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ARCHIVES - 2021
Nov. 18 Nov. 11 Nov. 4-SW Oct. 28 Oct. 21 Oct. 14 Oct. 7-SW Sept. 30 Sept. 23 Sept. 16 Sept. 9 - No pub Sept. 2-SW Aug. 5-SW July 1-SW June 3-SW May 27 May 20 May 13 May 6-SW Apr. 29 Apr. 22 Apr. 15 Apr. 8 Apr. 1-SW Mar. 25 Mar. 18 Mar. 11 - No pub Mar. 4-SW Feb. 25 Feb. 18 - No pub Feb. 11 Feb. 4-SW Jan. 28 Jan. 21 Jan. 14 Jan. 7-SW 2020 Dec. 17 - Holiday Dec. 10 Dec. 3-SW Nov. 19 Nov. 12 Nov. 5-SW Oct. 29 Oct. 22 Oct. 15 Oct. 8 Oct. 1-SW Sept. 3-SW Aug. 6-SW July 2-SW Mar. 19 Mar. 12 Mar. 5-SW Feb. 27 Feb. 20 Feb. 13 Feb. 6-SW Jan. 30 Jan. 23 Jan. 16 Jan. 9-SW 2019 Dec. 19 Dec. 12 Dec. 5-SW |
Random Thoughts by Tony Franklin
October 7, 2021 I’ve finally met up with a crazy milestone…50 years old. I’m happy this day has come, I’m a little sad that this is most definitely the last few frames of my life, but I’m very excited for all of the fun I will be having on and off the lanes for the next few years. I will start the bowling portion of my 50’s this weekend, participating in my first SASBA as a member at Red Bird Lanes. That is followed by more Senior bowling fun the next two weeks, and then in Las Vegas in November for the Ron Mohr Senior Shootout. I’m still amazed at how much good action there is for the “senior circuit.” We are lucky to live in this area with so much to bowl in, I know I say it a lot, but it’s the truth. x-x-x-x-x-x Make sure to read the article by Dave Williams in the paper this week. Really interesting stuff on Bowlero and their addition as a publicly traded company on the NYSE, under the symbol – BOWL. He also takes us in the time machine back to 1987 and Black Monday. x-x-x-x-x-x Fall Leagues are back in full swing again…woohoo. This fall I am bowling at AMF Lewisville with Terry Taylor, Paul Henderson, Stoney Burke, and Frisco Doug Rice. We are bowling the Monday Nite Mens league which is a five-person, men’s only league. I can’t even begin to tell you the last time I bowled in a five-person league, much-less a MENS ONLY league. Sometime in the 90’s I would guess, but maybe never. I can’t really recall a time when I didn’t bowl with Genie, or Debbye Berry, or Tina Taylor on my team. Its weird, not a bad weird, just weird. Even though we don’t have Tina on the team this year, she does show up to have fun with us each week, which was the requirement going on. She is being the perfect “teammate” as I would expect. The best part is that we actually have several side bets in this league. Long gone are the days of gambling with everyone in the league and having sheets full of 5/10 bets, but in this case, it feels very good to relive that portion of league bowling. Especially with 5-person teams. x-x-x-x-x-x The North Central Texas USBC will be hosting their annual Hall of Fame Banquet at the Texas Star Golf Course on October 15th at 7pm. A truly great event that has grown every year. This years’ class of inductees is a stellar one as usual with, Sherry Houghton, Mike McHugh, Toney Nelson and Pat Currie being inducted. We will also be celebrating our Youth Bowlers of the Year, Alyssa Ballard and Matthew Reed, along with other yearly award winners. Franklin/Franklin Win OKC Auto Works Mixed Doubles at Holiday Lanes March 27, 2021 Genie and I had an exciting Saturday. Started off with a flat tire at 8am on our way to OKC to bowl the OKC Auto Works Mixed Doubles tournament at Holiday Lanes. The bowling got off to a rocky start as well, but was salvaged by some late heroics by G with a 256 the last game, as we snuck into the top 12 bracket by four pins. You know how it goes when you have some really bad luck (flat tire at 8:00am that morning) and you wonder if it will continue or will the rest of the day go in your favor…that’s what was going through our minds. We got to the bowl 10 minutes before practice starts and I start the first game with a pocket 7-10 and then a pocket 4-9 my first two frames. In my head, I have pretty much already answered my question from last paragraph. But we grinded through, gave ourselves a chance, and Genie saved the day. Once we made the bracket finals anything can happen, and oh my, did it. We got EVERY single possible break in our favor for the next four games. If we needed help from the other team, we got it. If we needed a key strike, we got it. It’s so crazy how things work out like that sometimes. The funny thing was that we both knew what was happening, but didn’t say it out loud because we didn’t want to jinx it and upset the bowling karma that had clearly selected us as destiny’s team on Saturday. For me, the best part is just getting to compete with Genie every once in a while. Bowling with her truly is my favorite thing in the world and we generally have good success when we team up. I told her when we got done that it’s really easy to bowl with her because she doesn’t say much, I don’t say much, but we both have complete confidence that at some point, something good is going to happen, and in this case it did…it took a few hours…but it happened. And let me say this, when you win something with the person you love most in the world, it makes it feel about a hundred times sweeter than it normally would. If nothing else, it sure did make for a good story and a lot of laughs on the way home! 2020 is Finally Over! December 