Making stuff like this easier to come by…

With Pearl Jam’s announcement of their concert poster pre-sale to all 10 Club fan members who’ve already purchased fan club tickets, my enjoyment of their shows has already improved before hearing a single song. The following text from Mundis pretty much sums up my feelings…

“U know this poster pre-sale kinda takes out the whole ‘figure out when to get to the venue, get in line, wait forever, get inside, get somewhat nauseous, find a stand, get crushed, get ur balls off my ass, stop breathing on my head, you’re stepping on my foot, I smell body odor, does this dude beside me take showers, do I have enough cash, you just rubbed your boobs on my elbow, here take my place, get a wristband maybe, wait in line after the show, hey that fucker has two wristbands somehow, get your poster finally’ fun feeling out of it. Ya know?”

Yes…yes, I do know, Jason.

Tonight was a pretty good night for our team despite some average bowling. Megan was the only person to gain pins on her average after opening the night with two games in the 170’s. Her and Sam are both sitting pretty with 155 averages now. Meg has a 1-pin lead over Sam, which should make for a friendly little in-team competition with 2 weeks remaining.

Meadows and I struggled a bit, though. He struggled to start the night when the lanes had some heavy oil, but he was clutch at the end of game 1 when we came back to win by 8 pins. By game 3, the conditions were prime for him (aka, dry) and Meads dug out a strong effort to help minimize the damage to his average. I’m confident that he’ll get his average back up to 200 with two weeks to go.

I started pretty strong, but didn’t have my spare ball for the second straight week (I can’t believe I forgot to get new tips or super glue for the old ones). I missed a few right side spares in games one and two as I tried to get used to Meads’ plastic ball. Game three was solid considering the conditions drying up quickly, but a split in the 9th killed my clean game and guaranteed another failed shot at a 600 series.

Regardless, the team we played struggled just as much, helping us pick up two much-needed wins. We’re a lock for playoffs with our team average, but the wins are always good to pile up. Two weeks to go…hopefully Sam and Meg stay at the top of the Queenpin standings and Meads and I finish with 200+ averages.

What a game…what an experience.

I’ve been a Milan fan since I was in high school, but that was back when the only coverage you could get was the rare game on satellite or the coverage in Soccer America magazine. The thought of seeing them in-person would’ve seemed so surreal in the early nineties. It still blows my mind to think that on Friday, we got to watch two of the best clubs in the world play each other…in my hometown!

I was fortunate enough to see Milan play Chelsea a few years ago when the first attempt at the World Football Challenge came through and went bankrupt. The game took place in Philly and was just as exciting as the game on Friday, but the main difference between both experiences was the crowd. Friday’s crowd was a complete sellout of over 71,000 fans…a far cry from the 30-some thousand people that attended the game a few years back. Blame it on the heightened exposure, or the influx of soccer-knowledgeable immigrants, but selling out a NFL stadium is simply an awesome accomplishment for the game in The States.

Usually when I’m in M&T Bank Stadium, I’m surrounded by insane, belligerent NFL fans, so the vibe was so cool Friday. Even though most of the fans there were pulling for one team or the other, the majority of the fans could only cheer the excellent exhibition put on by the two clubs. It wasn’t violent, and people cheered every good touch.

Ronaldinho and Milan put on a hell of a show, only to be outdone by the Blues in a 2-1 loss that exposed some of Milan’s big weaknesses – namely, their lack of a true world-class striker and poor options at goalkeeper. I felt that Milan spent way too much time trying to force the ball over the top of Chelsea’s strong defense, and their lack of fitness and practice was clearly evident, with mistimed runs and poor communication underlining their performance.

Chelsea, on the other hand, looked really strong. Not much to criticize there. Looks like Ancelloti took over for a very good side…I wish him the best of luck.

One of my favorite moments was when Oguchi Onyewu stepped on the field for Milan in the 66th minute. He’s always been a favorite of mine on the US National Team despite his sometimes suspect defending, so to see him playing for Milan is simply awesome. He received an huge bi-partisan ovation all game whenever he did something good. I hope that helps give him the confidence needed to propel him into the starting lineup. He played pretty well, too, considering the fact that he’s only had a couple of practices with the team. Luckily, Leonardo knows 5 languages – English being one of them – so Gooch can communicate with his new coach. I’m excited to see how it pans out.

