Dueling Bubbas captures Team of the Year 2001 -- wins four out of five first place awards

Dueling Bubbas

Dueling Bubbas (Don Grissom and Derek Muller) captured the Team of the Year 2001 award, presented at the annual Autumn QFest.  In an unprecedented victory, Dueling Bubbas almost cleared the board, winning four of the five first-place Team of the Year awards.  

Perry Smith, Don Grissom, Derek Muller and Joe O'Connell

Dueling Bubbas won:

• Team of the Year 2001
• Best Chicken of the Year 2001
• Best Ribs of the Year 2001
• Best Brisket of the Year 2001

Dueling Bubbas competed in all seven sanctioned events during the year, and it won its first Grand Championship at the last event during the year -- the West Coast Championship at San Benito.
 

No other team in the history of the ToY awards has so dominated so many categories.  The only category that the team did not win was the Best Pork category, in which it placed sixth.
 

Mohave Hot Stuff

Mohave Hot Stuff (Tom Chilton) finished second in the overall Team of the Year 2001 points standings and won the Reserve Grand Championship title.  The team competed in five of the seven sanctioned contest and earned Team of the Year points in each of the five contests.  Mohave Hot Stuff placed:

• Second for Team of the Year 2001
• Second for Best Ribs of the Year 2001
• Third for Best Pork of the Year 2001
• Fifth for Best Brisket of the Year 2001

Perry Smith, Tom Chilton and Joe O'Connell

Out of This World

Out of This World (Gene Goycochea and Gary Tackett, assisted by Todd Eves) placed third in the overall Team of the Year 2001 points standings, and it won first place for Best Pork of the Year 2001.  

The Team competed in all seven sanctioned events during the year.  It earned ToY points for Best Pork at four of the seven contests, and it won Best Pork at two of them.

Perry Smith, Gene Goycochea, Gary Tackett, Todd Eves and Joe O'Connell

The team won second place in Best Chicken of the Year 2001.  The team won the chicken category at Imperial Beach and placed second at two other contests.
 

Out of This World won third place in the overall Team of the Year 2001 competition.  The members are wearing the distinctive uniform of its Official Sponsor, Bristol Farms.

Coyote Road Kill

Coyote Road Kill (Dan Cannon and Rick Streiff) placed fourth in the overall Team of the Year 2001 points standings, and it won three other Team of the Year honors.  The team competed in all seven sanctioned contests -- only Dueling Bubbas and Out of This World also competed in all seven.

Perry Smith, Dan Cannon, Rick Streiff and Joe O'Connell

Coyote Road Kill won top-five awards in four of the five ToY categories, failing to finish in the top five only in the Best Pork category.  Coyote Road Kill won:

• Fourth in Team of the Year 2001
• Second in Best Brisket of the Year 2001
• Third in Best Chicken of the Year 2001
• Third in Best Ribs of the Year 2001

Pork Belly Bandits

Pork Belly Bandits (George Baroody, Donna Baroody and Roger Cole) placed fifth in the overall Team of the Year 2001 points standings.  In addition, the team finished fifth for Best Pork of the Year 2001.

These awards are especially noteworthy.  The ToY awards count the five best finishes for each team.  Pork Belly Bandits, however, competed in only three of the seven sanctioned contests, so its top-five finish was an accomplishment.

Perry Smith, Roger Cole and Joe O'Connell

Asleep at the Grill

Asleep at the Grill (Vic Sessions) placed sixth (tied with Lakeside) in the overall Team of the Year 2001 points standings.  The team won third in Best Pork of the Year 2001.  

Like Madd Momma and the Kids, Asleep at the Grill was not eligible for ToY points until the BBQ and Blues contest in Long Beach, when Vic Sessions joined the Association.  Although Asleep at the Grill competed and finished high at the first West Coast Championship, at the Beachfront contest and at the Surf 'n Turf, the team received no Toy points.  Had the team been eligible, it may have earned top-five finishes in other ToY categories. 

As it was, Asleep at the Grill won enough points at Long Beach, the only contest for which it was eligible for ToY points, to win third place in Best Pork of the Year 2001.

[Editor's note:  no photograph is available.]

