Mounts Bowling

Two Months Without Bowling

2011-05-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

The last time I posted to the blog I was about a week away from flying out to Reno for the USBC Open Championships and right after I made that last post about the USBC Tournament Oil Pattern being released I went and broke my knee.

As you can imagine I never got out to Reno and my team had to grab a sub bowler for the tournament - this was very disappointing to say the least.

Anyway, I wanted to give a status report - I've officially been out of bowling since the first week of March and haven't touched a ball since February 28th. I'm going on 2 1/2 months away from bowling and I'm starting to miss it.

I have no idea yet when I'll be able to hit the lanes again but I'm starting to get the bug again as my physical therapy is starting to show signs of progress in my long-term outlook.

Unfortunately I won't be bowling any tournaments any time soon and I'm not going to be bowling in the best open scratch bowling league in Southern California this year either but I do look forward to seeing how these things shape up as the summer gets started.

If anyone out there has yet to hit up Nationals let me say good luck to you and check out my slightly non-complete 2011 USBC Open Championships page here on the blog. I'll report back when I start planning my first trip back to the lanes - I'm sure it will only be for a game at most later this summer.

USBC Open Championships Oil Pattern Released

2011-03-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

Today the USBC finally released the oil pattern for the big tournament this Spring. I posted a few days ago that I would deliver the goods so if you haven't yet checked out the tournament pattern then head over and check it out.

You can see the 2011 USBC Nationals oil pattern here on the blog or you can just head over to bowl.com to see the pattern there.

The pattern is looking similar to previous years patterns at first glance but I plan on diving into my thoughts on the pattern a bit more after a little more analysis. On first glance I wouldn't want to venture my break point outside of the nine board but your analysis may differ.

For more on the tournament make sure to check out my 2011 USBC Nationals Info page and if you haven't yet booked your room hit up Hotels.com early and often for the best deals.

The 2011 Bowlers Journal Championships by Storm

2011-02-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

2011 marks the 65th Bowler’s Journal Championships. It runs in conjunction with the USBC Open Championships tournament spanning the entire tournament date range from March 4th though July 2nd.

The Bowler's Journal tournament this year has a feature where you can bowl with two doubles partners at the same time and an optional feature where you can use your four game total as both your doubles and singles set.

Another new part of the tournament is the ability to throw out your low game and use your best three of four. And although this tournament is a side event to the USBC Nationals it too has a side event where you can enter the Jackpot Trio and use your scores for various side pots like clean frames and high games, etc.

This year the 2011 Bowlers Journal Championships will be held at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno. So whether you are going for the big event or just for this event you can stay right at the Grand Sierra and not have to worry about lugging your balls to the center. Good luck!

Here is the tournament Flyer for the tournament and here is link to the official rules as published on USBC Congress.

This is but one of a few different side events going on at the USBC Open – I’m compiling the info on the other events so you can check them out over at me USBC Side Tournament Information info page. You can also find more about the 2011 USBC Open Championships over here including my own experiences.

2011 BTM Scratch and 123 Bowling Tournaments In Reno

2011-02-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

In my last post I posted the details of the 2011 Bowler’s Journal Tournament as it is running concurrent to the 2011 USBC Open Championships. The BJ Tournament however is not the only side tournament in town. There are a few others but the other “big” side event on Nationals this year is the 2011 BTM event which is also being held at the Grand Sierra Hotel & Casino.

The BTM or Bowling This Month tournament has both handicapped and scratch events. The BTM Scratch event has both singles and doubles entries, reentries, and senior events for those over 50. The entry fee for singles is 85 scratch and $65 for scratch reentry and it’s $40 for doubles.

The BTM Handicap 123 option is open for singles, doubles and trios and is priced at $50 per entry and $40 per re-entry.

The top prize is $5,000 for open singles and $3,000 for Singles handicap at the 123.

The BTM bowling tournaments both have an array of sidepots and extra features like the Clean Block, Alibi (drop your worst game), and basic side pots so make sure to bring a little spare cash to enter the side events at the Bowling This Month (BTM) side event.

There is no preregistration required and if you need to pay with a card you can.

As a side note, this tournament runs from March 3 through July 3, 2011. This is concurrent to the 2011 USBC Nationals event plus a day before and after. As such the tournament pattern won’t be announced until early March.

You don’t have to bowl in the USBC Open to bowl this event however and in addition to using the Bowl.com travel site you can call directly to the PepperMill Reno Hotel which is sponsoring this tournament for discounted rates.

For 2011 use the code "LBTM11" on their website or when you call them over the phone for the BTM bowler rate. On my USBC Open Hotel Deals page I suggest going through Hotels.com because a lot of times the rates are cheaper but you won’t know unless you call. Every day is different.

For more info check out http://www.bowlingthismonth.com/, the main BTM 2011 tournament info page, or download the rules in pdf format for the BTM Scratch or the Handicap 1-2-3 here and here respectively.

