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PUT ON YOUR THUMB WARMER, AL BUNDY

Coach, I hope this photo I took today will inspire you. Let's rock.

Love & marriage, love & marriage, go together like a horse & carriage...

PBA EXPERIENCE - WEEK 6 RESULTS

Blockheads: 13 - Team 6: 7

We had a few mix-ups on our path to the Viper pattern but in the end, it was a successful one. We were scheduled to bowl Mike Galli and Roxanna Horton, two outstanding bowlers. Mike has the highest average (207) among the men in our league while Roxanna has the highest average (183) among the women.

Mike and Roxanna had scheduling conflicts that required them to postpone our bowling Monday night. They arranged to have it post-bowled on Sunday, June 22nd. Olivia and I agreed to bowl with them on Sunday. Everything was sorted out. Except it didn't quite work out that way. It's actually June 24th that Roxanna will be unavailable and Mike missed the cut in the tournament he entered so both of them were able to bowl Monday night. They tried to reach us through Diablo Valley Bowl to inform us they would be bowling on our regular schedule but the messages never reached us.

I also had a change in plan. I have to leave for the airport earlier on Sunday than I previously planned so I too had to bowl Monday night. I contacted Olivia and she said she would be there to bowl with me Monday night. Then Olivia had a hitch in her plans so she couldn't make it. Thus, it we ended up with Mike, Roxanna, and I bowling Monday night. Olivia's average was used in her absence.

Now for the good news. I bowled extremely well in the first three games and we won 13 of the 20 points against very tough competition. It was my first experience with Viper and it didn't crush me the way Cheetah did. I had a few strikes early in the fourth game and a shot at an 800 series. But later in the game, four bad shots left me with washouts and I failed to convert any of them. Still, three good games out of four isn't bad. We're 33-7 in the last two weeks so we should be moving up in the standings.

WEEK 6  01  02  03  04  SER  G PINS   AVG  HG HSER 200 700 800
Olivia 131 131 131 131  524 12 1582 131.8 189  580   0   0   0
Mark   200 202 218 151  771 24 4123 171.8 218  771   5   3   0
Sharon                       4  598 149.5 185  598   0   0   0
Total  331 333 349 282 1295 40 6827 157.6 349 1315   5   3   0

We have one more week on Viper before we switch to another pattern. I think it's going to be Scorpion after Viper. I will be on the road the next three weeks so The Coach will be filling in for me. I highly recommend you read the notes and watch the video on the Viper pattern that I posted recently. They helped me a ton.

PBA EXPERIENCE - VIPER

Viper - 37'

In weeks #6 and #7 we'll be bowling on the Viper pattern. Actually, I will be bowling on it only in week #6. I'll miss weeks #7 through #9 while I'm on my summer road trip. But I digress. Viper is a 37' pattern with a moderate volume of oil. Jef Goodger at About.com offers this advice for playing Viper. Epic Bowling has some descriptions and tips which you can find here.

Here is a helpful video from You Tube:

PBA EXPERIENCE - WEEK 5 RESULTS

Blockheads: 20 - Vacant Team: 0

This was our last week on the Chameleon pattern and we drew the vacant team for it. Since we didn't have live opponents, we had to bowl within a certain range of our averages to earn a point.

Our team average was 296. Olivia didn't have 12 games on the books so she was still using her entering average of 133. My average was 163. We bowled pretty well, scoring our high series and high game (game #4) for the season. We easily cleared 296 in all four games and won all of the team points in addition to the individual match points.

WEEK 5 01   02  03  04  SER  G PINS   AVG  HG HSER 200 700 800

Olivia 123 125 143 189  580 12 1582 131.8 189  580   0   0   0
Mark   191 185 171 188  735 20 3352 167.6 204  735   2   2   0
Sharon                       4  598 149.5 185  598   0   0   0
Total  314 310 314 377 1315 36 5532 153.7 377 1315   2   2   0 

Next week we'll switch to the Viper pattern.

PBA EXPERIENCE: WEEK 4 RESULTS

Olivia was back in action this week and we took on two tough customers in Jerry Kennedy and Chris Wu. They had to spot us 70 pins per game in handicap as we had our first of two weeks bowling on the Chameleon oil pattern.

We started off fairly well and almost pulled out a win in the first game. Then in the second game we were paid a visit by Jeff Falk. Jeff promptly spilled his cup on water on the floor behind us and our scores took a sudden nosedive. Thanks for stopping by, Jeff! Jerry and Chris swept us with only the first and fourth games being fairly close.

