Player of the Year Debate w/ ROY Nominee Andrew Hall - Season 4 Ep. 13 - Down Lane Podcast

The guys welcome PBA Rookie of the Year nominee, Andrew Hall to the shop to debate who the 2023 Player of the year should be.  They also discuss Andrew and Producer Austin's win from this weekend's Swiss Trios event as well as life on tour.
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Hosts:
Kyle Haines
Anthony Scaccia

Guest:
Andrew Hall

Producer:
Austin Van Buren

Music: 
Active Aggression

Transcript

Thank you.
Thank you.
It kind of helps them advance.
I mean, do you think this is a conspiracy?
Gotta go with Jacob Butter.
Gotta go lefty.
No, we're talking about the players.
That's tournament champions into the podcast.
There he is right there.
Oh, he doesn't even know how to watch.
Go to YouTube.com and search Downlane Podcast.
Welcome, everyone, to the Downline podcast.
You're listening live from the lab at Town & Country Lanes.
I'm your host, Kyle Haynes, and with me is the assistant to the host, Anthony Skacia.
It's great to be here today.
Do I sound okay, Austin?
I know you guys don't like when I lean too far in.
You can lean in as far as you want now.
We have audio fixed.
With us is the producer, Austin Van Buren.
And live in the shop tonight, we've got Rookie of the Year nominee, Andrew Hall.
Welcome.
Thanks for having me on, guys.
How you doing?
How we doing?
We are good.
We are good.
We've got a lot to talk about tonight.
We are going to be talking about and giving our thoughts, debating player of the year who we think should take home that trophy.
It's an easy one.
I can't wait to debate it.
I was going to say, I have many thoughts on that one.
We're going to talk about, we've got a couple of new champions in the room from this past tournament this weekend here at Town & Country.
So we'll talk about that a little bit.
Let's see.
And then we're going to ask Andrew what is going to be going on for this upcoming PBA season as he heads out on tour.
High hopes and dreams.
That's all it is.
High hopes and dreams.
But before all of that, please don't forget to like, subscribe, click the bell to get alerts from the channel, share with your friends, all that good stuff.
If you can't watch on the YouTube, you can always download and listen via your favorite podcast service.
While you're doing that, give us a five-star review, all of that good stuff.
And we want to give a quick shout out to Bingham's Bowling Supply.
They put out an awesome shout out on their website.
So thank you very much for doing that.
He's a big fan of ours.
So thanks so much, Grant Bingham.
So this weekend, we all bowled in.
Well, everybody except Anthony because he ran it.
But it's just kind of par for the course.
Yeah.
Anything that's here.
It's just, you know.
I find myself thanking Anthony for multiple things multiple times a week.
Just for something that he's done throughout the Bowling Center as a host, thank you.
He probably did it.
He's got to walk out the door, so we can't make it any bigger.
Let's put the air pump away.
We couldn't make it bigger.
It's been a big couple of weeks, so we don't want to have to
i've always used the front door yeah the front door is the double door here so that's the only one he can use that's funny because ever since i won that tournament i've been going in that door for some reason no um but yeah this weekend was the swiss trios which is probably uh one of the most fun tournaments to bowling i would have to say last year was the first time uh having it here at town and country and probably i don't know one of the only ones
In the Northeast, maybe?
I do know there are more on the West Coast, but I know that there are a few other, Andrew and I talked about it, other organizations that run it.
Maybe one or two more that I know of.
He might know more than I do.
In this area?
In this area, it's the only one.
Yeah, in this region.
Yeah, there's SEMBA, the seniors organization.
New England tournament series.
They run one over 50 and over 60 and an under.
And then it's the three age divisions that have the makeup, the Swiss.
Gotcha.
Another one that was ran or it was tried to be.
low entries though uh it was down in new jersey and same deal no no average cap no nothing just the best bowlers they had guys like prather come up packy came in bold like no one bold because so like there were so many powerhouse teams like john i think john fury anthony peppy and joe palooza that team won the tournament like no shortage of talent yeah so that to me is the most fun format to do swiss because it's always on top and it's always on pace the only
say downside to it and the only topic for discussion is how you do the rounds each time because position around each game you can create some easy separation throughout the field that's the only topic you could really debate about it but swiss is my favorite format for sure yeah it's definitely fun
Um, last year, last year you had 16 entries this year, 14, 14, 14, sorry.
So even better last year, you had 14 and then 10 more to, uh, to fill the house this year at 24.
So, um, I think people really find it to be enjoyable and it's different, a lot of exciting, uh, talk about separation, maybe more games.
There's more separation.
Um, cause past years that we've had it, um, obviously, uh, your team, Austin and Andrew's team were,
You guys weren't well above failure.
Two points above, I think, second or so.
The other teams, I think, Kyle, you jumped up like four spots last game.
So for us, just doing the six games, because I can only have 24 teams, it seems to be okay normally.
I think the last three games, we went like three or four, four and five.
Something to that effect.
And so, yeah, we were able to jump up a whole bunch of positions into a cashing spot.
Yeah, it's not too bad.
I was thinking about making another game next year just because then I could do brackets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Instead of having that third game crossover, if you bowl bad, you're out.
See ya.
You came in second and you're out.
You could call that a nitpicky thing.
That is nitpicky.
Well, I knit and I picked.
You do both.
You do both.
You have to nitpick those events, especially when you have 24 teams because the support is good.
You appreciate everybody coming out.
So you just want to give another better event the next year just to make it so people are coming back like, yeah, we did this.
We changed a little bit.
I think the 660 cap is perfect because there is plenty of people of all different skill levels, and you can't just run away with it.
Yeah.
which is nice.
It evens the field out completely.
I mean, I think we should re-rate for next year the team that won or at least average check the team for sure.
So you're telling me I got a sandbag this year?
Well, I'm already working on it because my average is freaking dropping like a rock.
Interestingly enough, I did check
uh the averages after the event was over um obviously no team was over it's like 650 i think nick harris's team was the highest at like 655 maybe that was the only team the guys who won uh you guys obviously uh we'll get to that but the andrew's the only guy over 200
200.
Average.
An average 200 on the day.
You were 227 or 228.
Austin was 198, and then your girlfriend Haley was like 193.
So it's not like it was unattainable by any means, just about getting that point and being just good enough to win 4-1.
I think you guys won 4-1 every game.
Yeah, we 4-1 every game, I believe.
Maybe one game you won 5-0, but I can't remember.
Kind of a testament to the 660 cap, in my opinion.
I think that 220 a game is the new standard, in my opinion, as opposed to 210 or 200, I think, in today's day.
660 is a great number.
But talk about nitpicky.
I mean, we were talking about the finals format for, what, like 10, 15 minutes?
Yeah, yeah.
Like just that one game, let alone?
It's definitely a tough one because I want to do more.
But we're there all day.
We got done at like 4 o'clock.
You're there at 10.
You said start early.
I said, I don't wake up that early.
I'm in the minority of not minding being in a bowling center for a long day on Sunday.
I know that's not a popular mindset.
I've been to quick tournaments, and people are thrilled to be leaving at like 2.30.
They love it.
