StillMissOzzie

[costanza] I'm back, baby! [/costanza] Much better bowling last Wednesday after the debacle of March 30. I had a 213, 247, and 196 for a 656 series. I didn't record any details this time, but for the night I had 19 strikes, 14 spares, and 1 open frame - a 7-pin! Average back up to 202, with a few weeks left. SMO

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 09:34 AM) My daughter bowled in a tournament Saturday. There were 12 teams from 8 different schools. Our school ended up bringing 3 teams. 4-person teams and they each bowled 6 games total. She ended up with the 2nd highest game and series among the girls. She was only 6 pins away from having the high game and 18 pins from high series. Since they are only allowed to win one individual award, the other girl got the award for high series and she got the award for high game. Her team took first place by over 200 pins and she was the team MVP. Averaged 167 over the 6 games. Are we talking girls high school bowling tournament? What region are you in? My daughter bowled for Glenbard East 2011-2014. She's not bowling at school now, but I miss the life watching her bowl. SMO

As I mentioned a few months ago now, I won't just come here to post my great scores, or even just my good score. Now, I get to share some of my butt-ugly scores. Last Wednesday was a train wreck, and I tore 'em up with these sizzling games: 188, 157, and 181 for a 526 series. Yes, those are scratch, no handicap included. I just flat out stunk. I never found a good line, and I probably couldn't hit it if I did. I had all of 7 strikes all night, when the week before, I did better than that in the first game alone. I had 5 splits, too. I made the easier ones - 2 @ 3-10 and a 5-6-10, but the other two were missed. I also know that I was missing badly because I had a lot more 6, 7, and 8 count spares to shoot at, whereas if I'm bowling well, it's almost always 8 or 9 counts. I can't even complain that I was getting tapped. I only had 2 10-pin, and 1 7-pin, spares to shoot at - and I missed the 7 pin. The only saving grace at all was I was picking up my non-split spares fairly well. Overall stats for the night: 7 strikes, 19 spares, and 5 opens (2 splits and 3 blows) To add insult to injury, one guy on the opposition had games of 257 and 269. SMO

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Mar 23, 2016 -> 11:30 AM) On every league I've ever been on, the standings were cumulative through the entire season. You start at week 1, bowl until the end and whatever place you're in is where you end up. Apparently the league I'm currently on was run differently last season. They split the season up into 2 halves. So at the mid-point there was a first half winner and all the standings were reset. Then before the end of the season, a second half winner was decided. The second to last week was used as a position round, then the first half winner faced off against the second half winner. Something like that. I'm not sure I understand it enough to explain it properly. Anyway, at the start of the season we voted on it and decided to just go the "normal" way. Somebody last night was complaining about it because according to our schedule, next week was going to be a position round. Which wasn't right. They just forgot to change it. Has anyone else heard of this or done things this way? It's seems like an overly complicated setup and what happens when the same team wins both halves? I like the way were are doing it much better. We get prize money at the end and the difference between finishing in first and last probably won't be all that much anyway. What you just described is exactly what we've been doing all along. The first half ends with a position night, right around Christmas / New Years, depending on how many weeks you bowl and when you started. We bowl Wednesdays, and 2015 was the first time we didn't get bumped for the Christmas/New Year holidays since 2012. Then, everyone starts over at 0 - 0 and bowl another 16 - 17 weeks. The second-to-last night is another position night, the second half winner is declared, and the final night is the roll-off, the two first place teams go at it for the season championship. The non-contenders typically are bowling for sweeper money (pins over average on each pair, with prize money for the top three) The rationale is that, if one team is running away with it, there is still another half to bowl with a fresh start. And having the same team win both halves has been pretty rare. Lat Wednesday, I had a 247 192 215, for a 654 series. That's the best I have had in quite a while, maybe even the best in 2016 so far. In the first game, in the first frame, I had a 6 - 7 split. Missed them both - a fine start. But then, I got a spare and then 6 strikes in a row. This time, I happily ended a string with another spare instead of an open frame. Then I punched out in the 10th. Game two, it was as if I lost my mojo. I was still hitting the pocket, but I couldn't carry a 10-pin anymore. The bummer was that I missed two of them. IN A ROW! If I could have just made the spares, or even carried one or both, instead of open frames, cost me a solid deuce. Game three was nothing too spectacular, but I missed one more 10-pin spare that game. Over all that night, I had 7 10-pins to shoot at and I only picked up four of them. I still had 20 strikes, so that helped make up for it. Twenty strikes, 7 spares, and 4 opens - that split in the first, and those 3 10-pins. Could have been better, but better than I have done in a while now. SMO

