I hadn't realized that it had been a month since I last updated..  Which means there have been at least 3 weeks of bowling to discuss.  I guess part of the problem is that the last few weeks really hadn't been that good to me.  I recall one week last month I barely managed a 525 series..  I have turned things around a bit the last few weeks though.

I'll try to block the bad memories because they only depress me.  So, last week was the start of the 3rd "quarter" of bowling in the league.  Our team had been on a downward spiral for awhile, partly because a lot of the bowlers had been gone for various reasons.  This last week was no different.  We only had three guys including myself "suit up".  On top of that, we were all a bit under the weather. 

First game for me was rather unremarkable.  The lanes were playing real dry on the outside and pretty wet down the middle.  I tried to convince myself that I could consistently play around the 5 board and be successful.  Sadly that wasn't the case.  It seemed my ball speed was just too fast, so I made the mistake of moving boards and maintaining speed.  This resulted in a whopping 165 game to begin.  In the 10th frame of that game I decided I needed to take a drastic approach to find a new line.  At the end of the game I took everything into account and prepared for the second game. 

All of the mental preperation was doing must have paid off because my second game was a complete 180 degree change.  I figured at that point my ball speed was the problem so I went with a straight up 10 board line with a much slower speed.  I finally found a line that would work the rest of the night.  So much in fact that my second game was a 232.  It doesn't hurt when you are also able to pick up your spares to keep the confidence up.  I finally strung together strikes in a row and at the end of the second game my confidence was soaring.

It goes without saying that I continued my torrid run through the 3rd game.  Not even a second frame open could slow me down.  After the open I put together 6 strikes in a row, only to be brought back to earth by a ringing 10 pin in the 9th.  I ended with a 237 for a really nice 635 series. 

For the last few weeks I had really not been looking forward to bowling night.  It doesn't help when you are bowling like shit.  I had promised myself I'd get out for some practice but that still hasn't happened either.  Then all of a sudden I have some success last week and I feel like I'm back on track again.  So, I'm really anxious for bowling tonight for the first time in awhile.  Bowling shouldn't become a burden.  I never thought I'd stop having fun with it.  I'm trying to turn that around now.  It was a really great feeling to be able to bounce back from that terrible first game and roll 2 great games after. 

Here's hoping I can keep the momentum going. 

Oh, and on a final note, I have set aside some tax refund money to *finally* pick up a new ball and some new bowling shoes.  I have used the same Ebonite V2 Strong for what seems like the last 5 years.  It's been a great ball and I won't get rid of it, but I'd definitely like to add to my arsenal. 

Till next time!

So I guess I should discuss my most recent bowling outing.  Tuesday night league.  It was the first week back since before Christmas.  I had to miss the last week of bowling before Christmas due to some wicked pain in my ankle that to this day I still cannot explain.  Anyways, I promised myself that I would get some practice in during the three weeks of downtime, but when league came back this last Tuesday I had not one shot of practice since.  Go figure.  With all the discount coupons the house gave us to use, one would think that I could drag my lazy ass out to throw a few games but that just wasn't the case.  Anyways, I don't make excuses.  So, me and my 188 average had to tough it out whether I was ready or not. 

I'll take a second to go back almost a month to the last time I did bowl.  It was back in early December and I was completely out of it the first two games.  I think I rolled a 155, 160.  Then the last game it was like a completely different Jon out there on the lanes.  I ended up striking the first 9 shots, taking a 300 into the 10th frame.  I was feeling good, I was completely in a zone.  When I get in a zone like that I'm not thinking about anything on my approach and release.  I just let the ball go where it will.  So, with a crowd forming behind me, I gathered myself for the 10th frame.  The shot rolled off my hand like I wanted it to, the right speed I was going for, but it rolled a little right of my mark and couldn't recover in time.  Whooops.  Ended up with a 4 pin.  Knocked that out quickly and as bad luck would have it, my final shot was a crazy wicked shot through the nose that left a 4-9 split.  Oh well.  I think it was a 277 game..  Earned bowler of the week honors (go figure!) and AMF is generous enough to give 3 free games as a reward.

Alright, so now we are up to speed.  I'm not trying to build up Tuesday's bowling night to be anything spectacular.  I did want to mention that 277 game though ;)

Anyways, So this last Tuesday I had to pick it back up after basically a month off since my last game.  First game was shit.  I seemed to have a line that was getting me to the pocket but I couldn't get any carry to save my life.  And, I'm notoriously 50-50 on picking up the ten-pin.  This game I think i was 1 for 5.  Yikes, and on top of that, I couldn't string together two strikes together.  All in all, a wasted game.   The last two games I managed to salvage the night with decent, yet unsatisfying low 200's.  A simple move left for a more inside-shot to the pocket seemed to help a ton.  I still need to work on my damn spares and consistency.  

Right, so I believe this is the most I've ever talked about bowling in one blog post ever.

Either it was a complete waste of time, or someone out there finds it even remotely interesting. If so, let me know!!

And also, I'm new here, so I need some friends!  hit me up!