Bowling Shirts On Sale - Offer Won’t Last Long

2011-02-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick tip I received in my email box this afternoon:

BowlingShirt.com is having a 40 percent off sale on their Charlie Sheen and DaVinci style bowling shirts right now. This may not be applicable to everyone but if you are on a team heading off to the 2011 USBC Nationals and don’t yet have team shirts this could be a good time to stock up for less.

Make sure to use the coupon code BLOWOUT40 at checkout. (I’ll take the sale info down when the promo expires.)

As many USBC Nationals bowlers know there are small perks associated with having the entire team in matching bowling shirts and slacks (skirts) so give it some thought.

The sale they have going on right now isn’t going to last long so act quick if this applies to you.

For more on this year’s USBC Open Championships hit up my information resource hub and browse around.

2011 USBC Nationals Sub Board

2011-02-07T19:13:00.000-08:00

For those unfortunate enough to need a sub for their 2011 USBC Nationals trip this year the sub-board over on Bowl.com is the place to go. As with a lot of stuff on the USBC website it may be hard to find so here it is for those of you who somehow landed on my blog. :)

http://forums.bowl.com/index.php?/forum/74-sub-board-2011-usbc-open-championships-in-reno/

I’ve never actually tried to land a sub for the tournament but our team did show up to Nationals back in 2009 only to find that our fifth member didn’t show up a sub averaging only about 115 a game was all we needed to cash in the team event. You don’t want to show up with a four man team.

For more information on the tournament this year see my main page on the 2011 USBC Open Championships.

2011 USBC Nationals Reno Hotel Deals

2011-02-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat. The official travel page on the official Bowl.com website lists the main partner Hotels sponsoring the 2011 USBC National tournament this year.

As is pretty standard year over year the Tournament Brackets are paid out this year at the Sand Regency, which is always one of the cheapest places to stay of the major hotels and it’s quite convenient for people who enter brackets. I’ve stayed at the Sands three times and been pleased for the price but it’s not exactly glamorous. If you want to save on costs and still stay in a full hotel with plenty of amenities this place is your best option in my opinion. Just make sure to check out Hotels.com for travel deals to this hotel as they are almost always better than or just as good as the deals on the Bowl.com website.

I’ll be traveling this year in early March and will be staying three nights, March 11-14 and the Bowl.com hotel search feature gives me a rate for the Sands at around $71 per night on average. Conversely Hotels.com is giving me a rate for the exact same hotel and the exact same dates of $56 per night. Obviously rates change all the time so make sure to check often for the best deal.

This year I’ll be staying at Circus Circus, which is another one of the official Hotel partners of the tournament and it’s one of their “Presenting Sponsors” They are also quite low on rates and the star rating of the hotel is a little higher than The Sands. Long story short – as always, shop around for the best deal. Just because Bowl.com links to it doesn’t mean it’s the best deal. I’ll be paying roughly $67 a night for Circus Circus through Hotels.com while the Bowl.com portal is quoting me $74 a night. Not a big difference but I’ll take it.

Other hotel sponsors include the El Dorado, Silver Legacy, Atlantis, Harrah’s, and Peppermill and of course there are a lot of other hotels in downtown Reno which are walking distance from the Bowling Stadium. It may be worth checking the Bowl.com travel page for hotel deals but chances are good that you’ll find a similarly good deal on sites like Expedia or Hotels.com which also have rewards programs… why not save a few bucks and get closer to a free night?

Anyway, I’m going to reserve my room now so be sure to drop a comment of any good coupons for Reno bowling tournament hotel deals if you find any in the comments below… and check out my main 2011 USBC Open Championships Tournament Information page for a complete directory of my coverage of the event.

Other Reno Hotel Deals I've Come Across
Remember, these deal can change at any time.

Peppermill Reno Hotel is offering a discount to bowlers if you use the code "LBTM11".

USBC Open Championships 2011 Tournament Information – Reno, NV

2011-02-01T18:34:00.000-08:00

Who’s going to the 2011 USBC Open bowling tournament this year? Count me in for my fifth year in a row. I’m inching closer to those big time multi-year streaks - just a good 20-30 more years to go before they start calling my name at check in. :)

It’s time to brush the dust off this old bowling blog and start documenting the big event as I’m growing accustomed to doing over the past couple years. You can see my 2010 USBC Nationals recap here as well as my short recaps for 2009, 2008, and 2007.

As is typical for me and my team we bowl in early March and as such we are typically some of the first bowlers to hit the lanes for this tournament. This year is no exception.

The 2011 USBC Nationals tournament will be held March 4, 2011 through July 2, 2011 and for the first time as much as I know they have extended the registration deadline for bowlers to right up to the day that competition begins – March 2.

