Playoff Time

Due to site maintenance, the blog has not been updated in quite some time. To summarize in short a lot of teams never made up some of their make up games so they were seen as forfeits. We started the playoffs Thursday night where Thumbs Up defeated Kung Fu Panda 40-22. Today is an intriguing match up of reigning champion Cougar Bait against Dump Em Out. Hometown Hero Jordan Weygand returns from his tour of Afghanistan and will be the X factor in this game.

Weekly Matchups: Saturday the Super Villain Squad vs. Cougar Bait

Cougar Bait (2-0)
4 Key Factors

• Dave Martin's ability to get open and score in bunches
• Ability to limit paint points by Lex Luther, Chad Earls, Jared Lang, and Kurt O'Sullivan
• Key offensive contributions by at least two others (most likely Mike Maloney, Matt Hooper, or Dave Glassman)
• Limit turnovers and fast break opportunites

Super Villain Squad (1-1)

4 Key Factors

• Ability to play in your face man to man defense
• Earn second chance points off of offensive rebounds
• Get shooters hot early Death Stroke and Mr. Freeze
• Ability to penetrate Cougar Bait's zone off the dribble and skip passing

The Commish's week 4 Gunslinger Games

This Week there are two great match ups occurring Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday No ID No Idea plays Thumbs Up. This should be a great match up  both teams are mirror images of each other. Both teams enjoy the three game and an uptempo fast break offense. The other game will be The Super Villain Squad against Cougar Bait. This game will be interesting when the preseason favorites play the defending champs. This also a rematch of lat year's championship game. This game will see if Cougar Bait is the real deal or not.

Later on tonight and during the week. I'll go over every match up this week with pregame analysis. Put me in the booth baby!

The Commish's Power Rankings: Week 2

These Rankings are a little late because most games were delayed.

1. No ID No Idea (2-0)- They cruised to their second victory and will have a big test with a make up game with Thumbs Up next week. Joey Wilkes, Malik Little, and the Hannon Brothers will continue to anchor this team.

2. The Super Villain Squad (1-1)- Their victory tonight against Thumbs Up bumps to number 2. They match up great on defense with their hieght and Chad Earls anchoring them. Lex Luthor was a strong surprise wince he missed game one. Timmy Laconte and Death Stroke play as great guards, and bigs Jared Lang and Kurt Sullivan are do it all players.

3. Cougar Bait (2-0)- The defending champs move up a spot but still have yet to be tested. This week will be interesting with them playing the Super Villain Squad and will prove if their really top tier material.

4. Thumbs Up(1-)- With an atrocious performance in game 2, they drop two spots. Their match up with No ID No Idea should be interesting. Doug Schlehuber and Steve Burrill need to lead the way in scoring to get them back on track with DAn Nagle orchestrating the offense.

5. The Tune Squad (0-1)- This team still hasn't played a game, but with the height they have, I don't see them losing many when they get on the court.

6. Dump Em Out(1-0)- They haven't played yet either but this roster will be interesting with the losses of Beatrice and Weygand. Saturday against Cougar Bait could get interesting.

7. The Dirty Burg (0-2)- If this team had their full squad they could do some damage. Chris Brooks has just checked in for scoliosis from carrying this team for the past two games.

8. Kung Fu Panda (0-2)- When looking at their schedule, it's tough to figure out where they could scrap a W. They should pray Chris Pinheiro can show up for a few.

We Finally Got Another Writer!

The Commish is proud to introduce the third writer to the blog. Defending champ Nick Schleicher is the Cougar Bait captain and will be writing for the blog. He's basically just like LED except he is literate, will post more than once a year, and can write better than a fourth grader. Nick will be a great addition because he can cover his team's games which I obviously don't attend unless we play them. It's about time he got on the staff since he is by far the biggest commenter on the blog. We're going world wide!

