Big Break NFL 6: The Infamous Doleman Double

On Big Break NFL last night, we saw some good shots, some bad shots and some really ugly shots…

The Good – Shannon’s 7 point score from 125 yards; too bad she wasn’t “good enough” in the eyes of her team leader to own a double

The Bad – Al’s attempts at up and down.  It just was NOT his day and subsequently not his team’s either

The Ugly – Chris Doleman’s “shot” at his team when speaking to Al Del Greco on the first challenge.  I have no idea how big the NFL sacker’s feet are, but he seems to have no trouble sticking them both into his mouth at the same time.  Maybe that’s what James meant when it called Chris’ play the “Infamous Doleman Double”. 😉

When the day finally ended with Team Del Greco (and one of my favorite players, Stefanie Kenoyer) taking, what has been called, the “walk of shame”, I relived Tim Brown’s words from last week, “I hate this show!”

I guess the silver lining is that two of my other favorites are living to see another day.

Just caught up with Stefanie Kenoyer. She’s been a very busy Big Breaker since leaving Puerto Rico.  It’s great to know that you don’t have to walk away with the trophy to capitalize on what this show has to offer.  Listen in to hear her thoughts on her last day and what awaited her after Big Break was over.  Looks like just the beginning to me!

Not sure if I’ll connect with Emily this week, but hopefully she, Brian and Stefanie will be back next week to recap the excitement and drama Big Break always offers.

In the meantime, please read Blue Falcon’s analysis of the show and let us both know what you think.

Golfgal

Blue Falcon’s Analysis of Episode #6: Circle Route

As promised in last week’s trailer for this episode of “Big Break NFL Puerto Rico”, one team was eliminated in last night’s episode. That team was Team Del Greco. Team Doleman continued to sink further into the quicksand and one player finally stepped forward. Read on for the highlights…

The Immunity Challenge in this episode involved, once again, an approach shot to point circles on the green. The caveat this time: one of the three locations would be worth double points. The teams would have to nominate the hole where double points would be scored before they hit from that location. The three teams with the highest point totals would gain immunity. The other three teams would go on to the Sudden Death challenge.

The first location was a 106 yard fade shot out of the rough, behind a bush, under a tree, nothing but net. Team Doleman started with Chris deciding to go for double from this location, in either a stunning display of hubris or part of his master plan to exert pressure on his team, which he did by missing the green on his first shot.

His second shot landed in the two point circle to gain Team Doleman 4 points and the continued enmity of his “teammates”, Brian and Shannon, neither of whom were happy at all with Chris’ decision.

Isaac from Team Rice hit two shots with a lot of speed which missed the circles but stayed on the green to gain 2 points.

Al played for Team Del Greco. His first shot went into the tree, his second into the greenside bunker. The donut for Team Del Greco.

James also went double for Team Rypien. His first shot barely missed the green, but he made a strong recovery on his second shot to gain 3 points, x2 equaled 6 points and the lead at the time.
Will was next for Team Brown. His first shot was long of the green; his second shot rolled out of the circles for a1 point total.

Marc tried to get points for Team Bulger; however, he hit the tree on his first shot and airmailed the second shot long to gain a horse collar: 0 points.

The second location was from 125 yards in the fairway. This round was ladies only. Stefanie chose to make this a double point location and accumulated 8 total points-2 on shot #1 and 6 on shot #2. Team Del Greco’s total after two locations: 8 points.

Zakiya came next for Team Bulger and she was, as she has been pretty much all season, money. Zakiya picked up two 3 point shots, doubled up for 12 points, putting Team Bulger in the lead for the moment.

Mallory represented Team Brown and she also chose to make this a double point location. Her first shot gained 2 points; her second gained 3 with a lot of urging from her teammates. Doubled, Mallory’s total: 10 points. Team Brown’s total: 11 points.

Team Rice’s Emily also took double points here and posted 5 points to take Team Rice to a total of 12, putting the team in a tie with Team Bulger.

The rock star of this round was Team Doleman’s Shannon Fish, who nailed a 3 and 4point shot to add 7 points to Team Doleman’s total, bringing them to 11 thru two locations.

Attention! Attention! We have a Meghan Hardin sighting! She finally showed up to play in this round, with two 3 point shots to bring Team Rypien into a three-way tie for the lead with 12 points.
The third and final location was from 160 yards in the fairway. Oren from Team Del Greco gained 5 points on his two shots. Team Del Greco’s final tally: 13 points.

Tim Brown represented his team well with 5 total points on his two attempts, giving Team Brown 16 points and, at the time, the lead.

Brian came up for Team Doleman. His two shots totaled 4 points, giving Team Doleman 15 points, and second at the time.

