Hambone Cooper

Unless you were at my pub trivia night last night, you may not be aware of this, but there is a name for getting 4 strikes in a row in bowling. You know about the turkey for 3, but since it's such a rarity that you might actually get 4 in a row yourself, I should tell you, from personal experience, it's called a hambone or a 4-bagger. Originally, I didn't find any of these names appealing so I was going to rename it The Winnie. However, the more I toy around with 'hambone', the better I think it is. It reminds me of when George Costanza tried to get T-Bone to stick as his nickname. I had better be careful, he ended up with Koko.


It turns out I am a terrific bowler. At least for the first game. And possibly only in Niagara Falls - there's something about the air out there. There was vodka involved, but that was likely a hurdle to overcome and should in no way be credited with my extraordinary display of skillz.

Look closely, there are four "x" marks - as of yet, there is no symbol or cartoon to flash across the screen to represent a hambone. Doesn't seem that hard though, the bowling powers that be should get on that.

Despite the grimy film on your hands and having to wear other people's shoes, I'm a big fan of bowling. Usually no more than 4 or 5 times a year though - and that's a good year. I have some friends in a league, actually just the one but I wanted him to feel part of a burgeoning movement among 20-somethings. One of his teammates is named Taco. There's no way to not have a fun Tuesday night with someone named Taco.