WEEK 3 - Tuesday, 27/07/10.

This week we returned to our old home, the Eastern Creek Tavern, to front the Hustlers and I was after blood. I told Pup I wanted max points against them and Pup got the boys revved up before the start of the game.

Hooters confirmed that she would be leaving in approximately 10 weeks, so we were hoping she would play all of those games, thus qualifying for any finals and might be able to pop back for them if all went well!

The Hustlers had absolutely no points - none at all - so we gave them 35 at the top and we had 7.5 down the bottom.

In the first round we started off on fire and were undefeated with Dux's 10-2 demolition of Ozzie the highlight and we had reduced the margin to 9.

In the 2nd Diddy and Millsy lost narrowly (6 and 7), but Pup, Hooters and Dux all won handsomely and we took a 6 point lead into the 3rd.

The 3rd was like a replay of the 1st with us all winning our games, Dux's 10-1 effort the pick of the round and we were 34 points ahead going into the 4th.

Diddy failed to sink a ball off the break, then had to watch while a guy off zip potted out without missing a shot. Luckily a narrow loss to Dux and wins by Pup, Hooters (both 10-4s) and Millsy kept us in the hunt and 36 points clear going into the 5th and final round.

Millsy and Pup both lost on the black, and once Hooters and Dux won their games it was a 47.5 point margin. Max points beckoned, but Diddy needed to win. Diddy ran out on Frank 10-3 to record the best result for the 5th and max points were ours!

Eastern Creek Hustlers 176 - Bidwell Bombers 230.5.

So in summary on the night:
- Best outright f&a was Hooters with +27.
- Best handicap adjusted f&a was Hooters with +19.5.
- Best win/loss% was Hooters with 5/5 (100%).
- Dux had a magnificent return to form with 4 dominant wins.
- Pup also won 4 to continue his excellent start to the season.
- Diddy again struggled to find early form & had a run out against him, but still ended up with 3 wins and a positive for & against.
- Millsy settled in his 2nd week, winning 3 and looking capable of going on with it.












BOMBER SCORECARD

FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
5. Millsy: (+8) -1.
4. Diddy: (+3) +6.
3. Dux (+25) +16.
2. Hooters: (+27) +24.
1. Pup: (+19) +28.

Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = 0.
4. Diddy: (+10 minus 0) +10
4. Millsy: (+10 minus 0) +10
2. Dux: (+7.5 minus 0) +7.5
2. Pup: (+7.5 minus 0) +7.5
1. Hooters: (-7.5 minus 0) -7.5

FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
5. Diddy: (+3 minus +10) -7.
4. Millsy: (+8 minus +10) -2.
3. Pup: (+19 minus +7.5) +11.5.
2. Dux: (+25 minus +7.5) +17.5.
1. Hooters: (+27 minus -7.5) +19.5.

WIN/LOSS%
[Player Name: (W/L) W/L%]
5. Millsy: (4/6) 40%.
5. Dux: (5/5) 50%.
3. Hooters: (7/3) 70%.
2. Diddy: (6/4) 60%.
1. Pup: (8/2) 80%.

Bombers Draw – Las Vegas 2
http://bidwellbombers.blogspot.com/2010/07/las-vegas-2-draw.html

Bomber Stats Explained
http://bidwellbombers.blogspot.com/2010/07/bomber-stats.html

Bomber House Rules
http://bidwellbombers.blogspot.com/2010/07/bomber-house-rules.html

WEEK 2 - Tuesday, 20/07/10

We were rostered home again against the Grey Gums Chargers and Dux was bringing Millsy who was the newest recruit to join our team. Hooters was still prepared to play for the short term, so together with Pup and I, we had a team.

We gave the Chargers 20 start courtesy of some strange handicapping, but in any case there it was.

In the first Millsy and Dux lost on the black and Pup picked up the only win for the round, meaning we trailed by 32 going into the 2nd.

The night got even worse, with Millsy and Diddy picking up wins and Hooters and Dux black ball losses to leave us 35 adrift entering the 3rd.

Black ball losses to Millsy and Diddy and wins to Pup, Hooters and Dux made the 3rd a better round, but we were still 27 behind going into the 4th.

Millsy and Dux lost on the black again and Diddy and Pup picked up the only wins in the 4th meaning that we were chasing a challenging 30 points from the final 5 games.

