Month: October 2008

Cross-training #64

The New Orleans Times-Picayune notes that New Orleans Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic will hold his second annual “Peja’s Charitabowl” on Dec. 7 to benefit his children’s foundation, which promotes health and fitness education through basketball. No word on if Chris Paul is scheduled to appear at the event.

Making progress

My Week 9 bowling (BowlSK)

I’m continuing to have problems making my spares on the left side, but I had a better read on the lanes and made better first ball shots overall tonight (thanks to my break point recognition work the other day), so the night didn’t get too far out of hand. I even managed to beat my AVG+1 score, bringing my average back up to 180. It’s only too bad I had my good game in a game my team lost, as we took the last two games but failed to win total, splitting the 4 points on the night.

Result: 207-165-178=550
Average (27 games): 180 Last 9 games average: 184
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 561

Developing lane sense

I devoted the best part of practice today to lane play, particularly keeping in mind a few pointers “CoachJim” gave me last night about developing a sense of the lane’s break point (the point where the ball begins its move into the pocket). The first game was easy, as I played the lane as I normally begin to play it, and I had a clean 200 (the clean game being saved at one point by a conversion of the 5-7 split). I began using the pointers when I determined I had to move, and though my scores didn’t necessarily show it (due to bad shots, not enough carry, and missed spares), I thought I was beginning to develop that sense of the break point, as at the end of the practice, I flushed my first two balls in the 10th frame on shots standing on the 18 board before I missed my last shot right and slid past the break point. I will continue to keep the pointers in mind in my next practices.

Just for fun

I had another bowling outing with my brother today, and, for the first game, anyway, it looked like it would be a repeat of my birthday outing, as I was clean with 5 in a row going into the 10th frame of the first game. However, I would leave the 4-6 split in the 10th frame for a 226 and I really wasn’t the same afterward, as I could only manage a pair of games in the 170s the rest of the way. My second game also only had one open, but it was a spare shooting show similar to what I had in league the other night. I would rather forget my last game, as I missed a single 4 and a 4-7; it seems my left side spares have been giving me more trouble than the right side lately. It was good fun, all the same, and my brother needed the outing after dealing with my father, who had been hospitalized, all week.

Brunswick Mixed League standings update

My league’s standings seem to update on Fridays, and will always be found at the link I posted in the sidebar, so readers are directed to check there for the update on Fridays.

As for this week, my team dropped into a tie for last place with “The Handicaps” and “Backyard Bowlers.” Keep in mind that it is a split season, and the first half will end with a position round the week before Christmas.

Another recent 300: I had forgotten to post earlier that Danny Khuu shot another 300 in the youth league earlier this month, so congratulations to him.

Jonathan Van Hees PBA World Championship cashers round update

Standings of PBA World Championship after cashers qualifying round

Jonathan Van Hees survived the cut to 40 for match play at the PBA World Championship, standing in 31st place with a +352 score (213.04 average for 27 games). If I figured out the brackets correctly, Van Hees will face Mike Scroggins in the first round of match play later today (top 8 in qualifying get a two-round bye in match play).

PBA World Championship: The local angle

PBA World Championship qualifying results

Congrats once again to Jonathan Van Hees of Newport, RI, who was the only New England bowler to cash in the PBA World Championship, the first tournament and major of the PBA Tour season, taking place this week in Wichita, KS. Van Hees qualified in a tie for 40th (field was cut to the top 25%, 53 places, after qualifying) with a score of +220* (212.22 average for 18 games). Van Hees will participate in the cashers qualifying round tomorrow. The two other New England bowlers in the field were Alex Aguiar of Dartmouth, MA (87th, +79, 204.39 average) and Keith DeCambra of Quincy, MA (T175th, -325, 181.94 average).

* Scores in pro tournaments are usually given in terms of +/- 200; simply multiply 200 by the number of games (18) then add or subtract the +/- figure to determine total pinfall.

