What would Dusty Baker do?

What would Dusty Baker do?
Probably sub me out for someone with a 96 average.

You've got to look at this right, Pumpy. Throw an 800 series and your team wins.

A couple 600 series recently, and my average is inching toward 175.

Last time out in my candlepin league I threw a 155 + 134 + 121 = 410.

Not bad if I do say so myself.

Funny, I was just about to come post here too :)

The quarter format is fun...2nd quarter ends next week and while we got totally smoked in the 1st quarter, before tonight we had a shot at the 2nd quarter title. Unfortunately, the other team bowled out of their butts and 2 on my team did not, so we got smoked.

HOWEVER...I bowled not only my best series ever (578) but I had my best game ever - a 263 in the 3rd game! I started with the first 6 in a row...somehow I found a line I liked that really liked me back. And honestly, I am kinda glad I missed inthe 7th. My heart was jumping out of my chest and I was barely able to stay calm (it wasn't a bad ball actually). Got the spare there and then got 3 more before a split on the 2nd ball on the 10th. Clean game and a 263. Unreal...it's one of those nights that sucks for my team but is awesome for me :)

Overall, that should bump my average up pretty good (going in, I was averaging 147). Doing better than I was at the end of last year, just hoping my team can keep picking it up too.

Great game with the 263. My best game ever is a 257. A guy on my team carries a 140 average, last week he opened the night with a 266. My second game I strung a bunch of strikes together, and was actually riding 5 in a row going into the tenth. I started my approach, and I knew something was wrong. It turned out to be my feet WAY out of step. I threw the ball right into the gutter. I picked up the spare, and struck out. My score ended up with a 237. If I hadn't choked that first ball in the tenth, I could have had 30 more pins, which would have had me beating him by 1. I would have loved that, but instead I choked. Ya just gotta pull it back in when it doesn't feel right.

On the bright side, our team took four games from a team with two guys with perennial 230 plus averages.

Great job, PackerFanatic! Great game and nice series on top of it!

My team ended up losing 2 out of 3 games tonight, and we actually dropped in the standings because of it. We finished the first half 3rd out of 10 teams. Still not bad. I only shot 610, but we got absolutely destroyed in the games we lost, so even a 700 wouldn't have saved us. Hell, an 800 might not have even helped us. I'm happy with the way our first half went, though, and I'm looking forward to starting the second half next week.

I bowled a 161 the other night. I figured something out. How I figured it out I don't know but I was averaging 120 ish...I don't know my average now but my last 6 games have been above 140 and last 3 above 150

I know its not good , but I'm proud :)

I bowled a 161 the other night. I figured something out. How I figured it out I don't know but I was averaging 120 ish...I don't know my average now but my last 6 games have been above 140 and last 3 above 150

I know its not good , but I'm proud :)

Congrats!

I've got my average over 130 now after having one game of 175+ for three weeks now. We only bowl two games in this league, so the other game has been ordinary.

We won the first quarter, and we bowl like the pressure is off, so that could explain my good games.

Good luck to all of you!

Started my year off with 158, 133, and 97(!!!!)

The beer got to me in the third game. 123 average last year on some tough lanes. Getting over 200 is very rare for anybody where I bowl. Same guys can go down the street and roll a 600 series at a different lane.

Ugh. Just finished cosmic bowling but I bowled pretty bad. 114,131,134.

I'm about to head off to some cosmic bowling right now. I'm hoping for at least one 200, maybe more!

Watch out for black light Kathy griffin. She can leave splits all night.

love kathy griffin splits

My games were a 204 and a 217. I also put up a 140 at the end, but I was bowling my backwards-through-the-legs shot, so that doesn't really count.

Good job. I need to enlist Kathy more often.

Wife is a library employee and this is the second year the organization has held their Christmas party at a local bowling establishment. This year I went again, we had over half the lanes used, and good time by all... (fun to watch library people cut loose. :))

Had two games, (only had two hours to bowl with 5 people), and I had a 86 and a 152 for the night. Hard to see the arrows at the center with the glow bowling on, but, I found the shot for me late in the first game, and then did ok in the second.

Holy fuck, I threw a 207 for my first game tonight. Not bad for a 129 average.

I got wasted at the alley last nite, pretty sure my last game was a 65. I don't remember

This week was our league Xmas party. Lots of food and 'No Tap'. If you've never played that, it means a '9' on the first ball counts as a strike.

I can leave the 10 pin all night long, which I did.

I had a 277 and a 231.

Started with a mix of four real strikes and four 10 pin leaves. Then I hooked too much, missed the head pin and left 3 pins. got the spare and missed the 10-pin the rest of the way for 277. Hard to fathom that one 7 can cost you 23 pins off 300, but it does.

9-pin is so much fun.

edit: and a lot harder than you'd think, haha.

My current average sits at 186, a 10 pin drop off from last season. when I am actually healthy I bowl well, but my sprained wrist and other bowling hand injuries have definitely impacted my bowling. My lifting schedule has a slight negative impact as well. I'd like to get back over 190 at least. It's do able since I have missed a few weeks, I went from 183-186 last week alone.

On the plus side, Darth Vilus (WW posters know him) is averaging a life time high of 203 and has really carried our team so far.

I have had an up and down year so far. Averaging 208 on one night and 200 on another. I have had a cople 700+ series but just as many low 500's to balance it out lol. Actually, I am just trying to keep pace with my 19 year old daughter. She's averaging 208 in her youth league and just a couple weeks ago had a 768 set !

I went bowling last weekend for the first time in 2 years. It was with a bunch of kids from my son's soccer team. My second game was a 146. Yep, I kicked their ass.

