My Week 4 bowling, frame-by-frame (Link is to series sheet on BowlSK)

We ended up bowling for forfeit points tonight, so my gutter ball in the 3rd frame of Game 2 had a lighthearted feel to it. I had hoped to make the spare after that, but couldn’t carry the 10. Overall, though, I think the forfeit situation allowed me to relax, and it showed in my consistency: this is the closest I’ve ever been to a triplicate (one pin over a 224 triplicate), and this is the first time I’ve been over 220 in all three games of a series. 😀

Result: 224-225-224=673
Average (12 games): 198
Average for last 9 games: 212
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 600

As well as I’ve been bowling, I didn’t need much help to take forfeit points, and we were over our team average in all three games tonight (forfeit rule is that a team must bowl within 50 pins of their average to win points by forfeit). Carl gave me good support tonight, as he had all three games over average, and John and Eileen had over-average totals, as well.

Despite my big night and good back-up from my chat buddy, “Dennis Michael,” “5 Blind Squirrels” only managed to take two (out of seven) points from “Five Fingers of Death” last week, and we now stand next to last in the standings, four points ahead of Team 7. “Furious Five” continues to lead the league by a point over “AAA.”

And almost had my first honor score in the same night! I had hoped to make this a BowlSpace exclusive, but they changed the blog feature there so that new posts require moderator approval (likely an anti-spam measure), and I didn’t want to keep my regular blog readers waiting too long for this. I’ve expanded on what I wrote on BowlSpace, however, so consider this a treat. 😀

My Week 3 bowling, frame-by-frame (Links to series sheet on BowlSK)

The night started innocently enough, and it looked early on like my run of bad games would continue, but I had four in a row in the middle of the game after moving inside; however, I limped home with a couple of splits late for a 174. I felt on the second ball of the 10th frame that I was losing my feel for my timing while trying to concentrate on being good with it, and that caused a “Big 4,” I thought.

I bore down on my concentration on my timing after that end, however, and it paid off, as I ran off the next ten in a row to start the second game. I actually thought I had my nerves under control on the 11th shot, but my heart was still racing, and I couldn’t completely keep from throwing the shot a bit fast, and left a wide 2-7 as a result. I converted the split for a 288, 20 pins better than my previous personal best game. It took me nearly 20 years to improve on that 268, but keep in mind the length of time that I had been away from bowling, as well.

I still needed a strong game for my first 700 series, however, and I calmed down enough after my honor score threat to throw four of the first five strikes. A miss of a single 10 gave me pause, but I didn’t panic, as I continued to throw well, and came up in the 10th needing the first two strikes to virtually cinch 700. The first shot in the 10th was light, but I got one of those “mixer” type strikes that I like. I then flushed the second shot, meaning I only needed to keep it on the lane for my goal, and I threw another good shot, but left a blow-out 7 for a 245 final game and a 707 series. 😀

After the 288, and again at the end of the night, I made it a point to thank Tony Attardo, who brought up the timing issue the other morning, and I also received congratulations from my other friends in both Wednesday night leagues, as well as Ray, who was in the pro shop last night. I certainly hope this isn’t the only 700 I ever throw.

Result: 174-288-245=707
Average (9 games): 190
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 580

As for the team, John and Eileen backed up my 288 by both being over average themselves, and they continued that in the third game, as well. Our opponents had one bowler who was averaging in, so looking at the recap and estimating the result using the “over average” method, I think we took the last two games and total.

News for my virtual team was better last week, as we took our first points of the season, grabbing five from “AAA,” and it was enough to move up a spot to 6th in the standings. “Furious Five” holds a three-point lead on “4 + sk8 = #1,” the latter team which was paced by my chat buddy “sk8shorty01,” who submitted the Bowling Community league’s first-ever 800 series with an 802. The team also set the 5-man team scratch game and series records.

To my surprise, “Babe And Balls” only lost one point last week, and we now stand in first place by a half-point over “The Incredibowls.” Eileen seemed to be our top performer, as she had the women’s high game with handicap in the league this week. “Bowling Stones,” a team that includes a neighbor of John and Eileen’s who returned to the league (he was on “Double D” last season), are our opponents this week.

My Week 2 bowling, frame-by-frame (Link is to series sheet on BowlSK)

There’s a disturbing trend two weeks in: I’ll have one good game, and two pretty ugly ones. Tonight, it was too many single-pin misses in the first game, and not being able to make the 3-6 for the life of me all night. I’m having the feeling a coaching session with Ray is in order to get my consistency back.

