Sunday Night League - 641 Series

Well I started on a Sunday night league to take my mind off of the hell that comes the following day. This league is at holiday also, so I dont think I will be bowling at Silva all summer.
My first game was a 171. I was having a really tough time figuring out what to do. The shot that they laid down was very dry in my opinion, forcing me to the inside right off the bat. I really dont like playing so deep so early. I finally realized that if i just threw it as hard as possible, my ball would hold the line.
Second game was a 213. I missed a 10 pin this game on the inside. Again, so dry that i actually had to completely flatten my spare ball to pick up that crappy pin.
Last game was a 257. I really found the line this game. Pretty much all i was doing was throwing it at the gutter as hard as i could, and just trusting that it would recover.
Ended up shooting a 641 and setting a 214 average. Gonna be tough to maintain...
The cool thing is from the look of it, no one on that league is going to be anywhere near me (i hope) so i can decimate all. Elena is on my team, she set a 13o average. I think by the end of league though, she will be shooting consistent 180's and have had her first 200 game.

the season of 2nd place

Yep, i sucked it up in the final night of league. 577. 184, 216, 177. We were on lanes 1 and 2, and i just couldnt get anything to carry on 2. I also broke my streak of picking up 10 pins. We lost the 1st game by 150 points, then won the second by 200, then lost the third by 40 or so. The worst part is my team came in second, i came in second in high average, high game, and high series. I guess i shouldnt be complaining since last year i was nothing. Good thing is last year i ended this league with a 192 average, this year was a 209. Pretty good improvement.

I start the PBA experience league on wednesday and i am so excited for that. The first pattern is going to be the US open pattern, 46 ft of flat oil. yeah, thats going to be a fun night. I think that the league will really help me become a better bowler though, it has to right? So I will be bloggin about that come wednesday night or thursday.

I am alos bowling a mixed handicap league on sunday nights. Elena will be bowling in that too. I am pretty sure she will set a 120ish avg but will improve to a 150ish. We'll see....

Friday Night League - 697 Series

DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cant believe i was 3 pins short. SIGH

So my first game was a 227, and that was with a open in the second frame (split) and i struck out in the 10th frame. I was releasing the ball good too

Second game was a 225. Pretty much exactly the same as the first, open in the 2nd, and struck out in the 10th.

Third game was a 245. This time i didnt open in the 2nd frame. So, everyone on my team opened in the 10th frame and going up there i had 3 in a row. The anchor on the other team walked up there with me and all i needed to do was strike to shut their team out. 1 Strike. 1 strike would have won the game, got me my 700 series, and beaten larry. So what do i do? Freaking came in high. i picked it up and then struck but he struck out. The pressure really got to me on that one and I am really upset about it. 

Friday Night League - 669 Series

Again I started off bad. Releasing the ball like an idiot. My first game was a 190. The bad part about that is I had marked all the way till the tenth, then opened. I missed the 6-9-10 like a dumbass for a 190. After that game though, i realized there was something wrong with my release. So I decided to focus of gettting the ball off my hand much cleaner. 

My second game was a 256. I had no idea it was that good either. I even opened on one frame. I threw 2 strikes in the 10th and then came in high and left the 4 pin. When i walked back everyone was telling me good job, then i looked at my score. 256... wow. I had no clue. And that double i threw in the 10th meant we took high handicap game too with 1175.

My third game was a 223. Again, i had a stupid open, but overall i was throwing the ball much better. It was actually driving though the pocket much harder than normal. I guess i just really need to focus on releasing that ball properly because when i do it rewards me with ten pin party in the pit. 

I am most likely gonna buy another ultra zone and have it drilled diferently. I really like the ball. I like the coverstock much more than the VG's cover stock. My current Ultra is drilled to roll early so i think ill get another one and get it drilled to go longer. 

Friday Night League - 654 Series

I knew we were on 1 and 2, and with the current slump i am in, I was expecting another wonderful 500 series. I had some time before league so i went and got my new ball drilled. I decided to go with a layout that was for "early roll with strong back end". I got it drilled at holiday, it just feels like they have the angle of the thumb better or something. Anyway, you should see the weight hol he put in the ball, you could put a gallon of water in it. 

So we got to our lanes for practice, and I decided to throw the ultra zone to see what it would do. Holy crap, I couldnt keep it on the right side. i threw 3 balls and put it away and grabbed the VG.

first game - 177

Sigh, i dont remember much of the game except that i couldnt find the right adjustment on lane 2. I had no trouble on 1. I ended on lane 2, and I marked in the 10th frame, so i decided to throw the ultra since i couldnt do any harm.  I ended up putting the VG away and kept the ultra out.

