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Sep

27

Glossary Update

It’s great to get outreach from bowlers like Eddie Dunn and Tricia Cawley and we at Everything Candlepin thank you! I received an email yesterday from Loretta and Ken – from Canada no less – about an update to our glossary. Just as Frank stated earlier we are more than willing to take suggestions and accept corrections when we make an error (we are currently still in discussion about a certain World Record Holder’s suggestion to the glossary. I say “yes”, Frank says “no” – so it’s a hung jury!).

Here is the email – and yes, I will be happy to add it for you

Hey Rich,

Up here is Canada (Nova Scotia) we coined a shot name – a strike where the headpin falls last is a “Julian”. It’s named for Dave Julian, a former World’s bowler some years ago. He mentioned to me that one time that he got a great kick on hearing a few Americans bowlers pick up the term whilst in the World’s on hearing the Nova Scotians say it.

Obviously there has to be a reason for naming a shot after a guy, and in this case no one around here threw more of this kind of strike than our Dave. One might say he had more crap on the ball than Carter had Liver Pills.

KenJ

Thanks for the email Kenj! It’s been added!

Rich

September 27th, 2012

Resources

Sep

26

Upper Valley Lanes and Games – White River Junction, VT

Its always great to receive email from readers! As many of you may know, I handle the official Twitter account for the Candlepin Pro Series. One of the most important qualities of Twitter and other social media networking sites is the ability to to connect with others who share the same interests as you. A fine example of this is the following story.

I did a quick search one day for people who were tweeting about Candlepin bowling and came across user @TriciaCawley who tweeted: “Strongly considering a roadtrip to go candlepin bowling. I miss it so freaking much. I wish there was an alley it VT“. With my self-proclaimed Candlepin expertise, I tweeted her back with a list of the only four Candlepin lanes in Vermont. Thus, I’ve received photos and a brief report of Upper Valley Lanes and Games in White River Junction, VT from Tricia!

Upper Valley Lanes and Games is a facility that features both Candlepin (8 lanes) and ten-pin bowling. We won’t speak of ten-pin, but when it comes to the Candlepin lanes, Tricia had quite a bit to say:

“The lanes themselves were rather dead, no good action,
but I had a blast.”

This had me thinking that Tricia must be a seasoned Candlepin bowler. I fired an email back to her with some pretty heavy questions to which she offered this information:

“I grew up at 21st Century lanes in West Roxbury, then bowled out of Ficco’s Bowladrome in Franklin. My state tournaments were out of Alley Kat in Kingston. My sisters and I had the MA state championship title in our names for about 8 years, and my mother is Cyndi Cawley – who is still very active on the Pro Tour.”

Tricia Cawley, an everythingcandlepin.com reader!

Very exciting! It turns out that Tricia moved up to the Burlington, VT area to work for an automotive group. Burlington, unfortunately, does not feature a Candlepin selection. Luckily, Tricia’s organization has an affiliate in White River Junction and she was able to this a 90 mile business trip…but more importantly, a Candlepin bowling trip. After speaking with the proprietor of the establishment, Tricia learned that Upper Valley Lanes and Games will soon be sanctioned to be able to host a Candlepin league (perhaps ICBA?).

From the looks of the photos that Tricia so graciously submitted, it appears as though the Candlepin lanes feature all wood approaches and lanes with converted ten-pin ball return racks. Scoring is presumed to be semi-automatic, but we can’t say that for sure. Rates are charged per-string (not hourly), and they charge $2.50/string, $3 for shoes. I pass through White River Junction about once a year myself, so I will certainly make it a point to make a stop at Upper Valley next time I’m in the area! Does it get any better than Green Mountains AND Candlepin Bowling? I don’t think so.

I’ll finish by stressing the importance of social media and the impact that his has on Candlepin Bowling. With sites like Twitter, I’m able to tweet to local news figures like Maria Stephanos of Fox25, she always gives us a shout out! Her followers see this, their followers see it, and so-on and so-on. Facebook enables me to spread the word of Pro Series events. And most importantly, YouTube, Candlepin’s greatest social media friend, is an archive for the old Channel 5 shows and Candlepin For Kids.

Be sure to follow the Candlepin Pro Series Twitter account by clicking the button below. If you visit any of the many not-so-common bowling alleys in New England or the Maritime Provinces, let us know and we’ll do our best to feature it!

Follow @candlepinseries

Follow @candlepinfrank

September 26th, 2012

Sep

25

Friday Night Pro Week 4

He gave us on of the best quotes for a match outside of the Pro Series – so much so, that another bowler copied him. True to his legend, Sammy Dagostino graced us with a 185 this past Friday. Way to go Sam!

Full standings are here.

UPDATE: I’ve fixed the link. It turns out that even though the “http://” was highlighted, it didn’t paste over it. You should be able to access the file now.

