Bumming around town with Bill Bumerton
Bumerton is a retired Navy fighter pilot who had been missing in action for several years while he traversed the globe looking for greener grass. He discovered the grass is only greener here (it’s blue in Kentucky), so he returned to again take charge of his 1954 green Hudson Hornet that had been in storage, refilled his pipe, and is continuing his smokin’ ways. Here is what he recently told us at the Sports Paper.
Well, Big Dawg, your man Lonnie Sharkey is back at it again. He won his first Kitsap Scratch Bowlers Association tournament of the young bowling season when he annexed the Certified Hearing Open at Laurel Lanes in Port Angeles. In fact, Big Dawg, he led all the way, and that should not be a big surprise for the best bowler this side of the Mississippi. Hey, hey, Big Dawg, don’t get all over me. If Sharkey is not the best in the west he is close, and that is good enough for me. He qualified through the first round with five games that totaled 1,119 pins. That’s nearly a 224 average. That would take you three games of bowling to reach that total. He then added games of 194, 216 and 212, winning two of the three to advance as the top qualifier. He then defeated Tim Clemens 238-187 to win his 108th KSBO title. You know, Big Dawg, it may take a 100 years for anybody else to come close to winning 108 KSBO titles. They ought to rename KSBO the Sharkey Scratch Bowlers Organization and erect a statue of him along Silverdale Way in Silverdale to remind people who is king of the lanes. Travis Peterson must have learned from Sharkey because he also led all the way in winning the Peninsula Bottling 205 and Under Division. Peterson won his first title by stopping Jessica Sutton 223-160 in the championship match. The KSBO will hold it tournament on Oct. 17 at All Star Lanes in Silverdale. It will be the A&C Sports Bar Open and the George Shafer Memorial 205 and Under Division. You know, Big Dawg, if you would break down and buy me a bowling ball I would show you how an old fighter jet pilot flies on the bowling lanes. But you are too cheap to do that. So Sharkey is not in danger of losing anytime soon. Now go fetch me a tall latte.