Fired up after our poor performance on the crappy tables last week, the Cobras were all in early - yes even CB - and in uniform - yes even CB - ready to wreak havoc on this week's opposition, the Grey Guns.
"Fire up Cobras" called Pick as he arrived, the Lucassi with all its various attachments bristling skyward like a farmer with a shotgun waiting for crows.
"Fire up Cobras" muttered Pup in reply as the Mezz potted balls with the speed and rhythm of a sewing machine.
"Fire up Cobras" whispered Hooters as she stroked ball after ball lovingly into the inviting holes that awaited them with her Stuart special.
"Fire up Cobras" said CB, flicking his thongs disdainfully towards the door and playing his pub cue through the balls as if he was dancing to an unseen samba rhythm.
"Fire up Cobras" intoned Diddy with a glassy stare, whipping his Meucci black dot back and forth through the clustered pack with wild abandon.
Time passed slowly as the fever built.
By the time 7.30pm arrived, the Cobras had fired themselves to white hot and were hissing with adrenalin.
But no opposition.
By 7.45pm the Cobras were spitting venom all over the tables, their cues and each other.
Still no opposition.
Diddy called Jase to establish if we had heard from them, as 8pm was officially the deadline for a forfeit.
Jase was able to raise the captain, who had mutinied and departed his own ship. He was no longer playing and didn't seem to care if the team was in or out.
Nor, to be frank, did the Cobras.
They hissed in frustration and spat their team fee into an envelope, taking a forfeit and max points for the round.
Next week they face the Lucky Commando's who hold 2nd spot. The week after they face the Lucky Breaks who lead the zone.
The rest might do them good...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
WEEK 10 - Tuesday, 20/04/10.
As we hit the midpoint of the regular season we found ourselves at the Pioneer in Penrith playing the Jack Daniel boys.
CB wasn't able to play due to some personal commitments and we'd picked up Dux to cover for him. Dux, a mate of Pup's, had performed well for us when filling previously and was a solid potter of the ball.
The ace in the hole for the Jack Daniel side wasn't their 27.5 ranked player Ian, as good a player as he was. Nor was it the fact that they were one of the few venues that still played on the old style pub tables. The not-so-secret weapon for Jack Daniel was that the Jack Daniel tables had amazing rolls, dips, twirls slows, staggers and stops.
This ensured that when a brave or foolish soul forgot him (or her) self and played a slow shot towards a distant ball, they were assured of something quite magical that they were not expecting and usually did not want, often resulting in a ball in hand or even loss of game.
Surprise!!
The reasonably well credentialed Jack Daniel side gave the Cobras a 35 point start at the top, with the Cobras retaining the 7.5 down the bottom thanks to Hooters.
In the first round Dux and Pick started us off with wins. Diddy looked set to do likewise, but nervous to play a soft shot on his last ball before the black, he opted for power, missed his ball, which then performed some amazing moves as it ricocheted down the table, before striking some of his opponent's balls, before they in turn struck the black, which also engaged in some physics defying maneuvers, before sinking itself gently in the corner pocket. At the end of the 1st, the lead was 29.
It was the Dux and Pick Show as they made again picked up wins in the second, but despite their efforts, the losses in that round cut the lead to 19.
Hooters gave us our sole win of the 3rd as things went from bad to worse and we were 2 behind going into the 4th.
Diddy finally got on the board in the 4th but one win was never going to stem the tide and we were 20 in the red as we faced the final round.
We saved the best for last, with Dux, Pick and Diddy all picking up wins, but the damage was already done.
And so the Cobras suffered our 2nd loss as a team taking us to 80% win/loss halfway through the comp, on what was a very frustrating night.
Jack Daniel Pioneer 215 - Eastern Creek Cobras 199.5.
Dux had the best for & against for the night in his 3 wins and Pick was again the best of the fulltime Cobras and the only one who was positive for the night.
While we've hit the halfway point for the comp, we have some tough teams we have yet to play for the 1st time.
In 2 weeks time we're away to the Lucky Breaks (current comp leaders) and the next week are home to the Lucky Commandos (currently second). Both games will be tough games against top teams.
We're also facing 3 games without Pick, including a very tough return bout with Unfinished Biz.