September 25th, 2012

Friday Night Pro

Sep

25

Bowler Spotlight – Craig Holbrook

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
Pilgrim. Why? Because I bowl really good there, ha-ha! I also won the playoffs the two times they were there then they foolishly moved it to Lanes and Games and I lost.

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
The regular mens doubles. They are a lot of fun. I bowl [Bobby] Whitcomb in one and Mark Gregory in the other. They are great teammates. What ended up happening is Whit had to work one of the doubles events and I teamed up with Mark. Now, I don’t have a choice any more – I’m very loyal.

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
Making a single in very last box of the playoffs against Chris Boisvert. I picked up the 7 pin to win by a single pin [in 2010-2011].

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
Outside the Pro Series? It would have to be 2002 Worlds in Bangor. We lost the [final] match. The match was crazy close. Really intense. It came down to the last ball and we lost unfortunately.

Also, winning in 1998 with all my friends at the Worlds. People gave me crap about bowling with my friends instead of bowling with legends. We won the whole thing! Ha-ha, I say!

Lastly, I’d like to add that in the last six years I’ve either finished first or second overall in the Pro Series (bowler of the year or playoffs) and WCBC.

September 25th, 2012

Bowler Spotlight

Sep

24

Bowler Spotlight – Jon Winchell

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
I like Big 20 because I won the ten stringer there.

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
I think I like the ultimate ladder the best. It’s much different than all the others tournament.

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
I’m going to make it about me. Winning the 10 stringer [in 2010-2011].

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
At the 2000 worlds [I was] bowling for lucky 7. We made it to the finals that year and it was my rookie season. Chip was on a spare in the tenth frame and he needed three to win and he punched the 1-5 and we lost the title.

September 24th, 2012

Bowler Spotlight

Sep

23

Bowler Spotlight – Bobby Whitcomb

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
I’ll say lucky strike in Lynn. I just like the house and have always bowled well there.

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
I like the random draw doubles. It gives guys a chance to bowl with anyone. I’d put the teams a close second.

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
Winning the doubles event with Craig Holbrook in Portsmouth [in 2011-2012].

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
At the World’s in 2008 in Bangor. There was a semifinal against McLaughlin Truck and Trailer. It was so close the match went back and forth and they were the pinnacle at the time. To be facing them in the semifinals was awesome.

I have another one for you since this is a close second. [My] first year in the worlds. It was 1994. Our team made it to the semifinals. We didn’t have shirts. We didn’t have a name. We came out of nowhere. We faced a team loaded with hall of famers including [Gary] Carrington, Jack Ray, Joe Ashline, Tommy Olzsta and Jeff Atkins. It came down to the final boxes and we threw close to a 2000 – we were a team of nobodies and lost to hall of famers. It was amazing!

September 23rd, 2012

Bowler Spotlight

Sep

22

Bowler Spotlight – Kris Winiarz

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
That’s a tough question because I grew up at Park Place but I really love this place, Lakeside because I felt really comfortable.

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
The random draw doubles are always fun.

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
When I qualified for the singles event at Boutwell’s in Concord my first year [2010-2011].

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
Last years’ [2011-2012] Friday night playoffs against Academy I at Academy. I opened with a 164 and we had the lead. It was a tight match that came down to the wire.

September 22nd, 2012

Bowler Spotlight

Sep

20

Random Draw Doubles Recap

Well, what can I say? There was an awesome turnout this past weekend at Lakeside Lanes in Manchester, NH for the Candlepin Pro Series Random Draw Doubles Event on Saturday September 15. This was the second event of the year for the Pro Series 2012-2013 season and if you take a look at many of our Bowler Spotlights, you’ll see that this has grown to be a pretty popular event among members and even non-members of the Candlepin Pro Series. This will be a personal recap of my outing at the Random Draw Doubles. I decided to bowl the early shift, as I do with most of my Pro Series outings, so the action got started at 1 PM and I was on Lane 8. Bowling with me were Glenn Ares and Gabe Swindell.

Things started off very, very, very poorly. For the life of me, I simply could not put a mark on the board. I started off with an 86 string…..I was dead last after the first string. Needless to say, this would frustrate any bowler, so I decided to put on my shoe protectors and take a walk outside while the other two bowlers on my lane proceeded. I came to realize that if I continued to be upset about this, my scores wouldn’t get any better. Thus, I cleared my head and stepped up to bowl the second string. A small adjustment in my approach (moving slightly further to the left before I started) made all the difference. I began stringing marks together and even threw a couple of strikes. I came back strong with a 145 string. I kept this adjustment in tact and my subsequent scores were 120, 109, and 115. I totaled at 575, and this was enough to earn the 57th spot…..I qualified!