WEEK 4  01  02  03  04  SER  G PINS   AVG  HG HSER 200 700 800
Olivia 153 107 110 127  497  8 1002 125.3 182  505   0   0   0
Mark   168 154 174 204  700 16 2617 163.6 204  700   2   1   0
Sharon                       4  598 149.5 185  598   0   0   0
Total  321 261 284 331 1197 28 4217 150.6 345 1220   2   1   0

PBA EXPERIENCE - CHAMELEON

Chameleon - 39'

In weeks #4 and #5 we'll be bowling on the Chameleon pattern. Chameleon is a 39' pattern with a moderate volume of oil. Jef Goodger at About.com offers this advice for playing Chameleon while Epic Bowling offers more detail which you can find here.

For some video, here's an offering from You Tube:

Will To Win: BOWL BAY AREA'S ONE-BALL TOURNAMENT

Will To Win: BOWL BAY AREA'S ONE-BALL TOURNAMENT: Are you interested in an unusual test of your bowling skills? Pete Hagin's Bowl Bay Area is hosting an eight-gamer on June 2nd (Sunday)...

Here are our scores:

     SHARON MARK
1      115   144
2      211   135
3      167   200
4      158   158
5      169   172
6      155   181
7      114   164
8      124   200
TOTAL 1213  1354
AVG    151   169

PBA EXPERIENCE - WEEK 3 RESULTS

Sharon subbed for Olivia this week which was our last week on the Cheetah pattern. Next week we switch to Chameleon. Actually, that will be in two weeks. We won't be bowling next week because of the Memorial Day holiday. We will switch to Chameleon on June 3rd. The way I bowled on Cheetah the past two weeks, I can't say I'm unhappy to see it go.

I haven't bowled on Chameleon before and I won't be able to practice on it in advance. Diablo Valley Bowl will be hosting Bowling Bay Area's single ball 8-gamer and an ABT tournament on June 2nd. I suspect that won't leave any lanes open. Sharon and I are bowling in the single ball 8-gamer so I won't be able to practive on Chameleon even if they do put it on a few lanes.

Here are tonight's scores. It's almost as painful to type them as it was to bowl them.

WEEK 3  01  02  03  04  SER  G PINS   AVG  HG HSER 200 700 800
Olivia                       4  505 126.3 182  505   0   0   0
Mark   123 192 160 118  593 12 1917 159.8 204  692   1   0   0  
Sharon 128 149 185 136  598  4  598 149.5 185  598   0   0   0
Total  251 341 345 254 1191 20 3020 151.0 345 1220   1   0   0

PBA EXPERIENCE - WEEK 2 RESULTS

Olivia was present this week but we still don't have any handicapping. Until our entering averages can be established, we won't know the total scores or standings. This was our first of two weeks on the Cheetah pattern. This is the pattern the produces the highest scores on the PBA tour. You certainly couldn't tell that by our scores. Oof!

WEEK 2  01  02  03  04  SER  G PINS   AVG  HG HSER 200 700 800
Olivia 117 160 132  96  505  4  505 126.3 182  505   0   0   0
Mark   135 163 175 159  632  8  632 158.0 204  692   1   0   0
Total  252 323 307 255 1137 12 1829 152.4 336 1220   1   0   0

PBA EXPERIENCE - CHEETAH

Cheeth - 35'

We will be bowling on the Cheetah oil pattern in weeks #2 and #3. It's a 35' pattern with a high volume of oil and it's the highest scoring pattern on the PBA tour. I sought out some tips for bowling on Cheetah and found a couple from About.com and Epic Bowling. Click on the links to view them.

I also found these videos from You Tube:

PBA EXPERIENCE - WEEK 1 RESULTS

We started with a meeting to establish our league rules. Rather than a regular sport league, this will be a PBA Experience league with the champions qualifying for entry to a regional PBA tournament. For our league to qualify, we must bowl on PBA patterns for a minimum of 12 weeks. Our season is 13 weeks long and we already had Dead Man's Curve on the lanes for our first night. We will bowl on PBA patterns for the remaining 12 weeks which will allow us to qualify for the tournament entries.

Anothing thing that will be done differently this year is we're not breaking each night's bowling into two sets of two games to be bowled on different lanes against different opponents. We will bowl a four game series on the same pair of lanes each night.

Olivia was absent so I bowled solo tonight. I don't know if we won because we don't have the handicapping listed.  Our averages from last year's Sport Doubles 23 league weren't reported to the USBC. I have the stat sheets so I know Olivia's is 132 and mine is 163. I emailed copies of last year's stats to Diablo Valley Bowl so they can get our averages on the record and figure out the handicapping and standings.

