Welcome back to the BUM Report!  Session 6 has now come to pass, and we're halfway through a marvelous Season 12. Thanks again to Max and Al for making this league happen.  While some of us may not feel that way based on how the first half has gone, and perhaps life would be more pleasant if TMVL didn't exist and suck us in each week just to watch Olmec toy with our teams and emotions like we're at a yo-yo convention, others are certainly flying high.  At moment, we're all looking up at the Legume Legion, the Pekin Pushin Peas and their managerial maestro, Mr. Mendonca!  First overall in record (15-3), tops in the Big 8 (10-0 conference record), a perfect 8-0 at home and dropping just a single set all season so far (back in match 2, to Columbia, not shabby), owner of the current top winning streak at 6 matches (next best is 3, shared by Porkopolis & Music City), and as of this post is tops in ELO, NET rating, Recruiting (2 5*s, including a +1 Atk OH), and first in our hearts with the top spot in the Post-Session 6 Coach's Poll to boot!  While it would certainly please many in the Big 8 if someone could manage to split the peas or otherwise blend up their potent lineup (see image above), the reality we all face right now is that Roger is handily winning every match he tries to win.  All three losses were in the WGM, group rounds and 2nd round, where he rolled out squads rated 56, 64, and 68.  A far, far cry from the 90+ lines he's dropping in conference play.  Roger decided before the season started that he wasn't going to try in the WGM this season, and clearly stuck with the plan.  That left his T7 spiking every other opponent into submission.  The Pod People are taking over the league! (cue Donald Sutherland's scream to end the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers)

While we're waiting for our Benevolent Vegetable Overlords to assume full league control, we all got to play in a couple of non-conference matches and the opening of the conference tourneys. With several top teams playing T7s in the conference tourney and eight teams still alive in the WGM Cup, sometimes (read: often) that leaves little to toss out for the non-conference matches.  This session is always good for a blowout or three, and three is great number to start with as we head to Match 18 (non-con), Mat-Su @ Teutopolis!  Both Bryce and C-Ball used the same strategy for this session: T7 the home conference tourney match, play hard in the home non-conference match, and throw whatever else is left at the road game. That means the Meese were on the weak side on the road, while Mike had the Twisters revved up to high wind speed.  The first set wasn't even close to close, 12-25.  Set two marked a high point for the Meese, getting it to 19-25, before fading in set 3 16-25 to cap off a solid T-Town victory.  The combined 28-pt winning margin was good for our #3 Blowout of the Week! Congrats, C-Ball!

At #2, we'll rewind to Match 17, still non-con, as Sheboygan traveled to Music City to face the feral yet oh-so-fluffy-and-fuzzy Pandas.  The Blood Suckers brought the backups.  Roy greeted them with a 93-rated home team, tied with several others for the 2nd-highest rating we've had this season.  The resulting 28-pt ratings difference was also good for a 2nd place tie, for highest of the session. The end result was what we'd expect. Despite putting up an impressive early effort (20-25 set 1), the Pandas got feisty in set 2.  Sheboygan mustered all of 9 points, tying the session low in a standard set, and fared only a little better in set 3, 12-25.  Roy's lads are very competitive and were probably cursing themselves for not playing better in set 1, as they could have taken the top blowout with a stronger opener. Alas, it was not be, and Nashville have to settle for the #2 Blowout of the Week, a combined 34-pt de-winging of the Bats. Congrats, Roy!

And that brings us to our #1 Blowout of the Week, in Match 19, opening round of the conference tourneys.  We travel to the highly competitive Big East, where 4-seed Mendon was laying out an extra layer of compost to ensure a top line for a clash with 5-seed Schenectady.  Mendon's 87 sent a clear message that the Fighting Fungi were not going down easy.  The Nut Munchers came out with their own lineup, rated at... 56.  Clearly focusing on the elusive Best Non-Conference title this season, Brian sent the kits to play in this one, and by 'play' we mean run around the gym and climb bleachers and try to find a spot to bury lunch. Not much was accomplished on the court, as a 10-25 crushing defeat in set 2 was sandwiched between the pair of 15-25 sets.  The resulting 35-pt blowout was fitting for the 31-pt rating difference, tying the 2nd-highest rating discrepancy of our half-full season. Congrats to Pierre for the feisty fungus fisticuffs, and the Blowout of the Week!

