Boomer's Winter Season

[boomer]

Season started out . . . poorly.

Evidently we've moved to a new house shot that is longer, wider and wetter than the old.

I had JUST redone my arsenal to get me a couple of balls drilled and finished to go longer . . . and put my Nova in the garage. Bad move.

I also need to take some acetone to my grips. They have an edge to them that's unpleasant, but the PSO wasn't there on Mondays (his match-point league with is father-in-law is that night).

So it was a struggle . . .

Game 1 - slidy slidy slidy. Off the deck going for 6-10 (whaaaa?) and whiffed a 2. 162.
Game 2 - started good but whiffed a 4 and a 10 . . . 196.
Game 3 - still struggled. 2 splits. 156.

Need to fix inserts, re-do what's in my bag, learn what the two new balls really DO, and get back to it. Won't be bowling this Monday, though. Going camping up the Kern River with my wife (her birthday) so . . . relax time! :)

Also - was working on upping my ball speed to overcome dry lanes. Now to slow it back down for the wetter ones. That's an adjustment to my brain.

https://i.postimg.cc/PrBw5B1g/Screenshot-20230913-103644.png (https://postimg.cc/0b0QtXWn)

[boomer]

Week 2 - adjustments and success

So - after a week out camping with my wife (wherein we did NOTHING! SO sweet! :) ) we came back, had a very busy weekend, and then bowling on Monday, Thank goodness for pain-killers! LOL

When we got back, I DID take some acetone to my grips. They had an edge on them that was . . . unpleasant. Little acetone on a rag and rub the edges down and they became nicely smooth. (Note: NOT on my ball. . . JUST on the finger-tip inserts. . . LOL)

Game 1 - started with my new benchmark, the Teal Rhino. I put 1500 on it so it had a bit more teeth and boy did it respond. I made a point of smooth and having my hand behind the ball. Few adjustments in practice, then found where Mr. Teal really REALLY liked it and strung the front 9. Every hit, solid. 10th frame? Let my hand come around a bit - still hit pocket but left a ring-10 which I subsequently whiffed for a 267.

Game 2 - pick up where I left off. Had to move a board left but was still fine. Around 5th or 6th I noticed that I am starting to come in heavy so need to make an adjustment . . . didn't make it in time so left stone 9, then 1-2-8-10, but made two board adjustment and was fine with 244.

Game 3 - I can tell the lanes are transitioning but Mr. Teal is not going to make a big turn. He's made for a smoother line and . . . well, 4-6 and then 1-3-4-7-10. Hmmm, ok, let's swap. I SHOULD have swapped to a ball that I KNOW will make the turn and that I'm familiar with his behavior - my Zen Master. But noooo, let's grab the brand new Trouble Maker, which DOES make the turn but I'm not quite familiar with and how he talks to me. I hit a turkey, but then push him a bit wide and get bit for it with a 2-8-10. Finish with a 186.

We took all four - basically my wife (who bowled awesome - 155, 191, 196) and I scooped everything up! :) I finished with 697 - DANG it! Needed three more pins for a 700. DOH!

But wow did Mr. Teal just smooth out this new pattern we've got. No over-hooking, no snappiness, just smooth and communicative. My only problem with him was that I didn't listen when he started to struggle making the turn. No big deal - I know what he's saying now so I can use him as benchmark and then adjust as needed.

https://i.postimg.cc/pLLFRj9n/Screenshot-20230925-210659.png (https://postimg.cc/mtKDStyb)

[Timmyb]

Nice night!

[boomer]

Yeah - but THREE MORE PINS . . . LOL. Haven't had a 700 in a LONG time!

:) TY

[boomer]

Wow I love this Teal Rhino - it just is so smooth in its motion that it just talks to me. I guess I'm still old-school enough that I can understand that language rather than the hard hockey-stick shape language of today? IDK

Took a bit to line up. We were on 39-40 last week and this week got moved to 25-26. REALLY different lanes so I used the normal change for this. Mr. Teal said, no, do what you were doing and loosen up. Let ME do the work, not you.

OK, Mr. Teal. Let's go that way. :)

We are also bowling the winner of last season who is standing at 10-2 so far, top of the league.

Game 1 - good start. Strike, ring-10, couple more then float it with no follow-through for some reason and leave a wash. Meh. OK, string four more and finish with a ring-10 for 216. Better game than that, actually, but I'll settle for 216 and the point.
Game 2 - strike, stone 9, strike then float it again but spare, trip-4 strike, then leave the 4 (Mr. Teal telling me to make a little move) couple more then wash in the 9th. Bah. really? Strike and whiff the 6-10. 191 and we lose the point by 7.

Mr. Teal says, OK settle down.

Game 3 - Clean and 257. OK, by this time I've had a TON of Smarties (LOL) and am just bouncing along. One ONE errant shot and everything else is solid. I swing it a touch wide a few times but Mr. Teal covers my arse and we're good to go. We don't just take the point, we CRUSH the point by a TON and take total. 3 points from the #1 team.