I have had an up and down year so far. Averaging 208 on one night and 200 on another. I have had a cople 700+ series but just as many low 500's to balance it out lol. Actually, I am just trying to keep pace with my 19 year old daughter. She's averaging 208 in her youth league and just a couple weeks ago had a 768 set !

Wow, nice!

I went to cosmic bowling tonight for some practice. My first game, I hit the front 10 strikes, then I left the 10 pin on my 11th pitch. That's a 288 and my highest game ever. I then followed that up with a 264 and a 238 for a series of 792. Too bad it was practice and not in league play. It still brings my confidence way up. It was a good night of bowling.

Dola

It was not a good night as far as the company around me, though. I almost got some drunk people on an adjacent lane kicked out. They were not happy with me, nor were they happy with the bowling center staff. One guy in the group actually threw a ball overhand onto the lane, and he also hit the sweep multiple times because he was too impatient to wait for the pins to reset. I told the staff, and the group stared me down while I was ratting on them. Sorry, but I don't want people disrespecting the staff and damaging the equipment that way. Out of respect for the people who work there and treat me very well, I had to report them. On top of that, my league uses the lane that these assholes were on, and I didn't want my league to end up on a screwed up lane because some drunks couldn't control themselves.

Once the group saw that I was reporting them, they calmed down a little bit. Still, about 5 minutes before the place closed, they finished their last game. The staff immediately shut their lane off to try to get them to leave. Instead of leaving, they waited 2 minutes for me to finish my game, and then they tried to throw a ball on the lane I was vacating. I went to the staff and asked them to shut my lane off, too. That made the group mad again, and they bitched out the kid working at the counter. He told them that he knew they were trying to damage the equipment, and he was not going to allow them to bowl anymore tonight. I mean, the place was closing in 3 minutes anyway. There's no point in letting them throw another shot. They were lucky they got to finish their game because they were thisclose to getting ejected from the building.

Wow...I hate drunk people like that.

Wow. Just finished my best night ever. 175,223,208. All high scores. Previous high was 161. I found a line and destroyed it for me. The 208 was a better game then the 223 but I finished awful. 6-2 6-2 in 9 & 10. But regardless I'm super happy.

Wow. Just finished my best night ever. 175,223,208. All high scores. Previous high was 161. I found a line and destroyed it for me. The 208 was a better game then the 223 but I finished awful. 6-2 6-2 in 9 & 10. But regardless I'm super happy.


That is a great night. Especially three all time highs. When I used to throw a high game when I was averaging in the 120s...nights like 112-237-113.

Congrats....Savor it.

We had our mid season position round tonight. We took three of the four games, the first two very close we won by four and lost by 29(Me and our team captain opened the tenth to drop that one).

I went 190-173-225 for a 588 series. My milestone of the night was my first ever 100% clean game. Meaning that I didn't leave any open frames, and finished with a strike. I've shot clean before, but never managed to pull off a strike with the final ball in the tenth. I can cross that one off of my list.

Awesome! Sounds like we both had great nights!

Id love to have a clean game. Soon I hope

Wow...I hate drunk people like that.

In fairness to the drunk part, they are probably assholes when sober as well.

I went to cosmic bowling tonight for some practice. My first game, I hit the front 10 strikes, then I left the 10 pin on my 11th pitch. That's a 288 and my highest game ever. I then followed that up with a 264 and a 238 for a series of 792. Too bad it was practice and not in league play. It still brings my confidence way up. It was a good night of bowling.

Oh man, great bowling. Sucks it wasn't in league play, but it is harder to get in a consistent rhythm over the course of three games in league play due to waiting for 3 other people to bowl before taking your next turn.

I shot another 630 something this past week. I have 6 consecutive 200+ games. My wrist is finally feeling pretty strong and I am back up to 16.5-17mph and my regular snap on the ball. My average is 188 though, hnopefully I can keep crawling my way back up closer to 200.

Oh and Darth Vilus shot another 630 as well. After averaging a lifetime high of 187 or so last season, he has been killing it this season. He is at 203 and has been over 200 since about week 5 (we're like 16 weeks in now).

Is everyone on FOFC hitting their stride at once? I wish we could all get together as a team and just destroy the world.

I was asked to substitute this week at a house I don't normally bowl in. It's a hybrid team/head-to-head league. Basically, each person bowls head-to-head against one opponent for points, but winning as a team also earns points. Of the four people on my team, I was the only one to beat my opponent all three matches. Maybe I should bowl in that house more often, as I have put in 9 games this year, and I am averaging 220 there.

The nice thing about that house is that it tells you the speed of your shot. My "home" house doesn't do that. From bowling in that place in the past, I knew I tended to throw somewhere between 12 and 13 mph. Now I'm at about 14.5 mph. Perhaps the extra speed and improved accuracy have really helped my game there. I'm carrying the back row of pins a lot better than I ever have.

For all the good bowling that's happened lately (207 avg in my own league, 220 avg as a sub, 792 series in practice), I also shot myself in the foot on Sunday. I entered a no-tap doubles tournament. I was terrible. I didn't crack 180 in any of the three games. Then I re-entered with a different partner, and I didn't crack 180 that time either. Six games of no-tap, no scores above 180. Granted, there was some really strange oil pattern on the lanes (they claimed it was a Cheetah, but it was most certainly NOT a Cheetah), and I never figured it out. Still, when does a 200+ bowler put up 6 straight sub-180 no-tap games? Urgh.

I'm begrudgingly going bowling next Friday...Pinstripe Bowling.

I'm begrudgingly going bowling next Friday...Pinstripe Bowling.
You're going to roll bowling balls at the Yankees?

The next time you go bowling and do this, don't feel bad, because it happens to the pros as well.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OWfI5hDutMg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

lol

Finished the first half of the season, and we swept all four points on Thursday position round to jump back up to 4th place for the first half. (We were in 1st for the good part of the season thus far though, but fell to 9th at position night).

