Ebonite man

It's been a while since the last entry with the Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas shopping. The first half is winding down with only 2 weeks remaining after this week and the team has cracked the top 5. Had 39-40 this week, and most everyone on the league hates this pair. I am the exception and this is one of my favorite pair. The shot is not easy as the left lane is about 5 boards tighter than the right lane. After shooting a 139 the second game the last time I crossed this pair, it looked like the Mutant Cell was the better choice to start. This was confirmed as I started with the front 5. By the time the 9th rolled around, the first transition was beginning. I thought I threw a pretty decent shot, only for the ball to face up early on 39 and left a 6-10. This was surprising as this lane normally holds up much longer than 40. Managed to chop the 6 for my first open. Got up on 40 expecting the ball to react the same and came in very light leaving the 2-4-5-7-8. Chopped this spare as well, so after a very promising start, ended up with only a 215. Decided to make a ball change at this point and went with the Virtual Energy. This ball went too long and carry became an issue leaving numerous 10 pins. Managed to stay clean and shot 205. The last game I moved right to play a flatter line with more speed. This took care of the carry problem and after leaving a 7-10 in the 9th, shot a 236. The shot seemed to play alot like the Viper pattern without much oil on the outside part of the lane. Realized this yesterday after watching Bill O'Neill dominate the stepladder finals and seeing his opponent struggle with carry. Looks like the Taboo by Hammer is a great ball for this kind of pattern and I may pick one up. This would sure come in handy for those shots where a deep inside belly shot is needed and the backend entry angle isn't too steep. This seems to be one of the flaws for the Virtual Energy. Won't be bowling this week, but I did prebowl right after league on 37-38 for 12/8. After seeing the scores on that pair, thought I had a good chance to shoot some big numbers. Managed to do just that with 278, 242, and 213 for a 733. This pair had a much better line to the pocket than 39-40 and heavier oil, so the Virtual Energy sure did the job. 12/15 is position night, and the hope is that the team is in 3rd or 4th so that we draw 27-28. Really don't want to see 29-30 anytime soon since this pair can be brutal.