Eskimo's Icy Wisdoms

Yep, I’m heading back to school to finish up my degrees. So my playtime has shrunk down hugely. However it won’t be totally gone.

For this term I am taking Macroeconomics and U.S. History until 1877. Both are going to be challenging classes and I hope to glean some good knowledge from them.

Aside from that, I have the Stanwood tournament this weekend and another tournament the following weekend before the fall season of bowling starts on September 8th.

Catch ya later

Well… I was trying to update week by week but other stuff got in the way.

So here is where it stands, my team has the lowest handicap in the league, we have the top team scratch scores and we are in 12th place…

We won all our points last week, so that moved us up a bit, however we only have two more weeks to try and get into the top 8, which means winning every single point until then. (Makes a difference on monies payout)

I’ll update Wednesday with how we do tomorrow.

Another week of bowling…

We were on Lanes 13 and 14 this time.

The lanes were different than last week, more oil, the ball didn’t just over hook last last week. Was rather strange.

DJ was sick, so we got his blind score, which in this league is his average minus 10. His current average is a 186, so we got an automatic 176 every game.

First game:

DJ (BLIND) = 176

Scherry = 187

Anthony = 204

Mike = 200

Total 767

handicap total = 782

We won our point here. Which was awesome of course.

Game 2

DJ (BLIND) = 176

Scherry = 163

Anthony = 194

Mike = 174

Total 707

With handicap 722

We lost this one.

Game 3

DJ (BLIND) = 176

Scherry = 159

Anthony = 194

Mike = 258

Total 787

With handicap 802

And we still lost by a lot. The other team all shot way over average.

It’s not looking good for us. We shoot well and lose to handicap or we don’t shoot well and lose anyway.

Next week our new averages get posted, I figure mine is going to be 213 Not bad at all. I’m hoping to pull it closer to 220 before the end of the season.

That’s all till next time.

Well, Week 2 has come upon us and we ended up bowling down on lanes 1 & 2

Same line up as before. (We rarely change it)

I used my secondary rapid fire (I call it Mike’s Rapid fire) It has a different layout than my Rapid Fire pearl, a much stronger back end, normally I could use it really well, but tonight it was too strong for the lanes.

The lanes were a little drier than last week. Everything was hooking more, although I think it had more to do with ambient temperature and a lower humidity level.   Factors like this do make a difference in how you play the lanes.

The center also got new screen installed, big flat panel monitors… They were huge! In fact, if I was looking at them before walking up on the approach, they hurt my eyes. Still, its an improvement. I think the next big step will be for the center to upgrade the whole scoring system. The one they have in place is like 30 years old. Its automatic, but out dated.

Anyway,back to the bowling.

Here is our games

Game 1

DJ – 166

Scherry – 152

Anthony – 247

Mike – 196

Total Scratch = 761

Total with Handicap = 776

We lost our point by 64 pins. The other team bowled really well.

Game 2

DJ – 160

Scherry – 188

Anthony – 191

Mike – 279

My game would have been higher except I left a 7-10 split. That’s a big game killer.

Scratch total = 818

Total with Handicap = 833

We won this point by 30 pins. The other team still bowled really well.

Game 3

DJ -206

Scherry – 150

Anthony 205

Mike – 167

Scratch total = 728

Handicap total = 743

We lost this game too. By a lot.

So this week was a bit disappointing, we only won 1 point, I expect we will be around 12-14 place next week.

We are just going to have to work harder! It’s not over yet, we still have a lot of season left.

Well, You didn’t think my leagues were over did you. Of course I’m bowling just one this summer to keep my edge and to just have some fun.

I’m bowling in the 13 week Spring classic league at Glacier Lanes.

For the first three weeks (9 games) we get to use our fall/winter ending average. Which for me is 216.

I’m bowling with Mike, Scherry and DJ.

Our line up is DJ, Scherry, me, then Mike.

The point system is 4 points per 3 game series. One point for a total point with handicap win per game and then one point for total pins with handicap.

Our games looked like this:

Game 1

DJ – 162

Scherry – 222

Anthony – 231

Mike – 300

Total scratch pins = 915

+ 15 pins handicap = 930

Yes, Mike shot a perfect game to start out the season. It was awesome.

We also won our point.

Game 2

DJ – 181

Scherry – 190

Anthony – 242

Mike – 172

Total = 785

+ 15 pins handicap = 800

Well, we tied this game. Which means we get 1/2 a point.

Game 3

DJ – 214

Scherry – 166

Anthony – 213

Mike – 220

Scratch Total = 813

+15 pins = 828

We lost this one. The other team bowled really well.

However we took total pins! So 2 and 1/2 points!

Our goal is to finish in the top 7 spots in the league (which is harder to do than it sounds.) That way we get to bowl in the tournament of champions at the end of the season. If we finish in the bottom half, we get to bowl in the contenders tournament…

I was rolling my Rapid Fire Pearl tonight and I must say I was really pleased with how it did. I just need to keep my timing and release consistant, that’s my goal over the summer, shoot well and fix some issues in my timing and release.

