The Tenth Board

As announced on their Facebook page, the Brockton Bowling Association has elected Tony Attardo and Maureen “Mo” Morrison to the Hall of Fame, and they will be inducted at the annual Hall of Fame dinner later this season. Congrats to both Tony and Mo.

As had happened in 2009, my brother and I had some time on our hands with our family obligiations for Christmas wrapped up on Christmas Eve, so we went bowling on Christmas Day for the second time. There were more people bowling this time, including a couple in another league that I knew. I told Junior afterward that I wouldn’t complain, because I actually had two games over my league average. I had missed a 7 pin, but made the single 10 every time I had it, but left a pocket 7-10 twice during the session. My brother was rusty, but did have a 115 third game, which is a bit better than he usually bowls.

The USBC reported that Al Uttecht of Anaheim, CA, who has visited Westgate Lanes many times for the AWBA national tournament, has been elected to the USBC Hall of Fame in the Pioneer category. Uttecht, who has been confined to a wheelchair after sustaining injuries in the war in Vietnam in 1970, is considered the most successful wheelchair bowler in history, having won the AWBA Tournament of Champions 13 times in addition to being a 12-time AWBA national scratch champion and a seven-time national All-Events champion. Uttecht was elected to the AWBA Hall of Fame in 1985. A quote from Uttecht follows:

I am totally blown away by this honor, and I have no words to describe how I feel. This is from someone who when I was first asked to join a bowling league, I said you cannot bowl from a wheelchair.

Al Uttecht will be inducted on April 26 at the USBC Convention in Arlington, TX.

I got to play host to my friend from the BowlingCommunity forums, “MikeHL,” again today. If I wanted a challenge, I could’ve had the Coke shot on one of the 5 pairs by the desk today, but I really just wanted us to relax and have fun, so we only took a pair with the house shot. This time, Mike got to see me at my best for at least one game, as I threw a clean 236 out of the gate. It was downhill after that however, but Mike liked to say afterwards that he dragged me down to his level (his problems bowling have been well-documented on the forums, as I may have said in my post about his first visit). He managed to beat me in the last game when, needing a double in the 10th, I failed to get the first strike. I missed a number of multi-pin spares, but only one of my single pins, and that the 7 pin, which I had been making more consistently; I made all of my 10s, but did manage to leave the pin standing after chopping the 6-9 off of the 6-9-10. Afterward, I introduced him to a couple of the other bowlers I knew, my friend John Hayes, and Tyrone Thornton, who was one of the cashers in the Hall of Fame Classic last season.

With my brother in Brockton helping my other folks get ready for Irene, he thought he could use a little diversion, so a bowling outing with me was again in order. We had been over my sister’s doing work, so neither of us brought our “A” games, but I did have 2 games in the 180s. My problem today was making anything with more than one pin (though I had a nice conversion of the 3-6-9-10 in the third game), and I also missed a couple of 10 pins. By the end, I was trying to bomb it up the outside because moving inside wasn’t really working, and, although I wasn’t completely effective doing that, I got better at it near the end and was clean after the 6th frame of Game 3.

I wanted to note first of all that, aside from the prize money we received as a team, Lou received extra for having the most improved average among the males in the league.

Mostly, however, I wanted to note this: My brother made a rare Wednesday night appearance (first time it’s happened while bowling was going on) last night, so I was able to finally introduce him to some of the people I bowl with, mostly my summer league teammates. I didn’t bowl the no-tap because I was thinking about karaoke later in the night, so I was around when my brother was there to be able to do that.

With my birthday approaching, I took the opportunity to bowl with my brother last night, even though I sort of dislike bowling on back-to-back days. My scores were around average, but my follow-through was the primary point of emphasis, and it even seemed to help with my spare game, because I didn’t miss anything easy until the third game, when I hooked past an 8 pin. Moreover, my 10 pin had been a problem recently, but I left several of them last night, and made every one of them until the very last frame, when I pulled the spare shot; it should be said that a problem caused me to have to call the desk to request to finish out, so I was kind of thrown off by that, as well. My brother, for the record, was about his inconsistent self.

With a birthday in the family today, my brother and I got my shopping out of the way last night and went bowling afterward. It was not a usual outing, because the lanes were hooking more than normal, and I was having problems getting even my new Tropical Breeze to hold pocket. I eventually had to loft it to have a chance, and I usually wasn’t lofting it enough. Still, I wasn’t leaving many tough spares (just one split), and made most of the easy ones, so I had two games (my last two) around my average with the other one being on the low end of the reasonable range, which I told my brother I was glad to take on lanes that weren’t optimally scoring for me. My brother had one game over what I think is his average.

