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Injury Recap
Well for those of you that don't know, this was my first tournament since early November. Back in mid July, I started to experience some pain in my middle finger. Since I have a history of tendonitis in my right hand, I assumed that was what I was feeling. I took some time off as the summer went on but the pain persisted. I went to Japan ( which was awesome, by the way !!! ), and while I was there the pain reached its peak. I almost had to withdraw, but I didn't want to waste what may have been my only Japan Cup so I perservered and bowled my way through it. I met with Commissioner Schreyer while in Japan and informed him of my injury, and my possible need for an injury deferment.
When i returned home I met with Dr Christoper Wottowa, the doctor that treated my severely injured wrist back in 2000. At that point he informed me that I had a Retinacular Cyst ( small sac of joint fluid ) in the lower base of my middle right finger. My options were : an aspiration injection that could crush the cyst or surgery. The injection was the riskier of the 2 options, mainly because it may not work and it would be very painful.....but the recovery time would be quicker. Either way I was facing enough down time that would force me to miss the beginning of the Tour season. At that point I decided to start the season and see what happened. Maybe by some miracle I would be able to get through the season and take care of it afterwards. After the first week, it was very evident that I wasn't going to make it very far. I informed Commissioner Schreyer that i would be deferring after Buffalo, and at that point he agreed and granted me a deferral of my exemption to 2008-2009. I bowled Detroit and Buffalo in tremendous pain, then headed home to see Dr Wottowa again. We decided to go the surgery route and set the date on November 29th.
On November 29th I went in for the first surgery of my life. I had no idea what to expect, and to be honest i was pretty scared. The Doctor had no idea if the cyst had gotten into the tendon, so we didn't really know what the recovery time was going to be. Best case scenario was going to be 4 weeks, but i had already decided to lengthen whatever time he told me by 2 weeks. Since my target return date was the World Championships, I had plenty of time. The surgery only lasted about 20 minutes and went better than could be expected. There was no damage to the tendon, and the doctor was able to make a very small incision. I felt virtually no pain afterwards and i was even able to make a fist later that night. After about a week the stitches came out and i was able to slowly regain full use of my right hand. Since it would be at least 4 weeks until I could bowl, I spent a lot of time coaching and doing camps & clinics to keep myself busy. My return visit to the doctor wasn't quite what I wanted to hear though. I had quite a bit of scar tissue built up, so I remained shut down for at least another 2 weeks. In the meantime I did some seminars for Storm and Roto-Grip on our new ball launches until finally the doctor released me to start bowling. I practiced that day with a little stiffness, but no pain. I did some ball demonstrations for Storm that week, then headed to Miami for a week of coaching. I practiced a couple of time while in Florida, but nothing major. When i got home, i went to see Dr Wottowa for another check-up and he instructed me to pick the pace up and go "all-out". At that point I started practicing every day, seeing how the World Championships were now 2 weeks away. I practiced 4 days during each week, then deemed myself ready to go ( or at least I thought I was )
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Monday, February 18, 2008
Since practice wasn't until later in the evening, I decided to spend an extra night at home and drive over to Indianapolis on Monday morning. I left home around 9:30 and made the short 3 hour drive to Indy. The weather was pretty typical of the midwest in mid-February...cold and snow. I got to Woodland Bowl, unloaded my equipment and did some catching up with the guys. Since I'd been out for a few months, it was great to be back with the fellas again. I hung out at the bowl for a while watching A squad practice, helping Dennis
( my web-dude ) with surfaces and lane play strategies. I sat and watched the guys on our staff for a while to see what balls were working in what parts of the lane, trying to come up with a gameplan for myself. Once practice was over and the lane maintenance crew started to re-do the lanes, Ii headed to the hotel to check in and unload my stuff. I stopped by Chipotle to grab a quick bite to eat on the way back to the bowl, then went back for my official practice session. I camped out on the low-end and used a variety of Rapid Fires, Spitfires and T-Road Pearls. The volume seemed fairly low this week ( which i guess has been pretty typical of the whole season ). The outside part of the lane looked pretty fake to me, plus since I've been off for a while I didn't think I'd be sharp enough to play that part of the lane anyway. The pattern played "OK" from in and I used my entire practice just trying to get sharp. Barb and Bill Spigner had set up on a pair next to me and they were doing some video and photo work for Bowlers Journal. One by one all of the guys were down there with them, and I took my turn after i was all done practicing ( Note : Since the Spigners sold Hawthorn Lanes, we lost arguably the best hosts of a PBA Event. They will be sorely missed.....they are truly awesome people !!! ). After I was done for the night I headed back to the hotel and hit the fitness room. Since my surgery I have been back in the gym and eating better. My goal is to be in the best shape of my life before the 2008-2009 season starts. So far I'm down about 15 lbs, doing a mix of lifting and cardio pretty much every day. I did about 3 miles on the treadmill, then headed back upstairs to go to bed. |
| ROUND 1 |
178 |
167 |
228 |
248 |
210 |
191 |
162 |
227 |
248 |
1859 |
57th |
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008 -- Qualifying Block 1
I woke up fairly early Tuesday morning and went downstairs to grab some fruit and juice for breakfast. After I got ready I headed out to get a haircut. I stopped at Knockouts on my way to the bowl ( imagine Hooters with clippers ! ) and got a much needed haircut. After that I headed to the bowl to watch the remaining games of A squad and to see how Dennis was fairing. Scores were a little higher than I thought they would be and some guys were playing way in, but there were still a lot of people playing out. I kind of liked what the "in" looked like, so that was my initial gameplan. During the break, I went to lunch with Dennis and a friend of ours ( BJ ) that traveled with Dennis. We sort of "disected" what went wrong for Dennis and talked about his ball reaction for a while. Then it was back to the bowl to get ready for my first round of qualifying. During my 15 minutes of practice I had a pretty good look with a Spitfire ( pin down, hole down, light surface ) and a Rapid Fire ( pin down, hole down, light surface ), playing around 16-17 at the arrows.