I'm back up to a 142 average for the first time in 4 years, looking at bowl.com, my stats show that for the last decade my average has decreased to the point it was last year in the 130s (ugh). This year has been rough as I've missed several weeks due to being overly busy with work and other nights I just am stressed and can't focus right, so actually surprised I've been bowling better than last year.

Finished the first half of the season, and we swept all four points on Thursday position round to jump back up to 4th place for the first half. (We were in 1st for the good part of the season thus far though, but fell to 9th at position night).

I'm back up to a 142 average for the first time in 4 years, looking at bowl.com, my stats show that for the last decade my average has decreased to the point it was last year in the 130s (ugh). This year has been rough as I've missed several weeks due to being overly busy with work and other nights I just am stressed and can't focus right, so actually surprised I've been bowling better than last year.
You may have mentioned this before and I can't remember, but for how many years have you been bowling? I'm just asking because I wonder if maybe you've gone through a period of bowling burnout but are finally getting out of it.

You may have mentioned this before and I can't remember, but for how many years have you been bowling? I'm just asking because I wonder if maybe you've gone through a period of bowling burnout but are finally getting out of it.


Roughly 9-10 years or so. I've always been a casual bowler though, only one league a year, don't bowl in the summer I play softball then instead. I've never taken lessons, don't throw a hook so pretty much rely on picking up spares. Best game ever was in a no-tap tournament where I bowled a 240 (had a perfect game through 7 and then a split in the 8th messed me up).

Not sure if I feel burned out, unless you are talking about something else.. just never really improved too much and actually my average has slowly gone down over the years until finally rebounding a little bit this year. Not back up to where I used to be at 150+ though.

Roughly 9-10 years or so. I've always been a casual bowler though, only one league a year, don't bowl in the summer I play softball then instead. I've never taken lessons, don't throw a hook so pretty much rely on picking up spares. Best game ever was in a no-tap tournament where I bowled a 240 (had a perfect game through 7 and then a split in the 8th messed me up).

Not sure if I feel burned out, unless you are talking about something else.. just never really improved too much and actually my average has slowly gone down over the years until finally rebounding a little bit this year. Not back up to where I used to be at 150+ though.
Yeah, I thought you might have been feeling burned out over the past couple of years which is why your average could drop. Because I bowl constantly, I hit these patches where I feel burned out and don't bowl my best. For me, the burnout could happen at anytime - beginning, middle, or end of season - because I never stop.

Nothing wrong with a 130, 140, or 150 average, especially if you're having fun.

Nothing wrong with a 130, 140, or 150 average, especially if you're having fun.


I use a ball over 35 years old. My dad used to use a ball with no hook in it also but he changed. I don't really care about upgrading just as long as I can beat my dad still.

I enjoy the close games with my dad, about 15 percent of the time he beats me. I want to beat him every time but want competitive games with him.

Figured Pumpy should know this. If you click on the link, you'll get to see a badass "pins on fire" picture.

YaleNews | Bowlers strike with a hot hand, too (http://news.yale.edu/2012/01/12/bowlers-strike-hot-hand-too)

Bowlers strike with a hot hand, too

By Helen Dodson
January 12, 2012

Is the so-called “hot hand” phenomenon in sports a reality or just an illusion based on misperception of random sequences? For the second time in recent months, a Yale study supports the notion that it is real. The study appears online in the journal PLoS One.

The “hot hand” phenomenon refers to the belief that an athlete is more likely to make successful shots if the previous shots were successful. But until recently, there was no scientific evidence to support the existence of this phenomenon.

Last October, Gur Yaari, computational biologist at Yale School of Medicine, and colleague Shmuel Eisenmann demonstrated the existence of the phenomenon in basketball. They showed that there was a significant increase in basketball players’ chances of hitting the second free throw in a two-shot series compared to the first one, and that the probability of hitting the second shot is greater following a hit than a miss. It was unclear, however, whether there was a cause and effect (causal) connection between the result of one shot and the next.

In a new study, Yaari and colleague Gil David of the Yale Department of Mathematics showed that the “hot hand” phenomenon exists among bowlers as well. They also found evidence that the phenomenon is not due to a causal feedback mechanism, commonly referred to as “success breeds success,” but is a consequence of large fluctuations in player performances over time that result in some bad games and some very good games.

The researchers analyzed large amounts of data from the Professional Bowling Association, studying the results from available records of the top 100 players.

The performances of individual players fluctuated significantly. Researchers noted that within each game successes (strikes) and failures (non-strikes) were not necessarily clustered together, but spread out uniformly.

They found that although the result of one frame does not directly influence the next (a strike does not “cause” another strike and a miss does not “cause” another miss), it was clear that getting strikes in one game made it more likely that a player would get more strikes in that game – hence the presence of the “hot hand” phenomenon.

Researchers showed that such correlations in good and bad games can be used to improve the prediction power of the last frames in a game based on the scores in the beginning.

“The observed correlation allows us to improve our ability to predict the result of the last frames of a game based on the series of preceding frames,” Yaari explained. “The fact that a player had good results in the first eight frames of a game indicates that the probability of bowling a strike in the last two frames will be higher.”

So what causes the “hot hand” phenomenon? The Yale team said there is more research to be done.

“Our study shows that a player's performance is not affected by the results of previous trials, but rather by other factors,” Yaari said. “It shows that in contrast to previous belief, athlete's results could not be explained by pure random independent process. This opens the door for future studies addressing the question of what really cause athletes to perform better and how could they use this kind of knowledge to improve their performance.”

Citation: PLoS One

After the way I bowled last night, good thing they didn't use me in that study.

