BSB Listing To Port After Mitchell Broadside
Standings Tighten Considerably With Five Weeks Left

"Here, Patrick... here, Tracy..."

South Glens Falls - A perfect storm of circumstances led to the sinking of the Boston Strong Balls express on Thursday afternoon as the Forever Young league wrapped up its tenth week of play at Kingpin's Alley. The river dredgers looked to have an easy time, facing a C + P duo that was absent - but, young area superstar Cameron Mitchell appeared to take over for Cathy Pribis and at least, make the match competitive.

Lo and behold, BSB was missing a key piece, as well. Anchor Tracy Clemmons was AWOL, placing extreme pressure on Patrick Scanlan to duel with Mitchell one-on-one. Cameron reeled off games of 219, 240 and 214 for a league-best 673 while Scanlan foundered with three games under his average - the result was a C + P sweep of the circuit leaders, dropping them to 28-12 and cutting their standings margin to a mere 1½ points.

Now resting tantalizingly close to the top spot is The Last Two. Mac Brill and Richard Minor took care of business in a big way, beating the no-show Lady Slippers 4-0 after a brush with disaster in the opener. Brill put 202 in the middle of his 490 set.

Third-place Leftover rode anchor Ray Davignon's 181-203-215 (599) and Chuck Winney's 204-540 to an important 3-1 victory over the defending champion Yanks. Mark Basso flew solo to a consistent 183-179-175 (537) for the losers.

The ever-dangerous Tomahawks swept The Singers behind Don Williams' 193-227-225 (645) and Roy Brady's 245-609. The Toms pulled within 5½ of the lead with the win. The winners received unexpected support from opponent Barb Trottier's grandchildren Taylor, Paige, Jordan and Maddie who formed a cheering section for Roy and Don.

The BC's (Bob George and Chuck Boykin) dropped the first game versus the BYE team, then roared back for a 3-1 triumph. The pair shot a session-best 454 (521 with handicap) in Game 2 and finished strong with 399 (466) in the finale. Bob tallied 606 on his 196-239-171 effort and Chuck went 215-228 after a poor opener for 589.

Floyd Butler rolled a steady 552 on games of 185, 180 and 187 to no avail as the Sir Bills beat Fire And Ice 3-1. Anchor Phil Hack continued his improvement for Last Dance, going 62 pins over average in their 4-0 shutout of the Gutter Dusters. Roger Nelligan registered 192-470 in the Marauders' 3-1 waltz over the absent Head Pins.

Williams raised his average a pin to 204, while Brady stayed at 201.

Next week: Boston Strong Balls vs. Leftover, The Last Two vs. BC's provide the juice as the league heads down the home stretch.

BSB Keep Rollin' Down The River; The Last Two Creep Closer
Mitchell Sparkles With 612; Williams Saves Tommies' Season

South Glens Falls - Scoring was certainly at a premium Thursday afternoon as the Forever Young league keglers fought for respectability. The circuit had the honor of being the first organization to compete under the facility's new ownership. The closing on the property now known as Kingpin's Alley occurred during play. Congratulations to the new owners, Alison and Doug "Bossman" Bohannon.

Cameron Mitchell subbed for the absent Bill Pike and teamed with Bill Eddy to hold back the Head Pins 3-1. Cameron had the lone 600 series of the day, a 612 on games of 216, 184 and 212. Eddy contributed 512 to the victory.

Chuck Boykin and Ray Davignon each stroked 578 in match splits. Chuck went 188-182-208 in BC's draw with the Lady Slippers and Ray shot 192-210-176 in Leftover's 2-2 result versus C+P. Richard Minor flew solo for The Last Two, whitewashing the BYE team 4-0 with 577 on games of 199, 176 and 202.

