As some of you know, I’ve been without a computer at home for about a week, but I finally got a new machine running this weekend, so I can now post a league night recap.

My bowling in week #4, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

This week was my first encounter with Jim Blyth as an opponent, and, knowing the kind of average he had two years ago (he missed all of last season recovering from knee surgery), I wasn’t about to take him lightly. I wasn’t prepared for what happened in the last game of our match, however: as I was starting to string strikes, he said to me, “I’ll match you shot for shot.” He continued his string of strikes, while my own game pretty much fell apart after the 6th frame. I know I probably should’ve ignored him, and I thought I was doing my best at it, but I guess that was easier said than done.

After the match ended, he admitted to me that he likes to play the mental game. I had thought I had a solid mental game until that point, but now I think that’s another thing I need to work on. I got some advice online that I should practice with someone and have that person try to distract me, but I don’t know of many good bowlers that practice at the same time I do.

Here’s the basic recap and stats update…I start tracking average for the last 9 games this week:

Result: 178-171-188=537
Average (12 games): 182
Average for last 9 games: 184
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 550

After two solid outings for my team, we got swept for the first time this season because not only was Jim bowling well, but Shawn Coles and David Gomes also had good nights, while the only bowler that did relatively well for my side was Eileen.

The standings now find my team tied with “The Wild Samoans” for 7th place. “4 MTD,” our opponents next week, continue to hold a three-point lead, now over “Butz-N-Gutz.”

My Week 3 bowling, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

Four splits during the night really hurt, but it was a decent night otherwise. Following a suggestion given to me by “CoachJim,” I had John watch my break point (the board at which the ball starts its turn toward the pocket), and, determining that it was on the 7 board, that helped me get lined up, avoiding the problem I had in the second game last week with losing the break point. Another bright point of the night was that I made all of my single pins, which is always what I hope for if I leave them. I will be going into the start of using real averages a pin ahead of last year’s book average, so I think I’m off to a good start.

Result: 169-216-192=577
Average (9 games): 184
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 562

Team had another strong 3 of 4 night, this time against “The Mustangs,” usually one of the better teams in the league. Eileen had a strong night, breaking 100 in all three games (carrying an 84 average), and John chipped in a 176 second game to help the team win that game by 120+ pins.

This is an earlier-than-usual update, and the reader is directed to the copy of the standings sheet on LeagueSecretary.com (readers viewing the individual post can click here).

Having won 4 points and lost 4 points in the young season, my team finds itself in a four-way tie for fourth place in the standings, getting the fourth spot on pinfall. “4 MTD” and “The Mustangs” (the latter team being next week’s opponents for us) are jockeying for the early momentum.

Individually, Carl qualified for a USBC 175 game award with his 187 last night.

My Week 2 bowling, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

A better night than last week, certainly, though I’m not proud of my spare shooting, especially missing two single 4s in the third game. Talking it over with my online friend Jim earlier today, he seems to think I lost the break point in the second game, and, with my vision not being great, I’ll need to have someone tell me which board it is on down the line to help me line up better.

Team took 3 of 4 points from “The Wild Samoans” (last year’s “Backyard Bowlers”), and it would’ve been a sweep in all probability if I made the 2-8 in the last frame of Game 2. Carl carried the day in the third game with a 187, which might be the best game I’ve seen him throw.

Result: 213-146-191=550
Average (6 games): 180
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 548

For those who still doubt my veracity when reporting Westgate Lanes honor scores, I offer this photo of the overhead scoring monitor (or was it the scoring console screen?) for Derick Thibeault’s 300 the other night. It was taken by my friend Sandi Litchfield, who happens to be Derick’s cousin, with (presumably) a cellphone camera.

I caught Carl before bowling started, and he said he was OK with me being captain, but did want the name, “The Flintstones” for the team, so I was cool with that. As captain, I set a lineup of Carl, Eileen, Patrick, John, and myself. John throws a decent ball for a novice, so I hope he rewards my decision to have him set me up.

My opening night bowling, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

I probably could’ve had a better night to start the year off, but I only realized near the end of the second game that my Hy-Road was too strong tonight, and finished off with the High Voltage, with my judgment validated by the 209 last game. As is the case on most opening nights, we won’t really know how the team did until the standings are posted, but we may have only taken the third game against a team that had 3 vacancies.

