Words by Gutther Bawl.

I remember watching Black Beauty for the first time as a child. When Ginger died, after being pushed brutally beyond her limit, I knew something terrible had happened. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but I knew that I didn’t like it, and that it made me sad.

If I wasn’t contractually obligated to write more than that, I’d leave my column there for this week.

Nonetheless, I’m a committed wordsmith, and there's a cost of living crisis. The bills must be paid, and so I must proceed, to do what most modern journalists have seemingly forgotten.

Tell the story as it was.

In truth, all 3 teams put on a clinic. Each clinic however, was very, very different.

The Roller’s clinic was centred on one man. No Show. Gracing the League with his presence yet again, he precisely demonstrated what it takes to deliver for your team.

His name is on a league first: 10 individual points. The maximum a single pinsman could hoover up in one evening’s play.

His “Man of the Match” award almost felt like an understatement as he took down the Rider’s Skipper “Two Shoes”, and embarrassed Pinter’s “Zlats” across both games, with his uncanny and unrelenting ability to throw the ball at the pins, and knock them over more than they did.

PCR really are a different team when No Show shows, and you have to wonder: if he’s not there every week, can they really compete?

If he defies convention, and continues to show, the Rollers will surely graduate from the mere “new boys” to genuine contenders. Either way, this team is here to stay, and they’re here to play.

No Show swept clear a path for Pin City Rollers to take the win on the night. As it stands their 29 points give them a slender 4.5 point lead from the Riders.

Speaking of, le Clinique de les Rider’s was on how to nail returning to one's roots.

The Don was back, in the Dark Green, and as suspected - he’s catalytic for the Rohirrim. Adding him to the ranks on a regular basis produces the same effect of adding iron to carbon.

You get steel.

There’s a different atmosphere about this outfit this year, and they’ve clearly put last season behind them. Fan favourite Slaps put on a good show, his fierce balls bring awe to faces and dents to the lanes, and it was a joy to see him back attacking pins with a smile on his face.

You can feel that good things could be on the horizon for Slaps, the Don, and their fellow horsemen this year.

After picking up 694 pins, they took game 1. Although they fell back off the pace in Game 2, they managed to hold off Pinter to take second. The ability is there, no doubt, but questions remain over their stamina.

It was clear in Season 2, that they go slack once the pints fight back, and they’ll need to find some way to address this if they’re going to mount a serious challenge for the title this year.

Now, for all the young pinsmen and pinswomen reading this, the Pinter Milan clinic was exactly how not to open your league defence.

It happens at the pinnacle of sport sometimes. The preparation can be faultless, and the mind and body can feel ready for the heat of competition. And yet you choke.

The greatest have done it. Future greats will do it.

From an Italian perspective, the less said about the evening, the better really. Pinter find themselves bottom of the pile, with only 12.5 points. There's a long way back for this team, already, but the expectant debut of fresh blood - BadBoy - has generated some excited whispers in the camp.

There was a glimmer of hope to come from the evening however. Pinetti. He’s been mentioned a few time in dispatches, and it’s clear now beyond all doubt, that this lad has the heart, stomach, arms, and legs to compete at the top level.

A product of the Milanese Academy - “The Bowlbettinos” - he stood tall in black and blue all evening, and carried his team over the line. He personifies the resilience of the Pinter team, a trait that will be tested to its extreme as they look to bounce back at the earliest opportunity. 

My message to them afterwards was: if you’re going to excrete your bed, it’s better to do it early in the season, when you have time to catch up.

What an evening of irrepressible action, and raw emotion. The current champions have gone from favourites to the wooden spoon in a single game. If the story that yields doesn’t cement this sport’s appeal, I’m not sure what can. Perhaps all the baldies…?

That’s all from me until Game Week 2: March 2nd for those not in the know.

For now: play hard, play fair, and as usual, keep them rolling.

Gutther