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Xtreme can’t shake off the rust of a 2 week layoff in loss to Plymouth Produce!

The Conshohocken Summer season ended as it began – with a loss. And in both cases the Xtreme did a lot to beat themselves. They also could not overcome the 2 week layoff and the excellent play of Plymouth Produce. Bull and Mop both had excellent games as they did their best to keep the X-men close but Adam and Chino could not find their game, while Buster didn’t have his "A" game either. We wish the best to Plymouth Produce as they continue on in the Round Robin Tournament in hopes of keeping our Thursday night as the Champion!

Xtreme Finish Regular season with a win to run their winning streak to 10 in a row!

It’s the final week of the regular season and the Xtreme are going for the sweep of inter-league play. This week the Xtreme visit the Monday night crowd and specifically the Fox Force Five. The X-men were also looking to defend the honor of Thursday night as Plymouth Produce, The Bocce Babes and Big Deal all went down in defeat to the Monday nighters. On this night, it seems, all of the Monday night teams brought their “A” game, what they didn’t bring, however, was food! Thank god for the Thursday nighters – our own Bull brought a Corropolese tomato pie, Jeanette from the Bocce Babes made some delicious wings and Dan from Big Deal brought some South Philly Pretzels! THURSDAY NIGHT ROCKS!

Xtreme win the coin flip and take the pallino as Fox Force Five (FFF) choose the white balls. Bull and Mop are at the far end ready to battle Maggie and Peg while Chino and Buster are set to roll against Laura and Judy. The FFF quickly show why their record is 9 – 1 as they jump all over Xtreme in the first 2 frames as they build a 4 – 0 lead. Buster knocks out one of Laura’s precision rolls and Chino gets one of his balls in to put the Xtreme in game at 4 – 2. Next frame the Mop struggles as he is not the master of his pallino tonight, while Maggie is tough as she posts another pair for FFF to bring the score to 6 – 2. Buster is at it again this time knocking out Judy’s ball to bring the score to 6 – 3. Mop in control of the pallino now just can’t lock it up as his struggles continue as Peg makes him pay with a beauty of a roll. Bull comes in takes the pallino to 2 Xtreme balls and just like that we are tied at 6. But the Xtreme can only muster up one more point as the FFF are deadly accurate tonight as they win game one 11 – 7.

Game 2 and FFF stands pat while Xtreme bring in the Inspector for Mop and Adam comes in for Buster. And just like game on the Xtreme find themselves in a quick 2 – 0 hole. However, Inspector and Bull answer right back with a pair to tie it up. In fact, for the rest of the game the Xtreme are the only team to move the scoring peg as they go on to win game two 11 – 2 as the Inspector was covering the pallino like a coat of paint and Bull was pretty much making any shot he tried.

Game 3 and after rattling off 11 straight points, Bull leaves the teams the same while Fox Force Five only appear to be four tonight as they stand pat again. This game is more of a nip and tuck battle as each team trades points early. After 3 frames and with FFF leading the Xtreme 3 – 2, the girls just get deadly accurate as they just can’t miss. And when they did miss, Chino was there to help them out by giving away points and giving the FFF a 7 – 2 lead. Thank god for Bull and Inspector as they continued their hot streak to keep it kind of close. But the ladies were tough tonight and it looked all but over as they built there lead to 10 – 4, and were sitting at match point. Then roll by roll, frame by frame, Inspector and Bull took over, first posting a 3 bagger to breath life into the X-men. Then Adam and Chino did their best to keep the FFF of the score board while posting a single point to bring the score to 10 – 6. Inspector now rolls out the pallino and sets up his ball right in front like a lunar eclipse. Peg uses her 2 balls, but can’t get close. Maggie misses on her first shot, then fires off her last ball and chips it away to get in. Did I mention that these girls were good? Bull, not to be denied, takes the pallino down to a waiting blue ball. Then, just for good measure, lobs another one in for another 3 bagger. Score now stands at 10 – 9. Now it’s Adam turn with the pallino and he plays a little hide the pallino too. Judy uses up her 2 balls without getting close. Now it’s Laura turn, as she miss fires on her first shot, then fires off her last ball and does manage to nick Adam’s ball. It doesn’t matter though, as Adam’s ball and the pallino carom toward the boards together, leaving his blue still in. He then calmly rolls his second ball in for game and match point. Oh man, what a come back!

