I voted this morning at Wilson Elementary School on 88th & Orchard.  I got in line at 6:40 AM and was about 30th in line.  By the time 7:00 rolled around there must have been 150 people in line.  I got out of there by 7:15, and the line was even longer than it was at 7:00.

I was 12th in Ward 20, I told the lady my name, and she wrote a "12" next to my name.  Then she found the page for the other book guy and waited for him to also write "12" next to my name.  God bless the election workers, but this elderly gentleman should have been nowhere near an area where speed would have been an asset.  I'm not trying to be mean, but his fingers weren't turning the pages well, and his hand was shaking when writing the "12" next to my name.  Notwithstanding the old guy trying to help America vote, but neither of these two did anything to check my address, nor did they hide the book from me.  As these two were getting their "12"s straight, I could have easily - easily - taken mental note of other people's last names and gotten back in line to vote.  I am sure they wouldn't have recognized me.  I also could have come back later when recognization would have been even more remote.

I look at the rest of the volunteers at the polling place and think of how much more organized and efficient it could have been.  For example, the line was single file on the school's playground until the doors opened at 7:00.  Then a worker came out and said that Ward 20 should use the left door and Ward 19 should use the right.  However there was no map available, and lots of people didn't know where they should be.  Nobody seemed too concerned about being shuttled from one line to the other or "skipping" somebody else in line, but the dual lines should have been set-up (with a ward map handy) at least 15 to 30 minutes before the polls opened.

Now picture a double door, with lines going into both doors.  Do you see this in your mind?  Do you now see people trying to EXIT the polling place?  I didn't have to picture it in my mind.  I did get the honor of squeezing my svelt 300ish pound frame past a lady of equal carraige through a door that she was in no hurry to vacate.  And with the speed of the checker-inners, that line wasn't moving really quickly to assist my egress.

I see the aging-but-trying-hard set running the polling place like it is an episode of The Wonder Years set in the early-70s.  But this is 2008.  Let's work smarter, not harder.  The whole set-up is due for a massive overhaul.  (Side note; please people, I am not picking on the workers.  Don't post comments that I don't want to see the old guy with shaky hands.  Don't tell me that seniors have a right to volunteer.  I get it.  But I think the entire idea of a quaint, small-town, everybody knows each other, "Gee, isn't the right to vote swell?" set up of Election Day should be abandoned at once.  I read JSOnline's accounts of long lines at the polling places, and know this can be improved.)

Let's start at the location.  Wilson School is nice, but the actual part of the building has a major bottleneck at the doorway.  If there isn't a different part of the school that would allow for exiting a different door than entering OR if there isn't a part of the school to allow the lines to be inside the building, then another location is needed. Think big and use the State Fair Park Expo Center.  Certainly the room is available for many, many wards from all over West Allis and even Milwaukee, and there wouldn't be problems both entering and exiting.  And nobody can complain about a lack of parking.

Next are the workers.  Maybe seniors can be used like a Wal-Mart greeter, but what kind of workers get excited about American civics and can also be motivated in non-financial ways?  That's right, high schoolers that can get a day off of school, earn a higher letter grade and also extra curricular credit on college applications.  Lots of high school students - pumped full of Mountain Dew and Rock Star Energy Drink  - will have the energy to work at a high pace all day long.  When a voter comes to his place in line, the voting log (hidden by the counter that would be there) would be out of site and the voter should have to state his name and address to get a ballot.

Now, about segregating the wards (or even the cities).  Think of the type of business that might have many people looking for something.  How do grocery stores do it?  Right.  Big ol' signs suspended from the ceiling or on a pole.  At Sentry, when you know exactly what you want (bread, peanut butter and milk), a quick look at the aisle listings get you to the areas you need to be.  And at checkout time, that "Express Lane" is pretty easy to find, isn't it?  Apply that logic to the polling place, and nobody should be confused about where to go to check-in.

Then we get to the on-site registration.  The fact that Wisconsin allows it is a joke, but the way it is administered is even worse.  At my site this morning, new registrants went to the front of the line.  I understand that the process takes longer, but even if you register them right away, then they should go to the back of the line.  However, in a larger venue with a clearly distinguished location for new registrants to apply, not only would they be "cutting" in front of people, but upon completion of the process the line in that person's ward would be quite short.

Vote fraud is a constant concern, and one of the objections is that there aren't enough officials to be stationed at all of the polling places.  But having many wards in one large venue would not spread election officials out too thin.

Another problem that we hear about on days with large voter turnout is in hardware... the lack of booths themselves, runing out of ballots, ballot reading machine fails, etc..  Having one large venue would certainly require numerous machines, so if one or two breakdown there would be many others on the same site so that the outage would be barely noticable.  And when it comes to reporting the precincts at the end of the day, one location reporting would allow for one large block of returns instead of having them trickle in.