WEEK 1  01  02  03  04  SER  G PINS   AVG  HG HSER 200 700 800
Olivia 132 132 132 132  528                          0   0   0
Mark   147 204 181 160  692  4  632 173.0 204  692   1   0   0
Total  279 336 313 292 1220  4  632 173.0 336 1220   1   0   0

SCOTCH DOUBLES TOURNAMENT

We bowled 6 strikes apiece for a Scotch 300

Sharon and I showed up at Paddock Bowl on Saturday expecting a night of Monte Carlo bowling but there was a change in plan. The Monte Carlo event was called off because Paddock Bowl was hosting a no-tap scotch doubles tournament. Neither of us is very fond of the no-tap format but since we were there, we decided to enter. Quinton and some of the Monte Carlo regulars entered the tournament also.

In the scotch bowling format, the two bowlers alternate turns. Sharon bowled first and if she didn't strike, I had to shoot for the spare. If she did strike, I would shoot the first shot in the next frame. Then if I failed to strike, it would be up to Sharon to convert the spare. One never makes consecutive shots.

This was a four-game tournament with the first two games being no-tap in the scotch doubles format and the last two games being no-tap doubles in regular format.


Sharon and I bowled well. Most of our strikes were the natural kind. We left very few ten-pins on a night we didn't need to hit them. In the second game we bowled a scotch 300 and split the $20 high game prize with another team. In the third game, I bowled a 276 with ten natural strikes, a bucket, and one no-tap strike.



Our scotch no-tap 300 game with nine natural strikes

          01  02  03  04  SER G   AVG

Scotch   215 300          515 2 257.5

Sharon           229 206  435 2 217.5

Mark             276 224  500 2 250.0

Subtotal 215 300 505 430 1450 6 241.7

Hdcp                      117
Total                    1567   261.2

It's a shame it wasn't regular ten-pin bowling because I think we would have averaged over 200 without the no-tap gimmick. In the end, we finished in a tie for second place. We won $90 + $10 for the 300 game. Since we paid in $50 for the entry fee and some raffle tickets, winning back $100 earned us a tidy profit for the night.

WEEK 14 RESULTS

The Blockheads
Over The Wall II
2013 Champions

This was the final week of the regular season and one without much meaning to us since we clinched first place last week. It was a position round so we were paired up with Rock On again. They won the first and third games plus the point for total pinfall. With the 1-3 series score, our record for the season was 35-21. Rock On finished second with a record of 32-24.

LEAGUE STAT SHEET (FINAL)

Next week is our sweeper. We will be on lanes 11-12 again but this time paired up with The Newbies. Remember, the sweeper is not a team event. We will be bowling individually for cash prizes. After we bowl, the league awards and prize money will be distributed in addition to the sweeper prize money.

WEEK 14 01  02  03  SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG   HS 200 500 600 700

Sharon 143 153 180  476  42  7005 166.8 259  603   4   7   1   0

Olivia 127 170 141  438  36  5579 155.0 224  509   3   4   0   0

Mark   243 188 195  626  42  8304 197.7 256  706  17   8   5   1

Gary   115 185 184  484  41  6466 157.7 221  555   2   4   0   0

Total  628 696 700 2024 161 27354 169.9 846 2186  26  23   6   1

39TH ANNUAL DIABLO SENIOR TOURNAMENT

Tournament Flier

Sharon and I entered Paddock Bowl's Diablo Senior Tournament last year and we didn't bowl very well. Actually, Sharon did okay but I scored below my average. This year we did much better, bowling on Saturday and Sunday.

The Brunswick Revolver

Besides the bowling, there was a ball raffle with a chance to win a Columbia 300 Freeze Hybrid (which Sharon already has), a Brunswick Slingshot, and a Brunswick Revolver. As you can imagine from the picture here, the Revolver caught Sharon's eye.

4/6/2013  01  02  03  SE  G   AVG
Sharon   149 191 178  518 3 172.7
Mark     160 170 223  553 3 184.3
Subtotal 309 361 401 1071 6 178.5
Hdcp                  253
Total                1324

Our scores were passable but not the kind that would put us in the money. We were somewhat frustrated because we felt good but we were off just a bit. My first game was a 160 that would have been a no-tap 300. I had all strikes and nines but I went into one of my spare shooting funks and missed four easy spares just slightly to the right. Sharon caught some unlucky breaks in the first game or her score would have been much higher also. Since we felt much better about our bowling than the scores reflected, we decided to come back and try it again Sunday afternoon.

4/7/2013  01  02  03  SER G   AVG
Sharon   181 150 224  555 3 185.0
Mark     193 233 216  642 3 214.0
Subtotal 374 383 440 1197 6 199.5
Hdcp                  253
Total                1450

That's more like it! We bowled on the same pair with Rod Hussey who was with One Pin Standing in Over The Wall last autumn. (He won the ball raffle and picked the Slingshot.)