On a side note, Chino did some research and it turns out that The Xtreme are undefeated during inter-league play. That’s right. Dating back to the first season (summer 2006) the Xtreme defeated both the Winos and D. Sabia. Next, in fall of 2006 there was only one inter-league game and the X-men defeated the Flyin’ F’s (who incidentally were the 2006 Summer Champions). Then in the Summer 2007 campaign the Xtreme beat the Ball Busters, Frank & Eddie’s, the Bone Crushers and MMS Lodge. Finally in the summer 2008 season the X-men downed New Valley Tavern, Bocced Up, the Winos and Fox Force Five for an amazing 11 and 0 record in inter-league play!

It’s week 10 and the Xtreme are starting to like this inter-league play. This week the Xtreme visit the Tuesday night crowd, specifically the Winos. Chick, the league comish, and his merry band of Winos – Phil, Weiner, Joe, Neil and Wayne proved to be a great bunch of guys and some bocce players. Plus it was Buster’s birthday and his daughters Katie and Amie (hey, where was Kelly?) showed up with their significant others and cake! Nancy also brought stromboli and a tray of roast beef hero’s. Add on the 2 pizzas that the Inspector brought and the penne pasta and meatballs from Johnny Russo’s wife, man what a feast!

Xtreme lose the coin flip (or so we were told as no one apparently witnessed it) and the Winos take the pallino while the Xtreme opt for the white balls. Chino and Adam are set to roll against Phil and Weiner, with Buster and Bull at the far end ready to battle Wayne and Joe. The Winos come out fast as Weiner looks to be on target while Chino and Adam come up a bit short as the Winos post a quick pair. Down at the far end Wayne and Joe look to be sharp as they post a pair of their own and before I finished my bowl of penne it was a 4 – 0 Wino lead. It’s OK though, as the Xtreme know how to play from behind. The next frame Phil rolls his ball to within 4 inches of the pallino and Adam proceeds to knock in out setting up Chino to drop in a pair to cut the lead to 4 – 2. Buster then does the same at the far end as he knocked out Joe’s ball to get in for one and Bull then drops in 2 more balls for a 3 bagger and just like that the Xtreme lead 5 – 4. In fact the rest of the frames went that way as the Xtreme went on to score 11 straight points, for an 11 – 4 victory, shutting out the Winos the rest of the way.

Game 2 and for the Winos Chick comes in for Wayne and Neil comes in for Phil, while Xtreme bring in Mop for Buster and The Inspector for Adam. And just like game on the Xtreme find themselves in a quick 2 – 0 hole. However, Mop and Bull answer right back with a pair to tie it up. And so the see saw battle begins as both teams take turns with the lead. The Inspector and Chino narrowly miss a bell ringer as they post a 3 bagger to go up 7 – 5. Joe from the Winos answers back with a point to close the gap to 7 – 6. The Inspector then adds another point for the Xtreme to take the lead back up to 2 at 8 – 6 which set up Mop and Bull to close it out. Mop lays out a beauty of a pallino and first ball. The Winos exhaust 3 of their 4 balls trying to close until finally Joe got the forth ball in. Now Mop, with a ball in hand and 2 for Bull, eyes down the court with the intention of taking the pallino deep, lines up his shot. It is perfect, as he walks the dog down to his other ball for 2 points and Bull caps off the 3 bagger for the win!