I decided today that I also wanted to mention that a childhood friend (someone who grew up in the same neighborhood as I did) was on hand to watch me in the third game last night. I was disappointed that I couldn’t really show off like I could, but I was happy that I could punch out in the 10th frame for him. He may return to watch my whole night next week.

With my brother and I due to go to a family birthday party later in the day, we found time to bowl this morning. This one was fairly far from being the horror show for me that the last outing was, though I did give my brother an opening in the first game by missing easy spares; he was only around 100, however, after I posted a 139. The other two games were more the norm for me, capped off by barely getting the deuce to end the session. I used my Fast the whole way, and it had returned to having a normal reaction after the cleaning last week.

Today provided another opportunity to bowl, as my best friend Ed’s sister-in-law had a Groupon for Westgate Lanes that she wanted to use today. Ed’s wife rounded out the foursome, but, as the Groupon was only for one hour, we couldn’t get much bowling in. We completed one game each before it was over, with me scoring a 174 in that completed game, but I was making better shots in the partial second game, even walking out a couple of them to show the women in the party how many boards I’m now crossing since the last time they saw me bowl. It had a laid-back feel to it, so I was just out to enjoy myself and my company rather than actually trying to practice.

I just realized today that June 30 had come and passed, and it passed without me making my usual anniversary post. It has been that kind of year for me, because the last one was certainly a landmark one in my bowling time. The big moment came on September 22 of the last calendar year, in the third week of the past season’s Brunswick Mixed League, in which I had the front 10 in a 288 second game on the way to my first 700 series (anyone who wants to revisit that moment can click here for the BowlSK sheet from that night). The night was special for me, because it meant that I had finally eclipsed all of my pre-injury personal bests. Before the calendar turned to 2011, I also had an open bowling session to remember by having a run of 18 of 19 strikes consisting of the last 4 in the first game, a weak 10 to start the second game, followed by 14 in a row, closing out the second game with a 290 thanks to the last 11. As I noted in the post about it, it’s no longer a question of if I’m capable of putting up an honor score, but of putting the strikes together at the right time. I also had my personal best tournament game during the year (a 227 in the December People’s Tournament), as well as my first 200 game on a true sport condition (though I wish that was in the tournament instead of in practice for it). More recently, I’ve become more involved with my local association by setting up and keeping a Facebook page updated, an effort that was partially responsible for my election to the Brockton Bowling Association Board of Directors last weekend.

About the only person I want to thank in this post other than the “usual suspects” is Tony Attardo. As I noted in my post about the 700 series, if it wasn’t for him spotting a timing problem during my practice session on the Monday morning before the 700 night, I might not have had it at all. I don’t know what his past bowling resume looks like, but he’s certainly helped enough bowlers at Westgate Lanes to hope he gets association Hall of Fame consideration in the future. I should also thank my association manager, Bob Young, and the Brockton Bowling Association officers and directors for the trust they have placed in me for the coming year.

“Charlie Brown” finally wins one: With my brother in the area for the holiday weekend, we found time to bowl this morning. As a nod to a recent passing, and noting that my brother has used “Capt. Lou” on the scorer before, I put him in as “Macho Man” (a reference to wrestler Randy Savage). The session began innocently enough, with me shooting in the 180s and 190s for the first two games, but my game fell completely apart after that. After a spare to start the third game, I whiffed on a “picket fence” (the 1-2-4-7), missed a couple of single pins, then had three splits in a row, two of them 2-8-10 type splits, during which my Fast seemed to lose all reaction. I knew my brother was probably going to break through when he followed spares in the 2nd and 3rd frames with a double, which put me in a big hole. By the end of the game, I changed to my Tropical Breeze, and that was making it back to the pocket where my Fast wasn’t, even though the former ball is supposed to be weaker than the latter one. The end result was a 103, easily my worst game since the period when I was getting my bowling legs back under me four years ago. My brother got a photo of the overhead monitor after the game to put on Facebook as a “trophy.” Congrats to my brother today…I’d say it was bound to happen sometime, because “that’s bowling.”

I’ve been wrangling since I got home yesterday with whether I wanted to mention what’s to follow or spare the post out of a wish to avoid self-promotion in the matter, but I decided that I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least make a brief note about it.

