by Randy Ooney
My Nickel’s Worth by Randy Ooney
Spring Madness
While we all have our interest heightened by the March Madness basketball tournaments, the bowling world carries their tourney fever for the entire Spring. Our national USBC tournament is well underway this year in Las Vegas, and the Minnesota State USBC, as well as the local associations in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and outstate metro areas all do a great job in hosting tournaments for players of all caliber. A few bowling centers continue their tournament traditions also, the most established being the Kegle at Granite Bowl in St. Cloud, and the Garden Center tournament in Alexandria. The ABT lends a hand in offering tournament competition to bowlers of varied skills, but for those who prefer scratch competition, there are few organizations better than our own CBA and MSC.
The Central Bowlers Alliance was organized in 1971 by John Dorek. As it gained popularity, and some of those early CBA’ers became long of tooth, John went on to establish the Midwest Senior Classic for players over 50 years of age. Tom Corbett and Don Thies now hold the reins of the CBA and MSC respectively. Despite the age difference, bowling talent reigns in both of these organizations. In fact, in recent years, Clark Poelzer, Ron Lindner, and Tom Korth, all regulars at the MSC, have also won CBA titles. The camaraderie is always there, but topics of conversation may vary among members.
A CBAer may talk about the Phish concert in Hampton, VA, while an MSCer asks if the fish are biting on Gray’s Bay.
A CBA bowler may worry about a flying elbow under pressure, while the MSC guy wonders why the Velcro seems stronger on his blood pressure cuff, than the stuff on the thing he wraps around his elbow when he bowls.
The CBA bowler may want to change his form to try to improve, while the MSC bowler wonders if his doctor will change his dose of Metformin.
Breakfast on tournament day: CBA - Eggs, pancakes, orange juice, and a double order of bacon. MSC - Bowl of Shredded Wheat, half cup of 1% milk, and coffee.
CBA guy - working hard to coordinate the knee bend and slide so the ball and foot reach the foul line at the same time.
MSC guy - extremely happy that the left knee still bends.
CBA bowler - Hopes his hair stays in place for the entire tournament in case the cute waitress decides to flirt.
MSC bowler - The ones with hair don’t care. The ones without hair don’t care. And both groups hope the CBA guy isn’t flirting with their granddaughter.
But as CBA veterans graduate to the senior classic, let me be one to say “Welcome to the Ben-Gay circuit.” Bowl well and you’ll bring home the bacon. But you better stop eating it.
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