Bassetti: Rolling in the new year

It was New Year’s Eve and I thought 2012 would end quietly and peacefully.

But then the battle started: my wife wanted to go bowling, but I didn’t.

What a way to start off the new year, I thought — not so much the fighting, but the bowling.

Yuck!

Realizing that our 40th anniversary was six short months ago, I came to my senses and man-caved in.

But the arguing wasn’t over. I wanted one alley and she wanted another. We finally arrived at a gentlemen’s agreement and went to Bell-Wick Bowl in Hubbard, where Kandy Budd’s smiling face behind the control desk greeted us.

After paying for shoe rental for sizes 12 and 9, it was off to lane 25. The remote area could have been assigned to spare me embarrassment, since I’m not a very good bowler; or it could have been to give us some privacy and time to reflect during the closing hours of 2012: the looming fiscal cliff or, worse yet, gutter balls.

From the rack, I grabbed a 16-pound black ball with the name “Kenny” etched into it and my wife found a loud-colored ball that she replaced soon after dropping it at the foul line on her first throw because it was too heavy.

Automatic scoring is OK, but it diminishes one’s ability to think and do simple math problems and to learn a unique system.

So, after an opening game of 150, I pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down some of the figures to keep my score-keeping skills sharp.

Let’s see: 79 in the sixth, then a spare in the seventh and nine-count in the eighth adds up to 19 more for 98 in the seventh. A spare to close the eighth followed by a strike in the ninth is 20 more to bring the total to 118 in the eighth. Three straight strikes makes 30 more for 148 in the ninth. I finished off with a nine-count to tack on 29 for a 177.

Tired by the third game, I slipped to 114 to tie with my wife. I walked away with a sore thumb, a pulled muscle in my neck and a lighter wallet.

But it was a diversion that helped usher in the new year.

Back home at a neighbor’s house playing cards, I had severe camps in my right hamstring and nearly fell to the floor. I recovered enough to crawl to the TV at midnight. As I watched the ball drop at Times Square, I was reminded of the after-effects of “Kenny’s” 16-pound ball.

“Kenny,” whoever you are, happy New Year.

HUBBARD OPEN

The PBA Central Region Hubbard Open presented by the Trumbull County Tourism Bureau returns to Bell-Wick on March 15-17.

Jim Bryant and proprietor Francis Zitnik are co-hosts for the tournament, which was held at Bell-Wick the previous two years.

Bryant said he spoke with 2011 champion/2012 runner-up Ryan Ciminelli, who expressed his desire to return. Bryant is confident that defending champion Rhino Page will be back to defend his title.

ON THE BALL

In an informal contest to determine the first area league to submit results for 2013, the winner was West Side Gals, which bowled at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 2. Gals secretary Betty Mirich was on the ball.

The scores were certified by an ad hoc Board of Bowlers.

KING OF BOWLING

News out of Seattle last week, reported that former pro tennis player Billie Jean King is branching out to bowling.

King is the celebrity owner of the New York City WTT KingPins, joining Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul and former NFL stars Jerome Bettis and Terrell Owens as celebrity owners in the Professional Bowlers Association’s inaugural PBA League.

King is the first female owner in the PBA League, which begins play this month. The World TeamTennis co-founder will field a team that includes PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber, 13-time tour winner Tommy Jones and Scott Norton, who recently won the PBA Chameleon Championship in Las Vegas.

The eight-team league will make its debut Jan. 19 at Detroit’s Thunderbowl Lanes. ESPN will televise five weeks of league competition beginning Jan. 27 and broadcast the Elias Cup finals on April 7.

John Bassetti is a Vindicator sports writer. Write him at bassetti@vindy.com.