Obviously, this isn’t a fantastic total score. But what you should remember is that when it comes to the Random Draw Doubles, coming in 64th place is just as good as coming in 1st place. My story can prove this to you, and here’s why. During the drawing of the names, my name was drawn by Steve Spingola, co-champion of the 2011-2012 Random Draw Doubles event. I then drew my partner, Shawn Baker….yes Shawn Baker. How many times have you seen him on Candlepin Stars and Strikes? I’ve lost count. He draws our 1st opponent, Dave Godwin, followed by our 2nd opponent, Mark Gregory. For those of you familiar with the Candlepin scene, you know that these two guys are seriously well respected heavy hitters….we were in for quite a match.

On to our match…. I can’t quite describe how I felt, but I can tell you that I was pretty nervous considering that this was the first time that I’ve qualified for a Pro Series event. Baker sensed this, and he assured me that “all that matters is getting up there and having fun”. You’d expect to hear this from Shawn Baker, an accomplished bowler with numerous TV appearances, but this didn’t keep my heart from pounding or my palms from sweating…I was NERVOUS, and it got the best of me. I threw an underwhelming 96 string while Dave Godwin buried me with a 140 string. Nice bowling Dave, you only crushed me by 44 pins!

I felt like I blew it and that I had let my teammate down. Baker wasn’t shaken by this at all, even with a powerhouse like Mark Gregory to keep up with. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen anything quite like this. Baker kept posting mark after mark. Strikes, spares, 9-fills, you name it….he was on FIRE. Gregory held the pressure on pretty tight with his second-half marks, but Shawn was in the zone. A respectable 136 is what Gregory ended up with for a Godwin/Gregory team total of 276. Shawn Baker brought the heat and he threw six consecutive marks to finish with a 183 string!! Our team total was 279, winning the string by 3 pins. Can you say clutch!?!? He couldn’t have thrown this string at a better time! This is Pro Series caliber bowling….

I take no credit for winning that knockout match, it was all Shawn, but it certainly did break the ice for me. My nerves calmed down a bit and I found my groove again, but it wasn’t enough. We were up against Brandon Marks and Kevin Davis who posted fine scores of 160 and 127, respectively. Brandon put it away with a triple strike. Their 287 total was enough to top out our 257 (Frank/125 and Shawn/132), and we had officially been knocked out. The subsequent knockout matches were quite exciting, and it came down to Brian Purdy/Evan Mazzaferro v. Jeff Slesinski/Jesse Jacques. The 2012-2013 Candlepin Pro Series winners were Brian Purdy and Evan Mazzaferro with a score of 225 to 214.

Overall, for me, this was a PHENOMENAL experience…thanks to Shawn Baker. He’s one of those guys that I used to watch on the weekends with my dad and I ended up bowling with him as a teammate in a Pro Series event. Unreal…..

This is a testament of why everyone should get out there and bowl Candlepin. For up to the minute results and score during Pro Series events, follow @candlepinseries on Twitter (Click the button below!). Otherwise, you should come watch the events live!!! Next event takes place Sunday October 7, 2012 @ Leda Lanes in Nashua, NH for the Pros/Kids Doubles Event which is being filmed for airing on NESN!!

Follow @candlepinseries

September 20th, 2012

Sep

19

Bowler Spotlight – Richie Myrick

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
I have a hard time not saying Viking. It was an honest house you got what you got and that’s it.

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
The straight up doubles tournaments. You know what you’re getting. It’s you it’s your partner and they are the largest draw so it’s the most competition.

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
It was the shot of my life. I picked up the 7-10 split when I needed it against Shawn Morrison. Against a bowler that caliber, on that stage, in Concord was awesome.

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
Seeing Charlie Jutras throw a 196. It was just an honest to god 196. He totally deserved it and it was awesome to see. I will never forget that game.

September 19th, 2012

Bowler Spotlight

Sep

19

Big Game – Eddie Dunn

It appears that the site is doing what it’s supposed to do! I just got a submission for a big game from Eddie Dunn. I just want to preface this post that Eddie absolutely crushed one Mr. Skip Easterbrooks by 59 pins -just saying. A perfect song just came on the radio for this – as Skip has been “Thunderstruck”!

Eddie must have thought this was another night in the alley after opening with a 100 first string (if I have the order of the images right). Little did he, or Skip know what was to come. Eddie threw a game for the ages with five spares, four strikes (including a triple!), and a ten box – a “perfect game” by most candlepin standards. Frank’s glossary mentions it in there – check it out. Second string he blew the doors off the place to the tune of a 194! He followed that dominance with a 131 last string pushing his total to 435 for the night! Way to go Eddie!

I have some background about Eddie and it was nice to learn about another bowler in the area. I grew up in Stoneham at the Sunlite alleys with the likes of Bob Kelly, Rich Lotti, Ed Cotter and others. [I] then coached at Brunswick with Sal Cognata and Wally Bazilinski. [I] also did a pro-am with Joe Ashline, Jack Sanick and Gary Carrington. Later [I went on] to Lanes n’ Games for ten years winning the highest strike/spare jackpot at the time of $8,000 on the last possible night of the season.
I’ve never made TV or joined the Pro Series, but I will eventually. I’ve moved all over the north shore and south shore as well. I’m currently in Providence married with two infants.

