In a word...yikes! : (

The biggest problem with only having time to bowl one league a week is that you have all kinds of time to let the excitement build up, and then it can all go away in the blink of an eye if you have a bad night. Plus, then you're left with another 7 days of wait time until you get to go back out there to remove the bad taste from your mouth. Well, let's just say that last night's session is tasting about as as good as three-week old haggis that was left under the seat of your car in 100-degree heat!

Game 1

81 72 X X 8/ 8/ X 71 X 72 - 158

I didn't have any games in the 150's during league last year, so it's nice to remember what that feels like...or something. I started out with my Nirvana playing the same line I've been playing to start league. Sadly, my execution was just bad. I caught a 4-9 in the first on a ball that missed in by about two boards, and then I proceeded to flag the head pin all together on the left lane for a 1-2-4, which failed to hook up and cover despite the fact that I threw it exactly where I thought it needed to be thrown. I got things going with a double, but then I had two consecutive shots hang wide to result in the 2-4. I thought I liked the shot in the eighth, but a 2-8-10 showed me that I was wrong. In the end, I was left quite puzzled after a -42 start.

Game 2

81 X 8/ 8/ 9- 8/ 8/ X X 63 - 167

I switched to my Mastermind Strategy to start Game 2, figuring that if I was going to throw it badly, at least I could do it with a different ball. I tried to make it work until the 5th frame, when I left a weak 10-pin, which fell off the lane at 59.75 feet to result in my 6th open in the first 15 frames.

Realizing that a change needed to be made, I opted to my B-game (no-thumb) would work, so I switched to my urethane Black Hammer and gave it a go. It took me a couple of shots to get into the right part of the lane, but once I did, I felt like I finally had a look that I could work with. Sadly, I didn't get the ball out wide enough on the first shot in the 10th, which resulted in a 3-6-9-10. I gave it a go, but a chop left me with 167 and a lovely - 75 after two.

Game 3

X 62 X 71 X X X X 9/ XXX - 211

Clearly, the right lane was my nemesis all night long, as is clear by the Big 4 I left in the second and the 4-7-10 I followed it up with in the fourth. That lane hung on me big time during the first half of the night and even during my first couple of no-thumb shots. Then, the first two in the third game jumped. After that, I got on track with only one bad shot (a missed release in the 9th) slowing me down. I'm not a big fan of nine strikes for 211, but that gave me 11 strikes in my last 15 shots after I had managed just five during my first 15.

In the end, the score sheet read -64, which was clearly quite disappointing. On the other hand, I'm proud of myself for the willingness to switch to no-thumb and make something out of it, which is something that I hope I get even better at in time. My goal is to be able to go back and forth between the two styles as needed depending upon what the lanes are doing. I have a long way to go to get to that point, but nights like tonight at least give me a glimmer of hope that it could happen down the road.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read the ramblings of a wanna B bowler!