It goes either way.
Yeah, it's not bad.
But I think next year we're going to do two games like you said.
One game in the left lane, one game in the right lane.
Just do total.
Total pins, Baker format.
Because then it's still team-based.
We'll definitely take a look at it as we get closer.
But that was kind of the general consensus that we did chat about.
So we'll see what happens.
It'll be interesting.
And we'll hopefully fill it up next year.
We had 105 brackets, 106 brackets on the day.
That was nice.
which is definitely nice for Chris Smith.
That's for sure.
Yeah.
And trust me, there's a few guys who made out pretty good that day.
And, and then with that money, we also took some of that money and then paid out an MVP, which was most points earned and high average.
And then Chris Smith won all of his matches, but the two 35 average, that's a unique one.
I haven't seen that in any other Swiss event.
So that's cool.
It was just something different to try to give you guys a shoot for.
Now, could I have done it off of the teams that made playoffs?
Yeah.
But then at the same time,
If they're bowling good all day and they're in the playoffs, they're getting paid a little bit more.
So you might as well try to give it to somebody else if that top person wasn't there.
So that way you can spread it around a little bit.
Spread the wealth.
Like the butter on the bread.
But something like that.
And then that way everybody has a chance to get some kind of cash back.
And we paid one in three.
Yeah.
Which you can't, I don't know.
Hard to beat that.
Really hard to beat that.
What's up, Carl?
Welcome back.
We got to see Carl two weeks ago.
That was good to see.
And he has hair now.
I know.
I saw.
Carl has hair.
He took his hat off.
And I'm like, Carl, why are you wearing a hat?
I can see your hair now.
I know.
Wow.
I know.
I do want to say, Carl, I'm sorry.
I didn't say goodbye to you two weeks ago.
You were upset.
I left.
I ran out of the bowling alley.
Not only did I not say goodbye to you, Carl.
I left my entire bag, my accessories bag, in Chicopee.
So if anybody from Chicopee is listening, there is a trifold gray accessories bag laying around somewhere.
I'm pretty sure it's still there.
It looks like it's his travel case with his hair.
You should have asked me.
I picked up Haley's wrist guard that she left there two weeks ago.
She left it there.
That stuff goes there to die, man.
I'm telling you.
Like, that...
That place, just kidding, fantastic facility.
Sorry to cut you off there.
No, no worries, no worries.
So, yeah, if somebody just wants to pick that up, bring it back to Albany, that'd be great.
Could UPS it?
Yes, but I believe somebody is driving home from Massachusetts for Christmas.
It will be cheaper just to buy new stuff.
um well i'll get it back i'll get it back um but anyway good to see you again carl and i apologize for not saying goodbye and uh same to sarah too um anyway um so yeah congratulations guys on uh taking home the uh swiss trio thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you
um all right so let's uh let's get into uh player of the year shall we and uh oh by the way congratulations i think we said it already on the uh the rookie of the year nomination yeah thank you very much fortunate to be included yeah um the nomination or not the nomination the announcement was made today um uh i'm already forgetting it cortez thank you uh cortez man he had a heck of a season he bowled well um so uh tell us a little bit like uh
what does that even mean or feel like to you as far as, I know it's probably a stupid question.
I think we all kind of know what it feels like or what it could possibly feel like, but like that has to be a pretty awesome honor feeling, whatever, to even be bestowed that nomination.
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, from growing up watching the PBA my whole life, it's something that it's almost surreal to be a part of it now to where I grew up watching it.
It seems unreal to where it's this whole kind of Candyland thing in my world.
And now I'm part of it.
And to even be included in that group of names was very, very humbling and very, very honoring.
I mean, I wasn't expecting it.
Like I said, Nolan, their media guy, asked me for a headshot on Thursday before they made the announcement.
I took it right out there behind 17 and 18.
And there I was on the on the Facebook page two days later.
I didn't even ask.
He just asked me to do it.
So.
no it's it's super humbling and honoring and i 1718 is now bba oh they cut the background yeah they did yeah they cut it out no just just this guy just this circle ed sheeran made it on that's right not edger not at not edger not unsure i know tough to tell which ones because i had one that got hacked and then i had to make a new one so
Oh wait, so have I been tagging the hacked one?
Yeah, in the HL17s hack.
It's okay.
You know what?
Now it's better than never to find out.
I did read that today as noted Sheeran.
Noted Sheeran.
Not Ed Sheeran.
Then Kyle said, not Ed Sheeran.
I said, that means a lot of stuff.
Now the wheels are turning.
I don't read well.
I'm right there with you.
I bowl well.
I don't read well.
We bowl well.
That's debatable.
I mean, you bowl well.
I don't do either.
That's also debatable.
Bowlers bowl.
Bowler's bowled up.
We can agree Bowler's bowled up.
No, back to it.
I mean, it was a huge honor and it was humble.
I was very pleased with my season personally.
I know I wasn't the highest in all the stats, but making it through a couple of PTQs and especially one of the harder PTQs they had was a big sense of validation for me.
I mean, I was nervous going out there, especially making a change with my left arm two months before the season started.
I didn't know if I was going to have enough time to really hash it out.
I did, luckily, for those events.
I hurt myself at the US Open, so I missed a few of the smaller events.
But other than that, I would have liked to have...
One event back, the World Series PTQ went horribly.
But other than that, I think it was all a great experience.
And I can't wait to apply next year, man.
Yeah.
I can't wait.
You would only be human if you didn't feel a little nervous.
Oh, dude.
You wouldn't be human if you didn't feel a little nervous.
They should have hooked up a heart rate monitor to me.
I would have loved to see it, like, throughout, especially the first block of my career.
Like, I would have loved to see how fast my heart was beating.
Oh, my gosh.
For the first, like, game, five frames.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Either way, some pure shots, I'm sure.
Oh, yeah.
Right.
Like my legs have never been deeper.
My knee bend has never been deeper.
But yeah.
Um, so what does that mean going out this year?
You're still going to have to go PTQs.
Yeah.
So yeah, the, the top 50 that were, um, from last year's season and the points is how they determined that, um, I was like 96 or something.
It's just, it's very difficult as a non-exempt pro to get into that non-exempt or to get into that exempt group because of the PTQ.
So they're a little bit different this year.
Last year they had close to a hundred entries per, maybe not all of them, but they,
let a lot of bowlers bowl this time around they're capping them all at 64 so they're yeah they're capping the entries and they're doing it they're still taking eight so i guess the ratio is better but it's still eight spots for 64 guys which is very tough you know low ratio it's you know but stupid yeah i mean cap the field and then we'll cap the ptq people want again yeah so hey players you want more money i guess
I don't know.
Find a way to get more sponsors instead of letting the donators donate.
Not in a bad way.
Listen, everybody's not going to make it.
But to actually support these guys on tour, why aren't we having bigger fields?
We've talked about it before.
We're not going to get into it.
But it doesn't make sense to me.
yeah listen i get it's i get that it's not an open turn it's not an open tournament it's supposed to be professionals it's supposed to be the top tier or whatever but you've got to figure out a way and i thought or i was under the impression that they were making changes this year and well they did but i thought it was supposed to be more open but um
You got to figure out a way to get the guys that are excelling in the regionals or excelling in the PTQs to get them to be getting onto the tour, into the weekly field.