That’s a great story Eddie and I (we) truly appreciate it. From the sounds of it, you’ve had your share of battles with some outstanding bowlers. I know you told me that you had Urbie Kafalas on your other side Tuesday so as you put it you were “sandwiched between greatness in the sport.” I think they’d both like to hear that.

Thank you again for the story, the information, and the photos. Great job on the 435 against Mr. Easterbrooks (sorry I need to remind him ONE more time of the loss – he beat us badly the first week Friday night so I can’t forgive him just yet).

Good job and good luck on your next big game. Everything Candlepin can’t wait to hear about it!

September 19th, 2012

Big Games

Sep

19

Random Draw Doubles – Tournament Results

What an incredible day last Saturday at Lakeside Lanes in Manchester, NH! Chris Sacchetti led all qualifiers with 704 that included a 99 opening string and a 177 finish; Shawn Baker had nearly 100 for his last 5 boxes of his first round match to defeat one of the favorites of the tournament in Dave Godwin and Mark Gregory; Brian Feist and Steve Lach had a great match against Mark Ricci and Keith Beaupre that saw two double strikes and a triple strike, and a spare in the last box by Ricci to win the match; topping it all off was a finals match won by Evan Mazzaferro and Brian Purdy against Jeff Slesinski and Jesse Jacques, in which Evan, Jeff and Jesse had never made an appearance in the finals before!

A total of 92 bowlers showed up and competed for the top 64 spots, and after the final qualifying round, there was a tie for the 64th spot between Dave Mallahan (formally Hodge) and Glen Ares. Amazingly, Glen had made a comment during the fourth string of the last qualifying round (he bowled in the first shift), that statistically speaking, he was the cut. It turns out he was right, but Mallahan got the best of him in the one string roll-off (which almost never took place as we had to track Dave down in the parking lot and tell him he couldn’t leave yet) and advanced to the Random Draw Knockout.

With all the doubles paired up and the matches underway, Brian and Evan hit the ground running with a convincing victory over 4 time Pro Series Champion Scott Lapierre, who had a 207 in the final match of the Ultimate Ladder last year in Fitchburg, and Chris Sacchetti, who was the Pro Series Playoff Runner-Up and back to back top qualifier to start this season with 392 at Viking and 704 at Lakeside. Brian led the team with a 143 as Evan added a 130 to defeat them 273-236.

Brian again led the way in the second string with a 149 as Evan hit a respectable 116, and their 265 total was good enough to hold off the pairing of Mark Strangio and John Starner who had 140 and 118 respectively.

Their third match came at the right time as they only totaled 231, but were able to catch Jonathan Boudreau (113) and Chris Boisvert (102) on a down string and advance to the semi-finals. It was in the semis that Brian carried the load, bowling a 160 string and leading them to a 266-249 victory over Keith Beaupre and Mark Ricci. Keith bowled a 116 and Mark bowled a 133.

The final match wasn’t very high scoring, but it was high enough for Evan and Brian and that’s all that counts. Evan bowled a 114 and Brian had a 111 for a 225 total, which bested Jeff Slesinski and Jesse Jacques total of 214. Congratulations to the winners of the third Random Draw Doubles Tournament, Evan Mazzaferro and Brian Purdy.

Be sure to check www.candlepinproseries.com for complete results and point standings from Saturday’s tournament.

September 19th, 2012

Sep

18

Friday Night Pro Week 3

Week three is in the books of the Friday night Pro League. The early battle for top of the league is between Lucky I and Pilgrim II as they have both busted out of the gates at 20-4! They are followed closely by Woburn I and Academy II both hanging tough at 18-6!

The complete stats can be found here.

September 18th, 2012

Friday Night Pro

Sep

18

Bowler Spotlight – Brandon Marks

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
[I like the] Woburn [Bowladrome]. I like the action there. There’s a lot of good action. [I also really liked] our first event this year at Viking. I liked that place too – tough no one stole anything there.

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
Random draw doubles and definitely the teams event. I like how they do the draft every year [for the teams event].

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
Making the final eight of the single eliminations at pilgrim lanes last year – that was a pretty good moment for me.

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
Best match [that I’ve had] was a three string total for bragging rights. [The match was] Joe Stella add I against Dave [Mallahan] Hodge and Mark Ricci at Central Park Lanes [in East Boston].

September 18th, 2012

Bowler Spotlight

Sep

18

Big Game – Chris Cooper

This is so cool! We got our first submission from our friends up north! Chris Cooper threw an amazing 202 last week on September 11th, 2012! I have a link to his scoresheet. He threw his 202 up at Fairlanes in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and finished up with five strikes!

You can find the scoresheet here.

Way to go Chris!