Don Williams (202-206-570) was placed in a familiar position in the second and third games for the Tomahawks after they were soundly thrashed in the opener against Last Dance. The middle game saw the veteran Tommie anchor needing a tenth-frame double and a good count to pull out a win, which he accomplished to win by four pins. Then in the finale, the task required all three tenth-frame strikes to eke out a one-pin victory. Williams ended the day with a five-bagger to seal that deal. The 2-2 split kept hope alive for the Toms. Partner Roy Brady had a pair of efforts in the 190s for 556.

Joe Sycuro and teammate Barb Trottier each broke the 500 barrier - Joe with 168-195-186 for 549 and Barb had 509 after finishing strong with 192 and 178 games. The Singers shut out the Gutter Dusters 4-0.

Mark Basso scrapped his way to 211-521, but a critical tenth-frame miss of a 10-pin cost the Yanks a point. Anchor Tracy Clemmons converted a solid 9-pin in the last frame to pull out a 2-2 tie for league-leading Boston Strong Balls

Six weeks remain on the FY schedule. Boston Strong Balls (28-8) are 5½ up on The Last Two and seven ahead of the Lady Slippers. Leftover is another half-point back, then a half-dozen teams are within a single point of each other.

Williams and Brady each lost a couple pins in average to sit at 203 and 201, respectively.

Next week's big showdowns feature The Last Two vs. the Lady Slippers, followed in importance by The Singers vs. the Tomahawks.

Burdick's 697 Pushes Lady Slippers Into Second
BSB Gains More Separation With Win Over Tommies

"One of these days, Alice..."

South Glens Falls - Three 600 sets and two near-misses provided the individual highlights as the Forever Young league returned from its July 4th hiatus and whizzed past the halfway mark Thursday afternoon at Pine Lanes.

The legendary Harry Burdick rolled an impressive 697 on games of 226, 223 and 248 as he capably filled in for anchor Cathy Tracy - pacing the Lady Slippers to a 4-0 whitewash of the Sir Bills. It was Harry's first go-round in the FY league.

The legendary (in his own mind) Don Williams managed a weird 641 set on games of 197, 211 and 233 that included a stretch of 14 strikes over 15 frames. Ray Davignon produced the other gem, a 603 (191-219-193). Chuck Boykin continued his emergence from a recent slump with 204-183-208 for 595 and late-bloomer Roger Nelligan pounded 188-209-196 for 593.

The marquee matchup of the session left everyone dissatisfied, except Patrick Scanlan and Tracy Clemmons. Boston Strong Balls dominated the Tomahawks over the first two games, winning by 59 and 18 to build up enough cushion to get that third total-pins point after a Tommie 6-pin squeaker in the finale. Clemmons led the winners with a consistent 184-172-171 for 527.

The win pushed BSB's record to a gaudy 26-6, a full 7 clear of the Lady Slippers and 7½ in front of The Last Two and Leftover. Seven weeks of competition remain in the season (28 available points), so today's victory looms large for those pesky river dredgers. Eleven teams are within five points of each other - from the 19-13 Lady Slippers to the 14-18 Yanks and Gutter Dusters. A lot of kegling remains.

Next week, the league leaders square off against the defending champ Yanks in mid-house (lanes 13&14). The dynamic duo of Ingrid and son Mark Basso served notice that the race ain't quite over yet, with Ingrid blasting 202-490 and Mark 227-189-557 in a 3-1 win against Fire And Ice. Floyd Butler started like gangbusters with 243, but fell to end with 553.

Rookie (80 years young) Phil Hack endured the absence of teammate Virginia Muller and, using a freshly-drilled sphere from the "Bossman", flashed a well-above-average 375 to give the juice to a 4-0 Last Dance triumph against the BYE team. Next week, Mr. Hack and Ms. Muller get the beloved Tomahawks.

Chuck Winney paired with Davignon, contributing 202-187-547 in Leftover's 3-1 decision versus the Head Pins.

Williams jumped past Roy Brady (203) into the average lead with 205. Davignon moved up to 196, while Floyd sits at 189, Boykin 187 and Bob George 180. Mr. Basso is knocking on that door with 179.