Second Thoughts

Don't blink or you'll miss perfect game

Not every Chicago Cubs fan suffered through decades without a championship, a fact the Cincinnati Reds were quick to point out during Friday’s game.
Not every Chicago Cubs fan suffered through decades without a championship, a fact the Cincinnati Reds were quick to point out during Friday’s game.

It's possible to roll a perfect game in a minute and a half, but a few extra lanes are needed.

Ben Ketola of Preble, N.Y., rolled 12 strikes in a row in 86.9 seconds at a Syracuse, N.Y., bowling alley April 5.

Ketola is believed to have recorded the world's fastest 300 game at the 10-lane 281 Bowl by rolling the perfect game in 1 minute, 26.9 seconds. The 23-year-old two-handed bowler raced from one lane to the next and registered strikes using a different ball on each lane -- striking twice on lanes 1 and 2 -- to score 12 in a row for a perfect game in approximately the same time it takes to microwave a bag of popcorn.

"It was fun to do. I honestly wasn't expecting to do it," said Ketola, a 225-average bowler. "I just wanted to see how quickly I could get across the house and get strikes."

Ketola was inspired by professional bowler Tom Dougherty, who in 2015 rolled a perfect game in similar style, but took 1:51 to do it.

Bandwagon Cam

After 108 years of frustration and disappointment that's been passed down from generation to generation, Chicago Cubs fans finally got to celebrate a World Series championship last fall.

It's April now and it's time to move on, which means Cubs fans are now fair game again for taunts and trolling. It's just a different form of taunting and trolling now that the Cubs have actually won.

The Cincinnati Reds got in on the act Friday night when they presented a hilarious Bandwagon Cam, which zeroed in on fans at Great American Ballpark all decked out in Cubs gear and especially those wearing hot selling jerseys.

The Reds were not gentle on these carefully selected fans, placing messages such as "Doesn't know who Ernie Banks is" and "Lifelong Cubs fan since 2016" under the images.

Cubs fans are getting used to getting the last laugh. That's rarely been the case in the past, but it was last season and it happened again on Friday night. After Anthony Rizzo tied the game with a two-out, three-run home run in the ninth inning, the Cubs went on to win 6-5 in 10 innings.

Missing in action

"The NBA just set a record this year for attendance at regular season games," wrote RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com. "The same cannot be said of LeBron James."

James played in 74 of Cleveland's 82 regular-season games this year.

Aces

C.D. Madsen proved this week that it's never too late to make your first hole-in-one.

The 99-year-old aced the 108-yard, par-3 16th with a 6-iron at Marin Country Club in Novato, Calif.

Madsen has been a member at the club for 58 years. It's not like he was hacking it around the course either. He had a good round going before the ace and shot 85 for his round.

Sports quiz

Who was the No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick the last time the Cleveland Browns had the first selection?

Sports answer

Cleveland selected Courtney Brown, a defensive end from Penn State, with the No. 1 pick of the 2000 NFL Draft.

Sports on 04/23/2017

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