Everything Candlepin

What’s your favorite Pro Series alley that you have bowled at and why?
Pilgrim Lanes in Haverhill. I always seem to bowl well there, and the Singles Elimination of August 2011 is the closest I’ve come to qualifying. I missed the cut by four pins with a 615. Also, I like that both the approaches and the lanes are still traditional rock maple. Also, I liked bowling with the stadium seating behind us. With the crowd that was there, it felt as “pro” as you could get (minus cameras). The proprietors seem to be very much involved with the kids programs as well, which is a solid investment in the future of our sport.

If you were to ask my overall favorite house – that would be Malden Sq. Bowladrome, it’s like home to me.

What’s your favorite Pro Series format and why?
I’ll answer this from two different perspectives.

As a competitor, I’d say that my favorite tournament format is the singles elimination or singles knockout. I like the idea of having to qualify on your own two feet – by yourself. It also is the closest reminder for me of the Channel 5 show, an old Saturday morning mainstay.

As a spectator, my favorite format to watch is the skins tournament. I think it’s a great way to make the match interesting and also has box-by-box payouts to reward bowlers for specific strikes or spares thrown. You could win a match but still theoretically end up winning less money than the losing opponent. It holds the spectators attention.

Most memorable Pro Series moment?
I’d have to say that one of my most memorable pro series moments was witnessing Jay Covitz throw a five-bagger during the Random Draw Doubles tournament at the Beverly Bowl-o-Mat in April 2012. That’s just not something you see very often. The whole place was going crazy for him.

The runner up moment was when Mark Ricci’s son Domenic (who was only 2 years old at the time, already bowling one-handed) was bowling between qualifying strings and threw a strike….he went on to fill it with a spare!! Like father, like son!

Best match you’ve been involved in outside the Pro Series?
I’d have to say that recently, the best match I’ve been part of was at the Woburn Bowladrome Thursday night summer speed league on May 31, 2012. My teammate Steve Gangi and I threw a 319 scratch total. I threw a 171 string and he had a 148. It happened on lanes 21-22. Everything seemed to be mixing perfectly for us. We beat our opponents in that string by 115 pins. That high single held up until the VERY last night of bowling on August 23 when Nick Norcross threw a triple strike for a 174!