Yeah, that's a common thought.
I mean, I think they need to utilize the RPI way more than they are, in my opinion.
you just make the regional tour important again.
Like the tournaments themselves don't get a huge amount of entries each time.
Like a select few sell out, I think like one or two in the East Coast do, maybe other regions are a little bit different.
I don't pay a whole lot of attention, but yeah, utilizing the regional tour to get that,
make it more of a gateway than it already is.
Granted, it's the literal step down so you can do it as a gateway.
To make it really feel like it is a whole different conversation.
It doesn't feel like it.
There's no utilization.
There's no...
There is no threshold.
There's no, this is how many points you need to make it to the tour.
This is a good idea.
There's no point number.
It's just like, if there is to get to the RPI, that's great, right?
They made it like 1,500 points.
Is it a threshold or is it a top number?
Well, it's top, so the top seven in points and then three from the RPI tournament itself.
So it's 10 total.
But so, yeah, but it's not it's a number from the region that gets to go to RPI.
Correct.
But there's no point value.
But if there were at least if there was a one in whatever from your region that said you need to make this many stops in your region.
Oh, yeah.
Like criteria to make it to.
Right.
And the top, however many guys, people.
get to make the the exempt field or whatever for sure in the national tour yeah i just think like those types of formats to me are the best ones but the only thing that i run into with them is they're always it's tough to determine the final amount of bowlers that get through if it's a criteria so the bowler is trying to or the tour is trying to schedule it in centers that maybe aren't super big when you have a lot of guys get through modif in addition to the other top 50 and all the main fields turn into like 120 or 130 bowlers yeah
talking it out now beforehand i thought it was going to be tough i mean one squad for 120 bowlers it's difficult to find bowlers or find centers that big to host that so it's it's really locked but for single squads sure but what's your dad say every time back in the day man there was two shifts
But squad equity is such a huge squad equity.
It is the biggest topic of debate.
Yeah, that's what all the big guys do.
No, you can get into it a little bit.
I mean, we got a little bit of time.
I'm sure we can squeak in here.
I mean, we had Stu on the show.
That's all they complained about on their show is squad equity or inequity.
I mean, are you a squad equity guy?
Or are you like, hey, bowlers bowl?
Or are you like, whoa, this squad A is way better?
Or typically, the later squads are better because they figure out how to play them and the ball reps kind of get an idea.
so what are your thoughts yeah i mean i'm a squad i'm a squad equity guy when it comes to like if you have an opportunity to have a lot of different squads i.e the world series granted that those are not different squads though they're just different shifts so i guess that's different but either way if you have one squad and not enough bowlers or enough bowlers
it shouldn't really matter but if you can spread it out across two it shouldn't really matter but if you can spread it out across two it shouldn't really matter but if you can spread it out across two squads squads squads yeah like it has to make sense yeah like it has to make sense yeah like it has to make sense i'm just trying to talk this out in my i'm just trying to talk this out in my i'm just trying to talk this out in my head right now because okay because we head right now because okay because we head right now because okay because we kind of caught you off guard yeah so kind of caught you off guard yeah so kind of caught you off guard yeah so we'll give you a second to think but we we'll give you a second to think but we we'll give you a second to think but we talked about it think about it what i talked about it think about it what i talked about it think about it what i think you're think you're think you're might be saying it anyway is might be saying it anyway is
If you have just shift A and shift B and that determines a cut, I can kind of understand that doesn't sound fun.
But if you have shift A, shift B, shift B, shift A, well, that kind of spreads it out a little bit.
You've had a chance to bowl in the morning, the afternoon, and the afternoon and the morning.
I think with enough squads.
Right.
That's what I'm trying to say.
You can have it over a lot of games to even it out.
Thank you.
Enough games.
But a tour stop over a week should be able to do that.
You would think.
A regional is a little tougher because you're usually just bowling over a weekend.
Yeah, but a regional, like we said, a regional is kind of the stepping stone.
I think it's not as...
the money is not as big there.
So, I mean, if you're bowling on the national tour, I feel like it would be, I mean, you would want it.
Yes.
In a perfect world, we'd want it, but you know, I think at the end of the day, it's not a terrible thing, but yeah,
We've talked about a little bit before.
Ryan Schaefer said that's why the advancers round or the cashers round was introduced to then have one squad after the two squads to then even out the field so that all the cashers get together on the same squad and have the same opportunity to make up some pins or to, you know, even out the field a little bit.
So like for the regional tour, that's a rule.
That was.
Yeah, that's a rule.
So for us on the east side, we always have a cashers round.
And 90% of the time, we have one squad.
Right.
So it makes no sense.
As of late, the first one we went to out in Buffalo, we had two squads.
But as of late, they've been getting 50, 60 entries, and there have only been one squad.
He's bowled more than we have.
No, I know.
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
When we started, yes.
But, yeah, I'm just saying the last couple, they only had 50 at that last one.
Yeah.
Oh, I know.
I think I came in 45th.
I think 45th was my number.
Not last.
Hashtag not last.
But either way, I just think it's a good conversation.
Yeah, for sure.
I just think it's just a different conversation when you get to the highest level of the sport.
Because those little details matter so much more.
Like in a regular stuff, screw squad equity.
Who cares?
Throw them on two squads, most entries possible.
I understand it.
but it also kind of leads into my little thing where PBA is a little elitist where they want to keep, they want to keep the same names on TV.
And if you want to get on TV, you better earn it.
So like you need to be able to beat them consistently.
It's got to take the spot.
I can see that.
I have to bring the G word in here.
Look at golf.
You could play one day, and you could have pristine, sunny, windless conditions, or start at 9 a.m.
one day, and then you could be the 2 p.m.
tee-off, and it could be 60-mile-an-hour winds, right?
Austin's over here.
It's just funny.
What?
This isn't the seventh time he's brought it up.
I'm just saying.
That is kind of go-to.
You want to talk about equity, the guy that tees off at 9 a.m.
may have a beautiful day, and the guy that tees off at 2 could have... I wonder if they complain about tee time equity.
But you got to call Mike Sweeney.
I don't know if you guys don't know him.
He's on the corn fairy tour.
We got to call him and see if he's got any insider info on that.
So, I mean, the only thing I have to say against that is one is 1000% unpredictable.
The other is 1,000%.
I completely agree, but you get what you get.
You get what you get.
You don't get upset.
You can predict the weather?
No.
I just think with the advances round, I don't know.
Listen, it could be another conversation for another day, but just feel like, hey, man, you're a professional.
You got to bowl 16 games.
You should be good enough to figure it out, especially with how good those guys really are.
I totally agree.
Instead of complaining about squad equity, just figure out the lanes and just be a little bit better.
I don't know.
I mean, I stink, so I don't know.
I think they want all of the guys together in that upper echelon of players on one squad to keep it small so that –
their transition is a little bit i don't want to say more predictable these are like little conspiracies i have in my head right like like well you got all the guys that play in the same spot their transition is going to be
the transition is more predictable.
