I must be honest. This week may have been one of the most frustrating and difficult (not to mention forgettable) weeks I have yet experienced on Tour. As with all sports, you have your ups…and you have your downs. Despite most of the first half of the season being the latter, I have managed to survive each week with a little more knowledge and a fairly clear head. But this week was mental agony in its full glory. In fact, I could very easily rename this edition of Andrew’s Angle to “Andrew’s Top Clichés for Life and Sports (since the beginning of time).”

Before I get to the meat of that issue, let’s start with my departure from Chicago. On Monday I had to say goodbye to my wonderful wife as she headed back to work and the warm confines of Phoenix. I will see her again in a couple of short weeks, but the lonely homesick feeling surfaced as I headed out on the open road to Buffalo. I got as far as Ohio before the fun began…

With the cruise control set 2 mph over the speed limit, I had an Ohio State Trooper pull off the median and pace me in my blind spot for ten miles. Coincidentally, during that time, my low tire pressure warning light illuminated. Best case? I get pulled over for doing nothing wrong. Worst case? My tire explodes and I careen into a poorly placed police vehicle. Luckily I exceeded my expectations and managed to reach Cleveland without any incident.

Overcoming adversity. Upon hitting the Cleveland suburbs I stopped to get my tire fixed. An hour estimated wait turned into nearly two hours. But I survived the ill-timed rim leak in my tire (which was, by the way, fixable and didn’t require purchasing new tires…whew!), and overcame an adverse situation without losing my cool or panicking. I actually even thought back to the Vernon Hills telecast which featured Ken Simard and Brad Angelo, both of whom had car-related misfortunes prior to the tournament, and thought it may even be an omen that I would have a great week on the Cheetah. Now that’s optimism at its finest!

Stay focused and remember you are in control of your own destiny. Well, those are actually two clichés combined, but I think the point is quite obvious. Skipping past practice session and ahead into qualifying, I finished the first block in 27th place, even after having stumbled through a 178 in game 7. A well-bowled morning block wrapped up with a sub-par game makes it easy to fall into a mental trap that can cause a person to focus more on the poor game, and less on the strong position entering the night block. The scoring pace was considerably low (sidenote: Cheetah does not dictate ridiculously high scores as it has in the past…if you doubt that, simply compare it to last week’s Ultimate Score-pion contest!) and I was in control of my own destiny. My tournament fate would be determined by how I played the lanes in the evening.

Rise to the occasion. Starting the night portion of the tournament, I employed different strategies than in the morning. Most of that was due to the increased amount of oil that seemed to be congregated down the lane. In simple terms, it seemed as though the pattern was tighter down the lane with less oil up front and more carry-down. I felt as though I needed to open my angles up to combat the early hook. Bad idea. The result was a 196 and 154 opening duet of games, forcing me to rise to the occasion if I were to make the matchplay cut. I proceeded to bowl 237 in game 3, but got blindsided by an invisible wall in games 4-7. The effort was in place, but I never managed to get on the right track to propel myself ahead of 32nd place.

If you ain’t first, you’re last. Ok, maybe that’s not a famous cliché, and not 100% true (after all, I was 48th, which actually disproves the entire statement…take that, Ricky Bobby!). But the meaning is relevant. On Tour, 33rd place earns the same spectator position on Friday as finishing last. Aside from the minute amount of points that separates all the positions, the result is still a quick ticket to next week’s tournament. This brings me to my final cliché…

One frame/week at a time. I actually despise this phrase. Usually when you hear somebody utter these words, you can be rest assured that things have not gone well. For example, “Andrew, even though you finished 48th out of 64 players, you have to remember to take the year one week at a time.” Perhaps the worst part about this statement is not that it is highly overused or highly annoying, but that it is completely true. There is always the next week to refocus your efforts and forget the past. The present is the only time that matters.

I apologize if it seems as though this blog has seemed overly negative and pessimistic. Notice I barely mentioned anything about the physical challenges on the lanes and focused more on the mental rollercoaster? Just remember the old adage that the game is 90% mental and only 10% physical. Hopefully my experience helps cement that saying in the doubter’s mind.

Now, let’s digress to the more cheerful topic of food. My recommendations for Buffalo are as follows: Otto’s, Mighty Taco, and Tim Horton’s. While I am sure someone has culinary options that beg disagreement with my choices, please remember that the weather dissuaded me from venturing too far away from AMF Thruway or the hotel. At least I found a way to secure real Buffalo wings, upgraded tacos, and the warmth of English Toffee cappuccino. Clear weather one day, seven inches of snow in two hours the next. Hey, when it rains it pours, right (ahem….another cliché)? Actually, in Buffalo, when it rains it doesn’t pour. It simply indicates that within a short time you won’t be able to find your car or even open your front door without a shovel in hand.

As the week came to a close, I finalized plans for my final week of the half in Baltimore. I wish I had time to enjoy the sights at Niagara Falls and even pay a quick visit to our neighbor in the Great White North, but my bowling made me want to make a quick escape. This week’s first was a challenge to uncover, as two highly decorated Hall-of-Famers won their billionth titles, respectively of course. But thanks to the PBA press release, I can award the first to the PBA for listening intently to players and fans and holding the Women’s Series match first on Sunday’s telecast. Thanks again for reading and remember you can reach me at Andrew@andrewcainbowling.com or simply visit www.andrewcainbowling.com. Until next week, remember that the season is not a sprint, it’s a marathon; in the next 13 weeks I will find a way to rise to the top and overcome all adversity so that I may find myself getting back in the zone!