Season 44 Featured Game No. 10...Dallas at Charleston...and Hall of Fame quiz

Dallas 69, Charleston 68
DEMONS WIN 1-POINT THRILLER TO GAIN PLAYOFFS
CHARLESTON -- Late-game heroics by second-year superstar forward Chip Battoe earned the visiting Dallas Demons the final playoff spot as they edged the Charleston Mountaineers 69-68 in a showdown game that more than lived up to expectations.

As was fitting for the competitive contest this was, Charleston had the ball in the closing time units, down 3, with Player of the Game Flip Testerton taking a 3-point shot that would have tied the game. The shot was off, but Testerton rebounded, and with no time left to do anything else, put it back in as the buzzer went off, giving Dallas a one-point victory.

Dallas and Charleston both ended the season with 7-3 records, but the Demons held the tie-breakers. The Mountaineers thus become just the second team to not make the playoffs with 7 wins. The other was also Charleston.

The East is a bitch.

PLAYER OF GAME
Fifth-year small forward FLIP TESTERTON of Charleston kept his team in the game for much of the second half, scoring and handing out assists. The 6-5 leaper tied for game-high scoring honors with 20 points and led everyone with 5 assists, while grabbing 3 boards and blocking 1 shot. He was 10 for 15 from the floor (0 for 1 from deep and 0 for 1 from the foul line). If there was any doubt that he joins Chip Battoe at forward on the All-MBA team, this game removed it. It was his fourth POG this season.

Other 20-plus GVP performers
-- Behemoth Demons center Gotoo Grot had a monster game that matched his 7-2 size at the exact right moment for Dallas. Grot, who came into the game averaging a little over 10 points, scored 17 points against the best defensive center in the game while cleaning the backboards for a game-high 8 rebounds. He also dished 1 assist and blocked 1 shot.

-- Sure to grab his second MVP award in as many campaigns, Dallas forward Chip "the Crip" Battoe turned on the juice late in the fourth quarter to tie for game-high in scoring with 20 points. His quick-as-shit drive late in the game turned into a 3-point play that was a turning point for Dallas, tying the game when they had been down five just a few time units prior. The league's premier shot-blocker rejected a game-high 6 shots and added 1 assist. When Frog Morton of Charleston was killing Dallas in the first half, Battoe switched over to guard him and shut the rookie down. That was the key move of the game by coach Tyler Masterson.

-- Charleston shooting guard Cat Timol did a little of everything for the Mountaineers in this game, and was especially effective scoring in the first half. Timol scored 15 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, dished 3 assists, blocked 1 shot and was game-high in steals with 2.

-- Charleston's rookie forward Frog Morton scored 15 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, had 1 assist and blocked 1 shot, with most of the scoring coming in the first half before Battoe switched to him defensively.

NEXT UP: The anti-climatic final game of the regular season, a cross-over, with Milwaukee (2-7) at Los Angeles (5-4). Milwaukee needs to upset The Big One to even up the cross-over games, or The West will come away a rare winner in this regard. Milwaukee point guard Fatty McButterpants is in a dead heat with Dayshotta Leo for All-MBA and needs a big game in order to earn the right of slapping that star on his card.

BONUS QUESTION ON QUICK HALL OF FAMERS
In answer to Tyler Masterson's question as to how many of the 48...soon to be 49...Hall of Fame members gained the distinction in their first six games in the league, we will answer with a quiz.

The short answer is 17, which is approximately 35 percent of the current members of the Hall (which is more than I thought it would be). It would be unfair to have quiz participants name all 16, so we will list 26 players and ask which which 9 players did not achieve MBA immortality within six seasons. Here are the players.

Name the nine imposters.