Pup Hooters and Diddy all picked up wins, but alas it was not enough and we were 1 win (by forfeit) and 1 loss (by 28 points).

Grey Gums Chargers 234.5 - Bidwell Bombers 206.5.

So in summary:
- Best outright f&a was Pup with +9.
- Best handicap adjusted f&a was Hooters with +7.5.
- Best win/loss% was Pup with 80%.
- Pup led the way in Week 1 with 4 wins (nice job Pup)!
- Hooters (courtesy of her handicap) provided the best overall value for the team.
- Diddy struggled at the start, but still ended up with 3 wins and a positive for & against.
- Dux had some bad luck and with a bit of practice (and perhaps some work on backspin, haha) will return to his usual winning ways.
- Millsy showed great promise for his first run, potting well and being very competitive, which bodes well for the season. He matched Dux and I'm confident will keep us all on our toes as the season progresses.

The 4 guys have locked in for the season and I think Hooters will play until she moves if we twist her arm and we still have Louise and the Reapers spare player prepared to sub in if needed, so while we'd like to pick up a spare, we're set for now.












BOMBER SCORECARD

FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
4. Millsy: (-9) -9.
4. Dux (-9) -9.
3. Hooters: (-3) -3.
2. Diddy: (+3) +3.
1. Pup: (+9) +9.

Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
Opp Av = 3.
4. Diddy: (+10 minus +3) +7
4. Millsy: (+10 minus +3) +7
2. Dux: (+7.5 minus +3) +4.5
2. Pup: (+7.5 minus +3) +4.5
1. Hooters: (-7.5 minus +3) -10.5

FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
5. Millsy: (-9 minus +7) -16.
4. Dux: (-9 minus +4.5) -13.5.
3. Diddy: (+3 minus +7) -4.
2. Pup: (+9 minus +4.5) +4.5.
1. Hooters: (-3 minus -10.5) +7.5.

WIN/LOSS%
[Player Name: (W/L) W/L%]
4. Dux: (1/4) 20%.
4. Millsy: (1/4) 20%.
3. Hooters: (2/3) 40%.
2. Diddy: (3/2) 60%.
1. Pup: (4/1) 80%.

Bombers Draw – Las Vegas 2
http://bidwellbombers.blogspot.com/2010/07/las-vegas-2-draw.html

Bomber Stats Explained
http://bidwellbombers.blogspot.com/2010/07/bomber-stats.html

Bomber House Rules
http://bidwellbombers.blogspot.com/2010/07/bomber-house-rules.html

WEEK 1 - Tuesday, 13/07/10.

Jase kindly gave us the bye for the 1st round so that we had a bit more time to organise a team.

Or at least that's the way it was meant to go, until Jase called on Tuesday afternoon to advise that Adam had put another team into the Colyton Hotel and we were playing them at the Clock that night.

After a mad scramble we confirmed Diddy, Pup and Dux were in, Hooters not only agreed to come, she brought Louise with her and we had a team.

Unfortunately the Colyton pulled out just prior to game time.

Bidwell Bombers +15 (max points) - Colyton Hotel 0 (forfeit).

And so the Bombers began with the equal best performance of the round.












BOMBER SCORECARD

FOR & AGAINST
(This Wk) Cumulative
N/A

Opposition Adjusted Handicaps
[Hcp minus Opp Av]
N/A

FOR & AGAINST (Opposition/Handicap Adjusted)
[F&A minus net OAH] This Week Only
N/A

WIN/LOSS%
[Player Name: (W/L) W/L%]
N/A

Bombers Draw – Las Vegas 2
http://bidwellbombers.blogspot.com/2010/07/las-vegas-2-draw.html

Bomber Stats Explained
http://bidwellbombers.blogspot.com/2010/07/bomber-stats.html

Bomber House Rules
http://bidwellbombers.blogspot.com/2010/07/bomber-house-rules.html

BOMBER STATS

BOMBER SCORECARD EXPLAINED

Where to begin?

Handicaps.

Every player playing in the 8ball league is assigned a handicap. Handicaps are designed to create an even playing field. In theory if people are handicapped correctly and they play to their handicaps, results would be very equal in any encounter.

To explain For & Against etc. let's start with a simple example.