The Commish's Power Rankings: Week 1

With Week 1 under the belt, the Commish is going to start his annual league power rankings. I first want to say that rankings are not solely maintained on a team's record or the score of their games. Things considered are what teams a team has played so far, team improvement over the year, if players were missing during losses, and overall team talent perception. With this said here's what it looks like for now:

1. No ID No Idea (1-0)- I have to put them at No.1 for Week 1 because they took down the big bad wolf of the league in the Super Villain Squad. With the Hannon Brother Duo they can match up with anyone down low, and sharpshooter Mailk Little and fast break starter Joey Wilkes do a great job with their fast paced offense.

2. Thumbs Up (1-0)- Thumbs up thrashed the Dirty Burg, but that's not the reason they're in this spot. So far this team looks like the best shooting team in the league. Every player on this roster is a three point threat, and their transition game is the best in the league along with No ID No Idea. On defense they can match up with anyone. I'm not mentioning any players in this review for them because this team gets contributions by their entire roster. This weeks winner of their game with No ID No Idea will probably be No.1 next week.

3. Super Villain Squad (0-1)- Even with a loss in Week 1, the Squad is still looked as a championship level team. I can't picture Chad Earls allowing his team to lose many more games this year. With the presence of Jared Lang and Chad on defense, I just wonder why does a team that can match up with anyone just sit in a zone so much.

4. Cougar Bait (1-0)- The defending champs dominated Kung Fu Panda, but if they didn't they would have been much lower. That win is almost equivalent to the Perkins School of the Blind. Cougar Bait is a good team, but after Martin I just don't see many players that will be able to do something when they play a team that plays tough man to man defense right in their face.

5. Dump Em Out(1-0)- This team is my biggest question mark in the rankings. They won by forfeit in Week 1 and have major losses coming into the season. I'm very curious to see who they reload with. Truthfully, I don't see this team ever surpassing a ranking higher than No. 5.

6. The Dirty Burg (0-1)- This team looks like it will be on the verge of playoff contender all season long. they have scoring capability behind Chris brooks, but the wild card will be how many games will hustle machine Tom Mcdermott be able to make.

7. Kung Fu Panda (0-1)- Well this team doesn't lack any heart, that's for sure. But it's lacking talent by far. Hopefully Chris Pinheiro will be able to make some games because after Greg Ware, there is not another player that I can see to step up and control a game.

8. Tune Squad (0-1)- This ranking will skyrocket soon, but when you don't show up for Week 1 and didn't play last year I just have nothing to go by. I picture the Tune Squad to jump to around No.4 next week, but first they have to show up to a game.

Martin Leads the Way as Cougar Bait Tramples Kung Fu Panda

The defending champs started the season on the same note as last year. A victory. The score was never close with Cougar Bait having a halftime lead of 20-2. Kung Fu Panda woke up somewhat in the second half, with the game closing with a score of 40-15. Cougar Bait was lead as usual by utility man Dave Martin hitting threes, making key drives to the hoop, and pushing the transition game. Dave Glassmen was a force in the paint collecting boards like a prostitute collects condoms. Kung Fu Panda's fifteen points were mostly from the little three of Greg Ware, Derek Woodworth, and Kevin Traverse. With Week 1 under wraps, the NSHL looks like its on its way for an excellent year 2!

The Super Villain Squad

The next team on the list is the Super Villain Squad. Last year they made it all the way to the ship with a surprising upset by Cougar Bait. Known for their boring zone defense, the Super Villain Squad really clogs up the paint with their athletic big men in Lancer Division Player of the Year Chad Earls and Second Team All Star Jared Lang. They're run by Second Team All Star captain Tim Laconte, who's somehow snuck in First Team All Star Kurt O'Sullivan from the retired New England Warhammer. This team in no way lacks heights, rocking four to five guys that are 6'3 or taller.

They have cut some guys from last year but maintain role player Derek Dufresne. The main question is will the speedy guard Nevado be back, The Super Villain Squad looks like they're in good position for another run to the championship game but only time can tell. They also play opening day against No ID No Idea.