Author: Rich

I started "The Tenth Board" to chronicle my experiences during the road back to league bowling after my heel fractures in 1999 (it took me 7 years before I started thinking seriously about it). I now use the blog as a combination of a personal bowling journal and a news site mostly about Westgate Lanes (Brockton, MA) and its bowlers.

Cross-training #45

This gave me an opportunity to combine a “Cross-training” post with real bowling news. 😀

According to this note in the Winston-Salem (NC) Journal, homegrown NBA star Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets (perhaps my favorite NBA player other than a Celtic) will have a bowling event as part of his weekend to benefit his CP3 Foundation. The event will pair 5 PBA stars with 5 NBA players, marking the first time the PBA will participate in an event with other professional athletes. The event will be held on Sept. 20 and air on ESPN on Oct. 19 to kick off the new season of PBA telecasts (although it’s not officially a PBA Tour event).

A good recovery

To my mind, the less said about the first game, the better, but I’ll say it anyway…I had a horrible spare shooting game. There was one split (the 4-6-10), but, in order after that, I slid by the 2 on the 2-4-5, chopped the 3 off of the 3-6-10, chopped the 2 off of the 1-2-8, and missed a single 10 pin. I did manage to record a double in the 9th and 10th, but could only fill the strike in the 10th with a single-pin spare for a 144. The anchor bowler for the other team had a chance at a 300, but had an open in the 10th frame, and Ralph was also in the 140s, so we got croaked the first game.

The second game saw me open by missing a single 7 pin, but I was clean after that, recording a double in the 7th and 8th frames before leaving the 5-6 split. I did strike out in the 10th for a 194, but my team again lost the game; as a team, we did fairly well, but couldn’t overcome the handicap difference.

The last game saw me open only once (a 4-6-7 split in the 4th), but I had a double in the 2nd and 3rd frames, and finished with the last 5 for a 220. This was the closest game of the night, but Ralph couldn’t capitalize on a strike in the 9th by getting more in the 10th, so we ended up getting swept. However, I did recover a decent night, only missing my average by a total of 12 pins. My average dropped to 189, but I can recover the pin I lost with an over-average series next week.

Result: 144-194-220=558
Average (24 games): 189 Last 9 average: 190
Next week’s AVG+1: 579

The higher-rev release I had been learning wasn’t doing the job in the first game, so it was good that I could go back to the old “urethane” release with more speed, and that helped me save the night.

My brother said we might be doing my sister’s birthday stuff this weekend, so it definitely looks like I’ll be able to bowl with my cousins next week, something I’ve been looking forward to all season. 🙂

Understated goals

My revised plan for practice today was to just use the first game to work on mechanics, the second game shooting just corner pins (I was going to spend the whole practice doing this, but decided I didn’t want to neglect the other phases of my game.), and the last game trying for score. The first two games went just about as expected (I only missed 2 corner pins, a 7 and a 10, the whole second game), while I could only manage a 171 third game because of a 4-6 split and a washout. I did learn that another key to making my corner pins was extending for my target spot to make sure I didn’t miss it. I suppose I’m happy with this practice, but I hope to line up better in league Wednesday night.

Scrapbook update: I brought my camera with me to practice to get shots of Junior, Marcia, and Bev. I could’ve had a photo with all 3 of them, but I had thought my batteries were dead (when it was really the lens barrier not fully open), so I only managed to grab Junior and Bev before I had to leave to catch the bus back home. Marcia will have to wait for another day, but the two photos I got will be uploaded to the scrapbook page momentarily.

Standings update for July 11

According to today’s standings update, my team remained in 4th place in the league, but fell to 8 points behind the pace, set by Team 5. We have an opportunity to gain ground on a team ahead of us next week, as we’re scheduled to bowl against Team 18, which is 6 points ahead of us in 2nd place.