665 series. Could have been higher had I listened to Mr. Teal a bit more in game 2. That said - really enjoying this ball. :)

https://i.postimg.cc/J7Qm6ccs/Screenshot-20231002-202007.png (https://postimg.cc/233P3WtY)

[Aslan]

I'm starting to wonder if it's not best just to get a ball, like your Teal Rhino, and just play 2nd arrow.

Every night I try to start out with my Trident Odyssey "superball"...and it either is burnt up before it gets to the pocket...or I have to move SO far inside...that I got no miss room and can barely get it back to the pocket.

Meanwhile, I start out with the Scorpion Sting and ball down to my Vintage Gold Rhino...just stay in the 8-10 board area...and I'm golden. Sure, I might lose a few strikes because the balls don't got the same power...but I also carry more because I have miss room to the outside.

I just don't got the technique to play inside 11. I thought I would develop it...but it ain't happening. :(

[boomer]

I've actually been playing 3rd arrow quite a bit with Mr. Teal. Straighter - hook around 8-10ish. He won't make a big turn so that works nicely. If I try to go down and in with him, he isn't pleased with me.

[boomer]

Went first game and pain throughout shoulders, down back and into my left "buttockular" area. Could NOT deliver the ball well at all. Stopped after a 138 first game. Talked with my opposing captain and he chuckled and said I didn't look right or sound right. . .

Ugh.

buttockular. LOL

[J Anderson]

Went first game and pain throughout shoulders, down back and into my left "buttockular" area. Could NOT deliver the ball well at all. Stopped after a 138 first game. Talked with my opposing captain and he chuckled and said I didn't look right or sound right. . .

Ugh.

buttockular. LOL

I’d like to think that if I had pain like you’re describing I would quit right away, but it’s quite possible that I would do the same thing🥴
This sounds really serious. Take care of yourself.

[boomer]

It's fine now (hopefully) - went home, got some heat on it and a muscle relaxer and have been more or less good since.

Had another art show on Saturday (wife and I do Ceramic sculpture on the side) - that might well have been part of it. Ceramics are HEAVY. Sigh.

[boomer]

Much better last night. Back still has a few twinges - might be the ceramics loading and unloading to art shows. LOL

Anyway - muscle relaxers and ibuprofen an hour before bowling. Autobots, ROLL OUT!

Bowling REALLY nice guys, two of which are very high average (one is THE high average in the league) and very consistent, one is high average and consistent, and their fourth is really sweet (wife of one of the guys) but neither high nor consistent. We got 93 pins.

Game 1 - using Mr. Teal, I had a great look. Maybe a couple boards worth of room so I was comfortable, except for 6th frame with 3-4-6-7-10. Bah. Finished 230. Good solid game and we won by about 150. Yes!
Game 2 - stayed with Mr. Teal and still had a great look. Mistake in the 3rd (3-9) but picked it up and left a 7 and a 10. Clean (except for the fill which doesn't count) - we lost by 11 but still have over 130 pins for total. Uh-oh - Bill (high average) has found his line. . . not a good sign.
Game 3 - Strike, then 3 opens. Two were splits. Mr. Teal just lost his reaction so move to Zen Master which was bang on. 4 in a row, convert 3-10 and stone 9 to salvage 190 for the game. Problem was - my wife was absent (she usually helps carry things when the S hits the F) with a foot injury and I felt like I had to carry the whole load. I was down 15 pins from my average, but still . . . we got beat by a TON and were verging on losing total until Bill (who was KILLING IT) rolled a big-four in the 10th (and were still not out of the woods - I had to mark and count to get total - only marks in the frame.)

Oh well - 645 and back was comfortable.

Tons of fun bowling with that team. Really nice guys and sweet lady. Great evening of bowling - plus I won the low hand in poker the first game (almost won high as well, but some JERK pulled his fourth 5 on his LAST CARD. . . LOL)

https://i.postimg.cc/zfRfm4T4/Screenshot-20231017-092059.png (https://postimg.cc/CZS0kPP4)

[Aslan]

There's always 1 or 2 teams in the league that make bowling night a little better...just because they have a certain demeanor that 'clicks'.

[Timmyb]

There's always 1 or 2 teams in the league that make bowling night a little better...just because they have a certain demeanor that 'clicks'.

Most of the teams in our league are that way. There's always a healthy banter, but always kept friendly.

[boomer]

well, we had to do a make-up since we were out of town on Monday. Last time we did a make-up, we swore we'd never do it again since the lanes were TRASH. We thought, this time, that since it was on a league night and our secretary set it up to reserve the lanes (right next to another league) that it would be just fine.

Nope.

No matter where, about 20-25' down the lane, the ball would take a drastic jump left. Cross 5th arrow - jump left 10' further down the lane. Cross 4th - same. Cross 3rd - same. Straight down 10? same. Only one of us not affected was my wife who throws backup - she did fine. The other three of us - we were fighting early read no matter where we were.