Team Bulger was next. Chad stepped up with 4 points, giving Team Bulger 16 points, tying Team Brown for the lead.

Team Rice sent Jerry out. His first shot was pulled left into the greenside bunker; 0 points. His second attempt only gained 2 points, giving the team 14 points and guaranteeing their place in the Sudden Death challenge.

Team Rypien finished up, with Mark making 3 on his first shot. His second shot flirted with missing the green, but stayed on, giving Team Rypien 4 points for the challenge, a 16 point overall total and immunity.

The Sudden Death challenge involved getting up and down from 5 locations. One player from each team would try to get up and down in two shots. Locations 1 & 2were worth 1 point, 3 & 4 two points and the final location was worth 3 points. The team with the lowest point total at the conclusion of the challenge would receive a loss. Because Teams Del Greco and Rice each already had a loss, another loss would send one of those teams packing.

Location #1: Oren, Chris and Jerry attempted to make their up and down. Oren putted to about two feet; Jerry’s chip rimmed out, and Chris also putted to about 3 feet. All three players made their up and downs, with Jerry’s putt doing a 270 degree spin but falling. Each team gained 1 point from this location.

Location #2: Al, Emily and Shannon competed. Shannon hit the best chip of the three players. Only Shannon converted her putt, giving Team Doleman a 2-1-1 lead after two locations.

Location #3-2 points for successful up and down. Stefanie, Isaac, and Brian played from this location. Once again, only one player made the putt, and that was Isaac. Through 3 locations, the score: Team Rice: 3. Team Doleman: 2. Team Del Greco: 1.

Location #4: also 2 points for up and down. Oren, Shannon, Emily are the representatives for their teams. None of the players hit good shots to the green, and none made their up and down. The score remained as it was after the third location.

Location #5-3 points were on offer. Playing for their teams: Stefanie, Brian, and Isaac. Isaac was the only player to make a good chip shot. Brian missed his putt, giving Team Rice immunity. That left Stefanie to decide her team’s fate. She missed her putt and that dealt Team Del Greco a second loss, and they were eliminated from Big Break NFL Puerto Rico.

Now, the weekly grades:

Team Brown: To borrow a title of a Meat Loaf song : “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.” Tim and Mallory pulled their weight this episode, but Will was the weak link this time around. He and Tim have basically both been in the cashew corner for much of the series. Mallory has had her ups and downs, but she’s been more consistent than they have. However, it was a good week overall for Team Brown. Score: 8.5.

Team Bulger: Once again, Zakiya was the star for Team Bulger. I admit I’m surprised by her performance. I will never be a fan of her wardrobe choices, but I can give credit where credit is due, and right now, she is the strongest individual player of anyone this season. Chad has also had some good moments.

The same cannot be said, however, for Marc Bulger. He stunk this episode. There have been far more low-lights than highlights for him this season. The way the game is set up right now, one player can carry the team. It remains to be seen if Marc can bring his game up to match his teammates. Right now, I doubt it. Score: 9.

Team Del Greco: The first team eliminated from Big Break NFL Puerto Rico. It’s sad to see them go, but truthfully, not terribly surprising. I’m not sure there was an episode when Al, Stefanie and Oren all were hitting on all cylinders, and they really stubbed their collective toes in the Sudden Death challenges. Somebody always has to be first out in these shows, and sadly for them, Team Del Greco was the first. Score: 5.

Team Doleman: Once again, Chris Doleman was in his usual Captain Bligh mode of trying to get the best out of his team. Yes, the team doesn’t have a loss yet, but this approach is clearly wearing on Brian and Shannon and eventually, one or both will falter. Chris clearly cares only about the end result, and like General William Tecumseh Sherman during his March to the Sea, he doesn’t really care about the acres of scorched earth he’s leaving behind.

Major kudos to both Shannon and Brian for showing spines of steel when faced with the emotional cruelty they have to endure. Both played really well this episode, Shannon especially. Score: 8.

Team Rice: Emily and Isaac both had good moments this episode. Jerry was saved by his made putt in round 1 of the Sudden Death challenge. They may have the best chemistry of the teams, but they too struggle to find consistency, especially Emily and her putter. Will that come back to haunt them in the future? Score: 7.

Team Rypien: For the first time this season, all three players on a team played well in the same episode. If Shannon is the rock star of this episode, the pleasant surprise award goes to Meghan, who has done absolutely nothing to write home about until this episode. James and Mark hope Meghan can continue to mine this vein of good form into the future. Score: 9.

Next week, Chi Chi Rodriguez appears and there may be some fireworks between rival players. That comes your way next week.

Until then, I remain…

Blue “Cha Cha” Falcon