Second game - 229

So i was just throwing the ultra as hard as i could and man was it coming back. WTF? i wanted it to be a less hooking ball, but thats not going to happen. And it almost seemed like as long as i threw it as hard as possible, it would hit pocket. 

Third game - 248

Ultra zone baby. thats all i have to say.

Larry shot a 668, so even though he will be ahead of me in average, hes not out of reach. I am going to give the VG one more chance. I got a 4000 grit abralon pad to try to return it to its factory finish. It has failed me twice. 

Friday night league - 591 series

Yep, i am on the verge of giving up. I just dont know what my problem is. I know that i am throwing it harder but i just cant seem to slow it down. Plus, my virtual gravity has seems to have lost its consistency. Sometimes it will hook, sometimes it will go long. Heres the thing about it though, I have polished it and resurfaced it so many times who knows what is going on with the cover. I ordered a new ball, an ultra zone. Mostly because it was on sale but also because i always rely on "ol faithful", my danger zone hph. Figured i would try another zone. 

I think my first game was a 179. Yeah.

Second was 194 - better but still crappy

third i finally got something going and shot 218. 

Larry and I are tied for average now going into next week with a 207.8. SIGH

Friday Night League - 629 Series

So this blog is a little late because I didnt really have time till today. We bowled the old men on Friday, so there was a TON of crap talking going on. I actually like bowling those old guys though, its pretty fun to mess with them about their lack of revs or speed of the ball.

I started off pretty strong, had a strike, then a spare that i missed my mark by 2 boards right, then struck to the 10th. I got up for the 10th frame thinking about how i needed to close the frame out. I missed my mark bad and left a split. SIGH. Opened in the 10th for a 245. 

Thats ok i was thinking, i was throwing it well. Second game i had the front 5, then what do i do? I come in high and leave the 4 ten. Miss it. Come in slightly high and leave the 10, miss it. Then hit pocket and leave the 7 - 10. I went from the front 5 to a 189. 

Last game i just couldnt carry anything. 195. 

Got my usual 6 opens. 4 of those were splits though, not that it makes it any better. I picked up one split but i cant remember which one. 18 strikes. 13 of those were in the first 15 frames. I just dont understand what my problem is. Its all mental i think. And i dont adjust quick enough to keep my scores high. 

Friday Night League - 619 Series

Sigh. I dont know what happened. Was it because i didnt practice on monday? I started out pretty strong, made a couple mistakes and then just could never really recovered after that. I felt myself throwing the ball harder than normal, couldve been left over from the tournament on sunday.

I was throwing my Virtual Gravity, and the lanes seemed like they were oiled pretty well. I started out playing my normal 12 to 5 shot. 

First game - 223

I had a great game going, made 3 stupid mistakes and got spares but the rest of the frames were strikes. Then i get up to the 10th frame, left a ten pin then missed it. I opened for a 223. What an idiot. How am I still missing ten pins. I was so upset about it that i had to walk off.  I had a 240/250 game going

Second game - 193

I couldnt carry ANYTHING this game. the thing that sucks when you dont carry is you get spares and then that one split that you cant pick up totally ruins any hope of getting a 200+ game. I dont remember the frames but I remember opening in the 8th and having a 133. I had to strike out for a 193. I really focused on doing that and got the 4 strikes. Talk about saving a game. 

Third game - 203

Yet another game where I couldnt carry. I decided to move and throw 10 to 5 since i was throwing it hard and couldnt seem to control it. I got a couple strikes but still sucked. Again, I had to strike out for the 203 and I did. One time in the tenth, i started my approach up there to throw and as I let the ball down I hit my leg. I managed on stopping myself while sliding up to the foul line. Walked back to the ball return, put my ball down, recollected myself and then threw a strike. Its a great feeling to know I have the control to stop in mid swing if i sense something wrong.

All in all i am pretty disappointed in myself. i wouldve had to shoot a 628 just to maintain my average. My average was 209.44 last night and I suspect it will drop to 209.2. Sigh. I wont say what Aric shot(it was bad) but his average is gonna drop to 202. Larry shot a 720, his will prolly go up a pin and he will now be at 206. A little close for comfort.

The team we bowled against needed a sub so Elena subbed for them. She didnt have her shoes or her ball, but she still bowled. She was using the "Yoly" ball that we found a couple months ago. Her first game was a 99 and her second was a 102. Then she figured out what she was doing wrong and shot the best game of her life - a 155. 

