LIVONIA, Mi -- Icy conditions may have delayed flights at Jackson Airport the morning of Sunday, March 3, but it didn’t stop Mel Wolf of Jackson from landing a win across the street at the Airport Lanes Open. Wolf captured his first GLSBA title when he defeated Ed Malinowski of Livonia and pocketed the $400 first place prize. Malinowski received $200 for his runner-up effort.

This tournament featured a “modified sports shot” which was somewhere between easy and impossible. The qualifying round was lead by Bill Sellers of Temperance, with 1363, which earned him a free entry into the April GLSBA tournament. Coming in a close second was Rick Capaldi of Canton with 1359 and Steve Turner of Jackson with 1347. High Game honors went to Derek Smith of Hicksville, Ohio, with 288; Capaldi with 269; and Gary Schwarze of St Clair Shores and Dick Beattie of Dearborn, each with 268.

Malinowski never left the winners bracket on his way to the finals. His first opponent was the No. 1 qualifier Sellers, and he came away with a 183-to-164 win. He next faced Vic Portalatin of Jackson, who ran into some bad luck with five splits and lost 151 to 269. Malinowski then went on to defeat Beattie, 213 to 180, and Wolf, 214 to 197 sending them to the “L” bracket and giving himself a two-game bye.

Wolf’s journey to the finals took a couple of detours. He started out by defeating Roland Snodgrass of Roseville, 257 to 170; John Milletics of Sandusky, 225 to 181; and Doug Evans of Southgate, 266 to 248. After his loss to Malinowski, Wolf moved to the losers bracket to face Capaldi. This turned out to be Wolf’s closest match of the day. Capaldi needed three strikes in the tenth to tie the game, but after two strikes and a flush pocket hit on the third ball, a ringing 10-pin gave Wolf the win, 206 to 205. Scotty Laughland of Windsor, Ontario was the next challenger, and Wolf was not going to be denied: He came away with a 225-to-179 victory.

The finals were now set and lanes 17 and 18 were the place. Malinowski was just one win away from a possible second GLSBA title. The first game was close, with Wolf avenging his earlier loss and winning 213 to 203. The second and final game was also close, but Wolf found the carry on the left side just a little better and claimed the tournament victory with a 238-to-216 score.

The next regular tournament is on Saturday April 13 at Royal Scot Lanes in Lansing. For information on this or any other tournament call 734-522-9315.