bluey

HI Paul
Just dropping you a line to see if you are bowling in the Mentone Cup on the 19th /20th March. Haven't heard from you so hope all is well.
Cheers
Warren

hey bluey......nothing wrong with being "grey".....
sometimes it helps !!!

There is no shame in being beaten by Australian reps, State reps, Gold medal winning youth bowlers. These women have worked their buts off and the results are there for all to see, Jeanette Baker has won more than l will in 3 lifetimes. I thought handicap was given to "bowlers" on the merit of their ability not their lack of having a penis. There are many male bowlers with sub 180 aves going against 200+ ave women with handicap, something doesn't seem right. If you think that the lack of a penis makes you lesser of a bowler then maybe you should get out of the dark ages. You don't need a million revs to be successful in this sport, Paul Trotter and George Frilingos are not power players but are clearly the most successful guys out there. Maybe the women should speak up and let us know what they think.
As for the harden the fuk up bit, this is my address, please call by anytime to discuss this further. 306 Forest rd The Basin.
__________________
Bluey, no expert, just opinionated.

I took Trent down for a practice last week and after 4 games and a 220 ave l was needing a double in the tenth to beat him! He bowled amazing with a 235, 195, 225 and 220, we changed him to 13lb gear last month and he has excelled wonderfully. The adult league he has joined is really helping with his ave now up to 165, I'd say he will increase this by at least 20 pins over the next 12 months. Just got to get him to smile more, don't know where he gets that from. He has his Junior Sheild roll off this weekend, 6.30 Saturday night, not what l would call appropriate for juniors, hopefully he can perform to his potential.

At Boronia l have been talking with management and mechanics about reducing the ratio on the oil pattern, amazingly they have listened and a reduction was made with a further reduction in the pipeline. Now that's progress! My ave currently is on 221 which is not a true indication of my bowling ability, somewhere between 200 and 210 maybe, but not 220. At Dandenong l can't even shoot 550, l've been subbing in Trotts team on Thursday nights and my series last night was 494. 8 splits and a washout in 3 games, funnily enough l feel close to a break through after trying something a little different to what works for me elsewhere, have to wait and see.

Dunn Sheild roll off last month as well, Aimee and l both made the team coming in 3rd place in our division, if only Rachuig was as easy.

Stevie held up the team throughout the graveyard shift while l got some sleep, keeping us in contention for a top 10. I arrived back around 4.45am to complete the final 15 and although l didn't bowl great, others around me were struggling with the lack of sleep and it showed. We got into 6th place, with prize money covering a little over our entry, awesome. Another great event with friendly people, already paid deposit for next year.

I convinced my wife to come to Mildura Marathon last month and also dragged Stevie out of his comfort zone as well. Knowing that Aimee couldn't throw 15 straight we had to think long and hard about the way in which we went about getting through 20 games each over 27 hrs. Giving Aim the first 10 worked well, Stevie 5 then re oil and Aim up for another 10. This second 10 saw Aim resort to the "second skin" on her thumb, palm, and fingers. With a hand that looked like it had a battle with a cheese grater and lost, she pushed on and finally had her first win and highest game in the 20th. She never whinged and never quit, and bowled within 2 pins of her ave over 20 games, what a star!

Mackay Open was a great weekend, it's the first time this year that my ave increased from qualifying to matchplay, which in turn increased my final position. (11th to 8th) The interesting part was the highs and lows, especially of Carl and Jacinta who had all the carry in the world on day one to have every back row possible on the second. I too had second day confusion when equipment that looked great on day one, turned into something in the "under over" catergory on day two. And the only ball that looked crap in qualifying was the only ball that looked good in matchplay. I threw caution to the wind against George hoping for a big game and only succeeded in hitting anything but the pocket with the ball that threw back to back 240 the previous arvo, oh well maybe next time.
The event ran well and everyone was nice, except of course Hamish who hates all left handers and takes every opportunity to harass us. I gave as good as l got, it was a good laugh.

