Cali pair leads Classified Doubles at 2010 OC
May 17, 2010
RENO, Nev. - Less than six months ago, Robert Blum of Huntington Beach, Calif., had major back surgery to relieve excessive pain, numbness and tingling, and the procedure already has proven to be successful.
The 59-year-old left-hander has only been back on the lanes for about a month, but he was sharp enough to find his way to the top of the leaderboard at the USBC Open Championships on Monday.
Blum teamed up with Frank DeFrancesco of Poway, Calif., to take the Classified Doubles lead with a 1,200 total at the National Bowling Stadium. DeFrancesco led the way with a 662 series, while Blum contributed 538. Tyson Sims and Scott Wilcox of Georgetown, Idaho, previously held the lead with 1,182.
"I am just happy to be walking and relatively pain free now," said Blum, who bowls regularly at Westminster Lanes in Westminster, Calif., and made his seventh USBC Open Championships appearance. "This really is incredible, and I'm lucky that I got paired up with Frank this year. He really is a great bowler. We both admit that we didn't have a very good first game, but then things just clicked, and we were back in it. We knew we had a chance to do something, and it was pretty exciting."
Blum, a customer service representative, knows he's not yet at 100 percent, but he's much better than he was and excited to be back on the lanes.
"I just got back into bowling, so I got pretty tired today, but luckily, I had a partner who didn't mind carrying me," Blum said. "I was going strictly on adrenaline and just wanted to finish strong."
DeFrancesco's doubles effort included games of 160, 267 and 235 on the way to a 1,762 all-events total, the second-highest of his 16-year tournament career. He knew he was bowling well, but tried to stay focused.
"He was like my one-man cheering section, and I'm glad we got the chance to bowl together," said DeFrancesco, who bowls at Mira Mesa Lanes. "You never want to get too far ahead of yourself. You have to focus on one shot at a time because one shot can determine everything. You just have to bowl your game and worry about your score at the end, and that's what we did today."
DeFrancesco and Blum are part of a 10-person group, and this year, they were the odd men out on their respective teams, so they paired up for doubles.
"For us, the tournament is about having a good time and meeting up with friends," said DeFrancesco, a 62-year-old right-hander. "Scores are secondary, but bowling well is always a plus. Some of us won a state championship together, and no one bowled exceptionally well, but everyone contributed and had a slightly above average day, so it worked out. Today was similar, and the timing was just right for us."
Blum added 546 in singles and 464 in team for a 1,548 all-events total.
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino and Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.
The 59-year-old left-hander has only been back on the lanes for about a month, but he was sharp enough to find his way to the top of the leaderboard at the USBC Open Championships on Monday.
Blum teamed up with Frank DeFrancesco of Poway, Calif., to take the Classified Doubles lead with a 1,200 total at the National Bowling Stadium. DeFrancesco led the way with a 662 series, while Blum contributed 538. Tyson Sims and Scott Wilcox of Georgetown, Idaho, previously held the lead with 1,182.
"I am just happy to be walking and relatively pain free now," said Blum, who bowls regularly at Westminster Lanes in Westminster, Calif., and made his seventh USBC Open Championships appearance. "This really is incredible, and I'm lucky that I got paired up with Frank this year. He really is a great bowler. We both admit that we didn't have a very good first game, but then things just clicked, and we were back in it. We knew we had a chance to do something, and it was pretty exciting."
Blum, a customer service representative, knows he's not yet at 100 percent, but he's much better than he was and excited to be back on the lanes.
"I just got back into bowling, so I got pretty tired today, but luckily, I had a partner who didn't mind carrying me," Blum said. "I was going strictly on adrenaline and just wanted to finish strong."
DeFrancesco's doubles effort included games of 160, 267 and 235 on the way to a 1,762 all-events total, the second-highest of his 16-year tournament career. He knew he was bowling well, but tried to stay focused.
"He was like my one-man cheering section, and I'm glad we got the chance to bowl together," said DeFrancesco, who bowls at Mira Mesa Lanes. "You never want to get too far ahead of yourself. You have to focus on one shot at a time because one shot can determine everything. You just have to bowl your game and worry about your score at the end, and that's what we did today."
DeFrancesco and Blum are part of a 10-person group, and this year, they were the odd men out on their respective teams, so they paired up for doubles.
"For us, the tournament is about having a good time and meeting up with friends," said DeFrancesco, a 62-year-old right-hander. "Scores are secondary, but bowling well is always a plus. Some of us won a state championship together, and no one bowled exceptionally well, but everyone contributed and had a slightly above average day, so it worked out. Today was similar, and the timing was just right for us."
Blum added 546 in singles and 464 in team for a 1,548 all-events total.
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino and Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.