Shadow… you have every right to be ****ed off because you were and Dre were, statistically, better than Marc. I’d still take Marc. Not because I like to “choke on his cum” but because sectionals is a very very difficult division this year and Marc has the potential (dangerous word) as a bench player to come off the bench and be a fixture in the lineup. You were the better bowler this year. So was Dre. Taking Marc is a COACHING DECISION that came off as very disrespectful to you and Dre because the two of you weren’t sat down and told the thought process behind the decision.
Secondly, don’t go off on Marc. Marc said from the beginning that he had a bad year and he would have completely understood if he weren’t taken. Would he have caused a scene? Of course… it’s Marc for christsake…
The bottom line is that in a tournament this big and with stats this close, decisions need to be made AND EXPLAINED at the top.
Randy’s our friend and we all know he was dragged into this thing kicking and screaming… he has a lot on his plate. We had a coach: Mike Halwe. And if you want to get into the 2001-2002 team, the former LU bowlers that you idiolize had their mommies get their coach fired. Got news for ya: We were a team in terms of PRACTICING and STRUCTURE and we had the potential to have a very good program for a very long time under Mike. We had practice from 3-5 on MWF. If you didn’t show up, you called Mike and told him why. There were 5 guys (your smart, you can figure them out) who took pride in the fact that were better than the rest of the team.. they liked that supremecy and they showed that ON AND OFF the lanes. That was the problem. TEAM?? Ha! We aren’t a TEAM now because of the little dedication that our program shows from top to bottom, minus a few bowlers. We weren’t a team then because the “leaders” could’ve given a flying ---- about how the rest of the team bowled and thought so highly of themselves that the coach (a dedicated and damned smart one) was only dragging them down. I had no problem with them one-on-one, never did (except for that f*cker Ed)… but those are my thoughts if you want what really happened in the year you (and I emphasize this) weren’t even here.
So Shadow… you can rant as long as you want and you have every right to br angry. But gain a little more awareness for the situation and don’t be so quick to blame the “cliq”.
And, in conclusion, I don’t care about anything I just talked about. I’m just the mole.
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"Changing bowling balls is like peeing your pants in the cold. The warm feeling you have at first will eventually be overcome with an even chillier stink."
Shadow, interesting verbage. But how do you really feel?
I understand what you're saying. The only point I would add is that I was part of that process to. I had the final say. It would be unfair to only blame them and not me. I know you had a better year and you feel like its all for nothing. However, they (and I) felt the only thing that matters is putting out the best team. They felt Marc was better suited for the team. Sorry.
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"It's not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us."
maybe your little novel above furthers the reasons why you arent going?
just the fact that you said "have fun finishing 7th" is uncalled for. yeah youre ****ed that you didnt make the team, but youre the only person in 3 years i've seen put up this much a fuss about it. But im sorry Shadow, we will qualify at St Clair, and I hope you will lose sleep over it. Pulling against your own team is stupid and will not better your chances of you making any important team here. If you hate it so much here why dont your transfer?
Another situation was at Cincinatti when you were against the A Team winning! Everyone knew about it. Youre not a team player Shadow, you only want things that will benefit yourself. And Shadow, Box is no longer here, so stop blaming him for your own problems.
Grow up
-- Edited by F0RUM JESuS at 15:40, 2005-02-25
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"You know what you can't outsource, Fareed? You can't outsource balls. America is the world leader in balls." --Stephen Colbert
Shadow you definately have a reason to be upset and I understand that. Cause if that was me I would have been just as mad/upset that you are. But if your stats were mine I would have been going, due to the fact that my attitude toward the team doesnt suck. I have never wished another bowler to do bad on my own team. And I have heard you myself and from other people telling me that you wished bad upon people. For example in St.Louis at Match Games when I bowled with the A team and bowled like ****, I know that you were bad mouthing me. Remember you bowled with the B team and a lot of my friends that bowl were on the B team bowling with you and heard it. And suprise suprise they told me. Did I care no I could give a ****. You want to know why shadow? Because I dont have enough time or energy to care that Scott Lavy is talking **** about me, it would be a waste of energy. But you want to know what the other funny thing is I can ****ing gurantee you that if you had a better attitude they would have taken you. Yeah Marc has a few loose screws and he will get mad for a minute and then calm down. I mean **** the guy gets mad at me all the time just ask him he will tell you. And to be honest I can see why they took Marc because at his best and at your best I would take Marc too. Shadow I dont hate you I am just telling you the truth. I hope that you learn something from this and read into it as a post that is trying to help you. Just an opinion
Bus is right......the attitude has a lot to do with it. I wasn't happy about not going to Indy but I kept it in because I figured there was probably a good reason behind it. Then instead of hoping the teams would fall flat on ther face, I took the high road and hoped they would do well. Whether anyone wants to believe it or not....there is almost always a legitimate reason behind choices that are made. Even in the rare case there isn't....why get upset about it? It's pointless. All a person does when they get upset about something like that is make a complete ass of themselves.