17, 2020 It is finally here...the end of 2020. It feels like the general public is just waiting for the clock to turn, and then everything will return to whatever normal we had before. I wish it were that simple, but it is not. We have lots of challenges in front of us and I don’t know that we will ever see the world as it looked in 2019, whether that is good or bad, I really don’t know. From our vantage point, I am happy that people are able to get out and bowl and for the most part live their lives. Keeping the businesses open is of utmost importance to the livelihood of every single one of us. For that I am truly grateful, and thankful to all of those that support The Bowling News, so that The Bowling News can support the businesses, bowling centers and great bowlers out there enjoying the game that has been a lifelong passion. From all of us at The Bowling News we want to THANK YOU for tuning in as we complete our 64th year of this publication. I wonder how proud, Founder Joe Gennaro would be to see his legacy still going strong all of these years. An amazing feat in this day and age…Thank you all, and we will see you in 2021. Tony & Genie Franklin The Bowling News is in Full Force October 19, 2020 Hey Everyone, The Fall leagues are rolling again and there are plenty of adult and youth tournaments to bowl. So, with that being said, there have been numerous requests for The Bowling News to come back for it's weekly publication. We are happy to oblige and I look forward to seeing everyone while I'm out delivering papers each week. Thank you for your support to keep The Bowling News going and most importantly, support your local bowling centers, they need it the most right now. - Genie The Bowling News is "Back" July 1, 2020 Hello Everyone, I hope you all are safe and healthy and kept busy during this crazy time. The bowling centers are open and league bowlers are back, so The Bowling News is back in business as well. We are limiting our publication through the summer months and will be back in the full swing of things when the fall leagues return in September. So, enjoy the next few Southwest Editions and enjoy the rest of your summer. - Genie The Bowling News Goes on "Vacation" March 23, 2020 Due to the Coronavirus, The Bowling News will not be publishing for the next few weeks. Our publication depends on league bowlers and the bowling centers. The health of our bowling community is our first priority, so please wash your hands and do your part to bowl this virus over! We will see you on the lanes in a few weeks! - Genie 2019 is quickly coming to a close and a new decade is upon us… December 14, 2019 It was certainly a fun year for this bowling couple. Genie and I were inducted into the Texas State USBC Hall of Fame in May. What an amazing evening that was. Our family and friends were there to help us celebrate and watching Genie give her speech was something I will forever cherish. I started a new endeavor this year with my Out of Range Podcast on BowlTV. I’ve really enjoyed that as its something that lets me express myself in a whole new way, and on top of that, I’ve been able to interview and interact with bowlers I never would have before. With this edition, The Bowling News completes 63 years in print…63 years. I wonder what Joe Genarro had planned for this little endeavor when he started the publication in 1956. All I can say is that Genie and I are both extremely proud to be able to continue the publication and celebrate the accomplishments of bowlers all over the southwest. All of us are lucky that Joe saw a need and found a way to fulfill it. I still love looking back at past issues and seeing the names of great bowlers from the past and what will become of our youth bowlers. That is what The Bowling News was built on and will always be about. God bless you, Joe Gennaro. We would like to thank Mark London, our lead columnist, for providing amazing content each and every week. He is a true bowling historian and I can’t wait to watch the “lost bowling videos” he is able to find, it’s my favorite thing! As always, a BIG THANK YOU to G-MA, Genie’s mom, for typing up all of the scores every week, we couldn’t do it without you, nor would we want to. Steve McBride has stepped in and become a life-saver in delivering the papers to the centers each and every week. This is no small task I can assure, it’s a full-day job in travelling all over the metroplex. Thank you so much, Steve! To the bowling centers that support the paper, we can’t thank you enough for your constant belief in the paper and what it provides to the bowlers. The SW area is so lucky to have great proprietors that step up to give something to the bowlers that no other area has. Thanks, thanks, thanks! On a personal level, I would like to thank Genie Franklin for being the driving force behind keeping the paper going for the past 10 years. Yes, we have owned The Bowling News for 10 years now…wow I can’t believe it’s been that long. She does it all and produces the finest bowling publication this country has ever seen, and I am so very proud of the job she does. She’s the very best !!! So, that will put a bow on 2019. As always, we will be taking off for the next two weeks, but will be back the second week of January. See you in 2020 friends, Tony & Genie Franklin |