Spring Big Turkey Bowling at Imperial Wednesdays 7pm

GOOD EVENING NICK!!

The scene was set for Spring Big Turkey Bowling at Imperial Lanes on Wednesday night...the lanes were polished, team uniforms were ironed. One team sat in anxious anticipation for their hero Nick to arrive. And boy did he arrive!!

Living up to his team's honor, Nick carried his team to a 4-0 victory on Wednesday night. He only had one frame...that's right kids, ONE FRAME...that didn't have some sort of diagonal in it. He walked away with 6 spares, 14 strikes, and a pocket bulging from all of his prize tickets. All the while Nick was encouraging and applauding his teammates and his opponents. Great job to you and your team Nick!

The mood was determined, the air serious as players strolled into Imperial Lanes on Wednesday night for week three of the Spring Big Turkey Bowling. Athletic jerseys appeared (great spirit, Mothership Connection) as players stretched and warmed up. Dirty Turkeys made sure they were comfortable and ready in their pajamas; they may have appeared tired and lazy in their array of fleece plaid pants, but their efforts showed they weren't going to lie down for a nap during their 3-way match. Nick's Angels watched their star-player limp in with an injury; he gritted his teeth and played through anyway. Irritable Bowl Syndrome also had an injured player, but a simple bandaid patched him up. Then there was X Marks the spot…

Katherine is a newer bowler, and spent the first two weeks perfecting her flare and learning her way around the backend of the lanes when tragedy struck. Katherine's right wrist; the one she's been conditioning and strengthening for this tournament, was suddenly injured. All of the hard work, the gained muscle mass and muscle memory were of no use to her! Neither she nor her team panicked though; Katherine was determined that her agony would not affect their scores.

The first game saw Katherine exploring different options; her right hand was still too sore to throw the ball, so right-handed bowling was out. She tried out the granny shot; definitely more effective than the right hand, but still not quite up to her expectations. As a last-ditch effort, Katherine tried a left hand throw…and another…and another. As she tossed the ball awkwardly down the alley, more and more pins were falling…!

Katherine walked away with a 71 for her first game, and a CAREER HIGH 100 for her second game!!! Her determination and stubborn will pulled through, and she had a spectacular night. Thanks to her refusal to give up, she helped X Marks the Spot sprint to victory over the Gutter Genies AND Dirty Turkeys; that's right kids, thanks to Katherine they were first in a 3-way match. Dirty Turkeys and Gutter Genies left with their heads hung, and both teams are now contemplating training on an off-day with their non-dominant hands to see if it improves their scores next week…

After a poor showing of teams last week, Imperial Lanes had a quiet start to the Wednesday Night Big Turkey Bowling League. Irritable Bowl Syndrome tried to liven up the group with their paper cowboy garb (complete with paper boots, spurs and vest), and the Dirty Turkeys proclaimed Wednesday night as Hometown Pride night; each team member donned a shirt that reflected what their hometown was known for. But did this exhibition of pride and spirit make any difference in their bowling? Probably not.

Or did it...? Dirty Turkeys walked into the night as one of the bottom seeds in the tournament. Perhaps it was their hometown pride; perhaps it was the fact that they had nothing to lose. Then again, there's a good chance it was the flowing pitchers that contributed to it as well. We may never know the cause, but what we do know is that Dirty Turkeys were ON FIRE on Wednesday night! Pins were cowering whenever they walked to the end of the lane, as they should have been. Collectively as a team, Dirty Turkeys not only won both of their games, but they also managed two separate streaks of team spares! For those of you that never got one, five people in a row all knocked down spares. Doing this once is a feat in itself, but DTs managed to make it happen twice!!! Erin rounded out the first one with a nice "T" score (her third spare in her game resulted in five in a row for the team), so she deserves recognition as one of the players of the game. Kristina also bowled everyone over by getting her first real turkey ever! She pulled it off in the 9th and 10th frame on her second game. Spirits were high, pins were down, and victory was in the air.

Great job to Erin and Kristina, and to all of the teams on Wednesday night. Make sure to grab all of your prize coupons for next week, and break out your superhero costumes; it's gonna be a crazy championship night!!