Well, gang, my team is dead last in the league, and it turned out that my ending leave of the “Greek Church” was bigger than expected, because the 2 points my team would’ve won had I got my mark and count would’ve kept us out of the basement, as we’re just a point behind the “Lounge Lizards.” At the top, “Phoenix Kings” continue to lead by four points to a three-way tie for second between “Amelia,” “Git R Done,” and “Country Bumpkins,” who happen to be my team’s opposition next week.

My Week 10 bowling (BowlSK)

The only thing I could say about tonight was that it was a strange one. My first game was respectable, but it was largely downhill from there. Between the second and third games, I left a total of five splits, including the “Greek Church” twice with one of those coming at the crucial juncture of the last game when I needed a mark to get the points for my team. Compounding the problem was a loss of rhythm at the end of the second game, when we had to move to a different pair after a problem with the pinsetter on lane 47 was noted. I usually show up against our opponents tonight, so I’m wondering if a black cat crossed my path on the way to catch the bus without me noticing. 😆

Result: 193-136-152=481
Average (30 games): 177 Last 9 games average: 164
Next week’s AVG+1: 553

As you may have guessed, we got swept. Oh well, on to the People’s Tournament on Sunday.

Although, unlike last week, we took a couple of points, that didn’t prevent us from dropping a place in the standings, as we are now in 14th, 3 points behind “The Insiders” and only a point ahead of “Wild Samoans,” who, as I have mentioned previously, we face next week. “Phoenix Kings” and “Git R Done” faced each other this week and split the points, so there is no change at the top of the standings.

The sweep on Wednesday night had no effect on our position, as it turned out, as we remain in 13th place, 7 points behind “Wyld Stallyns” and 3 points ahead of “The Insiders.” The race for the championship has become much closer, thanks to “Phoenix Kings” being swept by “Wild Samoans;” “Git R Done,” our opponents last week, now only trail the lead by 6 points. It should be noted that Harry Thibeault Jr’s 767 bowled against us is now the high scratch series for the men this season.

As mentioned in an earlier post, my team faces “Heaven Help Us,” the team currently in 4th place, this week. A week from Wednesday is the date my entire team has circled, as our opponents will be the aforementioned “Wild Samoans.”

My Week 8 bowling (BowlSK)

I’ve had nights where I’ve scored better, of course, but the first encouraging thing about last night was that I had a clean first game (210) bowling directly opposite Harry Thibeault Jr., one of the best in the house, which told me that I wasn’t bowling scared. A couple of bad shots cost me in the second game. However, in the third game, I had to make a move inside to about the point where I normally start feeling uncomfortable; I surprised even myself by throwing fairly good shots (I made a 2 & 1 move and upped the ball speed) and even stringing together a turkey in the middle of the game. The third game would’ve been better had my spare game not let me down. As it turned out, I would’ve needed a career night to beat Harry, anyway, as he had a 279, the highest game ever thrown against me, sandwiched between a couple of games in the 240s.

Result: 210-185-171=566
Average (24 games): 183 Last 9 games average: 181
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 562

The team got swept, largely because Debbie Butler, Harry’s sister, also had a great night, which my team couldn’t really match. On to “Heaven Help Us,” another good team, next week.

With “T N T” only taking a single point this week, we lost a place in the standings, with Team 14 (our opponents this week) moving ahead of us. The league championship is starting to look like a runaway for “Phoenix Kings,” as they are now 14 points ahead of a tie for second between “Git R Done” (our opponents next week), “Country Bumpkins,” and “Heaven Help Us” (our opponents in two weeks).

My Week 7 bowling (BowlSK)

There was not much to like about tonight, as I had no strikes after the 8th frame of the first game. I had reached the conclusion in the second game that my Hy-Road was too strong tonight, so I went to the High Voltage, and the ball change may have been ill-advised, in hindsight. If there was a bright spot, it was the second game, where I had my closest approach to an all-spare game yet, with a big split to open but spares in the other nine frames. My spare game wasn’t that solid, however, as I left the 7 pin four times and missed all of them, including 3 in a very forgettable last game.

Result: 155-173-125=453
Average (21 games): 182 Last 9 games average: 179
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 552

This wasn’t a good night for the team, either, as we only managed a first game tie, and we didn’t learn about the tie until the end of the night, as the other team had a new bowler who had to average in. Team will need to regroup quickly, however, as we face very good teams in the next two weeks.

My team’s winning night against “Wyld Stallyns” had the net effect of leapfrogging that team into 11th place in the standings, 2 points off of a 3-way tie for 8th. “Phoenix Kings” are really hitting stride now, as they now lead “Heaven Help Us” by 8 points. Next week’s opponents are Team 14, who are behind us in the standings.

My Week 6 bowling (BowlSK)

As I noted in the BowlSK comment on the series, this was a nice first league game and set with my new Hy-Road. I knew if I could make good shots and find the pocket, the ball would likely carry, and that was borne out in the first game with a turkey in the middle (after a split) and the final 6 in a row for a 245. Some bad shots hurt me in the second game, but I was even happy with that game, as I got a couple of “messengers” (a “messenger” is when the head pin bounces off the side wall and heads for the 10 pin), even though those “messengers” missed; I hadn’t been getting those with the High Voltage, showing how strong the Hy-Road is.

Result: 245-162-211=618
Average (18 games): 188 Last 9 games average: 183
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 582

This was another good night for the team, as well. The first game set up the night, as everyone was well over average, particularly Rob, who had a 235 himself; we won that game by better than 200 pins. Second game was a disappointment, but I helped carry my team (combined with the other team, who had a pre-bowl and a low-average absentee, not doing so well) to the third game win for 6 points on the night.

The updated standings were run today, so this is as fresh as it comes. 😀

My team’s winning night meant that we are now all alone in 12th place, 2 points ahead of “The Insiders,” but 2 points behind Team 14 (which is not, as it turns out, Brian and Ralph’s team). “Phoenix Kings” are now the league leaders, 2 points ahead of “Heaven Help Us.” Next week’s opponents are the “Wyld Stallyns,” another middle-of-the-pack team.

If you go to my member information page on bowl.com (linked in the sidebar in the “Author’s links” category) and click the “Leagues/Averages” tab, you should find that my Brunswick Mixed League average for the past season has been posted. Last year’s Wednesday Summer Mixed average still shows 0 because the local association generally does not submit summer league averages.