Result: 159-163-209=531
Average (3 games): 177
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 537

The meeting of the Brunswick Mixed League went fairly smoothly, with the main items discussed being dues (Westgate Lanes went up on league lineage, so a dues increase had to be voted on) and a by-laws amendment pertaining to entry averages (a couple of bowlers in the league had to sit out all of last season with injuries, so we changed it so that the league could go back 2 years for an entry average). We did see a few new faces (more on a couple of them later), so that should portend well.

I had hoped some friends would show up for the meeting, but they didn’t, so I tried to go back to my old team. Unfortunately, Carl wanted to bowl with a couple of the new people, John and Eileen Ruhl (I’ll try to clarify the relationship in the future), so a team was formed with Carl, the Ruhls, Patrick and myself, meaning Helen and Ted (whom I found out later in the night are actually brother and sister) won’t be bowling on my team this year. I thought Carl had wanted to be team captain, but none of us marked captain status on the team sign-up sheet, so I told Shawn I’d be temporary captain (Carl didn’t want to bowl in the no-tap tournament and had left when Shawn asked me about who was my team’s captain.) until I knew what Carl wanted to do.

This no-tap was a bit better for me, but it didn’t look like it at first, as I had 4 splits in the first game; however, I did get the last 5, including 3 natural in the 10th frame, for a 169. My other two games were much better, with the last one being ruined only by a single open (chopped the 3 off of the 3-6-10), with all strikes otherwise (I don’t remember how many of those were natural), for a 263. I ended up with a 684 scratch, 729 score with handicap, and for a while, it was looking good to cash. However, two of the Boermans, Rick and Mark, came in as part of one of the last groups with each of them scoring better than 800 (Rick won with an 806), and I got bumped out of the money.

The first night of bowling for the new season is this coming Wednesday night, and, if any of my friends show up to bowl, I will have to tell them that the teams are already more or less formed, and that they should’ve shown up last night if they wanted to bowl with me.

Based on our 15th place finish, my team received $45/person out of the prize fund, with an extra $3.25/person out of the excess. I chipped in $1.25 for the usual scholarship fund collection.

This year, I did enter the end-of-season no-tap tournament with my winter league situation more or less settled. I didn’t think I did too badly, as I had a 268 first game that started open-spare, then closed out with the last 10, 7 natural. It was downhill from there, however, and I finished out of the money. Tim Major was the star of the night, as his no-tap 300 (only non-natural strike was in the 7th frame) in the last game helped him take top honors for the men. Jane Welch had the high score for the women.

The meeting for the Brunswick Mixed League will be next week, and the league will be running a no-tap tournament of their own following the meeting. I am looking forward to seeing my “old friends,” as well as meeting the new bowlers.

As I noted in the latest league night recap post, my team did, indeed, avoid the last place match, and will bowl as the 13th place team against “The Insiders” next week. If we sweep, and Team 15 has a winning night against “Hocus Pocus,” we can move up to sole possession of 12th place. We are guaranteed of staying out of the basement, as the “Lounge Lizards” will only have 34 points if they split, and if that happens, “Shihoots” will have 2 more points than us if we get swept.

At the top of the league standings, “Phoenix Kings” have just a single point lead over “Country Bumpkins,” so the latter team can win the league championship if they have a winning night against the former. “Amelia” is only four points off of the lead, and can move into a tie for first if they sweep “Git R Done” and the first place match is split.

As the title of this post alludes to, this one recaps two different series, as we had the make-up third game against “Country Bumpkins” last night…

Week 11’s bowling, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

I was no great shakes on the night we originally bowled them, but learned how to better throw the Hy-Road since then and was effective in the third game. Indeed, the four-bagger near the end came at a point where I needed to help keep Carl Nordstrom (“Country Bumpkins'” anchor, who happens to be Eric’s father) off my team’s tail. Claiming the third game, we also won total, since we won the first game and tied in the second game.

Result: 178-170-193=541

Week 14’s bowling, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

The first game was a bit of a letdown after my performance in the make-up game, but I got it together in the second game and had one of my better games of the summer. I think I just ran out of gas in the third game, but the team won 6 of the 8 points (first two games and total), which was enough to avoid the last place match. Indeed, I checked what some of the other teams near us in the standings did, and we, in fact, moved ahead of “The Insiders” for 13th place; however, that means we face said team next week.