Now, if the large venue couldn't be "donated" for the couple days, how could we pay for this?  Concessions!  Most polling places in schools already have bake sales so people are trained to buy brownies upon the completion of voting.  If the Expo Center won't allow their equipment to be used, you can still set up stands in many locations within the Expo Center for food, drinks, merchandise (what die-hard lefty wouldn't want to buy a donkey-logoed baseball cap?)

I realize that some of my ideas would need some fine tuning, and may not work in other parts of the city (I am thinking that the main concourse of Miller Park could be used, as could the east and west atrium of the Bradley Center, large hotel ballrooms, etc).  But overhauling the entire Election Day Experience is an idea whose time has come.

And I have two teenagers who will be told to happy to volunteer.

On Tuesday evening, September 9th (Side note; coincedentally, I was at County Stadium exactly 16 years earlier watching Robin Yount get his 3000th hit), I took (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Son, Mitten to the Brewers game.  It was a cool but comfortable evening, but with the Miller Park dome closed, it was a great night for baseball.  And except for Jeff Suppan and some guy that I've never heard of going to a 3-1 count on every batter before every batter started fouling off pitches, we had a great time.  (Side note; on Saturday, September 6th, My-Sugar-Na and I watched the Brewers beat the Padres in 2 hours and 7 minutes.  By comparison, at 9:14 PM on Tuesday, we were in the top of the 6th inning.)

As the game meandered on way past Mitten's bedtime, Ray Durham (who clearly doesn't respect a child's need for sleep) hit a game-tying 3-run home run in the 7th inning, and the hapless Reds and ice cold Brewers played on into the night.

In the top of the 11th, the crowd (well, at least Section 215) was awakened by a foul ball by one Mr. Edwin Encarnacion of the Reds.  The ball hit off of the facade between the 2nd and 3rd decks (it actually hit the ribbon scoreboard, but facade is a much cooler word).  The rebound of the ball hit the armrest of a seat in our row, and ricocheted off my cheek (the one on my face, guys...) and harmlessly onto the concrete steps.  Enter Mitten, who was sitting in the aisle seat. 

As the ball rolled down a couple of steps, there was this young boy, we'll call him Poor Timmy.  Poor Timmy was struggling to stand up, what with his leg braces and crutches and all.  Poor Timmy had just about managed to scoop up the errant ball when Mitten - using a shoulder block learned by watching years of soccer and football - flung Poor Timmy about four seats into the row.  As Mitten was holding the ball over his head in triumphant glory, Poor Timmy was battling for his life because his crutch acted like a lever and had flung Poor Timmy perilously towards the railing in front of the first row.  Luckily another ballpark patron, we'll call her 92-Year Old Gladys, broke his fall with the back of her neck.  The force of the Poor Timmy vs. 92-Year Old Gladys collision resulted in 92-Year Old Gladys hitting the railing square in the mush.  There was a real casualty in all of this, however, as 92-Year Old Gladys' husband, we'll call him 89-Year Old Aloys, lost his bratwurst over the railing in the excitement.  Rumor was that he lost something else, too, except somebody admitted to spilling a beer under 89-Year Old Aloys' seat.

All this so Mitten could get an $8 baseball.

April 3 at Wrigley Field - Cubs 6 v. Brewers 3

April 30 at Wrigley Field - Cubs 19 v. Brewers 5

July 28 at Miller Park - Cubs 6 v. Brewers 4

The Brewers are 4-3 against the Cubs in 2008, and I have been to all three losses.  See the video below for an idea of what we had to listen to in the parking lot on the way back to the car.

I have bleacher tickets to Tuesday night's game and Knobbleknees will be at her first-ever Miller Park event.  Any suggestions?

For the past four seasons, the USBC Masters qualifying has been held at AMF Bowlero in Wauwatosa (with the finals held twice at Miller Park, and once each at the US Cellular Arena and the State Fair Expo Center).  In January it was announced that the Masters was leaving Milwaukee, and would instead be held in Las Vegas.  Although it was a blow to lose the Masters tournament, at least the Masters was going to become part of the USBC national tournament is that will be held in Las Vegas in 2009.  Unknown is whether the Masters will stay in Las Vegas, or if it will continue to follow the USBC nationals (which are in Reno in 2010, Orlando in 2011, Baton Rouge in 2012, Reno in 2013 and Orlando in 2014).

Shortly after it became clear that AMF Bowlero was losing the Masters, I spoke with the general manager of Bowlero, Roy Brent, who stated that the PBA was looking for a way to give Milwaukee a regular stop on the 2008-09 tour.  Unfortunatly, that didn't happen, as the released schedule does not include a stop in Milwaukee.

Without breaking down the tour stops in great detail, it is clear that cost savings were on the minds of tour management, as three cities (Taylor - in suburban Detriot, Reno and Las Vegas each get TWO tournaments).  Make that four cities, if you include northwestern suburb of Vernon Hills and the southeastern suburb of Hammond, IN as part of Chicago.