Hanging in there

My Week 8 bowling (BowlSK)

About the only thing I could feel good about tonight was my spare game, as I made most of the spares I could make, and I needed those spares to keep the night from getting out of hand. The second game was the only game I could get strikes in, it seemed, so my spares helped me stay over 500 tonight. The team bowled against a team with two of the top 3 average bowlers in the league, and they had good nights, so the team got creamed, failing to win a point.

Result: 155-191-167=513
Average (24 games): 179 Last 9 games average: 177
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 541

Perfect game rolled in Westgate Mixed League: I’ve never had a 300 shot in the same building and at the same time I was bowling, but it happened tonight, as Harry Thibeault, Jr. shot the first perfect game of the season in the Westgate Mixed League in the second game. As he is a customer of the pro shop, I spotted him at the end of the night going in to have a Polaroid picture taken for the “Wall of Fame,” and I made like I was going to join him for the picture as a playful congratulatory gesture before leaving him alone for the photo. Congrats Harry! 😀

An introduction

Learning over the weekend that he (as “slap”) had posted on the BowlingCommunity.com forums, I took a more-or-less unplanned trip to the lanes tonight to introduce myself to Sammy Belton, a local USBC Bronze-level coach, who was bowling in the Tuesday Scratch Sportsmen league. When I met him, he struck me as very personable, and we got to talking about our current status in our leagues. I mentioned his struggles in the Coke Classic League (I’ve been following his bowling in that league, as well as the Tuesday Scratch Sportsmen, on BowlSK), and also my own struggles on the house shot on Wednesday nights (though I also mentioned my rebound last week). I suggested to him that he note his stance and target on BowlSK to give those of us on the forums an idea of how he’s playing the lanes, and also that a few of us on the forums chat during the day and that we hoped to see him.

I was wishing to see Alex Aguiar tonight, as well, but during the day, I learned that he would be bowling in the PBA World Championship, the opening tournament of the PBA Tour proper as well as the first major of the season. I also took the opportunity to greet some of my friends in the other leagues, including Ray Fischer’s wife Sarah, whom I had not seen since I stopped bowling in the His & Hers league during my previous bowling life.

Brunswick Mixed League standings found online: I had thought my league’s standings would not be posted online, but looking at a note near the standings for the Coke Classic League gave me another URL I thought I’d fish around, and that one, on a site named Bowler Express, actually contains links to the standings for most of the leagues running at Westgate Lanes, including the candlepin and youth leagues. Two links have been added to the sidebar, one for the league listing (in the “Bowling Sites” category), and one to the PDF file with the current standings for the Brunswick Mixed league (in the “Author’s Links” category). I do not yet know on what day the standings are updated there, and I also don’t know if the URL for the PDF file with my league’s standings is specific to that week’s standings, so I may have to update the sidebar link manually week to week.

Post-season blues

The Red Sox Game 7 loss and the relative lack of recent sleep due to following the playoff games might have affected my practice today, as I had a couple of games in the 160s (I kept it light today, keeping my condition in mind). I salvaged the practice somewhat with a 198 in the last game, but it was a bad kind of 198, with 3 open frames ruining a game that had 5 strikes in a row. Some of my recent problems seem to be making my left side spares, particularly the single 4 and 7. I think I did manage to figure out the 7, as I made it in the 10th frame of the last game, but I missed both of my single 4s. A bright side on my spare shooting was that I converted a 4-5 split.

USSSA Bowl-a-Thon: The USSSA will hold a New England Hall of Fame bowl-a-thon at Westgate Lanes on Sunday, November 23. Teams of 4 (any combination of men and women) can sign up for $100, and single bowlers are welcome at $25/each. Flyers for the event are available at the control desk.

Thoughts on Chris Paul Celebrity Invitational

Just a few quick thoughts about today’s PBA Tour telecast opener:

  • Of the NBA stars, I thought Chris Paul (of course) had the best form; he just didn’t get the breaks LeBron James did in the final match.
  • I haven’t seen much of Jason Couch pre-knee-surgery, but this untrained eye couldn’t tell he had it. If he keeps up this level in the regular tour season, he’s going to be deadly once again.
  • Finally, what is Ebonite thinking in their ad campaign? An annoying guy who only appeals to the dumb bowler stereotype. You’d think the #1 name in bowling balls could do better.

