Cross-training #200

A suburban Chicago newspaper report stated that current and former Bears players were in a charity bowling tournament Monday night at the eSkape entertainment center in Buffalo Grove. The tournament, organized by James “Big Cat” Williams, an offensive tackle for the Bears for 11 seasons beginning in 1992, benefited Deborah’s Place (which I assume is a shelter for abused women) and the crisis nursery at Maryville Academy.

50th annual Brockton Bowling Association Championships set for March at Westgate Lanes

The Brockton Bowling Association has set the 50th annual championship tournament for March 17 & 18 and 24 & 25 at Westgate Lanes. As usual, four-man team, doubles, and singles events will be contested, with an optional all-events competition. More details, including an entry form, are available on the association’s website. Entries close on Feb. 27.

Note: The association has added $1 to the entry fee for each bowler in each event for expenses, but this is not reflected on the entry blank, where the total entry fees remitted need to be noted. I have alerted them of this oversight, and the entry blank will hopefully be corrected.

Nov. 17 lesson

While I was warming up for my lesson today, Ray remarked that my Fast (which I’ve been using) may not be the perfect ball for the current THS, but that the upshot of that was that it’ll get me to learn to bowl better. My answer was that I knew the Fast could carry if I hit the pocket, so I didn’t mind the learning process.

Another thing that came up was that I remarked about not really feeling my finger position through the swing, after which Ray reminded me of a long-neglected bit of ball maintenance: keeping my grips clean. He likes acetone for cleaning the grips, but not wanting to use something that’s not on the list of approved cleaners, I asked about others, and he said dish liquid and water would be fine.

The bulk of the lesson was on hand position, with Ray telling me about how reverse psychology works in bowling: If I turn in too early, what I want to do is turn out. In the process of going over this, he was on the approach with me getting me to feel where the ball should be on my hand at the top of my backswing. My shots after that were uneven, but this was normal, and I did get in a few good ones, including one I absolutely killed as my time on the lanes was running out. He remarked at the end of the session, that there are really only two things I need to keep working on: hand position through the swing and keeping the ball close to my feet at release.

Nov. 16 league night recap

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

I think the things that I learned in my previous lesson are starting to sink in, because this night was more like it. I had just one “easy” miss and converted something that I converted for the very first time, a 2-4-8-10. Everything came together in the third game, which was, I believe, my best of the season to this point.

Result: 190-191-227=608
Average (33 games): 175
Average for last 9 games: 171
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 559

Tonight was the league’s annual “Turkey Shoot,” in which a prize goes to the bowler in each average division with the most pins over average on the night. I believe I’m at least close (+92), and, as for the rest of the team, Berta could be in contention for her division’s prize. The team overall took the lion’s share (three out of four).

Nov. 15 practice

I was actually able to get up to the lanes for practice today, and, while I wasn’t consistent, I did have my moments. After struggling in the first game and early in the second game, I was actually able to put a few decent shots together to get a 202 second game. However, I didn’t start well in the third game and was only able to get to 150 after a 2-and-1 move inside. I also missed a couple of 10s in the first game, but adjusted to give myself more angle and made the rest of them, including going after the 10 on splits involving that pin.

Alex Aguiar teams with Parker Bohn III to win regional doubles event at World Series of Bowling

The PBA has reported that Alex Aguiar of the Tuesday Scratch Sportsmen league teamed with PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III (from Jackson, NJ) to win the West Region Member/Non-Member Doubles event at the World Series of Bowling at the South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas. Aguiar shot 204 and Bohn a 224 in the title match to defeat Brian Krezter of Dayton, OH and Jeff Fehr of Cincinnati by a score of 428-415. The duo upset top-seeded Mika Koivuniemi of Hartland, MI and Hyun Bum Kim of South Korea in the semifinal round by a 420-412 score to advance.

Congrats Alex!

Nov. 13 league standings update

After taking one point from “Outta Da Guttah,” “Pinfall Wizards” slipped into a tie for 7th (in points) with “Yes – We Have A Girl” 12 points behind “The Mustangs,” who lead the former team by 3.5 points. “Dee’s Boys II” provide this week’s opposition for my team.

Nov. 9 league night recap

My Week 10 bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to BowlSK sheet)

This was a night in which little came easy. There were a lot of splits and tougher makeables, but I also missed some easier ones later in the night, particularly a couple of 7 pins in Game 3, a game in which I also could not seem to buy a strike. On the bright side, I was perfect on my 10…I just wish I had more of those to shoot at.