It's yeah.
Much more predictable.
When they go to the SBC, when they go to the masters or something, way more complaints there because you get a field of bigger people and now they don't play them.
They don't play them.
Right.
Yeah, totally.
And, and yeah, but you know, I like, uh, like they say, cream always rises to the top or, or oil and water separate.
I don't know what they say.
Um, but I, either way, if which those guys are that good, in my opinion, they really are great.
So,
They should be able to figure it out.
I think that's my main complaint, I guess, on the tour.
And I'm sure you going out there every week and seeing it, I mean, you're living it.
So you kind of have your own kind of thought process on it, which is good.
I did want to bring that up.
So I don't know who brought it up.
Sure.
You wanted to bring it up with AJ.
I forgot to...
I'm going to have to ask him because I was a little baby and I just kind of let Kyle talk.
It's a little easier in person.
I'm a better in-person guy.
I'm a better in-person guy.
We took exit 15 off the highway here, so let's get back on real quick.
If we have more time, we'll talk more.
We're going to talk about tour life anyway.
We're going to get into it.
Let's get back on the topic at hand.
Player of the Year.
I'm just going to run down the list real quick, even though we know that I think we're just going to be talking about
two people anyway.
But the list of guys that made the nominee list, we got Belmo, Buttriff, Packy, Kevin McCune, Matt Ogle,
Anthony Simonson.
Me and Matt got to go crappie fishing.
That's right.
EJ's got a great boat.
Kyle, a troop.
A really nice boat, yeah.
So I assume we're just going to be talking about EJ and Simo, right?
Is there anybody else on the list that anybody actually thinks?
I mean, I think EJ wins it, no problem.
I'm a little surprised.
You guys are all right-handedness.
I think Packy deserves a shout-out for being the only other multiple-time, two-time champ other than EJ.
I think that's correct.
EJ had three.
Yeah, shout-out Packy.
Well, just shout-out.
So, yes, you got Packy with two.
I was going to say butter for Packy.
I mean, I don't know.
Deluxe is so much harder.
Always.
Say that loud.
Say that everywhere.
I'm loud and proud, baby.
The left is always hard.
All you righties got to do is move left.
We got to look past five sometimes.
I watched you throw it.
I watched you throw it.
It's that nosebleed area for me, man.
You watched me throw what?
In Massachusetts.
I saw what that ball was doing.
Spray and pray.
Dude, I had
What do you want me to tell you?
When you match up, you match up.
I don't know.
That's what I want you to tell me.
Listen, I bowled with Andrew when we bowled in the round of whatever it was with the two 19-year-olds.
I was the old man in the group.
Yeah.
And listen, we all threw purple.
And when I faced the guy in the finals, he threw purple.
When I faced Andrew, he threw purple.
I mean, all the young guns knew what was going on.
Did you throw purple, Kyle?
No, I tried and it went left.
But I did not get in where you were.
I think it's supposed to go that way.
But you've got more hand than I do.
I try reactive to start on that pair that we bowled the four for two.
Four for two, I like that.
Yeah, the four for two.
I like that.
A little Wendy special.
Well, I mean, you're like Wendy's brother.
Yeah, literally.
That's exactly it.
Holy crap.
It's all come a full circle.
Baconator one time.
Baconator on the pretzel bun now.
You see that?
Really?
Yes.
and i think i used to just modify they're loaded to me they're loaded nacho uh it's crazy either way yeah so i tried to throw reactive in that it did wiggle i was like oh that didn't look good and you're like yeah that wasn't no i like mixed the first shot and then i got the other one a little slower to the right maybe turn over a little sooner at two eight ten i said absolutely not this is not working so i switched to the purple again and there you go yeah it was magic i mean it was just yeah did you say bob's my uncle bob's your uncle
You ever heard that one?
There's no way you haven't heard it.
No, that's a New Englander thing, I guess.
Have you heard that, Kyle?
Nope.
That's a New Englander thing, buddy.
I think you guys just live under a rock here in the capital.
That's a pretty common one.
I do live under a rock.
I love that.
I mean, we are underneath.
I definitely did not try purple left of the track, but I saw that's where you were playing with it, and I'm like...
that looks pretty darn good.
I probably should use it there, but I was too scared to even try.
It's just such a weird, it's awkward because you're things not really split, like traditionally you're supposed to do that.
So when you like, I get uncomfortable swinging the fronts a lot with purple hammer or any year thing ball, because I don't know what it's going to do in the last 30 feet.
If I don't get it to the right fast enough where the friction's at.
Yeah.
has to hook at 25 feet before that.
If not, that ball's never hooking.
You know what it's going to do.
It's going to strike, baby.
It's going to strike.
Whatever it is, I got it.
I have no clue.
You don't need to know a purple.
You don't need to know a purple.
You just trust purple.
I'll take your strategy and just –
wheel yeah i don't know what i was doing i was just you know i was just lining up and feeling it up yeah it was but that's what you need like that is such that's like the hot hand in basketball you're just feeling it that's all it is i am yeah proven scientific theory not at all it is uh he looks at three and prays
No, I literally looked at three.
That entire tournament, I looked at three.
Let me tell you something.
When you texted me after you threw – I didn't look at the score as he texted me.
Did I win?
Did I win?
Because I couldn't stop laughing.
Because copying the guy after me, he didn't shake my hand or anything.
He was like, good bowling.
And I was like, thanks.
I was like, did I win?
Yeah.
I thought I was right there, and I didn't look up the score because I was like, I'm going to pee myself.
Yeah.
In my head, I was like, God, how does this guy not know the score?
I didn't know the match against us either.
I told you that.
And Haley was like, maybe you should learn a lesson from that.
Maybe you should take some notes because he's 20 grand richer than you.
I was like, she's got a point.
She's got a point there.
We all need an Anthony Scatia lobotomy.
Everybody hates me because I just, I don't know.
I try not to think about score until after the first shot of intensity.
Beanie Man is freaking a winner, Pizza Wings.
You freaking calm down.
All right, so if we all agree to narrow it down to EJ Tackett and Simo, obviously EJ's got five wins.
Simo's got two wins.
But the big argument that I've been hearing is that Simo, like Cash, well, it's actually somewhere.
Yeah, he topped 10.
Actually, yeah, I shouldn't say Cash, but he topped 10 every freaking time.
And then...
Does that take the cake over five wins and all of the money?
$450,000, which is like a 25th or 30th place finish on the golf course.
What's the difference between Simo's earnings this year and Tackett's?
You can't look at that because it said Belmo's earnings were $450,000.
Doesn't it say, it says Belmo was like 450, right?
Yeah, EJ is 450, 458, and Simo is 354.
What was Belmo?
347, excuse me.
What was Belmo?
Somebody told me it was 400.
No way.
That's not possible.
That's what I said.
There's a way that he could have made that.
Yeah, that's not real.
Belmonte, holy crap, 338,000.
Yeah, but where?
Are they kind of brackets?
He's just brackets for side action.
Go see Tom Clark in the desk for side action.
There are no brackets, right?
No.
Okay, so the USBC Masters brackets.
They have bottom half brackets the last day.