More later!

Well, tonight was the last night of trios.

I pulled out my Liberator to start, thinking the lanes would be a bit drier… And it worked ok for the first part of the game. Until I left a 5/7 split. Then I decided to pull out the Rapid Fire Pearl once again. The difference in ball reaction was immediate.

I closed out the last four frames of the first game with 4 strikes for a 216 game. Not great, but not bad at all. At least it was average.

Then I came into the next game. Ten strikes in a row and then… A nine pin. 289 game. So close to that perfect 300! Oh I was pumped then.

Started the third game with… Ten strikes in a row again! Then I left a 4/6 split. It was my own fault, I hit the ball with my fingers a little harder trying to make sure I kicked the nine pin and it over hooked at the midlane. Still a 287 game.

So 792 series to end the league. If I had carried just one of the strikes in my second or third game it would have been an 800 series (Something i have never done) But I’m getting closer. One of these days.

It was a good run for sweeper night. And as a team, we pulled ourselves up from ninth to 5th place because we bowled so well as a team.

I don’t know if I’ll go back to the league next year, its hard to compete in a handicap league with an average as high as mine. We shall see.

Well, the season is winding down for me. Only one more week left actually.

Last Tuesday in my Handicap Trios league at Glacier lanes started the two week roll off for the top four teams. Sadly my team didn’t make that, however we are still fighting for that fifth spot!

Game one was horrible for me. I rolled a 151. I don’t know if my mind wasn’t in the game or what was wrong with me, I left two splits and a wash out and just couldn’t string any strikes. Looks really bad for a guy with a 215 average in the league…

I was rolling my rapid fire pearl and at the end of the first game I was just shaking my head. On Tuesday’s I only ever bring two balls with me, my XXXL spare ball and one other reactive ball.

Well after the first game I knew I needed to change something. So I moved my feet ten boards to the right, my mark ten boards and I also changed my thumb slug out, going from my larger white one to my smaller yellow one.

The difference in ball reaction and striking power was immediate. I rolled a 241 game. My team mates were giving me such a bad time…

Then came the third game. I threw the ball in the pocket on lanes 16 and left a ten pin. Sparing it I didn’t even change my target for the next set of shots. Strike, strike, strike. I couldn’t even look at the score board. Then came the ninth frame and my eighth strike in a row. It all came down to the tenth frame…

My first shot in the tenth happened on lane 15. It was a little light (I was a bit nervous) and the ten was still standing, then the six pin bounced up and tapped it just hard enough to cause it to fall over. Boom! Nine in a row!

My next shot went a little high and the nine pin was bouncing around the back of the deck until another pin crashed off the sidewall to swing across and knock it to the ground. Ten in a row!

My last shot, was textbook perfect. All ten pins flew back to land in the pit.

11 strikes in a row for a 290 game and a 682 series.

I get a plaque for it.

Singles and Doubles:

Well we were at Midna lanes for Singles and Doubles. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much looking at the outside. It was rather unkept. Peeling paint, potholes in the driveway… And upon entering, the unkept appearance of the outside was reflected on the inside.

While the inside was dirty, it was very dingy. You would think that hosting the State tournament a few extra dollars could go into making the place look more presentable.

Anyway…

We were put down on lanes 1&2 (right in front of the mini arcade area for the kids to play on, pinball, racing games, etc)

Practice started and I was still scratching my head after the ten minutes of warm up as to where to shoot on the lanes. It was after that I found out we were using the USBC White oil pattern, one I hadn’t seen before.

It also didn’t help that after our lead off bowler threw his first shot, the lane broke down in the back and we had to wait for twenty minutes for it to be repaired. All that warm up went for naught as muscles cooled off again and we were left just sitting around.

Finally they got it fixed and we continued bowling. Not that anyone on our pair did all that well.

My singles series didn’t net me anything for the tournament. 157, 172, 192… Not that great. Especially with a 217 average. No handicap to make up for having a bad set.

Doubles was next and we simply swapped with our neighbor in the settee area on lanes 3 and 4.

I shot a lot better on this pair, I managed to overcome the errors I made in the first set regarding how to appraoch the new oil pattern and made the corrections neccesary.

Shot 234, 192, 224. Much better. The bummer thing is my doubles partner fell apart. So we are not getting anythign back for that tournament.

Still, I was very unhappy that day with not only my bowling, but the poor standards to which the people hosting the state tournament held themselves.

After bowling we were all ready to get a bite to eat and then crash at the hotel. We went to a place called “the Dutch Kitchen” hidden in downtown Yakima. It wasn’t much to look at on the outside, more like a hole in the wall place, and when we stepped inside it wasn’t all that great to look at either…

However the service was great. Our server Lisa treated us all like we were long lost cousins or something, she was very cordial, joking with everyone at the table and at the same time kept herself professional.