As far as stats go, I won't say whether the stats have been miscalculated. I don't know one way or the other. I refuse to make any potential allegations that they have been. As far as the stats go all I am going to say is this.....you can not base everything on stats. Statistics do not measure heart or how much of a team player someone is. Statistics will not tell you how solid a bowler is. Going through some statistics one by one.......
Strike percentage......this can be very misleading because if someone gets a lot of breaks and carries a lot their number will be higher than someone who is just missing perfect shots and leaving 10 pins or 9's or (my personal favorite) the 8 pin......grrrr Does that mean the person molesting the pocket and getting raped is a worse bowler than the one hitting light and scattering pins all over leaving 3 or 4 pins on the deck? Not at all.
Spare percentage.....same scenario as above.....the second bowler is probably going to have a much higher spare percentage than the first bowler because most likely his/her spares are much easier to convert than the first bowler. Plus the second bowler will have more opportunities to spare than the first. If you make 10 single pin spares out of 11 your percentage is 90.9.....the first bowler is possibly going to leave buckets or double-wood and those are a little tougher to make in my eyes than a single pin. Let's say they leave 5 multi-pin spares and make 4.....that's 80% but their spares were tougher and they had fewer conversion opportunities.
Split conversion.....if someone is leaving "baby splits" such as the 2-7 or 3-10, their percentage is going to be MUCh higher than someone leaving 4-9s or 6-7s but I would say that the second bowler is probably a better bowler because they're most likely hitting closer to flush pocket than the first.
In closing.....stats are misleading. Like I said also, I have yet to see one that measures heart or how much of a team player someone is......I'd like to see how the team ranks as far as THAT goes......can anyone measure that???? Didn't think so.
Good luck to everyone bowling at St. Clair.....I'll make sure I come over to support all of ya just let me know what time to be there.
Well I know you all missed me so let's save the teary "welcome back" and i'll just say thanks in advance.
A few thoughts:
First, Shadow, sucks that you got screwed over. If you had the stats to go, you should go. I haven't seen the situation in a while but last I knew was you were showing up to practice on a regular basis along with like 2 other people (according to a post from Randy awhile back), and I even remember from when I was on the team how hard you tried to improve and climb the ranks and you have improved tenfold over your college career. The stats speak for themselves in terms of rank order.
To Chase, about the Halwe situation; well you're right about some things and way wrong on the others. However Mike and I have talked about this thoroughly, now see eye to eye so I don't know how much of a right you have to talk about it. Mike did things wrong and our team did things wrong. He is a knowledgeable guy and wanted what was best for the program, but I want a lot of things I don't have. Sometimes the intention can be there but the means to achieve it are not. Mike had too much going on to be able to devote all his time and energy to our team. If you want specifics on some things that you are wrong about please IM me or e-mail me sometime. But, as a former team captain of this debacle of a program, I can say that there are always critics, so the same will go with the coaches. You can't make everyone happy all the time. This current situation probably lacks some fundamental fairness. I said it a million times when I was bowling for LU, it's not a soup kitchen, it's not Saturday morning jr. league, it's a collegiate program. You are here to learn and get better but it's not daycare or a playground where everyone gets a turn with their favorite toy. Seniority should not guarantee you a spot on the A team simply because it is your last year. Unfortunately people always thought they were entitled to that, regardless of how little they worked or accomplished during their career... well unless you count working and accomplishing things as singlehandedly keeping the lucrative cannabis industry afloat.
