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Thought the growing pains might be over after last week's results. How wrong I was this week. I was on the end pair 39-40 which historically showed that 39 was about 5 boards tighter than 40. This was again the case and I started with the Virtual Energy playing a 8-3 line. By the end of the first game, I had to make a move 3 boards left on the approach with the same target at the arrows. This didn't last long and I had to move another 2 boards left. That's when all hell broke loose. Left a pocket ...

Decided to not to take the wimpy way out and threw the Virtual Energy last night. During practice, it was obvious that the only line which was playable was a 8 out to about 3 shot. What a difference from week 1, plus I was on 27-28 which historically has heavier oil. This ball skids through the heads effortlessly and charges back to the pocket like a truck. The extra skid this ball exhibits did get me into trouble with a couple of cross lane spares sliding by a 6-10 and a 3-6-10. I also slid by ...

Didn't bowl last week since I had a serious car accident on the way to bowling. Had some neck and lower back pain and stiffness, but nothing real major. Got rear ended sitting at a light about 1 mile away from the bowling center. Got a few cuts on my bowling hand as well. I suspect the girl behind me was either on the phone or texting at the time. My car was only 10 months old ( a 2010 Corolla XLE) and is a total loss. The force of the impact pushed me into the SUV in front of me causing the "sandwich" ...

After last week's debacle, the Virtual Energy and Mutant Cell will be reserved for tournament play and shots with heavier oil. The house pattern I bowl on just isn't heavy enough to get a consistent ball reaction. Based on my numbers from last season, it looks like the best ball for the house is the Big One. It seems to carry the 10 pin the best and has a very steady back end reaction. We'll see how it performs tomorrow night. The question is what pair I will be on. If I'm down on the right side ...

So my second league since high school (2003) starts in 1 week. We recently finished my first league since then which was a 9pin no-tap. Did that for fun and practice. I wound up making a lot of changes between that league and now. Here's everything:

High school I used an Ebonite Predator. Not much hook, and I don't throw many revs. Before the no-tap league started I upgraded to a Mutant Cell. I still don't have a ton of revs but the ball is able to deliver more at the pocket than ...

Well, my worst fears came true as I had a horrific night. The lane condition was pretty typical compared to last season with the usual transition occuring mid way through the 2nd game. The ball reaction was not good, overreacting on some shots leaving huge splits or underreacting leaving soft 10s. This was most likely due to subtle changes in ball speed. When I did hit the pocket with good speed, I left ringing 10s and 1 ripping 7-10 split. I didn't count how many 10 pins I left, but I would say ...

Got to throw some more practice with the new equipment after our league meeting on Wednesday night. I am beginning to wonder if I can use the Virtual Energy or Mutant Cell for my league. The ball reaction is just so much different than what I am used to that the first few weeks of league are likely to have a lot of growing pains. I know that if I start out slow, there will be a lot of league members asking basically "what the hell?". This happened a few years ago after I got my NV and ...

Finally got out and threw the Virtual Energy and Mutant Cell. All I can say is what a difference. The Storm by far outhooks the Mutant Cell even though the layouts are similar. I had to stand 7 boards left of my normal shot versus the Ebonite equipment and target 5 boards left at the arrows. The Storm skids very well through the heads and makes a violent move on the backend. Having lower revs and a relatively slow ball speed made controlling the breakpoint very critical. It took me 2 games before ...

Got the Mutant Cell Pearl, Storm Virtual Energy, and Brunswick T-Zone for spares. Looking at a few options as far as layouts go for the Mutant Cell and Virtual Energy. The current thinking is to use the Mutant Cell mostly for league (house pattern) and the Virtual Energy for the Hoinke and USBC tourneys. The house I bowl in puts down a little bit more oil on the outside boards, which makes the Mutant Cell the logical choice. From the vids I have seen, this ball really snaps hard from the far outside. ...

I took care of my mother for 10 years. A victim of an insidious disease called Alzheimers. A vibrant and hard working women. To slowly see her deteriorate almost killed me. If you are a caretaker of someone for any reason. Take good care of yourself. I am paying the price for all those years. Please believe when I say I do not regret doing it. I just wish that I had been smarter about it. Contact local groups for care suggestions and strategies to help you make it through the day. My mother passed ...

Did pull the trigger and bought the Mutant Cell Pearl last week. Still waiting for delivery, hopefully today. May add a C-System 4.5 to the arsenal as well. This is the latest and greatest from Brunswick and from what I have seen, it performs very well on broken down longer patterns. The ankle has been feeling almost back to normal, but now I am getting over pnemonia (what luck I've been having lately). Haven't hit the lanes since the vacation, but will once the T-Zone and Mutant Cell are drilled. ...

Hello everyone! I am new to this site. As you can see I am a Roto Grip fan, though I just love bowling in general. Looking forward to talking with you out there. Steve

Spent the weekend in Wisconsin Dells at the Kalahari Resort which houses a 24 lane center within their indoor theme park. Decided to throw a few games while the wife was at the spa. To my surprise, there was no one in the place, so I got fresh oil with stripped back ends. Tried a 15 out to 7 line with my NV. This ball did come in to the pocket, but did not hit strong enough. Decided to give the NVS another try. After having issues with the reaction of the NVS lately, I was not confident it would ...

