Ebonite man

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Well, the luck of the Irish was not on my side tonight. The oil pattern started out playable for about the first 2-3 frames of the first game. After that, is was all downhill. It was obvious the house decided not to oil fresh before our league based on the early roll I was seeing during practice. I tried to make several adjustments to get the ball to go longer, but nothing seemed to really work. The weather being unseasonably warm and low humidity didn't make things better. The usual transition ...

Didn't bowl this week due to a nasty virus. Made the call not to go about an hour before league start. Was also considering bowling the Regional PBA event at Scott AFB. Decided to wait until the Madison event next month. The only problem is that the Madison event is on the Scorpion pattern, which is by far my weakest pattern After watching Wes Malott dominate last year on this pattern, I will get the Mutant Cell for the Scorpion as well as the Shark. This week's tourney is on the Chameleon ...

Looking to add a heavy oil ball to my arsenal. I currently have an Ebonite NVS, Total NV, and Big One. These work great for house conditions, but the performance is not that great on a heavy, long oil pattern. Being a loyal Ebonite customer for over 20 years, it is difficult to consider any other manufacturer. The 3 top contenders are the Roto Grip Mutant Cell, Ebonite Mission, and Brunswick C-System 3.5. My main use for this ball would be tournament play, namely the USBC tourney and Hoinke Classic. ...

Had a good night shooting 274, 233, and 248 for a 755. I know that 274 seems like an odd number, but I'll elaborate. The lanes were freshly oiled with a standard house pattern. I started the first game with my Ebonite NVS and strung the front 9. I was playing a 8 board out to 3 and I knew this line wouldn't hold up all night. Too bad the left lane decided to transition in the 10th frame. I thought I threw a pretty good shot and left the 2-8. I left the bucket on the fill ball giving the 274. After ...

Had a solid night with a 679. Still having issues with consitently making the 10 pin. Finally decided to break down and buy a T-Zone to replace the pearl Rhino I was using for 10 pins. With only 5 weeks left in the season, may wait to get the T-Zone drilled and then practice in the off season.