More proof that Milwaukee is no longer any sort of bowling capital.  At least Dallas/Arlington didn't get a tournament this year, either.

Some time in 2007, (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Daughter, Gooey, and (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Stepdaughter, Sloppy, concocted Cheer Day.  Conveniently held in conjunction with Sloppy's birthday party, Cheer Day was to be a day when the two girls thrilled us with their repartee of cheers and dances.  However, Gooey had broken her arm in the week leading up to Cheer Day, and on the big day wasn't feeling well.  In other words, the First Annual Cheer Day fizzled.

About two days after the first Cheer Day, the girls started planning the Second Annual Cheer Day... which ended up being today (Saturday 6-7).  Amazingly coincidentally, today was Sloppy's birthday, so a grand gala celebration was in order.  I honestly have to admire the two girls dedication.  Every conversation out of their mouth centered around Cheer Day... even the conversations at Halloween, Christmas, etc.  They planned a menu, a schedule, games and - of course - the cheers.

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Below, please relive Cheer Day with us in pictures.  First up is the preparation of the house, with Knobbleknees and Gooey getting the fruit platter ready, and (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Stepson, Grizzly showing off his sporty summer doo.

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Next up is Grandma, who apparently really loves the late Spunky the Weather Dog's owner.  That red blob on the radar is heading our way... better get Cheer Day started!

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You can already see the sky turning Ominously Dark (it'll cost Crayola a pretty penny to use that color name).  Undaunted, the ladies continue their routine.  It is very clear that they did a lot of practice.

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A standing room only crowd is in attendance.  Out of the range of the camera is Knobbleknees, who is dancing like a groupie at a rock concert.

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The last cheer of the afternoon included the assistant from the audience.  This time, sorta-sister Jendy Wo filled that role.

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Some of the family members took shelter from the Tornado Warning in the basement.  When not taking the photos, (Sponsor's Name Here) was standing on the front porch, watching the storm pass.

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Some families, when riding out the storm in the basement, do arts and crafts to pass the time.  Or pray.  But not the James family.  Below is (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Son, Mitten and Mr. Uncie playing a foosball match against Knobbleknees and My-Sugar-Na.

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Finally, since it WAS Sloppy's birthday, everybody gathered up the gumption to go back upstairs, sing Happy Birthday to The Sloppy One, and partake in the Roundy's Birthday Bounty (aka a cake and ice cream from Pick N Save).

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All in all, it was a great day... one of those days that you look back on in 25 years, and remember how great it is to have a big family.  With that said, there is a chance that the Third Annual Cheer Day in 2009 might be expanded.  If my schedule is accurate, we will be selling out the State Fair Grandstand by 2014, Miller Park by 2018, and world domination by 2027.

First things first - I really, really, REALLY want to throw my comments in about blogging in the 21st Century... about the Buzzy v. Deadspin guy on Costas Now in April... about Ned Yost, Doug Melvin, Jim Powell and others whining about a blogger who said that Nedley was about to get fired... etc.  Clearly, I am on the side of the bloggers, but I wanted to make some bigger picture points.  I just haven't gotten around to it.  I may get there (then again, I may not, what with Cheer Day happening at Casa de James this weekend).  My ten second take is that the internet has made media instantaneous, and that the world had better get used to it.  Some will get paid, I probably won't (Mark, I am still waiting for you to tell me I've been picked up by the Wall Street Journal), but the absolute worst part of internet blogs is the comment section.  Now, I only get about 18 people (up from six a year ago) who read my blog, but if more did, I would have to deal with some horribly stupid comments.  Want an example of the nutjobs I would have to deal with?  Check out the ravings of some depressing soul on this blog entry (you should've seen what I didn't approve!)

But until I get around to blogging about blogging, you will have to settle for what I cobble together below.

Thanks to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, promotions and dumb luck,  I was able to get to three consecutive Brewers games this weekend (bringing my season record to 4-5).  This was the first time I've ever been to three consecutive Brewers home games.  Here are a few comments on the Brewers and the Miller Park experience.  Note that I don't want to come across as too snarky, but if some of these issues can be addressed, I may just move to Miller Park. 