Yeah, but then you can do brackets the whole time, can't you?
Maybe.
I think you do it the whole time.
He did win TOC, so what was that, $50,000 this year?
And he also finished third in every other event.
Or was that $100,000 this year?
I don't remember.
Listen, we... Anyway.
I don't know.
I vote for titles, not top tens.
That's what Tyler Drexel told me.
Well, no, I think he just meant that in general, but I'm going to take that for myself.
Right.
I mean, yeah, I don't know.
It's a tough one.
I'm going to go with a guy with a thumb in it.
What's Tackett's average finish?
I think Simon's good, but... I just think, I don't know.
Tackett led in average, too.
He came in, like, he came in last the week after...
He did.
I know he won.
He's riding high.
He's 100 grand richer.
That was the talk of the town.
You got to think about it.
He didn't really need the 20 at that point.
Then he goes and wins the next one for another 100.
It's like, well, I really can tank the next one.
He led points.
He led earnings.
He led average.
227 was his average.
That's like my league average.
What categories did he not lead?
Two majors.
It's got to be average.
The only thing Simo has on him has got to be average finish position.
Average finishing.
He was number one seed in four out of the five majors.
I mean, it's hard not to pick EJ Tag.
It's really hard not to.
When he did lead, he led by quite a bit.
Yeah.
I'm just going to give it to EJ because he took most of the wins.
Everybody has a bad block.
Simo, I guess, top 10, that's good, but nobody counts how close you were in horseshoes.
Or shooting hand grenades.
It's the only time it counts.
Yeah, whatever I just said.
I didn't say it right.
Bob's your uncle.
Bob's your uncle.
Bob's your uncle.
But no, I just think winning is it.
So winning isn't everything.
It's the only thing.
Vincent Barty.
I'm going to have to agree with that one.
I'm going to have to agree with that one.
EJ.
I'm going EJ.
I'm EJ.
All right.
EJ's across the board.
That's interesting.
Like you said, it is definitely a tough to be.
I mean, if I just want a hundred K and then I had to go bowl the next day, I don't really think I'd, I'd be like, dude, I might as well withdraw.
Like I'm good.
Bowlers bowl, Anthony bowl.
That is a true statement.
But I mean, if it's that tough of a debate though, he's led so many things this year.
statistically wise he is the best bowler i mean i just personally don't think there's any debate to it well i mean top 10 in every every event he bowled every event i'm sure he's watched i mean to pull out top 10 against everybody every time ridiculous i mean yeah but still i mean you're still bowling the greatest players in the world you're telling me that some guy can't get hot and the top 10 can't be super hot i mean true you know i mean simo's gotta play every part of the lane
to be top 10 at that level is you've got to be great i think if the season was longer and he kept up that same energy probably would have won yes he would have won player of the year because that's ridiculous i disagree i think if the racks were better people complain about the racks
dude it's a it's a simo go-to oh yeah that's right i see where i see where you went with that avoid bolero southern connecticut i don't know i i really think that yeah i get what you're saying if they went on for the whole year but who knows maybe ej stays hot blowing for the whole year i'm sure that's second nature so i mean you don't know i mean you don't know what would happen
His game is just so stupid, too.
It's not in a bad way.
It's just stupid good.
He thinks outside the box all the time.
He does things that no one really else will do.
He's starting to back up all things to make everyone utilize that instead of just having to watch everyone on the other side being like, wow, I wish I had that.
That's good.
On the stuff that we don't see, for most people that aren't watching on the stream most of the day,
Are there things that, you know, he's using that, you know, what are they usually using?
Shocks or?
Yeah, I mean, the main balls.
So talks are a new one for that primal shock.
They used a bunch of jackal ghosts.
They use a lot.
I didn't watch that many shots go down the lane.
Obviously, those balls went went down, though.
I'm trying to think of some one offs.
that i saw some ambushes here and there jackal ambushes like seen that yellow thing yeah the the yellow yellow jacket yellow jacket tank yeah it looks cool ej through supposed to be a type of thing right yeah yeah again another spin off that kind of flopped didn't it the pride empire
The green one.
Yeah, I think it might have.
I think it did.
I just don't, to be honest, I don't see a whole lot of motor balls going down the lane anyway.
It's just recently with the whole acquisition and everything, it's always Brunswick and Storm.
And not to put that out there in the open, but it seems like majorly those are the brands that I'm seeing on the list.
Yeah.
Except for EJ and AJ when they throw him.
Yeah.
Don't forget about T.H.B.
Oh, my God.
Dickie.
Yeah, Dick Allen.
Of course.
It's our boy, T.H.B.
Santu.
Santu also does do that.
Santu.
Yeah.
I'm sure I'm missing a couple guys.
I think that's it.
Those four.
Graham Falk.
Graham Falk?
Graham Falk.
Is he motivated?
I don't know.
I thought Graham Fox was Brunswick.
I always liked Graham Fox.
No, he's Brunswick.
He throws a purple.
He's Brunswick.
He was voted a while ago.
Okay.
I got to get up to date.
I got to read a book or something.
I got to get up to date.
No, no, no.
You just got to focus on the PTQ, baby.
You don't got to worry about no books.
Just got to be a warrior this year, man.
Got to put on the helmet and go.
Put on a helmet.
Exactly.
Andrew Anderson.
Oh, yeah, Andrew Anderson.
Oh, that's right.
Yeah, he signed.
Nathan Vore.
Oh, and now Sam Cooley signed with Motive, too.
That's right.
Sean Ivory Spar.
See, I'm lacking.
There's so many guys.
Wesley Lowe.
Zach Tack.
A million guys.
Smallwood.
That's interesting.
I completely forgot that they had all those guys.
Smallwood.
Zeke Bate.
Jacob Smith interesting comment I almost think I think the opposite I think his ball his ball reaction is good now to the where because the motive balls to me are a little bit tamer his increased rev rate sees a lot of predictability with those balls I agree like I think motive benefits him in that regard I think if you try to throw other brands like an HK 22 ball or a storm shiny ball
Wow.
I mean, don't get me wrong.
I'd love to see it.
Don't get me wrong.
I just think that motive benefits him pretty well.
Good thought, though.
Nine pin.
Yeah, nine pin all the time.
Yeah, I think that's an excellent thought because they do seem a lot tamer going through the end of the lane.
It's not so snappy compared to... It just increases his hook window, so he just has more predictability when having that kind of rev raid.
It's tough to find that.
So ridiculous.
That's why it's fence and throws your thing.
All of the time.
100% of the time.
Except for the time of the Masters when he destroyed the lane on me.
I shot 145.
If I had close to 550, I'd probably throw urethane all the time too.
like that's one thing too i learned coming out is the couple of main fields i did make is it is like it is so dependent on who you follow if your rev rate is on the lower side like minus it's like you know like 424 like between 420 and 440 i'd say i've never had to pay attention to a cross
really that much until I got to the national tour.
Granted, I should have beforehand.
I think that was where I should have.
But finding out this year, wow.
Following Dick Allen to EJ Taggart is a little different.
Yes, very much so.
Let's just say I'd rather follow one than the other.
So let's talk about tour life real quick.