September 18th, 2012

Big Games

Sep

17

Big Game – Dan Gauthier

I love the fact that many of the bowlers in and around this area are humble. Yes, I know many of you just raised your eyebrows as the word “humble” and of course “many”.

Dan Gauthier believes his 179 is not that impressive but Everything Candlepin does. It’s impressive by any means to throw a 179 but when it includes a 4-bagger and you win a house pool it makes it even better.

Below are the two images of the big game – one the total for the night and the second is the screenshot of the first half of the big game.

One thing to note that is equally impressive is that they very well could have thrown a 2,000! Yes, it’s the same number of strings as Lucky I’s 2000 last week, but for three people to be THAT consistent it’s worth noting.

I guess you could argue either way that three people are just as likely to throw a 2000 in five games as five people doing it in three games??

I this it’s awesome that his team was at 125 after two boxes! That’s impressive all around. It was a great day for Dan and his team.

Hope you throw another 4-bagger soon Shoe!

September 17th, 2012

Big Games, Candlepin For Kids

Sep

17

Pro Series Event #2 – Random Draw Doubles

Pro Series Event #2 – Random Draw Doubles

September 15th, 2012 – Lakeside Lanes – Manchester, Nh.

God, I love Lakeside. I love being up there. I love the atmosphere. I love the action. What more could you want from a bowling alley? Maybe having 90+ bowlers storm the place for a Pro Series event. To add to that, it’s the random draw doubles!

The random draw doubles is great tournament. Everyone bowls five strings. The top 64 qualifiers are then thrown into a pile. Then a name is drawn. That person then picks their partner. Their partner select their first opponent and the opponent then selects his partner. After all the selections are made, there is a 32 team knockout. It’s a tough tournament having about five boxes to create chemistry with someone you may have never bowled with.

I started out as the lead bowler on lane 4, and I had a great, great group of bowlers near me. I bowled with legend Bob Caliri – I mean he has a shot named for him. How cool is that? I also bowled with up and coming Billy Bloom a HUGE advocate and coach for the Candlepins for Kids. Lane three had another CP4K leader in Robbie Taylor, Jesse Jaques bowling second and Ryan “I don’t throw strikes” Lehr bowing third.

I hate being the lead bowler, and I hate being on the right for the first string too. Such as life in these tournaments. I know Lakeside I should do great right? Well, first string was a total struggle. I will say this much, I thought the approaches were STELLAR compared to my practice post a week earlier. It must be a busy place as it wasn’t nearly as slippery as I thought it was going to be which gave me some great confidence starting the day. I know that I was fighting it a little in the first string, I think I was try too hard to just be perfect, and I didn’t need to be. I limped home at 108 for the first string, but luckily the misery ends there.

Second string I figured the place out for that day’s conditions and I bowled great – getting the marks that I needed to and capitalizing on breaks that I got. When I moved one lane to my right, I managed to bowl against my Lakeside nemesis, Jimbo Ayotte. We were able to feed off each other, and in that second string I managed to match him when he threw a strike. Even Jimbo will admit mine were crushers compared to him, and again, he brings out the best in me in that building. I finished with a 139 and took some real pressure of my first string.

The rest of the day was mostly smooth sailing. Third string I followed with a 119, just on the outside of the top ten in the 1 PM shift at 366. My last two strings shot me into the top ten for that shift closing out my day with a 126 and a 124 for a 616 series. Maybe doing the early shift was the trick for me. Things just worked for me that day, and I am thankful for it.

The later shift passed uneventfully however this exchange took place between fellow EC author Frank De Luca, bowler Chris Sacchetti, and me toward the end of the shift.

Frank: Chris said he’s not giving you an interview because you didn’t ask him first.
Rich: Really, I didn’t see him over the summer before the first event.
Frank: Whatever he said he’s not going to do it.
Rich: I’ll talk to him.

Rich: You really won’t give me an interview?
Chris: No way. You took too long to ask me. Just for that I’m going to give you stupid answers.
Rich: Wow, okay, then forget it. I don’t want to interview you . I’ll talk to someone else.
Chris: I’m just busting them on you. I’ll do it for you, I’m still going to give stupid answers though.

At this point Chris started off his second half of the fifth string with an insta-smash hammer. Nick “Mr 210″ Norcross walked over to us – and said to Frank and I quote – “Chris is going to throw a double – now!” Promptly Chris dropped another bomb and Frank’s reaction was priceless as he asked me about Nick. I didn’t hear him since Frank was standing in between us. Needless to say, it was the perfect timing. Frank just kept saying “Did you hear him say that Chris was going to throw a double? Come on you must have heard him!”

I screamed to Chris “If you want that interview, you have to throw a triple!” Yeah, I probably SHOULDN’T have said that, another crusher and he tripled. I followed that up with, well, now you need a four-bagger! Chris didn’t get the four-bagger, so he didn’t get his interview, but he will, I’m sure. I can’t wait – and since he’s a ham he can’t wait either.

