“Bowling’s Clash of Champions”

USBC to present “Bowling’s Clash of Champions” on CBS in May

I’m pretty excited about this. Not only is bowling returning to network television and will have some familiar faces, but bowlers who might not otherwise receive television exposure, such as 2007 USBC Open Championships Regular All-Events winner Mike Rose Jr., will be featured. According to the article about this on BowlingDigital.com, if you entered a major USBC championship event or a US Open in 2007, you were entered in this event and are represented by your event’s champion. Future bowling programming on network television may depend on how well this event draws, so if you bowl, show your support of the game by watching on May 10 & 11.

My bowling shirts

Figured I’d post today to show off a little from my bowling past. I’ve kept the score sheets from my notable performances (personal best games and series, the tournament win), but most of those are on old overhead transparencies, which are now creased from being stuffed in a manila envelope and difficult to keep flat on a scanner, and some of them are done in yellow scoring pencil, which may not show up on a scan in any case. The next best thing, then, I feel, is to post some pics of me in my bowling shirts. I have two of them, a red shirt I had done by the old pro shop which has my ABC award patches (the ABC was the American Bowling Congress, which governed men’s ten-pin bowling in the US until the merger with the Women’s International Bowling Congress (WIBC) and Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) to form today’s USBC), and the black trophy shirt I received for my LBT win, which I’ll post first…

Front view of the shirt…a small version of this picture will also go on the “About” page (which is why this post also appears in the “Administravia” category…I’ll be updating that page when I finish with this post).

Back view of same shirt…

This is me in the red shirt. The red patch on the pocket (as well as on the other shirt) is an Amateur Bowlers Tour patch, which was (and probably still is) required by bowlers participating in ABT events.

Back view; I liked the black-on-red color scheme because those are Brockton High School’s colors.

A couple of closeups now…first, the 150-over-average series award patch…

I was awarded this patch for a 605 series I shot in April of 1989 (my first of 3 600+ series), about 6 months before my LBT win. I was averaging 145 at the time, and the series was paced by a 244 first game, which almost won me the patch I’ll show next. The 605 helped me earn the most improved bowler honors in my league for that season.

I received this patch for the 268 game I shot in November of 1990. I remember having two bad games that night, but I figured out the pair and got into a groove, getting the first 8 in a row (ESPN’s Rob Stone might call that a “double hambone” now…hehehehe!) before leaving a 3-6 in the 9th frame, which I converted. I finished up with a strike on the first ball in the 10th, then left the 3-6 again with the second ball, which I again made. I was averaging 157 going into that night.

Hope no one minds me reminiscing. BTW, you might’ve guessed I forgot to close the bathroom door b4 taking these, but I was hoping the bathroom wouldn’t show in these photos…I wanted a white background for these. Thanks to my best friend Ed for obliging me by taking these photos with my digital camera.

Practice summary, 2/4/08

I resolved to practice today no matter how much sleep I lost from the Super Bowl last night. It was a pretty cool day, but warm and dry enough to take the bike to the lanes, so that helped me wake up a bit.

It turned out to be a pretty strange practice session. I had been setting up around board 18L (that would be the 18th board in from the left gutter) and going for a second-arrow shot, but my ball just wasn’t making it back to the pocket, with my first game suffering because of it. In the second game, I experimented with a couple of first-arrow shots, setting up around board 15R and not getting anything better, so I decided to go back to a second-arrow shot but move to somewhere around 18R. The adjustment was enough to get a couple of games over average, with the last game threatening a 200 after a turkey starting in the 7th frame. I needed a double and count in the 10th for the 200, but didn’t get it, only converting a spare with a 6-fill for a 183.