Here is the official tournament 2011 Rules & Info, which the USBC has published on their website. Much of their website over the last couple years has been growing in an ever more convoluted and confusing fashion so I think this year I’ll start linking out to some of the info as needed.

Last year in fact I had a few people email and comment asking about specific tournament info because it’s so hard to find on the Bowl.com website so I will try to provide as many links as possible from this blog.

Below you will find my collection of 2011 USBC Nationals posts. As of this writing (2/1/11) I have nothing to link to but I will add a good deal of posts over the next few days and weeks culminating in my personal experience and eventual tournament results. Enjoy and feel free to have fun in the comments section! (FYI - All links below go to other posts on my site.)

2011 USBC Open Bowling Tournament Information

2011 USBC Open Reno Hotel Deals - My commentary on picking a hotel for the bowling tournament.
USBC Nationals Sub Board - For teams needing to find a substitute bowler
2011 Bowler's Journal Championships - some info on the big BJ side tournament
2011 BTM Scratch & 123 Events - info on the BTM Reno side events
USBC Nationals Side Events 2011 - a roundup of all the side events at this years tournament
2011 USBC Nationals Oil Pattern - pattern to be released on March 1, at that time I'll post the pattern and my thoughts on it.

My Experience In Reno 2011
I'll be heading over there on March 11 so expect more to come as that date approaches. I'll be staying at Circus Circus and I should be blogging the event while I'm there.

Interesting News From This Years Event
More to come.

Open Championships 2011 Tournament Recap
The tournament runs from March 4 through July 2 so final results won't be available until late July 2011 or early August. Mid-event results may be periodically updated here.

The Columbia Beast Bowling Ball

2010-05-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

I've been giving some thought recently to what I've currently got in my bowling ball bag. I've got a good number of bowling balls that I haven't used in years and even a couple balls that were given to me used and plugged that I've never even drilled.

A while back my wife was kind of teasing me about the bowling balls I have lined up collecting dust and I finally decided a few months ago to pull one of them out of retirement and put it back to good use. The funny thing is the ball I decided to gram was my old Columbia Beast bowling ball that I purchased - or I should say my parents purchased for me - back in 1997.

The Columbia 300 Beast bowling ball is essentially a very small step up from a plastic bowling ball. It is made of urethane and because I bought it when I was averaging 150 in my teenage years it was drilled pretty much like a house ball.

One would expect this ball would provide me next to nothing compared to my new aggressive balls but little did I expect since I've been throwing this ball in league my average has increased dramatically and I've thrown two 800s and one 300 with it. Crazy!

Anyway; I wanted to post this mostly because I want to start inventorying the bowling balls I use and to help reference what I'm using in all the tournaments and leagues I bowl in. I will also be using pages like this in conjunction with my accomplishments pages to keep track of what balls I use when I bowl my honer scores and the like.

If you want to check out the Columbia Beast Bowling Ball for yourself you're going to have to monitor Ebay because this is an old ball and I haven't seen anyone throwing it in years. Weird too because it sure is nice for leagues for those of us with a lot of hand. In the future I'm going to try and upgrade this ball to a Storm Natural Bowling Ball but until then I'm going to continue enjoying my old Beast and look for even more honor scores. :)

Bowling Accomplishments

2010-04-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

I've been keeping this blog for a number of years now and decided maybe I should have a spot to list my bowling resume so to speak.

This page will list many of my accomplishments over the years and will be updated accordingly in the future.

My First Honor Game
To briefly throw a list of accomplishments together I'll say my first honor score was 299 game when I was 16 years old. I threw it in Las Vegas at a YABA tournament held at the old Showboat Hotel - Casino - Bowling Center. Since then I've had a few more good sactioned scores.

My Bowling Accomplishments

I've bowled three 299s, two 300s and three 800s with the most recent honor scores logged in early April 2010 when I shot a 232, 300, 268 for an 800 series on the dot. Fun times!

My high three game series is an 802 and my high 4 game series is a 1060.

My highest booked league average was a 228 and my highest sport average booked was 195 in the Chovan Open Doubles league a cuople year back.

I've made two finals appearances in PBA Western Regional competition and my left elbow was once on a PBA telecast during competition at the US Open back in 2006. Yeah, I've got one TV appearance. :)

Chovan Scratch Bowling League San Diego 2009-2010

2010-04-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

The following table lists my game by game results in the 2009-2010 Chovan Scratch bowling league here in San Diego.

I bowled this league with Dan Woodened, Matt Kingery, and Mike Stewart.

Click through to see my many other bowling league stats from season's past.

USBC Nationals 2010 - Tournament Recap

2010-03-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my team and I traveled up to Reno for the 2010 USBC Nationals. I provided ample posts on the experience during my time there including video previews of the 2010 USBC Nationals Oil Pattern as well as my commentary on how I played the lanes, what worked, and what didn't.

