Monday was the 12th week (first week of the 2nd session) for the Industrial League in Smyrna.  After winning session 1 & qualifying for the roll-offs, there was no pressure on Jeannie Almon State Farm.  So I told myself to just have fun, like I did last week.  Although lanes 3 & 4 to me are the toughest in the house (because lane 4 gives a bad rack with the pins appearing to be off the spot almost all the time), I still did pretty good under these circumstances.  My games were respectable: 235, 222, & 217 for a nice 674 series with no open frames!  I won 2 out of 3 points (lost in the last game 234-217), bringing my season record to 28.5 wins, 7.5 losses.  Also, I have now bowled A 200 game or better in 34 out of 36 games for this league.  Every time I look at these fabulous stats, I still cringe at them.  I hope I can continue this good bowling for the rest of the league.

Saturday will be week 6 of the Guys & Dolls league in Smyrna.  Our team, Ballslingers, is bowling against the first place team A & R Glass & we are currently 5 points behind them.  So if we want to make a run for this league title, we need to win all 4 points against them if possible.

Again, I have decided to not bowl in the Nashville City Tournament @ Oak Valley Lanes November 7th & 8th, and November 14th & 15th due to prior commitments.

Until next week, my the balls be rollin' & the pins be fallin'!!!

Monday was the 11th week for the Industrial League in Smyrna, which meant that it was also POSITION WEEK!  "Jeanne Almon State Farm" came into the final week of session 1 in the lead by 5 points over "ICY HOT" meaning that we had to win 9.5 points against them to clinch first place & earn the spot in the April roll-offs. This team is loaded with great bowlers all carrying an average over 215 (scratch is 210 or better).  My opponent was Kyle Barnes, who in my personal opinion, is the best bowler in Smyrna Bowling Center & one of the best bowlers in the entire state.  Kyle will one day get to compete on the professional bowler's tour, there is no doubt in my mind about that.  He has already cashed in PBA south regional events this year.  But the night luckily belonged to me & State Farm.

I said luckily because I was able to carry a lot of light hit strikes last night. maybe close to 50% of my strikes were light hits that carried.  Kyle on the other hand was not getting any breaks at all with his more aggressive ball.  My first game started like a dream as I opened with a 10 bagger en route to a 288 game!  Teammate Mark Jahns also helped to lead the charge with an 11 strike 279 game!  We ended up with 5 points won in game one.  Game two saw some transition take place with the oil on the lanes.  I rolled a 7-10 split in the third frame for my only open frame of the night.  Then again in frame 5, the ball this time went high leaving a 4-7-10 split, but I did not get down from the bad shot and made a wonderful spare conversion of the split to keep me in the game.  As Kyle continued to struggle with his game, I became more relaxed as I followed the split conversion with a 4-bagger.  Kyle then left a 4-6-7-10 "big 4" split which really unraveled him.  As a result, I finished with a 216 game, winning my point & the team again took 5 points.  At this stage, State Farm had won more than enough points to clinch the top spot in session 1.  Game 3 was a game with no more pressure since we had the session wrapped up neat & tidy, but I remained focused on my game continuing to adjust to the changing oil conditions.  I went spare, spare, 4-bagger, spare, turkey, spare for a solid 247 game.  I won my 3rd point of the night, our team took 4 more points for the game, plus 2 more for the overall total to finish with 16 points for the night.  My series of 751 is my highest one this season & 4th 700 overall.  My record is now an unbelievable 26.5 wins, 6.5 losses.  At the end of week 11, I have rolled an amazing 31 out of 33 games of 200 or better.  It makes me cringe to see these numbers.  It's like a dream!

The next session for the Industrial League will be a most difficult one as we have to again roll against ICY HOT as well as Get R Done, Bowler's Advantage Pro Shop, Solid 10 Pro Shop, & T's Pro Shop.

The Guys & Dolls League has completed 5 weeks of bowling now & our team, Ballslingers, has compiled a 12-8 record.  The Lanes on Saturday Night have been challenging with each lane showing a different shot.  So adjustments have been critical to posting high scores.  Week 6 will have us bowl against A & R Glass who was in the top spot going into week 5's action.

Sadly, I have decided to not participate in the Nashville City Tournament @ Oak Valley Lanes because of conflicting schedules occurring each weekend.  One weekend involves the Guys & Dolls League, The other concerns activities @ my church.

Until next week, may the balls be rollin' & the pins be fallin'!

We are now 8 weeks into the industrial league & Jeannie Almon State Farm is still rolling strong.  My season record is now an unbelievable 18 wins, 6 losses and the average is sitting @ a cozy 228.54/game.  My streak is also unbelievable rolling 23 out of 24 games of 200 or better.  The team is holding on to 1st place by 8.5 points over ICY HOT (featuring Kyle Barnes, his mother Candace Lindsey, Tony Lindsey, Chris White, Jerry White, & substitute Caycee Landers) all of these bowlers are averaging 215 or better (no team handicap).  So with 3 weeks remaining in session 1, our team has  at least an opportunity to win the session & qualify for the roll-offs in April 2010.  Another team with a chance this session is the defending champions Get R Done (they have all but 1 of their bowlers averaging 210 or better).  we need to finish this session just like we started this session, STRONG!  If we can do that, we will win this session.

Guys and dolls league is hitting some bumps for our team.  Ed Zygadlo is determined to bowl this season no matter what.  Despite is surgery, he has been great in his 2 weeks of competition.  But the lanes have been soaked with heavier oil than usual and thus my ball reaction is less that pleasing.  But the league is still early in the season & we hope to be in contention when the time comes.

Until next time, may the balls be rollin' & the pins be fallin'.

Industrial League update after week 5:

My scores continue to be consistant in the 200s, I have rolled 14 out of 15 games in the 200+ range & my average holds at 224/game.  My record now stands @ 10 wins & 5 losses after a 3 game sweep on 9/14/09.  Our team was sitting in 1st place with a record of 64 wins, 28 losses & we won 15 & lost 8 last night.  Our team right now has 3 bowlers averaging over 220 (Mark Jahns, Phillip Long, & myself), & it looks like we will have a good battle for that anchor spot all season long.  Plus Wayne Fults has started really well for the first 5 weeks, & Ray Watson has stepped up his game the last couple of weeks rolling a couple of 600 series in back to back weeks.  If our good bowling continues, we will have the chance to win the first session & qualify for the roll-offs in April.

The Guys & Dolls league that bowls every other Saturday Night has completed 2 weeks.  My average right now is esttimated @ 205 and the lanes both weeks I have bowled have been soaked with oil.  So I will really have to tighten up my shots if I want to score well.  Our team name is Ballslingers and our record is 5-3.  Ed Zygadlo, one of our bowlers, will have to sit out for a while with an operation scheduled next week and his return is uncertain.  But Mark has agreed to step in and bowl in his place until he can return to bowling.  Ed has agreed to still pay for the bowling while Mark subs for him so that should work out well for our team.

Until next week, May the balls be rollin' & the pins be fallin'!

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