Some things just stick in your mind, and that's been the case in this bowling season. There have been courageous performances and classy acts on and off the lanes.
For example, it's hard to forget Brian Brooks leading the qualifying round for the Pilat Design Sport Masters in December. Auburn's top shooters, along with seasoned out-of-town performers that included Joey Petrowski, Ray Cyr and Sam Ventura, were in the field.
But there was Brooks, a first-timer to Sport Bowling, setting the pace with an 845 four-game series.
“I definitely want to win it,” Brooks said after that match. “There's no reason I shouldn't be confident.”
The next day he missed the stepladder finals by a mere five pins, but he'd made his mark in the event.
In the USBC Open Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., recently, Brooks rolled a 624 series in the doubles event, while adding a respectable 577 in the singles. He had indeed confirmed his ability. And there was Patty Blowers' run to the finals of the Women's Citizen Masters. She was diagnosed with breast cancer four months earlier and had just completed a chemotherapy session the previous week. But that didn't hold her back. She came within a whisker of winning the tournament at Cedar House Lanes, eventually finishing runner-up to Becca O'Donnell. Blowers' husband, Bingo, was also battling cancer. He watched every ball his wife threw that final weekend, making frequent eye contact with her. Bingo had surgery March 7, and next week plans to return to light-duty work at Auburn Correctional Facility, his friend Bill Weaver said. That should come as no surprise to those at Auburn or McQuay International, his former employer.
Mike Sheehan provided another special moment. He donated the $100 from a top-eight finish in the Masters to Matthew House, where his aunt Betty Stevens had passed on just weeks earlier.
While those examples will always stand out, I've encountered more subtle, if not simple, acts of sportsmanship. Last week, my team won a roll-off to win the Turner-Lumb Memorial League at Starlite. It was best two-out-of-three, and we won the first two games.
It was past 10:30 p.m. when we clinched, and by rights everybody could have called it a night. But my teammate, Mike Ryan, had totaled over 520 for his two games and wanted to keep bowling to shoot for an elusive 800 series. To make it official and speed things up, three players from the opposition, Paul Samasuck, Tony Tabone and Mike Maltese, quickly agreed to continue against our three of Eddie Monnell, Tim Goodrow and Ryan. Our opponents could have said no, and it would have been perfectly understandable. But they chose to let Ryan, the front-runner in the Bowler of the Year race, have his chance at 800.
Ryan didn't get it, but the game was completed with enthusiasm. I must tip my hat to Samasuck, Tabone, Maltese, Brian Roy and Steve Klock for bowling great to defeat us in league play earlier in the night, forcing the roll-off. And they topped the night off with class, despite falling short.
But there was Brooks, a first-timer to Sport Bowling, setting the pace with an 845 four-game series.
“I definitely want to win it,” Brooks said after that match. “There's no reason I shouldn't be confident.”
The next day he missed the stepladder finals by a mere five pins, but he'd made his mark in the event.
In the USBC Open Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., recently, Brooks rolled a 624 series in the doubles event, while adding a respectable 577 in the singles. He had indeed confirmed his ability. And there was Patty Blowers' run to the finals of the Women's Citizen Masters. She was diagnosed with breast cancer four months earlier and had just completed a chemotherapy session the previous week. But that didn't hold her back. She came within a whisker of winning the tournament at Cedar House Lanes, eventually finishing runner-up to Becca O'Donnell. Blowers' husband, Bingo, was also battling cancer. He watched every ball his wife threw that final weekend, making frequent eye contact with her. Bingo had surgery March 7, and next week plans to return to light-duty work at Auburn Correctional Facility, his friend Bill Weaver said. That should come as no surprise to those at Auburn or McQuay International, his former employer.
Mike Sheehan provided another special moment. He donated the $100 from a top-eight finish in the Masters to Matthew House, where his aunt Betty Stevens had passed on just weeks earlier.
While those examples will always stand out, I've encountered more subtle, if not simple, acts of sportsmanship. Last week, my team won a roll-off to win the Turner-Lumb Memorial League at Starlite. It was best two-out-of-three, and we won the first two games.
It was past 10:30 p.m. when we clinched, and by rights everybody could have called it a night. But my teammate, Mike Ryan, had totaled over 520 for his two games and wanted to keep bowling to shoot for an elusive 800 series. To make it official and speed things up, three players from the opposition, Paul Samasuck, Tony Tabone and Mike Maltese, quickly agreed to continue against our three of Eddie Monnell, Tim Goodrow and Ryan. Our opponents could have said no, and it would have been perfectly understandable. But they chose to let Ryan, the front-runner in the Bowler of the Year race, have his chance at 800.
Ryan didn't get it, but the game was completed with enthusiasm. I must tip my hat to Samasuck, Tabone, Maltese, Brian Roy and Steve Klock for bowling great to defeat us in league play earlier in the night, forcing the roll-off. And they topped the night off with class, despite falling short.