That would be a ridiculously cool logo on a bowling shirt.

After the way I bowled last night, good thing they didn't use me in that study.

I had 5 splits in my first 7 frames last night. Maybe this study means after I had one split, I was bound to keep getting more splits after? :)

I had 5 splits in my first 7 frames last night. Maybe this study means after I had one split, I was bound to keep getting more splits after? :)

You know, that's a good point. I didn't think of it from that angle. My second to last game was, I kid you not: 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, /, 9, 9. How I managed to pick up that one spare, I have no idea. So yes, I had the hot 'bad' hand. :)

I definitely believe that...after a couple bad frames in a row, I am certainly in my own head and starting to feel like even the small adjustments I make are doing no good. I hate games like that. The headgames are terrible :)

Well since I throw a straight ball, the difference between a strike and a split for me is sometimes pretty small. So when I get certain splits, i try to not let it bug me too much and I just try to throw what I feel should be the same ball again. When I start moving around my spot too much after a split, I usually end up getting a whole bunch of worse results. I just never have quite had that streak of splits before like that. Probably didn't help that we ended up with the bad lane last night that the ball kept getting stuck on the return. So we would have to wait a good 2-3 minutes between our first and second ball. Finally they ended up just having a guy down there the rest of the night manually returning balls for our lane.

Well since I throw a straight ball, the difference between a strike and a split for me is sometimes pretty small. So when I get certain splits, i try to not let it bug me too much and I just try to throw what I feel should be the same ball again. When I start moving around my spot too much after a split, I usually end up getting a whole bunch of worse results. I just never have quite had that streak of splits before like that. Probably didn't help that we ended up with the bad lane last night that the ball kept getting stuck on the return. So we would have to wait a good 2-3 minutes between our first and second ball. Finally they ended up just having a guy down there the rest of the night manually returning balls for our lane.

Dude - thank you for reminding me, lol. A couple weeks ago, during practice, one of the lanes we were on stopped returning balls. I think 3 different people (including myself) got balls stuck before we stopped and called the front desk...took them about 5 minutes to fix it and send all the balls back..and they were absolutely covered in oil and grime. I wiped the ball down pretty well, but it really needs a good cleaning and I didn't have time before starting to put it in the machine. Totally forgot to go early and do it last week and I was going to do it this week. So thanks for the reminder :)

I am about to miss my first league session ever. I woke up sick this morning, and I am not in any condition to bowl. What a bummer.

Also, I love the pins on fire image.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Aiu5E2FbrrE/T0vUAvgpFqI/AAAAAAAAB-k/APF3qZMM5hg/s1600/Untitled.jpg

Quick recap of my bowling season:

My team finished second for the third year in a row.
I won an $800 strike pot.
I had to give half of the strike pot money away because I had made a deal with one of the other league members. We split a strip of tickets, and if one of those tickets got chosen, I would throw the shot and split the money with him if I made it. He made $400 sitting on his ass.
My final average was 210. I made one of my goals for the season (200+ average). I just missed my other goal of achieving a 750 series. Two months ago, I bowled a 746.

Final week-by-week stats are linked in my sig.

I am bowling three leagues in the summer. They kick off in about three weeks.

Haven't bowled since this little Fall league ended last year right before Thanksgiving. First night last night.

666.

I'm bowling with the devil. Bow before my greatness!

Haven't bowled since this little Fall league ended last year right before Thanksgiving. First night last night.

666.

I'm bowling with the devil. Bow before my greatness!

Nice! My first of two fall candlepin leagues kicked off on Tuesday night.

322 (92-113-117), third highest series on the night.

Down here in Maryland, we have our 3rd DUCKPIN Tour stop of the season coming up at College Park, Maryland. The 1st stop of the year I picked up my first star (win) and I'm currently averaging 150 on tour.

Last year at College Park I was top qualifier on Saturday and lost the final match on Sunday to come in 2nd place. Hope to perform as well as I did then.

Our website is www.pwpt.net (http://www.pwpt.net) if anyone is interested.

Awesome. We've got all three major forms of bowling covered here.

Monday night men's league started tonight. Anchored my team with a 101, 122, 108. 653 in six total league games, 108.83 average. I think it's only going to climb. Starting to find myself again.

2nd week of the season (my average is 166), tonight I rolled a 198, 246, 172 for my first 600-series (616) and the 246 is my personal high. I rolled a 242 about 15 years ago. The bad thing: we lost all three games, one of the opponents had a 695 and another had a 639. Lost the last game by one pin.

Our 3rd Duckpin tour stop of the season concluded this past weekend, I bowled well but not good enough to qualify for Sunday.
126-189-120-148-139-142 = 864 Ended up missing the cut by 17 pins.

Last night was Week 2 of Monday league play, 142-176-153 = 471 we were able to win 3 points but lost the last game by 5 pins.

MCK, what is considered a good duckpin average?

Just looked up a little on duckpins. 150 is considered a top average, so it looks like MCK had a solid night out.

As for me, just started bowling again this past summer after taking a couple years off (used to do 2-3 nights a week from the time I was a senior in HS, then lost the joy). Average peaked at 212, usually 195-205 range.

Anyway, at 32, just shot my personal best series-- 254-234-255 for a 743 set. Only problem is this was the first week of the fall season, so my handicap will be based off a 247 :\

MCK, what is considered a good duckpin average?

There is a learning curve. If you've never bowled duckpins before, if you can average 100-110, that would be great. The league I run on Monday's, we have 48 bowlers and the league average is 120. The pro league I bowl in on Wednesday's, the league average is 138.

The top averages now are usually around 150-152. The record for 1 season is 164, but the lanes are not the same now. Duckpin alleys are closing, 2 just closed in the last 3 months. Parts are hard to get and youth leagues are getting smaller and smaller each season.