In case you missed these posts you can find an index of them below.

Also; I wanted to post my tournament scores along with the final placing that my team and I finished the tournament in just as I have have done in years past.

Of course the true final standings won't be finalized until the first week of August so I will have to update this bowling nationals 2010 score-sheet to reflect final standings at that time. Thanks to everyone who wished me luck!

My USBC Nationals 2010 Tournament Recap

To see how I stacked up to USBC National tournaments in the past check out my tournament recap for:

You can also enjoy some pictures from my trip here:

Bowling Tournament Archive - 2005

2010-03-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

The index below lists lists all the bowling tournaments that I bowled in in 2005.

Around this time I had just started getting in the habit of keeping detailed records of my bowling tournament results however many of my tournaments are not documented anyway. Regardless these are the events I participated in during the year with links to any available additional resources.

Also: Tournament info for all other years can be found on my master Bowling Tournament Archive.

Bowling Tournaments I Participated In - 2005
Date	Location	Bowling Tournament
Dec 18, 2005	El Cajon, CA	San Diego Men's Masters - Preview on Mounts Bowling
Dec 12, 2005	Fountain Valley, CA	Dick Weber Open Win-A-Spot - Recap on Mounts Bowling
Nov 12, 2005	Southern CA	WWPB Mixed Doubles - Recap on Mounts Bowling
Oct 28-30, 2005	Fresno, CA	PBA West Regional Cedar Lanes Open - Preview On Mounts Bowling and bowling tournament recap. Complete Results - PBA.com
Oct 16, 2005	San Diego, CA	Scratch 8-Gamer Benefit Event - Mounts Bowling
Oct. 7-9, 2005	Phoenix, AZ	PBA West Regional Sunset Lanes Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Sept 30-Oct 2, 2005	Sacramento, CA	PBA West Regional Sacramento Open - Recap On Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Sept 9-11, 2005	Bakersfield, CA	PBA West Regional Nicks DVDs.net Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Aug 26-28, 2005	Henderson, NV	PBA West Regional Ebonite Sunset Open - Recap On Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Jul 15-17, 2005	Riverside, CA	PBA West Regional AMF Riverside Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Jul 1-3, 2005	Palmdale, CA	PBA West Regional Bob's Bowling Supply Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Jun 17-19, 2005	Rohnert Park, CA	PBA West Regional - Double Decker Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Jun 3-5, 2005	Camarillo, CA	PBA West Regional Harley's Camarillo Bowl Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
May 6-8, 2005	Visalia, CA	PBA West Regional Visalia Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Apr 22-24, 2005	Schofield Barracks, HI	PBA West Regional 27th Annual Hawaii Open - Preview Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Apr 17-19, 2005	Lihue, HI	PBA West Regional Rice Shopping Center Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com

My PBA Bowling Statistics

2010-03-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

In addition to all the local bowling tournaments and league bowling I participate in on a routine basis I've also participated in a fairly large number of PBA bowling tournaments.

Most of the tournaments were on the Western Regional PBA Tour although I did participate in a couple national tour events such as the 2006 US Open (see paragraph 4) and the 2004 Orange County Classic. For more info on my results and statistics for those various bowling seasons check out he following pages sorted by bowling season.

My PBA Regional Season Statistics
2009-2010 - Western Regional PBA Tour
2008-2009 - Western Regional PBA Tour
2007-2008 - Western Regional PBA Tour
2006-2007 - Western Regional PBA Tour
2005-2006 - Western Regional PBA Tour
2004-2005 - Western Regional PBA Tour

For related info you can also take a look at my local bowling tournament statistics index and my bowling league statistics index.

My Bowling Tournament Statistics

2010-03-17T02:01:00.000-07:00

Below you will find an index of all (most) of the tournaments I've participated in and the overall statistics I've recorded over the years. Not all tournaments are noted as I didn't always keep track of everything. Hopefully this index will continue to expand and become more accurate in time.

It's also worthy to note that the tournaments listed here are all unaffiliated with the PBA. For this index head on over PBA bowling statistics page.

Tournament Stats

August 16, 2008 - 2008 Southern California Scratch Summer 20-Gamer
February 18, 2008 - North San Diego County Master's Tournament
December 30, 2007 - Kearny Mesa Bowl Scratch 8-Gamer
October 26-28, 2007 - PBA Western Cedar Lanes Open
August 3-5, 2007 - PBA Western Regional Earl Anthony Memorial Classic
June 10-12, 2007 - USBC Nationals
May 11-13, 2007 - PBA Western Regional Brunswick & AMF Open
March 31-April 1, 2007 - WWPB Yorba Linda Mixed Doubles

Bowling Tournament Archive - 2004

2010-03-17T00:32:00.000-07:00

In the table below you'll find all the bowling tournaments that I participated in in 2004. At that time I wasn't in the habit of keeping detailed records so many of my results are not available nor do I have many thoughts or reflections on these tournaments recorded. Nevertheless these are the event I participated in during the year with links to additional resources as available. Enjoy!