The three-bagger did propel Chris into first overall with a 704. I think that’s two events in a row that he qualified first overall. Good job!

The qualifying round over, I waited patiently for the random draw portion. I qualified 21st overall which was my 2nd best finish at a Pro Series event (in 2010 at the last tournament at Fairway Lanes in Natick I finished 9th individually with a 639). I hear more and more names being called, and I realize that the first 32 bowlers have been selected and that I was in the next batch.

As time passed, I heard the name Joe Rocheleau. Joe then selected Pro Series king Craig Holbrook. Craig’s turn to select and opponent. “Rich Limone”. Wow, okay. I walked up to the counter and said “I’m signing someone’s death warrant with this selection!” I heard some various chuckles, and then I picked my partner – Bob Whitcomb! The immediate reaction near the table from Mark Ricci was awesome – “You might to rethink that death warrant with that pick!”

I think the thing that makes it MORE amazing is that fact I was talking to Richie Myrick earlier in the tournament. I told him about how at the Fairway tournament I was bowling next to Bobby Whit, and he said he would gladly bowl a tournament with me in the future. I thought I hit the lottery! I couldn’t believe it! Well, I picked him on this day, I thought it was fate after talking about it an hour earlier.

Needless to say, fate wasn’t on our side. We missed shots, we didn’t capitalize on our breaks, and they outbowled us completely. It was great to get paired with a hall of famer against his doubles partner and hall of famer, but I feel like I let myself down with how well I bowled earlier in the day. The one good about our match is we were bowling next to Frank De Luca and Shawn Baker. They were in a BATTLE with Dave Godwin and Mark Gregory. Baker had a string for the ages – but I will let Frank tell you about it.

Overall it was a great day and congratulations to Evan Mazzaferro and Brian Purdy!

Thanks to Tim, and Ali, and Shane, and yeah, I guess Bob too from Lakeside lanes!

A full tournament recap will be following soon!

UPDATE: I just got this an email from Dan Gauthier – Former Candlepin for Kids contestants were 8-0 at making the cut. Current hosts (me and Rob [Taylor]) were 0-2. Hmm, are all the students better than the masters?

September 17th, 2012

Candlepin For Kids, Pro Series

Sep

16

Big Game – Joshua Lowell

Well, we have our first big game from one of the kids from the Candlepins for Kids tour!

I would love to see a scoresheet if possible but I am going to post this anyway because it’s awesome. Here is Josh’s story.

Josh bowls out of Bogey Lanes in East Brookfield, Ma and on every other night there is a doubles league with a $200.00 first prize. Josh is one of the subs for the league, and on the first day his first match was Dan “Shoe” Gauthier and Phil Clough. Josh started off strong with a 114, and then bettered it second string with a 145. The third game he started out with a 52 half, and then he caught fire. Josh proceeded to throw Shoe like numbers by going nine drop spare, strike, strike, six-spare, eight fill ten box for a 94 second half, 146 total for the string, and 405 series.

Josh – to answer you, yes it qualifies as a Big Game by Everything Candlepin standards. You keep throwing em, we’ll gladly keep recognizing you!

For future fireballers that crush Shoe – or anyone for that matter – try to include an image so the site has more media. I want to see INK!

Great job following up the 405 by going 130, and 133 against a legend in Steve Renaud Sr. and Ma Renaud for an unofficial 668 on the day!

UPDATE: Here’s our star just prior to starting some action on the lanes at Bogey. Josh is 17 years old and these are his home lanes. It turns out the first prize is actually $2000.00 not $200.00! Good luck Josh!

September 16th, 2012

Big Games, Candlepin For Kids

Sep

16

Big Game Rules

I hope you’re enjoying the site. I want to take some time to explain what I envision for the “Big Game” portion of the site. This page will detail the “rules” that I want to put forth so it’s consistent as possible and awesome as well.

The big game portion is designed to recognize leagues outside of Men’s Pro Series, The Ladies Pro Series, and the Men’s Friday Night League. I am sure those big games will get their own recognition from the coverage of those events. I want these big games to be from house leagues, Candlepins for Kids, practice, other tournaments, etc.

The key is that I want an actually scoresheet. An actual score sheet with spares and strikes is way cooler than an image of a screen (if the screen has all ten boxes, I am okay with that). Nick Norcross’ 210 game was a thing of beauty. The only thing people on the blog can see was his second half.

I will continue to post big games on the main site, but the criteria will be on its own page. If there are changes to it, they will be in red, along with a date. As the site evolves so will the criteria I’m sure.

You have a big game? Email me at biggame@everythingcandlepin.com. Have questions about the site or want to offer a suggestion, email me at rlimone@everythingcandlepin.com.

Thanks!