Richie V. is now on BowlSpace

With some help from my friend Brandon from the BowlingFans.com/BowlingCommunity.com community, I have set up a page on BowlSpace, a social network (like MySpace) for bowlers. I had been eyeing this site for a while as a place to tell a little more about myself other than bowling (I want keep mostly bowling stuff on this blog) and to give my bowling readers more opportunity to interact with me. There is a blog on my BowlSpace, and I have made an initial post to it. I won’t use it often, but if something major happens, I may want to make it a BowlSpace exclusive, alerting my readers here to the post via “administravia.” I do have a post in mind that I’ve been saving for BowlSpace, as well, and hope to post it there in the next week or so.

The link to my BowlSpace page is in the sidebar under “Author’s links,” and I hope some of you will sign up soon and request a friend addition…I will give preference to bowlers from my area and those I know from the BowlingFans.com/BowlingCommunity.com community. See ya there! 😀

“Westgate Lanes scrapbook” launched

Along with getting my team photo taken, I took some shots of some of the other people I see at the lanes (those who would let me, anyway), and I have started a new “scrapbook” page with those, which is linked in the “Pages” category of the sidebar. The team photo is repeated, but there are a few more included to start the page. This page will be updated as I take more pictures, of course, and I will let readers know about updates through “administravia.”

I hope you will enjoy them. 😀

July 9 league night

I’m going to save the pre-bowling stuff of the night for last, because I have something special this week. 😀

In the first game, the only bad parts were leaving the 4-6 split in the 8th and missing a 10 pin (yet again, but more on this later) to end the game, but I did string together enough strikes (a turkey to start, and a double in the 5th and 6th) for a 202. Ralph was in the 220s, but Brian was well under his average, so we lost a fairly close first game. I missed yet another 10 in the 3rd frame (remarking to Harry Thibeault, Jr., the good bowler for our opponents, that he could see the trouble I was having with those) in the second game, but I did figure out that I had to keep my speed up on my corner pins, and made a 6-10 in the 6th and a single 10 in the 8th. However, I ended the second game with another split (the 2-4-10) for a 179. Ralph was again in the 220s, and Brian and Joy had decent games, so we took the second game. I was clean for the most part in the last game, but I did have a bad shot in the 6th, leaving the 1-3-9 and only picking up the front pins from that. I made all of my other spares, including a 10 early and a 7 late, but because I couldn’t find the line in the last game, I only managed a 182. Both Harrys had very good games for our opponents, and none of us could really get anything going, so we took our first real beating of the season, losing 6 points, including third game and total by a good amount. My 563 was, for the first time this summer, under my average, but not by much, so I’m still carrying a 190 average; it will be an officially recognized average now, even if I quit at this point, because I have 21 games in the league.

Result: 202-179-182=563
Average (21 games): 190 Last 9 average: 192
Next week’s AVG+1: 591

Now for the good part…to put faces to the names of the bowlers on my team, I present to my readers Mad Blogger, Summer 2008 edition…

Richie, Brian Shea, Ralph Marple
Front: Joy Falese; Back (L-R): Richie, Brian Shea, Ralph Marple

Thank you to Ron Haynes for taking the team photo for me. More where that came from later. 😀

“Dick Ritger Bowling Camps” added to sidebar

I swung by the lanes after a dentist appointment today and saw the flyers at the control desk for a two-day clinic run by Dick Ritger Bowling Camps which will be conducted at Boston Bowl on August 22 & 23. The cost may be prohibitive for me ($295 for the clinic), and I have to be at a wedding on the second day of the clinic, in any event. However, as Dick Ritger is one of the best-known bowling coaches around, I have added the link to his site to the sidebar list. There is a good links page on the site, as well, so it may be worth it to visit the site just for that.

Up and down

Kind of an up and down practice session today, as the title of this post indicates. I had a clean 224 in my first game, but then it was downhill from there, a good deal of it because I was missing a lot of corner pins, especially the 10 pin. I think I’m going to devote the entire practice next week to just shooting corner pins, as those have been hurting my league performances, as well.

