Inverted track, nothumber. Above average ball speed and revs.

Our teams all went in with the same basic plan----beat up 4-5-6 in practice and just slowly creep in, then make a hop, and a jump later. Very basic strategy considering what we were seeing. The lanes transition very quickly in whatever zone you choose to play. If you have a group that plays 10-13, then 10-13 will transition quickly and lock you into playing there and farther inside. After bowling, I honestly believe a team of guys who turns the ball a fair amount and likes to play in, could really do a number on this pattern. (Thats MY opinion and obviously up for debate)

Team event
Lanes 25-26
164-243-192---599
I have a constant problem in the team event of not being able to get a feel until halfway through the night. Some would say it's the fact of bowling on the fresh or whatever they may, but you know when you are throwing it well or not----And I was NOT throwing it well at all for the 1st 15 frames. To be honest, I was lucky to have what I did in game 1. I used a 2 Furious and an Anaconda (was fishing with the Anaconda trying to get a better feel). The 2 Furious was what I felt most comfortable with once I got loose. I would say "I was playing X Board to X Board----but I pulled everything from about the 2nd-10th frames of game one. Once I got freed up and the shot transitioned a bit, I threw an awful shot to start game 2, then doubled, then 2-8-10ed. I then ran a 7 bagger to salvage that game and ultimately a respectable set. Playing roughly 18-11.

The last game, the rest of my pair saw the ball track burn. Because I was inside of them, I saw the opposite and the pair got extremely wet dry. I made some good shots and some more shots like I threw in game 1---awful. I probably didnt deserve the 192 I shot. Our team shot 2890 and left a TON of pins out there. I had 7 opens in 3 games.

Doubles
Lanes 17-18
198-204-233---635

This was my most frustrating set to date in 13 trips to Nationals (singles didnt get much better). I threw the ball extremely well, but lane 18 ATE MY LUNCH. 17 essentially had been opened wide open. I couldnt have asked for an easier lane. I went 7 for 7 in game 1 on lane 17 and didnt miss until the 5th frame of game 2. I only missed 2 or 3 times on it all night. Lane 18 however, I didnt strike on it until the 10th frame of game 2 when I doubled in the 10th (on top of a strike in the 9th). The answer----2 Furious on the left lane playing very similar to how I did in the team event. I had roughly 4 boards of room on lane 17. I had 0 boards of room on lane 18. The same spot on lane 18 compared to 17, never hooked and missed the head pin. Moved out, softened up, balled up----all looked worse. Had to ball up and move a zip code left and really soften up the speed. If I got fast, it 2 pinned or worse. But I used an Alpha Max---23 or 24 out to 13, very slow----and found success. The ball would not hook in the backend on that lane. I had to have the ball where I wanted it in the pocket at about 40 feet----because it didnt recover down lane.

I had 3 opens on lane 18 and 1 on lane 17.

Singles
Lanes 19-20
180-218-192---590

I left 4 solid 10s, 2 solid 8s, 1 solid 9, a blower seven, a couple of 4 pins.......and that was all on lane 20. I used the Alpha Max deep inside. In hindsight, I think I was playing the right line, but maybe too much ball. But the fact is, I controlled the pocket, and it was tough to get away from that. Lane 20 after all of that inopportune carry blew up in a bad spot and made it very tough to get the ball to face the 1-3. I survived that reaction to shoot what I did. In S and D I threw only a couple of shots that I was unhappy with. In previous years I feel like I would have had some big numbers----but it just wasnt meant to be this year. 3 opens in this set with a clean 2nd game.

All events----1824.
I am pleased to shoot over 1800 any time. I didnt embarrass myself, but I didnt set the world on fire. But after having 3 out of the last 4 years over 1900, I will accept a nice "boring" 1800 series. The law of averages was definitely in affect----Team, I bowled awful, but scored ok. Doubles and Singles, I bowled well, but only scored ok. In the end, I probably got what I deserved.

When you make little moves left when playing inside of everyone else, the ball REALLY reads the oil. So when you make a move in, dont try to SEND it to the spot, you really have to stay under control and roll it to the spot to get it to read the pattern.

I watched alot of people struggle on spares, I felt the pattern was actually easier for hooking at spares than in previous years. I didnt miss a 3-6-10 (which is normally automatic for me to miss 1 or 2 of these). I missed 3 10 pins which is obviously my fault and didnt cover a 1-2-4. But otherwise, I didnt get anything unexpected from the lanes. I was able to hook at my leftside spares without a problem----my opens were mostly splits. I honestly anticipated more hook than what I saw and in the future will believe NOTHING of what I read or hear. LOL

Some other EXTRA thoughts.....
-The bowling center was definitely chilly. We were directly under vents for team and were frigidly cold. It was insane.

-And now a rant----which I might get flamed for, but oh well. My name is Chris Green, I've never won any Eagles, I've never shot 300 or 800 at Nationals. I finished in the top 100 in All Events once (2008) and 51st in doubles (2002). I shot 290 at the bowling stadium last year. So I've done a few things at Nationals that many others havent. That being said, if my team were finishing 3 frames behind everyone else, I guarantee the USBC would be up my teams butts about finishing on time, etc. I understand that groups that win Eagles have to deal with webcasts and such----but does that mean that they should be giving REGIONAL lane courtesy to them and the pairs around them (explaining why 3 pairs were done later than everyone else). If a team shoots 1180 in one of their games, you would think a few strikes were thrown that game right? So why did it take that pair an extra 20 minutes to bowl? Maybe its the 3 lane courtesy that they were giving and receiving or taking----whatever it may be. It's not bad enough that last year the group was running out shots in front of people in frame 2 of game 3 when neighboring bowlers were on the approach. I'm sorry, but I understand that certain people provide the USBC with free advertising and publicity based on their writings and blogging. I fully understand all of it. But to so clearly ignore the fact that if that were any group but them-----there would be a problem-----is an absolute joke and extremely annoying.