Just picked up my new Mutant cell last night. I polished it over 4000 to get a little extra length but was still amazed at how much it hooks! Nothing gets close!

Greg's only charging $2.00 per game for lineage. I'd say that based on this alone, it would be well worth your time to come up and bowl.

In league l'm still useless, we are winning thanks to my team mates carrying me along these last few months. Maybe next season will be better.
Loving the Storm gear l've got, funny how l can't use it in any Tournaments cause it hooks so much, l always end up using my Hammers.

Matchplay was good for a while, with pinfall dropped from Sunday we were all square and early on l got as high as 4th. As the lanes got drier and drier l slowly slipped back further and further. The usual suspects got better on the burn and 11th was not the best l could do but it was where l ended up. Still some short comings in my game to work on, it's good to come away with money and knowledge all at the same time.

Melbourne Cup this weekend was OK. A very challenging condition which played a lot different than everyone imagined. The outside 5-6 boards were out of bounds and the short oil had everything inside hook like buggery. My first 6 games where good enough to keep but the last 3 had to be replaced. The first attempts of re-entry on the used oil still found me short of the cut. With Mac's advice l went home for a few hours and relaxed with my name down for the fresh oil at 6pm. My wife gave me some thoughts to work with (as usual) and l applied them nicely. It wasn't my natural shot and repeating was a problem but l managed to scrape through into the top 16, just.

Rachuig, what a disaster! Saturday l was so stressed about not making it that l bowled crap and didn't make it. (does that make sense?) Sunday l was 4th for the day but it was not enough to make up for the pitiful performance l had to work with from Saturday. Damn damn damn!!!!!!!!!!! Received a letter today for the draft, can't imagine bowling for another state.

VSS at Geelong was great, led all day only to be knocked out in the first 5 way elimination match. Wish they re-oiled for the finals, maybe l would have had a fighting chance. Hammer 3d offset ball of the day again, best ball at Brisbane as well.

A week later and l was in sunny Qld, not. (It rained Friday and Saturday) I had a practice on Friday and thought it looked alright, it wasn't to dry and the timber lanes were remarkably good to bowl on. It was the first time l had seen a ball get through the heads so consistently on wood. As for me, the only thing l did consistently on Saturday was open a frame every game. A high of 222 and low of 189 over 10 games, consistently to low! I finished 39th in a feild of 119 with arguably the very best of Australia's talent all in one place. A well run event and hopefully the sponsors change their mind on pulling out. Belmo as usual was awesome, but that's his job.

What an interesting few months it has been. I made the trip up to Darwin for the Arafura Classic and was disgusted at how dirty the centre was. Players areas were sticky and this travelled onto the approaches making it very hit n miss as far as sliding was concerned. The lanes are covered in Gardian overlay to just past the arrows where it then reverts back to the natural timber underneath. The overlay is lifting and or patched on nearly every lane in the place. How on earth these lanes could be sanctioned, and why it's ranked is beyond me. The cut was the top 16 and there was only 21 entries, l had more chance of making it than not. Entry fee of $300 and 9th place where l finished payed out $335, a disappointing weekend on many levels. Hopefully next year they give the rankings to something in WA.

A quick rundown on league, Wed nights has been ****house. Can't carry no matter where l play and the average is dropping.
Mon night singles. The first 4 weeks was a battle of "throw it fast or go high".
The next 4 weeks on Route 66 45feet was a great leadup to the AO. A couple 900+ series, an 899, and a 300 game, awesome.

Day 3, Matchplay. Those that have looked at any matchplay results in the last 18 months would know that it's not my strong point. The joy of bowling like a superstar quickly diminished as l tightened up and generally bowled rubbish. This trend will not continue. At the end of the day l ended up 9th, very dissappointed dropping 4 spots, very happy to finish in the top 10 which ironically was my goal leading into the event. Never been so pissed off at achieving what l wanted, may have to set the bar a little higher.
It was good to see Brian Bridges out there for matchplay, thanks to those that were supporting me.