RENO INVITATIONAL - WEEK #17

Blockheads: 3

Pin Crew:   1

Olivia was out sick but Stephanie was able to bowl in her place. This was the position round to wrap up the first half of the season. We were matched with Pin Crew who had to spot us a handicap of 18 pins. It was a good night for us Blockheads as we put up our highest series of the season. It was definitely needed because Pin Crew bowled well, too.

The Coach and I each topped our previous high game and series while Sharon contributed a rock solid 572 series. Stephanie played through a sore knee and hit some big shots when we needed them. She also won $25 in the 50-50 raffle. We were within 10 pins of a sweep but Kathy's 216 paired with Alex's 207 for Pin Crew put them just beyond our reach in the second game. We came out of it with a 3-1 series edge and finished the first half with a record of 33-35. We start fresh next week as the second half of the season begins. If we can carry the energy we had this week the rest of the way, we have a good shot at the seizing the second half title.

  Blockheads       Pin Crew      
  PINS HCP TOTAL   PINS HCP TOTAL
1  677  18   695    661   0   661
2  684  18   702    712   0   712
3  735  18   753    665   0   665
T 2096  54  2150   2038   0  2038

WEEK 17    01  02  03  SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG   HS 200 500 600
Olivia                      35  5358 153.1 201  511   1   2   0
Sharon    191 198 183  572  51  8425 165.2 233  580   3   6   0
Mark      214 166 279  656  51  9523 186.7 279  656  16  13   2
Gary      147 220 148  515  51  7940 155.7 220  515   1   5   0
Stephanie 125 103 125  353   6   674 112.3 125  353   0   0   0
Total     677 684 735 2096 194 32370 166.9 757 2096  21  26   2

FORMER BASEBALL STAR PAUL BLAIR DEAD AT AGE 69

Paul Blair

You might wonder what this has to do with bowling. Paul Blair collapsed and died while warming up to bowl in a tournament at AMF Pikesville Lanes in Pikesville, Maryland. I looked him up on the USBC's website and found that he's been bowling in two leagues per week, averaging 185-197 over several years.

I saw Paul Blair play many times when I was a kid. He was the graceful centerfielder on the great Baltimore teams that also featured Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, and Davey Johnson. Those Oriole teams and our A's, led by Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Campy Campaneris, were usually battling for supremacy of the American League in those days. I'm saddened by Blair's death but I'm glad to know he was a bowler and a pretty good one.

RENO INVITATIONAL - WEEK #16

Blockheads: 3 - Sound & Fury: 1

The lane conditions were difficult but we were able to win two of the three games and earn the point for total pinfall. Spare shooting proficiency was a necessity because strikes were few and far between most of the night. We stumbled through the first game, searching for a way to reach the pocket consistently on two vastly different lanes. I never did find the answer but thankfully the rest of the team worked it out.  We rebounded in the second game and with Sharon and The Coach getting hot, we took the third game with ease.

Our 3-1 series score improved our record to 30-34. We're back within striking distance of .500. Since The Coach changed his set up, he's averaging 180. Now is the time to start building some momentum for the second half of the season.

    Blockheads       Sound & Fury
  PINS HCP TOTAL   PINS HCP TOTAL
1  598   0   598    529 112   641
2  667   0   667    522 112   634
3  746   0   746    528 112   640
T 2011   0  2011   1579 336  1915

WEEK 16    01  02  03  SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG   HS 200 500 600
Olivia    129 170 172  471  35  5358 153.1 201  511   1   2   0
Sharon    139 157 218  514  48  7853 163.6 233  580   3   5   0
Mark      180 170 158  508  48  8867 184.7 256  613  14  13   1
Gary      150 170 198  518  48  7425 154.7 198  518   0   5   0
Stephanie                    3   321 107.0 113  321   0   0   0
Total     598 667 746 2011 182 30274 166.3 757 2074  18  24   1

THE COACH'S EXPERIMENT



Red: Before

Black: After

You might have noticed The Coach experimenting with a different line to the pocket on Monday night. The past few weeks he was getting lots of splits resulting mostly from shots hitting high on the headpin. He was setting up far to the right on the approach and rolling over the first arrow which put his ball outside the oil.

After suffering with splits again in our first game this week, he tried moving to his left to get his ball in the oil and rolling over the second arrow at a slight left-to-right angle. Going through the oil helped the ball to skid longer before going into its roll and hooking. The change in the angle also helped to keep the ball from hooking past the pocket. The results were good with scores of 190 and 192 in the second and third games. Perhaps we can get out this weekend for some practice and further experimentation with The Coach's new approach.

RENO INVITATIONAL - WEEK #15



Blockheads: 1 - Team 8: 3

As one might expect, The Coach was thrilled when he saw we were bowling on lane 13. The way things started, it appeared there may be something to his disdain for that lane. The first game was a disgusting mixture of gutter balls, splits, and missed spares. As if that wasn't enough, our opponents bowled well and we were beaten by 128 pins. Not only were we down a game but it looked like the most we could hope for was a split.