September 16th, 2012

Big Games, Candlepin For Kids

Sep

16

Candlepin Glossary – Update

Hello readers! I hope you’re enjoying the site so far. I’ve moved the Glossary to its own page now that you can see as a link above the posts. If you have something you’d like to add feel free to email the Glossary’s founder Frank De Luca at fdeluca(@)everythingcandlepin.com.

You keep coming back, we’ll keep updating!

September 16th, 2012

Resources

Sep

11

Friday Night Pro Week 2

Week two has come and gone in the Pro League. The highlight from the weekend had to be Lucky I’s amazing 2021! You can see the previous post below.

Complete standings can be found here.

September 11th, 2012

Friday Night Pro

Sep

11

Candlepin Glossary

Hello readers!

As my first post, I thought it would be helpful to the Candlepin Community to have a concise glossary of terms that you’re likely hear at any Candlepin House during any Pro event or house league. Some of these words and phrases may leave you scratching your head in wonder. If we want to promote our game, we must acclimate bowlers and spectators to the lingo of the game. This, of course, will be revisited since it has potential to be pages and pages long, but its a starting point. If you feel as though I’ve forgotten something, or something is missing, email me at fdeluca(at)everythingcandlepin.com to make a suggestion. All suggestions for new terms to be added will be considered (but may not necessarily be added). Enjoy!

September 11th, 2012

Resources

Sep

10

Bowler Spotlight – Jeff Surette

I finally got the “interview” I figured it was time. As far as I am concerned Jeff is THE voice of the candlepin bowling world so I am going to make fun of him now. It’s my site, and I can do that!

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
My favorite place is Leda Lanes. I just think it is a wonderful place. The pin action is perfect in my opinion. [Don’t they host the Easter Classic at Leda?]

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
I like them all so it is hard to pick. I guess I would have to say the doubles event are my favorite. Those events are always the biggest. Just overall a very fun tournament. [I actually think this a great answer since it’s the first person to mention the doubles event]

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
Most memorable would have to be the 1st event we ever held at Cape Ann in Gloucester. No particular reason, just the fact I will always remember the very first one. [Yet another good answer. He’s not just a decent bowler with great looks, wait, strike that, a great bowler with decent looks, he’s got a brain too!]

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
I would have to say the best match is the same one Sam Dagostino mentioned. Find Sammy’s interview to see what I am talking about :-). That was absolutely something that you don’t forget. Hope that does the trick for you. LOL! [Sammy’s response below. Seem to remember Sammy single-handedly helping you win the random draw doubles in Maine two years ago – AND he’s providing material for you. You should put him on your personal payroll!]

I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of quite a few good matches but my favorite match is probably a Friday Night Pro League playoff match. It was my first year with Candlewood (Chris Boisvert, myself, Steve Plante, Eric Pelletier, and Jeff Surette). We finished 4th in the regular season and had to bowl the league champions in the 1st round at Metro which was St. Joseph’s ([Shawn] Baker, [Cookie] Richards, [Bill] Treeful, [Gary] Carrington, and Sarge). We were down about 150 pins around the middle of the 2nd string of a 3-string match. Chris Boisvert ignites us with a triple strike and we slowly chip away the rest of the match until we pull close to even with 2 boxes for everyone to go. We go back and forth the last 2 boxes and Jeff marks out his last 2 boxes to give us the victory.

September 10th, 2012

Bowler Spotlight

Sep

09

Lakeside Lanes – Manchester, NH.

This must have been the busiest weekend in the world for bowlers. Besides the NFL kicking off today, who was working, who was golfing, who couldn’t make it – I ended up making my way up to Lakeside Lanes to throw practice, preview the lane, and hopefully chat with the owner Tim Lipke for a bit. You’re getting a solo opinion, and that’s not a complaint just stating a fact.

Let me start out by saying, comparatively speaking, these lanes were slippery. I honestly thought they were worse than Viking – until I got used to it. Make sure you bring more than one set of pads. I found out that the lanes and approaches were just refinished last week, so I am sure that in itself had a lot to do with it. Two boxes in, and it was like old hat. It’s not bad per se, but it was worse than I was used to there considering I’ve bowled nearly fifteen tournaments there.

The action at Lakeside is great and can borderline on absurd if you’re hitting them. It’s totally geared toward the left side of the pocket, and that’s one of the unique things about it. My headpin hits left were crushers compared to being what seemed randomly thin on the right. I think part of it was that my ball was slightly flat at times on the right side.

I love bowling at Lakeside, I’ve put up some numbers there. I think my favorite moment so far was last year’s Thanksgiving Eve tournament – second shift. I managed to get a spare in the tenth, and I loaded it up with a hammer, and I stole high single money from Lakeside’s version of “Babe Ruth” – Jimbo Ayotte. As they say, Lakeside is the house that Ayotte built. He had some choice words for me, but I can’t post them here.