Over the last 10 years, I've been consistently in the low 140's. Last season I had 141 and 143 in 2 leagues and 146 tournament average.

It's not any easy game and takes years to be consistent. You need to be able to make spares. It's not as hard as candlepins, but there is a lot of skill involved. You're not going to just pick up a little ball and chuck it down the lane and think you are going to do well.

Nice set Ron Mexico!

Just looked up a little on duckpins. 150 is considered a top average, so it looks like MCK had a solid night out.

As for me, just started bowling again this past summer after taking a couple years off (used to do 2-3 nights a week from the time I was a senior in HS, then lost the joy). Average peaked at 212, usually 195-205 range.

Anyway, at 32, just shot my personal best series-- 254-234-255 for a 743 set. Only problem is this was the first week of the fall season, so my handicap will be based off a 247 :\

I've bowled with the same team 3 years now. This guy bowled a 737 last Wednesday. The first year we bowled, he had a 231 average after 12 games. Ended the season with a 209 average and we went from 2nd place in a 20 team league to 17. Hard to win when you bowl great at the start, seem like some don't try as hard early in the season which is pretty sad.

Glad to see this thread kicking again :) We had our first week of the new season this past Friday, but due to my brother's wedding rehearsal, we had actually pre-bowled a few weeks back. I rolled a 480 series, which is pretty good for me...hoping I didn't kill my handicap to start the year and that it is actually a sign of good things this year!

I've bowled with the same team 3 years now. This guy bowled a 737 last Wednesday. The first year we bowled, he had a 231 average after 12 games. Ended the season with a 209 average and we went from 2nd place in a 20 team league to 17. Hard to win when you bowl great at the start, seem like some don't try as hard early in the season which is pretty sad.

Held a 231 for 4 weeks? Yeah, that'll hurt for a while.

Agree with you about the effort though-- I don't bowl in the higher money leagues anymore, just got tired of the the antics, but watching guys deliberately sandbag was nauseating. Stuff like the anchor for a winning team intentionally throw back-to-back 10th frame gutters, missing easy spares etc. I look at it this way-- if my team wins, it's because we gave it 100%. If we lose, I want your 100%-- whether that means losing by 1 or 100.

In other news, I want to try duckpin bowling. Mechanics-wise, do you still take a 5-step approach and slide, etc? Or is it a shorter delivery? From the looks of it, I'm about 100 miles away from the closest center, but it certainly looks interesting.

Through 9 games in 2 of my 3 Candlepin leagues.

http://i.imgur.com/IJAdZ.png

If I caught somebody deliberately sandbagging (and a double-gutter in the 10th frame is most certainly sandbagging), I'd have that person's sanction card revoked.

If I caught somebody deliberately sandbagging (and a double-gutter in the 10th frame is most certainly sandbagging), I'd have that person's sanction card revoked.

Best part? It was a league officer.

In other news, I want to try duckpin bowling. Mechanics-wise, do you still take a 5-step approach and slide, etc? Or is it a shorter delivery? From the looks of it, I'm about 100 miles away from the closest center, but it certainly looks interesting.

I personally take a 5 step approach, but my steps are short. I see more 4 steps than 5 but it just doesn't feel right to me. I've also seen plenty of 3 steps.

Sandbagging is a hard thing to prove even if the guy is a 220 bowler throw 2 gutterballs in the 10th.

I've never understood sandbagging. I've always bowled one way: to do the best I can. I know we've got guys who sandbag in the Monday night league, but it's absolutely very difficult to prove.

only way to not worry about sandbagging is scratch leagues.
Unfortunately any handicap league with good prize money attracts baggers.

Held a 231 for 4 weeks? Yeah, that'll hurt for a while.

Agree with you about the effort though-- I don't bowl in the higher money leagues anymore, just got tired of the the antics, but watching guys deliberately sandbag was nauseating. Stuff like the anchor for a winning team intentionally throw back-to-back 10th frame gutters, missing easy spares etc. I look at it this way-- if my team wins, it's because we gave it 100%. If we lose, I want your 100%-- whether that means losing by 1 or 100.

In other news, I want to try duckpin bowling. Mechanics-wise, do you still take a 5-step approach and slide, etc? Or is it a shorter delivery? From the looks of it, I'm about 100 miles away from the closest center, but it certainly looks interesting.

Guess I have a selective memory because I looked up my post about it. Probably didn't want to talk crap about him since he was such a better bowler than I. He averaged 236 through 15 games. Pretty sure his average dipped below 200 by end of season now that I think about it more. He had shoulder surgery..... Said before we bowled last week that he was going to go into this season with a more determined mindset. Bowled like he did before the surgery for about the 4 th time in 80 times...... maybe he'll keep bowling like that because it's pretty impressive and fun to watch.

only way to not worry about sandbagging is scratch leagues.
Unfortunately any handicap league with good prize money attracts baggers.

We have 32 teams and 8 dollars a week goes to the pool for 36 weeks so it pays pretty good for the top 5 who get additional money on top of the money the get for points won. Be cool of they went away with money for top places and just paid points as it just ruins the fun seeing someone sandbag.

112+115+96+96=419 disappointing tonight. This is a double leagues and I'm currently with a vacant, only took four points. Last two strings hurt me, lost the first by 3, won the second by 3, lost the third by 16 and won the fourth by 11, missed grand total by six pins.

My average through 13 games in all leagues is a 110, down from 112.33. 110 was my personal goal for the end of the season, so I'm hoping I can sustain.

I personally take a 5 step approach, but my steps are short. I see more 4 steps than 5 but it just doesn't feel right to me. I've also seen plenty of 3 steps.