Lakeside BBQ

Lakeside BBQ (Dean and Bill Bruggema) placed sixth (tied with Asleep at the Grill) in the overall Team of the Year 2001 competition and third in Best Chicken of the Year 2001.

Lakeside competed in four of the seven sanctioned contests (the two in Imperial Beach, and the ones in Victorville and Long Beach), and in finished with a first and second in the chicken category.

(Bill was unable to attend the ToY awards ceremony at the QFest.)

Dean and Gina Hayes

Change Smoker

Change Smoker (Ed Bell) finished eighth (tied with Rare Breed) in the overall Team of the Year 2001 points standings.  The team tied for Best Pork of the Year 2001 and will share the title.  Although the team competed in only four of the seven sanctioned events, it won the Best Pork category in two of them:  the Happy Trails contest at Victorville, and the BBQ and Blues contest at Long Beach.

Even though the team won Best Pork ToY points in only two events, because it placed first in both, and become the Long Beach contest had more than 25 teams, the team won 10 points at Long Beach and 5 points at Victorville.  With 15 points, Change Smoker tied for first place and shared the honor with Out of This World.

[Editor's note:  no photograph is available.]

Rare Breed

Rare Breed (Eva and Hayward Harris) finished eighth (tied with Change Smoker) in the overall Team of the Year 2001 points standings.  The team won a top-five finish and a ToY award for its fourth place finish for Best Brisket of the Year 2001.

The team deserves particular credit for its top-five finish, in view of the fact that it competed in only three of the seven sanctioned events:  the Pigskin Classic in Scottsdale, Surf 'n Turf in Imperial Beach, and BBQ and Blues in Long Beach.  The team enjoyed two strong finishes in the brisket category, with a first-place win at Imperial Beach and a fourth place at Long Beach. 

[Editor's note:  no photograph is available.]

BBQ'n Fools

BBQ'n Fools (Tom Brohamer, assisted by Grant Ford) finished twelfth in the overall Team of the Year 2001 points standings and had a third place win in Best Chicken of the Year 2001.

The team competed in five of the seven sanctioned contests and succeeded in three top-five finishes in the chicken category, with a first place win at the Surf 'n Turf at Imperial Beach and fourth place finishes at the Beachfront in Imperial Beach and at Happy Trails in Victorville.

[Editor's note:  no photograph is available.]

Pork Assassins

Pork Assassins (Jim Schofield) finished thirteenth in the overall Team of the Year 2001 points standings and had a third place win in Best Brisket of the Year 2001.

The team achieved top five finishes in the brisket category twice during the contest year, with a second place finish at the BBQ and Blues contest in Long Beach and a third place finish at the first West Coast Championship.

[Editor's note:  no photograph is available.]

Madd Momma & The Kids

Madd Momma & The Kids (Judie and Amy Anderson, now assisted by Melanie Jones) finished fourteenth overall in the Team of the Year 2001 points standings, but that was solely the result of a technicality:  the team's chief cooks did not join the Association until June, after the team won the Grand Championship at the Pigskin Classic in Arizona and the Surf /n Turf in Imperial Beach.  If the team had been a member for either of these championships, it would have placed even higher (and perhaps even may have won) the Team of the Year 2001.

As it was, however, the team won enough points at the BBQ and Blues contest in Long Beach to win fourth place for Best Ribs of the Year 2001. 

[Editor's note:  no photograph is available.]

How teams earn ToY points

The winners of the five ToY awards are the teams which have earned the most points during the year.  Points are awarded at each contest in each of the four meat categories (chicken, ribs, pork and brisket) and for the grand championship at each contest.

5 points are awarded for the winner of the chicken category, 4 points for second place in chicken, 3 points for third place, 2 points for fourth place, and 1 point for fifth place in chicken.  The same points are awarded in ribs, pork and brisket.  The grand champion of a contest receives 5 ToY points, the reserve champion receives 4 points, and the next three top finishers receive 3, 2 and 1 point.

The points totals increase if there are a large number of teams at the contest.  If there are 26 to 49 teams in a contest, the points totals are doubled (10 points for first place, 8 points for second place, etc.).  If there are 50 or more teams in a contest, the points are tripled (15 points for first place, 12 points for second place, etc.).