Sunday Tournament Preview - Solo Brew

This Sunday, Andy Rathje, Paul Lauricella, and Jeff Doruff are participating in a tournament on Sunday, February 28th, 2010. Unlike on Thursdays, they will be competing individually. Additionally, this tournament will be on uncharted territory of each bowler with the anticipation of an unknown oil pattern on natural (wooden) lanes. Before any predictions are set in stone, the biggest factors in place for each bowler will be their individual ability to make adjustments and be accurate. Difficult oil patters minimize the margin for error and not recognizing when you need to make adjustments will amplify the difficulty of the lane. With this being the biggest gap for each bowler to bridge, a more accurate prediction can be formulated.

Highest to place:
Paul Lauricella

Paul brewing with swagger

Paul simply has the experience and a feel for the game that the other two don't have, or just don't know how to use it. He is also the most consistent bowler of the three. Week in and week out, he puts up the same kind of numbers with a big 700 series here and there. This prediction still considers his putrid performance in a tournament in Milwaukee back in May of 2008. Paul struggled at an unhealthy level and did not seem to know what he was doing, though it doesn't matter. That was then, and the Paul of 2010 has a new level of swagger in his game, especially during individual competition.

Middle Man:

Andy Rathje

Andy displaying his game face with a... walking sick and a cape?

Andy Rathje is a different type of bowler than Paul or Jeff. Although Andy historically has a consistant tournament record, it is not certain how he will be able to play the unknown oil pattern on natural wooden lanes. At times, he displays discomfort when he says "I can't roll the ball properly". It will be up to his mental game to get himself past this self-manufactured roadblock. One positive aspect Andy has with his game is the fact that his ball won't travel across as many boards as Paul's or Jeff's. At the end of the tournament, it is a solid bet that he will place between Paul and Jeff. Though, If Paul isn't careful enough, he may find himself behind Andy in the standings.

Dark Hourse:

Jeff Doruff

Jeff smoking his celebration cigar

Jeff Doruff rolls a solid ball, arguably the best of the three. Although this is the case, sometimes he has difficulty learning how to play a lane correctly. He has also shown to be a streaky bowler, at least on Thursdays at Wood Dale bowl. This is different for him at Lake Side bowl, where he put up a 755 series and a 710 in the same month with a couple solid 600's in between. What's the big difference between the two? He has the confidence to play the lanes correctly at one place, and finds it more difficult at the other. With all of this said, there is no reason why he can't be the middle man, or even placing the highest among the three. Jeff has made significant improvements with his mental game which he will storngly benefit from in this tournament. Regardless of the oil pattern, his positioning will be all up to how well he plays the lanes on Sunday.

. . . . . .

Regardless of how any of the three do on Sunday, it would be nice to see any one of them make some noise in the tournament. Although they are bowling individually, they still are representing the Brew Crew.

Brewled to Perfection

Last night, we witnessed what the Brew Crew does best when it does the little things right. They win despite how well the other team bowled. A perfect example was on full display when one of Wood Dale Bowl's fine bowlers cranked out a 300 for game two. Every ball he rolled berried in the pocket. You would think when a bowler on your team bowls a 300, you win right? Wrong. The Brew Crew easily won despite the opposing team's 300.

The domination began with Andy Rathje starting out hot, just like last week. Only this time, Rathje upped himself with his new season high 279. This continued to push the other Brew Crew bowlers to understand what needs to be done. The team anchor, Paul Lauricella continued to dominate the lanes with is dynamic vision before he starts his approach. Lauricella continued to do what he did best and it showed as the lanes began to break down, making adjustments and understanding what to do and when.

Paul Lauricella's solid approach and adjustments lead to...

Yeah!

Andy Rathje on the other hand, faced a different fate. Following his 279 strike-a-thon, Rathje had to utilize something that he found to be strange, a piece of equipment known as a spare ball. In the photo below, you can tell he didn't look comfortable or even happy about the new concept of rolling a second ball in the same frame.

Andy Rathje acting like he knows what he's doing.

Fortunately, Rathje's confusion was short lived as Jeff Doruff lead by example with his multiple sting of 1 pin spare conversions.

Jeff Doruff about to leave a 1 pin spare, for Andy Rathje's sake...

As the third game came to a close, it was official that the Brew Crew finished the third quarter with 14 straight points in the win column. As Paul Lauricella put it, "It smelled the same as last week." after the Brew Crew took all 7 points in the second consecutive week. Lauricella's statement couldn't be more true. Everything they did right last week was repeated this week with the same "smell". They picked each other up, they made makeable spares, and most importantly, they didn't give the opposing team a chance to win in the 10th frame. It is scare what this team can do when they do all the little things. The only question is how consistently they can perform like this.

Brew....CREW!!!

Quarter 3 Ends, Brew Must Finish Strong

This week, the Brew Crew bowling team faces a must win situation. After winning the second quarter of the Wood Dale Bowl Chuck Hall Classic, the Brew Crew again finds themselves towards the top of the rankings as tonight marks the ending of Quarter 3.

The Brew crew has been all or nothing this quarter, especially over the past two weeks. Two weeks ago, the Brew Crew lost all 7 points with their contest with Jeff Doruff bowling an ugly split filled 465 series. Last week, the Brew Crew faced American Electric and took all 7 points with high contributions from all five bowlers.

To expand on last week, Andy Rathje started the night out on fire. Going into the 10th frame, the Brew Crew needed to brew up some big strikes. Jeff Doruff, Andy Rathje, and Paul Lauricella all finished the 10th frame with three strikes. Andy Rathje finished with a season high 277 and finished with a 700+ series. Team Anchor Paul Lauricella maintained an even strength by converting his spares between a string of strikes and finishing each game on a strong note. Jeff Doruff seemed to have his mojo back with a 632 series following his awful performance just one week prior.

Andy Rathje Grabbing his 277

In order for this team to achieve it's ultimate goal as Chuck Hall Classic League Champions, they must continue to perform the way they did last week. Each bowler needs to stay out of trouble, and continue to play the lanes correctly. The big three on this team have the ability to win their first Chuck Hall Classic Championship. That path continues tonight.

Brew.....CREW!!!

Back to Life

I have not been updating this blog as much as I would have liked because I haven't had the time and that nobody reads this. As such, this is about to change, well probably except for the nobody reading this blog part. To make this happen, I plan on organizing the following schedule:

• Sunday posts - Beginning Sunday, March 21st will cover the immediate reaction and analysis of season three of Breaking Bad.

• Monday posts - NCAA Men's College Basketball

• Tuesday posts - Weather discussion
  

• Wednesday posts - Brew Crew bowling preview
  

• Thursday posts - Movie critic, will be announced in Saturday's blog.
  

• Friday posts - Brew Crew bowling review and analysis

• Saturday posts - Woman of the month / week in review / sports / movies

This schedule is subject to change and the format will not always be followed but will be a priority to maintain.