Also: Tournament info for all other years can be found on my master Bowling Tournament Archive.

Bowling Tournaments I Participated In - 2004
Date	Location	Bowling Tournament
Dec 15-19, 2004	Fountain Valley, CA	PBA Orange County Classic - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com Event Details - PBA.com
Dec 4, 2004	Riverside, CA	Riverside Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Nov 25, 2004	Fountain Valley, CA	Win-A-Spot in the PBA Orange County Classic - Mounts Bowling Complete Results
Nov 19-21, 2004	Fresno, CA	PBA West Regional Central Valley Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Sept 17-19, 2004	Santa Maria, CA	PBA West Regional Santa Maria Valley Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Aug 27-29, 2004	Henderson, NV	PBA West Regional Ebonite Sunset Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Jul 2-4, 2004	Palmdale, CA	PBA West Regional Bob's Bowling Supply Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com
Jun 4-6, 2004	Camarillo, CA	PBA West Regional Camarillo Open - Mounts Bowling Complete Results - PBA.com

USBC Open - Doubles & Singles Event

2010-03-15T00:27:00.000-07:00

Finally the doubles/singles part of this big bowling tournament came and went. Like the team event I scouted the previous squads during this part of the tournament to see how they were playing the lanes in comparison to how I expected the lanes to play as I posted about not too long ago: USBC Open Oil Pattern Analysis.

Unlike my chart based on the actual oil pattern instructions, The Doubles and especially the Singles portion of the bowling tournament was bowled on heavily broken down lanes. Being games 7-9 the lanes weren't likely to play the way the pattern started out... and once I finally got to bowl that was very apparent, especially by the end of the Singles squad.

In my analysis of previous squads I took some video and provided some commentary on how people were bowling. For the most part I only took video of people who were doing well (at the time at least) so that I could compare and contrast shots that were working consistently.

USBC Open Championships - Doubles / Singles Event Pattern Analysis

And in case the embedded video doesn't work you can see the video on YouTube: Doubles / Singles Event Pattern Analysis and feel free to take a look at my analysis of the USBC Open team event here.

As you can see from the video most of the people I captured bowling the singles set were placing the ball down at the 20 board and throwing over the third arrow. Most were hitting between 10 and 8 at the 45 foot mark so naturally I expected this to be a great shot if I could find a ball to duplicate the shot.

How I played the Doubles & Singles Event
When it was my turn to actually bowl I ended up starting off with my Fury Pearl basically throwing that exact shot. For the most part it worked OK for me from the beginning but I couldn't really get anything going most;t because of my spare shooting and not being exactly dialed in. I was actually hitting around 8-9 for my break point at 45 feet and that worked when I got it off my hand clean, unfortunately the first game was my worst of the entire nine games as I clocked in at 155.

After some tweaking but nothing really major being changed I zoned in and finished strong with a 203 & 208. These two games I continued to throw almost exactly the same shot; I just carried a few more times and made my spares.

During the singles my first game was a solid 201 - clean. Again nothing was different with my shot. I stayed at about 20 shooting to 9 or so at 45 feet. Eventually however the line I was playing started deteriorating enough that I couldn't just keep throwing the ball faster and I switched over to my Twisted Fury for more length. Unfortunately this didn't work out too well as it didn't really carry any better. To make things worse I couldn't double with the shot, I left a split and made a costly mistake by chopping an easy 3-6 spare. I ended up I shooting 169 basically eliminating me from most brackets at the same time. Grr!

In any event I couldn't really get consistent strikes but all my shots were pretty good with the exception of the split and eventually by the third game after leaving two more splits because my break point was starting to overhook I switched back to my Fury Pearl and moved deeper inside - about 5 more boards and shot right at the 10 board at 45 foot. This worked real well for me as the 10-8 board break point was so fryed. I finished strong by striking 9-11 with a 9-count fill ball for a 194 to close the day out.

Considering the reconnaissance mission I went on in the above video I feel the shot played much like I expected I simply didn't perform up to the standard I would have liked. I shouldn't have missed the handful of make-able spares I missed (1 in the singles event and 3 in doubles) and I shouldn't have left so many splits and washouts (7 on the day - 11 in the entire tournament). Those just killed me.

Anyway, my teammates purchased a copy of the squad on DVD so if I can get my hands on that I will try to post some clips of my actual bowling on here at a later date but until then; if you have yet to bowl the event keep this in mind. 13 board at the arrows, 10 at 45 feet for games 1-3 and 15 board at arrows, 8 at 45 feet for games 7-9 if you have hand. That's the shot; you just have to perform well to score well with it.

