Walking into Brunswick Tri-City on Sunday morning, I thought there was something strange about the scene before me. We have had many tournaments in the Valley over the past few years, but this one was different. This one had "Verve."

I'm sure by now you're thinking, "What a shameless plug!" Yes, we had Verve everywhere in every form. From a 7-foot-tall inflatable can to 6-inch sticky patches to orange goodness you can drink.

But that isn't what I'm referring to...Merriam-Webster Online defines "verve" as "the spirit and enthusiasm animating artistic performance...vivacity...vitality...energy." This tournament was different because the participants were genuinely excited to be here bowling, more than I have witnessed in a long time in Phoenix.

I really don't have the desire to regale you with tales of my bowling for the day, mostly because I didn't perform very well, and my partner, Tina Stickney, did most of the heavy lifting (note: by "heavy lifting" I mean "dragged Andrew into the finals kicking and screaming"). We ended up finishing 7th, but that may have been the most fun I have had finishing 7th. Ever.

After 9 hours of 6 well-paced qualifying games and a slick double elimination finals (top 16 teams bowled single-game team matches), the fate of two champions came down to the tenth frame. The Tucson powerhouse of Dwight Burns and Ken Hosp was undefeated going into the final match, but after losing game one to Jeff Robertson and Wayne Swayda, they faced one final game. As Dwight struck out in the tenth to close the deficit to 2 pins, Jeff and Ken both converted spares, forcing one shot for the title. Jeff calmly stepped up and got the strike he needed for victory (it was a little left off his hand, but nevertheless got 10 pins). Congrats to Wayne and Jeff, and to Dwight and Ken for a great tournament!

So much effort went into producing this unique event for the bowlers, and thanks are certainly due to Tim Bonneville, The Pain Center, Darron Peters, Bowling with Leverage Pro Shop, Kathy and Jordan Laughlin, Brunswick Tri-City (Barry Hardesty), and most importantly, Mike Hardesty for coordinating the entire show! This tournament proved that bowling is not dead in the Valley (38 teams, 76 bowlers...on a Sunday when most people are usually in church). Hopefully this is just the beginning of renewed energy surrounding bowling in Phoenix, and maybe even the shot in the arm we needed for some rebirth.

Since this is is my first blog on my new site (thanks Scott Goldsmith), please don't forget to look around and get familiar with it. I will be adding content more frequently as the PBA Tour begins on October 19 (send me a present...it's my birthday!). In the gallery you can find pictures of the winners from this past weekend, and please check out my links. Trust me, sponsors greatly appreciate it, and so do I!

If you have any questions or comments, the guestbook is for you. If public writing is not your thing, then please feel free to contact me through the link at the bottom of the page, or directly at andrew@andrewcainbowling.com.

Thanks for reading the first installment of Drewisms!