Result: 137-171-183=491

Running average (51 games): 165 Last 9 average: 169

Upcoming tournaments: Here’s a list of upcoming tournaments of interest to bowlers in my area…

Brockton, Foxvale, and Tri-City mixed doubles, Feb. 23-24, Westgate Lanes
Brockton Bowling Association Championships, Mar. 15-16, AMF Taunton Lanes
TNBA Boston Bowling Senate No-Tap*, Mar. 29-30, Westgate Lanes
Mass. State Championships, Apr. 5-May 18, Gardner Ten Pins
New England Bowling Association, Apr. 19-20, Westgate Lanes
People’s Tournament, Apr. 27, Westgate Lanes
Mass. Women’s State Championships, May 3-18, Town Line Ten Pin, Malden

Schedule subject to change, of course. If the Northeast Amateur Tournament reschedules a tournament at Westgate Lanes, I’ll pass the information along. Also, there’s no word on if USA Bowling Pro Shop is still running the monthly “King of the Hill” tournament at Westgate Lanes, so I’ll have to ask Ray about that next time I see him.

*”No-Tap” means nine pins on first ball counts as a strike.

I may have a special post or two coming in the next few days, so stay tuned!

Getting it together

I went into today’s practice keeping in mind Bev’s suggestion from last week, and I had my best session in weeks as a result, not because I had very good games, but because I was consistent. My first two games were in the high 170s, then I strung together a turkey to open the third game. A couple of splits (including a miss of the baby split in the 4th frame) held my score down, but I made all of my regular leaves. I did finish with a flourish, but not by stringing together more strikes: I left the 6-7 split (one of the hardest “makeable” splits) with my first fill ball in the 10th frame after a strike, but I got my shot at the split to the right of the 6 pin enough to slide the 6 pin into the 7 pin for the conversion. 😀

Result: 179-178-191=548

Running average (48 games): 165 Last 9 average: 171

Practice summary, 1/22/08

I decided to bite the bullet and put in a practice session today, although it would be charged on my gift card at full price. I figured I could always pretend I practiced last Monday. I had thought about going yesterday, BTW, but it worked out that the buses were on a Saturday schedule, and Bev told me when I arrived at the lanes that if I went yesterday, I would’ve been charged the holiday rate, which is a bit more than the usual weekday rate.

Anyway, it was just a so-so practice, with only a 180 middle game that was over my average. At the end, I was experimenting with a fifth-board (first arrow in from the gutter) shot and not getting anything better, though it showed me my ball could reach the pocket if I played that far outside. Bev also said she noticed a delivery flaw…she suggested that I try to stay upright with my body when I release the ball, and that’s something I think I’ll try to work on next time.

Result: 158-180-144=482

Running average (45 games): 164 Last 9 average: 163

Chance encounter

Been half-debating and half-procrastinating about making this post, but when my brother took me to the supermarket Friday night (we usually go on a Saturday morning, but my brother wanted it out of the way for this weekend w/ the Patriots game last night), we ran into Si there. I introduced Si and my brother to each other and got to chatting a bit about my bowling, mentioning to Si that I had talked to my brother about my practice with him in the car on the way to the supermarket. When my brother asked Si how I looked, Si said I looked “pretty good,” which I’ll take as a good sign, as Si knows his bowling, coming up one pin short of a 300 game once in his bowling career (though the honor score failed to be sanctioned after the required lane inspection). I also mentioned to Si when we were checking out that I had quit smoking, which he complimented me on.

Note: With a snowstorm expected to hit the area tomorrow, I may not be practicing. As a week from tomorrow is the Martin Luther King holiday, this may mean no practice for two weeks.

Practice summary, 1/7/08 (includes correction)

I got to the control desk today and told Bev that I heard about Bill Fisher’s passing and that I posted a brief tribute here (previous post), but when I mentioned that I said I bowled with him, I found out I had my Fishers mixed up. Although Bill Fisher did, indeed, pass away, and was the owner of one of the local pro shops, the Fisher that I had bowled with was actually Ray Fisher (who is no relation). So I should start off by issuing an apology to those concerned, and I hereby stand corrected.

I went into today’s practice determined to continue what had worked for me toward the tail end of last week, and I largely succeeded, posting 180s in the first two games. I did fall off in the third game, however, and could only manage a 145. I continue to have occasional problems with my thumb release, so I’ll have to visit Ray at the pro shop sometime to let him know and see if the ball can be worked on further.