Try to loft a bit to have the ball not read the fronts - still jumped at 20-25'.

I shot 158-142-156.

I actually had better luck with the White-Dot, as in more strikes and single-pin spares, but still had several splits and actually a lower score.

Team next to us who were also making up? Same thing - their first game, I counted FOURTEEN splits among the three of them. I've NEVER seen so many red circles before.


IF we do this again, I was told to specifically request 39-40 which they DO oil and hold as reserve for the league. If we don't get those, I ain't doin this again. It SUCKED. That was -46, -52, -48.

only ball I didn't get out to try was my Nova which would have been funny . . .

[Aslan]

That's what I've often complained about. As ball technology as evolved, bowling has become more and more dependent on lane oil conditions. So, if you want to practice for leagues or to see how your ball might react on league night...there's no point to just going to open bowling and practicing. The lanes are so beat up and screwed up from open bowlers pushing oil to the breakpoint with polyester balls...you can't really gauge ANYTHING! I usually just resort to playing low ball and working on my abysmal spare game.

I know some folks get in good enough with their center that they can convince them to oil the lanes for practice...sometimes even for free...sometimes with a little $$ incentive...but I've never been bold enough to ask.

[boatman37]

Step-son is pretty new to bowling (started in May) and only has a spare ball and my old Radical Squatch. He went down today to pre-bowl and said it was awful. His average is about 152 I think but he rolled 143, 128 and 140. Granted he doesn't have the experience or ball selection to combat that but I told him ahead of time that it might be completely different than he is used to

[boomer]

What a difference lane prep makes.

So - exhausted, tired, sore but . . . let's DO this. (yeah, my own fault. We went to see Nightmare Before Christmas being performed by Danny Elfman and the original (mostly) cast at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday then an art show on Sunday so we're . . . wiped! LOL)

Here we GOOOO! We give 13 pins per game.

Game 1 - during practice, Mr. Teal seemed fine but he was whining just a bit. 7-pin on the left lane, strike, then 4-pin . . . ok, let's try the Zen Master. Oh yeah, much more power delivery. a 2-10 but good otherwise - 205. We took the first point GOING AWAY.
Game 2 - good except for two 3-4-6-7-9-10's (whaaa? ) where the Zen just jumped. Weird. But hey - my own fault, had to be. 181. We still took the point by about 100 pins.
Game 3 - again, pretty decent. Left one split (2-4-10) and whiffed a 10-pin in the 10th but otherwise was in the pocket. 202 - and we took both 3rd game and total pins points.

Good evening. :)

https://i.postimg.cc/T30QQJsD/Screenshot-20231031-092522.jpg (https://postimg.cc/fV3xRmDz)

[Aslan]

Well, if you're gonna do artsy fartsy nonsense...it may negatively impact important activities (i.e. Bowling).

Gosh...how long did it take to drive from Riverside to the Hollywood Bowl on a weekend?? A perfect example (one of many) why I would never live in California again...unless it was a short stint to write a TV show or something. I bet that 1.5 hours trip took closer to 3 hours. I remember heading up to Paso Robles once...the 45 minutes it SHOULD have taken to get through L.A. (on a weekend) took about 3 hours.

[boomer]

Ugh - was actually FINE driving until we got to downtown LA where we literally stopped - exited, drove 5 blocks, got back on and then went 5mph until we got to our exit. Driving back was just as bad - at 11:00pm - until we got out of LA proper and then could cruise back home. 2 hours each direction. :/

[J Anderson]

Ugh - was actually FINE driving until we got to downtown LA where we literally stopped - exited, drove 5 blocks, got back on and then went 5mph until we got to our exit. Driving back was just as bad - at 11:00pm - until we got out of LA proper and then could cruise back home. 2 hours each direction. :/

East coast is no better. Left the bowling alley in Fairfield at 10:30pm, got on I95 north and the extreme left lane was already closed and traffic was crawling. Eventually all three lanes were funneled onto the 8/25 connector exit ramp and the the shoulder. Infuriating because there were no workmen or machines on the surface of the closed lanes. Can’t imagine what they were doing underneath the road that would merit the lane closures.

[boomer]

Sigh - I don't know why I do this. At some point, I end up trying to finesse the ball. I KNOW better. When the lanes are not dry - don't finesse; move right and just bowl.

So, what did I do Monday night?

Game 1 - two strikes, FOUR opens (3 splits) then struggle to finish at 161. So stupid. We lost by 16 pins and I'm under my average by 40.
Game 2 - so sensitive to ball speed when I'm finessing the ball - struggle but still, 3 opens (2 splits) - 187. We lost by 24. At the end, though, I moved right 5 and 5 and unloaded! punch out 9 and 10th frame. OK, here goes.
Game 3 - ball speed up, go much more direct, and let 'er rip. Clean game 224. We won the point - but we had to win by 41 to take two and THEY were TRYING to give it to us. But no . . . it came down to me. If I punched out, we would have won by a single pin.

Nope.