• Why are Rickie Weeks and Mike Cameron at the top of the line-up?  Neither get on base enough to be on the top of the line-up, and I don't think they've ever gotten on base in the same inning.  When it is Braun and Fielder's job to drive them in, it gets kinda difficult when they're not on base.  My preferred line-up would have Corey Hart leading off and Weeks batting second.  It would still require Weeks to take a lot of pitches (which is why Yost is forcing us to watch him lead off).  I would also put Cameron batting eighth (after the catcher).  Cameron is still a great fielder, but he is a black Rob Deer.  Let Cameron hit a homer before the pitcher makes the third out of an inning.
• Why is Bill Hall complaining that he was benched?  He is hitting in the mid-.220s, and his grace period ends at a year and a third (that would be the "I changed positions so I'm not concentrating on my hitting" grace period.)  Granted, too many players (including Messers Weeks and Cameron) are also hitting under .250 (notice that Kendall has slipped into the .250s?) but Hall was the only player with a replacement doing anything in AAA Nashville.  Hall should do his Derrick Turnbow impression - take his $4mil and be happy he signed a big contract at the end of the career year).
• In taking a quick look at Turnbow's stats in Nashville, he has a 10.13 ERA in 8 games, and has issued an astounding 23 walks in 8 innings.  Those 8 innings include TWO STARTS.  This guy'll be a roofing contractor in three years.
• It is amazing that when the Brewers starters go deep into a game, how reliable their bullpen is.  In their last 15 games (ending after tonights 7-1 win against Arizona), the Brewers starting pitching has had 12 good starts.  Their record in those 15 games is 11-4.  The new Derrick/Koko/Gagne, Salomon Torres always seems fresh, the bullpen hasn't blown a lead in three weeks, and the good pitching is keeping the games close for when the Brewers bats finally wake up.  A brilliant, brilliant blogger mentioned that the 2007 Brewers starters were the cause of the lousy bullpen.  That guy should get a contract to write his blog.
• In the three games that I attended (Sat, Sun and Mon), the Star-Spangled Love Song was sung twice, and a trumpet proudly played our National Anthem once.  We've got to continue to try to reverse those numbers.  The Star Spangled Banner is NOT a love song.
• What is up with the Brewers "at bat" tunes?  Do we realize that we've raised an entire generation of now-young-adults that don't acknowledge that what passes for popular music isn't exactly music?  The top seven spots in the order are brutal, with the worst offender being JJ Hardy.  The words to his tune appear to be something like "Finss Manna Hey / Finss Manna Oh".  The best two come from - go figure - the oldest players... Jason Kendall has Dragula from Rob Zombie, and Craig Counsell has "Along the Watchtower" from Jimi Hendrix.
• Remember the olden days, when you'd listen to the postgame show on the radio, and in the background you would hear a "popping" sound?  That was the sound of youngsters finding the waxed paper cups, placing them face down on the pavement, then stomping on them.  While walking around the stadium Sunday before the game started, I found a beer vendor that actually poured a beer into one of those cups.  I swear, I bought a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy just to drink from that cup.
• The Law of Unintended Consequences strikes again.  A byproduct of the Brewers current status as a "hot" thing to do - something cool to do - are the tens of thousands of people in attendance that wouldn't know a beautifully executed hit-and-run from a pommel horse.  I sat in the bleachers on Saturday with a total crowd of over 42,000.  About 74 of the 42,000 acted like they've ever been to a game before.  It was all about drinking, getting the next drink, trying to start the wave, calling their friends in a different part of the ballpark (then standing and waving their beer so their friend can see what lousy seats they have) and acting like a big shot to their significant others when they know that "Ryan Braun is a pretty good player".  As hard as I tried, those type of antics made it hard to actually enjoy the game.  It was very distracting, and I spent more time muttering to My-Sugar-Na than watching the game.
• Conversely, my new favorite time to attend a game in less-than-premium seats is a Monday night.  At the door, we got tickets on the fourth level right at 3rd base in the fourth row.  Average age in our section?  62.  The older men and women alike knew the game, and was a joy to watch a pitchers duel with fans that appreciated it.
• Robb Edwards, the PA guy, is back from his bypass surgery... relegating Gene Mueller to morning guy on WTMJ-AM.  I have never been a fan of Edwards, even when he had Mueller's job 20 years ago.  Gene Mueller did a great job on the PA, and when Edwards retires, I think the job should be handed off to Mueller.
• If the Brewers aren't within 6 games in mid-July, watch how fast they trade Ben Sheets.  Despite what I said above, Sheets is the only bankable starter, and he is a cracked fingernail away from yielding his spot to Zach Jackson.  Sheets current record could net him $15 million a year, and he will want more years than a pitcher should be given (in comparison, the brutally mediocre Jeff Suppan gets just under $11 million a year, and has-ben Eric Gagne gets $10 million a year).  I know the Yankees (and their unlimited payroll) and the Mets are both desparate for starting pitching.  Hell, the Mets are an outpost for former Brewer pitchers this year, having started both Nelson Figueroa and Claudio Vargas.  You think Sheets might be an upgrade?
• Finally, I've been invited to another Brewers game in Wrigley Field, this time on September 17th.  As blogged previously, the Brewers are 4-2 in Chicago this year, and I am 0-2 in games that I've been to at Wrigley this year.  Bet with the trend, folks.

Life got in the way of my posting this sooner, but I was at Miller Park for the finals.  By now, you must know that Sean Rash threw a 269 game (beating Steve Jaros' 245 game) to win the $100,000.  But here are some of my comments about the finals, and about the ESPN telecast...