Result: 185-182-145=512

Running average (42 games): 164 Last 9 average: 162

R.I.P. Bill Fisher

Posting to the blog earlier than I normally do on Monday. This is because Si notified me this morning via email that Bill Fisher, the owner of another, successful, pro shop in Brockton, passed away last week in his sleep. I had bowled in leagues with Bill, and he had always been nothing but congenial. His pro shop had been around for a long time, and a number of bowlers bowling at Westgate Lanes had success with equipment he sold to them. He will be sorely missed on the local bowling scene, and my sympathies go out to his family.

Summer league plans set

I made a phone call to my cousin Debbie today to tell her I was agreeable to bowling on Wednesday nights in the Westgate Mixed league this summer. Although she told me she and her husband already had a team lined up, she told me there would be room for more bowlers in that league, and I’d be welcome in the league. With my own league plans now set, I emailed Si to inform him about this and told him that I hoped to see him there this summer, as well.

My t-shirt

For better or for worse, here’s me in the t-shirt…

Thanks to Ed’s wife Maria for snapping the pic with her digital camera.

Social call

I wanted to show off the bowling t-shirt I received for Christmas to the management at the lanes, so I took it with me, and Junior and Bev (the control desk person when I practice) got a kick out of it (a picture of it is coming, folks…just waiting for it to be emailed to me). I did not start using my gift cards today, and I knew I would be charged the full rate today, with this being a school vacation period. My next-door neighbor did give me a free bowling coupon that was on a Banquet frozen dinner box that he bought, so one of my games was free.

As I walked toward my locker to get my equipment out, I ran into Si, and it turned out he was going to give practicing a try, so, with his OK, I had Bev move me to his pair of lanes. Before I go into my own performance, I should note that he said this was the first time he picked up a bowling ball since a year ago in May, so his performance was a bit off. He told me he thought it was more of a footwork issue, though, especially early in his outing. He did get his legs under him somewhat, though, toward the last game, and had a few nice shots in the third game to recover a 142. If he’s reading this, I’d like to say I wish I could do that well after a long layoff. 😀

I pretty much stayed around my average today, but I was missing too many easy spares for comfort. I did make a nice ball speed adjustment at the end of the last game, though, and strung together three in a row before leaving the 6-7 split with the first fill ball in the 10th frame. The turkey before that was enough to recover a 156, though.

Result: 152-169-156=477

Running average (39 games): 163 Last 9 average: 167

After we finished bowling, Si and I discussed what we may be doing for leagues in the future, and I mentioned that my cousins were thinking of bowling the Wednesday night Westgate Mixed league (which Junior told me was 4-person teams) this summer and that I wanted to join them. Si then pretty much said he’d be agreeable to joining that league too, so there may be more than two familiar faces in the league I make my return to. Si also offered a ride home, which I accepted, saving me the return bus trip.

Christmas gifts

Between my nephews and my brother, I received $100 worth of gift cards for Westgate Lanes. I estimate, given that I usually practice on half-price Mondays, that they should last me until about the time summer leagues start. My sister and her husband also gave me a “Split Happens” t-shirt from the “What In The World” t-shirt catalog. I will try to get a picture of myself in the t-shirt for future posting.

Speaking of Christmas, I saw my cousins David and Debbie at my aunt and uncle’s house for the annual Christmas Eve family get-together. They plan on continuing bowling this summer, though they were not sure in which league. I recommended the Tuesday night His & Hers league (which goes to 4-person teams in the summer), but they were leaning toward bowling on Wednesday nights. As I’m not sure about the format for the Wednesday night summer league (it might be a mixed doubles league), that’s something I’ll have to ask Junior or Marcia about. I promised Debbie that I would be in touch as the end of April and the beginning of May approach to get our summer bowling plans sorted out.

Practice summary, 12/17/07

Not much to “write home about” today, but I did stay around my average for two games. I was having a pulling problem in the third game, which led to the weak 10 (where the 6 pin settles into the gutter instead of taking out the 10 pin) mocking me on the left lane, and I kept missing it with my pulling problem.

