12.31.11

By BRYAN CLARK

Sports Editor

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) – The show must go on.  Despite being hospitalized with a severe migraine at 2:30 a.m., Bryan Clark – still wearing his hospital bracelet – played in the 2011 D.P. Dough Braggin' Rights 2-on-2 Basketball Challenge Presented by FantasyOlympian.com just hours later, helping Team Bryamy win the 10^th annual match-up with Team Torraveris 15-9, 15-4 at the McFarlane Center. 

“It reminded me of Willis Reed walking out of the tunnel in 1970 or Michael Jordan playing with the flu in 1997,” Jeremy Bridgman said.  “And by that I mean Bryan played like a guy with a limp and a severe illness.  It made my job a lot more difficult.”

Bridgman often found himself playing 1-on-2 against Dustin Torres and Lee Delaveris, as Clark stood on the perimeter and waived Bridgman into the paint.  Bridgman excelled, knocking down contested lay-ups and setting Clark up for open shots.

“Everyone wants to make a big deal of the fact that I played,” Clark said.  “But really, I didn’t do that much.  Jeremy ran the show. I got by today on my youth – it’s a good thing I’m playing against a bunch of old guys who need to take timeouts halfway through each game and rest for 30 minutes in between.”

Bridgman wasn’t the only one who made big plays.  Using a “new” offense designed by Torres, Team Torraveris kept it tight in Game One, playing a game that looked remarkably like basketball.  Relying on a series of picks and short, quick passes – allegedly inspired by the Denver Broncos’ offensive scheme with Tim Tebow – Torres and Delaveris played a pretty brand of hoops that led to open shots and easy lay-ups.  Torres and Delaveris also played with heart, fighting for loose balls, grabbing rebounds, and playing tough defense.  Team Bryamy never led by more than one or two points in Game One before pulling away late for the win.

In the end, it was Torres’ wife who correctly predicted the main problem with the new system.

“I showed my game plan to Gretchen one night at dinner with condiments and she said it was good in theory,” Torres said.  “But she was quick to point out one problem:  We can’t shoot.”

Bridgman also questioned the development of this “new” offensive system.

“I like the talk from Team Torraveris this year about all these new plays, the practices, the analysis,” Bridgman said.  “They’re just doing the same thing we have been doing for years.  Dustin’s not ‘Tebowing.’  He’s running the pick-and-roll.  Except for the ‘option’ look they ran – that’s just a combination of traveling and a moving pick.”

But Bridgman did give Torres high praise for his Tebow t-shirt and the two had a moment of solidarity during a pre-game “Tebowing” session.

After a 30-minute intermission with entertainment by Lady GaGa dressed as Darth Grimace, the teams played a half-hearted Game Two that consisted mostly of Clark and Bridgman taking turns dunking on the lowered rim and Torres trying trick shots while Delaveris tried to stay warm in the garage.  The slick pavement made conditions dangerous and after already suffering the usual spate of injuries – a twisted ankle for Torres, a knee to the groin for Clark, and a ball to the head for Delaveris – the players saw no reason to push it.

“I don’t want to spend the waning hours of my 20s in traction,” said Delaveris, who turned 30 at 12:20 a.m. on January 1, 2012.  “I’m not a kid anymore -- Dustin apparently doesn’t think I will make it to 60, so I have to prove him wrong.”

Team Doctor Dan McFarlane hosted the festivities for the second straight year, but did not attend.

“I had to go to work and tend to real patients with real medical problems,” McFarlane said.  “I didn’t have time to sit around and watch these morons hurt themselves playing basketball.  Frankly, I would rather spend my time practicing magic tricks.”

No one attended Sunday’s match-up, due in large part to cold temperatures, isolated showers, and high pregnancy rates.  The Quad Two kids club also was unable to attend because the game was held during nap time.

“I mean, maybe if they had served ice cream and pickles, or something,” said Team Photographer Lea Delaveris.  “Maybe next year.”

10-Year Anniversary Infographic

In honor of the 10^th Braggin’ Rights game, we have compiled a graphic to look back at the more memorable moments in the history of the series.

Date	Location	Score	Random Quote Out of Context
12/31/05	Liberty Twn., Ohio	15-5, 15-8 (Bryamy)	“Your mother and I had a hard-fought game last night,” said Delaveris, attempting to chase Bridgman on one leg.
12/30/06	Liberty Twn., Ohio	16-4, 16-5.5 (Bryamy)	“Hi boys,” she said with a sly grin. “Happy New Year.”
6/12/06	Las Vegas, Nev.	16-7, 16-13 (Bryamy)	“Honestly? I thought Dustin was going to die,” Delaveris said. “Obviously, that would have bummed me out. First, I’d be down a teammate and there’s no way I could beat these guys by myself. And second, there would be no one left to take out my mom on Saturday nights. I was glad to see him pull through.”
12/31/07	Liberty Twn., Ohio	15-6, 15-7 (Bryamy)	“I’m trying to run my offense, and he’s shimmying back and forth with that crazy smiley face,” Delaveris said. “I didn’t know whether I was supposed to dribble or shoot or get excited or what. It was crazy.”
3/16/08	New York, NY	15-4, 15-10 (Bryamy)	“Once Lee went down, we were out of it for a while,” Torres said. “We looked up, it was 12-2.  I was thinking, ‘Wait, are we still playing?’ And then I started thinking, ‘I kind of wish I hadn’t walked across the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday.’ But then I remembered how great their pizza was. And while I was thinking about that, they scored again.”
1/1/09	Liberty Twn., Ohio	15-9, 15-9 (Bryamy)	“IHOP on Cox,” Delaveris said.
3/29/09	Dublin, Ohio	15-6, 15-2 (Bryamy)	“Me? I’m a minister’s kid. I'm probably the only one here who wouldn't order a hooker.”
9/13/09	West Chester, Ohio	15-6, 10-15, 15-1 (Bryamy)	“We left it all out on the court today,” Torres said. “This is unbelievable. There’s something in the air. This will undoubtedly be the most dramatic and unlikely game you’ll see this weekend. I can’t think of anything that could be more surprising. I mean, we were about as likely to win this one as Kyle Orton is to throw a game-winning 90-yard touchdown tomorrow for the Broncos. Close to zero.”
12/31/10	Dublin, Ohio	15-10, 15-2 (Bryamy)	“I drove 6 hours for this, so things were a little stiff as we got started,” Clark said over the giggles and “that’s what she said” jokes from his fellow competitors. “It [the drive] was long and hard; thankfully the game was not.”