2009 - 2010 Brew Crew Season Review

The regular season for the Brew Crew has come to a close this past Thursday as they clinched the 2nd seed in the post-season tournament. It has been an amazing season for the Crew as they have were able to get back in striking position to become league champions. Most importantly, the story of how they got where they are today must be told.

Quarter 1

After finishing 2nd place (3 pins shy of league champions) in the 2008-2009 season, the Brew Crew had a chip on their shoulder to recapture what might have been. Andy Rathje, Jeff Doruff, and Paul Lauricella had some separation from Wood Dale Bowl as they bowled in a summer trio league at Lake Side Bowl. All three bowlers averaged over the 200 pin mark, and Jeff Doruff finished with the summer season team high 755 series. Going into the first quarter of the Chuck Hall Classic, there was reason to believe that the Brew Crew were ready to start the season on a positive note. However, things did not go as smoothly as anticipated for the Crew as they struggled throughout the first month. This struggle was beyond understandable and the team even failed to finish in the top half (12th place). With only receiving 12 points in this quarter, the bowlers on the Brew Crew faced an uphill battle if they wanted get a second shot at the league championship by getting any one of the top 8 seeds.

Quarter 2

After the fallout of the putrid performance of Quarter 1, the Brew Crew needed to find an answer to their problems, rapidly. It didn't take long for the solution to crawl out of the woodwork, as they began to bowl with a sense of motivation. By the end of the quarter, they found themselves on top of the leader boards at the end of quarter 2, winning all 22 points. Taking this quarter was the only option for the Brew Crew if they wanted to make up for the damage they inflicted on themselves in the first quarter.

Quarter 3

This quarter was more of a mixture of the first half of this season. It was all or nothing. Each bowler would show complete dominance on the lanes one week and would be incapable of converting single pin spares or even putting together a string of strikes. Despite their inconsistencies in this quarter, they pulled evertyhing together after they lost all 7 points with only two more weeks left in the quarter. Crew bowler Andy Rathje decided that enough was enough and went mad, bowling nothing lower than a 680 for the next month with an impressive 277, 279, and a 280 over that span. The Brew Crew would sweep their next two opponents going 14-0 saving themselves with a 4th place finish and receiving 19 points.

Quarter 4

Building on the last two weeks, the Brew Crew went mad. They went on to sweep the first four teams in this quarter going 28-0 in a month. Combinging the 14-0 third quarter finish, the Brew Crew would go on winning 19 games in a row, only to loose their would be 20th in the fifth week of quarter 4. This winning streak would earn the Crew their second first place quarter finish this year. Despite the awful first quarter, they were able to fight all the way back and earn a second seed in the post-season tournament.

With the playoffs starting this Thursday, the Brew Crew are in position to do what all teams aim to achieve. It is up to each Crew Bowler to finish what they started.

The top 8 post-season bracket will be posted later this week, along with the Brew Crew's round one match up.

Drums of War

By Paul Lauricella, an op-ed writer for TheMarchingIdes.com

The drums of war could be heard throughout Wood Dale Bowl. Last evening, the Brew Crew continued their dominance over opponent's seemingly feeble attempts to snatch victory away from them. Facing the Brew Crew was the ever dangerous Glue Factory, a team with considerable talent and experience. Casting a long shadow over the match was the reality that both teams would have to master lanes 17 and 18, a pair widely regarded as the most difficult to attain high scores. The results however, would stand in contrast these preconceptions.

Game one witnessed a close match between these two heavy weight prize fighters. Thundering strikes and mental collapses by both teams led to the game being deadlocked throughout. Andy Rathje, undoubtedly the hottest bowler on the Brew Crew as of late, posted a rare pedestrian score of 182. Making up for him was Crew bowler Steve Block, who tallied an impressive 215, a score significantly above his standard average. Yet the Brew Crew still faced pressure not seen since the opening of the second half of the season. Much needed momentum was provided by Brew Crew Bowler Jeff Doruff, who concluded his game with three consecutive strikes. Tensions remained high as veteran Glue Factory anchor Don Holms ended with a 257, giving his team a 10 pin advantage. Facing the possibility of the Brew Crew's extraordinary winning streak coming to an end, swashbuckling Crew anchor Paul Lauricella delivered three emphatic strikes to claim victory for his team, and extend the now 37 consecutive point run. Game two was a return to familiar territory, with Brew Crew claiming victory by over 75 pins. Rathje rebounded by chalking up an impressive 279. Also integral in this victory was a 216 by Doruff, once again finishing with three consecutive strikes, and a tactful 246 by Lauricella. Fueled by this performance, the Brew Crew obliterated the Glue Factory in the third game of the set. Led by a 257 and 256 by Doruff and Rathje respectively, the Crew amassed a victory by a colossal 253 pins. This game also saw the Brew Crew team member Tony Rogus breaking from his enigmatic consistency of scoring in the 180's and 190's, to shoot a game well above the 200 mark. The Crew finished the evening with for of five bowlers averaging over 200 for three games. The scores, coupled with the extension of the streak to 42 consecutive points marked the evening as one of the most memorable achievements of the Brew Crew.

The performance of the Brew Crew thus far has been nothing short of remarkable. It is said that winning is a habit. This is a habit that the Brew Crew does not wish to break. They have shown the capability to win high scoring shootouts and the determination needed to muster through tight matches. With the league championship filling the minds of all bowlers, the Crew must retain focused on taking each week game by game, and shot by shot. This third rendition of the team is firing on all cylinders; will there be enough fuel for them to finish the race in first? The race continues...

