Month: October 2009

Oct. 31 league standings update

Wednesday night’s net win over “The Dynasty” helped us into a tie with “Vakinc” for 7th place in the league standings. The league continues to be very competitive at the top, with “The Mustangs” now holding a two-point lead over “4-MTD,” with “Butz N Gutz” and “Wild Samoans” only a point behind them in a tie for third. My team concludes the first rotation through the league by facing “The Generation” next week.

Individually, I earned my first weekly honor of the season, having the high handicap series for the men with a 674. 😀

Oct. 28 league night recap

My Week 8 bowling, frame-by-frame (Link to BowlSK)

Tonight was more like it! 😀

However, it should be said that I had both one of my best pieces of clutch bowling of the season and one of my worst. The good clutch came in the second game, where I capped off 7 in a row with a double in the 10th frame in a situation where I had to match the other team’s anchor to ensure the point; he could only spare in the frame. The bad clutch game was me missing a 10 pin in the 10th frame when I needed a mark and good count to win or tie. Still, the 620 series is my best one to date this season, and served as a balm to the ego after last week.

Result: 171-237-212=620
Average (24 games): 181
Average for last 9 games: 180
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 557

The team lost the last game not really because I blew it in the 10th, but because Ed Godino threw a stellar 265 to pretty much save his average. It was a team effort for 3 of 4 tonight, though, as all five of us were over average on the night.

Some of my readers already know, but there will be good news in connection with my league coming out of the People’s Tournament last weekend, which I’m saving until the recap of the tournament is posted online.

My day in the Oct. 2009 People’s Tournament

My qualifying performance, frame-by-frame (Link to BowlSK)

I really wish I had lined up sooner in the first game, and, if not for the three “Brooklyn” strikes in a row, I would’ve had one of my worst tournament games. I had somewhat found a groove the rest of the way, however, and especially in the second game; except for a washout biting me in the 10th frame (and on the lane I was getting my strikes on), I was clean, with a “Dutch 200” (alternating strikes and spares for a full game) possibility. I ended with a 528 scratch, 594 handicap, with the cut at 650 (missed by 56 pins).

My buddy Rob made the roll-offs, but I didn’t stick around to watch him, instead wanting to come home and get everything posted. As always, I’ll recap the tournament when the results are posted on the tournament website.

Oct. 21 league night (includes standings update)

My Week 7 bowling, frame-by-frame (Link to BowlSK)

I’ll keep this brief: I think my reunion weekend caught up to me last night. However, I was also having problems getting my thumb out of the ball cleanly much of the night, particularly in the last game, so, after bowling, I took the Hy-Road to the pro shop to have a slug put in it (my High Voltage has one, and I always liked the way my thumb came out of that ball).

Result: 155-163-137=455
Average (21 games): 177
Average for last 9 games: 171
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 535

Team lost all 4, but neither team was having a good night, as all three games were close with both teams failing to break 1000 pins in any game, even with handicap. For my team, Eileen was having a decent night, but that was about it. The sweep dropped us to 8th place, with “4 MTD” gaining sole possession of first place by a point over a three-way tie for second. “The Dynasty,” a perennial powerhouse team in this league, await us next week.

Tournament prep

As both Rob Dickens and I will be bowling the People’s Tournament Sunday, we made arrangements last week to meet up today to bowl on the oil pattern that will be out (as the Coke Classic League uses it). I had wondered how I’d do because I thought I’d still be in the recovery process from the class reunion over the weekend. I thought I did OK, however: the first game wasn’t spectacular, but I beat Rob in that game because I made more spares than he did (and spares are usually important on this shot). The second game was forgettable because I was making varied mistakes on the first ball and leaving tough spares, but I did recover to post a clean 203 game in the last one, which should give me some confidence for Sunday.

Bowling camp postponed: The bowling camp that was to be held on November 14 and 15 at Wonder Bowl in New Bedford has been tentatively postponed until April 2010. I’ll pass along the new dates when that information becomes available.

Oct. 16 league standings update

Wednesday night’s net loss didn’t change our place in the standings, as we remain in 6th place, now only 4 points behind a four-way tie for the top (with “Butz-N-Gutz” having the pinfall advantage). Next week is, in effect, a position week for us, as we face “Warren’s Girls,” the fifth place team.

Individually, it took until near the end of the season for someone in the league to shoot a 700 series last season, but Shawn Coles had the first one of this season in the league the other night…congrats, buddy! 😀

Cross-training #115

NHL.com notes that the Columbus Blue Jackets will be part of a bowling event in February that will benefit the foundation of a 19-year-old fan who succumbed to a rare form of muscular cancer last spring and had his last wish (seats to the first two home playoff games in Blue Jackets history) granted by the club.

Oct. 14 league night

My Week 6 bowling, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

Admittedly, I may have been bowling a bit distracted tonight, thinking too much about my 25th high school reunion coming up this weekend, but most of my problems actually had to do with not getting lane 36 figured out and missing the spares I left on that lane. I did make the right adjustment in the middle of game two, however, and put together my best game of the young season, a clean 237, to finish things off and save average. The 237 should give me something new to talk about at the reunion, so I was happy for that.