On the flip side, we should pause and acknowledge how well we've done in the first half of this comp.
As a team, we're 8 wins from 10 games. 80% is a fair winning percentage for any team.
We've been in 2nd or 3rd place in our zone thus far and will remain in 3rd even after this loss.
Individually there are some performances worth celebrating.
Pick has led the for & against and the win/loss percentage every week from Week 1 and is every bit the inspirational Cobras leader we expected. Handicaps aside, Pick is indisputably the best Cobras player week in week out.
In terms of for and against, in 10 weeks Pick has scored almost 200 points (197) more than he has had scored against him. Well behind in the land of double figures are Diddy (79) and CB (56).
When you look at games won, Pick has won 80% of his games (same as the Cobras team), followed by Diddy who has won 68.89% and CB who has won 57.50%.
But in this league we all play off handicaps that intrinsically influence everything, so how we play against our assigned handicap is also worth considering. When you factor in the opposition handicaps against our handicaps and then adjust, it reveals the value that lesser lights provide to the team.
On a week-by-week basis, Hooters has led once handicaps are taken into account on 5 occasions, Diddy on 4 and CB has chipped in with 1 as well.
Overall Diddy has managed the most consistency against his handicap with an adjusted total of 106, followed by Hooters on 97 and Pick on 83.
We have some tough games coming, but for now we're probably best to take it one week at a time and our next challenge is hosting the Grey Guns at home. We're due a win, so the Cobras will need to fire up!!
COBRA SCORECARD
FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
5. Hooters: (-20) -76.
4. Pup: (-33) -10.
3. CB: (0) +56.
2. Diddy: (-10) +79.
1. Pick: (+3) +197.
Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = +16.
5. Pick: (+20 minus +16) +4
4. CB: (+10 minus +16) -6
3. Diddy: (+7.5 minus +16) -8.5
2. Pup: (+7.5 minus +16) -8.5
1. Hooters: (-7.5 minus +16) -23.5
FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
4. Pup: (-33 minus -8.5) -24.5.
3. Pick: (+3 minus +4) -1
2. Diddy: (-10 minus -8.5) +1.5
1. Hooters: (-20 minus -23.5) +3.5.
WIN/LOSS%
[Player Name: (W/L) W/L%]
5. Hooters: (19/31) 38.00%.
4. Pup: (24/26) 48.00%.
3. CB: (23/17) 57.50%.
2. Diddy: (31/14) 68.89%.
1. Pick: (40/10) 80.00%.
Cobras Draw – Las Vegas 1
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/las-vegas-1-roster-draw.html
Cobra Stats Explained
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/03/cobra-stats.html
Cobra House Rules
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/cobra-house-rules.html
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
WEEK 9 - Tuesday, 13/04/10.
Pup was there when I arrived at our home, the Eastern Creek Tavern. As usual Pick was not far behind, nor was Hooters, with an assortment of future pool sharks in tow.
CB as usual arrived late and without his uniform. We now knew he'd misplaced his shirt and Pick brought him another - hope he fixed the Pick man up for it :-)!
We gave the Bidwell Boozers 40 at the top, but we retained a 7.5 margin at the bottom courtesy of Hooters.
In the first Pup, Diddy and Pick picked up wins, with Diddy's 10-1 being eclipsed by Pick-s 10-0 and the Boozers were 28 in front.
In the 2nd Pup, Hooters, Pick and CB all picked up wins, with Diddy being the only loser for the round, reducing the Boozers lead to 15. That was to be the last game any Cobra lost for the night.
From the 3rd round onwards, the Cobras won every game, so it was simply "pick the margins" to identify the best of a very strong team performance. To put this in perspective, this was one more win than we picked up in our first round demolition of the Carousel Inn Hustlers.
Pick's 2nd 10-0 for the night was the pick of the 3rd round performances, followed by Pup's 10-3 effort. At the end of the 3rd we'd gone from trailing by 15 to leading by 15.
CB's 10-2 was the pick of the 4th, followed by Diddy's 10-3 and we were 45 in front going into the 5th.
Pick's 10-3 capped a great night as the Cobras annhilated the Boozers for max points.
Eastern Creek Cobras 241.5 - Bidwell Boozers 165.