Frustrated with myself. Frustrated that even when I was close to on (second game) nobody else stood up to help out. Frustrated that when I was ON, two teammates decided they were going to throw a TON of gutter balls. Not deliberately but result was the same.

https://i.postimg.cc/NM30kpQL/Screenshot-20231108-085251.png (https://postimg.cc/JDQm13DW)

[boomer]

Last week I mentioned that I was trying to finesse the ball - well, resolved to not do that this week and was richly rewarded for it. Mr. Teal was happy all night, I took a much more direct line (which was good as the other team was all over the place) and even though I didn't have a lot of high-flush-crusher strikes, I had a TON of "fluffy" ones.

Game 1 - CLEAN. couple of 10's (picked up) and missed the pocket once (was real light another) - tried the Zen Master in the 12th fill frame but it would have needed an entirely different line and I didn't want to change. 230. We LOST the point as two of them bowled about avg+50 . . .
Game 2 - commit to the line. Have to make a board move RIGHT, as I was getting more fluffy - which felt weird but hey, it worked. Had a weird 4-7-9 split - ball hit the pocket but it was like it didn't deflect at all and drove straight through the 8. Weird - but after that, charged. 254 and we took the point and made up the very small amount we needed to take the lead in total (not by much. . .)
Game 3 - not sure what happened, but first the first three frames were . . . weird. two of them open (1-2-4-8, left the 8, and a pocket 7-10) and a spare. Other than those, struck out. Until we got to the 10th, we were slightly behind but they were bound and determined to give us the game so I graciously took it from them. 246

We took 3 of 4 points.

I had my first 700 in a long time - 730.

Ball speed was up - but I wasn't CHUCKING it, just a natural speed. I was able to post most of my shots decently.

I was actually surprised since we were camping all weekend up in Kernville (base of the Sierras) and I was a bit stiff. But got loose and was just fine.

https://i.postimg.cc/LXPjg3qB/Screenshot-20231114-092850.jpg (https://postimg.cc/r08DvWNK)

[Timmyb]

Well done!

[Aslan]

A 71% strike rate...dang.

Well done.

[boomer]

Bowling vacant - bowling ourselves - strange how hard it is to get going, right? Weird.

Game 1 - I had a great look with Mr. Teal, but got frustrated with the team. Except for my wife, the other two were dropping gutters or 3-counts and then having to make a big spare. Got to the 10th and since I'd been flirting with light 4-pins, I swapped to the Zen Master for a harder hit. OK, but I didn't get MY score but it didn't matter, we lost to ourselves anyway. 184 - 1 split (dumb) and whiffed 6-10. Meh.
Game 2 - Zen Master rewarded me. Good solid hits. 255 and clean and my teammates got themselves going and we took the game by over 100 pins. My wife consistently hit her average again.
Game 3 - Needed to move a touch but kinda fumbled trying to get where to move. Baby split (missed) and a 6-7-10 in the fill - 198. OK - we took the game (my wife was 2 pins under her average - she just bangs out her score every time - even with a wounded foot) and total.

We started out the night in a 2-way tie for 3rd (behind two teams tied for first) - we should hold on to that.

https://i.postimg.cc/D0ytm9sh/Screenshot-20231128-093701.png (https://postimg.cc/MMNsFrd3)

[Aslan]

Not bad. 3 splits and ya still pulled off a 198.

[boomer]

:) - yep. Under average but what are ya gonna do?

[boomer]

I'm trying too hard and it's pi$$ing me off.

GAH - my wife is injured (foot) and still trying to bowl, which hurts me but she's typically carrying her average EVERY time. DANGME but she's consistent. Until this week when she just couldn't do it. Only bowled 2 games and didn't hardly pick up her spares. The ONLY thing I try to get through to her is that if she hurts, she needs to not bowl. But then she tells me that I ALWAYS hurt (which I do - knee, back, shoulder) but I know how to deal with it.

Bigger GAH is my other two teammates - one of which always shows up late, doesn't warm up (obviously) and ends up bowling like poopoo the first game. Frustrates the CRAP outta me (see what I did there? LOL) My other teammate is getting better, but he's . . . not coachable and really NEEDS coaching. They both are inconsistent as anything. When the one is on, she's ON. When the other is on. . . he's on like for a couple of frames.

It makes me feel like I have to carry the team. We WERE up in 2nd place and winning quite a bit. Put the pressure on myself to score when those two don't. And it shows.