How To Play Oil Pattern At The USBC Open Team Event

2010-03-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I tood a good chunk of time out of my day to scout the lanes and see how people were playing the lanes I took some video of the Singles event when the oil was broken down and as you'll see in this video I also took some video of the first game of the team event to get a perspective on fresh oil.

Having not bowled on this yet I had some thoughts about how the lanes appeared to be playing based on the shots of others and my analysis of the USBC oil pattern chart I posted yesterday. Take a look at the video for what I was thinking at the time.

USBC Open Team Event - Fresh Oil

Here the link to the fresh oil analysis on YouTube in case the above doesn't work for you.

How I Actually Played The Lanes
I wish I had some video to show as I have for last year at the 2009 USBC Open but I didn't have my lovely wife available to man the video camera.

In any event I started off playing the line that the man in the above video was playing. Considering I have a lot of hand this was not hard. I threw my Brunswick Fury Pearl from the 20 board at the foul line to about 13 at the arros and about 8 at 45 feet and this worked well for practice and into the first game. At this time the ball started checking up high so I switched to my Twisted Fury on the same line. The difference being that my Twisted would skid longer before flipping... unfortunately it wanted to skid too long.

Looking back on it I really could've worked with either ball and made adjustments and been fine the shot was there but I felt that playing my inside up-and-in line, as mapped out on my last post on the USBC Open Oil Pattern, with my urethane ball (14 year old Columbia Beast) would be a good change. After all when the lanes get challenging it's tough to argue with going straighter.

This up and in shot worked really good on the right land and not as great on the left. In fact from the end of the second game to the end of the third I was perfect on the right, all strikes, but left 3 splits on the left. In the end of the third game I switched back to my Fury Pearl just for the left lane (a couple boards inside of where I started the day - about 22 - 14 - 9). This let me carry perfectly and was probably the shot I should've thrown the whole time even though the up and in shot was obviously there for me on the right lane.

Again, I wish I had video but I wasn't about to order a $100 video from the crew on site to do it for me so this will have to do.

I ended up shooting 178 - 182 - 182 for a 542 series. Not that great but this was a great lesson for doubles & singles later today. I will likely start off with my Fury Pearl bowling ball just as I ended the night last night and make it work with a slow controlled arching hook.

I'll post some video of how others were playing the Doubles / Singles event from an earlier squad complete with my thoughts and commentary and then later give a synopsis of how I actually played the lanes and what I thought about them.

Free Stuff At The USBC Open Championships

2010-03-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

For those traveling to Reno to bowl in the USBC Open Championships make sure to leave plenty of time to review all the documents and coupons presented to you as a bowler. In fact, stop by the bowling stadium and check in to get all your coupons because there's a lot of free stuff given to the bowlers. Food and drink are obviously part of this as are big discounts on shows and gambling. I don't really gamble so I don't really look at those but some may. Don't gamble, eat, or drink until you see what's there.

Here's a quick little video of me leaving the bowling stadium to take advantage of one of a handful of free drink offers. Yum!

And the video on YouTube if the above isn't working:
Free Stuff At The USBC Championships in Reno

USBC Open Championships 2010 Oil Pattern

2010-03-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

Today I spent a significant amount of time scouting the USBC Nationals 2010 Open Championships oil pattern. I don't bowl the team event until 8:30pm tonight so I figured I'd look at the oil pattern (see pic below), scout out my thoughts on the oil pattern (see other pic below), and then check out what bowlers were actually doing on the Open Championships Oil Pattern.

The USBC Nationals oil pattern as always is very challenging but not brutal, in my opinion. It simply forces you to make shots... and if you play it in the right spot with the right ball you should have a very small margin of error, which is what I'm trying to figure out how to find.

USBC Open Championships 2010 Oil Pattern

Thoughts On How To Play The USBC Open 2010 Oil Pattern
You can see from the pic below I feel (having not yet bowled on this pattern) that the best shot will be 6 at the arrows while never crossing outside of 5 - or - hitting around 13 at the arrows targeting between 8-11 at 45 feet depending on ball choice and foot position.

Anyway, having made these guesses I figured checking out what people who were actually doing well wer actually doing and found many to be laying down around 20, hitting the third arrow and hitting around 10 at 45 feet. Then again many of these people doing this were in the singles block which would have been games 7-9. I think this may be a great shot for when the lanes break down. For fresh oil however I'm still going with my gut.

In a soon to be published post I'll show some video of the people who were doing good on the lanes earlier in the same day I bowled.

Also, in case you missed my last preview posts, you can check out my post on me:

Leaving for the USBC Open Championships and me
Arriving in Reno after a wild drive.

Traveling To Reno By Car

2010-03-13T10:26:00.000-08:00

Ohh my, what a horrible day it was to travel to the Open Championships in Reno by car. Yesterday I got in the car and left my family and the Auberry church and I didn't make it to my room in Reno for almost 11 hours and I only went about 340 miles. The last hundred miles or so I had to travel the I-80 after a now storm had hit it earlier in the day. I didn't have to drive in the snow storm but the aftermath was just as bad.