If you want to bowl on the top squad, you should be beating your teammates. In a sport like this, where there are not real any "positions", at some length your teammates are your competitors. Where you draw the line is up to you. When I was captain, all I wanted to do was win. Remember when we won Atlanta? Bob was the 8th man and bowled almost every game on Sunday. He was lined in, end of story, Ryan, Ed and Chase sat all day. And they didn't bitch. There were times when people complained that my brother bowled over others, but honestly, you start your best players (statistically speaking) and then see what happens. I can remember many times where people that are being chosen for this sacred sectionals team walked off to watch the girls and cry favoritism. Hopefully things have changed.
Box was Box. He's stubborn as hell and he didn't really coach much. In his own way, though, he wanted the team to succeed, he got some free equipment and tried to utilize his connections.
Randy is a different story, I don't think he should be badmouthed for what was decided. Randy is who should have been the coach of this program from day one, I think. He has the experience and knows how to win. I told him a few times that if he would ever go on the Sr Tour or anything like that, I would go along just to carry his bowling equipment, I respect him that much. Where Mike got my game fundamentals in line and taught about conditions, Randy taught that much to me about mental game and attitude. If this decision is honestly what he believes to be right (HE, not a few players), then it should stand. However, I gotta say, if I am shadow in this situation, I am seriously considering why the hell I worked this hard and what all the stats mean.
Oh and just for the record.....I do agree with some of what I think Shadow is saying.....I myself wondered why should I try so hard when I didn't feel I was really being rewarded for any of it (at the beginning of the year when I was doing well). So I have to be fair and say he is not completely wrong on this. I think there is a limit though to how much complaining a person should do.
Ya know I really don't know where to begin or even if I should post this but ya know I think I am going to anyway. Before I start my countdown to rage let me say one thing...I am sober...
NUMBER 1) Shadow, I can feel your pain to somewhat of a degree. I remember busting my ass the first year I was out there on the team when my game was a complete pile of crap. I worked my ass off practicing and majoring in Halwe 101 and St. Charles Lanes 201. I worked just as hard if not harder because I would skip classes just to try and improve. Hence why I got kicked out. I was hoping for my shot at the B-team because I didn't want my hard work to go to waste. Well I got my shot and what did I do with it??? I pushed the coach at Thanksgiving tourney and well that was my only shot at the B-team. Did I feel I deserved it hell yes. Now I know making the sectionals team is a totally different animal. Being a "coach" The main thing in any sport is...Team COHESIVENESS, You need to work to together like a Well Oiled Machine. The top 5 even top 6 needs to know what their roles are, which everyone knows that they are. The Five of Valenta, Shea, Ryan, E, and Chad plus Big Cat that I coach out at Cinnci did what they needed to do and that was being a TEAM. That’s all I enforced to them was just be team players. They don't need to be told what moves to make or anything they just needed to be a team and when someone was down to pick them back up. The worked as a team and look at what the results proved. Now why did I just go on that rant...it's because of some of the things and the way I see you act out against the team? THERE IS NO REASON FOR THAT. Yes we might not like everyone on the team, but god damn Shadow we're not asking for you to be everyone’s friend. Just when you are inside of a bowling alley to at least act or put on a show that you can at least be supportive. As soon as you step off the bus you can go back to hating everyone in the world. I guess all I'm asking for as a "friend" is to be a little bit more supportive.