Game 1 - I had a LOOK. Mr. Teal was killing it except for 6th frame where I just went high. But their anchor (REALLY good bowler) and I were using very similar lines and I didn't react enough and had two splits in 9 and 10. We lost the game by 30 - which we shouldn't have and I blamed myself, but the other three were ALL 20-40 pins under . . . 174

Game 2 - we didn't have a chance. Other team went OFF like the 4th of July. Think they shot around 875 or so? I was solidly in the pocket for the first 9 frames. Crushing pocket 7-10 in the second, whiffed a 9 and then split in the 10th. I was starting to implode at this point. I was like, "Can I get some HELP here? Or do I need to do it all myself?" - I did NOT say that, I tried to NOT let any of that show, but I know my wife saw it. She was also really hurting and I couldn't help her but was very glad when she sat down for the 3rd game. I think the other team (who we're really good friends with) was also relieved that she sat. We were all wincing. 181

Game 3 - Now I'm talking to myself. 5 10-pins (whiffed TWO - c'mon Boomer!) and all pocket shots except the first which was my fault - I let it way wide. I made all my typical ring-10 adjustments except the adjustment I made LAST week, which the other anchor said was what he did. Sigh - had I not been in a goofy-loop, I just MIGHT have figured it out. Move RIGHT, not LEFT. He made a 4-3 move right, found extra friction wide and got a bit more angle - and got the 10-pins. I didn't - and I didn't watch him which I should have since we were throwing similar lines. But - all those 10s and the two whiffs really killed ME. However, remember when I said when my teammate was on, she was ON? Yeah, she KILLED it so we took the point. 161

Frustrating night. Ironic - the meds my wife took kicked in about 20 minutes after we got home. ROFL. Probably good, though. I need her to rest so she doesn't HURT.

https://i.postimg.cc/zD2THDr8/Screenshot-20231206-092032.jpg (https://postimg.cc/hhxXHBv5)

[Aslan]

GAH - my wife is injured (foot) and still trying to bowl...The ONLY thing I try to get through to her is that if she hurts, she needs to not bowl.
We have a lady on my Sunday night team. It's actually HER team...but she had hip or knee surgery at the beginning of the season and is bowling left-handed (instead of her usual RH). So, she can't do an "approach" and just tosses the ball out there. She averages like 48. Now, gives us a bunch of handicap...but still. I understand the frustration. We SEE something...and we want to help them (and the team)...but she NEVER listens to advice. She'll throw it in the gutter repeatedly and score a 29 before she'll ever even consider moving. Ughhh!!


teammates - one of which always shows up late, doesn't warm up (obviously) and ends up bowling like poopoo the first game.
Both my leagues have a guy like that. It's annoying.


My other teammate is getting better, but he's . . . not coachable and really NEEDS coaching. They both are inconsistent as anything. When the one is on, she's ON. When the other is on. . . he's on like for a couple of frames.
Preach...yup. I got like 4 teammates like that. They come back to the table and say, "I don't know what to do!" I 'sometimes' will try to help and say something like, "well, try to get the ball to hit the inside of the far lane marker"...to which they are usually not listening to and just repeat, "Yeah, I don't know what to do." Did you hear me? Hello! Is this thing on!?

[boomer]

So let's go from a poor week to . . . probably my best week EVER.

My wife stayed home to rest her aches, which was good for her.

Me? I bowled my brains out. I missed the pocket THREE times.

So we dropped to third after last week's debacle, four points out of first. We bowl a team that is very streaky and is only 2 points behind us - two very strange people, one VERY kind and quiet older gentleman, and a really fun young guy (30) who's wife comes as well and she's very fun as well. They're fun to bowl with as a team - but I was wary.

We were also bowling on the "easy" pair - 39-40 are the highest scoring pair on our side. Either you LOVE them or you hate them, but if you love them, you're gonna hit big.

Game 1 - front 10. Somewhere along the line Bohemian Rhapsody came on and I was singing along but with the Muppet version (especially Animal singing, Mama? MAMAAAAAA!) - needless to say, I was having fun. 11th, I was down on ball speed a bit and left 3-6-10 but picked it up. 287. Both teammates above their average, we won the point by about 100 pins.

Game 2 - Front 8, ring 10, strike then 2-4-5 (super light) which I picked up. 269. One teammate was a bit above average, the other right there, but the other team was also bowling better . . . we won by about 100 again.

Now one of those strange guys is doing calculations and making SURE that I know that I need 244 to get 800. I'm like, "Yeah, I know. I can do math. Shaddap!" LOL

Game 3 - weird 7-pin pocket hit in the 3rd, slow in the 6th and WHIFFED the 3-6-10 which took any 800 pressure off so now it's just kick their arses HARD. Both teammates were way up and the two strange opponents (who have the same first name . . . weird) were really pouty and demoralized and just dumped (and were PI$$Y) - the kid was trying to keep up and shot well but was laughing a LOT - especially as I had moved on to Muppets, "Mna Mna boop boo de doo doo". Yeah - we had fun. We ground them underfoot by over 200, I think.

785 - my new high series. Had a chance at 800 until I whiffed the 3-6-10 (had I picked it up and hit identically, would have been 801) . . . I've never hit the pocket THAT much or had that high of a strike percentage across all three games.

It was one of those nights where it did NOT feel like work. I did have to make a few adjustments - left, left, then back right and up ball speed - but honestly it all felt natural and completely logical.

Now - no resting. Need a good night next week. No over-expectations, just BE SOLID.

https://i.postimg.cc/15JjTjBS/Screenshot-20231212-085111.jpg (https://postimg.cc/KR3f3QCp)

[Timmyb]

Well done!

