To sum up how I have bowling as of late, its hasn't been good. For some reason I convinced myself to throw a new bowling ball over a ball I had been averaging 220+. Tonight, after four or more weeks of getting back into the old ball, we get into a pace in the first game.

This first game was like no other. More than half the team quit leaving me and a new comer. Only having two bowlers on a five man roster league, we were forced for forfeit all three games. That didn't mean our scores didn't count.

So in the first game I made it to the ninth frame with all strikes. In between previous balls I would walk off into a far corner where no one was and talk to myself about this or that. It wasn't until the tenth frame was coming up that I started thinking about it. So I talked to my brother to see what he had to say.

In bowling you don't seriously talk about it out load. Thats the way we have always dealt with it. Even if someone is doing it, don't tell them they are doing it. They already know what they are doing. Unless they bring it up, then talking about a 300 game is legal. Its a jinx of the 300.

Before the tenth frame I wanted to talk about it out load, while I was bowling it. Somehow it made it feel unreal and I was able to relax. And the fact I was talking to my kinsman. He said what I needed to hear. I want to say I wasn't really as nervous as I thought I would be.

What all of this mumbo jumbo comes down to is that I struck the first nine strikes and left the two pin on the first ball in the tenth frame. Made the spare, and struck for 279. I should have left the two pin. It wasn't time yet, and good things come to those who wait.

I had only met guppy troup recently. He made his way by our bowling center for the senior tour. I cant say that i didnt hear stories of him being on tour, but I never really hit me, untill this past weekend.

While waiting on my girlfriend to get out of the bathroom I was flipping through channes. I saw bowling was on and being a bowler I paused to check it out. I noticed the lanes were dark, and the graphics on the screen looked very old. Next I hear the announcer say "Guppy Troup". An alarm went off and I called the owner of our bowling alley and I called my brother. They both confirmed it would be the same guppy I have met serveral times. There was one match in progress that would lead to the championship game, and guppy was the top seed.

When I first met Guppy what stood out was his personality. Like anyone who really knows him, he is an original. From the clothes to the jewlery to the way he carried himself around and about.

Guppy Troup is one of the most likeable people I've met and cant wait to meet again. I thought it was pretty awsome to catch that espn classic match up and have him winning the 1985 Austin Open. Below is a little info into who Guppy Troup is. I have created a photo album dedicated to Guppy Troup at http://www.blogtext.org/andy/myimages/album433.html.

During his 26 years on tour, Troup has built a reputation as a character, outlandish, outspoken and dressed to kill. Troup was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1950. His family moved to the United States after Guppy's uncle got his father a job at the University of South Carolina.

Troup picked up the nickname as a youngster bowling in the state tournament inColumbia, S.C. "Every team was named after a fish, and we were the Guppies," Troup said. "I was their captain, and we won and set a state record."

Troup honed his game, joined the pro tour and introduced his off-the-wall character and dress.

Oh, yes, the dress. Troup's wardrobe on and off the lanes is best described as early paisley, which, incidentally, is a Scottish city near Glasgow.

There was the time in Erie, Pa., several years ago when Troup qualified for the TV finals.

"There were five guys in the audience without shirts and 'G.U.P.P.Y.' painted on their chests, the most awesome thing I ever saw," he said. "I won my first match and threw my resin bag to one of the guys. I lost my second match and threw my towel to another guy. The owner of the center suggested I throw my shirt to the kids ... and I did. I think I'm the only bowler to take off his clothes on national TV."

When the tour was in Kansas City several years ago, Troup bought 14 pairs of trousers, "wildest colors I could get." He split them down the middle and sewed different-colored legs together, one orange, the other green. His appearance on the lanes was sensational.

Years ago, when the PBA Southern Region visited Southland Lanes in Pinellas Park, Troup appeared in his usual outrageous dress, and this time his rococo rags got soaked.

To celebrate winning the tournament, Troup threw what he said was a $10,000 diamond ring into the retention pond behind the center. After second thoughts, he waded in to retrieve it, unsuccessfully. Several onlookers spent days underwater groping the mud, also unsuccessfully.

"That's okay," Troup said. "I'll collect the insurance."

Troup later admitted the ring was worth about $25.

Troup turned 50 after the second stop of last year's senior tour. He cashed in eight of the final nine events, made the match-play four times and earned $16,045. He was named senior rookie of the year.

He has won eight national titles and 26 regional crowns. He won his first national title in 1978 and hasn't won since 1985.

"I told the new PBA owners that if they wanted somebody with personality to come get me," Troup said. "It's been a great career, and I've loved every minute of it."

Troup said he has been tempted to wear his father's Scottish outfit on the lanes, but "it's a kilt, and you can't wear anything underneath."