Friday night league - 707 series

Yes!! I shot another 7 in league. Back to back 7's. that feels good. I forgot to snap a picture of the recap because i was talking smack to Roland but ill go over it from the best of my memory. I was throwing my virtual gravity and the lanes seemed "dryer" than usual.
first game - 206
I really struggled this game. I had one open because I was throwing my spare ball at every spare. I missed an easy 4-7. i stopped throwing it in order to score high. I was shooting pretty straight right up the 12 board, actually it was more like 12 to 10, then back to pocket. i dont know how i squeaked a 206 out of it.
second game - 265
This game really was upsetting for me. I finally moved over and was swinging the ball out, playing my normal 12 to 5 shot. I was doing my mental clearing technique and got the front 6. on the 7th shot, i thought about how it would be the 7th strike in a row and couldnt get that out of my head. I hit pocket but left a 10. damit. all because i lost focus. shot after that i hit high and left a 4. I then struck in the 9th and the first 2 balls in the 10th. The last one i went way high and left the 3-6-10.
thrid game - 236
This game was really saved by me. I feel really good about it because i had a spare the first frame, then came in high and had the 4-9 split. didnt pick that up and i was already discouraged. I ended up stringing 5 in a row after that. i dont remember the 8th and 9th frames but going into the 10th i KNEW that i had to strike out for the 7. I struck out in the 10th for the 236 and for a 707. :)
I found out later that Michael wanted to tell me the first game to move but held it back to see how long it would take me to. It took a full game. I just need to realize that if i am doing everything good and not carrying, its not me, its time to move. Either way, i am really happy about how i bowled. Since I got back from vegas, i have shot 670, 559, 727, 707. Not really consistent but thats a 221.9 average for those 12 games.
I wont be bowling on the shark pattern Sunday, i am entering a tournament at ten pins in rio rancho. I have never set foot in that bowling alleyso it should be pretty interesting to see how well i score. From what i have heard, they have wooden lanes and lay down a lot of oil

Friday night league - 727 series

w00t! I finally bowled good since the Vegas beating. Good ol League oil pattern.
Walked into the bowling alley only to be let down greatly. We were bowling on lanes 1 and 2, the crappiest pair in the house to bowl on. I was really wanting to bowl good too, and just knowing that I had a night of being on 1 and 2 ahead of me made me want to just go home. Went into this night with a 207.00 avg which was .18 above Aric.
First couple of balls in practice reacted well. 1 and 2 are always a little dry for me, and they are inconsistent. At the end of practice, I had the line on 1 but was still struggling on 2. I was throwing my Virtual Gravity as usual.
First Game -225
I was struggling with lane 2. Kept leaving single pins and hitting light. Finally in the 5th frame, i made a drastic move and came in high leaving a split. Made another adjustment and struck out for a 225. My feet were 3 boards right on lane 2 and my mark was 3 boards right. this pair is always this different.
Second Game - 280
After gettng 5 in a row to finish the first game, I was sure that this was going to be the game where i get my 300. First ball on lane 1 nails the pocket for a strike. Get to lane 2, miss my mark horribly and hit brooklyn but leave a 10 pin. ARGH. Picked it up and struck out for a 280. Missed my mark twice in the tenth frame but gool ol league pattern is forgiving enough to hook me up with strikes.
Third Game - 222
FIrst ball came in way high. Funny how quickly the oil changed. moved a bit on the second ball and came in high again, leaving the big four. yay. another 280 game backed up by a 170. Michael suggested i move my entire shot. I moved the entire shot left about 3 boards on both lanes. Thank you Michael. Struck to the 8th frame where i had a pocket 7 - 10. Sigh. Tried to shake it off in the 9th but i slowed my ball to much and left a 10. picked it up though. Got up in the 10th frame, got a solid strike. Tom came over and told me that I had just secured a 700 series. Wow. on 1 and 2. Thats a huge accomplishment in my book. Ended up striking out in the 10th for the 222.

Aric did horible, i think he shot a 520 or something. I am starting to pull away from him as far as average goes. I noticed Larry is creeping up slowly but surely and could take the high avereage spot from me if im not carefull. 
727 is the highest series I have ever thrown. I was trying some new tactics to clear my head and calm myself before every shot. Im not sure if this is why i scored high, but i think it helped greatly. my average going into next week is now 208.42 :). I will finish the year with a 215 or better.