Sharon's second game was marred by a pocket 7-10 split, a 2-7-8 conversion attempt that barely missed, and a missed 10-pin for which the ball dropped into the channel no more than an inch away from the pin. She converted a 1-2-4-10 washout and a 7-8 split to prevent that game from being a complete sink hole. Other than that unfortunate game, we were in the pocket all day. We scored very well and this series may have earned us some money.

Bowling.com Bowling Ball Giveaway

Bowling.com is giving away a free Storm IQ Tour Pearl.

Storm's IQ Tour Pearl

You can enter the drawing here. Pete Weber used this ball in the televised PBA event he won last Sunday.

WEEK 13 RESULTS

Blockheads 4 - Rock On 0

In Week #10 we were swept by Comeback Kids and pushed out of first place. Since then we have enjoyed three consecutive sweeps of our own. The last two were knockout punches delivered to our closest competitors. We now enjoy a five game lead with only four to play so we have clinched the league championship.

In the past three weeks we turned it on when we really needed it. With socres of 2164, 2186, and 2147 we raised our team average from 167 to 170 in that span. The time we devoted to spare shooting during our practices is evident in our scores.

Next week's position round to end the regular season may now be used to tune up for the league's sweeper on April 15th.

WEEK 13 01  02  03  SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG   HS 200 500 600 700

Sharon 183 163 194  540  39  6529 167.4 259  603   4   7   1   0

Olivia 159 131 179  469  33  5141 155.8 224  509   3   4   0   0
Mark   194 188 201  583  39  7678 196.9 256  706  16   8   4   1
Gary   187 221 147  555  38  5982 157.4 221  555   2   4   0   0
Total  723 703 721 2147 149 25330 170.0 846 2186  25  23   5   1

WIN A DEFIANT SOUL FROM BOWLINGBALL.COM

Bowlingball.com is having a drawing for a Defiant Soul (hybrid) by Roto Grip. You can enter the drawing here.

Roto Grip's Defiant Soul

WEEK 12 RESULTS

We entered the night in a three-way tie for first place with Team 5

Blockheads 4 - Team 5 0

and Rock On. We were matched up with Team 5 this week so we had an excellent opportunity to jump ahead of them.

We bowled without Olivia who had a personal matter that required her urgent attention. We started slowly and struggled through most of the first game. We were behind entering the tenth frame but at that point, we came to life. Sharon buried three shots in the pocket for strikes to close the gap. I added a strike and a spare to even it. Coach, working on a strike in the ninth frame, struck for a double and added nine more which carried us to an eight-pin victory.

Jeff always gets The Coach fired up.

We won the second game by 43 before exploding with our highest ever team score of 846 to win the third game by 131 pins. Sharon fired a salvo of strikes for a score of 259 and her first 600 series at Diablo Valley Bowl. The 259 game also gave her the women's high scratch game in our league. To put an exclamation point on our series sweep, Sharon, myself and then The Coach struck out in the tenth frame. Our series score of 2186 topped our previous high of 2170 which was also the league's high score.

At worst, we remain in a first place tie with Rock On if they swept the Newbies. If Rock On lost any of their games, we will have sole possession of first place entering next week's position round. We know we'll have to bring it again next week if we want to win this thing.

WEEK 12  01  02  03  SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG   HS 200 500 600 700
Sharon  182 162 259  603  36  5989 166.4 259  603   4   6   1   0
Olivia* 155 155 155  465  30  4672 155.7 224  509   3   4   0   0
Mark    168 221 256  645  36  7095 197.1 256  706  15   7   4   1
Gary    168 129 176  473  35  5427 155.1 211  530   1   3   0   0
Total   673 667 846 2186 137 23183 169.2 849 2195  23  20   5   1
* Absent - averaged used

Our highest team score to date - the actual scratch score
was 846 with 5 pins handicap making our total score 851.
The scoring errors are explained in the comments below.

APRIL COULD BE A BUSY MONTH

We have several tournament and Monte Carlo options in April and there's a fair amount of overlapping. Sharon and I will be bowling in the senior doubles tournament at Paddock Bowl but we haven't decided on the date and time. The rest of the schedule should become clearer once we make that decision.