[Aslan]

Man O Man. I need to "channel my inner Boomer."

[boomer]

So - back to earth.

wow - can two pairs be SO different. I was on 35-36, just a couple of pairs from last week and able to watch 39-40 which, I REALLY want to see how many honor scores hit there. . . They were hitting . . . we were 9 here, 9 there . . .

Practice - started with Mr. Teal because he's so talkative. He just wasn't giving it to me. . . let's go Zen. Better but . . .

Game 1 - good game. Left a 3-9 which was STUPID but otherwise good. We lost the point by about 80 but I tried HARD to not focus on my teammates, only ME. I also brought my own Smarties, which was good. :)
Game 2 - Zen stopped responding so moved to the Trouble-Maker which has a massive core and TONS of flare and it really picked up. 204, left one 4-7-10 which is what triggered me to jump from the Zen. It just felt like work, but Trouble was good. I just haven't used it really ever so . . . have to figure him out. 204 and my teammates stepped up and we took the point and the total lead.
Game 3 - big 4 in the first which was a bummer and whiffed a 7 and a TON of 9's. 185, but we took the point and total.

Takeaways - Trouble is a good option, it's big and strong and when I have him polished, he hits HARD. I need less surface on Teal, just a bit. I think that was his problem; he seems to react strongly to surface. And when I work on having fun, I bowl better. Amazing, that.

Anyway - 612 for 204 average, exactly my average. A bit wide in deviation which I don't really like, but it was a good night bowling, overall.

https://i.postimg.cc/CxSm9zY2/Screenshot-20231220-082504.jpg (https://postimg.cc/zV2CgDyw)

[boomer]

Back from break

Started with the team in first place. we bowled a team that's REALLY coming up. One old guy, one guy my age, and two two-hander kids that are really learning how to do this thing. . . when they get keyed in, they're just murderous. Their high SCRATCH game is in the 900s. :O Missing my wife and son-in-law who were both under the weather.

Game 1 - started practice with Mr. Teal but I need a new insert and he was just coming in weak. Easy to control the pocket but no power once I got there. Moved to the Zen Master and same control of the pocket but POWER . . . GREAT game 1 (except a flat pocket 7-10 in the 10th to spoil it) - 225. We won the first point comfortably. Not a blowout, but fairly comfortable.

Game 2 - 279 with an open. Left a 4-9 in the first frame but went sheet after that. Funny thing - I was NOT high on my pair. Other team had one guy (old guy) shot 280! One of the kids shot 268. While my other bowler shot over her average, we still got beat by almost exactly the same score as we won the first . . . so lose the point and we're close to even for total.

Game 3 - I fell apart. I'd had to move a bit, but continuing that move didn't work, and trying another move didn't work. Whiffed a 10, pocket 7-10 and went wide on a 6. 164. We got beat by about 35 - so if I'd hit 200, we would have won. My other bowler did bowl GREAT (even 200 for her is really good) but I let us down. We lost.

So. . . not sure where we're going to be. We took 1, but the team we were tied with took at least 3 (I wasn't there when they finished their third game) and it's crowded up at the top so I don't think we'll fall too far. :)

https://i.postimg.cc/fTtrC4HS/Screenshot-20240110-085855.jpg (https://postimg.cc/QHDmNzZj)

[Timmyb]

I see an A.V. 300 game there!

[boomer]

:) Yep.

I didn't realize there's an award for 11-in-a-row but our new secretary came up to me and told me that I wasn't getting one for this time because she'd submitted for my previous one (in December) and I can only get one per league season (or something) . . . gotta say, I really enjoy our new secretary. She is ON the ball.

She doesn't know what the award is - probably local and probably a patch or pin - but the fact that she came to me. :)

[boomer]

two weeks in a row to get hit by a bus . . . I mean, c'mon man!

Last week was last week - but this week we went up against a mid-range team. Nice guys, fun to bowl with, bowled with one of them on Sunday's little tournament.

But when a 160 bowler rolls 3 pins lower than me scratch? When their 180 bowler bowls 10 pins lower than me scratch? Ain't nothin we can really do! We gave it a shot. . .

But I didn't think i was bowling well at all. Just never felt like I was getting rolling, but 629 is actually pretty good so. . .

Game 1 - Teal worked great in practice, but I didn't get his hint and didn't move left. Whiffed a 3-6-10 and rolled into a 3-4-6-7 split (almost converted) before moving to the Trouble Maker . . . who made some trouble! :) Rolled one split, but was making constant half-board moves to stay ahead. Pulled out a 191, but we got our clocks cleaned.

Game 2 - MUCH bettter, but still having to move a half-board almost every frame. Was running out of room quickly. Split in the 7th, and then whiffed my only missed-10 pin in the 10th. COULD have picked up the point if I'd punched out. Meh. 211.

Game 3 - clean game. Just . . . IDK . . . didn't feel like I was bowling good. THEY bowled well, though, and cleaned our clocks. 227.

