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What a joy it is to work 2nd shift, the options for morning leagues around here for people under the age of 65 and over the age of 16 this fall are slim and none. There are two other leagues running, but they are both closed leagues - everyones from the same company. The good news is that I should be able to get in some good practice time, but I'll miss the competition.

Hopefully once a month or once every 2 months I can get some one on one coaching time, which I really need again. ...

After last week where we dropped 6 points we were hopping for an improvement this week, especially from Macca. He could not play as bad as last week, could he.

We start and I am off with a couple of 9 spares then an open and an 8 spare, but Macc carries on where he left off last week missing his spares, we were 15 pins down on handicap before we started against team scruff, who are 1 point above us in 4th place but we already are now some 30 pins down, it is going to be one of them ...

The meeting is 3 weeks before the league starts but I'm getting excited about the upcoming season nonetheless.

First a little background on the league. Last season we had 18 teams in this match point trios league. We work off a 27 pt. system and the season was split into 18 week halves. The handicap is 90% of 240 and it's $35 a week. Breakdown is $13.50 lineage, $.40 secy, $.40 treas and $20.70 prize fund. Subs are allowed but have to be on the roster by the 5th week of each half ...

Today was the final day of the trny. went into today in 3rd and 4th in doubles (different partners) and I was in the cut for the semi's. I got there before the last squad to watch everyone to see what lines they were playing and how the balls were reacting. It didnt look to be much different than yesterday.. miss inside it would take off, miss outside and no chance of coming back. I saw more splits in this months trny then all the others combined. It was split city.. Well by the end of the regular ...

My trios team belongs to a league with no entering team cap average. Any team can join and some of them are basically super teams. My little modest 585 average team (league average is about 615) goes up against some teams who average 690, 675, 665 and so on. The 690 team is spotting us around 90+ pins.

Even at those handicap pin numbers, trying to defeat a super team can be difficult to overcome when you see then throw strike after strike. But that's just all in your head. Is your ...

Due to the absorbtion rate of today's bowling ball resins, it's imperative to clean your equipment after each set. If you have access to a spinner, you can clean the balls even better.

Try to use an approved cleanser that can be found on the USBC's website. There are many different cleanser's from various manufactorers on the market. Try to pick a trusted name. I myself use Ultimate's Black Magic. Spray it on the ball and use a microfiber rag to wipe down dry. This will help keep ...

After getting down here to orlando to the trny i learned that the shot was only a 36ft pattern. It was bone dry on the inside and a little more oil on the outside but still not much.. the fact that they would put out a shot that dry knowing that there would be 6 squads was kind of crazy. My 1st squad i bowled with mrbill on my set. I bowled HORRIBLE!!!! I wont mention the scores (yes that bad) but it was ugly. I cam back in the 2nd squad and re-entered singles and also bowled doubles with my usual ...

Last night was the weekly tournament again. I was excited to find out that they were still running the new house shot which i am currently averaging 244 on. :-) well my 1st game i jumped out of the gates with a 268. I was sitting in 2nd after the 1st game. The second game we moved to the end set and that wasn't so good. Shot 176, the shot was like completly different down there. I split every shot on the left lane and stuck the right lane. I was still sitting in 2nd after the 2nd game due to having ...

well today is the day to start this months Florida Bowlers Classic tournament. I will be making to trip from jacksonville to orlando once again. I am not looking forward to this center as it was very difficult for me to make the cut last time we bowled here. but hey more difficult things make you better.. its around 8:45 and i left my house about 15 min ago. the gps says 145 miles to go. if all goes right me and mrbill will be bowling on the same set 1st squad.. ill keep posted... gotta get back ...

Well, here I am at the cornerstone of another league season, pondering what to do about bowling equipment. I remember the days when you could just keep the same 2-3 balls in your bag for a couple of seasons, and once a year give them a quick re-surface job and go bowling. Nowadays, with specialized balls for different lane conditions, and coverstocks that need constant cleaning and attention, it actually takes a re-tooling of my entire arsenal each season. So, I am going to list what I have by ...

by Mo Pinel - turned into usable english and reposted by Luckylefty.

This method can make a lot of changes in pitch both forward reverse and left right workable....

For testing front bevel....the important part under the flat of the thumb. If not correct one can get serious nerve damage and black spots under the front base of the thumb(many increasing their forward pitch experience these black marks and electric shock feelings if they do not increase their forward bevel ...

There's nothing worse then getting up on the approach and feeling sort of lost. I couple of times I've even forgotten what foot to start with. If you're not sure about what you are going to do when on the approach, you know your shot is not going to be good.

It's best to get a pre shot routine. Maybe a mini check list in the back of your head. A good and comfortable routine should come natually out of nessescity. Also it's good to think about your next shot in between shots. Make ...