It’s week 9 and inter-league play is in full swing. With The Inspector and Mop on vacation the Xtreme venture into Sunday night turf to battle with Bocced up. Bull brought same awesome sausage and peppers (with extra hot peppers on the side) and Melissa from Plymouth Produce brought some eggplant parmesan. Other than Lisa from Bocced Up bringing a birthday cake for her teammate Jason, there was no other food as the grill remained covered. I guess the Sunday people don’t cook!

Xtreme lose the coin flip and naturally Bocced Up take the pallino while the Xtreme opt for the white balls. Chino and Adam are set to roll against Ed and Glenda, with Buster and Bull at the far end ready to battle Cathy and Dave. The Xtreme come out fast as Adam & Chino post a quick pair. But Bocced Up answer right back with a pair. After a few more nip and tuck frames it pretty obvious that the Xtreme are up against a very tough team. At the end of 4 frames Bocced Up lead the Xtreme 5 – 4. Bull and Buster continue to keep the Xtreme close as they post a Pair to put the X up by 1. Meanwhile, Chino and Adam try to solve Ed and Glenda who are really applying the pressure as they tie it back up. It was that kind of game, constant lead changes and ties until finally Buster and Bull ice the game with a pair as Xtreme win 11 – 9.

Game 2 and Jason comes in for Glenda and Lisa comes in for Cathy, while Xtreme (without Mop and Inspector) stand pat. Adam and Chino come out first with a point to take the only lead they would have in game 2 as Bocced Up would go on to score 11 straight points. Jason and Ed were all over the Pallino as were Lisa and Dave. The Xtreme couldn’t get a sniff of a point. It was ugly.

Game 3 and both captains left everything the same, and after a quick strategy session by the Bull, the Xtreme were ready to roll. Jason picked up right where he left off as he set up about on inch from the pallino. But Adam got back on his game as he knocked it out and set his ball up about 2 inches from the pallino. Bocced Up went long with the rest of their balls and Chino picked up his game a bit as he snugged up his 2 balls to open the game with a 3 bagger. The Buster and Bull were set up for a bell ringer, three balls in with one more to roll. It however was not to be as Bull put a little too much on the roll and he clipped the pallino and sent it to a waiting Bocced Up ball. Ouch, a 5 point swing. Instead of 6 or 7 to nothing, it was 3 – 1 and the battle was on. Jason proved to be very accurate with Pallino, but Adam would follow up by knocking his ball out. It was a scenario that played out in almost every frame that followed. Buster did the same at the far end as the Xtreme kept adding to their lead. With the X-men leading 8 – 6, Buster had a beauty of a pallino and first, ball but on her first roll, Lisa Knocked it out. Buster then got his next ball in. Lisa then surpassed his ball to get hers back in. After Bull got his ball in, Dave chipped the pallino down towards 3 waiting Xtreme balls. The Ref called White in, but he did not say for 3 points. After Dave from Bocced Up went long on his next roll, Adam and Chino looked on and decided that the Xtreme were definitely in for 3 points. Now Bull was asking for direction as to where to roll his last ball and Chino was trying to get the Ref to measure the other 2 white balls. But all Harry (the Ref) would commit to was white was in for one. Chino asked him again to measure all the balls as there were match points at stake. Harry unbelievably says, “it’s not my job!” Are you kiddin' me! NOT HIS JOB? Oh I think it is his job! Finally, and reluctantly, he does measure. And it is 3 Xtreme points – enough to win the game and match. Wow!

Xtreme fight back from a early deficit to earn a victory in the first week of Inter-league play.

It’s week 8 and the first of four inter-league play games get underway. Tonight is a battle of first place teams as Thursday night’s leader the Xtreme are matched up against Wednesday night’s leader, New Valley Tavern. The Mop, who was in charge of snack tonight, arrives with 2 Angelo’s pizzas (always good) to go along with the excellent barbecue chicken that Ralph brought.