They had a great special for dinner too. a 14oz Prime rib with potatoes and a veggie for $10.50. Oh man was it good. There was virtually no talking from the table while we ate. That was one of the redeeming places in Yakima.

Day 3

Team event

So we rolled up into Nob Hill lanes. It was in a better area of town and had a restaurant and casino attached to it, so we expected to look better. And it did. Inside was better lit, cleaner, new paint on the walls. The machines were in better shape. What you would expect if a place is going to host the state tournament.

Our team consisted of Ronnie, Sean, Robert and myself.

We shot 2,740 total and that put us in the top 20 as of right now. There are still three more weekends to go. I hope our score sits high enough…

The drive home was uneventful, it was nice being able to do 70MPH the whole way. Once we got to Seattle it slowed to 60 and I felt like I was suddenly plodding along. Its a good thing I did though, the people who passed me all got pulled over.

It was nice to get away to go bowling, but at the same time, its always nice to come home again.

So yeah, that was my trip in a short nutshell.

The road wasn’t that bad coming in. Only one slow up, other than that, nothing. It was nice to be able to drive at 70mph for more than a few miles. Most of I-90 was at 70.

Bowled at an old school alley for Trios. When I say old school, I mean old school. This place was so old that i expected to see pin boys at the back end of the alley sitting pins still. (Thankfully they had automatic pin setters.)

I have a picture on my phone I’ll update soon. (forgot my SD card reader)

Still, this place was on the second story, with no elevator, so we had to lug our equipment up the stairs. Thankfully the bowling center had some guys at the entrance who helped carry stuff up. Otherwise with my hundred pound bag it would have been a bit more of a hike.

We got checked in and assigned lanes 5 and 6. Boy… this house still had wood lanes and hand scoring. The lanes looked rather beat up and I found out that they haven’t been resurfaced in years. It was a nice throwback to an earlier time in bowling. Wood lanes, hand scoring with a projector that showed your score against the wall.

I bowled ok. Not great, but not horribly.Here are the scores. I was bowling with Ronnie and Brian.

Ronnie has a 211 average which gives him a total of 51 pins handicap.

He bowled  190 + 162 + 212 = 564 + 51 handicap = 615

Brian has a 192 average which netted him 102 pins handicap.

He bowled 192+204+200= 596 + 102 handicap = 698

I have an average of 217 which nets me 35 pins handicap.

I bowled 175 + 203 + 216 = 594 + 35 handicap = 629

Our grand total is 1,942 Not really great, but we had fun.

Singles and doubles tomorrow. Will post again soon.

For a while now I have been bowling. Its my sport of choice.

As it stands I have the following equipment in my arsenal: (please note, I added the links so you can see the pictures of the ball)

Balls:

Storm Virtual Gravity – Shot my first Adult 300 on this ball

Storm Rapid Fire Pearl – Shot many a high game on this ball, though the highest is a 299, still working on that 300. I have second one I will be getting drilled up in the next 2-3 weeks. Just in time for the State Tournament!

Lane #1 Curve - One of my most consistent bowling balls. Rolled my highest season long average ever with it. (217 average for 21 weeks)

Lane #1 Big curve – My strong hooking ball, It works well with oil on the lane or late in the game with a lot of carry down.  Not my first choice at times, however it has pulled me out of the clutch more than once.

Lane #1 The Liberator – My first Urethane bowling ball in a long while. I haven’t had much chance to use it, in fact I’m not as happy with how it is drilled. I need to practice a bit more with it.

Lane #1 Dynamo X2 Dry Limited Edition – This is the best investment I made in a bowling ball out of my most recent purchases. The ball is great for when the lanes dry out. Normally I can even move to the right and still play up the boards. Scored pretty well with it on many occasions. Still, not one to pull out

Lane #1 SuperNova XP -This is my down and end ball, currently in semi-retirment due to my newer equipment, not a bad ball, Its just drilled to skid flip and I haven’t met with that lane condition in a while. I’ll prolly pull it out in the next few weeks and switch out the Liberator.

Lane #1 Dirty Bomb – The one that started my career with Lane #1 products. This is my second one (My first one cracked out from too much use) Currently sitting semi-retired at the moment but will be pulled out again soon!

Lane #1 XXXL – This is my plastic ball. Picked it up in the clearance bin at a local Pro Shop and got it drilled straight up for shooting the right side.  The funny thing is, When the lane conditions are right, I can play this ball down the ten board and still carry strikes. Its a great ball to have.

(Sorry, I couldn’t find a decent picture of this one)

I carry all the equipment around in my Lane #1 six ball bag. My retired stuff is sitting in my Storm three ball bag.

I wear Dexter SSt6 Shoes with replaceable soles as I tend to wear through mine at a steady pace due to my power slide.

And that as they say is that. My current arsenal of equipment.