No idea where we will end up. Lost 7 of 8 in the past two weeks. Shouldn't continue. My wife's foot is better and my son-in-law is improving pretty significantly so . . . we'll see. Down from first to third and . . .



https://i.postimg.cc/qvzDttRS/Screenshot-20240116-085048.png (https://postimg.cc/9DHYKQyY)

[Aslan]

Opens in the 10th are just killers!!

[boomer]

both score-wise and mental-wise

[boomer]

Didn't bowl well - but bowled well enough

Bowled a fun team. They're all pretty good bowlers. One is a REALLY good bowler, and I joke with him that he's boring. . . he just does the same smooth, balanced thing OVER and OVER and OVER . . . he's very good. When they get on a run, it's over. They're low on the standings right now, and we can't really figure why. . .

And it's been rainy. REALLY rainy (and that's coming from someone from Seattle) - not windy/rainy, just steady wet. . . and I think that's affecting things. Approaches were sticky, really had to rub in the shoes; lanes were really tricky. It was challenging. I think most of the scores were down. But - let's get on it!

Game 1 - let's start with a pocket 8-10. Seriously - there were FIVE pocket back-row-splits (2 8-10, 2 7-9 and 1 7-10) in this game alone. So weird. OK - fine, move on. 3-6-7 in the 6th - convert. Left a 2-4-10 and finished 177. Not good and we lost the point. Sigh.

Game 2 - started better, clean through 6. Lanes are tight - if I hit my mark, it's pocket but leaving corners. Miss and it's penalizing either way. Chop a 3-6 and out for 199, we took the point.

Game 3 - a bit more consistent - I switched to the Trouble Maker. It seemed to hold its line better and then flip and hit. Had a REALLY big conversion - almost a big 4, but the 7 fell. OK, so 4-6-10. Hold ball higher, slow feet down and HARD at the 10 hoping for a bounce. . . clipped the 6 and it skidded over to hit the 4. I didn't think you could DO that. . . LOL Didn't work when I only had the 4-6 but . . . finished 198. Needed a strike in the 10th to give us a shot, needed a strike in the 11th to get us there, needed 4 in the 12th to win. Strike, strike, big-4. Felt good to deliver what we needed.

We took 3 points - which was good after losing 7 of the last 8.

I was off balance all night. Couldn't get my slide to feel good and wasn't comfortable at all. Swing was off and balance was off . . . but it was what it was. Supposed to dry out a bit this weekend so hopefully we'll have things back to more normal. We'll see.

But hey - I didn't miss a single 10. That's good! :)

https://i.postimg.cc/ZKpmwm2f/Screenshot-20240124-112859.jpg (https://postimg.cc/Czh9K3FD)

[Aslan]

You picked up two, moderately to seriously difficult to pick up.

Just seems like you had one of those 'bad carry' nights.

[boomer]

oh EVERYONE had that. Haven't seen that many flat corner pins and weird leaves. Just goofy - I'm kinda ready for some dry weather! LOL - got outdoor stuff to do. . .

[boomer]

Bowled just well enough to lose

Sigh - this was NOT the way I was supposed to finish. NO idea why I tanked in the ends but . . . and this was on the "cheater" lanes (39-40) which get huge scores.

OK, here we go:

Practice - started with Mr. Teal. He got to the pocket but told me his buddy, the Master of Zen, would hit harder. Yep - he hit HARD off the same line, with some room outside. Cool - get adjustment and GO>
Game 1 - Great start. couple of 10s and a 2, but in the pocket all the way . . . until the 10th when I rolled a 2-4-10. Seriously? 213. We lost the point.
Game 2 - great start - again. Stone 9 and a left-side hit 6. Then a pocket 6-10 and a 1-2-8-10. Seriously again? 214. We won this point and have some room for total . . .
Game 3 - still hitting the pocket. Small adjustment to get a harder hit again, left a 2-8 (and whiffed) in 5, another 6-10. Crapola - 179. We lost the point and, but just a touch, lost total. If I'd struck in the 10th, we MIGHT have gotten total, but WOW the other team started to hit - like the 3 regulars EACH rolled a 4-bagger in the last 5 frames of the game. JUUUUUUUST enough to win. Even though my wife bowled great (won women's side pot, game 2 and 3) our lead-off lady bowled well (juuuuust lost to my wife in game 3 sidepot) and my son-in-law bowled well (+30 to his average), we lost the point. That one's on me - although my son-in-law's +30 should have canceled my own -30.

So that's another week of 1 point - that's 2 points out of 12 now. :( Not much time left . . .

https://i.postimg.cc/5tKj2ZWn/Screenshot-20240131-085350.png (https://postimg.cc/p98P0cTF) (oops, put the wrong one up . . .)

[Aslan]

Looked great. Just some trouble in the 10th...which is a killer.

[boomer]

yep - and then next time I got to the 10th, it was in the back of my mind. . . grrr.

