Week 9 Update - The Highs and Lows of Bowling

Week 9 Bowling Update

October 14, 2025 – Lane Masters League

Team: The Hasbeens
Lanes: 11 & 12

We managed to take all 7 points last night against a team with stronger averages. Granted, they were a player short and had to take a blind… but hey, we’ll take it where we can get it!

Game 1 was our best, winning by 86 pins scratch. Games 2 and 3 were much tighter, with only 25 and 21-pin differences, respectively. Thankfully, our handicap advantage helped lock in those final two games and seal the sweep.

Personally, I had one of my better nights of the season, rolling 193, 182, and 183 for a 557 series — an average of 185.67. My stats were solid across the board:

• Strikes: 50%

• Spares: 58%

• Single Pins: 66%

• Multiple Pins: 54%

• Splits: 0

• Opens: 20% — my lowest open percentage to date!

Of course, the stat sheet had to remind me that if I’d picked up every spare, I’d have averaged 189.67. Always something to work on!

I started with the Phaze II, standing on 20 and targeting the second arrow as usual. Early on, the pin action wasn’t there — I opened with 9-open, strike, 9-spare, then followed with 7-spare, 9-spare, 6-2, and 6-spare. Finally, I jumped left to board 25 and moved my line inside a few boards. That adjustment was money. I ran the sheet to close Game 1 and started Game 2 with strike, 9-spare, strike.

Things stayed consistent until the second frame of Game 3 when the Phaze II made a hard left turn and took out just three pins. I missed the spare and swapped to the Destiny Hybrid, which carried me home with only one open the rest of the night.

Observation: The Black Venom is spending more time in the bag lately. Might be time to rethink the arsenal lineup — we’ll see.

With only ten teams in the league and a 30-week season, every tenth week is a position round. I’m confident we’ve climbed into the top four, but we’ll have to wait for the standings sheet to find out exactly where we land and who we’ll face next week.

---

October 16, 2025 – Prime Timers League

Team: Right–Left–Right
Lanes: 11 & 12

It’s not often I get to bowl on the same pair for both leagues in the same week, and even rarer that I look forward to going back. But this week was that rare exception.

Two nights earlier, I’d bowled my second-best series of the season and really felt in control. I was hoping that magic would still be there. Our team, Right–Left–Right, entered the night in first place, facing Mike & ’Em, the team I subbed with last year. They’re currently in fifth, despite having a couple of the league’s best bowlers. We had a slim 58-pin handicap advantage going in.

Unfortunately, the magic was gone. I must’ve used it all up Tuesday night. Games of 120, 164, and 146 were… let’s just say disappointing. Thankfully, my teammates picked up the slack, and we managed to pull out 5 points — winning Games 2 and 3, plus total pins — enough to keep us at the top of the standings heading into Week 10.

Next week, we’ll be on lanes 15 & 16 facing the sixth-place team, New Tricks. They’ll have the handicap advantage, so we’ll need to dust off a few OLD TRICKS if we want to stay on top.

Keep Striking!! 🎳