What is Joe's last name so we can follow his progress does anyone know?

Doogie, my name is Joe Marinucci. Thanks for your support.

How hard is bowling the Masters? I moved up 30 spots waiting for my 5:00pm squad to start.

I am currently around 370th. Below is an additional link to follow the scoring/ranking after each game. http://pba.com/LiveScoring/qual_results.aspx?RoundID=2156

Bowlers on the B Squad are kicking butt.

I intuitively played front-back on the PBA patterns. What usually tripped me up though was the unexpected wet/dry somewhere in-between. With the lower oil ratios the middle part of the lane would start playing like a reverse block along with the usual oil pushing down situation. The lanes also tended to transition quicker than a THS.

There is a saying in the boxing world, everybody has a plan until they get punched. That is pretty much how day 2 of the Masters went for me. The good news is I scored a little better. I had a higher high game and a higher low game compared to day 1. But overall, I did nothing to improve my position.

In warm-ups, I tested the Primal Impulse 20 -> 10 and it just sailed. It was never going to make the turn like I hoped, at least not with my stroker revs. I was thinking my best line might be 16 -> 8 with my Ascent Pearl, but I already knew that would require pinpoint accuracy. I tested the Ascent Solid on the same line, and it read the lanes a little sooner. I decided to try a 5 and 5 move to the outside, and liked what I saw, although I knew I would be flirting with the 3-7-9 all day long if I missed left.

Game 1 - 219 Right ball, right line, right release
Game 2 - 160 Moved to right end pair, much tighter, too slow adjusting
Game 3 - 162 Moved to other side of house. Best darn 160 game of my life
Game 4 - 182 Started to see some backend movement and switched to Ascent Pearl
Game 5 - 171 Three 6 pins in a row. Moving half board each time was not enough

Today was all about Execution. I was relatively happy with the ball in my hand and the line I was playing. But, I paid for every variation in my delivery and release. It seemed that good shots left a 6-pin or 7-pin, and bad shots left 3 or more pins standing.

On my way out, I stopped to watch Rhino Page who was still bowling. He was standing in the same spot on the approach and rolling over the same mark at the arrows. The difference was he was carrying. The pros seem to generate a stronger backend reaction due to their faster speed and higher rev rate. But, what makes them really special is their ability to repeat shots.

Tomorrow, I am looking forward to bowling on the burn. A lot of scores have come out of that session from the other squads. I am hoping to finish strong, then find a good seat to watch and learn.

Btw, one of the bowlers I am enjoying watching and bowling with is 21-year old A.J. Rice. After 10 games, the two-handed lefty is still the top amateur (+257).

That's what impressed me the most watching the top pros. They repeatedly hit the same mark and the ball would travel down lane with the same crisp rotation and speed. Most amateurs have much more slop in their release which adds another variable. An amateur could mistakenly interpret a delta in their release as a lane transition on sport conditions. In all fairness to amateurs, many of us don't have the time or the resources that a lot of these top guys have either. We're involved in our daily routines doing our jobs that we're trained to do which the bowling pros most likely can't do at all!

Nice 219 game Joe! If you can walk away with a 180+ average that's not too shabby.

I love using the phrase "delta". Throws people off

Sorry for the offhand comment. Back to your normal programming....

I was happy to finish today's qualifying round with an improved 5-game total. The scores were nothing impressive, but at least more consistent.

Game 1 - 188
Game 2 - 170
Game 3 - 186
Game 4 - 184
Game 5 - 188

Day 1 total - 871
Day 2 total - 894
Day 3 total - 916

Today, I started with the QZ2 Backdraft. It was great in practice, rolling 3-4 strikes in a row. But, the thumb was a little snug, and I removed 1 piece of black tape. Unfortunately, all of the tape became a gooey mess. The pace with only 4 bowlers on the pair was too quick to fix it properly, so I finished the first game hanging up in the thumb. After each game, we moved an average of 20 lanes in the 82 lane house, so I tried to fix it between games. It was still sticky, even after applying EZ-Slide, so I switched to my Venom Strike. The low RG, low Diff solid was definitely the wrong ball for the condition, and I had my worst game of the day with it. For the remaining 3 games, I toughed it out with the Ascent Pearl.

Even though we only bowled 5 games each day, it felt more like 9 or 10 games, because of shooting so many spares. Now that qualifying is over, I am happy to be able to relax, and trade in my competitor's shirt for a fan's hat. Today, I got to see Chris Barnes only a pair away roll a 300 game. And, the two-handed lefty amateur that I bowled with, A.J. Rice, is still in the top 63. I will be cheering for him in the next round.

Joe, happily for my association, Ryan Yelle fared a little better w/ a 191+ average for the 15 games. Jon VanHees from New England was doing well and will probably make match play, so he becomes my rooting interest in this.

Updated link below for current scores/ranking. B squad is currently in game 13. Wes Malott is still way on top.
http://pba.com/LiveScoring/qual_results.aspx?RoundID=2157

Unfortunately, Richie, it looks like your friend Ryan will finish around 300th place, and get the same prize as everybody else who finished below 116th...an invitation to come back next year.

I was hoping for some bragging rights, too. A fellow league bowler, a power player who averages in the 230's, came out to the Masters last year and averaged 179. I thought I could do better, but fell short a couple of pins at 178.73. I am sure I will hear about it next league night.

It's okay with me. If I get to heaven someday, I won't care about my number. I will just be happy to be there. It's the same with bowling the Masters.

After 15 games of qualifying, below are the top 63, plus last year's champion, Mike Fagan. The list includes 14 amateurs, denoted by an asterisk. Double elimination match play begins tomorrow morning.

1 Wes Malott
2 Todd Book
3 Pete Weber
4 Mike Moore
5 Brian LeClair
6 Mika Koivuniemi
7 Rhino Page
8 Chris Barnes
9 Scott Norton
10 Osku Palermaa
11 Dan MacLelland
12 Ryan Ciminelli
13 Tom Daugherty
14 Matt McNiel*
15 Sean Rash
16 John Szczerbinski
17 Jason Sterner
18 Scott Newell
19 Josh Blanchard
20 D.J. Archer
21 Mike Edwards
22 Jason Belmonte
23 Jon VanHees
24 Kyle Bigelow
25 Craig LeMond
26 Ryan Shafer
27 Walter Ray Williams Jr.
28 John Janawicz*
29 Stuart Williams
30 Parker Bohn III
31 Michael Machuga
32 Martin Larsen
33 Allen Rice II*
34 Ildemaro Ruiz
35 Andres Gomez
36 Marshall Kent*
36 Tommy Jones
38 Dino Castillo
39 Jeff Kubasak*
40 Doug Kent
41 Mike Scroggins
42 Brian Ziesig*
42 Patrick Allen
44 Matt Gasn*
45 Timothy Foy Jr.*
46 Michael Haugen Jr.
47 Lee Vanderhoef
48 Nathan Bohr
49 John Brockland*
50 Tyson Branagan*
50 Devin Golden*
52 Michael Markis
52 Chris Loschetter
52 Ronnie Russell
55 Eddie VanDaniker Jr.
56 Gary Faulkner
57 Manuel Otalora*
58 Brian Kretzer
59 Daniel Dunleavy*
60 [censored] Allen
61 Adam Chase
62 Tetsuya Kobayashi*
63 Eugene McCune
64 Mike Fagan