Result: 177-161-134=472

Running average (36 games): 164 Last 9 average: 169

Notes:

With Christmas Eve falling next Monday and my sister usually picking me up for a late afternoon church service on that day, I will not be practicing next week.
The Northeast Amateur Tournament was ready to go yesterday, but nobody showed up due to the nor’easter that was pounding the region, so the tournament was canceled. NAT’s next visit to Westgate Lanes will be in April.
Being my last visit to the lanes before Christmas, I left a card for the management and staff with Marcia in the office. She told me it was appreciated. 😀
Also, this likely being my last blog entry before Christmas, I’d like to wish my readers a happy holiday. 😀

Update on December 2007 TPT at Westgate Lanes

The People’s Tournament’s site reported that Michael Coren, based out of Boston Bowl, was the winner of the December TPT at Westgate Lanes. Coren was reported to have a 144 entering average, which should show you that anyone can win a handicap tournament if they bowl well enough. 😀

For the locals, David Diamond (203 entering average) was reported as Westgate Lanes’ best finisher in 9th place.

Getting there

In the regular practice today, I posted a 202 first game, thus starting off with a game over 200 for the first time since my return. I still had a fall-off in the second game, but it wasn’t that bad, as I still came within a few pins of my practice average with a 157. Then I just missed having a series with 2 games of 200 or better by 5 pins, posting a 195 final game for a 554 series, my best series post-heel fractures to this point. I continued to make progress with my spare shooting as well, as, after failing to convert it in previous attempts, I converted the baby split (the 3-10 leave for right-handers, one of the easier split leaves) twice today.

I’ve so far proven that I can start off hot, have a good game in the middle, and finish strong. All I have to do now is put it all together. 😀

Running average (33 games): 164 Last 9 average: 177

Some changes

I made some changes to earlier posts, including noting the full names of the pro shop people in their first mention in this blog, and linking the Northeast Amateur Tournament’s site to my mention of them in the “Tournament scene” note in the post about my new ball. As the NAT site is now known, I have also included the link in the sidebar list.

A Sunday morning at the lanes

With “The People’s Tournament” in town today, I wanted to head to the lanes this morning with hopes that I would be able to bowl in one of the qualifying squads as a pacer (pacers are used in tournaments sometimes when a pair of lanes has less than the full complement of bowlers assigned to it). The part of the morning I could blog about actually got started when I left the house, as Simon Rosenthal (I call him Si), another old bowling friend, was driving the taxi I called for to get there. I mentioned I wanted to return to the game, and he told me he was actually taking the year off from bowling after averaging only in the 140s the previous season when he’s usually somewhere in the 180s.

When I got to the lanes, I told Junior about my intentions, but he replied that the tournament officials may not let me pace. I was OK with this, but I proceeded into the party room (which is used as the check-in room for tournaments) to meet the tournament director for TPT, Sherm Cowan. I let him know that I was considering bowling TPT in the future, and that I had linked his site on this blog. He thanked me for the link and wished me well.

I also stopped in the pro shop to talk with Ray about the previous week. Si had mentioned in the cab that reactive balls wear out quickly, and I asked Ray about this. Ray replied that those balls don’t wear out, but rather soak up oil, and said the pro shop has something called “The Rejuvenator” that will help restore the ball. He recommended that I do this every 60 games, and since a run in the Rejuvenator is only $5, I won’t mind the occasional additional expense.

Getting coffee at the snack bar, I ran into Sean Richard, who was warming up for the tournament on one of the lanes. He recognized me as the new blogger and we exchanged pleasantries. I finished my coffee, then headed back to the control desk to set up a two-hour rental (Westgate Lanes runs a lane rental special on Sunday mornings.).

There was nothing special in the practice session, but I did make my spares consistently, which helped my games stay around 180 for the most part (I had a 144 middle game, as I’ll recap below.) What I learned is that I definitely prefer a drier lane, as that is usually the condition in my Monday afternoon practices, and will probably bowl in late squads in tournaments rather than early ones. Despite doing fairly well, I wasn’t up to practicing for more than 3 games, so I asked Junior for a $10 credit (I had originally paid $20 for the two hours.). The printer at the control desk was also having problems, so I had to write the scores down on the business card Sherm Cowan gave me. I wished Sean luck in today’s tournament on the way out.