April 6th (Saturday)
11:00 AM - Paddock Bowl - Senior Doubles
 3:00 PM - Paddock Bowl - Senior Doubles
 6:00 PM - Bel Mateo Bowl - Monte Carlo
 6:30 PM - Dublin Bowl - Pot 'O' Gold
 7:00 PM - Paddock Bowl - Monte Carlo
 7:30 PM - Clayton Valley Bowl - Monte Carlo

April 7th (Sunday)
11:00 AM - Paddock Bowl - Senior Doubles
12:00 PM - Pinole Valley Lanes - County USBC Mixed Teams of 4
 3:00 PM - Paddock Bowl - Senior Doubles
 7:00 PM - Danville Bowl - Monte Carlo


April 13th (Saturday)
11:00 AM - Paddock Bowl - Senior Doubles
 3:00 PM - Paddock Bowl - Senior Doubles
 6:30 PM - Dublin Bowl - Pot 'O' Gold
 7:00 PM - Paddock Bowl - Monte Carlo

April 14th (Sunday)
11:00 AM - Paddock Bowl - Senior Doubles
 3:00 PM - Paddock Bowl - Senior Doubles
 7:00 PM - Danville Bowl - Monte Carlo


April 20th (Saturday)
 6:30 PM - Dublin Bowl - Pot 'O' Gold
 7:00 PM - Paddock Bowl - Monte Carlo

April 21st (Sunday)
 7:00 PM - Danville Bowl - Monte Carlo


April 27th (Saturday)
10:00 AM - Granada Bowl - Doubles, 4-Gamer
10:00 AM - Dublin Bowl - USBC Warm-up (Team)
 6:30 PM - Dublin Bowl - Pot 'O' Gold
 7:00 PM - Paddock Bowl - Monte Carlo

April 28th (Sunday)
10:00 AM - Dublin Bowl - USBC Warm-up - Singles & Doubles
 7:00 PM - Danville Bowl - Monte Carlo

MONTE CARLO AT BEL MATEO THIS WEEKEND

There's Monte Carlo bowling in San Mateo this Saturday night. Count me in.

WEEK 11 RESULTS

Blockheads 4 - Don't Matter 0

After our disasterous performance in Week #10 that knocked us from a first place tie to third place, we bounced back in Week #11 to sweep Don't Matter. We were just a spare short of topping our (and the league's) high series of 2170. The sweep moved us into a three-way tie for first place with Team 5 and Rock On. Team 5 is our opponent next week, as Jeff was quick to remind us last night.

All of us bowled well and raised our averages at least a little bit. Did the tough tournament conditions we bowled in Sunday help us?

LEAGUE STAT SHEET

WEEK 11 01  02  03  SER   G  PINS   AVG  HG   HS 200 500 600 700
Sharon 162 175 178  515  33  5386 163.2 215  559   3   6   0   0
Olivia 168 161 145  474  30  4672 155.7 224  509   3   4   0   0
Mark   226 254 195  675  33  6450 195.5 254  706  13   6   3   1
Gary   176 125 199  500  32  4954 154.8 211  530   1   3   0   0
Total  732 715 717 2164 128 21462 167.7 794 2170  20  20   3   1

MORE SUMMER LEAGUES

The CBT Trios Summer League Jubilee looks like fun. If Coach follows through on his retirement plans, this would be an option for us. Or if Coach decides to stay, we could rotate turns. I will be out of town and miss June 24, July 1, and July 8. I believe Olivia will miss two or three weeks in July.

PBA LEAGUE GEAR

You might have heard Olivia mention how much she likes the Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits' jersey and logo from the new PBA League. Here's a sampling of the team Olivia likes. The jersey can be purchased from Gemini and the ball can be purchased through On The Ball. This team is owned by LaMarr Woodley of the Pittsburgh Steelers so that would explain the colors and football-styling of the logo.

The PBA is now selling PBA League merchandise

GOING BACK TO DIABLO VALLEY BOWL

It's rare that we go for over a week without bowling at Diablo Valley Bowl but that's where we stand now. We last bowled there March 9th (except for The Coach who bowled there on the 11th). Since then, I have bowled on slightly heavier oil at Castro Village, Olivia and I have bowled on light oil at Bel Mateo, and Sharon has bowled twice at Stars (I don't know the conditions there). Of course, all of us bowled in the oil slick at Paddock Bowl yesterday.

The pattern on the right resembles the house shot at Diablo Valley Bowl.
I suspect we played the pattern on the left (or something like it) yesterday.

I highly recommend that we reacquaint ourselves with the conditions at Diablo before we start bowling games that count. A small number of warm-up shots during our shadow bowling tonight may not be enough to shake yesterday from our heads. It took a Herculean effort to hook the ball just a few boards in the CBT Doubles yesterday. If we don't readjust to Diablo's house shot, we'll be on the left side of the lane all night. I plan to arrive by 5:45 and I'll get a lane to roll some extra shots. I hope to see you there.