This is not meant to be an attack on any individual, because if I were given perks of being a previous champion, I would take anything to my advantage that I was given. But taking an extra 20 minutes to bowl a team squad in front of an 11:30pm Singles and Doubles squad is ridiculous. Kicking off an already late singles and doubles squad at a later time because people are looking 3 lanes over to see who is up is also uncalled for.

Dinners......
Joe's Crab Shack was an easy choice----good seafood meal there.
Friday was LSU's graduation so our first choice was booked. Our 2nd choice should have been our first choice. Stroubes Seafood and Steaks is a couple of blocks from the River Center (we walked there from the Belle). Myself and 4 friends enjoyed an early dinner there. EVERYTHING we ordered was wonderful. Steak, seafood, duck, dessert----whatever. It was all amazing and had some unique flavor twists. Its a little pricey, but I loved it. And Nadia was an excellent waitress.

The casino at the Belle is pretty run of the mill at best. You could also say run down if you were so inclined. I didnt visit Hollywood casino as we had other plans at different times. Had a great time at Bourbon Street Wednesday night and plan to make another trip to New Orleans to fully enjoy the city.

I think thats it for now.
 

NOTHUMB,

I wasn't going to reply to this post, but not only to defend Riggs and his team mates, I also need to defend mine.


You said:
"Our team event, we bowled just to the right of the walkway. Just to the left, was a group of RIDICULOUS bowlers who had obviously pregamed somewhere, and then were in tournament gaming. They were completely inebriated. They are SCREAMING and YELLING at everything. A bowler makes a spare, they scream. A bowler has the 9 pin caught by the rack, and they yell at the USBC rep behind the main counter right behind the walkway. But they continue to scream and yell. I get that the beer sales help bring in money----but at what cost. They caught my 4 teams, no less than 5 times mid shot. You cant account for 6 lane courtesy. Where was the USBC to say "Hey, you know what----this is our crown jewel, we want to keep it that way".


We bowled on Friday, May 18th at 8:30 pm on lanes 23 & 24. We are the team you must be referring to, just as Riggs figured out that his team was the topic of your original rant. First of all, I have talked to all team members and explained your impression of us that day. We added up total beer consumption in 3 games and our 10 members. Total 5. None before event. I didn't have a beverage and actually wasn't noticing if anyone did, so I verified before posting. Secondly, the loud and inebriated actions you accuse us of drew raised eyebrows and blank stares from everyone on my team. Thirdly, we were kind of a motley crew this year due to some last minute cancellations and replacements. Even though we did not perform as well as we would have liked nor as well as you did ( congrats ), we all tried our best. I am a proshop operator and the crossing team is headed by a center owner. We know bowling courtesy and protocol. I would apologize if there was a reason to, I am a straight up guy.

Here is my experience from that day.  It was so cool to be standing next to the runway as team Turbo received their recognition and awards. I have talked with these guys over the last two national events and actually watched them during their eagle performance last year. They are a class act. I don't care if our squad started later because of the awards, this is part of the events history and prestige.

My only guess of why you slammed us for being disruptive, and by the way this bothers me a lot just being accused of this, is as follows. To our left was a gentleman who had a perfect game going. We started watching him from front 7 on. With each strike we cheered and encouraged him along with his team and probably their fans and family behind their pair. His tenth and eleventh strike were cheered with a bit more enthusiasm. As well as the "awww" that left a couple pins stand with his attempt at perfection on this big and prestigious stage.

Now here is my rant, you really attacked Riggs and his team in your original post. Shame on you. Your attitude is ridiculous. Riggs is too classy to rant back, he did respond in the manner I expected and respect. But I need to let you know bluntly also, you are out of line.  As for the noise that was disruptive, I will always be exited and supportive of a bowler achieving greatness. And here is another bit of praise for that Turbo team that "slowed" everything down this year. One by one, in the midst of their battle to repeat, they came down to shake the hand of that guy who almost shot 300. It was probably that " loud and inebriated " group of bowlers from lanes 21 to 24 that caused them to notice his run even though they were several lanes away. Riggs you and your team are a class act, and it was a great moment for me to witness your award presentation and your bowling greatness, in skill and actions.

Al

Thanks alzgarvin.  And Dr300 may have got onto something -- the something else going on could be the much lower scores?

alzgarvin, I bowl with NOTHUMB.  We bowled on Thursday May 17th @ 8:30 pm.  You are not the group he referred to.

Talked with USBC officials when we bowled in April and think the whole 1130 pm squad reasoning has been put aside. We bowled on the 1130pm squad the first year it was started in Albuquerque and were told the intent was they will monitor and slow teams will be put on that squad. We started our first game at 0100 am that year. If you want 4-6 lane courtesy then take it as you have until 0730 to be done. Our two team have never been slow and we usually finish in the middle of pack. We have been on the 1130 pm squad every year since started. I asked how we end up on that squad seeing we are not slow and the response was 1/2 of 830pm team squad gets 530 pm and the other 1/2 gets 1130 pm. Not the answer I was given years back. Good info in this post and hope USBC reads all responses and rethinks the 1130 pm squad time.

Jorge, I don't visit the bowl.com forums, but I thought that they did monitor the forums as far as checking each post before allowing it to be posted.  I had heard that they did not want any negative postings about the site, USBC, or bowling in general, so they would preview each post before it was allowed to be posted.

@Perfect Approach

You are correct, we have reserved out spots for next years tournament and they allow you to choose your times for all squads. 

While initially setting up our teams it was time consuming, I believe for the future tournaments it will make thing a lot easier to reserve and pay for entries.