USBC membership info added to “Author’s links”

With my USBC membership card arriving in the mail today, I am now able to link my USBC membership information page as it appears on Bowl.com (the USBC’s site) in the “Author’s links” category. The page is rather bare right now, but the page will track the averages in my completed leagues as well as note any honor score awards I may receive (I hope there’s something on that part of the page someday, of course).

Cross-training #41

This web report notes that Washington Wizards guard Roger Mason Jr. will host a celebrity bowling event to benefit the Washington, DC chapter of the National Kidney Foundation. The invited guests include NBA stars Carmello Anthony, Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Kevin Durant, Gilbert Arenas, and Antawn Jamison, as well as the Redskins’ Clinton Portis and Santana Moss, among others.

The big payback

I was really geared up for the rematch against “Fun and Games” tonight, but I wanted to keep my team’s mood loose, so my choice of garb for the night was the “Split Happens” t-shirt. When I got to the lanes, Bob Hamilton said something to me on the order of “We’re going to get you for what you did to my daughter’s team last week” (apparently, Bob’s daughter’s team were our opponents last week), and, although I didn’t tell my teammates about it, I kind of wanted to use that internally as “bulletin board material” of sorts, so I didn’t really say anything back to him about it. It did seem lonely this week with the pro shop closed for vacation for 5 weeks and no Ray or Jon to talk to, so I watched Ralph and Brian warm up prior to league starting, making small talk when I could.

The “Split Happens” kind of emerged as a theme for the night at first, as, while I was able to put together strikes, a 4-6-7 split and a 4-9 split marred my first game. However, my team was in a position where we all had strikes working in the 10th, and everyone except Ralph was able to add at least a double to that. I struck out in the 10th for a 207, with my team winning that game. The splits continued in the second game, however, starting the game with the 3-10 (which I converted), and having another 4-9 in the 5th. I was not able to string anything together, completely whiffing on a 3-6-10 in the 8th frame and making single pin spares in the 9th and 10th (filled with a strike) for a 169. My team couldn’t string anything together that game as well, but, though it was fairly close, we lost the second game and entered the third game fairly even for total. The third game for me started with a washout, but I had some of my best bowling so far in this league by stringing together six in a row before missing a couple of single corner pins (making the 10 in the 9th, however) for perhaps the ugliest 213 I’ve ever had. My teammates also did well in that game, so we won third game and total by a fairly comfortable margin for a six-point night, exactly what “Fun and Games” did to us in the first meeting. The 589 series was once again over my AVG+1, so I’m now carrying a 190 league average for the first time in my life.

I had wanted to ride home with Brian again, but wanted to talk to my cousins first. They were still bowling when we finished, so I hung around their lane pair, but Brian took off while I was watching my cousins. Ralph hung around to see if my cousins would take me home, and when I learned that they could (after hanging around for a bit), I said goodbye to Ralph with a hug, thanking him for the night and letting him know how much I had wanted our team to do well tonight.

Result: 207-169-213=589
Average (18 games): 190 Last 9 average: 194
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 581

Edit to BowlingCommunity.com link: I edited the sidebar link to BowlingCommunity.com in a way that lets readers know that those are the forums I post to.

First anniversary post

The first post to this blog was actually on July 4 of last year, but it has been one year since the bowling outing with my brother that started it all, so I will choose to celebrate this blog’s anniversaries on the anniversary of that outing. I’d like to first start off by thanking my readers for putting up with me the past year, but that I hope that you’ve found my adventures interesting enough to want to keep reading. 😀

Looking back on the past year, I’m amazed at how far I’ve come. I contemplated making my comeback wondering how good I could be after my injuries, and the results have exceeded even my wildest hopes. I broke 100 in my second outing with my brother, and was able to shoot 200 again shortly after beginning regular practice (a 218 on Oct. 15). I had felt I was ready for leagues around December, but the lack of openings in the leagues allowed me to bide my time, practicing through the winter season after deciding to wait until the summer to test myself in competition.

