Victory -- Thy Name is Formerly Kelly's

Autumn had begun its annual squat on the Lower East Side, descending into places public and private, squalid and merely dusty. The air had a chill, and day hurried into night. Avenue A had settled into what passed for its nocturnal charm, and the lonely band of heroes formerly known as Kelly's One made its way to the septic sinkhole called the Double Down.

Originally a bar for mongoloid twins, the Double Down had transmogrified itself over the years into a seedy pit of heavily distorted three-chord despair. (A seedless version is being developed in Japan, rumors say.) This night, however, it would serve as an arena for blood combat -- Week Four of Pool League.

Are you not entertained?

Tim Malloy sportingly offered his first game as a sacrifice to the pool gods, before setting off on an impressive streak. He ended with a break and run, and our team was up 1-0. Double Down evened the score against Max Ernst, who was distracted by the, um, colorful 70s movies playing on the TV above the pool table. Kevin Tran improved his record and Formerly Kelly's was up 2-1. In a match marked by unconventional score-keeping, Danny Irizarry won (and also had a break and run), and victory was ours. In her first appearance of the season, Morgen Peck forgot about picking apples and banged balls bravely. Her opponent prevailed, though, most likely by cheating (or perhaps the use of magic).

Now here's where it gets complicated. 

Above are the league standings for last week -- although the records for four teams (including Formerly Kelly's) were not updated. So our victory over Bad for the Balls was not included. By my math, our victory would put us in a tie for third place. (There's also a rumor that teams get a bonus point for winning. If that's true, then we're tied for second.) With our victory over Double Down, we should have either 14 or 16 points. As the Shamrock Rovers beat Formerly Kelly's Three, they should have either 16 or 17 points. Double Down should have 14 points. So we should still be in second place -- either tied with Double Down or holding onto it exclusively. And we should only be a point or two out of first. 

A special shout-out goes to Sam Hubball, who provided much needed cheer and bench strength. In the summer season, Formerly Kelly's routinely forfeited matches when we couldn't field a five-man team. (We also had that problem in the first game of the season.) But for three matches running, we've had a full complement and one on the side.

Formerly Kelly's. Bigger and deffer.