Bowler's Thumb Strikes

Bowling league should be interesting tomorrow. So far, I'm having my best season ever. I've had my second highest game ever, highest series ever, most 700s in a league season, I'm carrying my highest average ever, and have a chance to do something I've never done before: bowl back-to-back-to-back 700s. Yes, I know technological advances are a big part of that. But this post is about what could go wrong.

I've been wanting to bowl in some competitive tournaments, and to do that, I need to get conditioned for several games in a row, not just a three-game set. So yesterday I bowled six games of practice in Rosemount, and sure enough, at the end of game six, I noticed I had a blister, and it ripped. So part of my thumb is a bit raw right now, and it stings a little to the touch.

The last time I bowled with such a condition, I toughed it out (eat your heart out, Jay Cutler) for ten games in a tournament, and averaged exactly 160 for the event. I would be surprised if that wasn't dead last place. I keep that event in mind whenever I feel I need a little humility; it was positively my worst bowling tournament appearance ever.

What might save me from a similar experience tomorrow is a product called "perfect patch." The patchwork I attempted in the debacle above was old school "Liquid Skin," which was little more than glorified Krazy Glue and a small mesh patch. Perfect patch can be seen used by many touring pros, so here's hoping it will help.

If not, I will have another experience to fall back on whenever I feel the need to bring myself back down to earth.

PBA ToC on ABC

This weekend will be one of the biggest weekends in the history of American Ten-Pin Bowling. I specify tenpin, because there are of course other types, such as candlepin, which is a style popular out east, plus a couple variations of duckpin bowling. The PBA Tournament of Champions is taking place, and it will be the richest tournament in the PBA Tour's history. There's $1 million in the prize fund, with $250,ooo to the winner. Second place will pay $100,000. So it's big in that regard, but also in that it could foretell the future of the PBA Tour.

This year, there are fewer tournaments since the very first years of the Tour, and some of the tournaments feature first place checks that haven't been this low in years. Ratings are around a million per show, a far cry from when I watched it pretty regularly in the late '70s and early '80s. I could write several pages on what I think is the cause of the problem, and the cure (hint: accept the loss of popularity, no gimmicks, and respect the game in the broadcasts). Someday I will. (I think I've said that before.)

So this weekend, the PBA Tour will try to rejuvenate itself by putting most of its eggs in this basket. Some cool things include Nelson (Bo) Burton, Jr. being back on the telecast, which will be broadcast live on ABC for the first time since 1997. It will be in HD, which to me is the coolest thing of all, as you will be able to really see the fine points of the ball revolution and reaction to the lane conditions. That's something only a true bowling geek can get into perhaps, but I'm hoping Randy Pedersen's analysis will help the casual viewer appreciate some of the finer points to some degree.

It airs this Saturday at 1:30 P.M. CST, and despite my skepticism of how it will affect (or not) the future success of the Tour, it will most definitely make for compelling television. These guys (and gals) are struggling to make a living, but at least one person (even two, you could argue) might make some life-changing cash. As a purist, I feel I shouldn't be as excited as I am for the show. But as a fan, how can I help it?

A Bowling Video Even Non-Bowlers Can Enjoy

My dad once told a story to me of the first time he ever went bowling and how he made a strike...on the wrong lane. Somehow, the ball bounced over the gutters and struck on the adjacent lane, although I am not sure which one (to the left or right).

Over the years I gradually came to wonder about the story, until I pretty much forgot it altogether. Last year, an old friend with whom I used to bowl in our youth reminded me of it, and I again wondered, "Did he really do it? Did I remember the story correctly?"

I no longer have reason to doubt my father's story. At the Team USA Bowling Trials recently, the below video was captured. I've already spoiled it for you, but it's still worth a look.

The bowler rolls two conventional, although somewhat fortunate strikes first (one was a light hit, the other heavy), but notice from where he begins his approach. This was made necessary by the difficulty of the lane conditions at the time. As you can perhaps imagine, it can be an intimidating shot for those not used to playing it in their house leagues.

If you'd rather, just skip to the payoff at about the 0:52 mark. Enjoy! (And check out the fist pump after the shot is over!)

My Son: Super Mario Addict

I'm not going to get any Father of the Year awards for how I'm raising any of my kids, but that is especially true when it comes to my five-year-old and how I am handling his Wii Super Mario Brothers addiction. Today was an especially difficult day, as he was throwing fits pretty consistently for about two hours.

Everything would be fine if I just let him play it the way he wants to. He likes to play the easy levels, and occasionally try a more difficult level. After he gets tired of that, he goes back to the easy levels. But he likes me to play with him, and I like a challenge in a video game. I don't like many video games anymore, but I do like to gradually improve, and I like the games to get more difficult as I improve. This is why I still much prefer the old Links golf game on the PC over Tiger Woods on Playstation or Wii. The Tiger game has it backwards in that the better you get, the easier the game becomes. On the Links game, it's more like computer chess - once you get better, you get bored with the "easy" setting, and move to the more difficult "Pro" or "Championship" settings.

Anyway, I should have stuck to my guns when telling my son to calm down or else I'd stop the game. But I choose instead to try to reason with him while he's throwing the fits, even though it seems pretty traumatic. I love how competitive he is, and I love how no matter how upset he gets, he doesn't want to quit. I do think he'll outgrow this, and since I can relate (remembering my own life-long, self-competitive temper tendancies), I hope I can help him just by letting him play through it.

I do need to limit his time playing the game. It helps that skating lessons start up again tomorrow night, and he still enjoys that more than Super Mario Brothers. I hope that never changes.