PBA EXPERIENCE - WEEK 11 RESULTS

Blockheads: 20 - Team 5: 0

This was our last night on the Shark pattern. Olivia and Jon were absent so it was just Peter and I bowling. Other than a few splits and missing a couple of easy spares, I had a pretty good night. Peter had some struggles finding a consistent path to the pocket until the final game. As a result, we pulled off a 20-point sweep. It was pretty close to being a scratch series in team handicap as we received four pins.

The league rules dictate that when two absent bowlers oppose each other, the match points go to the absent bowler whose team won the game. Since we won all four games and total pinfall, Olivia earned all of the match points versus Jon. With a 20-point night, our record improved to 104-116 and we likely moved up a place or two in the standings just in time for another position round.

WEEK 11 01  02  03  04 SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG HSER 200 700 800
Olivia 133 133 133 133  532 24  3210 133.8 198  606   0   0   0
Mark   167 200 171 217  755 32  5601 175.0 218  771   8   5   0
Sharon                       4   598 149.5 185  598   0   0   0
Gary                        12  1671 139.3 165  586   0   0   0
Total  300 333 304 350 1287 72 11612 161.3 387 1329   8   5   0

PBA EXPERIENCE - WEEK 10 RESULTS

Blockheads: 7 - McEachrans: 13

We had a good debut on the Shark pattern. Olivia and I shot over our averages in three of the four games. Olivia topped her previous high game and high series. We also topped our previous high game and series as a team. On the surface, one would think we won most of the points. However, we won only 7 of the 20 points because Jim and Stephen McEachran bowled better.

Even though we came out on the losing end, bowling on a tough oil pattern against excellent opponents and earning seven points was a satisfying experience. Each game except for the second was in doubt until the tenth frame. We made the McEachrans work hard for their 13 points.

As a team, we received 56 pins in handicap. For the match points, Olivia was spotted 41 pins and I was spotted 15. The game and series scores including handicap were 378-389, 352-405, 380-415, 443-417 - 1553-1626. Olivia earned four match points and I earned one.

WEEK 10 01  02  03  04  SER  G  PINS   AVG  HG HSER 200 700 800
Olivia 121 143 144 198  606 24  3210 133.8 198  606   0   0   0
Mark   201 153 180 189  723 28  4846 173.1 218  771   6   4   0
Sharon                       4   598 149.5 185  598   0   0   0
Gary                        12  1671 139.3 165  586   0   0   0
Total  322 296 324 387 1329 68 10325 151.8 387 1329   6   4   0

PBA EXPERIENCE - SHARK

Shark - 43'

Many thanks to The Coach for filling in for me while I was out of town the past three weeks. I'll be back in time for week #10 when we shift to the Shark pattern for the next two weeks.

Shark is a 43' pattern (some sources list it as 44') with a moderate volume of oil. Jef Goodger at About.com shares these tips for playing Shark. Epic Bowling also has some helpful advice which you can read here. A common thread is that if you send your ball out wide on Shark, it's not coming back. It may well end up in the moat.

This You Tube video for Shark may be helpful:

I'll be at Diablo Valley Bowl Sunday morning to practice. Coach, you may be needed again so if you're not doing anything Sunday, come on out.