And before we do, like, subscribe, click the bell to get alerts from the channel.
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It's the helmet.
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And what else?
Oh, go to the Etsy shop.
Check out the merch where you can get that new T-shirt.
Etsy shop.
Yeah, man.
Yo, I got to find something.
I got to check that out.
I'm going to buy some merch.
Heck, yeah.
We got a Thane Bang shirt.
Thane Bang shirt.
I'm going to put it on.
And we got a Bowler's Bowl shirt.
And we got a Downland Podcast shirt.
We got everything.
Everything you need is in the shop.
Supposedly, Anthony has a new idea.
I got a few stirred up here.
He's got as many ideas that I have shirts in the shop.
I do.
I just can't figure out how to put them on a piece of computer paper.
Yeah, whatever.
So.
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All right.
Let's talk about the life on tour here.
They're talking about following guys and squads.
What is the big difference that you see from going to the PTQ?
to go into the main field, like, do you even remember, like, do you just put the PTQ at, well, it's a completely different shot now, right?
So, okay.
So I guess, forget about that question.
Because they did start changing the shot.
No, it applies.
So like, even though the patterns are different, the actual process of adjustments are a little bit different.
So because there's a, I would say there's a little bit more reverie in more of a consistent place in the main fields, because everyone's playing them a little closer to the same.
So that's that one part of the lane will break down a little bit faster than they would in the PTQ.
The PTQ
It's a much bigger field and there's some more... Average shows?
Yeah, you could say that, maybe.
So they're going to play everywhere.
Yeah, maybe.
They're going to play everywhere.
So it's going to be harder to find a definitive track to follow throughout a block as opposed to the tour where you have everyone, like I said, playing in the same spot.
It's just a little bit easier to follow the moves.
And where I had some success at a regular event in Kokomo, it's kind of what I saw.
Like, you just...
It's just, you move so much faster because of all that friction that's created quicker.
It's so, it's, you just can't teach it.
You can't teach it.
You got to go out there and you got to bowl.
You got to go out there and you've got to fail a couple of times.
Bowler's bowl.
Bowler's bowl.
And it changes your trajectory in the front.
I mean, I won't, you know, give away too many trade secrets, but basically, like, they don't move their eyes left really that much.
They just move their feet, and they get their ball to the same spot down the lane.
So as time goes on, their angles...
gets so steep in the front, so left to right.
So that and that's where you find all the ratio on a flat pattern.
That's why it makes it seem like they have a lot of room, even though it's still very difficult.
So it's just the way that they attack the lane is something that I've never seen on site on hand before.
Yeah, for them.
So that was my biggest takeaway.
do you think that has a lot to do with lane play versus you know they are using different lane machines different oils um or is it because of lane play part of it no i mean um so the season started off majority we used a brunswick machine i'm pretty sure it was an envoy i'm not positive i think that was the one uh but midway through the season i'd say the back like three quarters the players
starting at carol here we used the flex machine and the main difference was we i noticed more friction throughout the lane like the whole it seemed like more cliffed with the brunswick machines just because they own they're only capable of doing the forward pass they don't do a reverse load right admittedly i don't know the exact reason i just felt i felt like there was more friction throughout the entire lane with the flex machine um
Sorry, that caught me off guard.
And there was a lot of chatter, too, about when they changed the machines and how the transitions were different.
You just have to get steeper faster.
Why did they change the machines?
Because I thought on the tour they only do the breakdown.
Yeah, the Brunswick lane guy had to take a leave of absence for a little while.
Oh, it was that time.
It was an emergency fill-in.
They're still contracted with Brunswick to do the lanes, but...
Yeah.
So the Brunswick machine, I find myself having to get steeper a little bit faster because I have to get my ball to the dry because they play slicker for me.
And another aspect without drawing it out is that the oil heats up on the Brunswick machine.
So people think people, AKA Simon kind of explained this.
He thinks that as the oil heats up, it starts off hot.
So your ball shoots.
And then once it gets colder, your ball like slows down in a way.
It's kind of an interesting theory that they came up with, but the Brunswick machine is vastly different from a Kegel machine.
If you've ever bowled on one, it's just plain and simple.
Peter Fox.
I mean, Pierre Fox.
Peter has we have chatted quite a few times because I like Peter.
He's a nice guy.
He's one of our roommates.
Oh, yeah.
He's a great guy.
And he we talk about that quite often.
Obviously, I'm not out there, but he.
I ask him questions how he's doing and how he's adjusting his up.
And he tells me that his tilt is more important on one machine versus the next machine and that he can play them this way.
He's too smart for his own good sometimes.
Dude, he's like way here.
And I'm like, whoa, man, listen, if that's you, that's you.
Good for him.
But, yeah, he's in-depth about it, man.
He's about it.
He knows what he's doing.
Yeah, so you telling me that doesn't surprise me because he's – I don't remember exactly what it was, but I think he did say that the Brunson machines play tighter versus the Kegel ones.
They do.
It's like your ball – it's weird.
It's like your ball struggles to slow down.
It struggles to read the lane in that spot.
That's kind of my kind of pattern.
Right?
I've been telling you to go on tour there.
No.
Come on now.
You've walked into that.
Come on.
No.
You got to do it.
No, I like my flex machine here.
It's good.
It gives me plenty of hook.
I like a flex machine too, boss.
I like being able to miss in a little bit and have my ball still get up the hill.
Love it.
That's my favorite thing to see.
Well, I mean, I guess it does make sense, right?
The reverse is kind of what holds up the pattern and I guess maybe gives you a little bit of slowdown in the pattern too, I suppose.
I guess it would also blend the pattern, I would think, on the back pass for Kegels because you said the Brunswick is more cliffy.
Correct.
Okay, so maybe I could see that too.
That's interesting.
Interesting thoughts.
Haven't heard that one before, but that's interesting.
It also makes sense to me just because of all the red right in one place for the Brunswick machine to play somewhat.
They must blow up a lot faster too, I would say.
Oh yeah, they do.
I have to use... I hardly threw symmetrical balls when I bowled.
When I had success out there, when I was bowling well, I was mainly throwing... My most used balls was probably an exotic gem, a gem, just the big balls.
Eternity.
Strong balls.
And a pitch black.
I threw a phase two in Kokomo for a little bit.
But other than that, I really didn't have a lot of success with symmetrical balls there because I just had to get so steep in the front.
I needed the help with the asymmetry to get it around the corner if I missed left to get up the hill.
Right.
All right.
So let's talk about a little more life then.
So you're doing PTQs, which I assume your roommates are doing PTQs also.
So if somebody makes the main field.
We're cheerleaders.
If we don't make it, we're cheerleaders.
Uh, so you say that, well, and then if nobody makes it, you're just on the road.
I mean, I, I personally like to stay and watch a little bit.
I like to see how they, a little bit of visual training.
Yeah.
You're still learning.
I like apart from last year, try to apply more knowledge.
Like for this year, I'm probably going to try to watch more than I did last year.
Um,
Just to see the full course of an adjustment.
Still, we're all learning always constantly.
But yeah, it's just kind of... I lost my train of thought.
What were you just saying?