Result: 180-144-179=503

Running average (30 games): 163 Last 9 average: 164

Link added

I forgot that I may be entering “Virtual Tournaments” on occasion once I return to league bowling and establish an average, so the link to VirtualTournaments.com has been added to the sidebar list.

I also edited various earlier entries to include full names of various people mentioned in this blog that I come into contact with at the lanes, including my cousin and his wife, who I still intend to bowl with in the future. The exceptions to these edits are the pro shop people (who are only mentioned by first name for now), and my brother and sister, my best friend Ed, his wife, and her sister (in order to protect their privacy).

Mark Roth, Part Deux

I didn’t think there would be a Part Two to my Mark Roth story, but as I walked into the building on my way to the control desk for today’s practice session, there he was giving someone a lesson (Why didn’t you tell me he was sticking around, Junior & Marcia?!). I waited until he had a moment, then said hello, shook his hand, and complimented him on the show he put on with Sean Richard the other day. If I had known he was sticking around, I might’ve thought twice about skipping the opportunity to get pointers from him, but I wanted to conserve my cash for the holidays.

As for the practice session itself, I definitely feel better about it than I did last week’s session. I started the session with a 189, easily my best starting game so far. I had a let-down the second game and only shot a 139 (three different splits didn’t help matters), but I recovered in the last game, getting 5 in a row from the 7th frame to the 2nd ball in the 10th. I wanted to repeat the “half-perfect” feat from an earlier practice, but I missed my target well right on the last ball and only fell 6 pins to finish with a 212 and a 540 total for the three games. I caught Ray from the pro shop on my way out, so I had to brag a little bit to him. 😀

Running average (27 games): 162 Last 9 average: 165

EDIT: A quick check of the New England Bowling Association site (see sidebar for link) finds that Mark Roth also competed in, and won, the NEBA tournament @ Westgate Lanes this past weekend. Congrats Mark! 😀

Note about Walter Ray Williams Jr.

Before I went to work on the blog today, I watched (via VCR delay, as I was watching the Celtics game when it was live) the Great Lakes Classic, this week’s stop on the PBA Tour, won by Walter Ray Williams Jr. for his record 44th PBA title. The guy is simply amazing…he was winning PBA titles 20 years ago, around the time I started league bowling, and hasn’t stopped. With 4 TV appearances so far this season and 2 more titles, he’s still near the best in the game, if not the best.

Links added

I’ve added some bowling links that I may or may not visit fairly frequently to the blog’s sidebar. All of them are on the bowling page of my site, but are included here for easy reference. The obvious national sites are there (including the USBC and the PBA), but as I want to reference local bowling happenings fairly often, some of them are more local in nature.

EDIT: Made a slight tweak to the link listings when I noticed you can set the “_blank” target. After doing so, links will now open in a new window (or a tab if your browser supports them and you have new windows set to open in tabs in your browser options).

Mark Roth’s visit

I have to do this from memory, so don’t consider this an accurate account of what happened in the exhibition match at Westgate Lanes today between PBA Hall of Famer Mark Roth and local bowler Sean Richard, but it was a pretty tense match. Sean Richard ended the first game with 6 consecutive strikes to take that game, then Mark Roth came back to win the second game. Could there be a fitting end? Yes; the third game ended in a tie. Both bowlers shot in the 220’s and 230’s in each game, so they really put on a good show. I didn’t hang around to get Mark Roth’s autograph, though, as I had to leave for lunch w/ my brother, then get the groceries, which I bought before I went to the exhibition, put away (it was cold enough today to leave the groceries in my brother’s car while I was out & about). Maybe they’ll have another “name” pro come visit next year. 🙂

As an aside, I saw another old friend from my previous bowling life, Brian Earle, known as “Hawk”, today, and we exchanged the usual “get caught up” chatter. He was there to bowl in the NEBA tournament, so good luck w/ that “Hawk”. 🙂