Figuring I had a new lease on my bowling life, I wasn’t satisfied with just returning to my old form, so I had a couple of lessons with Ray in the last year to figure out what my flaws were. The work on those flaws in practice allowed me to get to a point where I almost had a 700 series in practice (the recent 689), and to establish a new personal best official series (the 642 in the third week of my summer league). I have also become more consistent, averaging higher at this point (189) than my highest summer league average of my previous bowling life (which I remember being a 171). It is safe to say that my comeback attempt is now less of an attempt and more of a successful comeback. 😀

Giving thanks: I wanted to use my first anniversary post to give thanks to some people who I may or may not have already thanked on this blog, so here goes…

  • My family, first and foremost, for their support and gift cards, which I, of course, turned into useful practice. My brother, especially, has been encouraging, noting here that he’d rather see me bowling than in front of my computer. My brother also shared one of my special moments since my comeback started, my first 200+ game witnessed by family, something I had wanted my late mother to see.
  • The Minassians, and the rest of the staff at Westgate Lanes, for welcoming me back. Junior had told my sister that he was glad to see me back around the center, so I wanted to make sure they were included in this anniversary post.
  • The pro shop owner, and my coach, Ray DiSanto Jr., for his advice and support, as well as for putting my summer league team together. Here’s to many more years of a working relationship and friendship.
  • My teammates, Brian, Joy, and Ralph, for their encouragement and sharing one of my personal bowling highlights. I couldn’t have asked for better teammates. 😀
  • Everyone else in the Wednesday Summer Mixed League, just for being who they are.
  • The gang from the BowlingCommunity.com forums and especially the regulars on the #BowlingFans IRC channel, also for their encouragement. Special thanks here to “CoachJim” for his invaluable advice, including suggesting the thumb pitch change that served as the springboard to my recent improvement.
  • The WordPress user “prairieskooner” for his recent encouragement via commenting on this blog.
  • The first of two specific friends on the EFnet IRC network I’ll thank in this post, “Gozzo”, for pointing me to the story on Boston Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew that helped spark the idea for the “Cross-training” feature of this blog.
  • Another friend on EFnet of long-standing, the user “lebron” (not the one that uses caps in his nick…I knew this one formerly as “chee”), for suggesting that I try to merge my bowling hobby with my Internet one; this blog is the fruit of that suggestion.
  • Finally, the rest of my online friends, whether I’ve been in touch with them through email, other forums, IRC, or instant messaging. I won’t name any names here, but you know who you are. 😀

I have tried to use this blog not only for the entertainment of my readers, but hopefully as a resource for bowling in my area (via my posting of local bowling news) and elsewhere (through linking of quality bowling sites in the sidebar). I have things planned for the next year, but will play my hand close to my vest for now (though I’ve mentioned some of it to my online bowling friends). I hope you will continue reading.

Today’s practice: So how did I celebrate one year since my return to bowling? Well, it happened to be a practice day, so I hit the lanes as normal. I continued working on keeping my arm in close, but also mixed something else in today: John Jowdy’s ring finger lead drill. The work resulted in me having a lot of good-quality shots during practice. I had a five-bagger in both my first game (a 226) and last game (a 236) sandwiched around a 181 middle game that could’ve easily been better for a 643 series, a pin better than my personal best official series. 😀

Standings update: I finally learned through the standings sheet posted at the lanes that my team had slipped to 4th place despite taking 6 points last week. Given the fact that I’ve been able to follow up good practices with good league nights, the fact that we’re bowling on the pair I had the 642 on, and who the opponents are, I feel good about Wednesday night. 🙂

Hall of Fame Classic canceled: I was told not a lot of people showed up for the Brockton USBC Bowling Association’s scheduled singles tournament at Westgate Lanes yesterday, so, unfortunately, the event was canceled. Here’s hoping they’ll run it next year at a time when bowlers will want to enter the tournament.