Another bum who saved their career worst for the White Sox. Please keep that smug mug out of the dugout. SMO

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Mar 20, 2016 -> 07:17 PM) We picked her new ball up Friday night and she bowled with it in a tournament Saturday morning. 201, 189 & 171. She ended up with high game and high series for the girls. She's gonna catch up to me before lomg. FWIW, it's a diva xoxo, not divine like a previously said. I'm not familiar with that ball, but those are great scores for using a brand new ball. I like to get a few dozen games in first before I use a new ball, to get an idea of how it rolls under different conditions. Keep it up! SMO

And now, my own fabulous achievements last Wednesday. The scores are eerily similar to those of the prior week, except this time I have no reasons, no excuses, and no explanations. I had 166 234 194 for a 594 - feel free to scroll back and check out my scores for March 9. The first game, I was just awful. I had two splits, blew two easy spares, only one or two strikes, and just didn't feel like I had a clue until toward the end of the game. Game two, I found my shot, and I had a 5-bagger in there somewhere. The third game, that was running about average, but I got one split that ended up spoiling the deuce for me that game. SMO

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Mar 14, 2016 -> 11:44 AM) I talked to my pro shop guy and we decided to move up and get her a DV8 Diva which is a step or two above her current ball. We had to order it so it won't be in until Friday. In the meantime we also decided to get her current ball resurfaced. It was pretty slick. I found it. Almost 3 years ago now, I got her a Hammer Jet Black Taboo, which was apparently all that and a bag of chips back then. I saw that it is retired now, so being the ball du jour doesn't carry a lot of weight. It also looked like it was drilled with some side weight, which would help it to hook more. That may be something to ask your pro shop about, particularly if she is learning how to throw a hook. SMO

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 12:13 PM) Hey bowling dudes, What would you say is the advantage in a personal ball versus the 'house balls' your local alley has for the public to use? Like, if you averaged 150 with house balls, and bought your own ball (and got accustomed to it, obviously), how much would you expect your average to improve? I saw the other responses you got to this, so I thought I would add my $0.02: It's hard to quantify an answer to your question as to how much you would improve, but I would say it is both a certainty and a necessity to get your own ball drilled. House balls generally suck because you can't get a good fit, you can't get the fit in a weight you would want, the coverstock is probably polyester, and most every house ball is drilled for a conventional grip. That's when your fingers go in to the 2nd knuckle. A conventional grip ball is thrown more like you are tossing a suitcase down the lane. A conventional grip is not conducive to learning how to throw a hook, which I believe is also vital to improvement. Balls that hook don't deflect nearly as much as straight balls, meaning you will carry more strikes both on good shots as well as not-as-good shots. Balls made out of polyester are largely out of favor these days, as they can't be made to hook as much. Many bowlers use a polyester ball for spare shooting only, where a LACK of hook is desired, especially when shooting at the hard corner pins (10 pin for a righty, 7 pin for a lefty) You don't need to drop $250 into an aggressive new ball, but you can get something custom drilled in the weight you want, with a fingertip or semi-conventional grip for maybe half of that. Your mileage may vary. SMO

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Mar 14, 2016 -> 11:44 AM) I talked to my pro shop guy and we decided to move up and get her a DV8 Diva which is a step or two above her current ball. We had to order it so it won't be in until Friday. In the meantime we also decided to get her current ball resurfaced. It was pretty slick. I couldn't find my daughter's ball with a 15 second search, but I will let you know what I got her. It's 2 or 3 years old now, though. I do recall being unpleasantly surprised when the pro shop guy rang me up. While standing right next to me, she texted, "Did you know how much that ball was?", and I said no, and you owe me. Last Wednesday was not off to a good start. I got there a bit late, so practice had started already. The approaches were tackier than usual. And, I had a stiff neck. Now, this old fart needs a minimum of 4 frames of practice to start getting loose, and 1 or 2 of my "practice" balls counted. With enough EZ-slide, I could take care of the approaches. But the stiff neck was a bigger problem than I suspected. While it didn't bother me too much at work, it ended up being a major problem for bowling. Standing at the end of the approach, I could spot my mark. But, as I marched toward the foul line, I could not bend my neck down to keep an eye on that mark. For the first 7-8 frames or so, I was bowling blind, hoping that where I was standing would make me roll the ball where I wanted to. I was missing badly, with 6 and 7 counts. Three of the first five frames were open. I ended up with a brisk 166 fame. Things got better though. In game 2, I started with the first seven of strikes. Then, in the 8th, I left the big four. Once again, ending a nice string with an open frame. To rub salt in the wound, I only got one of them. I struck again in the 9th, and then, I was back on my open frame lane again. And, I left the big four! Again! So with the first 7 and 8 strikes overall, no spares, but 2 open frames, for a 226 game. Should have been sooooo much more. Game 3 was an uneventful 205 game, so I missed a 600 because of that crappie first game. Better luck this Wednesday... SMO