Bowled today on a pattern that I can only say reminds me of a US Open type shot. Dumped my first 4 balls in the channel trying to play 10 out to 3. Tried throwing the ball straight up 8 board only to have the shot go Brooklyn each time. Decided to move in to a 12 out to 6 line. This did work, but was very touchy in terms of speed and breakpoint. Using a ball with surface playing outside was completely out of the question. If you didn't split the same board every shot, it was either Brooklyn or in ...

Shot a 6 game block on the Scorpion pattern today. Started with my Big One dulled up playing a 15 out to 8 line. Looks like the inside practice from the past few weeks has paid off. I never was able to get into a groove on this pattern before, but today was a first. Shot a 1406 for the block and really kept every shot in play. Got the ball slightly wide on only a couple of shots and those left 2 pins. Previously, leaving 2-4-10s and 2-8-10s was common for me on this pattern. Dulling the surface ...

Went to a nearby Brunswick Zone for some house shot practice on my lunchbreak. This house is not my home house, but I have bowled league here before. I started with my usual line of 12 out to 6 with my Total NV. My NVS has not been performing as well, so thought the NV would be a good choice. The ball went Brooklyn on both lanes, so I moved in. What is it with the houses in this area? The other house I had my company outing in also played deep. Must be the preferred shot for the area. Moved to a ...

So let me start off by saying, this years nationals shot is one of the easier patterns they have come up with lately for game ONE. It is very heavy oil, and acts like a 45 foot pattern. It is hard to get the ball to turn over, but the back ends are crisp, so when it turns it hooks. I used a Reign of Fire with the out of box 1000 grit finish for all three games of team event. I found that I had to start inside of where I was last year to start the first game. I was standing at 25, setting it down ...

Went to my home house on a Saturday morning for some practice on freshly oiled and stripped lanes. My league normally bowls on lanes 27-40, so being put on 11-12 was a pair I wasn't familiar with. The shot seemed to play slicker than usual and this confirmed some of the things I had been hearing about this side of the house. I played more straight up than in league shooting at 6 board with my Total NV. This ball seems to be performing better lately than my NVS over the last month or so. It's probably ...

Alright, so I am back from nationals. Overall, Reno does a great job hosting the tournament. There is no place that I have bowled that compares to the National Bowling Stadium. As for the USBC, and their running of the tournament, I have a few complaints.
First of all, the oil pattern was a disgrace! They wanted to use Kegel's new technology, and lift the buff brush on the pattern. They had tons of forward oil and almost no reverse. This caused a great playable shot for about 2 games worth ...

Went to the company outing last Friday to the same house I had practiced in a few weeks ago where the conditions were bone dry. We had lanes 1-16 and I decided to go down on the far left (lane 2) in search of some oil. My search turned out to be fruitless, since the shot was still very dry. I wasn't playing quite as deep standing at 22 and targeting 17 out to about 12 with the Total NV. Anything that went out past 10 was out of bounds and came in very high. Either this house doesn't oil in the morning, ...

Decided to get some practice on the PBA Viper pattern today. This being one of the shorter oil patterns, I started with a ball that has more of a skid/flip reaction- the Total NV. Started with my normal league line of 12 board out to 6 line. The ball went high each time, necessitating a move left. Tried a 15 out to 6 line and this seemed to do the trick for about 5 frames. At this point, the ball started to go too long leaving flat 10s. Switched to the NVS to combat the carrydown playing the same ...

Yesterday I practiced for about 8 games trying to get ready for nationals. I am putting in 3 games 5 days a week or so, and trying to put in a few 6 game blocks to get ready for doubles and singles. Yesterday I was attempting to not only pick which balls I want to bring with me, but simulate breakdown of lane conditions bowling with multiple people. I took my Storm Invasion, Reign of Fire, Reign, and a Hy-Road. I found a line with all 4 balls, and then bowled four games at once, each of which I ...

Decided to go practice at a house I haven't been in for over 10 years. The last time I was there, the lanes were still wood! Started with my normal 12 to 6 line with the NVS. The ball started hooking before it hit the arrows Did this house strip and forget to reoil? Made a big move left standing at about 25 targeting 20 out to 5. This still didn't make that much difference with the ball going Brooklyn. Good thing I still have my old pearl Rhino that I use for 10 pins. Moved to a standing at ...

With the season coming to a close and only sweeper and prize money to shoot for, this night was pretty anticlimatic. Of course the house decides to put fresh oil down on a night which is meaningless. This was only the second time all season that they did this and my first game showed it. I tried my normal 12 out to 6 belly with the NVS, but the heads were just too slick to get the ball back. After fanning a 10 pin and leaving a 2-8-10 split, I sat at 36 in the 3rd frame. A more direct line was ...

With the season winding down and my team way out of contention, it figures I would have one of my best nights of the season. Since it was position night, we were way down on the right side of the house. I was hoping to be on the end pair of 39-40, but we ended up on 37-38. I've done pretty well on this pair too averaging about 225. This night boosted the average with games of 258, 246,246 for a 750. The heads were fairly slick so I thought the NVS would be a good ball to start with. It became apparent ...