Hey!  We're back at the BUM Report for weekend 10 of season 11, with more of the usual Blowouts, Upsets, and More! and this week we also have a, well it's a, er, something NEW!  I don't think we've seen such a thing before, yet it's absolutely what you'd expect to see in this column.  So we're just going to make you wait a few paragraphs to get there...

Starting with Blowouts of session 10, we didn't have any table-topping beatdowns like we've hoped for as the season winds down.  We did have a few matches worth noting, with an interesting team on both ends of the spectrum.  In match 34, conference play, we had Nashville at home.  Teutopolis, rightly sensing the weather patterns forming over the greater Music City metro area, headed for the tornado shelter with anyone any everyone of value.  The 7 they left on the court to suffer the storm to come put out a collective 69 for the match, 2nd worst away rating for the day.  Nashville?  Oh, Roy just dropped a 96!  Tied for the best home court rating we've seen all season.  The not-so-fat-and-more-so-pointy-ends Pandas were rated 27 better, and ended up 27 points better as T-Town cleared 20 in just one set before the final whistle offered relief from the Red Panda onslaught.

And then Nashville trotted along to match 35.  TMVL Cup, round 3.  Where Nashville returned with a top... er, we just mean "a" team, not the A-team.  70.  Nashville went from a 96 to a 70.  For a Cup match where they were still alive for the title this season.  Emphasis now on "were."  Alton was officially facing just their 4th Quad I opponent of the season (not a typo, prior to last session Alton had faced only 3 Quad 1 and 3 Quad 2 opponents, hands down weakest strength of schedule in the league. For comparison, New Orleans had faced a league-leading 13 Quad 1 opponents alone, and a combined 7 Quad III/IV going into last weekend).  Would the Eagles get a test?  No.  Pandas=70 rating, Alton=89.  The matches were over in a flash, 25-17, 25-14, 25-17, combined 27 points.  No James gets another blowout, and Roy nests down with both a blowout and a blowNout of the week.

And then we had two tied at +29 for the top mark of the week.  You get one now and one later.  Both involve the 'Squatches.  Match 34, Spokane on the raod with a 67 against the Squirrels (we warned you all last week!), who put out a 94.  Schenectady didn't let 'em top 19 points in any set, and won handily in a combined +29 effort.

and I can't wait any longer, it's too BUM Report-esque to hold back any longer.  We just had our first Upset Blowout!  We travel to the TMVL Shield, match 36.  St. Charles and Spokane on neutral court.  Spokane put out a solid 85.  St. Charles didn't bring their full T7, yet at least topped 80, bringing an 81-rated squad.  And then Max got the first set upset, 25-17.  Jason should rally back, right?  Set 2?  25-20.  Would this be another upset sweep by a Sellers this season?  Yes, yes it would be.  And not just any sweep.  Set 3 finished 25-9.  Not a typo of 19.  Nine.  The 'Squatch were stunned, wondering how something as magical and mythical as an Upset Sweep Blowout could happen to Jason and the magical mythical long-maned men!  Olmec has its fickle faves, and there is always love waiting to be showered upon "The Programmer."  We completely agree that Jason didn't deserve this Upset Sweep that tied the top blowout of the week at 29 points, yet we celebrate it here anyway!

Congrats to Max and the 'Crows for the first ever Upset Sweep Blowout of the week/season/century/first-and-right-now-only-ever!  Maybe we'll rewrite that as Blowout Upset Sweep so we can officially call it B.U.S., as in:  "Spokane just got completely run over by the B.U.S.!"

Moving on to other upsets this week.  Max's -4 BUS showing came in at #3.  We had two top it.  The first was just your run-of-the-mill, ho-hum, National Tournament Quarterfinal match involving Olmec's darling, John H. and the Bats.  They did it, again!  This time against a Nashville team that came to play (Roy'd third mention in the column this week, rarely a good thing).  Match 37 featured the Red Pandas put out a 92 on neutral court.  That matches the BEST neutral court rating we've seen this season.  Only Portland has also done that thus far (twice, matches 22 & 32).  Despite this, Roy now solely owns the season-leading Highest Neutral Court Rated Loss of the season.  They couldn't even win a set in regulation points!  Set one, Sheboygan topped Nashville in extra points, 27-25.  Then Roy won set two, also in extra points, 27-29.  Then we had a normalish set at 25-22, for which Olmec quickly apologized and got this match back to "what the what?" status in set 4.  33-35.  And of course, this only drew out Roy's misery more as they couldn't hit double-digits in set 5, losing 15-9 as Olmec gifts this season's pending Upset King John Holden with another tourney upset.  Does it matter how you play against him any more?  I don't think so.  He only just beat a team putting out a tie for The Best Neutral Court Rating on the Season!  Down 6 ratings points.  3 sets in extra points.  Do the Bats care?  Nope.  They only know how to bleed your hopes and dreams dry and feast on the proceeds.  Can Columbia (91), Portland (92) or even Denali (87) and their ratings from last session have a prayer to defeat the Winged Mammals' inevitable march to glory this season?  We're doubtful, yet also thrilled at the prospect of more Upsets to Come!

To cap off the upsets this week, we also had an upset match that doubles as our The Opposite of Trying match of the weekend.  While some teams facing tougher matches elsewhere get a begrudging pass in the TMVL Shield consolation matches (or the Worst Loser of the *W#*% Losers %#%(* Spoon Tourney, as I think Craig called it, there may need to be more squiggles and symbols in there), we're squinting and deliberately not looking at Steve & Columbia (70) versus Kelsey and the Trash Pandas (66) as neither bothered to try to win match 36, teams in the Cup, even in consolation, have a higher expectation.  Teams featuring matchups with long-long-long-time rival managers especially have higher expectations.  Teams featuring Mr. Olmec Himself, the multi-title MuleMan and Great Instigator, versus The Godfather, the inaugural MSWL Champ, the Big Hat Himself?  Could there be a better buildup for a late-season tourney clash?  And what did they give us?  Neutral court, match 35?  Quincy 68.  Carlsbad 74.  Boooooo!  C'mon, guys!  TMVL deserves better here.  Even Olmec thought so, not letting Phil a set normally, making the Chameleons claw out to 24-26 in set 2 to have hope, and then the Mules danced on those aspirations and shut it down in sets 3 and 4 with authority.  Quincy wins at -6 for a tie of the Upset of the Week!  Congrats to Al!  And the Opposite of Congrats to Al and Phil for The Opposite of Trying match of the weekend.

Big numbers being put up by some quality teams as we head into the last two weekends.  Teams on neutral court (Cinci 90, Columbia 91, Pekin 91, Portland 92, Nashville 92) and the home matches keep going up too (Schenectady 94, Cinci 94, Nashville 96, even hapless Quincy at 89 who ran into Portland's ROAD 89 that claimed the not-an-upset evenly-matched win).  Lots to play for, and lots of match results to eagerly look forward to for our next Blowout, Upset, and More!  Dare we see another team run over by the BUS this season?  Only Olmec knows, and the BUM Report reveals!