Example.
- Dux’s handicap is 7.5.
- Dux wins his first game 10-5.
- Dux loses his 2nd game 7-10.
- Dux loses his 3rd game 4-10.
- Dux wins his 4th game 10-2.
- Dux wins his final game 10-7.

For & Against.

For & Against tells each player how they went on the night (or over the course of the competition).

To get Dux’s “for” you add up the points Dux scored. In this example Dux scored 10, 7, 4, 10, 10. So Dux’s “for” is 41.

Similar to get Dux’s “against” you add up the points scored against Dux. Dux had 5, 10, 10, 2 and 7 scored against him, so Dux’s “against” is 34.

Dux’s for & against subtracts the amount scored against him (34) from the amound Dux scored (41), so in this example, Dux’s for & against is +7.

Handicap-Adjusted For & Against.

For & against tells each player how they did on the night, but does not provide feedback on how they are playing compared to their handicaps and therefore how valuable the player's performance is to the team. The only real way to compare the performance of players on different handicaps is to take their for & against and subtract their handicap from it.

In this example Dux’s handicap is 7.5. A handicap is a representation of skill level (out of 30), but more importantly, it is the free points given to the opposition for that player. Ideally each player will aim to get these free points back through the games they win and their for & against.

So in this example, we’ve already established that the for & against is +7. As Dux’s handicap is 7.5 (points given to the opposition), his adjusted for & against is -0.5 on the night in question.

Dux's performance can now be compared to that of his team mates, when their For & Against and handicaps are evaluated, using this method.

Opposition/Handicap-Adjusted For & Against

The one thing that Handicap-Adjusted For & Against doesn't do, is tell us how we should have gone against our opposition, assuming the handicaps are representative of skill level.

In order for us to more closely match the way that the wizard views individual performance, we need to factor in the quality of the opposition.

To do this, instead of directly subtracting each person's handicap from their for & against on game night, we adjust each person's handicap against the average handicap of the opposition, and then adjust the net figure that results against the for & against on the night, to provide an adjusted for & against.

It's probably easiest to provide an example.

Let's say we're playing a team with the following handicaps: 5, 15, 20, 10, 10.

The opposition team's total handicap is 60.

Their average handicap (60/5) per player is 12.

The average handicap of the opposition is subtracted from our player's handicaps and then compared to their for & against for the night.

Here is how it would look for the Bombers players:

Diddy and Millsy are handicapped as 10. In this example, the opposition is 12, so Diddy and Millsy are expected to score -2 against this opposition. Accordingly 2 will be added to his total for & against for the night.

Dux & Pup are handicapped as 7.5. In this example, the opposition is 12, so Dux & Pup on their handicaps are expected to score -4.5 against this opposition. Accordingly 4.5 will be added to their total for & against for the night.

Hooters is handicapped as -7.5. In this example, the opposition is 12, so Hooters on her handicap is expected to score -19.5 against this opposition. Accordingly 19.5 will be added to her total for & against for the night.

If we return to our original example and add this information in it goes like this;
- Dux’s handicap is 7.5.
- Average opposition handicap is 12.
- Dux gets to subtract 4.5 from his F&A.

- Dux wins his first game 10-5.
- Dux loses his 2nd game 7-10.
- Dux loses his 3rd game 4-10.
- Dux wins his 4th game 10-2.
- Dux wins his final game 10-7.

- Dux's F&A is 41-34 or +7.

- Dux's opposition/handicap-adjusted F&A is +3.5.

Win/Loss%

Win/Loss% is simply a review of the games won versus the games played to give a % of games won. This provides additional information information about how each player is performing.

In this example Dux played 5 games and won 3 of them. This is a win/loss% of 60.

How to deal with a negative handicap (statistically speaking).

Females are provided with an incentive in the league and can be graded with negative handicaps ranging up to -10.

If you subtract a minus, you are actually adding this figure on. In the example of Hooters, if she has a F&A for the night of +7 and her handicap is -7.5, her real contribution to the team on the night is:

+7 minus -7.5 = 14.5.

This accurately reflects the additional value that Hooters handicap provides to her team on the night.

LAS VEGAS 2 - DRAW

A couple of things about team rotation when and if we are running with more than 5 players.

Please note that if you are unable to play at short notice we'll understand, but the draw will not be re-written, you'll simply play one less game than you were rostered to play.

