I don't know who should get credit for originating this comment, but they were obviously a very wise person. The quote is "You can't out-bowl a bad ball reaction." For those of you who may not be avid bowlers that are reading this, the quote means that you can physically execute the best possible shot, but if you're not throwing the right ball into the correct area of the lane, you aren't going to score. Keep this in mind as you read the recap of last night's bowling.

Even though I try very hard not to, I have a favorite ball. Regardless of how much I preach to customers that this isn't a smart thing to do, I still sometimes fall victim to it. Currently, that ball is my Black Widow 3.0 Solid. I try to throw this ball as much as possible, even when I know it's not the best choice. And since I probably have more access to a larger arsenal than the average bowler, there's no excuse for this. However, I did it again, last night.

The BW3 looked good in practice, so I started game 1 with it. Left an unmakeable in the first frame, washed out the second frame, then struck 5 out of the next 6 frames to salvage a 192. The second game I only had 2 open frames, and only managed to score 175. Blech. I was planning on trying my Virtual Energy Blackout with the fill ball in the 10th, but I chopped a 3-6-10 and didn't get a fill ball.

Finally, remembering my favorite bowling quotation, I switched to the VEBO for the 3rd game. Left a ringing 10 in the first, threw 6 strikes in a row, and finished with 249. The VEBO produced the exact shape on the lane that I was struggling to produce with the BW3. I shot 616, we won 2 games, but my stubborness probably cost us totals, and an extra 3 points. Moral of the story: if you're fortunate enough to have a multi-ball arsenal, stop trying to force a ball into a reaction, especially when experience has shown you that you're not going to be able to do that. As Michael Jackson would say, "Make that change!" Until next time:

• Clean your equipment

• Get your grips changed if they're more than 6 months, or 40 games, old

• Contact me at [email protected] with any questions or comments

Craig