Forward -- Gato DoMato

Forward -- Bub Wright

Center -- Alex Pal

Guard -- Ginger Vampire

Forward -- Ceasar Seizure

Guard -- Tommy Zoop

Forward -- Art Vandelay

Center -- Tom "the Bomb" Kondla

Guard -- Cheetos Jones

Forward -- Link Lennex

Guard -- Naf Naf

Guard -- Joey Two-Tones

Guard -- Shucks Oyster

Center -- Mable Reed

Guard -- Wes Montgomery

Guard -- Hrundi V. Bakshi

Guard -- Soul Duran

Guard -- Jalapa Valley

Center -- Diamond Dallas Paige

Forward -- Cam Bodia

Forward -- Sagittal Occlusal

Forward -- Guru Gannon

Forward -- Gulemon Mon-Mon

Forward -- Curly Hogbottom

Forward -- Boone Doggle

Guard -- Cappy Gambol

Season 44 Featured Game No. 9...Los Angeles at San Jose on Dayshotta Leo Day

Los Angeles 78, San Jose 72 (Dayshotta Leo Day)
BIG ONE PUTS DAMPER ON AMIGOS' DIVISION HOPES
SAN JOSE -- The home team Fighting Amigos, behind guards YourMajesty Lumpkins and Dayshotta Leo, put on a mad crunch time rush that fell short as the visiting Big One from Los Angeles registered a 78-72 victory, halting a five-game winning streak by the home team. The teams split the season series.

L.A., boasting the MBA's statistically best defense, stifled the league's second-best offense in the first half to lead by 10 at the halfway mark. They took a 12-point lead into the final quarter, which San Jose could not cut into until late. But the Amigos got to within 4 points and in possession of the ball with 13 time units remaining. San Jose's Egg Yolk Carpaccio took an ill-advised trey that missed, Anurag Dickshit of Los Angeles hit a short J and the game was sealed.

Los Angeles is now 5-4, tying its best win total since moving from Houston to La La Land (they went 5-5 in Season 40, their first on the West Coast),

San Jose is now 6-3, with its chances of maintaining first place in the West considerably diminished.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Yet another late-season triple-double was delivered in this game, this one from Los Angeles' second-year point guard DR. MARCUS BRODY, who captured his first POG this season. Last season's All-MBA guard as a rookie was struggling offensively this sophomore campaign, averaging just 12.6 per game and shooting just 40.4 percent. But he looked like last season's version of himself in this win, getting 16 points, tying for game-high in assists with 5 and tying for team-high in rebounds with 5. The 6-1 Brody was 5 for 9 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from deep, delivering many a back-breaker for the opponents. He was also 2 for 2 from the foul line. Brody also tied for most blocked shots in the game with 2.

Other 20-plus GVP performers
-- Seventh-season Los Angeles forward Baba Brinkman led everyone in scoring with 20 points while pulling down a team-high (tied) 5 rebounds and adding 1 assist. He dominated rookie Cam Caldwell of San Jose.

-- San Jose point guard YourMajesty Lumpkins led his team in scoring with 19 points, grabbed 2 boards, had 1 assist and 1 steal in a spirited battle with Brody.

-- Honored by the hometown fans with a halftime ceremony that noted his six illustrious seasons in San Jose, shooting guard Dayshotta Leo started slowly ON HIS DAY before picking up the pace in the fourth quarter to finish with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and tying for most blocked shots with 2.
"The way I played in the first half," he said, pointing to his 2 for 12 shooting at the break, "I deserved to be shot in the head."
Leo plans to be a delivery man for a dry cleaning establishment upon retirement at the end of this season.

-- San Jose center Hunk R. Down also had a rough first half, taking just two shots and scoring 0 points in the first half. But the 7-footer played with passion in the second-half near-comeback, ending up with a game-high 11 rebounds, scoring 12 points, getting 1 assist and tying for game-high in blocks with 2. It's safe to say he got much the better of Los Angeles center Chutcher Mouthchair.

-- 6-10 San Jose power forward Egg Yolk Carpaccio finished with 14 pooints, 4 rebounds 1 steal and tied for most blocked shots with 2.

HONORING LEO
Noted at halftime was the six superb seasons Dayshotta Leo had while playing for his only club, the Fighting Amigos.
A steady scorer, the 6-5 guard has led his team in scoring three times, including this season. His lowest points per game campaign was 14.1 in the one season he was injured. He was never under 15 per game since, and expects to exceed his best season average of 18.2 this season. He is currently averaging 19.1 this campaign and is in position to retire after earning his first All-MBA star.
They begged him to stay another season, at least, but the streets of Cicero, where he plans to launder more than clothes, are calling.

NEXT UP: Sacramento (6-2) at Seattle (3-5). The River Dogs can move back into first place in the West with a road win here. They gobsmacked the Stampede 88-47 in their first outing behind POG Doo-rag Dripp.