BOWLING By Bob Smith

Pursuit Of Perfection

It’s been some time since we offered news about local sanctioned league bowlers who have achieved the ultimate game, rolling 12 strikes for a 300 score – so here’s a compendium of recent perfectos by area keglers:

Robert Maguire (Coram Country Lanes)

Ken Hagland (Coram Country Lanes)

Michael Cantante (AMF Babylon Lanes)

Ian Lang (AMF East Meadow Lanes)

Brendan Oakley (AMF East Meadow Lanes)

Pat Ryan (South Levittown Lanes)

Tim Smith (East Islip Lanes)

Jerry Gross (AMF Babylon Lanes)

Adam Swenson (South Levittown Lanes)

Bobby Annan (East Islip Lanes)

William Tyson Jr. (Maple Lanes, RVC)

If you would like your bowing achievements featured in our column, it’s easy – write to us at gtmag@optonline.net and let us know. Share your great games with the world!

Wesley Is A Winner

The LIGBT’s sixth Sport Shot Series event on February 26 at Herrill Lanes in New Hyde Park saw Wesley Grant of Uniondale win the $1,000 top prize by defeating second place finisher James Marinelli of South Hempstead, 286-248. Marinelli earned $650 for his runner-up position. The event marked Grant’s second title since becoming a Long Island Generations Bowling Tour member 10 years ago. Finishing in third place was Carolyn Willis of Bethpage,with a 226 worth $500. Rounding out the top four was Devon Johnson of Brooklyn, with a 198 worth $400.

While scoring was low in both qualifying squads, the shootout began with three of the four bowlers rolling doubles. Grant started with a double, stayed clean through the middle of the game, and finished with six consecutive strikes to secure the victory. Marinelli bowled well and had a pair of doubles, but the game competitor couldn’t keep pace with Grant’s strong finish. Willis started out with a triple, but four consecutive open frames thwarted her title chances.

The LIGBT two-squad sport shot tournament drew 128 entries, paid out $6,610 in prize money, and saw 33 bowlers go to the cashing window. The side action awarded additional funks, bringing the total event payout to $12,435. Scores to cash on the 43-foot “Dead Man’s Curve” pattern were 654 at noon, and 683 at 2 pm. The wildcard winner, which is the highest six-game series by a non-finalist, was Eddie Eng with a 1,365. High series of the tournament was shot by Devon Johnson, with an 845 in the 2 pm squad. The winners of the Storm ball raffles were Kristen Henry of West Islip and Peter Parenti of Bayville.

The LIGBT’s tournament schedule continues on; for complete information, log on to ligbtour.com, or call (702) 530-0708.

BOWLING & COMEDY

Comedy Night: A Fundraiser for the Bowlers To Veterans Link (BVL), will be Saturday, March 11 at 8 pm at Coram Country Lanes; for info and reservations, call (631) 732-2022. Comedians Alex Bradley, Rob White, Caroline Fung, Russ Silberman, Donny Roy, Justin McDonald, Vixen, and Brian Paul will perform in this fundraiser for one of bowling’s most revered charity organizations. Reservations are recommended as space for this special event is limited; admission is $30.

until 2024. Rather than send Greg Olsen down to call lesser games, FOX Sports executives would be wise to let Brady get his feet wet calling them. Another possibility would be having a three-man booth of Burkhardt, Olsen, and Brady.

FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks added another sports icon to his roster of ex-athlete broadcasters. Derek Jeter will be joining his buddy, Alex Rodriguez, on FOX’s MLB studio baseball shows. Jeter was cautious dealing with the media as a player, but he showed he wasn’t afraid to have an opinion, or even laugh at himself, with last summer’s ESPN documentary miniseries, “The Captain.”

The Roku Network smartly put its toes in the sports waters by running “The Rich Eisen Show” during Super Bowl week.

Beloved Mets icon Ron Swoboda was called on to pinch-hit for Brandon Nimmo at the 2023 Thurman

Munson Awards Dinner. I was chatting with Swoboda before the event about his 1965 rookie season. “Do you know I am now 78, which is four years older than my manager Casey Stengel was at the time?” Swoboda, who is in great shape, looks at least 20 years younger than his chronological age. Stengel always looked 20 years older than his.

Also attending the Munson Awards Dinner was former Mets pitcher, and newly-named Long Island Ducks pitching coach, Nelson Figueroa, who will now be part of manager Wally Backman’s staff. “I don’t know which will go first, my lungs or my liver!” Figueroa cracked talking about the hard-charging Backman.

This annual event, named after the late Yankees captain, has raised nearly $20 million for AHRC, a nonprofit whose mission is to help those with cognitive disabilities.

Cognitive disabilities are a major plot point of the new Woody Harrelson movie, “Champions.”

By Lloyd Carroll

Harrelson plays Marcus Maracovich, a high-strung assistant coach for the fictional minor league pro basketball team, the Iowa Stallions. Maracovich loses his job after punching the head coach of the team for not using the play he drew up to win the game. Even worse, he gets arrested on a DUI charge after hitting a stationary police cruiser.

He is sentenced to community service where he has to coach a team whose players all have some degree of intellectual impairments. “Champions” borrows liberally from the underrated 2006 Johnny Knoxville film, “The Ringer.” The plot where a selfish ne’er-do-well gains redemption by helping those less fortunate is as old as the hills. Nevertheless, “Champions” succeeds because of a winning cast led by Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson, Cheech Marin, and Ernie Hudson. The movie rightly conveys the message that those with cognitive issues can lead full, and surprisingly, enriched lives.

Don’t miss the two-part Netflix documentary, “Bill Russell Legend.” The executive producer of “Bill Russell Legend” is former HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg. All of the production values from his Emmy Award-winning HBO documentaries are here such as rarely seen NBA footage; commentary by teammates and opponents; and the real world events happening during Russell’s career.

Former Knicks great Amar’e Stoudemire started a winery in Israel six years ago. His Stoudemire Wines were in high demand at the recent Kosher Food & Wine Expo at Chelsea Piers last month.