I think my other fondest memory is three years ago at the best 5-of-7 tournament. I had to bowl the first shift on Saturday. I left leading the event. I called the next night. I believe I spoke to Bob – though I know he’d want to take credit for crushing me. “Do you want the good news, or the bad news?” I said, give me the good news. “The good news is, you came in second place. The bad news you lost by a pin.” It turns out the person that beat me had to throw a 188 with his handicap. Tim’s tournaments are usually handicapped to 130. So even if the bowler had a 100 average flat, he still needed a 158 to beat me. I didn’t throw any 150’s so good for him.

I’ve managed to come in second place twice in that tournament, so it’s been a great house for me. I know after saying all this if I make the cut, get paired with someone, and do poorly come Saturday, I’m going to get ridiculed. Such as life for being an author that bowls too.

Another great aspect of Lakeside is that the fact it’s not automatic scoring. We have to input the scores ourselves. It makes things so much easier on us on them.

I’ve always been a fan of scoring like this. Quick, easy, makes moving from one lane to another snap. Automatic scoring is so bad in candlepin bowling, but that’s a different story for another time.

After I finished bowling, I managed to get some history of the place from Tim Lipke. It was built in November of 1959. Tim started working there some time in 1996, and he bought the place for himself on September 1st, 1999. In 2002, he brought in the Compuscore system you see there today.

After a brief chat about history, we went on to talk about the state of the game. As far as Lakeside goes, they are fairly steady. They have about 20 leagues or so on a week to week basis. Tim said “If centers don’t upgrade they will fail to attract to people. What I mean by that is, you need to keep the lanes in good condition, you need to offer beer and wine. It’s not a huge seller, but it’s nice that they know that it’s there for them.” I went on to say that if you didn’t people would be in the parking lot pre-gaming before coming in. Tim made me chuckle as he raised his hand said he was his leagues biggest offender!

He also said “It’s hard to get new faces in here because kids have so much to do these days. When I was a kid, there was bowling, indoor basketball, maybe a few other indoor sports. Bowling held it’s own with those other options. And let’s not even talk about video games.”

The last thing he added was the amazing work the Pro Series has done revitalizing the game. Hopefully this leads to bigger and better things. Next weekend should be a lot of fun. Tim added that the cut should be about 575-580. Something to shoot for everyone! Thanks Tim for everything!

September 9th, 2012

Bowling Alleys, Pro Series

Sep

08

Bowler Spotlight – Nick Norcross

Fresh off his 210 game, Nick took some time to answer some questions via text for Everything Candlepin.

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
Beverly bowl-o-mat. I feel very comfortable there and there’s good pin action.

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
Skins. Love bowling for money box for box.

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
Watching Jay Covitz throw a 5 bagger for a 197 [at the Random Draw Doubles in Beverly] and Brian Crowell making the 5-6-7-10 with no wood in the singles [elimination at Pilgrim Lanes].

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
I bowling up in Canada in the worlds on Mike Poulin’s team. We beat one of the best teams in Canada for 6 points right outta the gate. Can’t remember the teams name.

September 8th, 2012

Bowler Spotlight

Sep

08

Bowler Spotlight – Nick Zuffelato

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
I mean, Metro is always there because it’s my home away from home and where I basically grew up, but if I had to say another, I really like Lucky [Strike] also. I’ve gotten used to those lanes because I bowl for them, and also because I like the old feeling to it.

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
I do like the random draw doubles because it is the most appealing to me, but you can also get paired up with some big name bowlers and just have a ton of fun.

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
Oh boy. I think the first doubles [knockout] last year had a great final match between [Peter] Flynn/Cookie [Richards] and [Bobby] Whitcomb/ [Craig] Holbrook. I thought it was a great back and forth match and it came down to the last box. When Peter almost had that double to take the event, that was such a crazy moment because that would have been such an epic moment/win.

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
I have a couple favorite moments. My first one is when I was bowling the Thursday night mixed league with Ryan Lehr, Geoff Dunn, Steve Lach, and Mike Kane. Now, the league is a handicapped league, and we didn’t have much because our averages were fairly high. For scratch one night, we hit a 1914 for a triple, but for one string we hit a 686. The amazing thing about that was we were missing Steve and took his 118 average for three games. I did nothing that game, but Geoff, Mike and Ryan hit like a 460 total for them. Doing something like that was pretty awesome, that was the highest team string I’ve ever been a part of.

My second favorite is actually something that I didn’t do. When I threw my 192 string against Metro [I] back in February [2012], I was bowling against Mark Gregory. Now, you would think that throwing that string would be my favorite, but it isn’t. The thing that I really love about that was watching Mark come back and beat me total. He beat me 444 to 440, and it was a pretty gross 444 because he had two 140’s and a 150. That’s some insane consistency right there. If that isn’t awesome enough to watch, it was even more awesome because he beat a guy that dropped a 192 on him. Something like that is inspiration to a young bowler like me. If that doesn’t say “no matter what, never give up”, then I really don’t know what does because that was something else to watch.

September 8th, 2012

Bowler Spotlight