I'll have to take a ride to see it in action. Definitely couldn't do 4-- would mean either starting or ending on the wrong foot for me. Thinking I'd try to do 5 so as its foundation is the same as my 10-pin style, then adjust from there.

I know I'd need a ball, but I'm assuming I could use the same shoes (i.e. the approaches are the same material)?

Sandbagging is a hard thing to prove even if the guy is a 220 bowler throw 2 gutterballs in the 10th.
Hard to prove, yes. Hard to spot, however, not at all. Of course, I'm a league president, and even if I couldn't really get a sanction card revoked, I sure as hell could convince the other officers and the captains to kick the person out.

I picked up bowling to get closer to my dad 3 years ago. He finally started enjoying life a little again, when bowling it used to bring me down being around him because he was always so negative. This year I bowled 502 which is pretty decent for using a 35 year old ball. I had a pretty good mind set going into tonight and thought I'd do well. In the first game about the 6 frame I hit the brooklyn side of the head pin. I'm not sure if it was the 1 pin or the 3 pin, but I was watching it closely and I saw the 6 10 standing. A pin came out of the gutter and I was hoping it would knock them both over. It taped the 6 pin over and then somehow stood up in front of the 10 pin but was even way more forward than the 6 pin. The rest of the night I couldn't get my mind focused. Pins I knock over are standing back up, you have to be @@@@@@@ kidding me.

I know I'd need a ball, but I'm assuming I could use the same shoes (i.e. the approaches are the same material)?

All lanes have alley balls that you could use.

Shoes are the same. I just bought a new pair of Linds this weekend.

Pro League was last night, 108-163-158 = 429 Lost the 1st, then we won the rest. 1st game I kept dropping my shoulder and the bowl went straight to the 2 pin. Figured out what I was doing the last 2 games. 4 weeks in we sit in 1st place (22-6 record).

All lanes have alley balls that you could use.

How much difference is there between the house balls and custom stuff? As bad as 10-pin?

Also, good call on the Linds-- been using nothing but them since I was a teenager. A little more expensive, but well worth it imo.

Hard to prove, yes. Hard to spot, however, not at all. Of course, I'm a league president, and even if I couldn't really get a sanction card revoked, I sure as hell could convince the other officers and the captains to kick the person out.

Man that pisses me off to no end. We have some really good bowlers in our area and there is no need to do it at all but it still happens. In one league I was in we had to institute a 10 pin drop rule and it all but killed my team last year as 80% of the team honestly dropped 15+ pins due to harder lane conditions. Last week I was bowling in the anchor position and we had the game and set locked up and I stepped up and threw 3 strikes in the 10th to finish with a 679. A bowler on the other team looked at me like I was crazy and said I was to honest. I just shook my head. I love to bowl and any chance I have to put up a decent score I am going try my hardest. Law of averages will kick in anyway, can't afford to give away a 650+ set when I know there is a 450+ right around the corner.

Tonight, I am granting a bowler's request to change teams due to personality clashes. What I'm ultimately dreading, however, is his old team protesting the transfer because they want to piss him off. Hoo boy, being a league president is fun.

Back to weekly league action. 101+111+132 = 344. The team took all 8 points. Feels good, man.

Overall through 16 leagues games I'm bowling at a 111.1 clip.

I was on fire last night. Monday league

1st game - 169 double header in the 10th to win by 13.
2nd game - 167, start off spare, 4 bagger, then proceed to open the last 5 frames
3rd game - double, spare, open, double, miss single, make single, double 201 game

537 set

Since this is a handicap league, our averages don't change from last season until after 9 games so next week, instead of using a 141 average, I get to use a 159.

Grover - nice last game

Since this is a handicap league, our averages don't change from last season until after 9 games so next week, instead of using a 141 average, I get to use a 159.

Grover - nice last game

Thanks!

So your league uses a cushioned average too. We use one for the first 10 weeks and then it moves to what you're actually bowling in the league. So I'm at a 99 or 100 from last year, but working at a center and bowling after work everyday I've fined tuned myself, should be able to pull the 111 all the way through.

Threw a 107, 133, 99 for a 339. We lost the last game by 7, completely my fault. My teammates bowled above their averages, I was way under. Tied going into the 10th frame, I punch through the head pin and my opposite spares. No chance from there. But we took 6, so that's good.

My average has nudged up .1 and is at 111.21

We got spanked in our second week. My buddy, who typically averages 150 or so, threw a 114 and a 124 in his first two games...the proceeded to throw a 236 in his third game. Not sure what happened there - but it helped keep his average up :)

We got spanked in our second week. My buddy, who typically averages 150 or so, threw a 114 and a 124 in his first two games...the proceeded to throw a 236 in his third game. Not sure what happened there - but it helped keep his average up :)

Oh man, that 114 is absolutely brutal.

I've got to do a compare/contrast essay for English Comp, I am considering doing it on ten pin / candlepin / duckpin

Oh man, that 114 is absolutely brutal.

It was a rough night in general for us, so that was pretty par for the course unfortunately. That's why the 236 was so ridiculous, lol.

4233

I'm looking like the top male/bowler on Tuesday nights.

My issue here is, I actually have 2/3 of the top series and top single game highs. My 339 last night and 130 last week are left off, since they will only show a person once in each category.

Dominating.

That creep can roll, man.

Rough night tonight. 99, 101, 129, 99 = 428. 9 pins better than last Weds though. Only took 2 points. It's tough with a vacant.

My overall average stands at 110.48 through 23 total games.

Rough night for me too.

Wednesday Pro Duckpin League 117-131-185 = 433
Lost all 7 points and I had a chance in the last frame of both the 2nd and 3rd games and blew it. Even though I hit my average for set, I felt like I bowled like crap. Sitting at 143 in this league.