Xtreme lose the coin flip and the Valley Girls (sorry Vince) take the pallino while the Xtreme opt for the white balls. Chino and Adam are set to roll against Judy and Doris, with Mop and Bull at the far end ready to battle Cathy and Vince. The Xtreme come out fast as Adam & Chino post a quick pair. But the Valley Girls (sorry Vince) answer right back with a pair as Cathy looks to be on her game tonight. After a few more frames it pretty obvious that the Xtreme are not rolling up to par as Judy and Doris are schooling Chino and Adam. At the end of 4 frames the Valley Girls (sorry Vince) lead the Xtreme 6 – 3 as Mop and Bull don’t have an answer for Cathy and Vince either. The Xtreme do have a lot of fight in them as they tried to make up ground and keep it close. They got as close, and at one point trailed 7 – 6 with one ball in and Chino with 2 balls yet to roll. The first stopped painfully short and the second tapped the pallino right into 2 Valley balls giving them a 9 – 6 lead. Mop and Bull fought back in the next frame and earned one point to cut the deficit to 9 – 7. Then next frame Doris knocked out a sure point for Valley to give the X-Men 2 gift points and some life. The Xtreme could not capitalize on that gift. With the score tied a 9 the Valley Girls finished them off with a pair of points in an 11 – 9 game one victory.

Game 2 and Bull didn’t know who to sit as all the Xtreme sucked big time in the first game. One thing was certain though, the Inspector was coming in, and since he couldn’t play alone, and Buster wasn’t available, Bull decided it was the Mop who would sit, but like I said before, anyone could have sat. The Inspector, who hadn’t played in while, could not be any worse as New Valley Tavern stood pat as Cindy did not want any parts of this match. Come on Cindy, this is supposed to be fun, ya gotta get in the game! And it was a good thing the Inspector got in the game as he brought some confidence to the X-men. He and Bull posted a quick pair, as Adam and Chino did the same. Then the Inspector was right back at it, as his first roll was wearing the pallino and he and Bull posted another pair. The Xtreme led 6 – 0 before New Valley could eke out a point in each of the next two frames. Now with the score 9 – 3, Mop told Chino to squash ‘em and rub the toe in! Adam and Chino obliged and posted another pair to win the game 11 - 3.

Game 3 and both captains left everything the same as once again Cindy wanted no parts of this match! This one started of a little closer, much to Mops dismay as he was hoping for another quick one. After 3 frames the score stood at a 3 – 2 New Valley Lead and it look like we were in for another tight one. Judy and Doris proved a tough match once again for Adam and Chino. But the Inspector, once again was all over the pallino, and taking care of business at the far end with the Bull as they forged a 3 – 3 tie. Adam and Chino, now inspired by the Inspectors play, managed to post a point a frame for the rest of the game while the inspector and Bull just missed a bell ringer and posted 3 big points to build the Xtreme lead to 9 – 3. Adam and Chino then added another single point. Then fittingly the Inspector finished it off with another masterful pallino roll as he set up his ball right in front. New Valley fired off all four balls and could not get close as the Xtreme extend their winning streak to 7 in a row.

Week 7 and the Xtreme are once again without the services of The Inspector who was off attending some sort of secret meeting. This is bad news as The Inspector is the Xtreme’s resident schmoozer. A very important role against an all girl team as witnessed in week one when again without his services, the Xtreme lost to the other all girl team, Princess of Joe Pesci. So Buster volunteers to fill the role of schmoozer. Now if you know Buster, well, you know this is not a good role for him. In fact his schmoozing skills border on, well let’s just say a notch below insulting. But, we’ll make due. I’ll give him this though—Buster can barbecue some mean shish kabobs. He and Nancy brought them along with a nice refreshing fruit salad.