It must be said that we really appreciated the Squirrels this week.  Not only did the Arboreal Rodents grant the Blowout of the Week, they also helped us on the Upsets end of things!  It was a very slim pool for upsets (only 2!), so the Nut Munchers coming through in match 18, non-conference at Dallas, was a welcome sight for the BUM Report (though not for Craig, I'm guessing).  Schenectady (78) was a 4-pt underrodent to the Mighty Dawgs of Dallas (82), and the opening set went to form, 21-25. It remains a well-known truism that Dogs hate Squirrels, and the Kennel Club was all over the bushy tails early.  Set 2 served us a twist to the story, as the Nut Munchers rallied back for a 25-20 win.  And then they did it again 25-20 in set 3! Now on the ropes, Dallas and tactical genius Craig went back to what worked in the first set, and finished set 4 with their own identical mark, 21-25.  Now pushing for set 5, with near-equal stats thus far, it was a back-and-forth battle early and they met back up on the scoreboard at 11-11 with Dallas serving. We're really not sure whether the Dogs got tired, or if there was some energetic value in the switch from acorns to walnuts on the visiting bench. In any case, the Nut Munchers ran three straight points with a kill-ace-dig/kill, to lead 14-11 and serve for match point. Dallas got a kill back despite a less-than-perfect set, with MB Dukat keeping the match alive, 14-12. Dukat then rotated to serve, and was leading the team with 17 serves in play, no errors. You know where this is going. The most demoralizing way to lose, like a dog chasing its own tail and then catching it, painfully, as the service went deep and out. Game over.  It wasn't easy, yet congrats to Beerman and the Nutty Bunch for the #2 Upset of the Week!

Topping that was just one match, and it was a BUM Report feast as TMVL Program Master Max traveled in Match 19, Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, to none other than his dad's court, Al and the (#2 seed) Rabbids!  Roger adeptly pointed out in the match commentary that the Mules have an amazing conference tourney record: 5 titles, 9 finals appearances, only 2 semis losses.  That streak looked safe as the opening whistle pealed out, with the Pumpkin Heads playing a solid road 81, yet facing long odds against the home team's 89.  It was back-and-forth for much of the match, trading points from 10-10 all the way up to 17-17, before St. Charles rolled off a quick streak, and led 20-17. Quincy got a few back, yet trailed the rest of the way, fighting off two set points at 24-21 and 24-22 only for the Scarecrows to close the door with a Sheridan to Harrington kill and taking set 1, 25-23!

This got the Mules worked up, and they were foaming at the mouth like we haven't seen in quite some time!  Set 2 was a different story, as after some early lead changes the Mules took over from 11-11 on, never letting St. Charles tie it up and leading by as many as 5 points to cap off the 4-pt win, 21-25. With order righted and wrongs pushed into ancient history, the Mules were ready to roll on and take the match in similar fashion.  Max had other ideas.  Though the Mules rallied and hit hard, it seemed that for every point the Rabbids made, the 'Crows got two.  Noonan was on fire, with two straight aces at one point, and St. Charles held leads of 8-3, 13-5, 16-9, and 20-13. By this point, it was over. Though they traded points for the remainder of the set, it was 25-19 St. Charles, and the Mules were backed into a corner!  And what do these Mules do when backed into a corner?  They bite! Hard!  Set 4, and Quincy came out with focused aggression. They took the first three points, and led 6-1 and 9-2. The dominant start ran into a furious rally from the Pumpkin Heads though, who battled back with their own runs to close it to 12-13, Quincy.  The Mules kept hitting and St. Charles kept responding, as it reached 17-18 before Quincy made a run to 17-20. They traded a few more points, yet Quincy didn't let them close within two as they escaped set 4 with the 21-25 victory.  Set 5 and the tides turned again. St. Charles led early and often, with their best lead at 10-4.  Quincy rallied back to 10-7, and 13-9, only to serve it out and face match point, 14-9.  They staved off two tries, only to see the brutal S Sheridan to OH Harrington combo hammer down the final point, match over, the -8 Upset of the Week complete, and the first ever loss by Quincy in the opening round of the Conference Tourney!  In a week where we only saw two upsets, and only two seeding upsets in the conference tourneys (#5 over #4 in the Pac 8 being the other), congrats to Max for the Upset of the Week, top tourney upset, and the current #3 Upset of the Season!  Commiserations to Al, who suffered the upset here, yet held on to win his WGM match against an even-rated and upset minded San Jose team.

Speaking of the WGM, congrats to the winners as we saw no upsets by the ratings. There were some fun matches to watch though, with San Jose bringing a road-90 (tie 2nd-highest this season) to Quincy's home-90 in a match that led to two 24-26 sets, and a powerhouse duel of Denali (88) at Columbia (93).  No doubt, Columbia and Quincy are the #1 and #2 seeds for a reason, and Burlington and New Orleans are drawing very long odds (and few bets despite the odds) to overcome them in the semis.

