Bowlers wind down for break
By By Mike Carson / bowling columnist
Dec. 16, 2003
Believe it or not, we are into the final week of competition before the holiday break. Most leagues will be wrapping up second round action this week with position weeks while others will reach the official halfway point after the holiday break. Only the Monday Nighters and the Hucklebuck leagues will be bowling next week. Following that all leagues will be off until Jan. 2, 2004, when the Ball &Chain league kicks off the new year. I hope all of you have had an enjoyable first half of the season and I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Next week will feature the special holiday column so only the available league standings will be printed. I'll return with the regular column on Tuesday, Dec. 30 and recap position round winners and local highlights at that time.
Local action got back on track last week with Albert Edmonds leading the way by cranking out his second "7" of the season with a 268, 257/733 set in the Queen City league. Steve Eastman busted the barrier twice during the week with a 712 and a 704 and Bill Fike continued to fire strikes and landed a 705 set. Two guys stepped over the line for the first time this season. Clark Ramsey carded a 709 and Jeff Gaines made his return after back surgery to blast a 277, 258/707 set in the Hucklebuck league. Robert Brown held down the high game of the week with a 279. Congratulations go out to Phil Nichols in the Monday Nighters league who topped his average by 75 pins with a 200 game.
Shelia Dearman out dueled husband Arthur by nine pins with an outstanding 257, 222/678 set in the Ball &Chain league to stand out front and center for the ladies. Janie Tisdale also strutted her Kemper County stuff with a 617 effort. Sue Kirkpatrick checked in with a 225 while Nonie Embrey and Ann Whitehead each had games of 221. Highlights for the Bowlerettes, Northwood and Wednesday Night Mixed leagues were unavailable at the time this column was written, but I hope to have them in the next column. I do know that the Bowlerettes league Bowler of the week was Tami Lee, so I will offer her a pat on the back and hope she doesn't turn around and slug me.
Finally, a big round of applause goes out to all of our junior bowlers who took part in last week's YABA City Championships. Whether you took home a trophy or not, you were all winners. One of the most amazing aspects of the tournament this year was the fact that in two days of competition, only one bowler failed to appear. This is extremely rare in any tournament and I would like to commend not only the bowlers but also the parents who made sure their child or children were on hand to take part. Due to the large number of divisions I am unable to recognize all the winners in the part of the column but I will have a complete list in the standing section next week. By the way, parents, be sure to thank Jeff Gaines, Shirley Gaines, Bob Davis and Shelia Dearman for stepping in and helping make this event a success This was their first experience in directing a tournament of this type and, under the circumstances, they did an excellent job.
That's all for this week. I hope each of you has a very happy holiday season. Be sure to check back next week for "A Bowler's Christmas."