Then in the second game, our roles reversed. We had the hot hand and scored 783, our highest game of the season. With 22 pins of handicap, our total was 805 and we won by 116 pins. So after the second game, we were even at a game apiece and we had pulled to within 12 pins for the series. If we could win the final game by 13 pins or more, a 3-1 series victory would be ours.

The third game was close through the first six frames but we tailed off just as our opponents got hot again. We lost the final game and the series, 1-3. We put up our second highest series score of the season but it wasn't quite good enough. It was very much the same story last week. We bowled well and exceeded our team average but our opponents were a little better.

Even though we came out on the short end, I was proud of the way we battled back after the brutal beating we took in the first game. As I noted earlier, we had our highest game and second highest series scores of the season. Olivia scored her high series and after a miserable start, The Coach topped his previous high in the second and third games. We may be out of the running for the first half of the season but we're rounding into shape for the second half which is just a few weeks away.

     Blockheads       Team 8
  PINS HCP TOTAL   PINS HCP TOTAL
1  586  22   608    736   0   736
2  783  22   805    689   0   689
3  673  22   695    744   0   744
T 2042  66  2108   2169   0  2169

WEEK 15    01  02  03  SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG   HS 200 500 600
Olivia    172 170 169  511  32  4887 152.7 201  511   1   2   0
Sharon    122 205 154  481  45  7339 163.1 233  580   1   4   0
Mark      179 218 158  555  45  8359 185.8 256  613  14  12   1
Gary      113 190 192  495  45  6907 153.5 192  503   0   3   0
Stephanie                    3   321 107.0 113  321   0   0   0
Total     586 783 673 2042 170 28263 166.3 783 2074  17  21   1

WIN A FREE BOWLING BALL

This week bowlingball.com is giving away a Hammer Cold Blood.

52 Weeks - 52 Winners. We Give Away A Bowling Ball Every Week

Who wouldn't take one for free?

'via Blog this'

RENO INVITATIONAL - WEEK #14

Blockheads: 1 - Silent Storm: 3

We pulled out the first game by three pins but we fell short the rest of the way. We were in each game until the end but Silent Storm were a model of consistency with scores of 719-717-718. They took the second and third games along with the point for total pinfall. Our 1-3 series was a setback for our ongoing pursuit of .500. We held onto fifteenth place but with our record of 26-30, it will take a sweep to get us to .500 this week.

LEAGUE STAT SHEET

  Blockheads       Silent Storm
  PINS HCP TOTAL   PINS HCP TOTAL
1  706  16   722    719   0   719
2  648  16   664    717   0   717
3  670  16   686    718   0   718
T 2024  48  2072   2154   0  2154

WEEK 14    01  02  03  SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG   HS 200 500 600
Olivia    201 162 135  498  29  4376 150.9 201  504   1   1   0
Sharon    157 137 156  450  42  6858 163.3 233  580   1   4   0
Mark      180 202 202  584  42  7804 185.8 259  613  13  11   1
Gary      168 147 177  492  42  6412 152.7 184  503   0   3   0
Stephanie                    3   321 107.0 113  321   0   0   0
Total     706 648 670 2024 158 26221 166.0 757 2074  15  19   1

PBA USES BLUE DYE TO ILLUSTRATE OIL ON ITS LANES

Did you watch the World Series of Bowling the past two weekends? We've seen some exciting matches and the PBA's latest innovation -- blue dye in the oil so the viewers can see where the oil is on the lane. Click the link below for a report from ThePostGame.com.



PBA Uses Blue Dye To Illustrate Oil On Its Lanes

Next Sunday's telecast of the PBA Chameleon Championship will be the third of four telecasts to feature the dyed oil. Tune into ESPN at 10:00 AM (PST).

MOTIV SIGMA STING CONTEST

Sigma Sting Contest:

Enter by December 15th

RENO INVITATIONAL - WEEK #13

Blockheads: 3

Team 24:    1

Olivia returned to action and did so with her high game and series of the season. With victories in the first two games, we had visions of a sweep that would bring us back to .500. However, we tailed off in the third game while Joseph of Team 24 went PBA on us. Still, a 3-1 night is a step in the right direction.

We improved our record to 25-27. We take on Silent Storm next week. It looks like they will be spotting us 19 or 20 pins. A sweep would give us a winning record for the first time since September.

  Blockheads      Team 24

  PINS HCP TOTAL  PINS HCP TOTAL

1  692   0   692   624  28   652
2  663   0   663   597  28   625
3  638   0   638   683  28   711
T 1993   0  1993  1904  84  1988

WEEK 13    01  02  03  SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG   HS 200 500 600
Olivia    196 155 153  504  26  3878 149.2 196  504   0   1   0 
Sharon    137 145 173  465  39  6408 164.3 233  580   1   4   0
Mark      205 217 172  594  39  7220 185.1 259  613  11  10   0
Gary      154 146 140  440  39  5920 151.8 184  503   0   3   0
Stephanie                    3   321 107.0 113  321   0   0   0
Total     692 663 638 1993 146 24197 165.7 757 2074  10  16   1