Result: 157-238-151=546

My “real” average for the blog is back to being the official one, as well as the AVG+1 score, but the last nine average is skewed with the Week 11 series being included…

Average (42 games): 181 Last 9 games average: 189
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 572

The 6-2 performance against the “Lounge Lizards” this week made the margin to last place for us more comfortable; however, if we are to avoid the last position round pairing next week, we need to win the make-up game against “Country Bumpkins” (also next week), split against next week’s opponents, “Shihoots,” and take total in that match by at least 589 pins. As this represents an average winning margin of 197 pins/game, we would realistically need to either sweep “Shihoots” or win 6-2 and also win the make-up game against “Country Bumpkins” to avoid a position-round rematch with the “Lounge Lizards.” (Note: I did not consider the possibility of ties for game or total when calculating scenarios.) “Phoenix Kings'” lead on “Country Bumpkins” is 5 points, and both teams face teams near the middle of the pack next week.

Counting the two completed games against “Country Bumpkins,” my average is officially 181.

My Week 13 bowling, frame-by-frame (BowlSK)

I spun a beauty, as they would say about a baseball pitcher, in my first game last night: I only scored a 215, but everything was either a strike or a 9-spare, and, indeed, because I got all strikes in the 10th frame, it would’ve been a 300 game if it had been 9-pin no-tap (where 9 pins on the first ball counts as a strike). My second game was better-scoring (a 222), but had a couple of opens, and I lost my line a little bit in the last game, but still got a 185 for a 622 set, my best one this summer.

Result: 215-222-185=622
Average (36 games): 181 Last 9 games average: 187
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 567

The bonus about last night was that I was bowling against my cousins’ team, and my team won 6 of the 8 points. We lost a close first game, won the second one by 130+, and white-knuckled a win in the last game. In said last game, my team was down by 2 with myself and Bob Fosdick, my cousins’ friend, coming up in the 10th frame, and we both left difficult spares, a 2-8 for myself, and the 5-6 (I believe) for Bob, which we both missed. The difference? I was working on a strike, while Bob was open in the 9th.

The Brockton Bowling Association has loaded the 2008-09 yearbook online, indexed by last initial, along with pages devoted to league information and average leaders. Follow this link for the yearbook index page. As a bonus, a PDF copy of the 2007-08 yearbook is also linked on the yearbook index page.

With a showdown to stay out of the basement looming next week, my team is now 4 points ahead of the “Lounge Lizards.” “Phoenix Kings” continue to hold a two-point lead over “Git R Done” at the top of the standings. With the two completed games from last week figured in, my official average is now 178.

My team’s match this week may not be completed, but the three points we took have been accounted for in the standings, and they were enough to crawl ahead of the “Lounge Lizards” and out of the basement. “Phoenix Kings” continue to lead “Git R Done” by 4 points at the top of the league.

“Fathers and Sons” are the regularly-scheduled opponents next week, and I’ve been looking forward to this one because Brian Shea and Ralph Marple, two of my teammates from last summer, are on this team. It’s going to seem strange bowling against them, to be sure.

Last night was a very weird night for a few reasons…

The first bit of the unusual of the night I noticed during warm-ups; there was a lot more oil down than usual, reminding me more of the tournament shot I saw last Sunday than the normal house shot. The adjustment was fairly easy, however: I pulled out my Hy-Road after going in thinking of going back to the weaker High Voltage.

Rob was present at the lanes, but because of some personal issues (which will lead to his marriage today), he didn’t think he could bowl. However, in the second game, he basically said, “Screw it,” and bowled, having a very decent game in the process.

The real strangeness happened at the end of the night, however: there was a scorer malfunction in the 10th frame of the last game (which we sort of saw coming when it became difficult to make scoring changes, one of which saw the scorer giving me credit for making a 5-7 split when I only got the 5 pin out of that leave and we were having trouble correcting the score), and everyone’s third game was lost in the process of attempting to get the scorer rebooted. Therefore, both teams will have to bowl 4 games next week, our regular matches, then a make-up third game.

As a result of this development, I was wrangling with the decision on how to present the night on BowlSK. I could put up just the two completed games and enter the four games next week, but, in the interest of keeping each match together, I decided to postpone the data entry on BowlSK until next week, at which time I will post two separate series here. The BowlSK of last night’s match will include a note that will explain that the third game was bowled in a make-up situation. As it stands, my team was leading last night’s match 3 points to 1 after two games, having taken the first game by a comfortable margin and tying in the second game (as an aside, I had to get the fill strike in the 10th frame for the tie, and did so).

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.