Practice summary, 11/26/07

Today was my first practice on a pair of lanes instead of a single lane, and I was really geared up for it. However, I found myself disappointed with my effort by the end of the session. I was like a pitcher struggling with his release point today, dropping many shots before reaching the bottom of my downswing, and ending up pulling those so that I would either cross over or come in through the nose. I was also struggling making spares on top of that, missing a total of 8 single-pin spares, mostly 6 pins and 10 pins (right side). I did manage to recover enough at the end to salvage an over-average third game, but not by much, so my averages actually went down this week.

Result: 131-138-166=435

Running average (24 games): 160 Last 9 average: 165

Update on league search

I took a trip to the lanes last night to meet with the secretary of the Brockton Ten-Pin League and was dismayed to learn that the two openings that I had noticed on that league’s standings sheet a few weeks ago were filled. I’m really hoping I don’t have to join the Tuesday night Scratch Sportsmen singles league, but it may be the only option left, depending on if they have an odd number of bowlers in the league currently. It is an option, however, as the only thing I care about at this point is establishing a book average for the beginning of the 2008-09 season (as well as for tournaments in the later part of this season).

Practice summary, 11/19/07

There was nothing really spectacular about this week’s practice (141-188-182=511), though I’m making more progress in my overall game. The lane seemed to have less of a hold area this week, and I initially moved left a half-board to a board to try to compensate, but when even that adjustment left me with high hits, I decided to make a slight ball speed adjustment to kill the hook a bit. I had a couple of solid hits after the adjustment, but I couldn’t really string the strikes together this week, never getting more than a double in any of my games.

Running average (21 games): 162 Last 9 average: 177

Notes:

As I get closer to actual competition, I will be practicing on a pair of lanes instead of just one lane starting with next week’s practice. For those of you not familiar with competitive bowling, leagues and tournaments require games to be bowled across a pair of lanes, so practicing on a pair of lanes will get me back into thinking about making the proper adjustments on two different lanes, just as I’ll be expected to do in actual competition.
In connection with the New England Bowling Association tournament on the weekend of December 1st and 2nd, Westgate Lanes has announced that PBA legend Mark Roth will make an appearance that Saturday. He will be offering lessons ($50/person) and will also bowl an exhibition match against local bowler Sean Richard. The program will get started at 11:30 AM Eastern time immediately after the junior leagues finish.

A couple of notes

Westgate Lanes will not be offering half-price bowling and will be charging holiday rate next Monday due to the Veterans’ Day holiday; therefore, I will be taking the week off from practice.

Also, a quick look at the 2008 calendar finds that the first non-holiday Tuesday night (New Year’s Day falls on a Tuesday this time around) is January 8. As the Brockton Ten-Pin League may not meet on the holiday, I am now targeting the 8th to make my return to league bowling.

Into the groove

I seem to have settled into a groove in practice where I have a pedestrian first game, a great second game, and a good third game. The great second game this week was a game where I shot a turkey twice (3rd through 5th, and 8th through first ball in 10th) en route to a 221, my best single game so far. The first game has been what’s holding my average down, so I need to learn how to start better. Another good sign, but which came out of something bad, was that I intentionally shot @ the 10-pin with my new ball after leaving the “Woolworth” split (5-10) in the third game and made it. Since the “Woolworth” is a tough split for a right-hander to make, I decided to use my second ball to work on a weakness rather than try to convert the split. It may be something that pays dividends down the line, as I won’t be as afraid to use my new ball to shoot at spares on the right side. Summary of the session: 140-221-179=540.

Running average (18 games): 161 Last 9 average: 172

Half perfect

In the 2nd game of today’s practice session (152-204-187=543), I had a split and missed 2 other spares and was only on a 164 pace through 6 frames, but ended the game with 6 strikes in a row for a 204 when I found the correct line to play on the lane, setting up between the 12 and 13 boards. I also had a turkey in the 3rd through 5th frames of the 3rd game, but that was the extent of the run, getting mostly spares the rest of the way for a 187. Also in that game, I just missed converting the 3-7 split when the 3 pin wrapped around the 7 pin off of the side wall. The 543 matches my best series so far, and comes on a day when I might’ve had less sleep than usual because of the celebration of the Boston Red Sox’ World Series win the night before.