Result: 178-154-136=468
Average (30 games): 172
Average for last 9 games: 170
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 540

Pat, with all three games over average, was the bright spot for the team on a night in which we only took the point for the first game.

Wheelchair bowling pioneer Al Uttecht elected to USBC Hall of Fame

The USBC reported that Al Uttecht of Anaheim, CA, who has visited Westgate Lanes many times for the AWBA national tournament, has been elected to the USBC Hall of Fame in the Pioneer category. Uttecht, who has been confined to a wheelchair after sustaining injuries in the war in Vietnam in 1970, is considered the most successful wheelchair bowler in history, having won the AWBA Tournament of Champions 13 times in addition to being a 12-time AWBA national scratch champion and a seven-time national All-Events champion. Uttecht was elected to the AWBA Hall of Fame in 1985. A quote from Uttecht follows:

I am totally blown away by this honor, and I have no words to describe how I feel. This is from someone who when I was first asked to join a bowling league, I said you cannot bowl from a wheelchair.

Al Uttecht will be inducted on April 26 at the USBC Convention in Arlington, TX.

Fall 2011 Week 8 virtual league results

“JaMMeRs” lost all seven points to “Salty Dogs” and fell to 12th place in the standings, 20 points behind Team 12, who hold a 5 point lead on Team 4.

Team 8, consisting of “fredboost,” “RichL,” “vgnano420,” and “Vic44,” broke the only records remaining from the inaugural virtual league last week, with a four-man high game of 968 and a series of 2,612. Congrats guys! 😀

Alex Aguiar leads Westgate Lanes league cashers in NEBA at Laurel Lanes

NEBA reported that Alex Aguiar of the Tuesday Scratch Sportsmen league was a semifinalist in the event held on November 5 & 6 at Laurel Lanes in Plainville, CT. The preliminary results also had Danny Khuu, Richie Fulton, Tony Bennett, and Keith Tantillo cashing as Westgate Lanes league bowlers. The event was won by Rich Reynolds, who defeated Chris Carlson in the title match by a 249-246 score.

Congrats to all of the Westgate Lanes cashers. 😀

Nov. 6 league standings update

“Pinfall Wizards” stand in a tie in points for 5th with “Bottoms Up!” after winning a single point from “The Incredibowls” last week. The deficit to the lead, held by “The Mustangs,” at that position is 11 points. “Outta Da Guttah,” who will be my team’s opponents this week, is the second place team, 4.5 points back.

Individually, I should note that Shawn Coles finished a game with 10 in a row for a 280, which was the high game of the week. Also, I was told by Ken Snow that his 210 first game against my team was his first sanctioned 200 game. Congrats to both Shawn and Ken. 😀

Carl Nordstrom posts first 800 series of 2011-12 in Thursday Handicap Doubles

This is about as breaking as you’ll ever see news on my blog, as I found out about this just tonight from Adam Johndrow, who was working tonight…

Congrats to Carl Nordstrom on having the first 800 series of the season at Westgate Lanes, as he went 289-258-289 for an 836 set tonight in the Thursday Handicap Doubles League. Good job, Carl! 😀

People’s Tournament notes

The October 2011 People’s Tournament scheduled for Westgate Lanes last Sunday was canceled for weather reasons. The November tournament previously scheduled for E. Providence Lanes has also been canceled, so the next People’s Tournament will be at Westgate Lanes on December 10 & 11.

Nov. 2 league night recap

My Week 9 bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to BowlSK sheet)

It seemed I took a big step backward tonight, and, in particular, I couldn’t seem to make anything I needed to hook at.

Result: 158-177-135=470
Average (27 games): 174
Average for last 9 games: 176
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 549

Brian was the only one on the team with two games over average tonight, and the only one on the pair with a game over average in the third game; the latter was enough for us to win the point, but we lost the lion’s share of points again. For the other team, Ken Snow notably had his first game over 200 to start the night.

Shirley Major, Paul M. Chase score big in Thursday Handicap Doubles

The big scores Thursday night were not limited to the Patriots league, as the Thursday Handicap Doubles league had a couple worth mentioning…

First, Shirley Major posted the first 700 series by a woman at Westgate Lanes this season by throwing a 266 high game in a 712 series. Also, Paul M. Chase joined the fun by tossing an 11 in a row 290 game. Paul finished with a 769 set.

Congrats to both Shirley and Paul! 😀