Sept. 10 league night recap (includes Fall 2014 virtual league ramp-up)

My Week 2 bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to BowlSK sheet)

Better night overall, except for single pins, and the saving grace for that was I didn’t have all that many to shoot at. My main struggle was getting my release timing squared away, but that got better as the night went on, and I finished strong, with a turkey starting from the 8th frame in the third game.

Result: 152-180-193=525
Average (6 games): 159
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 486

Donald was over average for the night, and Barry backed me up third game. Team won second and third games, with the third one comfortably, for three points (including total).

The fall virtual league is starting this week, and I find “champ”, “Dylan585”, and “Fin09” as my teammates, but “Fin09” couldn’t bowl this week, so “TheDemolitionMan” will be subbing on my team, which we named “Pin Seeking Missiles”.

Sept. 9 league standings update

Along with ourselves and “Looking For Wood” (our opponents last week), “No Names” and “The 508 Boys” split the points, which the top team in pinfall is in 9th position (out of 20 teams). “We Split 4 No 1” and Team 16 were the teams winning all four points in the first week. Tomorrow night, we bowl against “Sweet Rolls”.

As a note, because of the number of teams, the league has decided to have two position rounds in each half, so I’ll note when each one comes up.

Rob Mautner links added to sidebar

A bowling forum buddy (who happens to be in New England) alerted me to Modern-Bowling.com, which is a site with tips from Rob Mautner, a Las Vegas-based USBC Silver coach who was listed among the Bowlers Journal Top 100 coaches last year. His tips are organized into three sections, physical game, adjustments, and bowling balls, and he also invites you to ask questions on his forum site, BowlingIntel.com. Both sites have been added to the “Coaching/Tips” sidebar list.

Junior league note: Marcia wanted me to let everyone know that, although the junior leagues have now started, they’ll still be accepting new bowlers, so registration is ongoing. You may ask for details at the desk.

Sept. 3 league night recap (Start of 2014-15 season)

With Carl taking a year off and Brian and Berta starting later this year, the team got shifted around, and Pat was placed on a different team. I haven’t noted here that AMF Taunton Lanes closed late this summer, and I picked up a couple of bowlers from Taunton’s old Thursday Mixed league, a father and son pair, Barry and Donald Wood, with Brian and Berta joining us when they start. Barry is actually a pretty decent bowler, so I’m hoping he can take some of the pressure off of me this season. Barry was OK with “Turkey Hunters” as our team name, so we went with that.

My Week 1 bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to BowlSK sheet)

I almost never seem to start a league well, and that was the case tonight. The first-frame gutter would prove to be a microcosm of the night, though I tried to hang in there. It should also be said that my left foot wasn’t feeling its best, but I’m hesitant to make that an excuse, as I’ve bowled OK w/ a sore foot before.

Result: 139-146-144=429
Average (3 games): 143
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 435

As bad as I was, my team was close to winning the first two games, and it took a good third game to steal the two points out of the night. The reason I know this is that I am now familiar enough with the scoring system that I could enter the team handicaps as provided by Shawn tonight, so the scorers on our pair were calculating the correct totals.

The usual links transition has begun, as I set up my Excel log and the league in BowlSK and added the links before bowling tonight, removing the corresponding summer links (also archiving the Excel log from my summer league). It should be noted, too, that the Excel log will probably display incorrectly in the Google viewer, but you may download the file and view it in Excel, if you choose.

Jeff Carter opens 2014-15 Westgate Lanes season with 300

I’m not usually at Westgate on Tuesday nights, let alone the first Tuesday night of the season, but I was tonight, and had the fortune of seeing Jeff Carter open the His & Hers season with a 300 game. Congrats Jeff! 😀

As I know many of you heard that the USBC is no longer giving awards at the national level for 11 in a row and have been wondering, yes, I will continue to mention 11 in a row games here. 🙂

AJ Voisine wins Aug. 24 NAT at East Providence Lanes

I’ve had to source this report from elsewhere in the social media, again: Congrats to AJ Voisine on winning the Northeast Amateur Tournament Sunday at East Providence Lanes. AJ defeated Skip White by a score (with handicap) of 254-239 in the final match.

Coke league first third note: The Coke Classic league has chosen Kegel Broadway (link is to top view graph, with ratios) as the pattern for the first third of the season, which begins on Sept. 8.

Aug. 25 2014-15 youth league registration note

Marcia asked me to remind everyone that registration for the junior/youth leagues at Westgate Lanes is ongoing, and children can be signed up at the control desk anytime during business hours. Registration cost is $15 before the first day of bowling (Sept. 6) and $25 that day (registration includes the child’s USBC membership). League dues are $10/week. Also, there is a meeting for bowlers in the senior division (ages 15-19) on Wednesday (Aug. 27) at 6:00 PM.