PTQ versus making the main field.
Yeah, so like... Yeah, there are different adjustments as well as resting in between stops.
Like you have so much spare time if you miss the PTQ.
Like finding what to do with your spare time is kind of a big challenge too.
Especially from week to week.
Also watching week to week, like...
booking hotels in a way is difficult because you don't know if you're going to be there for a week or a few days stuff to book out in advance like i have a few ready to go but i've i've got to book like eight or nine more yeah just because i don't really know what the schedule is going to be um but if obviously one of our roommates is in there we're going to be watching him supporting him um if none of us make it we're going to practice we're going to hang out for a little while
We usually go to a place with surrounding centers.
They don't let us bowl at the center.
That's what I was going to say.
Are you able to get into the center?
I think if you're practicing in the center beforehand, you have to be in bowling attire, and it can't be during the week.
Okay.
Don't quote me.
No, but that's just kind of – That's the rule, yeah.
So, like, we always go to different centers to practice than the main place.
Yeah, it's weird.
It's a weird setup.
But, yeah.
I mean, I would assume it's very weird.
Very weird.
I mean, you're there, so – I just can't go up and bowl.
Can I go practice because I'm trying to learn how to play this pattern better or I'll just bowl in the remnants because I'd like to just see?
Yeah, you can.
Rules are a little different now.
Guys will bowl action afterward.
Bowl for all our money.
Like –
That's where they're making the money.
Who is it?
It's actually on a Beef and Barns.
They were talking about Harry Sullins and someone else.
They would just bowl for their prize money every week.
They would just bowl action.
They were roommates, but they just bowled for their money every week because it's such a grind.
There's some relationships and roommates like that.
I don't typically go for that.
I like to have a good system around you, so when you are having some success, you got some faces there.
Yeah.
Cheer and yawn.
Right.
It's good.
But yeah.
You don't want them hoping that you're going to win just so that they can steal your money.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Right, right, right.
They can do that too.
But like I said, man, finding what to do with your time is kind of the big part of it.
So like working out, practicing exercise, watching, doing everything.
Doing everything you can to do better the next week.
It's like it's not always chilling and free time.
Obviously, you want to be bowling the whole time.
No kidding.
But when you're not, it's that.
Yeah, we were talking about this with AJ last week.
Dude, when we went to the Masters, we were like... What do we do?
We've got 12 hours until we have the bowl.
What are we going to do all day?
And then you have your bowl A squad day one.
Then you're bowling C squad day two.
And you have like...
24 hours, whatever it was.
36 hours.
Yeah, 36 hours before you have to bowl again.
And it's like, dude, this is too much time.
I felt that first when I bowled team trials for the first time when they alternate men and women.
I start in the morning, bowl in the morning, and we don't bowl until the afternoon the next day.
And I'm just like,
What do you do?
What do you do?
Exactly.
Silence.
So you mentioned working out.
Do you do a lot of exercise and fitness?
Most lower body and core stuff.
I don't want to get super big up top here.
I'm going to start doing wrist stuff.
Anthony, he's been helping me out.
I've been having some knots in the arm here.
But Anthony's been giving me some good old rub downs.
We'll get to that.
I'm milking his arm real good.
He's milking it real nice.
He's been milking it.
But that's actually the only reason why I'm bowling league tonight.
Anthony, I didn't know you were into redheads.
Oh, he's into it.
He's into redheads and red arms too.
He likes them both.
I like the red stuff.
He likes the red stuff.
But yeah, so mostly it's lower body stuff, core, back.
I don't want to get super big up here just because I don't want to lose any flexibility.
I could certainly benefit maybe.
It's more so learning how to apply some upper body fitness to me.
I have some apprehension toward it, but it's all lower body.
Curls for the girls.
Curls for the girls.
Curls for the girls.
I need curls for the pins, Mop, for the pins.
I don't need that right now.
I need curls for the pins.
Okay, you got to explain to me, what is Mop here?
Because I have an understanding of what it is, but I'm not sure.
Lich lingo.
It's Neva language.
Well, not Neva specifically, but it's New England era.
Mop stands for?
No, it's just Mop.
It's like bro.
I thought it stood for man of power.
I was trying to think of things that mop would be.
So just mop is just.
You're a mop.
You're a mop.
Okay.
I just accepted it.
No, I'm okay with it.
Like Chief's a new one.
That's not really that.
But it's like mop and hoss are the two big ones.
Lichlingo.
Lichlingo.
Mike Lichstein.
You ever heard of him?
Larry Lichstein.
Yeah.
Mike and Larry.
Yes.
Shout out Lichsteins.
They're the goats.
Some of the goats of bowling, but.
Yeah, it's very simple.
No need to overthink it.
Just bro.
A bowling bro.
Sup, hoss.
I mean, it's easy for you to be a mop.
You got the mop top.
Yeah.
Well, that's what everyone initially thought it was.
So I had to, I spent some non-comedic time trying to explain it and everyone's like, this isn't funny.
I'm like, I know it's not funny because you're questioning it.
I got to explain it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You call me mop all the time.
I'm like, I just not sure what mop is.
But yeah.
What's your go-to meal on the, when you're out there?
AJ had a hard time with this one too last week.
It's funny.
I actually thought of a question I'm going to ask you guys later on to end the podcast really quick.
It might take time.
For me, Chipotle, man.
Just a nice little chicken bowl with some rice.
It's just such a staple in my diet.
We might not have enough time, but my question I was going to ask for you guys, if you could eat at one restaurant for the rest of your life, you can't do it any other way, which one are you doing?
I know what I'm picking.
Really?
What are you going to pick?
Applebee's.
Oh, wow.
They have quite the variety of things.
Is money a problem?
No, you know, just whatever.
What did you just say?
Is money a problem?
Like, I want to know how expensive I can get.
Oh, I thought you were asking him if money was a problem because he's eating at Applebee's for the rest of his life.
I'm not saying you have bottomless pockets.
No, no, no.
But I want to know, is there like a – Morton's every meal for my life.
I mean, that's an option.
Steakhouse for those who don't know.
I mean, are we choosing like a normal – Whatever you want.
I'm going to sit down.
I'm probably just going to choose an Italian blaze.
There you go.
Of some sort.
Chain?
I'm not going to pick chain.
There's no good real Italian chain that will pay.
Anthony goes to Olive Garden like every week.
No.
Gotta be careful.
Obviously, you cook your own food, whatever, but the restaurants.
I know, the restaurants.
That's a tough one.
I'm going to have to think about that.
Is it bad that the first thing that came to my mind was Five Guys?
No.
No.
They make a good burger over there, bro.
That's good.
You love Five Guys.
You would be enormous.
I know.
I'm already enormous, but yes, I would be super enormous.
So hard to pick.
even know.
I mean, I don't know.
I've never seen your gears grind this hard, bro.
They never move that fast.
I mean, I'm going a mile an hour.
If it has chicken and pasta, he'd be good.
Yeah, I mean, that's all I need.
I could eat chicken every day.
I could eat pasta every day.
I mean, I don't know.
I'll think about it.
I'll think about it.
Answer for the next podcast.
Oh my goodness.