Result: 143-247-140=530
Average (6 games): 167
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 507

We took on a team of new bowlers tonight (including a couple of bowlers that joined the league tonight), and the difference in handicap was too much for us to overcome even despite my 247 second game, so the team lost all four points tonight. Patrick was pretty consistent all night, and Eileen threw in a 165 first game.

The Ruhls seemed set on wanting “Babe and Balls” as a team name, so after some discussion, we let them have it. There were a lot of new faces in the league, so I’ll be introducing myself as I bowl their teams.

My Week 1 bowling, frame-by-frame (Links to series sheet on BowlSK)

Except for the first game, this was not how I imagined starting the new season. Most of my problem was leaving splits (nine total on the night), but I wasn’t helping myself missing the easier two-pin cluster type spares, either. Except for a miss of a 6 pin, I was good on my 5 single pins, and polishing my spare ball back up seemed to help on those.

Result: 201-127-147=475
Average (3 games): 158
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 479

As near as I can tell from the recap, my team swept the points first night from a team that included my buddy Rob. Everyone had at least one game over average, with John really picking it up in his last 2 games and Eileen chipping in a 175 second game for her high game on the night.

I keep forgetting to mention that because my virtual league’s original secretary, “cgeorg,” wasn’t sure he’d be bowling this fall, I volunteered to step in and run the league starting this fall, and that we have an 8-team, 5-man league running for 16 weeks, with scores starting to count for the virtual league on Monday. I told Shawn the other night that I would likely have a new appreciation for what he does for my real league after running the virtual league for a season.

I’m on a team with users named “Dennis Michael,” “VampyreBowler,” “PBAprince,” and “SpareMe.” The former two I knew from the BowlingFans.com chat, so it’s likely a lot of the team discussion will be occurring there rather than on our team thread on the forums. Anyway, I hope my team does well, though it’ll be hard to top my first virtual league (which my team won, if you’ll remember).

…it was no-tap.

My team, counting the extra money, received almost $40/bowler, and I entered the no-tap tournament following payout. After a first-game 192 in which I had 3 8-counts, making only one of the spares, I got things going in the second game with a 244, with six in a row natural in the middle. It was the last game that really did it for me tonight, however, as I had the first ten, with six of those natural, before leaving a baby split on the 11th ball, which I then whiffed for a 286 (and a no-tap 722 series). I entered the side pots this year, unlike last year, and I knew I had Sean Richard beat, but only got third place in the third game side pot because of a 300 by Harry Thibeault Jr. and a 297 from someone else (I want to say it was Carl Nordstrom, but I’m not sure). Third in the side pots was still worth $6, so I got about half of my money back on the night. With my confidence growing again, I’m looking forward to next week’s no-tap tournament, which will be the one after the Brunswick Mixed League meeting.

“Trip N Shred” ended up in 13th place, four points behind “Wyld Stallyns,” but two ahead of “Hocus Pocus.” The 2010 Wednesday Summer Mixed League champions are Team 13, consisting of Harry Thibeault Jr., Debbie Butler, and Jane Welch, with a vacancy due to the fact that Derick Thibeault had surgery following the winter season and spent the summer recuperating; we hope Derick is ready for the new fall/winter season.

My Week 13 bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to series page on BowlSK)

This was not only my best set of the summer tonight, but my most consistent one, as well, especially in the 210 second game, which was my only clean game of the summer. The Fast was not ready to use after surface repair, so the attack plan with the Hy-Road was to throw it fast and with as little axis rotation as possible, and the plan largely succeeded. I also got my spare game figured out: I need to go at the second arrow on all of my spares with my spare ball, and when I hit that mark on my second ball, I didn’t usually miss. 😀

Result: 202-210-181=593
Final average (39 games): 174
Average for last 9 games: 173

Rob backed up my 210 with a 250, so we won the second game’s points; unfortunately, those were our only points of the night.

Although this was a summer I’d largely like to forget, I did feel I got things figured out toward the end, so I’m looking forward to the start of the fall/winter season with a renewed sense of confidence.