If you're rostered off and don't have other plans, come along and support the team!

Our team roster for this season is Diddy, Dux, Pup, Hooters (1st half), KE (2nd half), Millsy & Scotty.

Here's our draw & roster:
WK DATE VS (Sub)
01 13/07/10 Colyton Hotel
02 20/07/10 Grey Gum Chargers
03 27/07/10 Eastern Creek Hustlers
04 03/08/10 Jamison Hotel
Scotty joins the team after relocating from the Ryde/Parramatta zone.
05 10/08/10 LA Shooters (Diddy out)
06 17/08/10 Embassy Hotel (Diddy out, injured)
07 24/08/10 Unfinished Biz (Diddy out, injured)
08 31/08/10 Vineyard Vultures (Dux out)
09 07/09/10 Grey Gun's (Millsy out)
10 14/09/10 Eastern Creek Rat Pack (Hooters out)
11 21/09/10 Jack Daniels (Hooters out)
12 28/09/10 Reapers (Scotty out)
Hooters goes to QLD, KE officially becomes the 6th member of the Bidwell Bombers.
13 05/10/10 St Mary's Brewhouse (Pup out).
14 12/10/10 Lucky Breaks (Millsy out).
15 19/10/10 Bidwell Boy's (Dux out).
16 26/10/10 Jack Daniels (Diddy out).
17 09/11/10 Eastern Creek Rat Pack (Scotty out).
18 16/11/10 Reapers (Pup out).
19 23/11/10 Grey Gun's (Millsy out).
20 30/11/10 Lucky Breaks (Dux out).

Remember in the absence of an agreed alternative, the 5 with the best handicap adjusted for & against will go into any shootout. Weekly updates on this will be here on the blog.

BOMBER HOUSE RULES

It's important to have some rules around how the team works.

BE COMPETITIVE. Remember we want to win games, so do your best. If all players are available, the top 5 players based on handicap-adjusted for and against will go through to any shootout.

BE SHARING. Any prizes etc. won at any shootout or team event will be split between all regular team members.

BE ORGANISED. Give your team mates as much warning as you can if you can't play and remember that the draw will not be re-written.

BE SUPPORTIVE. Even if you are not playing, you should support the team if you don't have other commitments. This applies to regular games but especially to shootouts.

BE POLITE. We can be competitive and still show good sportsmanship, so take pride in behaving politely to others and to each other.

BE PROUD. You're a Bomber! Wear your Bomber shirt on game day!

BE HAPPY. We do this for fun, so have fun!!

BOMBER BEGINNINGS

It all began when I got a call (I couldn't answer) and then a text message on holiday in Fiji from Pick, advising he and CB had decided to play with a different team next season.

This was a bit of a surprise, coming on the back of a season in which the team seemed to enjoy playing together, ran 2nd in the zone and were still in contention in the Las Vegas Shootout (for more on the Cobras season, refer http://cobras8ball.blogspot.com/).

It was also extremely short notice, as the message came on the Thursday prior to the new comp starting on a Tuesday.

Subsequent information confirmed that the 1st and 2nd teams in the zone had been cannibalised to form this new team. It appeared that this had been worked out in Vegas. All the players involved were there. Our king Cobra had snaked us good and proper!

This left some of the Lucky Breaks team scrambling for players. When Hooters confirmed she was planning to sit out the season, it left Pup, Dux and I scrambling for players.

There was a possibility we could pick up players if we moved to the Clock in Bidwell, so now we were being forcibly relocated as well, given Pick and his Rats were playing out of the Eastern Creek Tavern and given the league wanted to put the Hustlers into the Tavern as their 2nd team.

We were still in the run for the playoff, so on the Saturday we spoke briefly about it, but tried to put it behind us and focus on winning games. We won the 1st, but lost the 2nd and the Cobras were ended.

Luckily Moose and the Reapers offered to supply us with their 6th man if we needed it, Hooters agreed to fill back in to assist us while we found people and Dux had a mate who could play from the 2nd week, so we were hanging in there - just - as we morphed from the Eastern Creek Cobras into the Bidwell Bombers.

Millsy was the mate (also a mate of Pup's and Diddy's missus) and we subsequently picked up Scotty which was a very lucky find (to pick up a player of her calibre during a season).