Thursday odds and ends

  • Stopped in at the pro shop today to give Ray my feedback on Brian Frank and learned Ray had a history with him, as Ray worked with him in New York and picked up Brian’s services when Brian moved here.
  • Forgot to mention in the league post last night that there was a vote on what will be served at the league’s end-of-season banquet, which will be held in the pub adjoining the bowling center. The choices were baked stuffed chicken breast, prime rib, surf & turf, or a prime rib buffet. I voted for the chicken, but I didn’t learn what the league went for. I’ll probably know next week.

On the rebound

My Week 7 bowling (BowlSK)

The basic line I found working with Brian Frank worked for me tonight, though I, of course, had to make adjustments (lane 39 was hooking more than lane 40, so I made a 2-and-1 move in the beginning of the 2nd game) as the night went on. A couple of splits killed me in the second game, but I’ll blame more my poor shots in the 10th frame of the last game for not getting my first 600 series in this league tonight. As it was, it was both my high game (the 231 last game) and series to date in this league, so this should be something I can build on. The bonus is that I gained back the pins I lost from my average last week, so hopefully, this is the start of an upward trend.

As for the team, Ted had just gotten out of the hospital after passing out on Monday, so he was not up to bowling. We could only take one point tonight (the game I shot my 231 in), and I expect us to be back in the cellar, as we started the night next to last.

Result: 190-172-231=593
Average (21 games): 181 Last 9 games average: 178
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 562

PAP redux

With the thought in mind of getting an oil ball, I went back down to the lanes (and pro shop) today to have my PAP remeasured, keeping in mind that I shouldn’t turn the ball (release definitely will affect PAP), but rather swing through the ball and let it roll off my fingers. Brian (Frank, not Shea) was doing the work this time, and his measurement should be considered more accurate, as he was actually watching me bowl much of the time when it was being taken. The updated numbers (including the drilling of the High-Voltage) follow:

PAP: 4 7/8″ over, 1/2″ up, 3 1/16″ leverage
Drilling (traditional notation): 3″ x 4″
Drilling (dual-angle notation): 82° x 3″ x 45°

Working with Brian, I also found a line I could play on the winter house shot (I made sure I was on a lane with the house shot so as to not wreck the Tuesday Scratch Sportmen’s lanes’ oil)…stance about the 16 board straight up to 7 or 8 at the arrows, and I had a nice looking strike for the last shot Brian needed. We’ll see if it holds up in league tomorrow night. The decision to buy the oil ball has also been delayed, as I was getting something like the reaction I was looking for all this time on the new line.

People’s Tournament September 2008 results

The People’s Tournament reported Tammy Bellavance (AMF Cranston Lanes {RI}, 140 avg.) as the winner of the September tournament at E. Providence Lanes. She defeated Phil Hall (Brunswick Zone Lowell, 186 avg.) in the final match by a 224-169 score (with handicaps). For Westgate Lanes bowlers, Matt Richard and Alfredo Donato both made the final eight.

Note: There is no post about practice today, as I took the day off because of the Columbus Day holiday.

BowlingTracker.com back up

After experiencing some down-time and database problems in the last couple of weeks, the BowlingTracker.com site is once again fully functional and the sidebar link to my Brunswick Mixed League stat sheet now works as it should. The stat sheet has also, of course, been updated with the last couple of weeks’ scores.

A night to forget

My Week 6 bowling (BowlSK)

My last game was what really killed me tonight, as I couldn’t really find anything I liked, but a couple of simple spare misses hurt, too. First game was a 190, but could’ve easily been clean except for a couple more spare misses. Here’s hoping I can regroup next week.