We had our league meeting for my wed night league that is scheduled to start next week. This year this league will be starting without my girlfriend and I.Thsi would be my 1st year in this league so I was happy to try out a new center along with my usual center.. I realized as soon as I walked in the door that I was in for a treat when i saw, or rather heard that the president and secretary really didnt know what in the world they were doing.. They read the rules straight off a peice of paper and ...

Sandbagging has been a problem for years in my area. I've seen people do some crazy things in order to get their averages down.

One guy I know sacrifices the entire 1st half of the season and then pours it on in the second half. He's also a PBA member.

Also there's this entire team that does it and it's so obvious but the rules make it so hard to inforce the sandbagging rules. This team will miss easy spares and as soon as their opponet misses or opens, they turn ...

bought the storm fast, after using the smash zone for about a month, giving that one to my father as we are joiing a league togther. shooting generally a 165 average with the smash zone, but its difficult when the smash zone doesnt have anything on the back end when there is oil down. eh. we shall see!

lets hope this fast works!

League Meetings: Logic vs. Lunacy

by James Goulding III



I was inspired to write this blog post from a personal experience at one of my league meetings last night. It is the time of the year when we get together and decide what the by-laws, league dues, and any other league associated business for the season at an annual meeting. Sometimes some great ideas come from these events, and other times (like my last one) things seem to escape the realm of ...

You know how people go "If I had a million dollars/win the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes/win the lottery, I'd . . . " and then they come out with the new house, new cars, vacations, liposuction/plastic surgery, and the like? Well I have one of those dreams, and it centers around bowling.

You see, I figure that I'm one of the few people who if they won a huge amount of money, I wouldn't quit work - I'd start working more. You see, my dream is to build my own bowling ...

I subscribe to many bowling forums and I've noticed that some people have an 7-8 ball arsenal. They never use more than 3 or 4 balls anyway so why bring so many? I myself have never seen anyone bring more than 6 balls to a league or tourney but just how many balls is enough?

If you bowl in the same league every week, you really only need 2 or 3 balls to bring. The lanes usually play the same week to week. You'll bring a ball that works well on that pattern and a ball that fits better ...

We pre bowled tonight for the league tomorrow night. We have a team meeting at another center for a league starting the following week, so we couldnt make it to league tomorrow night. They put the new house shot out that will be ran full time this next season. I really like this patter. My 1st game was a 252. Front 4 , big open in the 5th frame with a 5 then 4 count for a 9.. Then struck until the 2nd shot in the 10th. The 2nd game the lanes started to dry up towards the middle of the game. i switched ...

For anyone who bowls preventing injuries should always be on all bowlers minds as they walk into an alley. I see bowlers who will lace up and then sit down until shadow play begins and then toss the ball down the lane as if he's already played 3 games. This is how injuries can occur.

I have a small but so far effective routine prior to bowling. I first will stretch my back and legs. Deep knee bends work great on the legs. For me, those are the most troublesome areas. I then will ...

Now that my singles league is finished, I can concentrate on my doubles. My partner is my 13 year old cousin (Macca) who has been bowling for 2 years and has an average of 143 and a handicap of 49.
My average in this league is 163 and my handicap is37 which has come down from 41 this season.

We go into the last 3 weeks in 5th place 1 point behind 4 and 18 behind 1st so we are going to go for 3rd as we are only 13 points behind and there is 24 to play for but I think 4th is ...

Pattern: USBC Masters
Entering Average: 183

Tonight was our last night to move up the ranks before the roll offs next week. I started the night in 14th or 44. Not too bad. I entered the 1st game feeling good and shot a 174. I was not too worried because there were 3 easy opens. Came out the next game with a good like and shot 187 with 3 opens again. I couldnt convert a 10 pin until the 3rd game. Now in the 3rd game it just all went down him. Shot a 145..wohoo.. I had like 4 ...

There is a very, very good bowler from my county that has been a PBA exempt is the past. He won his exemption through the regional program, he took a leave of absence from a good job and went out on he tour for 7-8 months.

This player does have a PBA title from the early '90's and knows what being on tour is all about but on the exempt tour, he didn't do well at all and lost his exempt status for the following year.

So he goes back to the regionals and guess what. ...

My house is always looking for ways to attract and keep bowlers. With about 4 houses within a 10 mile radius, my center has to keep on looking for new ways to to compete with them.

In the last 4 years we have new synthetic lanes, pin decks and gutters. We also have new ball returns and a new state of the art Kegel oil machine.

While all the above things were needed to keep the league bowler the owner has also implemented ways to get the casual open bowling to visit ...

As we get into the dog days of August and as September nears, people start getting prepared for school. My wife and I are getting school supplies and shopping for new clothes for kids, getting my eldest signed up for his 1st year of college. Also making out our schedules of who's driving who where and what days to take off when there is no school.

So as that's all getting done there's some planning of my own going on and that's setting up my fall arsenal and getting my team together. ...