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Game 1 – Everything started off great, but the lanes quickly changed and i found myself fishing. The oil carried down pretty quick and I had virtually no hold. I stayed with the Spitfire the entire game, searching for something that would work. I thought I had found something in the 9th, but I made a horrible shot in the 10th to give away a lot of pins.
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Game 2 – I pretty much stayed with the Spitfire again for this game. I mixed in a shot with the Rapid Fire and one with a Gravity Shift as well. This was a little better game, but 2 missed spares were inexcusable. My shotmaking still wasn't very sharp, and it really showed in frames 7-8 and 10.
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Game 3 – I started with the Spitfire again, but went to the Rapid Fire in the 4th frame. I was finally starting to see a little bit of hold developing, but since I wasn't following anybody that was playing in I was pretty much on my own. Other than a couple of bad shots in the 7th and 11th, i was finally starting to get comfortable.
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Game 4 – I was pretty lucky that i caught a pair that Chris Barnes had just come off of here and he was playing in. I was able to move left a little bit and open the lane up some. I used the Rapid Fire the entire game and had my best look of the day. Note - Hambone #1 during this game !!! ( Hey, i'm open to new things....at least Rob Stone is entertaining )
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Game 5 – Pretty frustrating game here. This pair hooked a lot more than the last pair and I certainly didnt expect it. I was into around 23-24 now and the midlane was starting to hook more and more. I stayed with the Rapid Fire and just kept shimming left. The 4-6-7 in the 8th was a total shock. I didn't expect it and it sort of deflated me.
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Game 6 –
This pair was the exact opposite of the last pair. This pair was much tighter, especially downlane. I had to move 3-4 right on this pair and still couldn't get the angles right. The Rapid Fire still looked good, so i stayed with it ( mainly because i didn't have enough confidence to change )
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Game 7 –
Well the pair to pair circus continued !!! This pair was hooking about 10 more than the last pair. Now i was walking around the ball return on the right lane, crossing around 27-28 at the arrows. The Rapid Fire was still plenty downlane, soIi stayed with it. I liked the motion but it took half the game to get far enough left with my feet, and when I did I still couldn't get the ball to go through the pins the right way
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Game 8 –
I made the turn to the low end of the building to where the higher scores were. I quickly saw why, there was a lot more hold on this end and my look instantly improved. Staying with the Rapid Fire, i was able to settle in and play my "A" game. If it weren't for a couple of bad breaks on good shots, this game would have been much higher
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Game 9 –
More of the same on this pair. I was able to play this pair just like the last one, and other than a bad shot in the 2nd I hit the pocket every shot and bowled my best score and my best physical game of the day. It's always nice to finish the block off well, and this game put me right at the cut number after the first day.