Xtreme win the toss and the pallino while the Babes choose the blue balls. Mop and Bull are set to roll at the far end against Lisa and Nancy while Chino and the Adam were ready to battle Cathy and Roe. And I do mean battle as both Cathy and Roe had their game faces on. The usually social pair was all business tonight and after a tight couple of frames the score stood at 2 – 2. Chino and Adam then broke through as Chino knocked out Cathy’s ball to post a 3 bagger. But Lisa and Nancy were tough on The Mop and Bull as they posted a 3 bagger of their own to tie the score back up. It was a good tight match. Even Rob the referee would stop his sideline conversation every once and a while to watch. Sometimes he would even measure! Then the Xtreme got hot. Or as Lisa put it, they got lucky. Anyway you look at it, Adam and Chino posted another 3 bagger and Mop and Bull posted a 3 bagger of their own and that sealed the deal as the X-men win 11 – 5.

Game 2 and the Babes keep both of their side the same while Bull put Buster in for The Mop. Yes, Buster was rolling against Nancy. Well, she must have warned Buster big time cause I didn’t hear a peep out of him the whole game. But it didn’t matter cause Adam and Chino rang the Bell twice in this game while Lisa and Nancy accounted for both Babe points in the 11 – 2 Xtreme victory.

Next game: Inter-league play begins and the Xtreme square off against New Valley Tavern at 6:30 on court #2!

Week 6 has The Inspector arriving early to get in some early practice. Chino and Lisa arrive with Buster and some delicious sausage scaloppini. Adam and Bull are there warming up as the Mop shows up to round out the Xtreme Team.

Xtreme win the toss and the pallino while Primo takes the blue balls. Mop and Bull are set to roll at the far end against Dave and Johnny Russo while Chino and the Inspector were ready to battle Joe and Brian (not the Brian of “He rolled “A Brian” fame”). The match gets underway and the Xtreme find themselves in a quick 2 – 0 hole. Over the next 2 frames Chino and Inspector get the X-Men on the board while Mop & Bull tie up at 2. After that nothing went right for the X-Men. Either the rolls turned up a half of a roll short of point, or they would knock Primo in for point. Before you knew it Primo was leading 7 – 2, all one point at a time. It was painful. Then something clicked. First, Inspector chipped the pallino up court and away from two potential blue points and Chino followed with 2 nice rolls to post 3 for the Xtreme. Then, Mop and Bull amazing duplicated the feat and also hung a 3 spot on the board. And just like that it was an 8 – 7 Xtreme lead. Primo then roared right back with single points in each of the next 2 frames to go back in front 9 – 8. Now, with Primo in for 2 points and out of balls, Chino looks down at the pallino sitting between 2 blue balls. He threads the needle, takes the pallino and just like that it was 2 for white. Unfortunately, Chino could not lay his last ball for the win, but Mop picked him up in the ensuing frame. He tossed out the pallino, and then got his first white ball up close and personal. Dave and Johnny fired all four of their balls off target and the Xtreme win game one 11 – 9.

Game 2 and Primo was standing pat with their sides while Bull sat in favor of his son Adam, and Buster came in for The Inspector. This time the Xtreme jumped out on top as Chino and Buster were feeling it, as were Mop and Adam, as their hot streak carried over from last week against Produce. The Xtreme were picking up points left and right as the scores mounted quickly. Despite the encouragement of Brian (yes, this time it was the Brian of “He rolled “A Brian” fame”) yelling “stay in front of the Pauline!” Yes, apparently Brian calls the Pallino, Pauline. Anyway, it didn’t help as the Xtreme built a 9 – 2 lead. Now, with 2 white balls in for match points, Johnny Russo chipped out the Pallino and put blue in for one. Mop just needed to take out the blue for the victory. He tapped it but not enough to clear it and Primo still had life. In the following frame Buster had the X-men in for point with Joe down to his last roll. And he put out a beauty; he tapped out Buster’s ball and set the Pallino right between two blue balls. And just like in game one, Chino threads the needle, takes the pallino and just like that—2 white points, game and match to Xtreme.

Xtreme win a huge come-from-behind victory against the “new look” Plymouth Produce.

Week 5 arrives as does “The Inspector” with a couple of Angelo’s pizzas to go along with some good roast beef supplied by the Sabia boys and some awesome chicken from Ralph of Plymouth Produce. And yes, the Xtreme were set to play their arch nemesis Plymouth Produce. But this was not the same Plymouth Produce we have come to know. Teddy, Carl and Chris were out and Anthony must have spent the entire off season scouring the area looking for some top notch free agents. His search delivered him Norristown legends Squeaky and Armando to go along with the ever steady Ralph (thanks Ralph, the chicken was indeed awesome).

Plymouth wins the toss and the pallino and the Xtreme choose the white balls. Mop and Bull were set to roll at the far end against Armando and Ralph while Chino and Buster were ready to roll against Squeaky and Anthony. The match began with each player basically out rolling the previous roll. For the first 7 frames no team could tally more that a point a frame but still the Xtreme found themselves in an early 5 – 2 hole. That’s when Armando, with his aerial assault, and Squeaky, with his precision rolling, took over and out scored the Xtreme 6 – 1 the rest of the way on to an impressive 11 – 3 game one victory. It wasn’t as if the X-men were not rolling good, it was just that they were being out rolled by Plymouth.

Game 2 had Plymouth Produce standing pat with their sides while Bull sat in favor of his son Adam, who was their showing off his lovely girl friend. This time the Xtreme came out to post the first point as Chino and Buster upped their game a notch, while Mop did the same with Adam coming out on fire. Still the competition was fierce and after 5 frames the Xtreme lead was slim at 3 – 2. But buster became master of the pallino as his first rolls were getting up close and personal with the pallino. Squeaky and Anthony would use 2 and 3 balls just to get in leaving Chino the chance to pick up one or two points a frame. Adam was all over the pallino as well, but Armando would just drop in one of his aerial bombs to obliterate the point. But Mop was tough rolling in the anchor position, as he chipped out some of Ralph’s clutch shots as well. It was definitely a nip and tuck battle as the score stood 7 – 7 when Buster played a little hide the pallino to give the X-men an 8 – 7 advantage. But the next frame Armando made a huge shot to chip out Mops ball and put Produce in for three and still a ball in hand. One more would give Plymouth a bell ringer and match. But his last roll fell one revolution short and the Xtreme still had life. With the score now standing at 10 – 8 in favor of Plymouth, Anthony sent the pallino all the way down court and set up his roll pin high, about 10 inches away. Buster first ball went long but did not touch the back wall (very important). His second went too wide and it was now up to Chino to try to keep the game alive. He sent his ball down court and covered the pallino like a solar eclipse. Anthony and Squeaky fired their remaining ball at it, but to no avail. Chino fired his last ball at his own white ball knocking it and the pallino down toward Buster’s deep ball for two points, to tie the score at 10. Next frame and Adam lays out a beauty of a pallino and puts his ball about 8 inches past it. Ralph’s first attempt is too wide. His next is a beauty right in front to get in for point. Adam calmly proceeds to shoot it out, restoring his original ball back to being in for point. Nice clutch shot Adam! Armando then lays in a beauty, pin high to get in for point. Mop then rolls and it’s just a bit too wide. But his second roll is a beauty, and in for point. Nice clutch shot Mop! One ball left, and it’s Armando’s. After much discussion and advice from Anthony, Ralph and Squeaky, each with their own strategic advice (remember we are tied at 10 so this is potentially match point for Plymouth) finally Armando decides to shoot out Mop’s ball. Bomb’s away as he smacks Mop’s ball, but nipping the pallino in the process as well sending it down to the far corner were Mop’s ball is waiting. Point and game to Xtreme and we head to the rubber match.

Game 3 and Bull has Xtreme stand pat but Plymouth make a change and Melissa is in for Ralph. Buster rolls out the pallino way down court and puts his first ball about pin high. Melissa and Anthony use up their entire arsenal trying to get in, but fail, leaving the door wide open for you know what. And Chino does have digital with him, so why not just RING THAT BELL as the X-men stake themselves to a big 4 – 0 lead. Next frame and Adam and Mop are so inspired that they hang a 2 bagger up on the board. The Xtreme, now totally in control of game three, cruise to an 11 – 2 romp and win the match.

Next game: Xtreme look to continue their winning ways playing a much appreciated early match against Primo.

Xtreme deal the “Big Deal” a 2 – 0 defeat. Or maybe we should call them the “Medium Deal” since only 3 of them showed up.

Week 4 and Chino was refereeing the Bocce Babes match when the Mop Mobile rolled up and out pops the Inspector (Yes Carl, you are the inspector), Adam (with the news captain Bull is at a banquet) and of course “Joey The Mop” with a nice Angelo’s Pizza (yeah, baby!). Buster then arrives, forsaking his daughter’s graduation (now that’s "Xtreme" dedication).

Now, here’s a first… Dan flips the coin, which unbelievably landed in the Ref Tommy’s cup of wine. Tommy had to hold up the cup and look underneath to see the underside of the coin (tails) which meant it was heads up and Xtreme win and of course take the pallino.

Game 1 has Chino and Buster at the near end set to roll against Tommy (Game 1 walker) and Dan (Diehl), while Mop and Adam are ready to do battle with Tommy (Game 1 walker) and the other Dan (Murphy). After 3 frames the Xtreme find themselves in the familiar position of playing catch-up as they trail 3 – 0. Chino and Buster get serious and quickly turn it on and post a pair. Buster keeps his head in the game despite the taunting of Bocce Babe Roe as she tries her best to rattle Buster. Apparently Buster did some rattling of his own last week during the Babe’s match. What? Our Buster? Annoyed someone? Can’t be. Anyway, I digress, back to the match and Adam & Mop keep up their end of the roll and also post a pair. Chino and Buster post another pair and just like that the X-men have a 6 – 3 lead. A see saw battle ensues for the next few frames to bring the score to 8 – 7 before the Xtreme take over to seal the “Big Deal”, and win by the final score of 11 – 7.

Game 2 and Captain Bull after arriving fashionably late has determined that since the Xtreme won game one, he'd keep the sides intact. The only thing he wanted to change was Big Deal’s walker to Dan Diehl. What a stroke of master strategy, as the X-men deliver the knock out blow 11 – 2. The game was highlighted by Mop and Adam getting their first Bell Ringer together. And the match point decided by Buster, rolling a little “walk the dog” to play hide the pallino behind his white ball. Big Deal's Tommy and Dan fired their last two bullets at it, but to no avail, as the Xtreme improve their record to 3 – 1.

Next game: Xtreme look to continue their winning ways against the new look Plymouth Produce (A few familiar Norristown Bocce faces have been recruited).

Week three and the X-men have yet to have the entire squad together, as it’s Mop turn to miss a week. Sciacci win the toss and take the pallino, Xtreme take the blue balls.

Game 1 has Chino and Buster at the near end set to roll against Tommy and Ray, while Bull and Adam are ready to do battle with Cart Man and Andrew (yes you heard his radio spots on WIP for Totaro's Restaurant). The game gets underway and Chino and Buster show you how to start a game. Yup, that’s right, a Bell Ringer and a 4 – 0 lead. The Xtreme grow that lead to 7 – 0 before Sciacci even gets on the board. However, now it was Sciacci’s turn to go on a run. Thanks to Tommy, who is deadly with the pallino, Sciacci score 6 straight points to close the gap to 7 – 6. Bull and Adam post a point to stop the bleeding and get the pallino back to Buster. The X-men never look back as they go on to win. 11 – 6.

Game 2 and Chino and Buster keep to the near end to roll against Tommy and Andrew as Ray is out (not that he did much while he was in) an finally the Inspector at last makes his 2008 debut as he rolls with Bull against Noodle and Char. Again the X-Men are out to a quick 2 – 0 start, however they can’t pull away as Char is Sciacci’s best player and she is carrying her team. A see saw battle all the way until, with the score 8 – 7 in favor of Sciacci, Inspector and Bull end the game with a Bell Ringer. That’s right…a dinger to start the match and on to finish it! Way to go Xtreme!