So Pick led the way again, winning all 5 to be 37 up for the night, while Pup also won all 5 and was +24.
COBRA SCORECARD
FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
5. Hooters: (+14) -56.
4. Pup: (+24) +23.
3. CB: (+14) +56.
2. Diddy: (+20) +89.
1. Pick: (+37) +194.
Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = +1.
5. Pick: (+20 minus +1) +19
4. CB: (+10 minus +1) +9
3. Diddy: (+7.5 minus +1) +6.5
2. Pup: (+7.5 minus +1) +6.5
1. Hooters: (-7.5 minus +1) -8.5
FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
5. CB: (+14 minus +9) +5
4. Diddy: (+20 minus +6.5) +13.5
3. Pup: (+24 minus +6.5) +17.5.
2. Pick: (+37 minus +19) +18
1. Hooters: (+14 minus -8.5) +22.5.
WIN/LOSS%
[Player Name: (W/L) W/L%]
5. Hooters: (18/27) 40.00%.
4. Pup: (24/21) 53.33%.
3. CB: (23/17) 57.50%.
2. Diddy: (29/11) 72.50%.
1. Pick: (37/8) 82.22%.
Next week we're away to Jack Daniel!!
Cobras Draw – Las Vegas 1
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/las-vegas-1-roster-draw.html
Cobra Stats Explained
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/03/cobra-stats.html
Cobra House Rules
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/cobra-house-rules.html
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
WEEK 8 - Tuesday, 06/04/10.
I was first into the St Marys Brewhouse on game night, closely followed by Pick, Hooters and Pup.
CB as usual arrived close to start time and without his uniform. I was starting to wonder if he was proud to be a Cobra, but CB said he'd misplaced his shirt when he finally turned up, so all was forgiven :-)!
We gave the Brewhouse a 20 point start at the top, but as Amanda from their lineup was sitting out, we retained a 7.5 margin at the bottom as well.
We started well, with Diddy, Pick, CB and Pup all picking up 1st round wins, to leave us just 9 behind at the end of the first.
However the 2nd round was not as convincing, with only Diddy and Pick picking up wins, so despite Pick's being a 10-2 effort the margin drifted to 13 on the back of 3 losses.
In the 3rd Pick, Pup and Diddy all picked up wins and CB and Hooters only lost on the black ball, so it was a strong round and we were only 1 behind heading into the 4th.
The 4th saw CB, Pup and Pick pick up wins. Diddy lost his 1st game of the night when he went in off after sinking the black and the Cobras took their first lead of the night - 4 points - into the final round.
Wins by Diddy and Pick and black ball losses by Pup and Hooters (along with that 7.5 at the bottom) were enough for the Cobras to squeeze home.
St Marys Brewhouse 204 - Eastern Creek Cobras 213.5.
Pick led the way again, winning 5 to be 24 up for the night, while Diddy (winning 4) and Pup (winning 3) provided strong support on the night.
COBRA SCORECARD
FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
5. Hooters: (-21) -70.
4. Pup: (+7) -1.
3. CB: (-3) +42.
2. Diddy: (+16) +69.
1. Pick: (+24) +157.
Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = +5.
5. Pick: (+20 minus +5) +15
4. CB: (+10 minus +5) +5
3. Diddy: (+7.5 minus +5) +2.5
2. Pup: (+7.5 minus +5) +2.5
1. Hooters: (-7.5 minus +5) -12.5
FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
5. CB: (-3 minus +5) -8
4. Hooters: (-21 minus -12.5) -8.5.
3. Pup: (+7 minus +2.5) +4.5.
2. Pick: (+24 minus +15) +9
1. Diddy: (+16 minus +2.5) +13.5
WIN/LOSS%
[Player Name: (W/L) W/L%]
5. Hooters: (14/26) 35.00%.
4. Pup: (19/21) 47.50%.
3. CB: (19/16) 54.29%.
2. Diddy: (25/10) 71.43%.
1. Pick: (32/8) 80.00%.
Next week we're home to Bidwell Boozers!!
Cobras Draw – Las Vegas 1
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/las-vegas-1-roster-draw.html
Cobra Stats Explained
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/03/cobra-stats.html
Cobra House Rules
http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/2010/02/cobra-house-rules.html
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