Sorry everyone for not posting yesterday, but I was sick as a dog.  Because I was yakking all over the place, I didn't even go to the PBA event, which was a huge bummer...but I didn't want my dry heaves to mess up PDW in the middle of his backswing because it would be nice to see him finally get a few breaks this week and make the show.

This weekend, I'll be busy filming that TV pilot I'd mentioned before, so I'll try to get on and post as much as I can.  Any rate, off to rest up a bit before the shoot.

Jason
 

Last week I wrote about my intention to participate (hopefully, more like compete in) an upcoming PBA Regional tournament.  Over the next four weeks leading up to the event, I plan to write a weekly update on a different facet of my progress each week, including my practice regimen, fitness routine, equipment and mental game.  This week I'm going to talk about my practice regimen.

Today I went down to the local bowling center (Harley's Simi Bowl, to be exact) for a little practice.  I like Harley's because its a clean, well-kept center, the people are way friendly and they are a member of the PBA Practice Center Program (which I happened to organize when I was with the PBA, incidentally) and hence allow me to bowl for just $1 a game.  Ah, I can still remember the days of getting my $2 weekly allowance, riding my bike with my bowling ball in my backpack the two miles to Harley's, and bowling a couple of games. 

Over the next four weeks, I plan to hit the lanes twice a week and bowl eight to 10 games each session.  The plan now is to bowl Wednesdays and Sundays, and then, the week of the tournament, bowl Monday and Tuesday, then take the rest of the week off.  The reason is I want to test my ability to bowl back-to-back days, since this is what is required in a regional event, and then to give myself a few days of rest before the tournament.   

Since Harley's happens to be pretty quiet in the early afternoons on Wednesdays I like to practice then.  I think its important when you practice to be by yourself or with someone who is helping you with your game, so you can focus on just bowling.  When I practice, I also like to keep score.  I believe that since the object of bowling is to get the highest score possible, that when you practice, that should be your main goal, since it both mirrors what you're going to do in a tournament situation and builds your confidence (especially if the lanes are easy and you can roll some high scores).

Since I haven't picked up a ball since my infamous 6-gamer appearance a few weeks back, I took it pretty easy today.  I bowled fairly decent, averaging 226 for nine games, which was probably mediocre to poor considering the conditions, but that was mostly due to carry.  My high game was 268 and my low game was 179, but that was my only game under 200.  I only left one split the whole session (a 4-9 which I converted) and only missed two spares (the bucket twice - looks like I'll need to work on that one). 

I tried two different balls and had more success carrying with the second one, which had a lot less surface and I used to play a straighter angle after the track had broken down quite a bit.   I left five solid 8's during the set, which I thought was quite a lot for a nine-game block.  I also left a ton of ring 10's and swisher 7's.

All in all, I was pretty happy with the way I threw the ball, my accuracy, my direction and my speed control but I need a lot of work on my balance, which is mostly an issue of leg strength that I plan to address with my fitness routine.  I may also have to watch my carry a little closer and be a little quicker to make ball changes.  If good PBA-caliber players were bowling in a tournament situation on the condition I bowled on today, I'd expect that at least a couple of guys would have averaged 250.  I'd be surprised if 226 would have even made any cut to a third of the field. 

Well, I'm off tomorrow to watch the PBA Tour at Fountain Bowl.  Hopefully I can pick up a few pointers from some of the guys there to help me!

Till tomorrow!

Jason

The big circus that is the PBA Tour has staked its big top in my neck of the woods this week and I can hardly wait to get out there to watch some of the action - although I should probably be careful lest I run into someone whom I've lampooned on this site...wait a minute, that's just about everyone - on second thought maybe I should just stay home...NAH!!!

I can still remember the first PBA tournament I attended back when I was 11 years old.  My dad (bless his heart) took a day off of work (which, for him, was unheard of) and drove me 90 miles out to Riverside to watch the qualifying for the event at Town Square Lanes (now defunct).  I can still remember my first autograph.  I got it in the coffee shop as my pops and I were eating breakfast...and who happened to sit down at a table right across from us but Ernie Schlegel and Mark Roth.  Like a father bird pushing his baby bird out of the nest to force him to fly for the first time, my dad pushed me to go over and talk to them. 

I hesitantly made my way over and, because Roth was about the idol-equivalent of a demigod, I first approached Schlegel.  I can still remember what he was eating - hash browns, eggs and toast, with a cup of coffee (not fruit salad like his nickname, although that would have been pretty funny).  Big Ern was a true professional and a gentleman and he was thrilled to sign it.  Since I couldn't speak in the presence or direction of the luminescent Roth, I looked at the wall and feebly pointed my program in his general direction, hoping that he would understand my meaning and deem me worthy of receiving his cherished signature.  To my amazement, he did, and actually spoke to me!  "Here you go, son." is what he said.  "Son!"  Mark Roth called me his son!  I felt like Jesus speaking to God himself!

After breakfast, I had the pleasure of watching the world's greatest bowlers smack pins like I'd never seen before.  Mark Baker, Pete Weber, Marshall Holman and the rest mesmerized me for the entire day and I ended up leaving inspired to go out and practice, practice, practice till one day I could go out and compete with them.  Year after year I kept coming back and, as the time passed, I was able to take something new and different from each visit.  For some reason, when I came back from watching them, I always bowled extra good for a week or two - no doubt a result of some of their magic rubbing off on me.

This week, I plan to take some time out of my busy schedule and watch "the greatest show on wood" once again...and I encourage all of you to do the same when the circus comes to your town too!

Till tomorrow!

Jason
 

P.B. Atkinson has been released from PBA Message Board jail and appears on the latest episode of The Bowling Show, posted today.  Click here now to watch!

Jason 

Every few weeks my dad invites me over to "the club" to play golf with him.  The typical reason is that one of the four usual members of his group can't make it, so I usually have the privilege of filling the spot.

I am always very happy to join him (and his buddies who are pretty hilarious dudes) but, to be honest, since he first joined the club about 20 years ago, I've never felt entirely comfortable within the lofty social grounds that is "Country Club-dom."  Like today, he invites me to play, but due to a new change in policy that states guests may not play on the weekend before 11am (which he was not aware of until this morning), I was unable to join him.  Although I didn't mind too much, it kind of made me think about the subject of exclusion in country clubs across America.

Back on my show Let's Go Bowling, I once did a monologue on this topic, specifically a comparison of the number of golf clubs and bowling alleys that exclude women.  In golf there are dozens, led by the state of Illinois...Barack Obama's home state...so, if the whole President thing doesn't work out for him, at least he'll have something to fix in the Land of Lincoln.  In bowling, the list of establishments that exclude women is short.  Zero to be exact.

In my teens, I can honestly say that I never felt uncomfortable in a bowling center (except maybe that time when I kicked an arm off of a chair and got suspended for two weeks from the Greater LA Junior All Stars league).  The same can't be said for the golf course...even when I would play at the local muni I felt the judging stares of the other golfers as I made my swing (especially on that first tee box - if you've never felt the sensation of 25 people staring as you take your first swing it's quite an "interesting" experience).  A few hundred people at the bowling alley watching me, however, never fazed me once - even at the High Roller.

I guess that's one of the biggest reasons I love bowling so much.  It's so free from pretense and social prejudice.  It's something that I think needs to be incorporated into the message that we spread about bowling in a very direct, comparative way in the future.  And the funnier it is, the better.

Till tomorrow!

Jason

PS - Go Rhino!