It’s 8:00 pm. Do you know where you team is? That’s the question Chino and Bull were asking. No Inspector (again). No Adam (school). No Buster (plumbing) No Mop (oh wait, here he is, rolling in fashionable late again). Can you say “walker”.

Game 1 and Sabia has chosen Bull to walk leaving the near side without a pallino roller as Bull and Chino both like to roll anchor. The strategy paid off well for Sabia as the blast the Xtreme in game one 11 – 5.

Game 2 Buster finally shows up, all disheveled from his plumbing ordeal. Although I must say that plumbers putty on his hands really improved his game. Hell Chino and Buster even had the first Bell Ringer of the season and that was enough to stake the X-men to a lead they would not relinquish as they went on to win 11 – 6.

Game 3 and Sabia comes out smoking. Looking to build upon their impressive week 1 win against the new look Plymouth Produce. They are spanking the X-men something fierce. With the score 7 – 2 and the Xtreme in need of a spark, Buster rolls a beauty to knock out 2 potential Sabia points and Chino follows with a nice couple of rolls to give the Xtreme 2 points. Mop does the same at the far end as he chips out a Sabia bocce to set up the second bell ringer of the season and just like that the X-men score 6 straight points to take an 8 – 7 lead. A see saw battle ensued from that point on to really make it a nail-biter. With the score 10 – 10, and Sabia with their ball right in front of the pallino, Chino then hits the Sabia ball and sends the pallino all the way down court about 6” from the back board. It is still a Sabia point though as Chino needs to get his last ball past the closest Sabia ball. He does as his ball comes to rest about 2 feet from the pallino. Matt has one ball left and can win it for Sabia with a roll that gets past Chino’s ball, but doesn’t hit the back board. Matt rolls, and it looks good, however it just misses the pallino and just taps the back wall. Tough break Matt. Xtreme get their first win of the 2008 season and to boot every team on Thursday night is now 1 and 1.

They say it’s not how you start, but how you finish. And last season the Xtreme finished as champions. But for the third year in a row the Xtreme start with a loss. This year’s opening match opponent was Le Princi Pesse, you know Phyllis and her gang of dancing gals.

Game 1 had Chino & Adam rolling at the near end against Phyllis and Joyce, with Bull & Mop at the far end against Jodie and Lynn. And before Chino could get a bite of Lisa’s delicious sausage and pepper’s the “Pesse’s” were up 4 – 0. Alright, time to get serious. Bull and Mop get Xtreme on the board with a pair and Chino and Adam follow that with a pair of their own. From that point on, Xtreme put it into cruise control and finish game one strong, holding the gals to only one more point. The X-men win it 11 – 5.

Game 2 and Chino and Buster pair up while Adam heads for the far end to roll with Mop, while the gals just switch ends. This time, before you could say, “hey, were the hell is the Inspector?” The Pesse’s had carved out another 4 – 0 lead. Once again the Xtreme have to kick it into gear as Chino and Buster just miss a bell ringer to post 3 points and Mop and Adam hang on a pair to take the lead. However, unlike game one, the Pesse’s don’t go away. They battle back and once again take the lead. What’s going on? These gals have been practicing! The see-saw battle continues as the score stands 10 – 9 in favor of the Pesse’s. Buster already has one in for the X-men and Chino has two balls to roll to ice the game and match. Both rolls come up short as he leaves the door wide open for the gals. And they finish it with a nice roll by Lynn to cinch the win. 11 – 10.

Game 3 and, are you kidding me? The Pesse’s once again have jumped out to a 4 – 0 lead! It’s another see saw battle and we have to tip our hats to the girls who never gave up. They battled hard and earned a nice victory. Congrats Ladies!