SPOTTED OUTSIDE DIABLO VALLEY BOWL



There was a heavy rainstorm in the East Bay on Saturday afternoon. But the sun broke through the clouds shortly after 4:00 as I was leaving Diablo Valley Bowl.

There was a break in the storm as I stepped outside

FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT

Pat Beck posted this on my wall in Facebook.

SPARE SHOOTING GAME

The "Jolly Wally" bank

Last season we talked about implementing a game within the game on league bowling nights to make us focus more on our spare shooting. We kicked around a few ideas but we never got around to adopting any of them. The game involved a small fine for missing single-pin spares. The money we collect would be applied to team-oriented costs such as tournament entry fees or bowling shirts.

Make your spare or pay!

As I recall, the cost was going to be 10 cents for missing a 7 or 10 pin, 25 cents for missing a 4 or 6 pin, 50 cents for missing a 2, 3, 8, or 9 pin, and one dollar for missing a 1 or 5 pin. Are the money amounts too high? Should it be 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, and 50 cents? Or should all single-pin spares have the same cost such as a dime or a quarter?

Will this help us convert more of our single-pin spares? Perhaps. I have no objection to doing this and I have a bowling pin coin bank in which we can put the money. I set up a poll in the right margin. Cast your vote by 3:00 PM on Monday afternoon. All it takes is one vote of "No" and we won't do it. If we get four "Yes" votes, we'll go with the one that gets the most votes.

DID YOU KNOW?

The U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Petaluma has a six-lane bowling center. It's called Two Rock Bowling Center. Here is an interesting story from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat about the facilities at Two Rock Base available to retirees and reservists of any branch of the U.S. armed services. Besides the bowling center, they have a swim center, fitness center (including basketball, tennis and raquetball courts), and movie theater. I had no idea this place existed.

The bowling center at Two Rock Base in Petaluma



PENNY PINCHERS LEAGUE

I saw this flier on the counter as I left Diablo Valley Bowl last night. It seems they're trying to get people bowling on Monday nights. If they get a bunch of teams to sign up for this new league, maybe we should consider cutting our league short and joining up with them. I know Jeff and Bill are unhappy about the current state of the Over The Wall league.

In my opinion, five teams isn't enough to make a league worthwhile. There's only three bowlers per team in this new league. If we were to join it, we could rotate one of us out each week. I'd rather do that than bowl an entire season in a five team league.

MR. 300 HAS HIS RING

As it was reported here a few weeks ago, Sasha Gray bowled a 300 game in June. Yesterday he received his ring from the USBC which he wore proudly around Diablo Valley Bowl.

In The Bowler's Advantage Pro Shop, Ray and Ron noticed that Sasha experienced a sudden and substantial increase to his hat size once he slipped on the ring. The friendly needling went right over Sasha's head as he was too delighted by the attention he was receiving for his accomplishment. As the only person in the shop who has never bowled a 300 game, I could appreciate why Sasha was so pleased with his prize.

SPOTTED IN THE DIABLO LANES PARKING LOT

Clever!

Time To Fire Up The Blog Again




The Coach wrings the neck of Jeff Falk

I haven't done anything with our old blog for awhile because it seemed like nobody was reading it. Last night, after taking a photo of The Coach strangling Jeff Falk, I thought about starting it up again. So after about 14 months of dormancy, we're up and running.

Why does The Coach have his hands around Jeff's neck? Because last week we bowled our high series for the season but lost 3 out of 4 thanks to Jeff's hot hand. Jeff didn't even break 400 in the two previous weeks but when he bowled against us, he pulled off his high game (196) and high series (467). Therefore, it's only right that The Coach went after the sandbagger.

What's With The Headphones?

Several of the men in this league seem more interested in listening to their music than bowling. In my opinion, putting plugs in their ears and tuning the rest of us out makes them appear aloof and rude. They may be real good guys but how would we know? When we try to talk to them, they can't hear us.

Should We Form An Office Bowling Club?

I know we have several friends and colleagues who enjoy bowling but can't bowl every week in a league. I was wondering if we should try to form an office bowling club so we can enjoy some bowling and socializing without locking anyone into a weekly commitment.