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SPOR
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High Roller
Local bowler makes the cut.
Steve Stein
Special to The Jewish News
K
eith Kingston went toe-
to-toe with the Detroit area's
best bowlers and he can't
wait to do it again.
The 41-year-old southpaw from
Farmington Hills finished eighth in the
Metro Detroit United States Bowling
Congress Association
Masters Tournament at
Thunderbowl Lanes in
Allen Park, a grueling
two-weekend, four-day
test of bowlers' physical
and mental stamina.
Besides the tough
competition and
seemingly endless
games, bowlers had
to contend with the
Viper oil pattern on lanes that's used
for Professional Bowlers Association
tournaments. Kingston compared it to
playing a round of golf at San Marino
in Farmington Hills, then a round at
Augusta National, site of the Masters.
"There's a premium on quality shot
making with the Viper pattern. Lanes
are much less forgiving than what you
see in league play:' he said. "If I was off
one board on my shot or if my ball was
a little too fast or too slow, I'd throw a
split or get into trouble."
Kingston wasn't in trouble too often
during the Masters Tournament. He
made it to match play by finishing
27th among 160 bowlers in the quali-
fying round. His eight-game qualifying
total was 1587, just 12 pins above the
cut at 32nd place.
The 32 match play qualifiers faced
off in a double-elimination competi-
tion to determine the tournament
champion. Kingston won his first two
matches, then he lost by five pins. He
had to beat defending champion David
Ewald of Macomb to stay alive, and
Kingston won 654-618. That turned
out to be Kingston's highest three-
game score in match play.
"I was really focused and I pushed
myself in that match': Kingston said.
Kingston was bumped from the
tournament in his next match by 2005
champion and eventual 2007 winner
Jeff Austreng of Waterford, 621-559.
Ewald went on to finish 10th, two
places behind Kingston. John Nolen of
Waterford, another Kingston victim,
recovered from the 593-489 loss and
finished fourth.
Kingston averaged 198.87 in his 23
tournament games and won $350 for
his eighth-place finish.
"I'll use the money to buy new bowl-
ing equipment — you know, reinvest
in my hobby," said Kingston, a certified
public accountant.
Kingston credited 11-time
PBA Tour champion Danny
Wiseman of Baltimore with
helping him do well in tourna-
ment match play. Through an e-
mail correspondence, Wiseman
advised Kingston to just make
his best shots and force his
opponent to match them.
Two other Jewish bowlers
competed in the tournament,
but neither made it to match
play. Mark Hachigian was 49th in
the qualifying round with 1535 and
Lyle Schaefer was 60th with 1497.
AlphaWolf Prowling
Josh Birnberg of West Bloomfield
and three teammates survived a hot
parking lot and a talented field to win
the 10-under championship at the Gus
Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament
last summer at West Bloomfield High.
Many of Josh's court skills have been
honed at AlphaWolf Basketball camps
and leagues held in Birmingham. Now
AlphaWolf camps are coming to Josh's
hometown for the first time.
They're being offered this month
and in July in conjunction with West
Bloomfield Community Education.
Camp dates are Feb. 19-23 at Abbott
Middle School and July 9-13 at West
Bloomfield High. Boys and girls ages
8-14 can participate. Call (248) 541-
4667 for more information.
Jimmy Birnberg, Josh's father,
likes what he's seen at AlphaWolf
camps:'Many instructors are ex-camp-
ers, there's non-stop action, and the
worst player is treated the same as the
best player',' Birnberg said.
AlphaWolf's president and CEO is
Geo Thomas, who was sports director
at Franklin Athletic Club in Southfield
from 1994-2002. Li7i
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iN
February 8 = 2007
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