For the adult leagues, Westgate Lanes is once again running their “refer a friend” program. If a league bowler refers a friend to a Westgate Lanes league who did not bowl in a league at Westgate Lanes in the 2013-14 season and both bowlers bowl at least ten weeks, both bowlers will be eligible for 10 free games; the form, available at the desk, must be completed within three weeks of joining.

Aug. 24 tournament notes

Some miscellaneous tournament notes that I needed to pass along:

  • There weren’t many entries in the eliminator tournament today because we had the misfortune of scheduling opposite the NAT in East Providence, but we will try again on Sept. 28, and there should be nothing scheduled anywhere on that day.
  • The Boston senate of the TNBA will run their annual handicap singles tournament on Nov. 1 & 2, with squads at 12:30, 3:00, and 5:30 PM both days. Contact information will be added to the event on the calendar when available.
  • Finally, the next Junior Professionals Tournament will be held on Nov. 2 at 10:00 AM. Entry flyers should be in the bowling centers in the near future.

All of these events, of course, are on the calendar.

EDIT: It was brought to my attention that the NEBA doubles tournament is on Sept. 27 & 28 at East Providence Lanes, but, if you don’t consider yourself a scratch bowler, we’d love to have you in the eliminator tournament on that Sunday.

Aug. 24 eliminator results

In the final eliminator match today, Vin D’Aleo took first place with a 304 score (with handicap), Tom Hedding second with a 290, followed by Alex Yuen’s 263 and Barry Muise’s 208.

CATS note: Larry Lichstein has actually been doing the teaching with the C.A.T.S. system and his video equipment, and he will be available through Thursday before he goes to another bowling center (I want to say in his home state of Connecticut). Larry will return to Westgate Lanes in October, however, and I will post the information when it’s available to me.

 

2014 Brunswick Demo Days this week

Here’s something I did not know about until I showed up for the eliminator tournament today: USA Pro Shop will be conducting Brunswick Demo Days this week from 5 PM to 9 PM Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (Aug. 25-27), and on Thursday (Aug. 28) from 11 AM to 9 PM. As usual, bowlers may try the newest balls from Brunswick and subsidiaries DV8 and Radical during open play or league play.

Aug. 20 league night recap

My Week 14 bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to BowlSK sheet)

My +1 to end the league was there tonight, but I missed four single pins, three on the left side, one of which, if made, would have given the +1 to me. That said, however, I was only under average in the second game, and not under by double-digit pins. Most of the dip in my moving average below was my bad Week 12.

Result: 193-168-191=552
Final average (42 games): 175
Average for last 9 games: 172

Things were promising after the first game, but we got crushed in the second game, and needed the two points out of the third game to force a three-way tie for first (as things turned out), but I didn’t give Jim enough of a chance.

Congratulations to the members of the winning team: Ed Godino Jr., Debbie Dion, Peter Cappola, and Jewel Wilson

Aug. 15 league standings update

I mentioned in my last recap post that my team was at least tied for first with Team 5, and we bowl against them next week, but Team 1 can tie for the championship if they sweep and either my team or Team 5 wins six, and Team 1 wins outright with seven points and our match splits 4-4. “Lucky Thirteens” and Team 2 are tied for 4th three behind the lead, so those teams need to sweep and the matches ahead of them to split 4-4.

Individually, Jim had the second high scratch game and series (with a 719) this week.

Aug. 13 league night recap

My Week 13 bowling, frame-by-frame (Linked to BowlSK sheet)

I bowled just well enough to make my +1 tonight, making enough spares to keep myself afloat. There were no more than two open frames in any game, with every game also having at least a double (though I had no more than a turkey in any game).

Result: 177-184-180=541
Average (39 games): 175
Average for last 9 games: 176
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 553

I was crossing with Tony Attardo tonight, and he didn’t make it easy on us in the first two games, but Jim put up a 279 in the last game to help us salvage two points. I think Team 5 won six, so we’re at least tied with them for first going into the position week.

Westgate Lanes to become official CATS training center

I’ve been sitting on some information for a while, and, seeing the formal announcement in the pro shop, I’ll now run with it. Ray has acquired a C.A.T.S. (Computer-Aided Tracking System) system, and Westgate Lanes, starting August 18, will be the official C.A.T.S. training center in the state of Massachusetts. Ray will be offering lessons by appointment, in which the C.A.T.S. system will be used to give the bowler such information as ball speed, rev rate, target board and break point board hit, and entry angle. A two-hour lesson will cost $80, and you may call Ray in the pro shop at 508-559-2695.