Rough night last night. 109+104+100 for a 313 and my worst night of the season. Team took six points and I did manage to win $40 in the bracket.

Unfortunately, someone hit Spare Cash for $3,775, so that jackpot is done.

Monday Night Mixed League

4 weeks in using 159 average - bowled 135-121-158= 414, average goes down to 154, we won 3 out of 4 points.

We started 0-4, but now have won the last 10 out of 12.

Another rough night, or maybe I'm coming back down to earth.

108+88+112 = 308

We took six and should be 24-8 after 4 weeks.

Huge night in the four string league. Bowling with a vacant, picking up points is tough, but I got 8/10 tonight.

127+114+126+112 = 479.

Series high in the league thus far.

Nice bowling!

Wed Pro League

179-154-134 = 467 We only got 2 out of 7 points. The other team bowled really well.

18 games - 145.72 average

Alright. Thursday night is our league night here. We are in 2nd place, just 1 game behind the 1st place team.

Last week I bowled: 122+161+136 = 419
My average so far this season is 126

I have a real hard time picking up spares. I don't get too many splits, so it's not that. I seem to way over compensate when trying to pick up a spare and completely miss. Most of my first rolls are 8s and 9s with an occasional 7 or 6 thrown in.

Finally busted out of a big slump this past Friday. Didn't throw any practice shots, left my first frame open (a damn 4-7 leave which I make 95% of the time), proceeded to close out the final 29 frames to finish with a 693 for the night. Still looking for my first clean series. This is my second time doing 29 out of 30. Still, the team won all three games, so I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

Monday was pretty awful. 92+94+102 = 288. By far my lowest total of the year. We took 5 points (split grand total).

Sort of got it back tonight. 104+115+107 = 326. We took 7 points (tied the first game) and I threw the high series of the week for the Tuesday league.

Monday League:
We had a Sunday match to make up for the holidays this year, I missed the first game, then we had our normal Monday night match
S 153-139= 292
M 139-164-175= 478 (I am the last bowler, had a 4 bagger in the last game to pull out the win by 2)
Entering average 141
Average after 17 games: 154.12

Wednesday Pro Travel League:
We also had a Sunday match for this one plus last night's match
S 138-132-152= 422
W 157-153-134= 444 (last bowler again, 2nd game spare and 8in the 10th to win by 3, 3rd game, double in the 10th, won by 6)
Entering Average 143
Average after 24 games: 145.38

Wednesday was an up and down struggle.

94 (with no marks), 124, 110, 96 = 423.

After 43 strings, I'm sitting at 108.9.

We shot video of one of my teammates bowling last season. Every time new bowlers join the league, I ask the new bowlers to count how many steps my teammate takes. Everyone always comes up with different answers. FOFC, I respectfully ask: How many steps is she taking here?

http://i.imgur.com/fWL0t.gif

6

I'm gonna go with 7 or 8.

I feel as if it's 7, because she starts with her right and finishes with her left, which would make it an odd number.

See what I mean? :)

I'm gonna go with 7 or 8.

I feel as if it's 7, because she starts with her right and finishes with her left, which would make it an odd number.

How would that make it an odd number?:confused:

R,L,R,L,R,L

I say 6 and it doesn't even look like she slides at all. I'd trip over my own feet if I did that little toe tap. :lol:

TCY Junkie gonna kill himself on the lanes. Calling it now.



I totally should be more focused, like I am when I play racquetball. I drove from a relatives house in Dallas Monday morning so I loosened up my belt for the long drive home. Got to bowling and forget about it...... my jeans covered my heel in the third frame, as my feet flew out from under me my back felt the effects of gravity. I tapped my head a little, didn't think much of it but an hour later I could tell I hit the back of my head decent as I had a headache in the front. Crazy.

Monday League
140-162-121= 423 Had 16 spares, 3 strikes, way too many bad counts, we were missing a bowler but were able to steal 1 point out of 4

Ent Avg: 141 Cur Avg: 152.15 (20gms)
3rd Place - 2 games out

Wednesday Pro League
164-141-178= 483 Had 8 spares, 11 strikes, 3 double, won 5 points out of 7

Ent Avg: 143 Cur Avg: 147.11 (27gms)
4th Place - 3.5 games out

Great start to the season, tournament next week so hopefully I continue this good bowling.

Rough night. 402. 99, 117, 94, 93.

Couldn't find the headpin. Tournament on Saturday, need to get with it.

I would say 8. There is a 4 step shuffle in the middle. 2 step start and 2 step finish.

We shot video of one of my teammates bowling last season. Every time new bowlers join the league, I ask the new bowlers to count how many steps my teammate takes. Everyone always comes up with different answers. FOFC, I respectfully ask: How many steps is she taking here?

http://i.imgur.com/fWL0t.gif

First tournament of the Maine State Candlepin Bowling Association is complete.

It was a singles tournament

1,103 + 350 = 1,463 with handicap.

I finished 9th out of 75 men. This means I get paid. I'm very happy, especially since it's my first tournament since I was 17. I wanted to finish top 15 and did.

Next up is the doubles tournament on Nov 17, 18.

Congrats, Grover!

By the way, I don't know the correct answer to the number of steps my teammate takes. She doesn't even know how many steps she takes. :)

Thanks, Pumpy!

I had two games under my average for the tournament (110.3). I opened with an 85 and in the 6th game hump I bowled a 94. That's 41 pins off my average right there. Would have had me in the top 5.

Practice makes near-perfect.

That video is great - I would totally do a faceplant if I did that, haha.

Starting to maybe find my groove in my league. Led the team with a 467 series, which should bump up my average a bit (currently at a 141, down from the end of last year). I badly need new equipment, but I am working with what I got for now :)

Threw a 484 tonight.

