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onefrombills
12-03-2008, 08:53 PM
The last week of November is most commonly known for giving thanks, celebrating family and friends, shopping for hot bargains, football (this is the only mention the NFL gets, considering this is a bowling blog) and turkey.


Mmmm…turkey.

But if you lead the life of a professional bowler, you are usually less concerned with gobbling poultry and more interested in the three-strike variety that increases your bowling score. Although it shocks some people that the PBA Tour takes a break before a holiday, the reality is that bowling on Thanksgiving has become as much of a tradition as the holiday itself. I can even remember back to my collegiate days when we made our pilgrimage to St. Louis for an annual tournament; after college I began making annual trips to compete in the Super Hoinke during the very same week. Perhaps the reason bowling is so acceptable during this time is because the sport embodies the very values that are celebrated through Thanksgiving: family, camaraderie, and the occasional blessing of throwing a messenger into a weak 7-pin instead of having it fly lazily into the gutter.


My week in Chicagoland started out early, as I cut my time in warm Phoenix weather short (which makes me either senseless or highly adventurous) to take in some of the sights and sounds of the Windy City. I was even fortunate enough that my wife, Jen, was able to take the week off work to join me. Here is a brief rundown of what we got to experience:


1) The Sears Tower. We didn’t have enough time to see both the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center. Sure, Big John is cool, but the Tower is bigger. And folks, bigger is always better.


2) The Magnificent Mile. Also known as Michigan Avenue, this is where you watch your hard-earned dollars transform into bags sporting designer labels. Luckily we got through, wallets intact, and only dropped a few bucks in the Hershey’s store (Ghirardelli was tempting from across the street, but that is soooo San Francisco).


3) The Art Institute of Chicago. Loads of amazing galleries to see, especially the Thorne miniature rooms. Here’s a tip: bring your student ID and admission is half-price. Or, if you’re like me and aren’t a student anymore but still have the ID, show it and still receive the discount.


4) Food. I could go on and on about the culinary extravaganza that exists in Chicago, but here are a couple places that were awesome: Hopleaf and Hot Doug’s. Belgium is known for great beer, and Hopleaf didn’t disappoint on that note. But it made us realize that Belgian food is equally delicious. If anyone out there saw Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, you may recall Abe Froman-Sausage King of Chicago. Doug is not Abe, but he makes it a point to tell you that “encased meats” is a much better term than simply calling it “sausage.”


After our tour of Chicago came to an end, we headed up to the “burbs” to rejoin the other Tour for the CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championshp at Brunswick Zone Hawthorn. Like many of the places the PBA visits, this facility is first-rate and the large concourse makes it spectator-friendly. For many years the Spigner family operated this bowling center independently, and Brunswick has done a great job of continuing that legacy.


I managed to sneak in some practice Tuesday afternoon, in addition to the official session on Wednesday. Typically the amount of strikes thrown during these times is no indication of what happens on Thursday in qualifying, but this week was one of the few exceptions. We were bowling on older Anvilane, much like we saw in Wichita, with a very well-defined track area on the lane; this fact, combined with incredible pin carry, made the Scorpion pattern look much like the Ultimate Score-pion pattern (as someone affectionately termed it on the message boards).


If you read Missy’s Memo yesterday, then you know all about the machine mishap that delayed our start time and sent us hurtling bowling balls until the waning hours of Thanksgiving Day. After 7 games I managed to stay close to the cut number despite a slow start, but fell off the staggeringly high pace in the evening block (to further illustrate this crazy pace, let me ask you a quick question…have you ever been 45 pins out of the cut, bowled 225, and found yourself 80 pins behind the cut number?) and ended up in a very disappointing 51st place. I felt like I made better decisions this week, but still failed to get the job done.


For my readers that may wonder how I seem to take a positive slant toward poor performance, I can honestly say there are two reasons. One, I am bowling against the best bowlers in the world, and the smallest mistakes each week can put you toward the bottom of the pile in a hurry. And two, I wait a few days to write my blog. I don’t imagine my writing would be quite the same if I were to try and type while upset. In fact, I probably would have introduced a bowling ball to my computer by now…from across the room. Ok, maybe nothing that severe, but you get the idea!


As unsettling as averaging 219 and finishing 51st may be, I managed to move my thoughts forward to Buffalo and another fresh start. Talking a little with USBC Hall-of-Famer, Bill Spigner, also aided in my recovery from mental misery. Apart from a few physical tips, he gave me a valuable reminder that the season wasn’t even half over. Even though it felt as though the walls were closing in and I was bowling with an increasingly heightened sense of urgency, I had to maintain level thinking and stay with the reality that each week was its own different animal. I am sure we’ve all heard “take it one step at a time” before, but it sure sounds more reassuring coming straight from the proverbial “horse’s mouth.” Missing the cut coincidentally led to more time spent with Jen and the ability to watch our friends continue far in the tournament. I suppose aside from a few more turkeys of the non-edible sort, I couldn’t have asked for much more on Thanksgiving Day.


With the week winding down and having survived Black Friday, Jen and I actually went to Sunday’s telecast. If you don’t believe me, check your Tivo and look in the third row behind the ball return. Although I don’t think this qualifies as a “TV appearance” on my PBA stat page, I did get some good airtime! But more importantly, I got to watch Missy and Ken (my fellow Verve teammates) go after their first national PBA titles. Unfortunately both came up just short in their bids, but to support them was a lot of fun and certainly more fun than watching the Bears get crushed by the Vikings (ahem, Sundays are for BOWLING).


Now for the wrap up….and this week’s prevailing “first.” Unanimously (because I am the only one picking...come on readers, don’t be shy to send me your votes) the award goes to Michelle Feldman, who not only became the first Women’s Series competitor to make three telecasts, but to win back-to-back titles during that same span. For me it’s off to Buffalo, where I can officially say goodbye to last week’s turkey and hello to this week’s chicken wings.


Remember that any comments can be sent to Andrew@andrewcainbowling.com, and new editions of Andrew’s Angle have a new home. My blog can now be found by referring to the “PBA Voices” section on the homepage and clicking on “full post” for the most current installment. Thanks again for reading!