Exciting Eight: Battle of the Balance Second Round

We had it all in the opening round of The Battle of the Balance: nailbiters, blowouts, surprises, and snoozefests. Now there are only eight, and we expect even more excitement.

Here are the Exciting Eight players, the match-ups, and our predictions:

The Dynamo vs. The Mariner

Jeff "The Dynamo" Renier is coming off an emotional first round victory. Ahead most of the game, he struggled in the second half against Chris "The Rhody" Poirier. Down by two, time running out, and Poirer in possession - things were looking pretty bleak. But Jeff's surprise steal and half court shot as time expired clinched the one point victory. A legend was born. The question, now, is will there be a let down in round two - or does Jeff have the mental toughness to continue his highlight reel heroics. Well, they don't call him Dynamo for nothing.

Sarah "The Mariner" Wait had some heroics of her own in round one. In a defensive struggle, Sarah found herself behind to Jessie Lu "The Brand" Galbraith for most of the first half. But in the second half, everytime Jessie Lu put up two, Sarah responded with a three. She was shooting cannons from thirty feet out with deadly accuracy. She won by ten going away. But which Sarah will show up for round two - that's the question. With the first round jitters behind her, The Mariner could cruise. 

Prediction: Mariner dims Dynamo

The Masseuse vs. The Red Dragon

Melissa "Masseuse" McCaffrey likes to rough you up. She starts by lulling you to sleep, then she really starts working you over. That's exactly what she did to Andre "The Body" Gremillion in round one. Behind at the half, the Masseuse came out and it was nothing but a full Body beatdown. She hit high. She hit low. She loosened up the wings with some threes and all the Body could do was lie there and take it. The Masseuse walked away with a 79-57 payday. But in the Exciting Eight round, how do you massage a Red Dragon?

The first round match-up between Victor Earl "The Arrow" Godfrey and Louise "The Red Dragon" Mahar was just plain ugly.  The Red Dragon was too big and too fast. She flew up and down the court - but she never took the three. She was relentless to the hole. If she wasn't flying around the Arrow, she simply stomped right over him. And that was the Arrow's best scoring - taking the offensive foul. Like I say, it was ugly.... and one can only wonder: can anybody stop the Red Dragon?

Prediction: Red Dragon scorches Masseuse

The Kid vs. The Dude

Dan "The Kid" Gudmunson has an attitude - and in their first round game, Rollie "Who's your Daddy" Raper got no respect. Even in timeout, The Kid would just glare at him. But that killer attitude allowed him to run Who's your Daddy ragged. By the end of the game, the look on Who's your Daddy's face was one of total exasperation and cluelessness. And you would think that with a final 57-50 score this was a close game. But it was very clear to all in da house who was in control of this relationship. Watch out for the Kid!

With Ira "Redwood" Rothholz height advantage, you would have thought Joe "The Dude" Gordon didn't have a chance. Actually, it was the other way around. The Dude was slick. Redwood was tall, but the Dude cut him down to size. With smooth speed, silky screens, deft passes, and fluid form, The Dude ran circles around the Redwood. It was like Redwood was rooted to the ground. The Dude scored early and often on his way to a comfortable 83-53 victory. Question is, who can stop the Dude?  

Prediction: Kid trips up Dude

Hood River vs. The ATC

Clint "Hood River" Harris is an unknown. Didn't know much about him coming into this tournament, and after his calm and quiet 50-42 victory over Sara "Back in Motion" Eldebeck, we still don't know much about him. He just seems to keep rolling along - nothing spashy, just a relentless flow that erodes his competitior's will to win. You can't be soft when facing Hood River. All we can say is, if an opponent wants to have any chance of beating him, they'll have to give a dam. 

I think we saw perhaps the best game of the Super Sixteen round when Ryan "The ATC" Palmer met Carrie Lee "The Rebel" Baker. It looked like the ATC had the Rebel all wrapped up in the first half, but then the Rebel started running. She was red hot from all over the court. The ATC tried icing her with a blanket defense, but the Rebel kept a comin'. With no obvious answers as to how to treat the onslaught, the ATC tried to hang on long enough to send the Rebel's fanny packing. The game saw two overtimes. With 10 seconds remaining in the second overtime, the Rebel was called for charging. Fans on both sides erupted - there was pandemonium everywhere. And in the midst of it all - there was the Rebel yelling at the ref. Technical! More of the Rebel yelling.... More technicals!! Amidst all the yelling on the court and pandemonium in the stands, the ATC quietly stepped to the line and sank seven foul shots in a row. As the buzzer sounded, the ATC had himself a 74-67 victory. But the question is, can he sink 'em against Hood River?

Prediction: ATC stops Hood River

We've made our predictions - and we don't know any better than you do who's going to win - now it's time for you to make your predictions. Tell the world....