Alleygations, Week 27 – Part 2

Captain Carl Lane

ALLEGATIONS
March 23, 2026—Week 27

Somehow the Weiss team just keeps rolling along. They earned 16 points against the Soifer team and further solidified their hold on first place. Matt Weiss’s game was a reflection of his beer consumption. Started sober (relatively) and bowled 189 in first game, followed by 150 and 142. Now there may not be a correlation here, but it merits further analysis. Mike Coleman was the high performer for the team with a 636 series, while Wade Weistreich and Jack Windish delivered okish performances. For the Soifer team Drew Babler and Ralph Decker performed well and Don Fuller was near his average. For some reason Jon Soifer was absent (was this due to the fact he was scheduled to write Allegations this week?) and his resulting 570 score was the game low.
On Lanes 21 and 22 the second place Lane team took on the Cowell group. The 12-10 score in favor of the Cowell’s reflects how close and mediocre this series was. Only Bob Zangas (655) for Lane and David Cowell (612) beat their average although Don Klackner came close with a strong third game and ended with 599. The Cowell team performed especially well in the tenth frame earning two victories. If these allegations were authored by someone else they would mention the horrid performance by Carl Lane. His 525 total was the second lowest for the night only ahead of (gasp) Don Lorenz with a 515. What was happening? Still when the dust settled the Lane team was hanging on to second place.
The Werner team edged out the Baker team 12-10. This series was highlighted by strong performances by Mike Regan (610) and Chris Wilson (668) of the Werner team, and by Maddie Zuck (623) and Chad Baker (632) of the Baker team. Terry Werner came alive (briefly) in the second game and powered his team to their lone win.
Team Maddox and Team Cooper had a lively affair on Lanes 23 and 24. Each team’s total pin count was higher than the other six teams. It is a common belief (backed by a detailed analysis) that Lanes 23 and 24 produce the lowest team scores. However, this night six of the players demolished this tale. Quinn Rogers (652), Matt Maddox (663), Doug (not to be confused with Don this evening) Lorenz (700), and a respectable 583 from Dan Conway led the Maddox team. Not to be outdone (too much) Kevin King (665), Lily Michaels (640), Doc Jones (627), and Rose Cooper (592) led the Cooper team. The final pin count was only a 74 pin margin by team Maddox as they took the series 14 to 8.
For those of us who have despaired and given up hope, one uplifting story emerged tonight that should be noted. I won the 50/50 to the tune of $77. Now this is a very rare occurrence and I initially did not even look at my tickets when the winning number was called. Kent had me look when no other winner emerged. I was shocked to see my #6 ticket was the winner. It just goes to show that my past investments of about $850 have finally paid off. Maybe my ROI on this investment is not too noteworthy from a financial perspective, but the fellowship benefits (and the banquet) provide a fantastic return.
Matt Weiss will have the sign-up sheet for the Columbia trip on April 21. This competition was started in 1926 so it will be a great celebration when we win the 100th meeting. Always a great time—win or lose.

Strikes and Spares,
Carl Lane