WOW !!! Where do I start with this report. Even though I wasn’t bowling in this event it was still a very emotional weekend for me. I wanted to spend a few days in Hammond, IN watching and supporting some very good friends and hope that they could recapture their Tour exemptions. I was really hoping to see Del Ballard jr, Chris Johnson, Dave Traber and Jim Tomek Jr. make it through the grueling Tour Trials. I was also hoping to see if Kelly Kulick or Liz Johnson could make history ( more on that in a minute ) by becoming the first woman to become exempt on the Denny’s PBA Tour. Plus several other friends were bowling so I just sort of floated around all weekend, watching some intense competition.

Friday June 2nd

I got over to Hammond pretty early in A Squad’s 3rd Round block. They were bowling on the Scorpion pattern today, but you sure couldn’t tell. I had talked to Schlem and CJ ( Chris Johnson ) all week and they were describing to me how the patterns were playing. I guess I didn’t believe them until I actually saw it with my own eyes. They had told me that the first 2 days played out, even the Shark pattern which generally plays in. That didn’t make much sense but when I found out that the PBA totally changed the patterns, I understood. They changed the shape of the patterns to make all of them similar to each other. For what reason I don’t know, but now the length of the pattern, the volume of oil and the lane surface are the only variables that determine how the pattern will play. Today I watched the righties pretty much stay right of 10, and just change balls according to what they were seeing. Of course with less play on the left, the lefties were able to camp out around 5 and stay there all day ( for the 3rd day in a row ). All I know is the lefties just dead whacked ‘em today ! Billy Oatman went +452 to lead the squad and I think 6 of the top 8 bowlers were left handed for the day. Michael Haugen Jr. maintained his lead, but the field got a little more bunched up at the top. Del and CJ both bowled fairly well today to finish the day in 5th and 12th respectively. Kelly finished in 11th to put herself in good position with 2 days to go. But the big story ( and a topic of a lot of controversy ) was that there are now 5 lefties in the top 10 and a few other lurking behind. Now, I’m not one to say that the lefties should be shut out ( I believe everybody should be afforded the same opportunity ), but when the patterns are symmetrical in shape, the left side doesn’t transition as much as the right due to the fewer amount of players on that side. Its shaping up to be a very interesting weekend as always. After the round was over, CJ and I headed to Hooters for some dinner, a few beers and to watch our beloved Rangers beat the White Sox 4-3. Dino Castillo was lucky enough to have tickets to the game ( jerk !!! ), but we had to settle for watching it on TV.

Saturday June 3rd

I only spent a few hours at the bowl today because my daughter Kaitlyn had a huge dance recital tonight. So I drove back home and watched her incredible performance. Kaitlyn is one of the youngest members in her dance company, but she is arguably one of the best. I swear she is the most driven 8 year old I’ve ever seen when it comes to dancing. She had 8 dances ( for 2 performances ) and she nailed every one of them. If you couldn’t tell I’m very proud of her. Anyway, back to the Tour Trials. Schelm sent me texts all night keeping me updated on the progress of Del and CJ. Del bowled very well today to move up to 3rd and CJ was just hanging around outside of the top 10, but still well within striking distance. Again the right side played right of 10 all day and the left stayed pretty much where they had been. After 4 days, there were still 5 lefties in the top 10 and 2 others that were pretty close. Dave Traber has some work to do, but with the Cheetah pattern being his favorite I like his chances a lot.

Sunday June 4th

My buddy Matt and I made the trip back over to Hammond this morning to watch the exciting finish to Tour Trials. Matt has been working very hard on his game all summer ( with aspirations to bowl regionals soon ), so I thought it would be a good experience for him to witness this. Even though they split the field up for the last day with the lower half bowling first and the upper half bowling later, I still wanted to watch some friends bowl. We sort of camped out behind “Revs” and Lonnie Waliczek most of the morning just watching and talking. After A squad was done bowling a large group of us ( myself, Matt, Schlem, CJ, Dino Castillo, Blaise and Aric Alcarez ) headed to, guess where……Hooters for lunch and the finale of the Rangers and White Sox series. With most of us being Rangers fans, we were thoroughly outnumbered, since we were in a suburb of Chicago. Of course our first place Rangers pulled out another hard fought victory to take the series. After lunch it was time for B squad to take the floor. I spent time jumping back and forth between Del’s pair and CJ’s pair. Both of them got out of the gate a little slow and by the end of Game 3 it wasn’t looking to good. CJ was losing ground on 10th and Del was falling, but still within the top 10. Then all of a sudden CJ moved a little bit left and started piping an Agent through around 8-9-10. He whacked the next 5 games to the tune of 257, 268, 259, 259, 248. Not too bad for his “B” game !!! Meanwhile Del was still struggling. Going into the last game ( game 45 ) Del sat in 11th place. CJ had firmly planted himself in the top 10 and his exemption was pretty safe. Now it was basically down to 3 players for 2 spots. You had Billy Oatman and Richie Wolfe in 9th and 10th and Del chasing them down. Billy’s pair was ahead and he was done with game 9 before Del and Richie even started their last game. Billy struggled his last game, missing a 7-pin in the 10th, ending up with 180. That meant Del only needed 186 his last game to regain his spot on Tour, where he truly deserves to be. Del got off to a good start with an early double, but a split in the 3rd made things a little more tense. At this point is Del stays clean with good count the rest of the game he would be fine. Del picked up another double in frames 6 & 7 and I truly though he was in soft. Then disaster struck when he left a 4-6-7 in the 8th. Now he had to not only stay clean, but mix in a least one strike to stay ahead in count. Del got up in the 9th and threw a great shot to strike, then he got a HUGE break in the 10th by rolling a 2-pin. Let me tell you that the crowd went nuts and so did Del. It was awesome to see him get the next 2 in the 10th to regain his spot on Tour. It was a very emotional finish, with Dels family and friends behind him yelling and screaming, urging him on. I’m lucky I was there to see it. I consider Del and Carolyn part of my family and I wouldn’t have missed that for anything. It was also great to see Kelly Kulick become the first woman to earn an exemption on the Dennys PBA Tour. I don’t think people realize how talented Kelly is and how hard she works. To me the whole gender thing is a non-issue. Kelly is a great player, period ! I would also like to congratulate the other 7 new members of the Tour, Mark Scroggins, Michael Haugen jr, Jim Pratt, Patrick Girard, Richie Wolfe, Chris Hayden and David Tessman. Tour trials is a very grueling format and those 10 bowlers proved they belong on Tour.

Meanwhile, I’m taking some time off. I haven’t touched a ball since Willowbrook. Physically I’m feeling better every day. I’m going to start practicing again next week to get ready for the Joliet regional and the rest of the summer. I’ve been working with the Etonic shoes a little bit and things are coming together. Now that I’m feeling fairly pain-free, I’m looking forward to bowling again. Talk to you soon, my next report will be posted after the Joliet regional next weekend. Take care and Bowl up a Storm, Jeff.