This late entry deserved a quicker post. Thursday night the bowling team went 2 and three against a pretty good team. The night turned into a pretty special night. I shot 278 the first game and ended up in the 720 area.

The real story belongs to my brother, the anchor bowler on the team. Anchor bowlers go last, they carry the heaviest pin average and do very well under pressure. This week was a little different. Out of no where in the third game chad begins to string a lot of strikes.

The game was close, just about as close as it was the second game when we lost. Fighting for total wins in the last third and or winning the last third is our only chance at getting into roll-off. I think chad forgot about that as he went into the tenth frame with nine x's.

I stood back watching him as he picked up his ball. I looked at his elbow looking to see if he was shaking, he wasn't. This was not the first time chad had been here, there meaning sitting on nine in a row. Chad had done this before and he did it again. Every ball that game finished like the last three. All the pins went down soon after impact. Not shaking on the second nor the third chad completed the perfect game for the second time in his sanctioned career. It was awesome. You had to be there.

It happened again. Bowling good and winning games during league play are two completely different thoughts. First thought is do what needs to be done to win. Even though we lost two out of three last night I somehow managed to beat my previous high set and bowled my highest game ever.

First game 246, second game 248, third game 280.  That should total 774. The last game I struck 11 out of 12 times. I think the frame I did not strike it was either the 2nd or 3rd frame.

Even though I bowled good, it means less considering we still lost two games.

Moreover no one got into a fight last night because the tension was running pretty high. There was a lot of disagreements about many of things last night including the team we bowled against.

Last night they wanted to add a guy to their roster after January first during the leagues year. In the rule book it says that you can not do this, however you can ad a roman sub anytime you want to. Those lines from the rule book are up for interpretation. The rule does not detail out specifics to subs from a roman sub list. A roman sub is a guy that can sub on any team. Which is different than someone that is on the teams roster. Roster bowlers can only bowl for their team and roster bowlers are the only bowlers allowed to bowl in roll-offs or tie breakers.

It makes no sense to allow a Roman sub to be added to the Roman sub list at any time when the rule says you can not add anyone to your roster after January first. If that was the case, any given week, unless its a roll-off or tie breaker, a team could pull any person off the street and have them sub.

Either way we lost 2 out of three.

Last night was one of the best three nights in my existence. Bowling went well last night. We bowled a team that recently lost a good bowling. Donnie Longhorn. If it were up to me they would win the league. That's another story.

So my set (3 games added together) last night was 772. Divide that by three and you have my average for the night. I shot 250 something, 220 something and 278 the last game.

The middle game where i shot two twenty something, in that tenth frame on the first ball I leave a two pin with a light pocket shot. I was on two or more strikes in a row. If i carry that two pin I shoot 800. Bowling 800 is only second to bowling 300 once. But really its closer than saying it is second. To bowl an 800 series it takes 3 great games.

Not to downplay 300' but you could shoot 300 and have a very hard time shooting an 800 series.

This was sanctioned during league play.

It wasnt like me to finish off the end of the summer league with a four count. It ended up costing us second place and nearly finishing fourth.

Needing to win two games to clinch second place we started out the first game with fury. Fading fast the second game ended with a twenty pin difference to the other. The last game came down to the tenth frame. I spared and got a four count. He spared and struck. We tied 350 the last game. I cant remember the last time I got a four count on the first ball. To think of it seriously, it is hard to get a four count without hitting the headpin.

Take a look at this chart to get the setup of the pins. Without hitting the headpin, knock down four pins. Just four, and dont let the pins knock another pin over.

I still choked.

It breaks down like this. There are three thirds, only one team can win a third. One team can win more than one third and there are twelve teams in the league. Up to four teams can be in the roll off.

Every thursday the bowling league gets together and we bowl three games against another team. The team with the most wins for the third gets to bowl in the roll off. The roll off is where teams bowl for the top place.

The first third we finished second because we failed to win a single game the last week of the third. Even though we didnt place in the second third, the same team that won the first third did not win the second third. As of now there are two teams in the roll off.  We are in the last third with 2 weeks to go.

Up to four teams can make the roll off, so if there are only three thirds, how do you get a forth team. If one team wins two out of three thirds there are only two teams in the roll off. If three different teams win a third, the fourth team in the roll off is made by the team that has the most wins and is not one of the three teams already in the roll off.

Back to my story, we are first, we have been first the last third for three weeks. The other bit of good news is that we are leading total wins over all teams. So if we somehow lose this third our other chance of getting in will be total wins.

Last week we could have damn near shut everyone out of the running for the third third. We lost two. The powerhouse team that we are, fell well short last week losing two out of three. Plenty of curse words were said.

And this text, were I describe that we only have one sub on the list. No one on the team can afford to miss, and someone after all the weeks of winter and now into spring, I have cought some kind of cold. Thursday is two days away and everything is on the line.