June “People’s Tournament” results: The People’s Tournament site reported James Ruscio out of Town Line Ten Pin (176 average) as the winner of this month’s event at Westgate Lanes. Ruscio defeated Roger Pemberton (Boston Bowl, 187 average) in the title match 270-206 (with handicaps). One of the teams in my league, “Fun and Games” (who else?), was well-represented among the cashers, as Sally Toppan finished 3rd, while Sean Richard was reported as finishing in 18th place.

Delay in standings update

There has apparently been a delay in posting the updated league standings, as LeagueSecretary.com currently still shows the standings after last week’s bowling.  I’ll keep an eye on the page and let everyone know when the standings have been updated.

Still on a roll

We finally had some semblance of a normal league night tonight, as all four members of my team were present. My ankle was feeling better than it did last week, so I didn’t feel a need to take a warm-up game to test it. I’ve gotten into the habit of getting my medication stuff out of the way before the lanes were turned on for league, so all I had to tell my sister was that league was about to start, and she knew I had taken my evening medication early.

The only blemish of the first game was a 3-10 baby split where I hit the 3 pin too full and failed to convert the split. I had a turkey in the middle of the game, and had a double plus 9 in the 10th for a 211…a nice start. I opened the second game with a double, but then only picked up the 7 pin on a 4-7 leave after getting distracted by a scoring error and having to make the appropriate change. I was leaving an awful lot of corner pins in the middle of the game, including the 6-10 twice. I had a double in the 9th and 10th frames, but needed the second strike in the 10th for another 200+ game and left a 3 pin with the first fill ball; I converted the spare for a 199. There was a scary moment to start the third game where the lead bowler for our opponents left her shoe covers on and slipped, falling over onto the lane, when she threw her first shot in the game; she was OK, but the score had to be changed to reflect the obvious foul. I left the 6-7 split to start the third game, had a strike in the second game, but then missed the first of two single 10 pin leaves I would miss in the game left. I had a double in the 4th and 5th frames to make up one of the open frames, but then missed another 10 pin left in the 8th frame. My personal highlight of the night came in the next frame, not because I had a strike, but because I left the 4-5 split, one of the more difficult “fit” splits, but converted that, which Ray managed to catch and told me he liked seeing me pick that up. I ended with a 169, the first time I had been under 170 since the opening week. However, the 579 total was 6 pins better than what I needed for the average-plus-1 (total needed to raise average by one pin…I’ll start including that information in the wrap-up with this post), so I still had a good night. Brian was still a bit untracked (after having practiced Sunday on the slicker tournament shot), but Joy and Ralph had decent nights for them. The opponent that slipped on the lane recovered to have a decent third game, along with the other female on the team, so, although it was close, we lost the third game, which prevented an eight-point sweep for the night.

Result: 211-199-169=579
Average (15 games): 189 Last 9 average: 200
Next week’s Average-Plus-One score: 579

Errata: The Bowler’s Ledger, a bowling newspaper published in the area, reported Rosemarie Daniels as a member of the Tri-City USBC WBA in the results of the women’s state tournament, but Ray informed me that she actually bowls out of Boston Bowl, so she calls the women’s association for Boston her home association.

Tuesday note

Took a trip to the lanes again today to have oil removal done on my ball before the pro shop closes for vacation this weekend. I found the full league schedule and got some good news and bad news. The good news? With the redone schedule, my team is scheduled to face my cousins’ team, the “Lounge Lizards,” later this season. The bad news? We are scheduled to do so on July 23, which happens to be my sister’s birthday, so if my family has something planned for her that night, I may have to either be absent or pre-bowl (if I get enough advance notice).

Monday notes

  • I had kind of a “blah” practice session today, but I did save the best for last…a clean 205 that found me having to make the 5-7 split in the middle of the game to keep it clean. Again, the work focused mostly on keeping my bowling arm close to my body in the swing.
  • I saw a reorganized standings sheet posted at the lanes, and we are now Team #15. This means we will not bowl against my cousins’ team this week (though they may be on the schedule later). The bad news was that I found out that we have to bowl “Fun and Games” (Bob Hamilton and Sean Richard’s team) again next week. Here’s hoping a second go-around proves better.