Good to see everyone was following along!!Originally Posted by Blacksox1
Thanks to Mudpuppy for keeping the Twitter universe up to date!! Mud will have some interesting video as well of the qualifying round and parts of the doubles match.
I will have full coverage of the stepladder finals once I get home and have a chance to get it from my camera to my computer and do the necessary editing and posting to Youtube.
So, lets give a quick summary from the "Aslan Camp" now that this little shindig is in the books.
First Impressions:
I've already met Rob M. and MWhite so they were what I thought they were (Dennis Green). It was nice to see MWhite put his skills on display for a change rather than just poo the bed as he has in past matches against me. When he was "on", he was impressive. And it was great to see Rob excited about the contest. On more than one occasion he mentioned how much fun he was having. I wasn't sure if he would….and the more fun he had the better he did…and the better he did….the more fun he had…so it was feeding a MONSTER! As Iceman nicknamed him, he was THE BEAST on the lanes this afternoon!!
Mudpuppy was smaller and younger than I had imagined. I can't believe the guy is practically my age…he's aged much better!! And Iceman, well…he was sort of what I expected while at the same time surprisingly different:
He's taller than I imagined. I pictured a short, stocky, weightlifter type. But he's rather slender and as tall if not taller than me (and I'm fairly tall). And while he's certainly "quirky"…he's not nearly as "off his meds crazy" as he appears in some of his posts. He's actually one of the nicest guys I've ever met to be honest. He's just as "wordy" in person as he is in his posts!!! MWhite is a chatterbox…but let me tell you…MWhite couldn't get a word in edgewise with Iceman around!
For those wondering, no…Rob M and MWhite didn't get in a shouting match or wrestle each other. Two professionals with strong opinions…but professionals. And no, Ice and I didn't fight or arm wrestle or throw spit wads at each other…we became friends pretty quick.
There really were no "losers" in this event and that was probably my 2nd favorite thing about it.
Mudpuppy: Mudpuppy absolutely DOMINATED Qualifying Round. I mean, he rolled a 227 and a 248 out of the gate and the guy just didn't miss. I don't think he missed more than ONE make-able spare the entire qualifying round. He looked absolutely unbeatable. And as a lefty, he had that side to himself.
Iceman: Obviously Iceman won the challenge! My avatar will be changed when he sends me his selection. He finished 4th and me 5th…but he was heads and tails above me….scoring 124 more pins in qualifying and "nearly" knocking off Rob M in Game 2 of the Finals. And "HAD" he; I think he would have beat MWhite and Mudpuppy and won the entire thing. His match with Rob M was the most competitive and both of them scored over 220.
Rob M.: Rob was a BIG winner because he not only WON the entire stepladder final…but did it with the 4th worst incoming average and starting at #4 on the stepladder. AND….he's nearly 66! Rob made an interesting point that HAD he beat Iceman and finished #3…he might not have done as well because he'd have had to sit out a game and "cool off" and "stiffen up". But this was a BIG win for Rob. Probably my FAVORITE moment/thing about the Challenge was watching Rob win. I DID pick him…but he didn't win because of the experience and being local like I predicted…he just out bowled whoever he faced. And I think he was impressed with his own performance.
MWHITE: Mwhite was a big winner as well because he finished #2 in the stepladder, ended up #3 in the standings…but he finally got the "Aslan Jinx Monkey" off his back. He wasn't bowling on strange conditions or beat up ole wood lanes…so he was able to showcase his ability on a better playing field. AND…the Surfers SMOKED the BIKERS in the doubles match!!
Aslan: My only real "victory" was helping Surfers defeat the Bikers in doubles. I made intermittent good shots…I sometimes looked good spare shooting…but at the end of the day I'm a high 160s average bowler with 1 year of experience bowling and my game still needs a LOT of work to compete scratch with these guys. Even with handicap, I'd have been the #5 seed and lost to Iceman in Game #1. Rob would have been the #3 seed with handicap. But Iceman put up 224 pins in his Finals match and Rob put up a tournament high 254 in his first finals game and followed that up with a 227!!
DOUBLES SCORES:
Format: Scotch doubles
Game #1: Bikers 212, Surfers 194.
Game #2: Surfers 170, Bikers 159.
Game #3: Surfers 236, Bikers 198.
Surfers DEFEAT Bikers = 600-569
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