Snow Chains + Being stuck on top of the mountain = price gauging.

Anyway, I made it and later today I bowl the Team Event. I'm going to go grab some coffee and a sandwich and head over to the lanes to scout place out. I have some ideas on how to play the lanes but you never know what will work. I want to see how others are playing them in action.

While I was circling the hotels after arriving I found this huge pin too, I thought I was great since I didn't say anything on it. It was just a big bowling pin. :)

Here's my video from last night when I got in to the hotel after that marathon drive. Man I look tired.

And the link to the same YouTube video:
Finally Arrived In Reno

Bowling League Statistics

2010-03-12T01:52:00.000-08:00

For a number of years I've kept virtually all of my bowling league statistics from every levels of bowling. From YABA bowling leagues to handicap adult leagues to scratch adult leagues they're all here. In recent years I've taken place in a number of sport pattern leagues as well. As tough as those leagues are they sure do make a guy notice weaknesses.

In any event you can click though below to view any of the bowling leagues I've bowled in and see the bowling statistics I maintained for each league individually. Over all my career bowling league average is low 2-teens on house shot and around the low 190s on a sport shot. You can see the chart below for a summery or each individual bowling league for details below.

Bowling League Statistics - In Summary

Bowling League Statistics - In Detail

Winter 2009-2010 Kearny Mesa Bowl - Choval Bowling League
Summer 2009 Kearny Mesa Bowl Open Doubles
Winter 2008-2009 Parkway Bowl 820 Scratch
Spring 2009 Brunswick Premier PBA Pattern One On One
Winter 2008-2009 Kearny Mesa Bowl Chovan League
Summer 2008 Kearny Mesa Bowl Open Doubles
Summer 2008 Brunswick Premier PBA One On One
Winter 2007-2008 Kearny Mesa Bowl Storm Chovan League
Summer 2007 Kearny Mesa Bowl Open Doubles
Winter 2006-2007 Kearny Mesa Bowl Chovan Classic
Winter 2006-2007 Conan Classic at Mira Mesa Bowl
Summer 2006 630 Scratch Trios at Kearny Mesa Bowl
Summer 2006 Kearny Mesa Bowl PBA Shot Open Doubles
Winter 2005-2006 Scratch 810 at Parkway Bowl
Winter 2005-2006 Monday Night Handicap at Kearny Mesa Bowl
Summer 2005 I Love San Diego League at Sunset Bowl
Summer 2005 Monday Night Mixers League at Sunset Bowl
Winter 2004-2005 Monday Night Mixers League at Sunset Bowl
Summer 2004 Wednesday Night 610 Scratch League at Sunset Bowl
Winter 2003-2004 Tuesday Night Mixed Handicap League at Sunset Bowl
Winter 2003-2004 Monday Night Mixed Scratch Classic League Stats
Summer 2003 Wednesday Night 610 Scratch League Stats

Off To The USBC Open Championships 2010

2010-03-12T01:21:00.000-08:00

Well another year passes and another entry into the USBC Open Championships presents itself.

This year I'll be heading back to the biggest bowling tournament of them all without the wife as a travel partner. Sure I'll be meeting up with all my teammates in Reno but I'll be entertaining myself alone a lot of the time... which is why you can view this ridiculous video of me introducing my trip to the USBC Championships.

I can probably guarantee you if Flor (my wife) was on the trip (she's in surgery rotations and is quite busy) she would put a stop to dumb videos like this is short order. But since it's just me on with the show. :)

And if this doesn't work for what ever reason check it out at YouTube:
Off To USBC Championships 2010

For reference purposes you can also take a look at some of my posts from previous years on the USBC Open Championships:

Enjoy and look for more to come as I get closer to Reno. Bowling for me begins Saturday afternoon at 5:30pm.

Open Doubles – Week 6 Recap

2009-06-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

This will just be a quick post before league this evening.

Last Monday Llyle and I shoed up for week 6, the second week on the US Open oil pattern. In week 5 we found out that the entire league average was about 177 and in week 6 the entire league average was 178; marginally improved. Week 6 for the two of us was quite close to the league average for the week and as a result we didn’t fare as well as we did the week prior.

In week five John and I shot just shy of 190 for the 6 games and we brought home 14 points on the night but last week Llyle and I shot a combined 175 average and only brought home 6 points.

Lyle struggled quite a bit as he hadn’t bowled on this shot yet this summer and I fared slightly worse than I did the previous week. My scores mostly dipped because I missed about 4-5 spares that I shouldn’t have whereas in week 5 I only missed about 1-2. Missed spares really add up if you’re not careful and I was defiantly careless last week. This week I’m really going to have to focus on taking my time on lining up for my spares.