My Week 12 bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to series page on BowlSK)

I felt I bowled better than my score tonight, and they might have matched if I had made more of my spares. I’m finding the Fast very effective for playing the deeper inside on this shot…just decrease the axis rotation, throw it fast, and give it some room. 😀

Result: 204-156-161=521
Average (36 games): 172
Average for last 9 games: 172
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 545

It was a team effort for the sweep tonight, with my contribution coming not so much from having good games, but making clutch shots near the end of games. Eileen continues to contribute in a big way, having a 177 second game, which I believe was her second best ever. John and Rob were also both over their averages for two of the three games.

The six-point night the other night allowed “Trip N Shred” to remain in a tie in points with “Awesome Sox,” but “J.E.M.S.,” at one time the second-place team, is now the team at the bottom, so the tie in points with “Awesome Sox” is for 14th position with two weeks left. At the top, Team 13 holds a two-point lead over “Lounge Lizards” and “Phase 10 Pins,” and, if the position round was next week, my cousins would be the ones bowling Team 13, as they hold the pinfall advantage. As for my team, the opposition next week is “Sweetballsochili,” who are in the middle of the pack.

As an aside, Rob tied Sean Richard for men’s high scratch game this week with that 277. 😀

My Week 11 bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to series on BowlSK)

I had thought, especially after the first game, that I was either throwing the ball too fast or too slow, and not “just right”, and that largely led to the splits and washouts I had. I also gave one too much room, and missed some makeables, all adding up to a horrible night overall.

Result: 173-135-137=445
Average (33 games): 172
Average for last 9 games: 171
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 547

My teammates had to pick me up tonight, and boy, did they ever! In the first game, Eileen had a personal best 183 game, and could’ve had 200 if she didn’t have bad count on one of her spares and leaving something more reasonable. After missing the first game, John got into the act with a 199, but it was Rob who stole the show that game, and in stellar fashion…he had a personal best 277, with the front 9 before sending the first shot in the 10th wide, leaving a 2-5 (if I remember). We just missed a sweep in the third game, so we had to settle for the first two games and total.

The six points “Trip N Shred” won against “Zoots” turned out to be enough to virtually climb out of the league cellar, as we now share the final spot in points with “Awesome Sox,” with my team holding a slight edge in pinfall. There was happy news for me at the top, as the “Lounge Lizards” (my cousins’ team, remember) took all eight points against Team 13 and now hold a two-point lead on a tie for second between the aforementioned Team 13 and “Phase 10 Pins.” The “Wyld Stallyns” provide the opposition for us Wednesday night.

Although “Trip N Shred” finally won points this week, the team we were tied with, “Hocus Pocus,” won all 8 of theirs, so my team is now officially in last place. However, we remain within hailing distance (four points) of two other teams tied in points for 14th: “El Equipo” and “Awesome Sox.” At the top, Team 13 now leads by four points over “Phase 10 Pins.” Our opponents Wednesday night are “Zoots,” whose anchor bowler is my buddy, Sean Richard.

My Week 9 bowling, frame-by-frame (Link to series on BowlSK)

There is one positive I’ll take from this: I felt I made a correct ball change in the middle of the night; I was just making inconsistent shots with it. My spare shooting was up and down, as I chopped the 3-6-10 twice as well as a 6-10, but I did make the 3-6-9-10 both times I had it, and any bowler will tell you that that latter leave is not an easy one.

Result: 157-177-184=518
Average (27 games): 172
Average for last 9 games: 175
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 536

The team highlights tonight: Rob recovered from three open frames in the first game with the last 8 in a row for a 222, and Eileen had a 157 second game to help us take our only points of the night (still welcome, though, as we went two weeks in a row without winning any).

The worst possible scenario for “Trip N Shred” happened this week: not only did we lose all of the points, but “Hocus Pocus” won all of theirs, meaning the two teams are now tied at the bottom of the standings (with my team having the pinfall edge). There was a partial shake-up at the top of the standings this week, with only a two-way tie for the lead in points now existing between Team 13 and “Phase 10 Pins.” This week’s opponents are “Those Guys.” Who are “Those Guys?” Two of them are Carl and Eric (one of the father and son pairs) from my winter league.

Despite getting swept by the “Lounge Lizards” (my cousins’ team) last week, “Trip N Shred” still managed to avoid slipping to the very bottom of the standings, and are, in fact, four points ahead of “Hocus Pocus”. My cousins, on the other hand, used the sweep to climb into a four-way tie in points for the league lead with Team 13, “Shake and Bake,” and “Phase 10 Pins.” We face a middle-of-the-pack team, Team 6, this week.