• A very disappointing turnout of 2,712 attended the finals.  While that is higher than the attendance at the previous two Masters finals (in 2005 at the US Cellular Arena and in 2006 at the State Fair Expo Center), it is much lower than the 4,303 that attended at Miller Park in 2004, and about one-third of the record 7,212 for a tournament in Detroit.  The USBC rented out Miller Park in an effort to break the record, and such a poor attendance will likely cause the entire Masters tournament to be moved to a different city.  If the tournament is moved out of Milwaukee, it would be the third time that Milwaukee would lose a pro tour stop.  It is a good thing that the pros bowl twice this season in the Chicago area.
• As for the bowling itself, the scores were too high for the finals of a major event.  The USBC, the PBA and ESPN all get caught between a rock and a hard place.  If scores are too low, then the common bowler will say "those guys aren't that good... even I can shoot 180".  If the scores are too high, then the higher-average player can say "it's too bad that shotmaking wasn't at a premium".  On Sunday, Steve Jaros bowled an 814 series (a 271 average) and LOST.  I can get into lots and lots of technical reasons as to why the scores were too high, but this isn't the forum (this is).  Suffice to say that for a $100K prize and bowling in a major tournament should offer a challange, and that challenge wasn't there.
• The professional bowlers are the greatest bowlers in the world.  Don't ever forget that.  I can brag about my 225 average, or my league record 847 series in the Bluemound Bowl Bob Kodel Major League, etc., etc., but in watching the pros this week, I felt very insignificant.  In the finals on Sunday, Jaros changed balls in the middle of an 814 series!  To a higher-average player, that is unheard of.  If I shoot 279 then 290 and I lose my carry, the last thing in my mind is that I need a different ball.  But Jaros made the change and struck on every ball (until he was mathematically eliminated).
• I did have a hard time coughing up the $8 for parking.  I understand that the USBC and PBA are just renting the facility, and that the Masters is a major tournament, but I felt that I was gouged by Miller Park and the county.
• Soon after I got home from the finals (and got back from Walgreens with a second lot of trick-or-treat candy) I watched ESPN's broadcast.  New to the announcing booth is Rob Stone, whom I've enjoyed while watching MLS games on ESPN.  He seemed to do an OK job for his first live event.  However, he did play upon the "I'm new to this and learning" angle.  Hopefully that will ease up and he will do a decent job.
• I was disappointed in some of ESPN's camera angles.  I understand that it wasn't ESPN's job to fill Miller Park, but just about every camera angle that was not an intentional crowd shot showed about 10,000 empty seats.  The crowd was basically in three sections on both the first and second levels.  But their establishing shot was from a stationary camera in the press box behind home plate.  From that angle, there seemed like there were no fans at all.  Same with when they showed a snippet from the sausage race.  The hand-held camera caught the sausages from home plate past first base to the finish... all shot with empty seats in the background.
• And about the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's disasterous coverage... this could be (and probably should be) a post unto itself.  Early last week, I said that we'd be lucky to get puff pieces on the three previous champions (we didn't).  We barely got any real tournament info... it was like I was reading the TV Guide review of any new show.  Cursory data, a few generic quotes, and no photos.  Overall, a horrid job.  It was like Gary D'Amato was given a press pass and felt compelled to write something (while not worrying about exactly what he was writing about).  I am realistic.  I didn't expect six days of large-type, above the fold headlines.  But good grief, would a photo or two each day somewhere in the paper have been too much to ask?  Bowling has four major tournaments, and this one paid the second most and was held here!  Say what you want about the bowling vs. golf, but this tournament is the equivalent to golf's Masters.  Coverage was completely unbecoming the status that the bowling community reveres the Masters.  I would have just as soon the MJS wrote a story that said "we feel bowling is dying and isn't worth our time, effort, or real estate in the paper.  If there is a next year for the Masters in Milwaukee, I will ask MyCommunityNOW.com editor Mark Maley to secure a press pass for me, and I (a non-journalist) will volunteer to write three stories per day:  One will be a technical review of the parts of the lane and the equipment that was successful, one will be geared for the non-bowler, and one will be geared towards other stuff going on... like size of the crowd, or matches between players of interest.  Maley can put them on WauwatosaNOW (because AMF Bowlero is in Wauwatosa) for all I care.  But the only newspaper in town really shouldn't have mailed it in this past week.

Coming later this week... blog entries that are NOT about bowling.

Patrick Allen      -      Sean Rash      -      Steve Jaros      -      Walter Ray Williams, Jr.

These four gentlemen represent the final round of the 2007-08 USBC Masters, which will be held at Noon on Sunday at Miller Park.  Allen, who qualified in 61st place out of 63 players that made the cut into match play, and Rash were the two players that went undefeated through the winner's bracket.  Williams averaged 260.44 in his last 3 matches (9 games) of the loser's bracket to advance to the rolloff bracket, where he defeated Greenfield's Derek Eoff..  Jaros, who lost to Rash in the last match in the winner's bracket, won his rolloff bracket match against Steve Weber.