I attended the Brockton Bowling Association’s annual open meeting yesterday with the intention of giving a report on the Facebook page. After the reports were taken care of, Bob Young mentioned that with our 50th association tournament coming up next year, and with the Brockton Bowling Association hosting the state open tournament again in the not too distant future, he would need more people to help with tournaments and such, and since I’ve already displayed the willingness to assist the association, suggested I be placed on the board of directors. There was some discussion about how to fit me onto the current board, since I did not want to take the vacant Taunton spot on the board because I don’t bowl there. Eventually, the board was reorganized (I’ll spare the details) and I was elected to a one-year term on the board.

I was able to contribute immediately, as there was discussion on how we could recognize non-members who have assisted the association and bowling in the area in general. I moved (which was seconded and voted on in the affirmative) to exempt Meritorious Service nominees for the association Hall of Fame from the bowling requirements. Some of the people we can now recognize are area bowling writers (who may not necessarily be bowlers themselves) and people who are not Brockton Bowling Association members who have done stuff like assist with the youth bowling programs in the area. I hope this change proves a positive step for the association.

I am looking forward to fulfilling my increased responsibility, perhaps beginning with the Bowler of the Year tournament in September.

I treated the night like a regular league night, so I arrived about the time I usually would for winter league. Before bowling, I caught up with someone from my bowling past: Wayne Webber, who is now AWBA president. Wayne was working in the pro shop at the time I first broke into league bowling and had drilled my first bowling balls, so it really was a pleasure for me to see him again.

For the tournament, I was teamed with the Spotts, Dan and Lorretta, from Colorado Springs. Dan was the wheelchair bowler on the team, and it turned out he was a former national champion, having won the A division handicap championship in 2004, the cloth for which was proudly displayed on the back of his wheelchair. The team didn’t do so well, and I had started out slowly, changing to my Tropical Breeze for the second game, which I had to run into the pro shop between frames to address a fit issue. I found a good line near the end looking around 15; part of my problem is usually trying to swing the ball too much and getting the ball to the dry on the outside too soon. Dan was consistently in the 170s and 180s, and Lorretta, after a poor start, was in the 200s in her other two games; I contributed a 588 no-tap scratch score for a 2060 score with handicap, which I didn’t think would cash, so I left early.

While I was bowling, I was observing the wheelchair bowlers around me, and noticed that many of them could hook it at least a little, which has given me new appreciation for disabled athletes. If I get results for the no-tap event, I will post them. Also, although the AWBA has a website, it hasn’t been updated for a while, so I may have to rely on on-site results for the national tournament, which started today.

Good luck to all of the wheelchair bowlers this week.

I may not have been able to get a photo of my league’s champions at the banquet, but Alex Frisbie let me have this still from his video, so I now present to you my 2010-11 league champions, “The Incredibowls”:

L to R: Shawn Coles (secretary), Ken Snow, Brian Snow, Pat Trombley, Audrey Flanagan, Jim Flanagan

Thought I’d post the photo of the door of my freezer in its current state as my answer to the tally art that fighter pilots painted on the fuselage of their planes under the side of the cockpit canopy during World War II. The four USBC award magnets shown were all earned this past winter season and represent every magnet I could have won this past season, as my average is too high for the 200 game and 600 series magnets.

I had wanted to bowl in my first Northeast Amateur Tournament at Wonder Bowl in New Bedford today, but my best friend Ed was running well late, and, by the time he said he’d get here, I felt we wouldn’t get there in time to register for the second squad, so I called off the tournament. NAT entries are all taken on-site, so the cash I was going to use will be deposited and put to use later (likely as my entry for the People’s Tournament next month at Westgate Lanes).

Ed joined me in bowling a few games at Westgate Lanes, instead, and I continued to work on what “CoachJim” gave me. I may not really be good bowling back-to-back days, though, b/c I only made my average one of the three games. My highlight was converting a 4-5 split, which I picked up by moving 4 boards right and throwing my strike ball at my strike target. Ed, for his part, broke 100 in his third game and also picked up a similar split (the 5-6).

I wasn’t expecting it this morning, but my brother popped the bowling question when he showed up for his visit. Of course, I accepted, thinking it would be an ideal time to shake some of the rust off from not bowling in over a week with a tournament coming up tomorrow. “CoachJim” thought I needed to work on ball speed and timing, so that was mostly what I worked on on first ball. “CoachJim” also gave me a hint on my spares, especially on my right side (including my troublesome 10 pin): if I push off harder on my right leg into my release, that will help keep my hips square with my target line subconsciously. That second bit actually seemed to work…I missed a 3-6, but only because I felt I pulled it, and that was the only “easy” miss on the day; the rest were splits. Though I wasn’t overly concerned with score, I shot a 616 for the set.