Result: 139-171-237=547
Average (18 games): 182
Average for last 9 games: 180
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 561

My team could’ve used me fully on my game tonight, as every game was just about close. A miss of a 10 pin in the 10th frame of game 2 blew the opportunity to take the point for that game, and, as we only lost total by 10 pins, the pins in fill I might’ve had would’ve been important. I won’t blame Patrick for only taking 1 point tonight, as he showed up in the first 2 games with a 181 and a 179. Patrick might be in line for a USBC series award based on that.

Sept. 2009 People’s Tournament results

The People’s Tournament reported that Angel Hernandez (Super Bowl {CT}, 205 avg.) won the event held on September 26 and 27 at Town Line Lanes. Hernandez defeated John Hayes Jr. (Westgate Lanes, 195 avg.) by a score (with handicaps) of 274-213 in the title match. A number of bowlers from Brockton Bowling Association territory cashed, but I wanted to mention one in particular: Rob Dickens, a member of my winter league and one of my teammates this past summer. 😀

Oct. 7 league night recap (includes standings update)

My Week 5 bowling, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

I’m just a little annoyed about my performance last night: I had “hambones” (four in a row; my first of the season) in each of the first two games, yet neither game broke 200. I could sort of understand the first game because of two splits late, but a first-ball gutter ball in the 9th frame of game two, in which I let my swing get well out of plane, was very inexcusable. I also missed a single pin in each of those games (a 10 in the first game, a 9 in the second), and missed another single pin (the 2) to start the third game. I also slid by the 4 on a 4-7 to end the night after getting a double and a turkey in the game.

Result: 182-180-178=540
Average (15 games): 182
Average for last 9 games: 183
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 559

For the team, it was another strong 3-1 night after getting swept last week. We won the first game on solid games by the middle of our lineup (including a 164 from Patrick) and the third game thanks to a 160 from Carl and a 150 from Eileen (the latter of which earned her the USBC 150 game award). The night brought us up a place in the standings to 6th, 5 points behind “4 MTD,” our opponents last night. “Foxy SRS,” the current doormats of the league, await us next week.

October 2009 NEBA doubles results

NEBA reported that the team of Anthony Pepe and Alex Cavagnaro were the winners of the doubles event held on Oct. 3 and 4 at East Providence Lanes. Pepe and Cavagnaro defeated the team of Matt O’Grady and Alex Aguiar by a score of 530-476 (with both bowlers of a team bowling a complete game in each match play round) in the title match, and was the first NEBA title for both Pepe and Cavagnaro. Jon Van Hees and Brian Gaskill (on separate teams) were also involved in the match play portion of the event (link points to the full match play results).

Alex Aguiar to run two-day bowling camp at Wonder Bowl in November

This is one of those items I’ve been meaning to pass along, but hadn’t got to it when my computer went down. Therefore, I’d better post it now that I have my new computer before it is too late.

Alex Aguiar and Wonder Bowl in New Bedford will be presenting a two-day bowling camp on November 14 & 15. Featured instructors include PBA stars Mark Baker, Michael Fagan, and Bill O’Neill, along with international coach Tom Laskow. The camp will run from 9 AM to 4 PM both days and will include Bowlers Map video motion analysis along with classroom and on-lane instruction, as well as breakfast and lunch. Cost is $150 for a single day or $250 for both days. Bowlers seeking more information may contact Alex at 508-989-2012 or Doug Allard at 508-993-1746.

Sept. 30 league night recap (includes standings update)

As some of you know, I’ve been without a computer at home for about a week, but I finally got a new machine running this weekend, so I can now post a league night recap.

My bowling in week #4, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

This week was my first encounter with Jim Blyth as an opponent, and, knowing the kind of average he had two years ago (he missed all of last season recovering from knee surgery), I wasn’t about to take him lightly. I wasn’t prepared for what happened in the last game of our match, however: as I was starting to string strikes, he said to me, “I’ll match you shot for shot.” He continued his string of strikes, while my own game pretty much fell apart after the 6th frame. I know I probably should’ve ignored him, and I thought I was doing my best at it, but I guess that was easier said than done.

After the match ended, he admitted to me that he likes to play the mental game. I had thought I had a solid mental game until that point, but now I think that’s another thing I need to work on. I got some advice online that I should practice with someone and have that person try to distract me, but I don’t know of many good bowlers that practice at the same time I do.

Here’s the basic recap and stats update…I start tracking average for the last 9 games this week:

Result: 178-171-188=537
Average (12 games): 182
Average for last 9 games: 184
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 550

After two solid outings for my team, we got swept for the first time this season because not only was Jim bowling well, but Shawn Coles and David Gomes also had good nights, while the only bowler that did relatively well for my side was Eileen.

The standings now find my team tied with “The Wild Samoans” for 7th place. “4 MTD,” our opponents next week, continue to hold a three-point lead, now over “Butz-N-Gutz.”