Good seats are still available for the Finals tomorrow, and a good turnout will be needed tomorrow to secure future Masters tournaments for Milwaukee.

But first things first.  Tonight will be the third BowlFest, which is held the Saturday before the finals.  BowlFest is really two events running simultaneously.  First, while the four Masters finalists are taking part in a practice session on the tournament lanes, the concourse is buzzing with booths and exhibits of bowling ball reps, local businesses (the past two years, Chipotle has been there with some fabulous food samples), drawings, USBC and PBA logoed merchandise, and games for the kids.  Although once the practice ends and the exhibitions start, this side stuff winds down.  The booths do stay open until the end.  This year, author Doug Schmidt will have a booth where he will be signing copies of his book They Came to Bowl: How Milwaukee Became America's Tenpin Capital.  He also has designed T-shirts that will be for sale tonight.

Although there are other exhibitions going on this evening, they pale in comparison to the match between Marshall Holman and Mark Roth.  Two of my favorite bowlers growing up, these two are the ones I watch for on YouTube and on ESPN Classic.  Roth has been doing some competitive bowling lately, but Holman has been more in the public eye lately.  If you are anywhere near Miller Park tonight, stop in to watch these stars square off.

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One last thing... this may be quite self serving, but if you appreciated my posts about the Masters this week, feel free to drop a note to Community Newspapers editor Mark Maley at mmaley@cninow.com, as well as Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Assistant Managing Sports Editor Garry Howard at ghoward@journalsentinel.com and Sr. VP/Editor Martin Kaiser at mkaiser@journalsentinel.com.  Tell them all how much you appreciated the factual information, as well as the commentary along the way.  Make sure they understand how important that QUALITY bowling coverage is to Milwaukee.  Hell, I'm not a journalist... if you liked what I did, imagine what a professional bowling writer can do.

488 bowlers have now become 64, and match play begins at 4:30 CDT. 

PBA exempt player Chris Loschetter took over the high spot after 15 games with a 230.2 average.  The average needed to advance to match play was 209.2, and that 63rd spot was claimed by PJ Haggerty with a total pinfall of 3138.  To accentuate how important every pin and every spare is, two players missed that cut by two pins.  Exempt PBA player Mike Mineman from Belleville, IL, and Dan Bock from Albert Lea, MN, get to take that long drive home and think about that one bad shot that left them a split, or a 6-count in the 12th frame of any game.  Five additional players missed the cut by 5 pins or less.  Not five pins of average.  Five pins total.

So now the bowlers with the 63 highest scores and Doug Kent, last year's champion, are seeded into match play.  All of the previous scores are wiped away.  At this point, the qualifying score serves only as a basis for seeding the match play brackets.  Other than that, the scores are compeltely disregarded and the players are now head-to-head.

The format is now double-elimination, which means a player has to lose two separate three-game total pinfall matches to be out of the tournament.  It is very confusing to try to explain, however, let me give it a shot.  There will be two separate brackets from here on out.  The winner's bracket is just that.  If a player wins, they keep advancing similar to how NCAA brackets work.  However, once a player loses, they drop into the loser's bracket.  If a player keeps winning in the loser's bracket, they can still appear in the finals on Sunday, it is just a lot more work though.  A loss in the loser's bracket ends the tourament for that player.

So get out to AMF Bowlero tonight and cheer on the six local players (Derek Eoff, Chad Kloss, Lennie Boresch, Jr., Chad Maas, Scott Helm and Tim Janz) that are left in the tournament.

I apologize for not posting an update after the second block on Wednesday.  Our internet server at work went down.  I then had dinner plans, and when I got home I was informed by My-Sugar-Na that we were part of Time Warner's service outage.  Not only was there no internet, but there was this little matter of the World Series going on.  Service hadn't been restored at home before I went to bed, but it is all better now at work, so let's see if I can sneak in a full post (and still keep my job).

Names of note in the Top 121.  All of these players have made the cut and will bowl five additional games on Thursday morning.  After this morning's session, the field will be cut to the 63 players with the top 15-game total.....