Danny Khuu wins Aug. NAT at Westgate

In the end, it was actually Danny Khuu who won his second Northeast Amateur Tournament title today at Westgate Lanes, outlasting Sean Richard by a score of 211-174 (with handicap). Besides Danny, Sean, and Brian Egan (mentioned in the previous honor score post), the other Westgate Lanes cashers in the tournament were Tony Attardo and Eric Lam (who both were eliminated in the semifinals), Hakim Emmanuel, Tina Gannon (cashing again after her back-to-back NAT titles), Al Donato, and Michael Reed.

Brian Egan ties Westgate house record in NAT; Sean Richard perfect

I was at the Northeast Amateur Tournament for the second squad and the head-to-head finals today, but I missed a big performance in the first squad, as Brian Egan posted games of 299, 268, and 289 for an 856 series, tying the Westgate Lanes house record originally held by Bryan Cahill.

I’ll make a separate post with the final results, but I’d also like to note here that Sean Richard also threw his 49th career 300 game today in the semifinals. I suggested afterward that we rename him from “Seany Kash” to “Curt Hennig” (wrestling’s “Mr. Perfect” 😉 ).

Congrats and great bowling today, Brian and Sean! 😀

Tina Gannon wins back-to-back NAT events at Westgate

The latest NAT newsletter notes that Tina Gannon has become the first bowler in Northeast Amateur Tournament history to win back-to-back tournaments. As told to me by Jay Mantere, Tina defeated Jason Sherwood by a score of 238-199 in the tournament on June 22, and Edwin Grossett by a score of 238-162 in the tournament on July 13, both at Westgate Lanes (scores are with handicap in both cases).

Congrats Tina! 😀

Aug. 9 league standings update

After splitting 4-4 with “Ghetto Stars”, “It’s Jim’s Fault” leads by four points over Team 5, six over Team 1, and eight over “Budweiser”. In the last week before position week (this coming week), we bowl against “Lucky Strikes”, Team 5 against “Shake ‘N Bake”, and Team 1 against “Budweiser”.

New membership announcement

I teased this on Facebook, wanting to actually do so with a photo, but my tease said I’ve joined another bowling-related organization. Before I tell about it, a little background, first:

There’s a large bowling group on Facebook that I’ve contributed to discussion in, and through various contacts with group members, who knew I had a blog, I came in contact with Jackie Wyckoff. She happens to be a member of the International Bowling Media Association’s Board of Directors. The association, abbreviated IBMA, is what used to be the Bowling Writers Association of America, but now encompasses the whole bowling media, including websites and blogs.

At Jackie’s urging, I submitted an application for membership, which was delayed in processing because of some kind of technical error (I eventually had to mail them a paper application.). On Friday, however, first by email and then by postal mail, I received word that my application was approved. While not officially a member at the time, I have also been contributing bigger news items from my blog (mostly about this year’s state tournaments) to their Facebook group.

While operating this blog is, of itself, enough to qualify me for IBMA membership, I must add that I’ve also recently contributed some articles to The Bowler’s Ledger, which Kathy Valerio of the Coke league and Sherm Cowan, the People’s Tournament’s TD, are involved with. This is a free monthly New England bowling newspaper which is available at the Westgate Lanes waiting area as well as in the pro shop. Two articles in particular that I’ve submitted had to do with the Westgate Lanes youth team’s national high series honor and the 600 doubles game thrown in this year’s city tournament by Ed Roberts and Alex Aguiar. While not paid for it, this does also qualify me as a published bowling writer.

With my membership in the IBMA now official, the administrivia for this post will be inclusion of their website in the sidebar list (under “Bowling Sites”) and updating the “About” page to note the membership.

As a final aside, membership does have its perks. I received an IBMA lapel pin with my postal membership notification (which was what I wanted a photo of for the teaser, but I was afraid my cellphone wouldn’t take a good closeup). Also, I’m able to get a discounted subscription to Xtra Frame, which I already subscribe to but will be happy to take the discount for.

Link to Mass. state association homepage added to sidebar

The Mass. state women’s and youth associations have had homepages for a while, but, at our emergency board meeting this morning, I learned from one of the board members that the men’s state association now also has a homepage, and I’ve linked it in the sidebar in the “Local/New England” category. I’d like to thank the Pittsfield local association for taking the lead with this, and would also like to note that the state association page currently is offering condolences for Bob Young, so thank you to the state association for that, as well.

July 30 league night recap

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

I was very happy with tonight’s set: No letdown in the third game, and, indeed, only one open frame after the first game (on a split in the third game, which I actually came close to making).

Result: 188-202-196=586
Average (33 games): 176
Average for last 9 games: 183
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 533

Team won the first two games, then the elder Ralph Marple put up a 267 to help his team take the third game by enough for total and a 4-4 split. Teams 1 and 5 each won six, so we’re now tied with Team 1 for first with Team 5 six points behind in third.