Sweeping Brewty

The Brew Crew continues with what appears to be a special season. For the 4th week in a row, the Brew Crew takes all 7 points (28-0 for the month) leaving their opponent with a very clean floor. For the past month, nothing but perfection was exhibited against both low and high handicapped teams tightening their grip on the number 1 seed in the league and standing Andy Rathje tall at 120-62. It’s hard to believe that the Brew Crew were 92-62 just one month ago. That being said, anything can happen between now and the remaining four weeks before the playoffs begin. Though, after the past month, the formula for success has never been as clear as it is now.

Week 27 Recap:

It was made quite clear to the Brew Crew when week 27 started that they were going to have their hands full bowling against a team with a large handicap. It is never easy beginning each game down 130 pins. The demand to perform was high and team anchor Paul Lauricella is no stranger to this dangerous zone.

Just like the past month, Andy Rathje started out with a barrage of strikes. However, it was Paul Lauricella that realized that this week was different. With the exception of two missed 10 pins, Paul was able to recalibrated his positioning and put on a Beethoven type performance. Paul played the lane the way Beethoven conducted his symphony. He articulated to immense proportions as his bowling ball journeyed through perfect coordinates where the optimal blend of surface oil gave him the ideal entry angle into the pocket. Paul's shots connected with the pins the same way the world’s largest wrecking ball would destroy a small wooden mailbox.

At the end of the night, Paul would finish with a 722 series. Paul’s performances lifted the pressure of the opposing team’s handicap of his teammate’s shoulders and paved the way for the other bowlers to follow his lead. When asked about his performance, the minimalist side of Paul had nothing more to say than, “Solid.”.

It is this reserved attitude found on the Brew Crew, with the exception of stomping Tony, which has been the underlying factor in the Brew Crew’s success. Bowler Jeff Doruff has been working hard to improve his mental game, especially when things don’t go as desired. This has been paying unforeseen dividends as not only improved his overall performance on the lanes, but also changed the dynamics of the Brew Crew’s chemistry by spreading like the Swine flu did several months ago.

Week 28 Preview:

This Thursday, The number 1 ranked Brew Crew will bowl against the defending league champions number 10 ranked E.K.&A. As it is still clear in the minds of each Brew Crew bowler of what happened in the finals last year (loosing game two by 1 pin), there are no excuses why they should not be fired up for this week. “This week needs to smell the same as the last four.” said Brew Crew bowler Jeff Doruff. “We need to go out there and take care of the little things, nothing more.”

The Brew Crew will be on lanes 17 and 18, toward the more difficult side of the house this week and each bowler knows. Though for Jeff Doruff, he thinks it doesn’t make a difference. “Wood Dale Bowl put up a 300 against us on 21 and 22 and we still took all 7 that week.” said Jeff. “They are more difficult, but in the end, it doesn’t matter what side of the house we’re put on as long as we take care of our own business.”

We were fortunate to have Brew Crew anchor Paul Lauricella perform a deeper analysis regarding the left side of the house with the following statement:

“Many features distinguish Wood Dale Bowl from other local bowling centers, truly making it a unique and special place to experience the game of bowling. Those that frequent the center experience a form of purity of true bowling sport that cannot be found in bowling centers that have since become part of a franchise chain. Franchised centers typically are outfitted with new plastic/synthetic bowling lanes throughout the entirety of the center when a renovation takes place, thereby creating a consistent ball reaction from lane to lane. Though Wood Dale Bowl has plastic/synthetic lanes, this is not the case. The subsequent addition of lanes 17-24 provided bowlers a new set of challenges. Bowlers on these lanes experience “dead zones” and “friction points” not found on the lower numbered lanes. Also contributing to these challenges is the higher roof height over the lanes. This gives the perception that the lanes are longer than they truly are, inexplicably giving the perception of a weaker impact on the pins from the bowling ball. These phenomena contribute to the scoring pace on lanes 17-24 being consistently lower than those from lanes 1-16.”

This is indeed a big week for the Brew Crew. If they continue to abide by the same formula they have used over the past month, this week should not be any different. There are only 28 more points to obtain before the playoffs begin. That does not give a lot of the other teams a whole lot of room for error.

"Spring"-ing to the 4th Quarter

As it is finally March, tonight is the first series of the 4th quarter. If the Brew Crew bowled like they did over the past two weeks, they will extend their winning streak to 9 games (21-0 in the points column). After finishing in the top three in the 3rd quarter, and finishing first in the 2nd quarter, the Crew find themselves in a very comfortable position. However, the season is not over and they still need to perform no less than their expectations.

What can we expect for tonight?

After a solid helping of humble pie on Sunday, Jeff Doruff, Andy Rathje, and Paul Lauricella should feel at home when they return to Wood Dale Bowl tonight. There are no excuses why they shouldn't bowl well tonight after this past weekend. The lane conditions they faced on Sunday were nothing short of vexatious. Andy Rathje couldn't have been any more honest about it after saying "I want to go home." following the completion of his third game of the tournament. Every lane they bowled on was different, every game was another slap in the face, and every open frame was the door hitting in the ass on their way out.

Andy feeling homesick

The positive thing was that all three prevailed and learned a thing or two that day. With this experience, Andy Rathje will get his wish to go home, to Wood Dale Bowl.

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!!!