Wow, what a night. I am going to start this week’s blog with the Friday Funholio. A sold-out Backyard saw a record; 93 players came out to throw the Funholio while listening to King for a Day. The band did not disappoint as they rocked the house while everyone was enjoying the game we all love, cornhole. People were dancing and having a great time, and you could feel the energy in the room. A night like this is exactly what the vision was when the SCA started. It has almost been a year since the Backyard saw its first games, and it has been a great year of not only throwing but learning about the scene in Regina. Having a facility to host as many events as possible is a good thing and a challenge all at the same time. Our community has grown a lot in the last year, but with no shortage of events, the players can afford to miss an event because there is always another one just around the corner. The Backyard has had to adjust to ensure we stay fresh and exciting, and Friday night was an example of that.
May 25, 2024, is the next big event, and it will be a bigger and better Backyard Cup.
If you had a chance to talk to anyone who played for the Cup in February, you would know this is a must-play event. We opened up more spots this time around, as we have added two more captains. That is right, we will have four Captains with 15 players on each team. Bitsy and Bobber will join Newson and Caesar as they pick five players from each tier to form their team and play the Singles, Mixed Tier Doubles, Walking Doubles, and Tiered Doubles for a chance to call themselves the Backyard Champions. Registration is not open yet, but save this date in your calendar. You will not want to miss out on this event. Like any event, we need you, the players, to succeed, and this one will not disappoint.
Also, a reminder April 18, 2024, we have the Social Mixed event. We had 11 teams at the last Social event, so it will be fun to see if we can get to 16 teams. This time, there is a middle division, so hopefully, the social event will only be for social players.
This week’s play started on Tuesday night, as the Hawks and Pigeons soared into singles play. I look forward to this part of the season because everyone is gearing up for a final push before the Provincials and Nationals events to end the cornhole year. The players’ games improve weekly, and singles play is a great way to see if the practice has paid off.
The Pigeon division was once again front and center. After the round-robin, B-RAD and Oopsidacey were the only two undefeated teams, but again, the night was not won in the round-robin. Once the bracket started, Bonnie D found herself in the Queen Seat with three straight wins and a win over Joey, who was sent to the B-side to see if he could make it back to a rematch with Bonnie. Joey and B-RAD battled over 21 rounds before Joey finally put the game away. This would set up the rematch between the Queen, Bonnie D, and Joey. Bonnie did not waste any time in game one, jumping to a quick 14-0 lead. Joey tried his best to battle back, but in the end, Bonnie was too much on this night as she won 22-7.
TOP PPR
- Oopsidacey – 7.04
- Bonnie D – 6.97
- Shawn C – 6.88
The boards were proving difficult for most players in the Hawks play. Spilly fired 22 four-baggers on the night to take another win in league play but only managed an 8.19 PPR on the evening. Compared to the last couple of weeks, the PPRs were down considerably. Patches, who took me down in the B-final, went on to play Spilly to see if he could go back-to-back in Singles play but came up short.
TOP PPR
- Spilly – 8.19
- Caesar – 8.11
- Patches – 8.09
Wednesday night, the Penguins were throwing in a bring-your-own-partner format. Ten teams played, which is amazing because we see more and more new people coming to play every week. We have a few players that this will be their last season as a Penguin because they are throwing well enough to take flight as a Tier 4 Pigeon. This week, there were two teams that managed an undefeated record in the round-robin. Every Rose Has a Thorn, and the Chuckers were the teams that faced off to see who would sit on the throne. Marla and Bill won that game with the help of Bill firing a 7.67 PPR. When these two met up in the final, Kim and Joe turned it on and ended the night with a good old-fashioned double dip to take the win. These four not only are ready for Tier 4 but, with a little more consistency, could be bumping up into Hawk territory.
TOP PPR
- Kim – 6.87
- Rosie – 5.72
- Bill – 5.63
POWER RANKING
TIER 3 Power Ranking.
- Jonathan– did not play this week
- Spilly – With the win on Tuesday with very tough board conditions, he battled hard and moved up one spot.
- Patches – Andrew has been stepping up his game lately. His switch to the Pro-snipers also moves him up in my power ranking to number three. He is not here very much, but let us see if he can continue his great play and stay in the third spot or maybe even higher.
- Newson—I know he has been busy lately with a house reno and not getting to practice as much. I will bet money that he will not stay in fourth for long.
- Caesar – I moved Darren into my top five because I think he is on the edge of putting up some big wins. Darren always has a high PPR in the round-robin; once he can translate that into the bracket, look out.
TIER 4 Power Ranking. – we have a leader change. Keep in mind we still have a couple Pigeons playing this season in the Hawks’ division. Stich and Bonnie P are gaining valuable experience in Tier 3, and I think I will be tough to beat come August. This Tier is unbelievably good and we are at a spot where the discussion of who could take it all has 8-10 people in it. It will be fun as we move closer to Nationals if a couple can separate themselves, but I know my picks for this Tier to win it all in Nationals is growing.
- Bonnie Day—Bonnie did not beat B-RAD directly but did beat the person who beat B-RAD. Bonnie has been throwing lights out and is starting to see the results. I hope now that she has reached the top spot, she can not only keep herself there, but put some distance between herself and the others in this Tier.
- B-RAD—Brad had a bit of an off week, but he still deserves to be in the two spot.
- Oopsidacey—With high PPR on Tuesday, Mike is finding his way out of his little plateau. Mike knows when he needs a break and when to push for the next level, so I am keeping him in the three spot.
- Shawn—Shawn is in an interesting spot because his results do not necessarily put him in the fourth spot. I get to throw bags with Shawn regularly; it is a matter of time before he translates that into success or dominance in tier 4.
- Joey—Fresh from the Penguin division last season, he is making waves in the Pigeon coop this season. Joey’s intensity and desire to succeed make the possibilities endless. Look for Joey to be moving up these rankings.
Big Happy Birthday to Devin, Spilly and Randy who all celebrated their birthday on Friday night. Three great guys enjoyed their birthday in the greatest way to celebrate: Tossing bags.