In other "and More!" news, we saw the opposite of the WGM match in non-con match 17.  In the WGM, Denali (88) made an all-out effort to win on road against Columbia (93).  In match 17, Columbia made an all-out effort to find enough players to take the court, with a 58-rating, the lowest of the non-conference games and only above Schenectady's above-mentioned tourney 56 and blowout.  Columbia, here, avoided the blowout because Andy sent the Pups to play, with a 69-rated team at home. Though it was a sweep for the home team, it was still ugly.  In the WGM, we saw a combined 181 rating, highest of the session. In the non-con, same two teams, we got a 127 combined rating, lowest of the session.  I get not being able to field a top squad in four-match sessions, and sometimes lineup sacrifices have to be made (also looking at you, Nashville 67 @ San Jose 67, lowest home-rating of the session). This one though? A bit too much.  So the Opposite of Congratulations to Columbia and Denali for The Opposite of Trying match of the week!

Other fun matches to watch or oddities to note: Match 17, non-con, Alton at New Orleans. After James went up 2 sets to love, the Rats sneaked and slinked and slid and slunk their way back into it, bringing it to set 5 where the Eagles were Screaming for all the wrong reasons.  It was 3-5 N'Orleans in set 5 when the Rats when on an 8-point streak. By the time Alton got their next point, it was 4-13, and they were done. 3 hitting errors, ace against, block, and some dig/kills in the run took the air from their wings, and they came down to earth hard finishing the set at 4-15.  That makes the lowest points in a set 5 we've seen this season.  Alton also features in match 18, non-con, Arlington @ Alton. James will be happier in this one, as they won in three sets, yet three widely divergent sets. Set 1, and the Anteaters gave 'em all they could handle, before they escaped with a final 29-31 tally. Set two? Arlington put up a 9.  From 29 in set 1, to 9 in set 2.  Same players, I can only presume.  Set 3 almost split the difference (19 would have been perfect) with a 17-25 set, as David and James both are probaby scratching their heads and wondering, "Do any of us other than Max and Steve really understand how this game works?"

Kelsey and Bryce may not either, yet they had a fun match regardless, in Match 19, conference tourney.  The Trash Pandas traveled to Mooseville, and despite the +8 rating at home, the Meese nearly took one on their bearded chins!  Bryce took the first two sets, highlighted by a 28-30 set 2 nailbiter, only to drop sets 3 & 4 to the Masked Bandits.  Set 5 saw it tied at 7-7, followed by opposing 4-pt runs (an oddity in itself) to land at 11-11.  Points were traded up to 14-13, Mat-Su, serving for the win, which they served out. Now at 14-14, Bullwinkle himself made an appearance to rally the home team, and they got a kill and dig/kill to finally allow the Mat-Su faithful to exhale and rejoice in the opening conference tourney victory. Along the way though, not only did this match give us our highest point total of the session (225 total), it also gave us a new high for being outscored while winning the match!  Mat-Su won all their sets by 2 points each.  Albuquerque won set 3 by 3 and set 4 by 8!  Bryce ended up winning despite being outscored overall by 5 points, topping our prior 3-way tie at -3 for the match, so extra congrats to Bryce on this one!

Want a thrilling set 1 and 3 to watch? Match 19, conference tourney, Starkville @ Nashville, with both sets 1 and 3 going into the high 20's, while set 2 was a dud, thudding down with a 14-25 final score. Also in the SEC tourney, Merritt Island @ T-Town saw a set 5 that went to 18-20, our highest 5th set tally for the session.  In the Big East tourney, Spokane @ Burlington, pharmacists were out in force peddling bi-polar meds as the teams alternated efforts, 16-25, 25-15, 14-25, 25-15, in the first four sets. Not sure we've seen a 10-pt win average through four sets before, and definitely not this season. Was set 5 a blowout then? Of course not!  It went out to 16-18 in a great finish as Spokane served for match point three times before Burlington rallied to take the lead, and the final point was a thriller with three digs leading up to the final kill! And what is Aires reward for pulling out the victory? An absolutely brutal session you'd only wish on your worst frenemy in this league!  Starting at the Pac 8's leader, @ Tucson (non-con), then drawing all-everything Pekin (neutral court) in the TMVL Cup opener. In the Big East tourney they're @ Cinci, and then they cap it off with a WGM Semifinal match at Columbia! Four of the top eight overall teams, all riding 2+ match win streaks, and no home games for the Bullyfrogs. Ouch. The recent 8-2 run will be sorely pressed to continue under that trial by fire, so best of luck to Burlington for pulling some Upsets to highlight our column next weekend!

While awaiting the next session of the BUM Report, be on the lookout for teams raising the bar this session. San Jose set a new home high (94), and right behind them were Nashville, Pekin, Alton and Columbia (93's). On the road, San Jose brought a 90, behind only Pekin's road-high 91 this season. Those are your teams to fear and beat this coming weekend! As always, feel free to comment on what we missed!