Still Having Fun

Not as much fun as future Twins phenom Francisco Liriano, but enough to keep a smile on my face for a weekend. Nice first impression there Franny especially after making your first opening day roster! At least you got the obligatory pro athlete “brush with the law” thing out of the way early in your career so people will forget when you and Johan start piling up wins in the next couple of years.

I managed to tip back a few drinks as well this weekend as I was entered into the Minnesota Bowling Association’s “Bowler of the Decade” tourney. To qualify I had to finish in the top five of the Most Improved Tourney back in September.

52 bowlers came of Memory Lanes in North Minneapolis to vie for a couple hundred bucks and some boxes of Old Dutch potato chips (proud sponsor of the tourney). I knew the area the alley was located looked familiar; as I saw the venue for my first rock concert attended back in the days before iPods. Great White and Jackyl played at The Quest down the street from the bowling alley and because I’m a lumberjack baby, and I’m gonna cut you down to size! Ah c’mon you liked Jackyl, admit it, I still do.

Arriving early at the venue I quickly took care of my need to be slightly tipsy while throwing a 16 pound rock down some planks of wood. Shout out to the bar staff for not skimping on the Cap’n in my drinks. Then again for $5 a drink I’d hope they would tip the bottle more then the pop (soda for those of you outside of the state of Minnesota) spray gun. I showed off my Ms. Pacman chops for my mom and sister by promptly finishing 25 levels before attending to the announced lane assignments that included my brother-in-law who takes bowling a tad more seriously then I do. The lanes were super slick and I was one more split away from ordering a bottle SoCo to stop thinking about how badly I was doing. A 143 in my first game left me on the outside looking in as the 52 person roster would be cut in half after the next game.

Then the buzz finally kicked in.

I nailed a 203 my second game, and while waiting for the results; saw my name get posted above lane 8 as some yummy chicken strips with honey mustard sauce arrive. Half the field would get cut again as the third game I opened with a split in the first frame but went on a tear to finish with a 210 and made the final cut before the stepladder finals. Meanwhile my brother-in-law managed to finish first overall with the help of rolling a 299, unlike the PBA where they give you a $100K bonus for a 300, at least he gets a ring and plaque for the game.

With a 140 in my last game, my Cinderella story died in the fourth round, much like George Mason’s run did (although they did make it one step further). $42.00 for 10th place (my brother-in-law would lose the stepladder final and take down $200.00), not too shabby finish for a guy who is more interested in the free drink score rather then notching together a few strikes.

While still buzzing when I got home I found my internet friends on the Tandy computer styled internet chat room (or IRC). They proclaimed to want to play poker.

Yeah, I still play once in a while.

Penny poker is a fun way to blow off steam, or add some on if you were the victim of my many suckouts. I think I managed to win more money at that table then I did playing $200 PLO8 all weekend.

Stop your laughing!

But I wasn’t the real winner at the table. No, that distinction goes to Luis from Puerto Rico. His USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS WAS QUITE ANNOYING BUT HE WAS HAVING A BLAST DESPITE BEING SURROUNDED BY DRUNKEN POKER BLOGGERS. I believe CJ, Spaceman, Mourn, and Lord Byron took him under their wings to bless this up and coming player with enough stash to start his poker money making machine. Anyone wanna back me for the $2000 PLO8 game? I wouldn’t. I have a lot to learn about the aggression at the higher stakes before taking on those sharks. I understand and recognize the subtle “moves” used in these games but the $$$ are way too high for my meager bankroll. And while playing this weekend I’ve learned that my patience level isn’t where it needs to be to compete over the long term.

But least I’m having fun learning again.

Thanks for the dropping by, now go check out all the April Fool’s “post as your favorite blogger” posts. Damn you guys are good.