So when I said "later tonight," what I really meant was "next week." Those who know me best have come to expect this sort of procrastination... In any case, it's Monday afternoon, which means we're getting set for Week 2 of the Midas Sport Shot League. I'll get you caught up on the action from Week 1, and then give a little preview of what to expect in Week 2.

26 bowlers showed up to accept the challenge last week, a decent if not spectacular turnout. The proceedings began with several moments of confusion as we tried to figure out the initial lane assignments- I definitely need to have a more concrete plan in place for next year! Once everyone knew where they were going and got situated on their lanes, it was time to start bowling. My opponent in games 1 & 2 was Allen "Spitfire" Hester, a multi-year veteran of Sport Leagues past. Allen throws a fairly straight, down-and-in type ball that suits the requirements of Sport Bowling to a "T." On the normal house shot, Allen probably carries a 170-180 average, and in those conditions I may have considered myself the favorite. As I said last week, however, the PBA Experience oil patterns generally seem to level the playing field, and I knew I had my hands full in this one. I bowled badly in game 1, and Allen took advantage of a double in the tenth frame to beat me by a single pin, 150-149. I improved slightly in game 2, as I managed to convert several testy one-pin spares. This improvement wasn't enough to get me the win, however, as Allen's 187 easily bested my 163. Two games, two losses, and a 157 average. Not exactly the flying start I had hoped for.

I then switched over to Lanes 27-28 for games 3 and 4. I'd be facing Denny Anderson, a solid bowler and another cagey Sport League veteran. I made one or two adjustments going into game 3, and they seemed to pay off as I came up with my best game of the night, a 189. I would've had 200 if I hadn't chopped the eminently makable 6-10 spare in the tenth. It didn't come back to haunt me, though, as Denny didn't bowl his best, and I managed to pull out the victory. I bowled OK in game 4, but found myself tiring a bit towards the end. I'm sure this was due to a combination of the extra game vs. normal league play, the rapid pace of our bowling, and my own suspect physical conditioning. Regardless, my 173 wasn't quite enough, and Denny took game 4.

In terms of results, then, I enter Week 2 with a 169 average and a 1-3 record. Not disastrous, but not where I wanted to be, either. My only real disappointment is in not taking game 1 from Allen. If I can't shoot 150 when I need to, I'm going to have real problems in this league. Oh well, onward & upward, Week 2 is on the Viper again tonight so we'll see if I learned anything from the experience. My first opponent is Mike Mason, who rolled last week's high game at 241. Could be trouble in paradise.

I'll let you know how it goes before next Monday!

Cheers,
Billy G.

My Background & Some Midas League Info

Hi everybody & welcome to the blog! For those who don't know me, my name is Billy Gilpin, I'm 31 years old, married, no kids, blah blah blah. I’ve really been looking forward to spending the summer writing about the Midas Sport Shot Singles League here at Northside Lanes. Bowling begins tonight at 7, and I think it’s safe to call excitement about this year’s version of the PBA Experience® “unprecedented.” As President of the League, bowler, employee, and owner’s son, I think I’ll be able to offer a unique perspective on what should prove to be quite an interesting 14 weeks.

A couple more notes about myself before we get down to business: first off, I’m no PBA bowler. In fact, despite my lifelong connection to Northside, I’m relatively new to competitive bowling. As a kid I would come and bowl for fun, but was never all that serious about getting good at it. I really picked up the game around the year 2000. In terms of skill, I’d call myself an advanced intermediate bowler, if that makes any sense. In my best league season to date, I carried a 186 average on Thursday nights last year, and there’s no question that my game has improved tremendously since I came back to work at the center two years ago. Given the quality of my opposition and the increased challenge of the oil patterns this year, I’m sure my confidence won’t last long…

This year’s league will be a singles format, with two bowlers on each lane bowling individually against one of the bowlers from the opposite lane. After two games, bowlers will switch to bowl on a different lane pair and against a different opponent for two more games. Each 2-game “match” will be worth 3 points, with a point to the winner of each game and a point to the overall winner. What’s new and different about our setup this year is that the point standings over the course of the summer will not determine the actual winner of the league – this will be decided in a final-week roll-off (I love this term, btw). The season standings will merely determine the seeding for this final-week extravaganza. 

This is huge for a semi-mediocre bowler like me. Even if I go the whole season without breaking 150, a quality performance on the last day could win me first-place money. Obviously, the Jeremy Merriners of the world will have a far easier path to victory than mine would be in that example, but something tells me I’ll need sources of hope after bowling on the Viper pattern tonight. 

Well, it’s time to wrap up this first installment of my Midas Sport League coverage. I’ll be headed over to the Lanes shortly to make sure everything is in place for this evening. I know Don Spiggle and his crew need to run a few tape readings to ensure the oil pattern we’re bowling on meets USBC regulations for Sport Bowling. I’ll also be seeing how well Northside’s BLS software will be able to automate the scheduling/standings for our particular league format. I’ve been told it’s capable of doing it all for me, but until you’ve tried, you never know! Anyway, before I go, another quick plug for the league – there’s still time for you to get in, just show up around 6:45 tonight – and for the generous folks at Midas Auto Care of Winchester, who are giving $1000 to our prize fund for the second year in a row! We appreciate it!

Until later this evening…