"Wii" Are the All-Stars!!

What kind of league would the NSL be if we didn't give our best bowlers a chance to shine in the spotlight?

This past week that is exactly what happened as 41 teams in the league elected to participate in an all-star bowl off. 24 bowlers from teams in the odd conferences participated while 17 bowlers represented the even conferences. The team with the highest average score would be declared the winner.

As the scores came in we noticed that 3 out of 4 bowlers scored over 200. That's amazing when you consider the average score for the league has been 170. In fact 36 bowlers posted scores over the league average and those other 5 were very close to that mark. Then we noticed that 5 individuals missed a perfect game by only 1 strike, talk about an all-star performance.

Even in a game played by the best there is always someone's performance that stands out. Well we had 2 in our inaugural effort. Harlan Skelton of the Village Alley Katz and Joe Riccobene of the SAS Strikers both turned in a perfect game. These masters of the virtual alley also happened to both be members of the Even Squad and helped pilot their team to a 241 - 210 victory over the Odd Squad.


This is the final week of the NSL regular season. The playoff picture is anything but clear for many teams as they fight for 3rd place slots in their conference or one of the 10 at large bids. We will send out notices to all playoff teams on Friday. Until then, "It ain't over until it's over."

Bring Your "A" games people.

Only One More Week!!!!!

We've put a fix on Week 6, which leaves us only one more week until playoffs!!! There's still an opportunity to secure your teams playoff spot, so good luck to everyone tip toeing the line this week!

Congratulations to the "Even Conferences", who claimed victory in our inaugural NSL All-Star Game! Way to go All-Stars!!

Week 6 league average: 1,418

After 6 weeks, the average team has totaled 8,175 points! Thats a whole lotta pins folks!

Top 3 teams from Week 6:

1. The Wood Choppers 2,093

2. The Active Life 2,046

3. SAS Strikers 2,028

The Top 5 Conferences overall to date: 8 (9,234) 12 (8,812) 19 (8,637) 20 (8,608) & 13 (8,581)

Don't forget, playoffs are determined by NSL POINTS, not overall score.

Good luck to everyone in Week 7! Playoffs will be announced after the conclusion of the regular season!

100 years old and still bowling strong!

Selma Friedman, of St. Andrews Estate South in Boca Raton, Florida is celebrating a big birthday this month. She turned 100 on March 21, and the centenarian says that she finds it difficult to believe that she is that age because she’s enjoying life and remaining active. Mrs. Friedman says that she stays young at heart by having what she calls a Polyanna attitude, keeping up with the news, and not living in the past. To celebrate her birthday Mrs. Friedman will be having a party with twenty-one of her relatives who are coming in from out of town to mark the occasion. She will also be having another event with her friends at Saint Andrews Estates South.

The former school teacher moved to SAS seven years ago on the
advice of her Doctor, who told her what an active community it is. She plays scrabble and mah jong, volunteers in the library, does exercise videos, and group exercise classes, and loves walking. Mrs. Friedman is also a member of the Wii Bowling Team the SAS High Rollers, which competes in the National Senior League Wii bowling league. She has always loved baking, and still makes birthday cakes for her friends!

Asked what she thinks is the key to her longevity Mrs. Friedman
says that she thinks it’s important to be moderate, and not fanatical about anything. She says she has also always been careful about her diet, exercise and health.

Congratulations from everyone at the NSL Selma!!

Week 5, Stayin' Alive!

Week 5 is officially wrapped up, and we're one week closer to playoffs!! Don't forget to start thinking about your team's All-Star candidate! Congratulations to all of our Week 5 winners! Keep up the great work everyone!

Week 5 league average: 1,433 (up again this week from 1,401 last week!!)

Overall NSL average to date: 5,381

Top 3 teams from Week 5:

1. Cedar Crest Crushers 2,156

2. Fairhope Superstars 2,071

3. The 300 Club 2,033

Top 3 teams to date:

1. Cedar Crest Crushers 10,474

2. Wood Choppers 10,097

3. Fairhope Superstars 10,079

The Top 5 Conferences overall to date: 8 (48,192) 12 (46,686) 19 (45,753) 14 (45,093) 20 (45,092)

BEWARE: Looks Can Be Deceiving!!!

Meet the Glenhaven Gardeners.

These mild-mannered looking ladies in their straw hats are the girls next door. That is until you put a wii controller in their hands and get them on the virtual alley.

That's when ( L-R) The Hurricane, Uptown, The Enforcer, The Godmother, and Shorty start to show their true colors. Teammate and secret weapon "Pin Blaster" is not shown. You have to check out the team page if you want to I.D. her. Might as well be Fedoras on their heads and machine guns in their hands with names like that. Currently in 4th place in conference 19, these ladies don't plan on planting petunias as much as planting the competition in the remaining 3 weeks of the season. They have the 2nd most points in their conference and have stepped up their performance of late. Don't say we didn't warn ya.

So bent on destroying the competition are these ladies that no one is safe. They are also entered in another contest. This one hosted by the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition of Illinois. Currently the 3rd highest scoring team in that competition, they are a scant 38 points behind the Chicago Strikers and poised to make the playoffs for this Illinois-Only event.

With only 3 weeks left, the competition is really heating up for both of these events. Nothing has been written in stone and many of the teams are still deciding their own fate. The average team score for a match has increased 155 points from the 1st week as bowlers hone their skills. That's almost 20 points per bowler per game.

Glad to see the competitive fire is still going. Keep looking here for updates .

Week 4 Is A Score!

As Week 4 comes to a close, we find ourselves halfway through the Spring 2010 season! Congratulations to all the teams leading their conferences! And to all those who aren't, fear not! There's still time to make your move as a Dark Horse!