NUMBER 2) Here is where the rage is going to begin to flow...Quote from Shadows post;” So you won ON A WALL. Woopy ****ing doo." Yeah we did win on a wall but you know what Shadow, you had to bowl on a wall as well. That’s that the mother****ing condition was. Nebraska had to bowl on a wall, Pikeville had to bowl on a wall, and Western Illinois had to bowl on a wall. But ya know something Shadow...we still WON. And I am damn proud that I was the "Coach" of that A-team. I have that standing sheet hanging up on my wall because I am so proud. The 6 guys we had at the tourney in Cinnci was the group of guys that I would take anywhere. Why? Because they never let anyone get down on each other. When we fell behind Nebraska the first day I pulled everyone together and told them that they were going to win. They and I weren't going to accept defeat that weekend. I'm tired of the endless debates on walls/sport shots. Shadow we are in the year 2005, hard demanding tough shots are few and far between. We aren't bowling in the golden age of bowling when you had to make shots or you were going home. I have to deal with it; I used to get so ****ed off when it was a carry fest on a wall. But ya know something that makes me different than you. I grew up and matured about the fact on bowling on wall across the USA. You are so ****ing hard headed when it comes to this. You will not accept the fact and just try and beat everyone on a wall...instead all I hear is you bitch and complain about everything under the roof of the bowling alley if they put down a god forbidding wall. And to finish this section up. IF WE DID BOWL ON A SPORT SHOT IN CINNCI WE STILL WOULD HAVE WON...MARK MY MOTHER****ING WORDS.
NUMBER 3) Quote from Shadows post; "Sorry, but I'm still unclear on this....how many other programs do the kids pick the team?" & "maybe someone else will go on tour" For one I really don't feel like getting into this one, but I am going to. Shadow you know damn well that if you had the talent that Valenta had that you would want a ****ing say on who goes on what team and where. And the further prove my fact is that the tournaments that Valenta did pick and choose the teams I think the teams did pretty well. I mean we did win in Cinnci and the B and C teams worked out pretty well too I think. As far as the other tournaments I think we had a pretty good fair showing. I might not be out there full time anymore but I do keep track and here about the result and I try and keep up just as much as if I was still a member of the team. As far as the second quote. I have mixed reviews. One I think your comment is so ****ing stupid for lack of a better English phrase. Personally I think Valenta should ditch YOUR entire ass and go out next year. Why? Because if I was him I wouldn't want to hear this backstabbing bull**** ****ing mother****ing crybaby look at me mommy let me suck on your ****ing tit so I can get some milk because I'm too lazy to ****ing get any attitude. I know Valenta can put this **** away and not deal with it. That's just him but god damn it Shadow, the team needs more of him and then less of you. Which in turn leads me into saying and I repeat how ****ING STUPID ARE YOU??? If you really wanted to win you would want Valenta there and not wish for him to go out on tour and get out of YOUR life.
NUMBER 4) As for Marc...one of the many conversations that Marc and I have had in the wee hours of the morning smoking cigarettes I remember one thing he said to me. I'm not bowling that great and I wouldn't doubt it that if I bowl this way I won't go to sectionals. Marc understood this way back when I was still out there. I know Marc I would consider him one of my best friends. Yes he wouldn't be happy about not going to sectionals, but he would deal with is way better than you. To that I end PSALM #4...Learn to live with life and the curveballs it send you.
Finally NUMBER 5) I shall be out there for Sectionals. It is my spring break to come out there and hang out with all of my friends in the hell hole known as Lindenwood. I WILL be cheering on our Lions and Lady Lions. I WILL be pulling for them to go to Nationals. I WILL be there for them in the only way I can be...the craziest mother ****er in college bowling. This team has always needed to come together and god damn it WE have had too many opportunities let us slip by and WE still haven't gotten the fact. WE need to make a run...and now that we have a catalyst that sparked the match, I think we need to make him loose sleep at night and prove him wrong.
Yeah I did call you out Shadow...and I really don't care if you have something to say to my face when I come out say it because I have a feeling I have a whole lot of FRIENDS that will have my back. That's more than you can say...
Joshua W. Smith
-- Edited by Mister Ballreturnhumper at 22:13, 2005-02-25
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you know who i am and if ya don't well then ya dont know me
"Having said all this, I still believe the decision is absolute bullsiht, and I will never change my view on that."
Uh, not to pick on you here shadow, but this is a good start. You can try to see and understand why people make the decisions they do. I know what it is like to be the one on the outside looking in. I used to take it personaly (more than i do now) and was miserable most of the time. I eventualy learned to not do it by asking myself if it was helping my team and my game. After that i became a better teammate and bowler, in that order.
In the end you have to ask yourself if the way you are makes you happy (i know this is Dr Phil touchy feely **** but still) If you enjoy being misserable and bitchy then be that way, if not change it. Not easy but doable.