• 1st - Derek Eoff, Greenfield, Wis. (Had the fourth 300 game of the tournament on Wednesday)  237.6 average
• 3rd - Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas (Had the thrid 300 game of the tournament on Wednesday)  234.3 average
• 5th - Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich. (Won the first PBA event of the season - the Dydo Cup in Japan)  230.7 average
• 7th - Tony Reyes, San Bruno, Calif. (Bowled 300 game on TV in November, 2006)  228.4 average
• 8th - Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C. (Made the 2006 Masters finals at State Fair Park Expo)  226.4 average
• 9th - Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis. (League teammate and PBA Exempt player)  226.0 average
• 11th - Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y. (Made the 2006 Masters finals at State Fair Park Expo)  224.2 average
• 13th - Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis. (Had the first 300 game of the tournament on Tuesday)  223.9 average
• 21st - Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla. (PBA superstar holds the record for PBA titles)  220.3 average
• 23rd - Aaron Jones, Chicago (Had the second 300 game of the tournament on Tuesday)  219.4 average
• 24th - Lynda Barnes, Double Oak, Texas (Highest female qualifier after ten games)  219.0 average
• 32nd - Scott Helm, Hartford, Wis.  216.6 average
• 42nd - Tim Janz, Beaver Dam, Wis. 213.5 average
• 50th - Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla. (Made the 2005 Masters finals at the US Cellular Arena)  212.6 average
• 54th - Chad Maas, Brookfield, Wis. (Who beat me on the All-Star Bowling TV show in 2002)  212.1 average
• 57th - Danny Wiseman, Baltimore (Won the 2004 Masters at Miller Park)  212.0 average
• 76th - Ken Muscato, Canandaigua, N.Y. (Amateur player who made the 2005 Masters finals at the US Cellular Arena)  210.1 average
• 81st - Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla. (Made the 2004 Masters finals at Miller Park)  209.5 average
• 84th - Ross Strand, Green Bay, Wis. (Once bowled in my league on Friday's at Bluemound Bowl)  209.3 average
• 86th - Ben Hoefs, West Bend, Wis. (Did a great job drilling a new ball for me in August)  209.2 average
• 92nd - Ralph Hibbard, Jr., Mukwonago, Wis. (Son-in-law of the last ABC Executive Director Darold Dobs)  208.3 average
• 96th - Ryan Yanel, Kenosha, Wis.  208.1 average
• 98th - Joe Alivo, Milwaukee, Wis.  208.0 average
• 117th - George Lambert IV, Wichita, Kan. (Amateur player who made the 2006 Masters finals at State Fair Expo)  206.7 average

By reviewing the entire Masters qualifying results - especially comparing them to the first day's standings - it is clear that the professionals were able to gain ground, while the locals faded.  Much of that can be attributed to each player's mental game. 

As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, I watched a game in which Walter Ray Williams struggled, and he had put it together within two games and threw a 270.  A similar situation with Norm Duke... he bowled horribly (for him) for three games, and is now 50th out of 480 bowlers.  Conversely, amateurs can score at will... sometimes, but usually slide back to their level.  An amateur can have a couple of big games early, but when the lanes change or they hit a bad pair, the wheels can come off.  Amateurs also aren't mentally trained to grind it out for the long haul.  Sometimes if they (and I am included in this) start hot and cool down, panic can set in and logical decisions go out the window.  If they never start out hot, they can think its over after a few games and put it into cruise control on the way to a 170 average for ten games.  Knowledge of the various equipment and lane patters is important, but it is my opinion that the mental game is what separates the top pros from the top amateurs.

Professionals are used to long formats.  Amateurs are used to three game league formats.  Therefore over the course of ten or fifteen games, expect the top pros to advance to the match play round this evening.

Also, Doug Schmidt will again be signing copies of his book They Came to Bowl:  How Milwaukee Became America's Tenpin Capital this evening from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM.  Every person that purchases a book will be let into watch the match play at no charge.

I hope to make another post after the field has been cut to 63.

First, the list of notable names in the top 122 (which will be the cut line after today's five-game blocks)...

• 1st - Derek Eoff from Greenfield.  250.4 average
• 3rd - Tommy Jones (PBA superstar that bowled in the 2006 finals at the State Fair Expo Center).  241.6 average
• 16th - Lennie Boresch, Jr. from Kenosha.  230.4 average
• 20th - Tim Janz from Beaver Dam.  225.8 average
• 21st - Ralph Hibbard, Jr. from Mukwonago.  225.6 average
• 22nd - Ben Hoefs from West Bend (who recently drilled a new ball for me).  225.4 average
• 26th - Chad Kloss from Greenfield (and league teammate).  224.6 average
• 32nd - Matt Stock from Omro.  222 average
• 38th - Jack Jurek (PBA player that bowled in the 2006 finals at the State Fair Expo Center).  220.8 average
• 41st - Ross Strand from Green Bay.  219.4 average
• 45th - Joe Crocco from Racine.  218.8 average
• 48th - Nick Plouff from Tomahawk.  218.4 average
• 49th - Tish Johnson (former PWBA superstar and highest female qualifier).   218 average
• 50th - Danny Wiseman (Masters champion from the 2004 finals at Miller Park).  217.6 average
• 81st - George Lambert IV (amateur that bowled in the 2006 finals at the State Fair Expo Center).  211.4 average
• 102nd - Todd Droulliard from Milwaukee (a legend in my Friday night league at Bluemound Bowl).  208.8 average
• 108th - Jace Peterson from Elkhorn.  207.8 average
• 111th - Mike Neau from Kenosha.  207.6 average
• 114th - Chad Mass from Brookfield.  207.4 average
• 119th - Joe Alivo from Milwaukee.  206.8 average

Not bad... 15 bowlers from Wisconsin above the cut line in an event sanctioned by the PBA.