Result: 190-156-144=490
Average (18 games): 178 Last 9 games average: 172
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 546

Work release

I spent most of practice today working on my release, focusing on swinging through the ball rather than turning it, and it largely worked, as I felt I flushed a few, especially later in the practice. I missed a couple of spares using the spare ball, but I’m slowly getting used to it, and I had two split pickups in the practice, both on the “baby split” (3-10), using the spare ball. I was told after practice that the Coke shot (Monday night shot) was down on the lane today, so having a game in the 180s and a game in the 190s on the shot was something of a bonus, making it maybe the best practice I’ve had recently.

Correction to demo day note: The Hammer and Columbia 300 demo day this month at Westgate Lanes is actually going to be run on two days, Oct. 18 and 19, with Hammer products being demo’ed on that Saturday, and Columbia 300 going on that Sunday.

Addendum to “Getting technical”

Doing my research on drilling angles and what they mean for ball reaction, I learned that a 10° drilling will roll the soonest of the effective drilling angles, and a 90° drilling the latest, so my 50° drilling rolls up at a mid-point, late if anything. Also, for asymmetrical balls, the CG is replaced by the PSA (Preferred Spin Axis) point.

Note: I highly recommend reading this page on the MoRich site if you want to learn what all of the numbers in a dual-angle noted drilling mean. 😀

Getting technical

This is the promised later post. 🙂

A PAP measurement is described as a distance right or left of the center of the grip (depending on the hand bowled with) and a distance up or down from that line (resulting in the Vertical Axis Line, or VAL). As Jon determined from looking at the flare lines and measuring the ball, my PAP is 3 3/8″ right (since I’m right-handed), 1/2″ up. There is also a 2 11/16″ leverage point. I’m told this gives me a spinner type of track similar to that of PBA professional Ryan Shafer.

Drillings nowadays are often described using dual-angle notation, which is given as the angle of the intersection of the pin-to-CG (Center of Gravity) line and the pin-to-PAP line, by the pin-to-PAP line distance, by the pin-to-PAP/VAL angle. On my ball, it’s a 50° x 2 1/2″ x 23° drilling. What do the numbers mean as far as ball reaction goes? The 50° drilling is often given to those whose PAP is not known. The 2 1/2″ pin-to-PAP means I get a good amount of track flare (the width of the consecutive oil bands on the ball…a wider track flare means more fresh ball surface makes contact with the lane with each revolution), and the 23° means a snappy back-end reaction.

Now that my PAP is known, it means future balls can be drilled to have a different reaction, as the driller can lay out the ball keeping the information on the ball’s drill sheet and my PAP in mind. 😀

Feeling rushed

Before bowling tonight, I took time with Jon in the pro shop to have my PAP (Positive Axis Point, which is the point of the axis of the first revolution after the ball hits the lane) measured, which required throwing my resurfaced High-Voltage in the middle oil for a couple of frames without wiping the ball. I jotted down what Jon put down for the PAP, then had the drilling measured. I’ll make a separate post when I know what all of the numbers mean better, but the a traditional way of noting a drilling is distance from the pin (the white dot on the ball) to the PAP by distance from the center of gravity (found by a small etched logo in the ball) to the PAP. This, for me, is a drilling of 2 1/2″ x 3 1/4″, and the pin is to the right of my ring finger hole, which I’m told makes the drilling strong for just about anyone, and is usually given to those whose PAP is not known.

My Week 5 bowling (BowlSK)

As I note in the series, the third game had a rushed feeling to it, because we were informed by Shawn that they may have had to close the place due to a water main problem in the mall area which resulted in shutting off the water in the area, forcing the closing of the mall. However, the water was back on by the end of the night. Team took first two games plus total for 3 points out of 4 tonight, and it was a rare time that we were giving pins to our opponents.

Result: 189-170-166=525
Average (15 games): 181 Last 9 games average: 175
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 553

Note: I usually get the AVG+1 from BowlingTracker.com, but that site was having database problems tonight, so I did a quick calculation in my spreadsheet log for next week’s score.