152 + 115 + 104 + 113.

My average is right around a 107 overall. Averaging a 121 tonight was great.

In news of the doubles tournament, I am now bowling on the 24th at 9am. The house only has 8 lanes (seriously), so they're doing it over two weekends with three shifts a day.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/402377_290774414377580_848650637_n.jpg

New set of balls!

Well, this thread has been dead for awhile, I may as well add a post.

Back in April, I made it to the State Eliminations All Events finals after qualifying through the eight tournaments held every year.

I was the 9 seed going in and beat the 8 seed, 1 seed, 4 seed and 7 seed on my way to becoming the Maine State Candlepin Champion!

I bowled a 1224 scratch on the day for 10 strings to beat my good friend in the final.

The $500 check was nice too.

Congrats, I rolled a high triple for me in my candlepin league of 226 (yeah, not great, but considering this is my first league), I was doing really well in the first two games, but the fact that I was the only one bowling for my team (the other two active members of the team pre-bowled) meant that I felt like I was rushing, and my deliveries started drifting (both ways).. so I was all over the place in the third string.

I know that feeling well, especially if you don't have someone bowling against you on your paired lane.

Always slow down, take your time. Rushing yourself only hurts you in the end. This is what I tell the kids I teach anyway.

Are you using the prototypical three-step approach? Or just kind of winging it as far as form goes?

And honestly, if you can hold around a 75-80 in your first league, you're doing pretty well. Especially in summer, pins don't fall nearly as well with the humidity. Generally speaking a candlepin league average is right around 85 and 90% of league bowlers are under 100.

Kinda winging it, either a three or five step.

For the two leagues (Wed and Fri), I'm doing about a 65-70.. Wed's first two games were the most consistent I'd been, and I think that was because I was getting in a rythym, and managing to throw "one good ball" later in the frame..

I finally got myself a new (used) ball toward the end of last season, and holy crap did it help immensely. A friend on another team was getting rid of a ball he had and offered it to me. Still in great shape, he just had no use for it. It has a finger-tip grip (which I've wanted to go to) and quite a bit more spin potential than I am used to. I got it re-drilled for myself (which is also something I didn't do with the last hand-me-down ball I got...big mistake) and I saw immediate effects. It's amazing when the ball actually does what you want it to do! I also threw a 222 in my second-to-last week of the season, which was a season-high for me. Very excited to start a new season with this ball - the sky is the limit! :)

Last year was my all-time personal best with a team-high average of 145, which was 155 for the second half of the season--after I turned 63.

I finally got my ball movement controlled after using it since 1975, so I'm a bit hesitant to get a new, modern one. But my wife wants to replace her old 16-pounder with a 12 or 13 pound modern ball, so I suppose I'll join her and get a 15-pounder.

What weight do you fellows throw? Two very good bowlers my age told me they dropped from 16 to 15 and 14 respectively and said I should not need a 16-pounder any more.

My problem with the old ball is that I can put it in the pocket all night long, but I don't often get strikes. So I need modern pin action if I'm going to improve my score. Or play No-tap all season long where I'm good for 250-300 every game.

I can tell you from experience going to a 15 helped me quite a bit.

Switched 2-3 years ago after having a bit of elbow trouble that wouldn't really flare up until the 3rd game.

What I found, especially as the oil patterns broke down a bit, was that I wasn't maintaining a consistent ball speed which would lead to plenty of nights of 220-220-160 (I average in the 195-210 range depending on the house).

The 1lb difference isn't as noticeable from shot to shot, but especially late and even more so in tournaments, it was a huge huge gain for me and even at 33, I'm not going back to a 16.

Also, for your wife, see if she'd feel comfortable at 14 lbs. Could just be anecdotal, but dropping lower than that seems to affect the pin action afaic.

I can tell you from experience going to a 15 helped me quite a bit.

Switched 2-3 years ago after having a bit of elbow trouble that wouldn't really flare up until the 3rd game.

What I found, especially as the oil patterns broke down a bit, was that I wasn't maintaining a consistent ball speed which would lead to plenty of nights of 220-220-160 (I average in the 195-210 range depending on the house).

The 1lb difference isn't as noticeable from shot to shot, but especially late and even more so in tournaments, it was a huge huge gain for me and even at 33, I'm not going back to a 16.

Also, for your wife, see if she'd feel comfortable at 14 lbs. Could just be anecdotal, but dropping lower than that seems to affect the pin action afaic.

Thanks for the reply. I'll add it to my 'no more 16' data.

Yes, I'm trying hard to get my wife to stick at 14. She dropped her ancient 16 and changed to a lane ball that I think was 13 and felt good about it. She's picked up more arthur-itis (as Fred Sanford used to say) than me even though she's a year younger, and that's in the decision.

I was using a 14 for the longest time and found a major difference when I moved to the 15. I think my newest is a 16 and it has been helping quite a bit, as noted above :)

They ended the league early at one bowling alley, new ownership and remodeling. Won't have leagues at all there ever they say. The other other one breaks down often. Wednesday the machines couldn't keep score. Most surprisingly the vote to bowl or not bowl keeping score by hand was overwhelmingly no bowl. Shocked the hell out of me. People were making a big deal about keeping score and most didn't seem to know how. I could have kept score for 6 of the 20 teams myself. Just shocking.

I started to bowl in age 12 with best bowling ball for straight bowlers (https://bowlingocean.com/best-bowling-ball-for-straight-bowlers/) and i have no idea how to throw it and after 2 to 3 weeks I just cross 150+ score. it was amazing time when i was thinking i will not score even 100 and after that time even i score 200+.

jb? is that you?