As I had said that I would, I arrived at AMF Bowlero last night to watch the last qualifying block.  Here are some of my impressions...

1. Derek Eoff is an amazing talent.  He is not a native of the Milwaukee area, rather, he graduated from Nebraska and ended up working at the USBC promoting Sport Bowling.  Eoff can take the toughest conditions and make them look easy.  I watched him off and on, and he was able to take a normally difficult inside line and create hold and swing area.  The bowlers change pairs after each game, and he had no trouble averaging 250 on whichever pair he bowled.
2. Conversely, Norm Duke struggled mightily.  I watched his third game (he had only averaged about 190 for the first two games, which is very un-Duke-like).  He had the right idea playing way inside, but I believe that he was using the wrong ball.  He was targeting inside the fifth arrow (25th board), but his breakpoint wasn't consistent and he was leaving a lot of spares.  I don't believe he had a 180 game the third game.  He must have figured something out the last two games as he averaged 206 for the five games and is currently in 126th place.
3. Walter Ray Williams, Jr. also struggled for the first couple of games.  Although he had a 220-something the first game, I watched most of his second game and he was targeting the 3rd arrow and was having similar problems as Duke.  He would leave a flat-10 (meaning his ball did not have enough energy to carry), then the next shot was a 4-9 split (indicating the ball had too much energy).  On a professional lane condition, almost as important as how well a player throws the ball is what part of the lane a player plays and with which equipment.  By the time I got back around to watching Williams in the fifth game, he had moved to the sixth arrow (30th board) with a sanded ball and his break point was about the 50 foot mark at the 12th board.  But the energy that was stored up... he carried everything and it wasn't even like work for him.  He ended that game with a 270 to pull into 15th place.
4. I was seated near Aaron Jones from Chicago in the second game as he bowled the second 300 game of the tournament.  I watched the last six shots, and they were smooth as silk... there wasn't a doubt about any of those balls.  Aaron is in 53rd place.
5. Chad Kloss also had a big fifth game, finishing with 11 strikes in a row for a 290 game.  I'd bet he blogs about that game.
6. A bottle of Miller High Life was $3.17.  $3.17?  Think about it.  At a bar.  $3.17.
7. Mike Jamrose from Milwaukee (who works at the same place I do) struggled to a 199.8 average.  I talked to him this morning and he said that he was making lousy shots.  I had watched him on and off last night, and it seemed like every non-strike was a ball that was high.  He said is biggest problem, however, was that three of the five games he had an open frame in the 10th frame.  If he would have been clean in just those frames, he would be above the cut line.  He is currently in 201st place.
8. Doug Schmidt, author of They Came to Bowl:  How Milwaukee Became America's Tenpin Capital was at Bowlero signing copies of his book. 

I won't be able to get back to Bowlero again this week (unfortunately) so I won't have any more observations to pass along.  I will continue to provide updates.

Everybody makes a big deal about how the USBC Masters finals will be held at Miller Park on Sunday.  But only four bowlers will be there for the finals.  What happens to the rest of the bowlers?

The format is as follows....

• There are four squads of approximately 125 bowlers each (the final field size isn't yet known as walk-in entries are still being accepted today).  Each squad will bowl two 5-game blocks today and tomorrow.
• On Thursday morning, the top 1/4 of the field will bowl an additional 5 games.  At that point, the 63 bowlers with the highest 15 game scores will advance into match play.  Last year's champion, Doug Kent, will also be seeded into match play.
• On Thursday evening and all day on Friday, the remaining bowlers bowl 3-game matches in a double elimination format.  It is impossible to properly describe the format here, suffice to say that if a bowler doesn'tt lose a match, s/he won't have to face nearly as many competitors.  By Friday evening, the final four bowlers will be known.

With that said, I have been waiting in giddy anticipation of the results of the first block.  Here are some of the notable names...

• 1st place - Chris Warren (a pro that has been on the tour for at least 15 years).  235 average for 5 games
• 2nd place - Lennie Boresch, Jr. from Kenosha (bowled a 300 game during this block).  230.4 average
• 3rd place - Tim Janz from Beaver Dam.  225.8 average
• 19th place - Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, (the highest woman player, former PWBA superstar). 209.8 average
• 38th place - Patrick Allen (made the Finals at Miller Park in 2004).  201 average
• 41st place - Dan Nowakowski from Oak Creek.  199.6 average
• 44th place - Chris Galovits from Racine.  199.4 average
• 46th place - Ken Muscato (made the Finals at the US Cellular Arena in 2005).  198.8 average

There are numerous other Wisconsin residents, but their scores... well, let's say that they may be happier that they aren't mentioned here. I don't know if I will be able to post an update after the next squad.  After obeience class for Vier Pogo Squad 51, I plan on going to AMF Bowlero to watch tonight's qualifying round.  Either late tonight or early tomorrow I will post the complete first round results.