You're ridiculous.
I just gotta think of an Italian place.
I mean, I could pick a place here, but like...
you know, last, last, uh, last question.
What's your favorite place?
Uh, bowling wise on tour, saber bowling center.
Yeah.
Um, or it doesn't have to be on tour, but it just be a favorite bowling center that you've been to see Lance.
What's going on?
Made my first cut there.
Oh, there you go.
No, I, I, I visited, um,
the bowling center, the Thunder Bowl Arena Bay Center there.
Like the 20 lanes.
That is really cool.
That is cool.
That's a close second.
Bias, Kokomo, close second is the Thunder Bowl Arena.
Never been there, and that's really cool.
That is really cool.
Hope I get to bowl for score in there one day.
Right?
That would be pretty cool.
You see a lot of difference with the lanes out there?
In terms of lane beds, you hear guys talking about it.
Is it a hot topic?
Is it not a topic?
Oh, it's very much a topic.
The fronts hook everywhere we go, it seems.
Yeah, a lot of head.
A lot of head.
A lot of head everywhere we go, it seems like.
And it's funny because I feel like I don't see it as much.
because my rev rate's lower.
So they all see the fronts way more than me.
And it seems like for me, my ball seems like it gets through it fine because they use like 34 mil, like 30 plus unit patterns with a Brunswick machine.
So I feel like my ball is getting through it just fine, but everyone's like, God,
My ball is just hooking the second I put it down.
And I'm like, I'm a little concerned.
I'm like, what am I missing here?
When is my ball reaction going to shit?
It did for a while, a couple times.
But once I figured out that they're all getting super left fast because the front's hooked.
I thought I 10-pin because my ball wasn't hooking.
I 10-pin because my ball's burning up.
Long story short, so when your ball burns up, you move in.
It doesn't hook, you move right.
But it's such a misconception that when you 10-pin, it didn't hook, that you move right.
And then it's just more of the same problem.
Are you ever going to the right?
Or is it like, hey, I'm in the wrong part of the lane.
I'm just going to go left now.
It's always left.
It's literally always left.
On the national tour and then regional side?
Yeah.
Sorry, not to cut you off.
No, you're good.
I'm just asking because we've talked to a few guys and it seems left, right?
What are the biggest differences between regional and national?
It's interesting.
I think it's the patterns themselves because obviously the regional and the national, they use the same ones.
Yeah.
you can get away with making steeper moves on the PVA patterns because they're designed similarly.
Like if you look at them all back to back to back, they all have a run, like a pretty distinct runway right around 10.
Like it's give or take a few boards here and there, like taper down the lane, but they're all fairly similarly shaped.
So they let you get across the way, get across the fronts steep to where you're
Five is always going to hook because you start there, mainly, or they all do.
Don't give away too many secrets here.
You know, I think that everyone... I have a different view.
If you have a decent physical game,
You can go on tour and compete.
Are you going to beat the best in the world?
That's a completely different animal.
But to strike a little bit, it's totally attainable.
It's knowledge.
It's just knowing what the moves are.
If you're in the right part of the lane, using the right equipment, and making the right moves, you can be close.
Absolutely.
You can be close.
I'm not saying you're going to win.
You're going to top five every week.
But you can not waste your time.
When you're on the regional tour.
The regional tour.
When you're on the regional tour.
You have any different strategies, starting-wise, moving, adjustments, stuff like that?
Or is it fairly similar to the national tour?
So I think my – let me think about this.
I approach them a little bit closer to an amateur event just because a lot of the same bowlers that bowl those events bowl the regionals.
Now, because the patterns are designed a certain way, I'm able to move a little left faster.
than, say, like a Kegel pattern or whatever we just bowled on.
Like, I kind of had to inch my way.
But I'm able to get steep kind of at my own pace on the regional tour because my rev rate is more in the middle to high.
You're more high.
Like, middle, like, in the region.
So that lets me get left more so at my own pace.
Okay.
But it's been quicker, though.
It's been quicker, though, recently.
Yeah.
I've noticed that, too.
I mean, I don't play the right side of the lane.
Yeah.
Except when I was out of East Providence, I tried the right side.
It was better than the left.
I mean, I'm moving...
It's tough to say consistently per game I move.
No, there's no consistent, but you're moving left.
I'm moving multiple zones throughout the block pretty quick, and my eyes aren't moving that much either.
I don't make 2-1s, a little quick one.
I make 2-0s or 4-1s just because I try to keep my ball to the right so I can create.
It's just how I see the lane, and it's all what I learned on tour this year.
I played a completely different one before I went to tour.
Yeah, I would say from bowling a few events, not like and I watched the righties because I have to observe the righties.
I can't watch the lefties.
So all I do is throw a purple hammer.
It's difficult.
Well, the righties are typically they get pretty steep quickly.
I mean, because obviously I have friends who bowl the regional tour.
So it's, you know, what did I do?
And I'm like, I just don't think you did this.
And for me, at least watching.
And then I got to bowl with.
Bill O'Neill.
Oh yeah.
I thought you guys would make fun of me again.
Him plugging himself.
Uh, you, we got to both him.
So I did ask him the same questions.
So it was very similar.
Um, but he, he says he likes to stay left in the beginning because he doesn't run into the traffic and he can find the friction because the lane beds, 90% of the centers that we bowl in are, are older.
So you're able to be a little more left.
Um,
But yeah, it was just kind of an interesting little thing.
To add to that, after game two, I'm moving significantly faster.
The first pair, I like to play a little straighter because Bill's right.
Obviously, he's fantastic.
You want to stay as left as you can and get away from that.
That's what he said.
He stays as left to get away from the traffic a little more.
And then he actually says he inches right on the regional tour.
Oh, does he?
Yes, on the national tour, he goes left.
There is no right on the national tour.
It's all left.
i just wanted to see what your take was definitely no right on the national tour and i have i don't often move right at all either like unless i'm making a really big zone change where i'm totally switching up my strategy it's really not i'm not creeping to the right interesting interesting thoughts norm duke used to that's all i gotta say sorry to keep us long that's just a uh that's just an anomaly though he's just
Norm's Norm.
Norm's the man.
All right, well, it is time for us to go bowling.
All four of us need to go bowling.
So don't forget to like, subscribe, click the bell to get alerts from the channel.
Andrew, thank you very much for joining us tonight.
It was a pleasure.
Thank you very much.
Thanks, Mop.
Thank you, Hoss.
All right, Chief.
I'm going to go to either Marissa's or Cafe Calabria.
Like right now?
No, that was... Oh, that's your... I'll choose a local chain.
Ooh, Marissa's is good.
Both of them are very good.
And Catholic Library is pretty good, too.
So I'll take either or.
Okay.
Okay.
I'd be happy with both.
Thank you.
I like it.
All right.
So let's see here.
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I said Etsy shop.
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Thank you to Jack's Gation Proprietor of Town and Country Lanes.
Thank you to Austin Van Buren.
Another great show.
Bam.
Anthony, good show.
All right.
Thank you to my family, Stephanie, Zach, and Ethan.
Gen bread.
We will see you guys next week.
This is Downlane Podcast.