Brian started bowling at the age of eight and fell in love with the sport right from the start. He bowled regularly for the next 20 years until back problems forced him into an early retirement in 1999.

As luck would have it, Brian would bump into an old friend five years later, his old doubles partner, Matt Coe. They talked for awhile about old times, both on and off the lanes. As Brian puts it, "It brought back memories. My back was feeling a lot better, I wanted to bowl again."

Brian returned to bowling this past season, and wasted little time picking up where he left off.  Within no time at all, he was tossing deuces again like they were commonplace, and ended his first season back with a new personal best high average, 210.

"I feel like I know more now than I did when I quit bowling," Brian explains. "I've proven a lot to myself this year, made some money, made a lot of new friends, and renewed friendships with lots of old bowling friends I started my career with.  I'm proud to be a member of Factor X."

Career Accomplishments

• Competed in the 1989 Coca-Cola National Tournament

• Finished first in the Worcester County Travel League

• Bowled three years in NABI in the early 1990s, with a best finish of 12th place.

• Competing in his very first ABC National Tournament in Baton Rouge in 2005, cashed in all four events and averaged just under 200 (198.4) for nine games.

• Finished in 7th place singles and in the top 20 in doubles in the 2005 Massachusetts State Tournament.

• Finished in 7th place in the 2005 GGBA Tournament.

• Came in 2nd in the 2005 King of the Hill tour.

Most embarrassing moment?

"My most embarrassing moment?  I wish there was only one," says Brian. "To make matters worse, they always came in tournaments!"

The first incident happened in the middle of a bowling tour.  Brian gave new meaning to the term, "extending through the shot" when he tore his pants right up the middle in the midst of competition.  At least he was cool and comfortable for the rest of the tournament, right?

Incident number two occurred while bowling in NABI East. Experimenting with a new form of "extreme bowling" while competing on the end-pair of lanes, Brian slipped during his delivery on the raised approaches, falling into the gutter. His forward momentum caused him to then flip over the channel and off the lanes altogether, landing with his feet fully-extended up in the air in the walkway beside the lanes, some ten or fifteen feet down lane.  Geeeez, Brian.  No wonder you have back problems!

Most heartbreaking moment?

"No question.  My near miss at 800."

Brian was on fire the entire evening, packing virtually all of his shots. Stepping up in the tenth frame of the final game, Brian needed one strike to lock up his 800 series. The shot was superbly executed and hit light in the pocket where he had carried all evening... but in this case, a wobbly five-pin chose not to give in to the pins slapping at it from off the sideboard, leaving Brian ten pins shy of his dream.

"It's my one unresolved goal from years past," Brian explains. It's the one reason I'm back. I want another chance at 800."

Proudest Statistics?

• Bowling two 300 games in his home house, Playaway Lanes, in Winchendon, Massachusetts.

• Averaging 228 in the 2005 Massachusetts State Tournament in Lowell, Massachusetts.