Running average (15 games): 157 Last 9 average: 172

Practice summary, 10/22/07

Nothing really stellar this week (122-176-168=466), but it was a decent practice session for the first one with a new ball. I didn’t get many breaks in the first game, but I was coming in high, so I wasn’t expecting many breaks, including leaving the 4-6-7-9-10 split. I had a turkey in the 3rd through 5th frames of the second game, but the best thing I took out of today’s practice was that I was making my single 7-pin more consistently, getting the spare 3 times out of 4, and only missing one because my thumb stuck in the ball. My main problem today seemed to be making my right-hand corner pins, so hopefully, I’ll get that back on track next time.

Running average (12 games): 151 Last 9 average: 162

Another old friend: It turns out that the bowler I didn’t face in the finals when I won the LBT tournament back in October of 1989 (I was the third seed, and he lost the first stepladder match), Bob Hamilton, now works at Westgate Lanes as the lane maintenance person. I reintroduced myself, let him know I was on my way back, and asked him to let his brother George (who I also knew) know I asked about him.

Having a ball

After checking the bank balance and doing a little mental anticipation of possible future spending on other things, I decided that now was the time to make my next major equipment purchase: a new ball!

After consultation with Chris Mark at the USA Bowling Pro Shop on the premises (they are also located at Boston Bowl), I went with a blue 15 lb. Circle High-Voltage, which was on closeout because the ball is no longer being manufactured, but which I was told was still an awesome ball for these lanes. My fit was checked using the U-Dot with modifications (Chris wanted the thumb all the way in the ball), the ball was drilled, and the grips glued into place.

A trial fit of the ball revealed a problem with the thumb…the thumb release was resisting in the back of the thumb. A vent hole was first drilled to see if that would correct the problem, and when it was found that that was only a partial answer, Chris used a sanding bit that attaches a standard hand drill to make the thumb hole larger at the back. We eventually got the problem corrected and I was ready to try out the ball (which was my first brand-new ball, BTW…I had been used to buying all of my balls used).

The nice thing about this pro shop compared with the guys I knew when I was last bowling seriously is that the new guys give you a complimentary game of bowling with any ball purchase, so I was able to try out the new ball without breaking out my sister’s gift card. A lane was turned on, I put on my shoes, got my other equipment ready, and I prepared for my first shot with the new High-Voltage.

I fell in love with this ball from the first shot…a solid strike. As the game progressed, I noticed that the ball had more back-end action than the U-Dot, and I ended up adjusting by moving my feet 2 boards left to the 12 board on the approach. I ended up shooting a 167, with a double in the 6th and 7th frames. I intend to retain the U-Dot for my right-hand spares and on unfamiliar lane conditions, and use the High-Voltage for all other shots. My thanks to Ray, the pro shop owner, and Chris for doing an excellent job on the ball…I hope to be working with you guys in the future. (Note: the 167 will not count toward my “official” practice average, as the only purpose of the game was to try out the ball.)

League found: Checking the other standings sheets, I noticed the Brockton Ten-Pin league, a 4-man league running on Tuesday nights, had a couple of openings, so I intend to join this league after the holidays.

Tournament scene: Along with the monthly “King of the Hill” tournament at Westgate Lanes, an operation called “The People’s Tournament” runs occasional handicap tournaments at Westgate Lanes, as well as the Northeast Amateur Tournament (EDIT: I originally couldn’t find a site on their flyer, but found a full one from them that had their site listed on the back) and the TNBA’s Boston Bowling Senate. Thus, it appears I’ll have as many opportunities to compete in tournaments as I did when I was last active (I used to bowl occasionally with the Amateur Bowlers Tour and National Amateur Bowlers, Inc., but neither tournament club operates in New England currently.)