knock on wood, I am hoping to be crawling out of a slump! Tonight, just got back from bowling a 189, 201, 209, 217, ans 239. If only I could recall the order in which I shot them... Anyway, I have had a bit of away time and took a week to myself for some R&R and skipped a practice for bowling I originally had planned last weekend. It hurt really bad when I got to the lanes the next Tuesday. Both Tuesday and Wednesday of last week I spent several hours each night trying to figure out where my bad habits were and how they were formed. I think tonight I finally got the feel of things back in order. Gosh I hope so and I really don't want to jinx it!

Thanks Upriser. That's a good series for me especially at that center. And even better considering I've felt really off lately.

153, 156, 150

Consistent, but I missed a load of easy spares in the middle game

Well I actually went out an practiced on Saturday with my Hornet, with some success. 215,215. This was at a house I never bowled at and after two squads of youngsters bowling. That was actually very nice to see a whole house full of rug rats. I haven't seen that in years! There was a ton of carry down so not too shabby of bowling I must say. I've actually never been able to stay on the right side of the lane before(except for tournies) but I was able to with the Hornet. True test will be league on Tuesday but so far so good.

Threw a 201, 208, and 246 on a medium-dry house pattern last night. Felt really good and concentrated on posting my shot, staying down and not popping up, and not muscling my ball. Ball had great reaction and I hit my mark for the most part.

After four sets with the Gravity Shift, I can say I'm pretty pleased with it overall. Going into Monday I'd shot 644, 669, 653 with it. Nothing spectacular, but fairly consistent and since I'm still learning the ball, it's fine by me.

Monday comes up and we're bowling the top average team in the house. Their top bowler is in the mid-230 range, and so I kinda call him out in a friendly way. I said I was gonna beat him.

Game 1, I start with a double and leave a 10. No problem... except that I missed it. I used to let that bother me, but I don't anymore. That was a big step in my mental game. It paid off since I struck out for a 267. My target struggled a bit and shot 227, so after one game I was up by 40 (and my team won too, heh).

Game 2, I again start with a double. This time I leave a pretty solid 9 pin in the third, but that's alright. I left a couple 10s along the way and I don't remember the details, but I finished 234. My target got lined up and shot 278, so my 40 pin lead was gone. He's up 504-501 after two.

Game 3, I start with a double... and carry the third one! My target also started with a turkey. He goes up in the 4th and pulls it a hair, goes through the nose and leaves a 4-6-7. So I'm thinking, cool. This is my big chance to take the lead back and never look back. That would've worked, but... I pulled mine too. 4-6-7. I figured I was done here, he's the type of guy that recovers well from these things. He goes up in the 5th and goes through the nose again, 4-6-10. I was shocked. I got up and struck so I had my lead back. And then, the game gets interesting.

6th frame I go up to throw, and I stick on the approach. I got a 9 count out of it somehow, I think I left a 2 pin. I look on my shoe, there's a piece of gum on it. Some of it got on the approach too. I clean my shoe, wire brush it to death, and the house cleans the approach. I make the spare and move on. 7th frame I stick a little bit and toss an 8 count. Picked it up and cleaned my shoe more. It seems alright now and I come up with a double to enter the 10th. My target left another 4-6-7 along the way so I pretty much have him if I don't screw up. I go up in the 10th and throw a 7 count, make the spare. Then, the fill ball. I've already got him beat and we lost overall by like 100, so the score on this ball didn't matter. I go to throw, and stick badly on a spot they missed when they were cleaning the gum. I go about 7 feet down the lane and have to grab one of the big poles between the lanes to stay upright. So, I fouled, for the first time in my 16 years of bowling. The worst part was the impact between my arm/shoulder and that pole. It still hurts quite a bit.

As it was, the game ended 198-186. 699 series. I don't really care about the scoring since I beat him, my team lost, and 700's don't mean anything, but I was pretty ticked about having to hurt myself on a pole because someone didn't know how to clean the approach properly. I was going to prebowl for my Sunday league since I won't be home, and I couldn't due to the pain. Oh well.

193
198
188

hand and fingers and arm were sore third game as working on new hand position, working the inside of the ball.

Seems like I'm getting worse and worse. Started off this season at 190+ average. Was thinking the coaching lessons were finally paying off. But now, 12 weeks into the season, I'm back down to 181 and still dropping. Last night was the worst. I subbed on a buddy's team and shot 490 - 158, 155, 177. They would have been better off taking the absent bowler's average minus the 10 pins.

I'm seriously considering making this my last season of bowling. It's just not fun anymore.

156, 174, 148

My league bowling has been rather consistent, three averages being: 153, 155, 159

During my Sunday practice, I worked on a different release and so far so good with my bowling this week, shooting:

Monday League = 204, 268, 258 for 730
Tuesday 6pm League = 235, 212, 205 for 652
Tuesday 9pm League = 174, 279, 268, 227 for 948

Just my Wednesday league to go before settling in for the Turkey day weekend.