No rest for the wicked, it was all hands on deck last night for the Barstool basketball team.
The depleted roster welcomed the challenge, and embraced the next man up mentality.
Off the bench, Gia Mariano and John Rich were essential pieces of interim coach Kennedy’s game plan.
While Kennedy comes from the Klemmer coaching tree, there were immediately noticeable differences in coaching philosophy.
The two veteran players were like a jazz musicians, improvising something beautiful on the fly.
It was incredible to witness.
Like brain damage, rec league glory is forever.
Energy couldn’t have been higher going into the locker room.
Tommy Smokes was quick to point out that Coach Klemmer NEVER brings special treats.
Unfortunately for the team, halftime broke momentum.
The increased workload had the team looking drained.
Being forced to play Tom Thibodeau minutes wore down the entire roster.
Players without the ball stopped moving, and the team started forcing up shots.
This allowed the other team to creep back into the game.
This is when the game got chippy.
The score was 31-29 Barstool, and that’s when the tension in the gym hit a crescendo.
The Barstool bench fell silent with concern for Mush who remained down on the ground.
With blood flowing, Marty got up and admitted that the contact was his fault.
That’s when the ref yelled, “We need a sub.”
“What are you doing, you idiot?
Gia, get in there.”
When the team was down and needed a basket to take the lead, who did they turn to?
The team’s superstar.
The man who averaged a double double in high school, Mr. 10 and 10, Dana Beers.
Beers drove to the hoop and was fouled.
With the score 32-31, Beers could essentially win the game by hitting both.
Unfortunately, it has been well documented that Beers has the yips on free throws this season.
Through two games he is shooting a Shaq like 50%.
When Beers stepped to the line, the gym was completely silent.
The shot first shot went up.
The second shot went up.
Bricked off the back of the rim.Blue Ballersget the rebound.
The final possession was an incredible team effort from a group of individuals that looked absolutely gassed.
No overtime in this carnival of a rec league, tie game, final score 32-32.
Or, is this a mental issue that could be fixed through hypnosis?
The problem has been identified, it’s now on team Barstool to execute.
scheduling notespring league sucks for basketball fans.
This was the second game of the season that went up against a massive college basketball game.
Oh well, got home with 10 minutes to go in first half.
Shout out 9:20pm start times that everyone hates.