Last week I also found the shot to play similar to the week prior but it was a little tighter of a shot. I played the lanes very similar week-over-week but found last week to be a little more wet-dry. I think this is because more people started playing deep inside than the week prior but then again it could have been because of the people we followed; different rev rates and trajectories. Who knows really, but I do know they played similar and fairly consistent. This week I’ll just try to be a little sharper and see if I can increase my scores based on the experience I’ve built up over the past 12 games.

My game scores last week were: 189-166-223-160-180-172 for a series 1090 or 181 average. I’m pleased to have kept all games over 160 (something I didn’t do last week) though I’d like for them to be higher still. Week 7 bowling is underway tonight at 9pm so I’ll report back with my results. For those following along at home my game by game scores for each week of this league can viewed on my main Open Doubles 2009 page.

US Open Oil Pattern - Bowling League Recap

2009-06-03T23:41:00.000-07:00

I decided to spend some time this morning to talk a little about the summer bowling season so far. Monday evening saw week five of the 2009 Open Doubles league and the first week bowling on the US Open pattern. The first four weeks were on Shark, which is not generally as hard as the US Open but for me it has historically been one of my lowest scoring patterns. I felt pretty good about laying down a 191 average over 24 games on it and I was looking forward to one of the toughest patterns out there, the 25 foot, flat patterned US Open Pattern. I haven’t bowled on this more than a couple times at least but most notably I traveled to North Brunswick, NJ and bowled in the US Open on this pattern back in early 2006. Let’s just say I had my challenges to deal with at that time. I was short on equipment and a little under experienced. I ended up scoring miserably.

At the very least Monday was different. I didn’t score lights out but I managed to hold average and shoot about a 191 average on the day. Through week four my average was pretty much right in line with the league average on Shark but after watching the scores drop precipitously on Monday I’m sure the league’s overall average dropped significantly on this new pattern (in fact it did drop to 186). I look forward to seeing how I stack up. When all was said and done I bowled a 188, 233, 165, 157, 204, 192 and I led my doubles team to a fantastic week going 14-1. This was well needed as we were slowly sliding in the standings through the first four weeks. Now, after week 5 we are squarely in the middle of the pack at 38-37, one point over .500.

To start the day off on fresh oil I threw my original Brunswick Fury. I didn’t expect to through this but found the oil volume to be lower than expected. The Fury was a perfect fit for the first couple games. I slid at about 25, laying down at about 22, aiming for about 10 at 45’ with moderately fast speed. This ended up working well for the first couple games as I shot +21 for the front two. After the jump from lanes 39-40 down to 23-24 I found the back end to be much weaker when the Fury wouldn’t recover from the breakpoint so I switched balls to my Twisted Fury and moved in a little sliding at about 26, laying down at 23 and aiming for a breakpoint at about 10. I also slowed my shot down to a moderately slow speed but just couldn’t find the break I was looking for; the ball kept coming in light no matter what minor adjustments I made. Eventually I tried my Fury Pearl for its earlier roll and strong backed and found it too aggressive. Eventually by the end of game 4 the Twisted finally started working but it was too late and my scores were terrible. I even missed a spare to close out game 4 with a 157. The second set we managed to win on the strength of my substitute partner, John Powanda, and the failure of our opponents to bowl any better. I shot -78 for the set.

Games 5-6 were completely different as e moved down to 17-18. The lanes were more broken down and the back ends were flying. I ended up stepping left throwing my Fury Pearl, sliding at 31, laying down at 27 and aiming for a break point at about 11 at 45’. The shot held up well and though I tugged a few I had some room and managed a couple good scores as I slowly adjusted my feet left as the frames went by. By the end of game 6 I had moved my slide to about 37, laying down at 33 with a break point at 11. For me the shot gets tougher as I move my feet left but I managed pretty good overcoming a couple missed spares in game 6. In the end it came down to the tenth frame and I buried three in a row as anchor to close out the win by one point. Everybody was thoroughly entertained by the last frame of the game as a number of folks came down to watch. We swept a typical first place contending team in dramatic fashion. It was fun and it made me feel better to be able to adjust and overcome a bad second set with a good third as I shot -4 for the two games.

Over all going 14-1 was about as good as you can do and it really clawed our team back into contention bringing us back to a positive winning record. I’ve been bad at recording my thoughts on each week and I think a lot of that has to do with our team not doing so great thus far so I will try to commit to doing a better job in the future recapping each week despite the results. After all, the poor results can tell me a lot about what I was doing and why it didn’t work. Next week, we’ll see if the shot holds up like it did this week and maybe I can improve on this week by learning to adjust to the games where the lanes play close to the way they did in the second set on Monday. The US Open pattern is a tough pattern and I would be very proud to come out of it shooting 24 games on it for a 190+ average; we’ll see how I can hold up.