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All in all i was fairly happy with my first round. I made a lot of good shots, but I also made a lot of mental and physical errors. I guess that was to be expected after a long layoff. The good news was that my finger held up great and i felt no pain whatsoever. The bad news was that I couldn't say the same for the rest of my body. I guess there isn't any amount of practice that you can do to prepare yourself for the rigors of a 9 game round in a PBA major. My back and legs felt horrible and the top of my hand was killing me ( tendonitis flareup ). Schlem and I decided to drill a Thunderstruck Solid ( pin over, hole straight across, light surface ) for the next day, so I headed to the truck to take care of that. Afterwards I grabbed a quick sandwich and went back to the hotel. I hopped on the treadmill for a little bit, then it was off to bed. |
| ROUND 2 |
236 |
172 |
196 |
190 |
246 |
183 |
204 |
212 |
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1639 |
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008 -- Qualifying Block 2
Wednesday was a 9:00 a.m start, so I headed to the bowl early to grab some breakfast and work out the Thunderstruck that we had drilled. Just like every major, there was a long line at the work-out table with guys working out freshly drilled bowling balls and adjusting surfaces. We adjusted the surface on the Thunderstruck to a light 1000 abralon finish by hand, then it was down to the lanes for 15 minutes of practice. For a change, I guessed right and the Thunderstruck looked good from the start. I practiced with the same Spitfire and Rapid Fire that i had used in Round 1, but the Thunderstruck looked better. I started in the same part of the lane as Round 1, crossing around 16-17 at the arrows. It looked like there was a little more friction in the middles for this round, but it was playable.
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Game 1 – I made a careless shot to start the game, but rebounded quickly with a triple. I was trying to stay somewhat neutral with my release, keeping the ball online without a lot of direction change downlane. I was able to get off to a good start, which I desperately needed. Note - Hambone #1 for the day !!!
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Game 2 – Well all the momentum that I gained in Game 1, I gave right back in Game 2. The left lane was pretty tight downlane and I had a hard time getting behind the ball enough to get it to read the lane in the right spot. When I did make a decent shot, it wasn't quite good enough. The 7-10 in the 8th was pretty typical for Woodland. The carry in this center is good, but certain pairs are 7-10 traps. I remember i left more than 10 of them here last year. I switched to the Rapid Fire in the middle of the game, but ended up going back to the Thunderstruck after the 7-10.
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Game 3 – The first frame "jitters" continued as I split to open the third straight game. Just like it always seems when I'm not throwing the ball very well, I pay the maximum penalty for every bad shot. Three more splits this game kept me fighting an uphill battle. Pair to pair was worse than yesterday because guys were playing all over the place instead of camping out in an area and staying there. Just like Round 1, I only had Barnes and Angelo ahead of me playing in so the lanes weren't developing as fast as I'd hoped.
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Game 4 – Shocker !!! Big circle to start yet another game. It was starting to get funny ( not really ). I kept digging myself a deeper hole that I couldn't climb out of. Then another chopped 3-6-10, and I was buried in the 5th frame. I switched to the Rapid Fire in the 5th, hoping to get the ball into an earlier roll, but since the midlanes hooked more in this round the Rapid Fire was using to much energy and wouldn't hit ( due to the pin down, hole down and surface ). I somehow managed to bail 190 out of this game and move on.
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Game 5 – FINALLY !!! A mark in the first frame. This pair had more friction on it, so i went back to the Thunderstruck and jumped into around 25....finally able to open up the lane a little bit. My lack of "sharpness" showed up in the 8th when I over-hit it by a ton. Luckily I made the spare and finished up clean, righting the ship for the time being.
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Game 6 –
I started with the Thunderstruck again, but I had a little more over/under on this pair. I made a horrible shot in the 2nd, then chopped yet another spare in the 5th. I went to the Rapid Fire in the 6th, but made another bad shot in the 9th ( paying the maximum penalty yet again ). It just seemed like everytime I gained some momentum and got a look, I would make a bad shot and over-hit it. All that did was either make it skid for 100 ft or go sideways at the back of the pattern. The one thing that you can't do on a Majors pattern is over-hit it, and I couldn't stop doing it in crucial situations.
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Game 7 –
This pair was ON FIRE !!! After a Big-4 in the 4th, I switched to a T-Road Pearl
and took a big step left. I was hoping that my go to ball would bail me out and help make the cut. I quickly threw a Hambone +1 ( I'm going to petition for a 5-bagger to be a "Trombone" and a 7-bagger to be called a "Pecan Log" !!! ), but I guess I got cocky and "threw it a little too good" in the 10th for a 2-4-8-10. At least I felt like the lanes were starting to open up and come to me.
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Game 8 –
I stayed with the T-Road Pearl after I made the turn to the low end.
This end was kind to me in Round 1 and I was hoping for more of the same here. I started good with a double, then rang a 10-pin. Then on the spare, I stuck pretty bad and almost fell on my face....missing the 10-pin and killing even more momentum. The left lane was very tight, and I couldn't get the T-Road Pearl to pickup a roll soon enough.
I felt like I really had to manipulate the ball to get it to read, but if I tried to hit it the ball would get too angular. I was pretty much trapped with a suffering physical game on a tough pattern.
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25-26
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/Rollover/Spitfire - hole.gif){kind=link}
/Rollover/T-Road Pearl - pin over.gif){kind=link}