HOW DID IT GO WITH CARMEN SALVINO?

My internet connections have been spotty in Canada and I have zero connectivity with Sprint. How did we do Monday night? I'm curious about the new oil pattern. How did it play? I hope I won't be totally lost with a 15-pound ball after 26 days of bowling with 3-1/2 pound bowling balls. (I tried Canadian five-pin bowling yesterday -- it was great!) I plan to start practicing as soon as I get home.

I will be back in the USA tomorrow night so my cell phone should be functional again.

DUCKPIN & CANDLEPIN BOWLING

I have some photos and video from the other types of bowling I've tried on my trip through the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada.


Duckpin bowling in Maryland

Duckpin bowling is popular in the Baltimore-Washington area and candlepin bowling is popular in New England. Both games are played in parts of Canada, also.

We bowled duckpin at College Park Lanes in College Park, Maryland on July 7th. If it looks familiar, it's because College Park Lanes is owned by AMF so it has the same interior design as Pinole Valley Lanes and Southshore Lanes (Mel's Bowl) in Alameda. (They have the same corporate-style website, too.) You can click on the pictures to enlarge them. More duckpin photos and some video can be found here.

Candlepin bowling in Maine

Ten days later, we bowled candlepin at Big 20 Bowling Center in Scarborough, Maine. Click here for some additional photos and video.

I enjoyed both variations of bowling I've tried so far and I wish we had them at home. Still, I miss my "big ball bowling" (as some folks in the east call our game) and I miss bowling with The Blockheads. I think you'll be switching from the Earl Anthony oil pattern to Carmen Salvino on Monday. Is anyone going to practice on it Sunday night?

I'm in Montreal now where they play a different style of duckpin bowling some people call rubber band duckpin. The scoring is higher so it's played the same way as our bowling -- only two shots per frame. I'm hoping to try that one tonight or tomorrow. I'll be in Toronto a few days from now. That's where they have five-pin bowling. In that game, the five pins form a "V" and the pins have different values. Click on the link above for more info on how that game is scored. I'm anxious to try it.

HEY, BLOCKHEADS!

How did it go last night?

TOUGH TIMES

OLIVIA AND I HAD A TOUGH NIGHT LAST NIGHT. WE DIDN'T DO SO WELL.

A LOT OF THE OTHER BOWLERS STRUGGLED IN THEIR LAST TWO GAMES.

THE OIL PATTERN WAS VERY DIFFICULT. NOT VERY MUCH PIN ACTION. BOTH SIDES OF THE LANES FOR THE 7 PINS AND THE 10 PINS JUST SKIDDED OFF.

FRED WAS NOT THERE LAST NIGHT SO THINGS DIDN'T GO TOO SMOOTHLY.  ONE TEAM  DROPPED OUT. SO NOW ITS 16 TEAMS.

I  DON'T THINK OLIVIA AND I ARE CUT OUT FOR THIS SPORT LEAGUE. ITS TOO TOUGH.

I HAVE THE STAT SHEETS. I HOPE ALL IS WELL ON THE TRIP.

PRACTICE ON EARL ANTHONY

Olivia with her Storm Frantic

We gave the new pattern a try at Diablo Valley Bowl last night. For all tbe doom & gloom we've heard about the Earl Anthony pattern, it didn't seem so tough. I shot mostly in the 170s with one game over 200. The Coach and Olivia didn't seem have any troubles with it either.

It played much easier than Cheetah, IMO. I suppose the true test will be tonight when the games count.

WHAT IS THIS GUY DOING?

He's in a bowling center. He's on the approach to a bowling lane. But I don't know if we can call this bowling. Good grief, why would he try to make the game so complicated and difficult?

I shot this at Earl Anthony's Dublin Bowl during the Pot 'O' Gold game. If figured if I didn't have video, nobody would believe it.