By Mark Sinclair

Hollywood, California - The movie game has been good to me. It was tough at first, lots of ups and downs, the usual clawing and climbing, falling and fighting to get a shot. My breakthrough came about 8 years in, with a small part in Saving Private Ryan. After that, I was on the move, and before long I was a household name. In many ways, my rise to stardom is similar to the arc of the WLC BBALL League. Started as a single team in the VB City Rec League, the WLC BBALL League is now a celebrated feature of the community and talk is SZN VIII will include a documentary film crew. Rumor is it will be a cross between Hard Knocks and Project Runway. I'm not sure how it will all shake out, but I wish the film crews had been rolling during Week 2's games, because those boys were (pun intended) Too Fast, Too Furious...Too Formidable.

'
JUIC3 CR3W @ DAT SMOKE
The opener reminded me a bit of Tokyo Drift. A couple guys showed up to make it fun but it was mostly no-name actors and some cheap special effects. Like the film, on Sunday night, the performance of the Webb-Allen duo did its best to shut down the solo effort of Ferrone, who went bonkers in the second half with 15 points and 6 missed free throws. He did make one. In fact, JUIC3 CR3W went 1-9 from the line in the second half and conspicuously lost by seven.

The aforementioned Webb (18 points) and Allen (10 points, 15 rebounds) brought the kind of energy necessary to hit the corners just right in the final lap. Like a well-timed NOS boost https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8evWTty2Hc Webb-Allen gave DAT SMOKE the bit of fire it needed to hold onto its 5-point halftime lead. Like Tokyo Drift, the attendance was mediocre, and the missed opportunities were many. Sticking with our Free Throw Fallacy (and "F" alliterations), the two teams combined to go 6-23 from the charity stripe. There were more clanging rims in this game than an entire film's worth of street racing. On the plus side, JUIC3 CR3W got another blocked shot by Pale Johnson, and DAT SMOKE got 7 Boards apiece from Dr. Brown and Ken Dorsey.

'
EDKH @ BLNW
Like the early installments of our beloved franchise, Game 2 exploded from the start and took the established "experts" by surprise. BLNW welcomed the return of their Captain Earl McLaurin, but it was the duo of Sivells & Cooper who played like Dominic Toretto & Brian O'Conner. They combined for 24 points in the first half to stake BLNW to a 35-24 lead over EDKH. The slow start for EDKH was even more painful as Captain Baker had been telling the world they were the team to beat. For 20 minutes, it looked like EDKH didn't even belong in the league.

But just like Tyrese and The Rock showing up later in the series, Dworske and Butler came to race in the second half. I'm pretty sure they were redlining for a bit too long but they needed to give it all the juice they could to bring EDKH back. They combined for 23 of EDKH's 28 second half points, with Dworkse doing the opposite of Ferrone's free throw collapse. Davey hit 7-of-8 and he and Butler dropped in two 3's apiece. As EDKH edged closer, Captain McLaurin came flying up the backside, showing his old form as he scored 8 points in the final 8 minutes to give BLNW the 56-51 victory. A few notable achievements included the feisty and irrepressible Prisinzano who outdueled the normally spicy Baker on the boards, snatching 8. Omar Jackson came out swinging with two early 3's but fell silent the rest of the way. Next week, BLNW looks to stake their claim as top team.

'
Windy City Bulls @ 3's Company
The last game reminded me of Fast Five. Reinvigorated, recharged, and revving as hot as Mia Toretto's temper over Dom's incarcaration. Within minutes, 3's Company was winning pinks almost every trip down the floor and the Windy City Bulls were looking for a new transmission. Heck, they might need an entirely new car. I'd love to find a silver lining. After all, I've managed to stretch a concept about street racing criminals into nearly a dozen movies. After re-watching the game film and scouring the box score, the only positive from Sunday for the WC Bulls may have been Humphries double-double (14 points / 11 boards) or perhaps Andrew Kim's very solid play in limited minutes. Kim poured in 9 points and snagged 3 rebounds while providing a steady hand with the ball.

The dynamic duo of Bell/Thomas never really got going as 3's Co. only led by 5 at half time but put on a barrage of shooting in the second half. Led by Green Run's own Aiymaris Elliott, who bombed away for 24 points (six 3's) along with Posley's 17 (four 3's) and Holser's 16 (three 3's), 3's Company didn't need their usual top scorer Mike Cooper. Coop was happy to distribute, finishing with 9 assists to take a commanding league lead in that category, along with 8 points. When the race was finished, 3's Company matched their moniker, with a total of 15 three-pointers. Lest you think they are a bunch of selfish gunners, they also finished with the season high for team assists with 20. The true definition of a team, 3's Company now has 35 assists in 2 weeks. For comparison, the rest of the team totals in the sharing department are as follows: JUIC3 CR3W (21), DAT SMOKE (19), EDKH (18), BLNW (14), and WCB (11).

As always, the WLC BBALL League is unpredictable but formidable. And after the Super Bowl bye week, the second quarter of the season begins. It's going to get real, for real. Because sometimes, Daddy's got to go to work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eiDSjXkg8k