to watch if you haven't yourself.  WGM pairing of the Squirrels at the Stables that the Mules call home led to two sets needing extra points to determine the winner.  And Spokane (match 11) at Mendon saw the Mushrooms as +20-rated home favorites yet not playing like it at all as set 2 went into the mid-30's in points before being settled.  No spoiler on the winner if you wanted to go watch the viewer yourself before checking the outcome of that set.

What will session 5 bring us?  More utterly un-needed favors dished to the Cinci Overlords?  More Olmec love for Steve T leading up to Valentine's Day?  Will Dallas stop toying with other managers and get back to either blowouts or upsets to help me meet the editors' demand for word minimums in this column?  In any case, there were several matches this week where both teams put out 80-plus rated lines and gave us some fun competitive matches to view.  Thanks to all who gave it their all and best of luck this coming session!