[boomer]

Good Day, Bad Day, New Shoes

Got some Pyramids for my birthday. Interchangeable soles on both shoes, interchangeable heels on both shoes - AND they're wide enough (close, anyway) for my feet and are nicely balanced. NICE! :) BUT - with all the rain, I was NOT ready for how they were. Right foot - awesomely sticky (which my SST-5's just never had) but the slide was not good, and the brake heel was more like a STOP NOW heel . . . swiped the heel from my SST, and grabbed a spare sole and I was OK. A bit woggly, but OK. I really should have practiced first, I guess. But with all my spare soles and such, I was able to make it work.

Practice - what practice! I was swapping soles and such. Bah.

Game 1 - I DID get it sorted. Left my nemesis, 3-6-10 in the second, but otherwise good. 223. We took the point.
Game 2 - fought the right lane for a few frames. NO idea why but swapping from Teal to Zen actually helped a lot. Pretty much sheeted from 7th frame. (OK, rang-10 in the 12th. . .) for 199 - we took this point too.
Game 3 - fell apart. Turkey in first three so felt good - but then left a 6 (and whiffed) and dumped a 10 pin into the gutter . . . had to struggle to get to 189. We lost the point, but we did take total.

Rain is still here today, but should be gone a week or so, until it comes back on Monday 19th. Good thing I moved to sunny SoCal, right? ROFL

https://i.postimg.cc/vHsxqJkp/Screenshot-20240207-084854.jpg (https://postimg.cc/V5KN5VYR)

[Aslan]

I'm on my second pair of the Pyramid HPXs. The first pair lasted quite awhile, but then the sole of my slide (right) foot started separating from the shoe...which is just caused by me dragging that toe. I HIGHLY recommend the Leading Edge heel (H6?) that you can interchange the front edge with different sole material. It keeps you from having an "abrupt" stop. Currently I think I have a #9 sole and am using a #6 or #8 on the leading edge of the heel. They also stop less abruptly as you break them in.

[boomer]

Thank you - I am using the sole and heel from my old SST-5, which is working but probably not optimal. You like the #9 sole?

And I am swapping between #6 and #8 sole - depending on if it's wet outside. Wet outside, I go a bit slicker; dry outside, I go a bit less slick. :)

Thanks for your input on the Pyramids. I like them so far. SOOO much more comfortable than my broken-down SSTs, LOL

[Aslan]

You like the #9 sole?

And I am swapping between #6 and #8 sole - depending on if it's wet outside. Wet outside, I go a bit slicker; dry outside, I go a bit less slick. :)

Most of my bowling career I used #8s and then #9s on more humid days. However, I take a couple practice slides before warm-ups and decide if I need to alter the sole/leading edge. Usually it's a #8 or #9...I used a #10 a very short duration. I change the leading edge more often and have used everything from a #2 to a #8...currently a #8.

[boomer]

Another frustrating night - we drop to 9th.

OK - now I'm missing 10's, which I've been VERY good with for a few months. Now I'm just dumping them in and it's not making me at all happy.

Game 1 - 172. SHOULD have been better, was in the pocket the ENTIRE game, but ring-10s, a 7-10 and missing TWO 10s killed me. We lost the game by 6, and I could have won it with a flippin MARK. :(
Game 2 - far better. FAR better. Still in the pocket. two misses - one in the first frame, and one split (4-9) but otherwise good. 224 - we still lost the point. Kills me.
Game 3 - now I'm frustrated and that's hurting me. Trying to focus on my form, wait on my steps, long low swing. Meh - still bad. 161 and we lose all four.

Position week coming up.

We're changing the team for summer - getting with another couple. He's VERY good and I'm hoping we feed off each other. She's consistent and I'm hoping that my wife and she feed off each other in the same way.

https://i.postimg.cc/vHVLYwkC/Screenshot-20240223-091644.jpg (https://postimg.cc/mtTFjJbS)

[boomer]

Well, season ends. Gah - we soared to second place and ended up in 10th. Can't say I helped much at the end, but definitely disappointing.

Sweepers - we bowled the S L O W E S T team. Sheesh. OK, one of them has a disability - but honestly he wasn't the slowest on the team. We finished 15 minutes AFTER a team that had to be moved because their sweep FELL OFF the machine (or something like that). . .

I watched a video about dropping our shoulders, keeping the inside of my elbow pointed in the right direction, and keeping my fingers under the equator - ball stayed on line MUCH better and I had a few extra MPH so, once I got lined up on that, did much better than I have in a bit. Not sure what's been going on, but this was good.

Game 1 - split and a whiffed 10 - but picked up after that for a 5 bagger 209.
Game 2 - whiffed another 10 and pulled a stupid with a 4-7-8 but 219.
Game 3 - CLEAN (holy cow, feels like it's been a bit . . .) 205.

We start up again next week. Different team - my wife and I are joining another couple. Here's hoping!

https://i.postimg.cc/ht7sfvNz/Screenshot-20240306-084743.png (https://postimg.cc/MnqVL66q)