The Black Cloud Lifts For 12 Frames

Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Scott Salem told Howard that he bowled a perfect 300–12 strikes in a row–during league play last week: “After you bowl the first nine, everybody stops. … The tenth ball was perfect, the eleventh ball was a little shaky but good enough, but then the last ball was absolutely perfect. Not even a question.” Howard begged Scott to stop: “It’s so boring, bowling, that even you telling me about it is putting me to sleep.” Scott said the USBC offers a free–but cheap–ring to anyone who bowled a 300–and the opportunity to buy a gold one for $1200. Howard saw a way out: “I will buy you that ring. Because this is the first time in your miserable life that something good happened.”