ROLLING ROLLING ROLLING

Posted By: Glenn HaumanPosted On:

Just came back from rolling in the PBA Pro/Am tournament at the Syosset Lanes in Long Island. As one might surmise, I was an Am.

I’d been incredibly afraid to enter the tournament, especially because I’ve been in a real slump lately. Then again, being incredibly afraid of doing something is often a good reason to go and do it (provided you can’t get yourself killed in the process.) So short of someone beaning me with an Ebonite, I figured it was safe enough.

Extremely glad I did. I had a great time bowling alongside the pros, who were all really nice, and I actually did reasonably well. Granted, it was no-tap, meaning that taking down nine pins with the first ball counts as a strike, so there was that cushion. But I was converting my multi-pin spares, and had Kathleen and Ariel cheering me on besides. My scores were 183, 191 and 208, which wasn’t bad, especially since I’ve been struggling as of late, plus I was nervous. I doubt I’ll win any prize money (the Pro/Am runs through Wednesday), but my goal was to go out there and not suck, and I accomplished that much, at least.

Plus we had a brilliant back-up plan. If I was doing lousy, Kathleen would spill water on her lap, jump up and shout, “Honey! My water broke!” And I’d quickly apologize for having to depart, but hey, gotta get the wife to the hospital, and off we’d go. Fortunately we didn’t have to go that route.

We’ll be back at Syosset next Sunday when they broadcast the Pro/Am live at 1:00 PM
EST on ESPN. So if you tune in to ESPN then, you might see us. I’ll be the one wearing the SPIDER-MAN soccer shirt.

PAD

8 comments on “ROLLING ROLLING ROLLING”

  2. I don’t mean to be rude or impatient, or anything but it has been a while sense I have saw anything about the upcomming New Frontier book. If anyone has any info on that could they please post it here, please.

  3. Brilliant exit plan! I can’t wait to see somebody use that in a comic book someday.

    **(Clark/Peter: “Oh, no! I must change into Super/Spider-man, but there are all these people around. And I can’t just charge out of here for no excuse, or everyone will think Clark/Peter doesn’t keep his commitments. How can I change without revealing my other identity?”

    Lois/MJ: “I have to help Clark/Peter get out of here so he can change. What could I possibly do? Oh, I know — I’ll put that plan we secretly talked about into action…”)**

    Of course, it would call for at least 9 months of preparation to set the situation up, and since DC/Marvel time moves more slowly than comic-reader time it could be a long wait for the punchline …

  5. Which professionals did you get to bowl with? I’d love to do one of those tournaments sometime, but since I don’t bowl anywhere near Carolier Lanes, I doubt I’ll see one nearby. =)

    Walter Ray Williams Jr. is my bowling idol. I can’t crank it like many of the others do, so I like someone like him who can just make his spare shots and stroke some strikes.

    -Augie

  6. Peter,

    How would you compare the lane conditions for the tournament to normal, league-type conditions? I’ve carried averages in leagues as high as 212, but I’ve always had problems in serious tournaments because the lane conditions vary so much. The lanes are often far oiler in tournament play, and the oil is applied further down the lane as well.

    The conditions we see on televised tournaments are also different, because the hot lights tend to dry out the oil rather quickly.

    I did get into a real groove once in a no-tap tournament. I shot 1456 (300,300,278,278,300) for a five game match but I only finished third because of the handicaps. It’s a lot easier when you’re a lefty and you don’t have to fight against the seven pin.

  7. Hope you had a good time with the ProAm. They were just here a month ago in Memphis. I got a chance to bowl with Walter Ray Williams Jr!!! I have my “autograph pin” displayed in my office. The telecast was fantastic! I was sitting right behind Brian Voss’ kids. They were very nervous in that last game. It was cool to see him win with them there. I’ll be watching Sunday. Do you know where you will be sitting?

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