Here are some statistics for Week 4, as well as the first half of the season. As you can see, everyone worked together to improved the league average yet again this week! Keep up the good work, League!

Week 4 NSL league average: 1,401 (up from 1,346 last week!)
Overall NSL league average to date: 3,991

Top 3 teams for Week 4:
1. The Estates at Carpenter "Wood Choppers" 2189
2. Cedar Crest "Crushers" 2063
3. Center on the Hill "Fairhope Superstars" 2014

Top 3 teams to date:
1. Cedar Crest Crushers 8318
2. Wood Choppers 8126
3. Fairhope Superstars 8008

The Top 3 overall conferences so far in point total are: 8 (36,394) 12 (34,780) 19 (33,815)

Introducing the Dynamite Methuenites

Methuen Village is 1 of the 23 communities that returned from the Fall test league we ran. They are another great example of a community embracing their team and making the most out of the NSL experience. Al Kelso is one of the members of the Dynamite Methuenites and has had more than a few stories written about his achievements. Al with the help of his wife Shirley maintained an average score in the 160's last season. Oh yeah, we forgot to mention, Al lost his sight about a year ago. What a team with in a team they make. Moral of the story, listen to your wife gentleman or you might end up in the gutter. Well here are some photos of them in action, just click here.

Team Names of the NSL.

One of the great features of the NSL is the ability to let your creative juices flow.

While the CRV Bullets did not make my list of 12 best team names, they by far win the best logo. Just another great example of the fun environment to be created around the wii bowling team at your community. Bullets coach Vicki Selvaggio and her team put their creative minds together and came up with these team t-shirts they wear for the weekly match.

Every week I have to review scores, results, and standings. It always makes me chuckle a bit when I come across a few team names. In no particular order here are the top 12 (13 if you count the 1 name that is used twice) that always get a response from me and why.

* Dynamite Methuenites (I always think of JJ Walker from Good Times as the head cheerleader)
* 300 Club (The name makes a statement and they live up to it each week)
* Wii, The People (Very noble sounding and great use of the word wii in the name)
* The Grannie Apple Bowlers (Cute and always makes me smile)
* (The) Bowling Stones (Very ingenious, love the band, Mick and Co are eligible to be in league, and we have 2 teams with this name)
* Houlihan's Hooligans (Any time you can call someone a hooligan and they smile about it is good)
* Honey's & Him (Lucky guy!!!)
* Wii Old Pinheads (Another great example of sneaking wii into a name)
* J.O.Y.- Just Older Youth (Best acronym)
* Backwoods Bowlers (Always get a visual of people in coonskin caps and buckskin bowling on a dirt alley)
* The Whispering Texans (AHHH Why are we whispering?)
* Bowl "Wii" vils (Absolutely brilliant!! This one is my favorite)

Be sure to check out all the teams and how they are doing in the competition at www.nslgames.com. Just click on the Wii Bowl icon at the top of the site and it will take you to the 2010 spring season.

Week 3 Jubilee!

Another successful week has been wrapped up at NSL! Congratulations to all of our Week 3 winners!

Week 3 gives us a new addition to our weekly Top 3, that being the Wood Choppers of the Estates at Carpenter coming in third for the week with a total score of 2075! The Cedar Crest Crushers have been bumped down to number 2 with a score of 2080 by the Fairhope Superstars, who took the lead for Week 3 with a score of 2094!

Our top scoring conferences for Week 3 were 12, 8 and 13 in that respective order.

The NSL league average for Week 3 was 1,346, and increase of 102 points from Week 1! That's a league-wide improvement! Way to go everyone!

One of the greatest aspects of the NSL is it's potential to bring an entire community together as a team. Any competition takes on a new level of excitement when friends and family are around to cheer and support your team. Not only does the NSL bring people together within your community, but family and friends anywhere in the world can follow their favorite team throughout the season! Below are only a couple of examples of communities reaching their true NSL potential...

"The Dynomite Methuenites are really working hard. They have a lot of spectators who come and cheer them on to victory! We are very happy to be part of the tournament again. Isabella Hutchings' son is following our progress by logging on to this site! Spread the word! Wii bowling is fun for all ages!"

"We had a bigger crowd watching the game this week! Everybody on the team broke 100 and the strikes and spares and growing in numbers! We are getting roared up the rest of the month! This opportunity was the thing we needed to get our tenants interested in the Wii and not afraid of 'the video game'"

Good luck to everyone in Week 4!

THE CHEERING SECTION

Almost every article on senior activities mentions the benefits of group activities and involvement.

The NSL wii competition is not just about scores, wins, and loses. It is about having fun and getting people involved.

"Oh I don't play but I think it's just great."
Dorothy @ Atria West Cobb

In August and September of 2009 we did a few test events at communities in the Atlanta area. My job was to set up and host the event. Well at one of these I got everything set up and and then sat down for a quick breather. Big Mistake. I was in the cheering section and sitting next to Dorothy. My assistant ended up doing all the work as I spent the next hour and a half chatting, cheering, and clapping with the people around me. None of them were playing though and the crowd kept getting bigger. Between frames Dorothy and I swapped war stories about our experiences running restaurants. Separated by 40 years, it was amazing how similar they were. I asked Dorothy what brought her to the game and she explained she heard a ruckus down the hall and decided to investigate. Now she was missing her show on TV but didn't care. Later I discovered Dorothy had been spending a lot of time in her room watching TV. That was the most they had seen her out and smiling in a while.

I couldn't play basketball to save my life in high school. But I went to every game. Not just because many of my friends played on the team, but that is where a lot of the kids were at having fun (also some very good looking girls). I wanted to be a part of that atmosphere. The team was horrible but we didn't care, we were gonna get loud. In senior communities from east to west, north to south people have the chance to reliving that excitement. Who knows, maybe even find a good looking girl in the process.