Forza Milan!!!

I have to say this past week was probably the worst week that I’ve had bowling in quite some time…well, at least two weeks.

First, there was the issue of bowling against a team that completely didn’t give a damn about bowling, which always makes for a boring night. We’re not looking for the most competitive bowlers ever or anything, but it would be nice if the team we’re bowling against actually tried. Of course, they didn’t need to try with the amount of pins were handing them (374 pins/game).

Naturally, we lost all three games, but the real frustrations for our team were the dry lanes…AGAIN. It’s seriously getting to point – at least for me – where I’m not sure if the $10/week we spend is really that much better than a $15/week league where they actually put down decent conditions. I’d like to think that I can just adjust and bowl within the conditions, but I just don’t have a solution for lanes this dry. You know it’s bad when Sam, Megan, AND Meadows are struggling on the lanes.

Meadows is the king of the dry lanes, but even he was getting irritated by the conditions. Megan had the best week, by far, with her average going up a pin, but the combination of a lame opponent and no oil just made for a terrible week. Our team average dropped a bit, we lost all three games, and only one person on our team showed any improvement week-to-week.

I managed to dig out a 600 series despite not having a functional spare ball, so I guess I shouldn’t complain…it was my best series on dry conditions ever, but whatever…still annoyed. Especially after I opened the third game with 7 straight effortless strikes followed by 3 straight opens. It was just one of those weeks.

We’re fortunate to have such a high average in our league, but if they don’t start oiling the lanes, I don’t expect to see any gains in my average. Fortunately, everyone else on the team has improved their averages a lot since last session, so hopefully Meadows, Sam, and Megan can carry me through the dry nights. For now, I’m going to be happy if I can hold a 200 average.

On Saturday, Meadows, Megan, MJ, and I took part in first Pittsburgh Amazing Bowling Race. Sam – from our bowling team – who was the person rallying hardest for us to get teams together, had to back out at the last moment for a family emergency, which forced us to find one other person. Fortunately, Megan’s mom was able to fill in for Sam. Otherwise, the outcome of the day might’ve been completely different.

Meadows and I made up the one team, while Megan and her mom were on a team. The event was based on that TV show, “The Amazing Race”, and forced us to drive all around Pittsburgh taking part in 8 random bowling-based challenges.

All of my reservations about taking part in the event were gone after the first event, where Meadows and I took the lead and held onto that lead for the entire day. Our adventure:

1. First, we had to drive to the South Side from the Strip District. The challenge was to fill the holes of a bowling ball with water from the South Side Works fountains, and transfer it to a cup. Once the cup was full you could move on. Meadows volunteered…got drenched…and we finished first.
2. Head over to Games ‘n’ At and bowl a whole game of duckpin. Don’t get too excited, though. It wasn’t real duckpin. The lanes were probably a third of the length of a real lane, and the pins were attached to strings. Still fun, but kind of lame for those of us from Baltimore. We finished first here. I think I had a 145 and Meadows had a 143. Far from impressive, but we were bowling for speed, and not score. Upon sprinting out of the arcade, Meadows blew out his AE flip flop (more on that later).
3. Go to Legacy Lanes and play bowling yahtzee. We had to bowl two spares, leave two 7’s, two 8’s, and two 9’s…we got out there before everyone else. Megan and her mom were right behind us, though.
4. Next was a trip to Noble Manor Lanes, where we had to bowl a 1, 2, or leave a split. Again, we were out of there before anyone. We threw about 3 balls.
5. We hustled over to Arsenal after that, only to be slowed down to a halt because we were there before anyone expected us. We got there around 10:45, but Arsenal wasn’t supposed to open until 11. Thus, none of the lanes were turned on. That allowed another team to catch up, but it didn’t matter. Meadows and I crushed the challenge – bowl left-handed with a house ball and knock down at least 7 pins a piece. Check. Next. (It’s a good thing we practice lefty for fun)
6. We had to go out to Highland Park Reservoir for the most physically demanding challenge of the day after the Arsenal debacle. Poor navigation by me, led us to run up to the first person we saw in the yellow volunteer shirt. Unfortunately, we were at the last stop of the challenge. We had to run around the entire reservoir path…first to get the challenge card…then the find the bowling pins with random letters attached to the top…then figure out what the letters spelled out (“Stanley Cup”)…then run our answer to the lady who was sitting at the place where we had initially arrived. All-in-all, Meadows and I ran .88 miles at record pace. I was in Adidas Superstars that usually never actually get laced up, and Meadows was without any shoes thanks to the flip flop disaster after the second challenge. Regardless, we made it out without serious injury…
7. The next challenge was the easiest for Meadows and I. We arrived well ahead of everyone, and the people at Forward Lanes were surprised to see a team from the blue group show up so early. The task was simple…on lane 1, you had to knock the 1 pin down. Lane 2, knock the 2 pin down, and so on until you got to the 10. Meadows wasted his first ball because he thought we only had to knock 1 pin down. After that, we only had to throw one extra ball – I left the 6 pin standing despite knocking the rest down. Again, we rushed out of that challenge way ahead of the other teams in the blue group.
8. Unfortunately, the final challenge is where we lost our shot at the $1,000 grand prize. The challenge seemed simple enough – both team members had to pick the same house ball, bowl at the same time, and leave the same exact spare (gutter balls didn’t count). Despite a 5 minute lead over every other team to the last challenge, we just couldn’t get it done. Meadows and I were aiming for the 10 pin. One of us would hit it, and the other would throw their ball in the gutter. It was really difficult with a house ball. The team who ended up winning, arrived about 10 minutes after we started, and literally only threw about 5 times before getting lucky and leaving a pair of 7’s. It was absurd. One guy hit Brooklyn, the other guy hit pocket…and both left the same thing. Meadows and I were blown away.After a day of driving like maniacs around Pittsburgh, bowling our asses off, getting drenched, and running nearly a mile at a sprint pace, we lost to the luck of another team.

Regardless, the event was a blast. Meadows and I ended up finishing the final challenge a few minutes after the first place finishers, giving us a second place finish and $100 in gift cards to Dick’s and Atria’s. Not bad at all. Megan and MJ ended up finishing 11th, which was really respectable considering that there were 45 teams competing.

It was the first year that the event took place, and it looks like the success of the whole thing is going to motivate them to hold the event on an annual basis. I really hope they do, because Meadows and I are coming back with a vengeance next year, and Sam needs a chance to participate.

Until then…witness the second-place finishers:

I’m so far behind in updating the blog, that I’ve failed to stay on top of our PSL summer bowling session updates (I know…I know…you couldn’t wait). After 4 weeks, we’re in pretty good shape as a team. Everyone is bowling really well…especially Megan and Sam.

Before the season started, Sam and Megan both picked up entry level hook balls (Storm Topical Storms), and the improvement has been drastic. It took a short time, but they’re both doing better than ever…especially in the picking up spares department. After the fourth week, both Sam and Megan are the top two girls in PSL bowling. Meadows and I are the the #3, and #2, respectively.

Meadows is bowling really well right now, while I’ve dropped off quite a bit. We’ve only had oil on the lanes for 2 of the 4 weeks, and my scores have dried up with the lanes. In fact, coming into week 3, I had a 217 average and was bowling really well. Then…week 3…no oil…two sub-150 games…hello, 202 average – a 15-pin drop off in one week. Luckily, this past week had some reasonable conditions and I returned the 600 series club, but it’s been rough. I’m just not able to adjust when there’s literally no oil on the lanes. I have to flatten out, throw faster, and pray. It’s just so unpredictable for me, then I start missing easy spares because my spare ball hooks. Ha ha. Just another sign that I’m not really that good of a bowler. Confirmed.

Meadows, on the other hand, has the perfect ball in dry conditions. He started the first two weeks throwing my old ball, then finally picked up his new one, and has rolled steady throughout the first 4 weeks. If the conditions stay dry, my vote is that Meadows might possible end up the top bowler in PSL this session.

With our team average over 700 this session, we’re probably going to lose most of our games, but we’re already a lock for the playoffs…barring a major meltdown, that is. Most of the good bowlers and high rolling teams from the other seasons don’t bowl in the summer, so it’s up to us to set the bar for playoffs this session. Should be interesting. Here’s the weekly breakdown up to this point: