If I stopped bowling today, I've achieved every goal I could imagine. I've won leagues, I've won some nice tournaments, I've bowled against the best in the world and held my own (and sometimes not held my own, like this year in Babylon!), I've had my 300 and 800, and averaged over 230.  Those were all nice goals, and I'm very proud that I've achieved them.  But this season has been full of things I really never thought I'd do, and this week added to that.  After falling under 230 after week 23, I have battled spareshooting yips, tough approaches, and simply getting out of my own way, but starting with the 300 at the end of February, have really started to get myself back on track to finish as strong as I started.  I walked in to practice really not feeling at 100% physically, but determined to get the most out of my 1 practice game.  In shooting 248, I found out two things: 1)The shot I used for the 297 to end last week was not reacting the same way, and 2)I needed to project the ball left no matter what I did, to have any chance of hitting the pocket well.  That said, I moved to my league pair, 45-46, which many bowlers will tell you at Perry Hall is not a good pair due to the racks being bad. Lots of pocket 7-10 splits, and very weird pin reaction.  So really, 700 was a lofty but hopeful goal.  In game 1, I started with 3 strikes, then rang a 7-pin, which I made.  I then struck in the next 3 frames, coming up on lane 46 and in the 8th frame, made a bad mental error.  Simply threw it too slow.  And it ran right on the beak, leaving the 2-6.  Not the most difficult of leaves, but just the same, not easy.  So there I was, just trying to keep the game clean. Made a good shot, picked up the split. In frame 9, I simply didn't project it left, and left up a 4-7.  I made that spare, and threw all 3 strikes in the 10th, very strong shots, for a 245. What happened next pretty much blew me away.  Strikes continued. three, five, seven.  Suddenly I'm up in the 9th with a shot at the 10th frame for the second time in my last 3 GAMES.  And I absolutely buried the shot.  So here I am, on lane 45, going for a 300 for the third time since the last week in February.  I'm 1-2, and I've never recalled throwing this many strings of strikes to start a game in such a short period.  I got up in the 10th and put the first two shots right there, and suddenly I'm looking at another chance for 300.  Nerves? Amazing, but no. Not at all because I'm thinking I'm some awesome bowler...just because I have had the attitude that now that I got my one 300 this year, I'm happy.  Anything over that is gravy.  So I got up, simply hoping not to do what I did last week.  Just make a good shot, and if it goes, it goes. And I made a good shot. And it hit the pocket...but the 7 failed to fall.  A 299 game.  No regrets, either. But now, I had another chance at 800. The goal a 256 or better.  I opened up with a triple, then left a solid 8-pin.  Tough break, but I made it. In frame 5, I threw a good shot, a little light, the 7-10 almost stood, but the 7 fell. So I made the spare. Clearly I had to throw the next 5 strikes to get my 800. The next 3 shots were strikes, but all of them fell kinda weird. A very late 5-pin. A 7-pin that moved almost to the 8 before falling over. An 8 that fell forward.  The one in the 9th was solid. So here it was, one shot for 800.  I made the shot I had to make, but a light blowout 10 pin stopped me cold.  I made it and counted 8 for another 245, and my best set of the year, a 789.  Unfortunately, the team we bowled was on fire, and despite my teammates bowling well with me, we only won 1 of the 3 games, 2 of 7 points.  It's been a tough half...we can't seem to win.  But we've got 28 points out there to get, and my hope is to see us win 21 of them. That would be a nice finish.

Sometimes you come into a night thinking one thing will happen, and it surprises you.  I battled a sore neck over the weekend, and warmed up 2 games just to make sure that I didn't bowl hurt.  I know, sounds crazy, but I had to be sure that it was going well before going three games.  During practice, I decided for kicks to try and play a very old line, firing the edge, trying to see if I have the ability to change my carry from the new angle.  I moved to my league pair, and started out playing my usual line, inside the 2nd arrow, trying to play my hook as I usually do. With 3 lefties on the pair, I felt I was at a distinct advantage, as the others would help open my line up.  In warmup, it seemed my line was there.  But when I started on lane 37, I went bucket, which confused me. I made it, and moved to lane 38.  I figured I might want to make a ball change.  I went to the Fuze, and it hooked fast and left a 2-7 split, which I made.  Okay, bad change. Back to 37, back to the Fury.  Back to another bucket.  So now I move to 38 after sparing, and try slowing the ball. I ring a 7. Okay, better. I make it, and then strike in the 5th on 37 with the slower speed. Another 7, another spare, followed by my first double. But in frame 9, I never hit the target, and went right through the head, leaving the 6-7-10.  I made the 2 pins, and left a 3-5 in the 10th, striking on the fill for 188.  Not a good start, as the 1st game was my best all year.  So I start game 2 with a new idea. Get left, try that shot going out on the edge, firm and with a little less hand action.  I start with a strike, then ring a 7, and stuff an 8. After a strike in the 4th, I leave a 4-7 on a slow shot, make it, and strike again.  In frame 7, I leave a 6 pin, and make it.  After my first triple, I leave another 6. I make it for 218, which was a pretty good number, given my struggles.  I started out with 3 in a row, and was really determined to make this a good set.  Looking around, scores were picking up.  In game 2, two bowlers shot 279, and another a 300.  So why not me, right?  I crushed 4 and 5, and tripped a 6 pin for number 6.  They say you need that break in a 300...and I actually felt great.  And I crushed 7, 8, 9.  So here I was, just 6 weeks since my 300 game, and a shot at another.  And I wasn't nervous.  I got my one for the year, I figured anything else was gravy.  And I think that helped. I crushed the 10th and 11th without a doubt.  So here I was, for the third time in Maryland in league, on the doorstep.  I got up to set, and just as I was ready to go..."LANE FOR BILL!!! LANE FOR BILL!!!!" Sheesh. The crowd cracked up, knowing I balk at far less.  So I just regrouped, and did my usual routine.  Unfortunately, I missed my target about 3 boards right. And I knew it.  The ball shot through the beak, leaving the 4-6-10 for a 297 game.  Ironic that when I had my first shot at 300 in Maryland, I did the EXACT SAME THING.  But I was happy...being so lost early on and finding my way, it was a great finish.  And I helped salvage a game for my team.  It was the only one, as we lost 5 of 7 AGAIN.  Just 5 weeks left...and our goal is simple...GET TO .500 BY THE END!

I grew up in New York on lanes with wood approaches, which are rarely affected by the weather as compared to synthetics, which are very slick in the dry cold, and very sticky in the heat and humidity.  We had an exceptionally warm day in Baltimore, and the center didn't put the AC on early to get it cool and dry enough.  And when everyone got there, it showed.  The approaches became dangerously sticky, forcing me to walk very slowly.  That's fine for me when it comes to strike shots....I can get in and slow twirl...but on spares, it's another story.  I left 7 7-pins, and uncharacteristically missed 4. I've missed 13 all season now, and 4 of them came in one night.  It's frustrating, since you know you can make them, but if you can't hit the line with the drive you're used to, it makes it harder to make the corner pin.  My other miss was a 2-4-7-8, wrapping the 4 around the 7.  So yes, the 7 was not kind.  I managed games of 214-235-195 for a 644, and I wasn't alone, as many others struggled as well.  But I pride myself on spares.  And nights like this one are hard to swallow.  Not to mention, we all struggled out there, and we ended up getting swept 7-0 again.  Did I mention UGH?!  Next week has to be better...right?

On March 18, I was in New York, trying my hand at the PBA Geico Open. And I learned a valuable lesson...If you don't go to a PBA event with the equipment suited for the pattern, they will let you know it.  I struggled mightily, averaging a mere 171 and finishing 171st including the exempt bowlers.  I knew ahead of time I didn't have the right equipment, and physically I don't possess the strength anymore to hold up on the superhook that was this tourney's Cheetah pattern.  So, I returned to league on March 25, and began my quest to help our team move up the ladder. Unfortunately, we got swept 7-0 on my week away, as our opponents bowled incredibly.  In game 1, I bowled a solid 256, leaving only a solid 7 in the 4th and a 3-5-6 in the 10th.  Game 2, I lost my way on carry.  I left the 5, 6, 7, and 8 pins in the course of the game, missing only one 7 out of the 3 I left, and shot 193 with the one double.  In game 3, I found my way, striking 9 times, including the last 7, for a 249.  We did win 5 of 7 points, losing game 2, largely on my low score.  So it was off to week 30 and the hope I would continue bowling solidly.  A 698 set here got me just under 230, at 229.99.

Coming into tonight, my team was on a nice run. Seven games in a row, and two weeks of taking 7 points.  Seven seems to be a lucky number.  But the last two weeks were against the two teams below us in the standings before the streak started.  This week we faced the team sitting in 4th place.  A far more difficult task.  In game 1, it was obvious that the lanes were again tighter than they have been before.  So I relied on keeping the ball speed slow and the roll clean.  I opened with three strikes, but threw the ball light on the left lane in frames 4 and 6, converting a spare and baby-split, with another strike in-between on lane 42.  After spares in the 7th and 8th, I threw three strikes and a 7-pin to finish with 235. We won the game handily, but nobody spoke of it.  In game 2, I started with a double, and the third frame rang a solid 7, on a ball I really did think was going to strike.  After 3 more strikes, I got the ball in and just a little fast, and left a light 10-pin, making that as well. A double in the 8th and 9th, and then another 7-pin made in the 10th, with one more on the fill, gave me 236.  We pulled that game out as well, and all of a sudden, 9 games in a row.  Again we said nothing.  We had overcome a 280 by their anchor bowler, who happened to be the same person, Todd, who had helped me so much all year with my game.  In game 3 I started out solid with a 7-pin spare, and then two strikes. In frame 4, I made a bad mental error.  The team bowling next to us was drinking quite a bit, and yelled just as I was in my backswing.  Instead of stopping, I hesitated and then threw, and threw it poorly, leaving a 2-4-7-8 spare.  Unfortunately, I didn't get the ball down the lane far enough, and chopped the 2-8 off the 4-7 for what would be my only open frame.  Angry, I made sure that I stayed focused, and didn't rush any shots the rest of the way.  A strike in the 5th and a 6-pin in the sixth, followed by 4 strikes. A poor shot in the 11th frame, but I left just a 4-7 and made it for 220.  Fortunately by the time I got up in the 10th, the game had been won.  All of a sudden, we've won 23 consecutive points.  We're now 31-32, after being 8-32.  I smell comeback.  Of course, I won't be here next week because I will be bowling in New York, at the PBA Geico Open Qualifying round, at my old stomping grounds in West Babylon.  So hopefully I'll return to a 28 point run.