I was going to say 89 before I even saw the poll choices, so that's what I'm sticking with. SMO

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Mar 7, 2016 -> 02:08 PM) Right now my daughter is the same way. She uses one ball and adjusts. One of her coaches has suggested getting a spare ball. The ball she has now is probably one step up from a plastic ball. It's also the first ball she's ever had that's fingertip. She's been using it for a couple of years but I'm debating if I should get her a more aggressive ball and she can use her current one as a spare ball or if I should simply get her a plastic ball to use for spares. Or maybe I should break down and get both? This is a great idea. I got my daughter a decent aggressive ball, I think it made a world of difference. SMO

I carry three balls, but I am 99% sure to use one of two. The older one is a Storm Pyro, at least 8 years old now. It's the less aggressive of the two. With the oil we have been getting lately (longer and/or more), I start out with a Radical Reax Version 2 Pearl. I got this ball as a result of bowling in a summer sport shot league in 2015, but only put into service earlier this season. Whichever ball I pick, I am using it for spares too. On occassion, I have switched to the Pyro for game 3 when the oil has been pushed down and the Reax is too strong. At times like this I might use the Pyro for a 10-pin spare attempt before switching out entirely. So no, I don't have a spare ball. BUT - when my daughter bowled in high school, they wanted all the girls to get an aggressive first ball and a spare ball. They even wanted some of them to shoot all of their spares, left or right side, with their spare balls. A few had a ball for their hard corner pin. SMO

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Mar 2, 2016 -> 09:09 AM) I had my best night of the year last night. 235, 225, 238 for a 698 series. Of course I'm kicking myself because I missed an easy spare on my very last shot of the 3rd game. It was the 2 -4. If I would've hit those two pins, I would've gotten my 700 series. I had no idea at the time though. But we won 3 games and the second place team only won 1, so our lead is back up to 3 games. I managed to bring my average up a pin to 194. Nice series, but I'd be pissed about missing a 700 like that. I am lucky if I get one per season. I had a 204, 200, & 235 for a 639 series. First game was going well, strikes or 9-counts on every ball, until I left a split in the 10th. Second game, starting on that same lane, I got another split. I always like starting a game with an open frame. But I got it in gear, and then got my 3rd split of the night. For the third game, I started with the first 5, left a 10-pin in the 6th frame...and missed it. I always like ending a string with an open frame, too. I left 2 more 10 pins in the 7th and 8th frames, but I picked them up. Ended with 3 more strikes and an 8 count. The annoying part was that all 3 of those splits were of the makable kind, nothing like 4-6 or 7-10. I got a 9-10 in the 10th frame of game 1, I opened with a 5-6-10 in the first frame of game 2, and then I left a 3-10 later on in the 2nd game. My spare shooting wasn't accurate enough to pick up any of these, so I am happy I had enough strikes to cover those 4 opens. SMO

A much more better night this past Wednesday. 224 226 180 630 series. I was locked the first two games, I think I only had one first ball less than a 9 count, and no opens the first 2 games. Then, things started heading south. I didn't think I had to make an adjustment, but I started getting wild, tossing 7 and 8 counts, and one KFC dinner bucket ( the 2-4-5-8). I only got 2 of them, and then a flagged a 7 pin to open in the 10th. ARRRGGGHH!! Overall, I had 17 @ X, 12 @ /, with those two opens. Can't complain too much, but I still will. I feel like a much better series slipped through my fingers. SMO